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Post by longtimelionfan on Oct 17, 2017 16:59:11 GMT -5
Well said, lmu2015.
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Post by ironlion on Oct 17, 2017 18:02:55 GMT -5
I don't think we will ever be competing with Gonzaga and St. Mary's with Dunlap as head coach. By year four a coach should have built a solid foundation. Instead it is another reboot with a large portion of unproven freshman and juco players. Roster management under Dunlap has been very poor among many other things. Well at least Husak gave him a contract extension.
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Post by irelandnepal187 on Oct 18, 2017 1:36:25 GMT -5
First of all, let's be honest about Gonzaga. Outside of 10 or 20 programs, no one's competing with them. Again, I'm certainly not sold on Dunlap, but it's useless to ignore the hard truths of LMU's basketball program. Dunlap's teams have gotten better. This is Westchester, not Lexington. Last year's squad, Dunlap's third season, was only the 4th LMU team in the last 25 years to not have a losing record. Iron, you mention foundation? I respect your love for Coach Good. He recruited exciting players and had a couple really good teams. But at the end of the day, never built a solid foundation. In his six years, he lost more than 70 percent of his WCC contests. Doesn't matter who the AD is, that just ain't enough, anywhere. Dunlap has at least built a foundation perhaps? A deep, athletic, pressing squad. You have to consider LMU's place in the wold. Our budget, our facilities. We're honestly never going to out-recruit. Even trying would inevitably result in some sort of unnecessary embarrassment for the school. That involves playing in an obviously deep dark nefarious world. I'd argue that Dunlap has actually at least shown a clear proficiency in terms of evaluating Junior College talent. Jocko, Brown, Tuach. Leads me to be intrigued to see what Batemon and Allen do. The guy was extended. You know as well as I do that the chances that Loyola would eat more than 7 dollars is less than zero.
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Post by ironlion on Nov 6, 2017 19:36:44 GMT -5
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Post by LIONS90045 on Nov 6, 2017 21:25:43 GMT -5
Would be a good catch - thanks
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Post by LIONS90045 on Nov 6, 2017 21:31:21 GMT -5
From the Denver Post April 2016
Antun Maricevic, a Croatian sensation, drawing hoops scouts to Longmont Christian
LONGMONT — Antun Maricevic is not a sheepherder. His family may own sheep in a small, sheepherding village in Croatia. And on occasion he may have herded those sheep. But that does not qualify him as a sheepherder. Maricevic is a basketball player — a hoops apprentice.
“When my mom and dad married, they had so much land. So my grandma and grandpa, they buy sheep. They had so much land, why not?” Maricevic said. “When you celebrate something, you just have food. We never make some business.”
Maricevic’s business is basketball. He traveled across continents for his shot at a gym life — a 21st-century American dream to play basketball at a high level. He was 14 years old when he moved away from his family to join a basketball academy in Zagreb, Croatia. He was 18 when he moved to America.
And in the seven short months that he has been corralled in Colorado, playing for Class 1A Longmont Christian, Maricevic has blossomed in the Front Range prep ranks.
“If I stay in Croatia, I don’t know if I have chance to be basketball player,” Maricevic said. “This is my only choice. I need try. Why move here? It’s more opportunity. It gives me chance to make something of my life.”
Maricevic is a 6-foot-9 next-gen Dirk Nowitzki who can shoot the 3-pointer and handle the ball like a guard, or at least hopes to. On a whim he moved to Longmont because it reminded him of home, a village named Srednji Lipovac with a population of 302, near the Pozega road on the way to the Bosnia and Herzegovina border.
Now he is averaging 33.8 points and 18.4 rebounds per game, dominating small-school opponents. Every once in a while, some kid will shred the lower classes in Colorado. But usually he is the most athletic kid in the classification, often a football player staying in shape during the winter.
But Maricevic may be hoops legit. He is ripped, already strong enough to handle a college-level low post, and he has hands like Olajuwon. College scouts suddenly are flocking to Longmont Christian games.
“They’re starting to catch on. Every day, there’s more and more,” said Longmont Christian coach Myron Huey. “I feel like I have to protect him as much as possible.”
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Post by irelandnepal187 on Nov 13, 2017 6:09:21 GMT -5
"James Batemon is not" "Joe Quintana is definitely not" nbdlion22 - Don't quit your day job just yet.
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Post by TexasCat on Nov 13, 2017 9:23:31 GMT -5
I would caution going from guardrail to guardrail on this team. They looked good on Saturday - they looked like ballers. They are still a bit undersized and they probably had the advantage of prepping for UTA for as long as they wanted this summer. It was exciting basketball with shots going in from different angles and players - most of which I could not recognize by face or number...not sure if that has ever happened. There will be tough days ahead but looking forward to the progression - hopefully we can maintain the group intact so that there is progression to enjoy. I did not see Gipson play - did I miss him or is he injured...Coaches decision? When is Haney scheduled to return?
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Post by nbdlion22 on Nov 13, 2017 13:31:50 GMT -5
"James Batemon is not" "Joe Quintana is definitely not" nbdlion22 - Don't quit your day job just yet. haha thanks for calling me out. I was honestly REALLY impressed with both of those guys. Looked like different players from when they first joined the team. I stand corrected,
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Post by LIONS90045 on Nov 13, 2017 14:16:54 GMT -5
Dunlap must be a better coach than some have posited - quite an improvement in a small amount of time I admit, Quintana did not look ready to me either in the Vanguard game
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Post by lmu2015 on Nov 13, 2017 17:38:18 GMT -5
nbdlion22: you have not been proven wrong yet, and people (like myself) who were very optimistic about this class have not been proven right either. It is still only one game, and while Quintana showed some unexpected athleticism when getting to the rim and finishing, Zafir looked like someone with decent touch on his shot who could be someone who can get 7 points, 5 boards per night, Scott looked like someone who could be on the WCC All Freshman team, and Batemon as someone who could potentially be an All WCC 2nd team or honorable mention, it was still only one game. Play like this every night and finish the season with a .500 or better record and then we can be impressed. A quick reminder that this isn't the first time under CMD we have had a very impressive losing effort early in the season (Boise state, UT Arlington, Uconn for last year (and a win @csu last year with Brandon Brown's game winner; Colorado State and Boise state two years ago). Although Saturday's performance was very promising and definitely got me way more excited about the season than I was before the game, it is still important to temper our expectations and remember, it is only one game.
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Post by nbdlion22 on Nov 13, 2017 18:37:27 GMT -5
nbdlion22: you have not been proven wrong yet, and people (like myself) who were very optimistic about this class have not been proven right either. It is still only one game, and while Quintana showed some unexpected athleticism when getting to the rim and finishing, Zafir looked like someone with decent touch on his shot who could be someone who can get 7 points, 5 boards per night, Scott looked like someone who could be on the WCC All Freshman team, and Batemon as someone who could potentially be an All WCC 2nd team or honorable mention, it was still only one game. Play like this every night and finish the season with a .500 or better record and then we can be impressed. A quick reminder that this isn't the first time under CMD we have had a very impressive losing effort early in the season (Boise state, UT Arlington, Uconn for last year (and a win @csu last year with Brandon Brown's game winner; Colorado State and Boise state two years ago). Although Saturday's performance was very promising and definitely got me way more excited about the season than I was before the game, it is still important to temper our expectations and remember, it is only one game. true. I was however really impressed because the way Quintana moved was surprisingly quick and very athletic. Batemon doesn't have the same level of effortless quickness as Quintana does but definitely has more experience, body awareness, and a high level confidence. I'm concerned that we didn't see Gipson play. Hope everything is okay.
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Post by irelandnepal187 on Nov 15, 2017 2:49:09 GMT -5
Do you know how many times a true freshman has played a first game of at least 36 minutes and turned over the ball zero times? 3 times, in NCAA history. World B. Free, Jamie McMullin and Joe Quintana. Doing that ain't no joke.
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Post by vadlion on Nov 15, 2017 10:14:50 GMT -5
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Post by TexasCat on Nov 15, 2017 10:20:06 GMT -5
Is this when Dunlap begins to overthink things? Player like Batemon does well and begins to think - I'm going to get the ball, get minutes, my team, etc. Dunlap decides to make a point about who is boss and goes exactly the opposite way causing confusion. The team struggles through games as they try to figure out on-court leadership - the player mopes, tries his best and ultimately transfers out and the perpetual team rebuild continues.
Rant over. Hope it's different this time. They looked good on Saturday. Already bought tickets to Incarnate Word game in San Antonio next week.
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