Pumpkinhead said:

---

Leonard H. Stringfield said:

---

Pumpkinhead said:

---

Leonard H. Stringfield said:

---

Method Man said:

---

Leonard H. Stringfield said:

---

Is the class indicative of a program aspiring to win championships?

---

Absolutely reasonable question. Why isn't a school with very few big donors and relatively few fans that care about the sport striving for championships!?!

---

How does the ath dept navigate this when the clear goal is to win championships? What is the plan?

---

It seems likely that we will make the NCAAT for a third straight season next year.

Is making the NCAA Tournament every year now considered a failed program state by some fans here?

---

The stated goals of the athletic dept is the win championships. I'd like to see that.

---

That is the stated goal of every AD in the country.

If you are hired as AD, what concrete steps will you take to get us to Final Four in next few years? You'll immediately divert football NIL to basketball against those donors wishes to build a $10 million roster?

---

I'm not sure. I would consider a change in coaching perhaps. One that can recruit.

Leonard H. Stringfield said:

---

Pumpkinhead said:

---

Leonard H. Stringfield said:

---

Pumpkinhead said:

---

Leonard H. Stringfield said:

---

Method Man said:

---

Leonard H. Stringfield said:

---

Is the class indicative of a program aspiring to win championships?

---

Absolutely reasonable question. Why isn't a school with very few big donors and relatively few fans that care about the sport striving for championships!?!

---

How does the ath dept navigate this when the clear goal is to win championships? What is the plan?

---

It seems likely that we will make the NCAAT for a third straight season next year.

Is making the NCAA Tournament every year now considered a failed program state by some fans here?

---

The stated goals of the athletic dept is the win championships. I'd like to see that.

---

That is the stated goal of every AD in the country.

If you are hired as AD, what concrete steps will you take to get us to Final Four in next few years? You'll immediately divert football NIL to basketball against those donors wishes to build a $10 million roster?

---

I'm not sure. I would consider a change in coaching perhaps. One that can recruit.

---

Lmao at thinking that the coach has more than a negligible effect on recruiting in the current climate

AggieCrew44 said:

---

Leonard H. Stringfield said:

---

Pumpkinhead said:

---

Leonard H. Stringfield said:

---

Pumpkinhead said:

---

Leonard H. Stringfield said:

---

Method Man said:

---

Leonard H. Stringfield said:

---

Is the class indicative of a program aspiring to win championships?

---

Absolutely reasonable question. Why isn't a school with very few big donors and relatively few fans that care about the sport striving for championships!?!

---

How does the ath dept navigate this when the clear goal is to win championships? What is the plan?

---

It seems likely that we will make the NCAAT for a third straight season next year.

Is making the NCAA Tournament every year now considered a failed program state by some fans here?

---

The stated goals of the athletic dept is the win championships. I'd like to see that.

---

That is the stated goal of every AD in the country.

If you are hired as AD, what concrete steps will you take to get us to Final Four in next few years? You'll immediately divert football NIL to basketball against those donors wishes to build a $10 million roster?

---

I'm not sure. I would consider a change in coaching perhaps. One that can recruit.

---

Lmao at thinking that the coach has more than a negligible effect on recruiting in the current climate

---

Not giggling here..

Leonard H. Stringfield said:

---

AggieCrew44 said:

---

Leonard H. Stringfield said:

---

Pumpkinhead said:

---

Leonard H. Stringfield said:

---

Pumpkinhead said:

---

Leonard H. Stringfield said:

---

Method Man said:

---

Leonard H. Stringfield said:

---

Is the class indicative of a program aspiring to win championships?

---

Absolutely reasonable question. Why isn't a school with very few big donors and relatively few fans that care about the sport striving for championships!?!

---

How does the ath dept navigate this when the clear goal is to win championships? What is the plan?

---

It seems likely that we will make the NCAAT for a third straight season next year.

Is making the NCAA Tournament every year now considered a failed program state by some fans here?

---

The stated goals of the athletic dept is the win championships. I'd like to see that.

---

That is the stated goal of every AD in the country.

If you are hired as AD, what concrete steps will you take to get us to Final Four in next few years? You'll immediately divert football NIL to basketball against those donors wishes to build a $10 million roster?

---

I'm not sure. I would consider a change in coaching perhaps. One that can recruit.

---

Lmao at thinking that the coach has more than a negligible effect on recruiting in the current climate

---

Not giggling here..

---

Exactly trolls don't laugh

Add him to the ignore list and move on. He's a troll based on posting history.

And if by some odd chance you aren't trolling and are just ignorant of today's landscape of college athletics, go do some research. It's not about money whipping a coach anymore, that's not enough.

AggieCrew44 said:

---

Leonard H. Stringfield said:

---

AggieCrew44 said:

---

Leonard H. Stringfield said:

---

Pumpkinhead said:

---

Leonard H. Stringfield said:

---

Pumpkinhead said:

---

Leonard H. Stringfield said:

---

Method Man said:

---

Leonard H. Stringfield said:

---

Is the class indicative of a program aspiring to win championships?

---

Absolutely reasonable question. Why isn't a school with very few big donors and relatively few fans that care about the sport striving for championships!?!

---

How does the ath dept navigate this when the clear goal is to win championships? What is the plan?

---

It seems likely that we will make the NCAAT for a third straight season next year.

Is making the NCAA Tournament every year now considered a failed program state by some fans here?

---

The stated goals of the athletic dept is the win championships. I'd like to see that.

---

That is the stated goal of every AD in the country.

If you are hired as AD, what concrete steps will you take to get us to Final Four in next few years? You'll immediately divert football NIL to basketball against those donors wishes to build a $10 million roster?

---

I'm not sure. I would consider a change in coaching perhaps. One that can recruit.

---

Lmao at thinking that the coach has more than a negligible effect on recruiting in the current climate

---

Not giggling here..

---

Exactly trolls don't laugh

---

No trolling here either...for adult conversation perhaps?

I do think coaches still make a big difference.

A discussion here would merit that you actually have a formidable thought in mind that has us acquiring a better coach than Buzz at the moment. I get it, you like him, but you don't think he can take us to the promised land.

You cite that we have better resources to acquire in state talent which is lacking.

You keep linking Jai Lucas like you have a love affair for the guy as well as Coach Sampson.

Yet, in none of these posts, do you suggest anything other than a blurb that Buzz is not the right coach for us.

So, are you going to actually engage or are you just trolling us?

bobinator said:

---

I do think coaches still make a big difference.

---

They matter if you have championships on your resume, which is a coach we can't obtain unless we go bargain shopping again and hope we hit a home run like Bama did

Regardless, Buzz is in great shape to make the tourney for the 3rd straight season. No non-blue blood is firing their coach after that. Not one

I think it's more than just that though. Style of play still matters, are they putting guys in the league, is that team poised to be any good, relationships still matter, etc., etc.

I mean yeah. If you are putting guys in the league you are likely playing for trophies

The relationship thing should be a plus for buzz. It's evident these guys love him as a coach. Not a single contributor transferred and really only one major contributor has left the program while he has been here which was Emmanuel Miller

I'm not saying money is the end all be all, but it definitely matters for the top recruits. Despite all of those "problems recruiting" our roster is plenty talented to be really good next season

AggieCrew44 said:

---

I mean yeah. If you are putting guys in the league you are likely playing for trophies

The relationship thing should be a plus for buzz. It's evident these guys love him as a coach. Not a single contributor transferred and really only one major contributor has left the program while he has been here which was Emmanuel Miller

I'm not saying money is the end all be all, but it definitely matters for the top recruits. Despite all of those "problems recruiting" our roster is plenty talented to be really good next season

---

Yes I think the NIL definitely changes the college basketball landscape especially if players are allowed to enter transfer portal and sign with another team offering more NIL dollars. Of course at the end of the day, the coaching still matters in developing players and being a good X's and O's guy to win ballgames. So, naturally, I wonder how much does NIL affect basketball programs in general?

While I think Coach Cal is a good coach, having 5 star players hasn't really panned out for him and I guessing it's due to lack of experience. Teams that do well in the tournament are typically teams that have upperclassmen in the lineups and have played together for a couple of years.

But I think that coaching continuity also matters; having a good coach that can consistently make tournament appearances will eventually get a really good recruit or transfer at some point. And of course there's also lightning in a bottle that some teams catch in making it to a Final Four.

ok, ok... back to the OP.

I think Payne is a huge upgrade over Leveque and might be a better addition to the team than Marble. Or at least I hope that he can be a better polished player but similarly athletic like Robert Williams.

It will be difficult to replace Boots; the team will definitely miss Boots in the lineup in some way so the player that will try to fill in for him is Phelps. I think he has some tools that will work with this team, but he'll need to have that "dawg" factor in pulling offensive rebounds out of thin air like Boots could. I've said before that I like Phelps body control and I like his ability to get to the cup, but he'll need to convert free throws at a high clip and be ready to play Buzz defense without letting it affect his offensive game.

Wilcher, I see getting Heffner's spot minutes and maybe even more. With Wade/Phelps/Manny going to the cup all the time, they're going to make teams crowd the paint and force us to make 3's <-- this is where a player like Wilcher can flourish. Wilcher can be the kind of player that we've been wanting on our team.

I'm even keel with this portal class, but... but.... but.... I had forgotten about Andre Mills and I think he might push for minutes too. We have pieces, probably a bit more than last year at this time so that is something worth getting excited for.

"and be ready to play Buzz defense without letting it affect his offensive game."

Did Boots play Buzz defense?

Quote:

---

I'm not saying money is the end all be all, but it definitely matters for the top recruits. Despite all of those "problems recruiting" our roster is plenty talented to be really good next season

---

Yeah, we can agree on this, but that's a long way from:

Quote:

---

Lmao at thinking the coach has more than a negligible effect on recruiting in the current climate

---

Money has been a factor for the top recruits for a long time. All NIL did was make it so more guys get paid and it's now easier to negotiate in the open than it used to me. But everything else still matters too.

But yeah, this is going to be a good roster.

My general opinion, without any insider access, is that financially we're probably competitive with the schools we've always been competitive with and behind the schools we've always been behind. We aren't as broke as some people make it seem or we wouldn't be landing some of the guys we're landing, but we're also obviously not out there just buying up an elite roster.

But I think people need to be more excited about next year's team. This roster is going to be up there with some of our best. Maybe not as talented at the top end other than Wade, but should be a lot deeper than some others we've had. I imagine we're probably going to start the season ranked.

I'm not even certain Wade ends up being the best player on this roster. I could see that being Washington if his trajectory holds.

He's already the best defender with the most athletic upside.

Offensively, yes. He has to make huge strides to get close to the impact level of Taylor.

However, if his offensive game makes another leap forward comparable to his improvement year-over-year last year, he may become our second or third best offensive player. That coupled with his defensive and rebounding capabilities could make him the best all-around player. Maybe just as importantly, he has to learn to stay in games and avoid mental lapses that result in multiple fouls in a span of minutes.

Most likely, Taylor is our key player next year, but it does need to be acknowledged that he is a major liability defensively and the last third of last season revealed that his size is a limiting factor in penetration when the officials start allowing the games to be more physical as they typically do come tourney time.

Once Manny and Boots proved to be our most effective penetrators, Wade became largely a spot up shooter.

bobinator said:

---

"Largely a spot up shooter" that averaged 26 points and 4 assists per game in our last five games. He was still, by a lot, our best passer. But agree that if someone else can penetrate into the defense that he's more valuable as a shooter.

His defense is mediocre to bad, there's no debating that. But at least next year we won't have two bad defenders on the court together. Him and Boots out there together was tough to scheme around.

But he's still going to be our best player next year, by a lot. Maybe we'll actually have enough talent around him that he can just do the things he's really good at and be a more efficient player.

It's wild though, he's one of the best players in the country and one of the best in school history and it's like a lot of our own fans don't realize it.

---

Make an equivalent of 'The Shot' play against the Horns next season and then he'll be as beloved as Acie Law.

At this point that is really a main difference between him and Acie. Its the overall story arc and the memorable moment. Law played on an 0-16 team to making 'The Shot' to that great 06-07 team to becoming an NBA lottery pick. IMO Taylor at this point is a near equal to Law as an impact college player, but just doesn't have the above yet.

Now, if Taylor for example could lead A&M to at least a Sweet Sixteen next year, and certainly if he got us to an Elite Eight or beyond, then I think his recognition next to Law would get a lot more cemented.

Law hit the game winning shot against KU on the road when they had an insane home winning streak.

Most of Taylor's clutch shots in games we actually won have been free throws which definitely aren't as sexy.

Maybe he'll have some moments next season.

So how is this gonna work? 9 players return. Adding 6. So some sort of PWO/NIL deal for two?

Regardless we seem to be getting better at playing the roster game.

Only 8 of those guys are on basketball scholarships.
2 incoming freshman on basketball scholarships
3 incoming transfers on basketball scholarships.

So McDermott and Lee not on scholarship. Was Dockery a scholarship player this year?