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Post by golions1444 on May 8, 2015 14:37:43 GMT -5
Anyone else in the Bay Area going to the Coach Dunlap event Tuesday?
I'm assuming it will be a pretty intimate gathering (like 8 or 9 people and the coach). I've got some questions I want to ask him, if anyone else has any I could try to ask him those as well and report back to the board.
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Post by ALioninWinter on May 9, 2015 13:08:19 GMT -5
I find it a bit interesting that no one has yet taken up Golions' offer to take some questions to CMD next week. I know I'm pretty apathetic to anything he has to say, but I thought I was in the minority.
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Post by LIONS90045 on May 9, 2015 14:43:35 GMT -5
golions - can you ask if we still have any scholarships available for next year, i.e., can we expect another recruit? Sherman Vernon keeps showing up as a "scholarship" player on some links, e.g., Verbal Commits, but others assure us that he is still a walk on. He would fill the roster if he is on scholarship. thanks
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Post by thx4leavinjimlynam on May 10, 2015 13:55:13 GMT -5
Thank you for asking for questions, golions.
I know last season was, I would imagine, a much bumpier road than even Dunlap expected. Along those lines, if you could ask him about his defense, both last year and this upcoming year, I would be curious to hear his response.
Here is the stat from last season that hangs with me: College-basketball reference has a link called DRtg, which reflects the defensive rating (points allowed per 100 possessions). We allowed 111.3 points per 100 possessions, which was 342nd in the country (out of 351). We all knew our defense was leaky, but this does prove it.
Maybe something along the lines of: Analytics show that only nine teams in the entire country allowed more points per 100 possessions last season. So slowing down the pace on offense was only a band-aid to cover our hemorrhaging defense. What steps have you taken to improve our defense for 2015-16, and will that also allow us to play at a quicker offensive pace?
I'm sure he will point out the athleticism of the newcomers, but I am hoping it will spur full-court pressure and an offense willing to shoot earlier in the shot clock. Thank you golions.
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Post by golions1444 on May 12, 2015 11:35:35 GMT -5
I'll do my best to get these questions asked to him. I am not sure what the format of the event will be. I just know only a few people are attending so should have time to ask a lot of questions.
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Post by slblions08 on May 12, 2015 19:43:44 GMT -5
I'm not sure if this gets to you in time, but you should ask him what his thoughts were on Jay Bilas' comments on the problems of college basketball. (over coached, no scoring, ragged, micromanaged possessions) That will tell us a lot about what we should expect.
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Post by golions1444 on May 13, 2015 19:11:21 GMT -5
Had a great time meeting Coach Dunlap and listening to him talk about the program last night in SF. He shared a lot of information and I really liked a lot of things he had to say about the state of the program and how it's going to get better. He definitely understands where the program has been, why it has not reached sustained success, and what needs to happen to get there. He really is trying to build up a true successful program. I'll try to remember as much as I can from what he said on the following topics:
Recruiting - Tuach is our last 2015 recruit, so I believe we have filled all of our scholarships, unless he is saving one for next year. He mentioned that last years recruiting class was not the best, but he only had limited time to recruit and that did not allow him to get exactly what he wanted. This year he spent 180 days on the road recruiting to get the guys he wanted. He feels very good about this recruiting class. He mentioned that he does not see JC players playing as big of role in his recruiting going forward. He mentioned he made a couple trips to Australia and New Zealand recently to recruit 7 2016 prospects we are recruiting. I think we can expect to see an Australian pipeline developed for us going forward. He said he prefers to get freshmen over JC players.
On Brandon Brown - expects Brown to be the biggest impact player on the team next year
On Shamar Johnson - I was a little surprised to hear how highly CMD talked about Johnson, He mentioned he would much rather have a legit undersized big man like Johnson than just some guys that are tall but are not any good. I think we should expect to see a really good player in Johnson
On Petr Herman - Mentioned how people think Herman is dud. Reminded us he was only a freshmen, and he had to play more minutes than coach wanted him too, especially when Patson got injured. he said he still expects Herman to be a top WCC big man by his junior year.
On style of play/defense - mentioned how he recruited this guys telling them he wanted to play an up tempo offense and pressure defense. He wants to press and trap the ball as much as possible and get the ball up the floor as quickly as possible, stressed passing is the most important thing on offense, moving the ball like the San Antonio Spurs. Said he did not have guys quick enough or tough enough to play this style last year, but this year his recruits are tough, hardworking, and quick enough to get it done. Also mentioned our troubles scoring the ball last year and how the new recruits, they can really shoot the ball well and our scoring should be much improved. Mentioned how good of a player Haney is and how he regularly pulls up and drains threes with use 3-4 feet behind the arc at practice. we should expect to see an up tempo, havoc type defense and much improved offense next year.
On next year's preseason schedule: mentioned we will play Colorado St away and SE Missouri State (from prev coaches regime) away. Mentioned could not get stanford to play us again and I thought it was interesting that we will not be in any pre season tournaments. said we tried to get into a few but didnt work out. He said there is an art to scheduling, has to be a good balance of tough teams and teams we can beat.
On evan payne - as mentioned above his offensive scheme is to move the ball up the floor quick and lots of ball movement by passing a lot. Said Evan simpdly did not want to pass the ball enough and that's why he was pushed out of the program. Said players did not like playing with him (not sure how true this is) to his credit he stressed that Evan is a great person and ball player just not a fit for his system and could not adapt.
Talked about the need for better facilities is important to stay competitive with other schools. Wants a 10-15 million dollar renovation of Gersten.
Talked about how he is at LMU for the long haul. does not want to or plan to go anywhere else if successfull at LMU
Overall I was impressed by what he had to say and about next season. i realy think we will see a much improved product on the floor and take another step forward in building up a successful program. I just hope as we continue to be more successful we will get more $upport from the administration and from outside donors.
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Post by craft on May 13, 2015 19:21:50 GMT -5
Wow, much appreciated for the info. Definitely encouraging.
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Post by LIONS90045 on May 13, 2015 19:25:08 GMT -5
Thank you golions for your very informative report and thanks for raising issues with the coach Seems Vernon may indeed be on scholarship unless Dunlap is saving scholarships for next year recruits? We're all hoping Dunlap succeeds and the program advances in a more sustainable fashion
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Post by thx4leavinjimlynam on May 13, 2015 19:56:03 GMT -5
Fantastic report. Really appreciate you taking the time to put his thoughts together and post them for us.
Thrilled to hear we will be playing at a faster tempo.
We need some success early in the season this upcoming year, so for this one year I would be okay with an easier preseason slate.
I still do not think Vernon is on scholarship, and we played last year with 12 scholarship players since Haney was redshirting. With Dunlap having made multiple journeys to Australia and New Zealand, it sounds like we could expect top-flight talent sooner rather than later. I would rather keep an extra scholarship for the future for a higher level player than just give one away at this point.
Sounds like Haney, Brown, and Johnson should make major impacts. I think Humphries will be even better with a more talented core around him. I still think he could register the first triple-double in school history!
Really appreciate the report golions! The season is only six months away!
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Post by slblions08 on May 14, 2015 10:58:51 GMT -5
Realistic Notes...
Saying that he doesn't really want transfers for the future, but this year he's going all-in on transfers. That's a strange message to send to your players this year when you're literally relying on like 5 transfers. Sounds like he's already panicking trying to make sure the team doesn't finish last two years in a row.
Disappointed that we won't play any tournaments but when you're that bad you lose your cache. Hopefully they schedule some cupcakes and win some games.
Dunlap going to Australia is predictable, but what is he inventing that's new? Two of our better players since 2000 have been Aussies, Matty Knight and Damian Martin. He's going to have to recruit hard to get players even at the level of those two former Lions. St. Mary's has established the premier recruiting base, and Portland right now is also landing kids. That's fine if he wants to go to Australia. Go for it. But don't complain that LMU's past is a joke when you're doing the same thing.
On the positive side, I hope Johnson is as good as coach thinks he is. I wonder if he's a "stacy davis-stopper". If he's as nimble as his scouting reports suggest, he might be there as a big guy to play defense and bother the opponents into mucking up the game. He'll be good enough for about 7 teams in the league.
As for Herman, disappointing that coach projects him to be an impact player by junior year. Herman was a freshman, but he's like 21 years old, the age of a Junior. If he isn't good enough for the WCC until he's 23, that suggests he isn't the talent that Dunlap thought he was.
I hope Haney and Tuach are ready to play defense on the perimeter because giving up 3s has been a problem for this team for a decade. With a small center (short) then we'll be even more exposed to jump shooting. Teams that can spread the floor (the modern game) will continue to kill us if we don't make adjustments.
I hope Haney is the shooter everyone says he is. We haven't had one since Wes Wardrop. I get the feeling that our starting line-up will be
PG Brown SG Tuach SF Haney PF Mornar C Johnson. There's potential for balance in the backcourt and the wings. Hopefully Mornar can stay more consistent.
Coach didn't mention Jacko or Tutu?
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Post by golions1444 on May 14, 2015 11:12:09 GMT -5
He did mention that Jacko is a superb athlete, but also that he did not play last year so it might take him some time this year to hit his stride.
He briefly mentioned Tutu, just that we got a great point guard from Canada
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Post by golions1444 on May 14, 2015 13:34:54 GMT -5
Realistic Notes... Saying that he doesn't really want transfers for the future, but this year he's going all-in on transfers. That's a strange message to send to your players this year when you're literally relying on like 5 transfers. Sounds like he's already panicking trying to make sure the team doesn't finish last two years in a row. Disappointed that we won't play any tournaments but when you're that bad you lose your cache. Hopefully they schedule some cupcakes and win some games. Dunlap going to Australia is predictable, but what is he inventing that's new? Two of our better players since 2000 have been Aussies, Matty Knight and Damian Martin. He's going to have to recruit hard to get players even at the level of those two former Lions. St. Mary's has established the premier recruiting base, and Portland right now is also landing kids. That's fine if he wants to go to Australia. Go for it. But don't complain that LMU's past is a joke when you're doing the same thing. On the positive side, I hope Johnson is as good as coach thinks he is. I wonder if he's a "stacy davis-stopper". If he's as nimble as his scouting reports suggest, he might be there as a big guy to play defense and bother the opponents into mucking up the game. He'll be good enough for about 7 teams in the league. As for Herman, disappointing that coach projects him to be an impact player by junior year. Herman was a freshman, but he's like 21 years old, the age of a Junior. If he isn't good enough for the WCC until he's 23, that suggests he isn't the talent that Dunlap thought he was. I hope Haney and Tuach are ready to play defense on the perimeter because giving up 3s has been a problem for this team for a decade. With a small center (short) then we'll be even more exposed to jump shooting. Teams that can spread the floor (the modern game) will continue to kill us if we don't make adjustments. I hope Haney is the shooter everyone says he is. We haven't had one since Wes Wardrop. I get the feeling that our starting line-up will be PG Brown SG Tuach SF Haney PF Mornar C Johnson. There's potential for balance in the backcourt and the wings. Hopefully Mornar can stay more consistent. Coach didn't mention Jacko or Tutu? Just to a couple notes on your comments: He did not really say he does not want transfers going forward. He just said he prefers to get younger players out of high school, i think so he has more time to develop them. He was more saying he doesnt see getting JC transfers as a main strategy going forward like this year. Why there were so many this year, I cannot say. But i'm sure we will still have 1-2 in the mix in the years going forward. Also, he mentioned Herman to be a top WCC big man by his junior year. Last year he was basically nothing, so that would mean a significant improvement this year, i 'll take that. said Herman lost all of his confidence last year. OUr much improved quickness should help a lot with closing out on 3 pt shooters, last year we just could not rotate back quick enough
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Post by TexasCat on Oct 5, 2015 12:10:12 GMT -5
An expectations for 2015/16 question among a few other things discussed. Stay until the end for LMU topics.
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Post by LIONS90045 on Oct 6, 2015 20:24:48 GMT -5
Interesting interview Dunlap is clearly a heady coach stressing "smart" play (as I interpret his comments) over instincts. Let's hope this works for our LMU team I believe this group will take the court in great physical condition and am hoping they can play the aggressive style Dunlap says he likes Go Lions!
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