'79 -- I agree that there is now a plan in place for our team to be better next season. However, I'm wondering why Sydney didn't realize during his first or second year that Needham, Wade, and Nickerson would all graduate during the same season so he would need to bring in two quality guards to continue the level of success that Cooley and his players had brought to the program. Sydney's solution to that situation (his "plan") was to bring in Jenkins and Grennan. It's difficult to argue that SJ's plan for the guard position worked out well for us. Some like to point out that a juco 2G who can score a lot will improve us tremendously, but what if this juco's defense is awful.
For those who claim a guard as talented as Needham is the reason we were successful in the recent past, I'd like to mention that we were 17-15 overall and 9-9 in the MAAC in the season before Needham enrolled. Cooley had improved our won-loss record in each of his first three seasons. That 17-15 record occurred in the season Han abruptly left the team and we had Memphis, Virginia Tech, and Missouri on our schedule.
I'd love for the incoming players to be the perfect match for our needs and for us to return to the top tier of the MAAC next season. But having seen the results of Sydney's plans during his first two seasons; it's difficult for me to get extremely enthusiastic at this point about the '14-'15 season.
76, no one in his right mind would argue that his plan for the guard position worked out well. And if the JUCO is awful, if Nelson isn't physical enough for college ball, if Segura is not the end all be all PG we need, etc. etc., then yes indeed he will have failed. BTW I'm sure he thought he had the right solution when he brought in Jenkins and Grennan (and Davis). Fact is he didn't. My only point (I'm sure shared by 79 here) is that he is trying to correct the problem, and although some might not think so the fact is he does have a track record of success from the past. Am I extremely enthusiastic for next season? Not right now. I would describe my own feeling as being cautiously optimistic. We'll see what happens. Oh BTW, concerning Needham, yes Cooley had the program in the right direction before he came in. Yet the fact is Derek was the perfect guy to come in and take the reigns at that time. If Ed had been wrong (sort of like Sydney this past year with the above mentioned guards) there would have been a huge problem. But he at least deserves the one chance to turn things around IMO.
76 -- I agree with you. I have no doubt we will be somewhat better, but my underlying concern is that, whomever we start, I will still sense that another coach could do better with the same players.
If there is a way to lose a game or upset the confidence of a player, I am sure Sydney will find it. That is all I know from this guy.
He (and the other coaches too!) have a long way to go to redeem themselves in my book. We have not coached as well, recruited as well, or developed our players as well as we should have. And yes, I do feel we lack that instinct, physicality, bravado, that often characterizes good teams. Some call it playing soft or unaggressive...whatever, but change has to be instilled by the coach.
I think Sydney has learned that his usual recruiting targets, while quite fine for the Ivies, just don't cut it in the MAAC. He has to raise his sights a lot.
Well the beauty of basketball, unlike other sports such as baseball or football, is that sometimes one or two of the right players can make a huge difference in the fortunes of a team. Yes folks, I know, I know, the guard situation this past season has been a mess. But does that mean Sydney Johnson, a man who has proven to be very successful in many areas of the sport both as a player and a coach, all of a sudden has no idea how to put together a winning operation? My guess is he will get a high scoring JUCO. My guess is Tyler Nelson will also be a much better fit for this team than most of the players that were manning the backcourt for the Stags this past year. If the above doesn't come true and there isn't improvement then there will be consequences (and there absolutely should be), but to completely discount any possibility of success based upon one cycle of recruiting is folly IMO. You only have to look back to the huge difference that Derek Needham meant to this program when #3 became an important cog from day one of his career. Without his success maybe Cooley would not be where his is today, right? Just saying!
Needham was certainly a good example of getting a guard when you needed one. But the more relevent example was Terrance Todd
The year before Todd arrived, we had Zero returning guards. Our only true guards were Frosh.....Goode and Kudjo. We were 6-15 with a frontcourt of 5 eventual All MAAC players (Ajou, Gai, Spann, Robbie Thomson and Oscar Garcia). We finished at 11-17, but disapointing because we did not have any All-MAAC guards, or experienced guards . Sound Familiar.
Todd arrives and we go 19-12, go to the MAAC Championship game, and get an NIT invite. It was not all Todd, but he had the luxury of starting his career playing along side 2 experienced guards in Goode and Kudjo. But Todd was a Go-to-Guy, and he won a lot of close games for us. I see a similar situation next year, where Segura and Nelson are being added to experienced players like KJ and the JUCO.
JoeStag - Since you're now listing this juco as an experienced player alongside KJ, I'd like to ask you the following:1. Did this juco play on a team whose offensive sets were 100% identical to Fairfield's? 2. Are the junior college games refereed in exactly the same manner as D1 basketball is? 3. Did this juco play on a team with two centers who constantly got into early foul trouble and therefore this juco guard became a lockdown defender because he realized there was limited help available on the interior should he get beaten on a drive?
First, I want to see the announcement of who this juco guard is. Then you might want to consider changing your closing sentence to Segura, Nelson, and our juco guard will hopefully benefit from learning from our experienced guard KJ. This juco will be as new to the school and his teammates as Nelson and Segura will be. Yes, he'll have juco experience but I'm guessing there'll be enough subtle differences between junior college ball and D1 ball that the juco will also be dealing with his own adjustment issues.
I also notice that you did not mention Grennan as one of our experienced guards for next season. Does that mean you're not expecting him to be back -- or -- that you believe this (so far) unnamed juco guard has better college basketball experience to impart to Nelson and Segura than Grennan has.
JoeStag - Since you're now listing this juco as an experienced player alongside KJ, I'd like to ask you the following:1. Did this juco play on a team whose offensive schemes were 100% identical to Fairfield's? 2. Are the junior college games refereed in exactly the same manner as D1 basketball is? 3. Did this juco play on a team with two centers who constantly got into early foul trouble and therefore this juco guard became a lockdown defender because he realized there was limited help available on the interior should he get beaten on a drive?
First, I want to see the announcement of who this juco guard is. Then you might want to consider changing your closing sentence to Segura, Nelson, and our juco guard will hopefully benefit from learning from our experienced guard KJ. This juco will be as new to the school and his teammates as Nelson and Segura will be. Yes, he'll have juco experience but I'm guessing there'll be enough subtle differences between junior college ball and D1 ball that the juco will also be dealing with his own adjustment issues.
I also notice that you did not mention Grennan as one of our experienced guards for next season. Does that mean you're not expecting him to be back -- or -- that you believe this (so far) unnamed juco guard has better D1 & Fairfield experience to convey to Nelson and Segura than Grennan has.
I would consider a JUCO guard to be experienced..... someone who has played a ton of minutes, scored a ton of points, and hit a lot of big shots in the last 2 years. Someone who comes in with the attitude as a Go-to-guy. And he did it in the last 2 years. There will be some adjustment issues and subtle differences coming to Division I...... like defense
I do not think a JUCO has to worry about being rusty because of not playing competitive Hoops in 2-3 years. I don't expect him to have a "deer in the headlight" look. I don't expect that he would have ballhanding issues. I don't expect him to have a negative assist to turnover ratio. And I don't expect him to have issues of living away from home for the first time.
I do not know any update about the Grennan situation.
Last Edit: Apr 17, 2014 17:04:29 GMT -5 by JoeStag
So how many wins does FU need next year to quantify as a success and keep Sydney's job? 12? 15? More?
Claver -- darn good question. I would guess where we end up in the MAAC will be more important than our overall total wins. I think the most important criterion will be -- Is there a sense that we are heading back (or already in) the top tier in the MAAC. Will the program once again have the feel it had at the conclusion of Needham's freshman year? That we're a good team that is only going to get better in the upcoming years.
It wouldn't hurt for Sydney to put together a significant win streak during the 2nd half of the MAAC schedule next year so there'll be additional reasons for optimism about the future of Fairfield men's basketball.
Anything less than .500, he has to go. Even .500 stinks in my book. We are talking about the MAAC, not the A10. They better show fire and aggressiveness or this thing is going to need an immediate change in regime. No more bland, boring, uninspired basketball can be tolerated...
Last Edit: Apr 17, 2014 17:20:00 GMT -5 by tmaac71
76, I agree with you. It is not the absolute number of wins next year that I am most interested in. I want to see improvement and feel good the program is on the upswing ,as it was during the Cooley tenure. I remember clearly at a very early meeting with Ed Cooley, after he was named to be the stags head coach, someone asked him if the FFld. head coaching job was a good opportunity? Of course before he arrived at FFLd. the stags program was known as the "hospice" for college coaches. Big Ed answered "a good coaching job is when resources provided match expectations". FFld. spending on mens basketball is the upper tier of MAAC schools. The expectation I have and i suggest everyone has is we should be a very competitive team , always finishing in the upper tier of the MAAC schools. The resources are in place, the coach needs to keep the program direction on an upswing or move him aside and find someone else who can get it done with the resources provided.
JoeStag - Since you're now listing this juco as an experienced player alongside KJ, I'd like to ask you the following:1. Did this juco play on a team whose offensive schemes were 100% identical to Fairfield's? 2. Are the junior college games refereed in exactly the same manner as D1 basketball is? 3. Did this juco play on a team with two centers who constantly got into early foul trouble and therefore this juco guard became a lockdown defender because he realized there was limited help available on the interior should he get beaten on a drive?
First, I want to see the announcement of who this juco guard is. Then you might want to consider changing your closing sentence to Segura, Nelson, and our juco guard will hopefully benefit from learning from our experienced guard KJ. This juco will be as new to the school and his teammates as Nelson and Segura will be. Yes, he'll have juco experience but I'm guessing there'll be enough subtle differences between junior college ball and D1 ball that the juco will also be dealing with his own adjustment issues.
I also notice that you did not mention Grennan as one of our experienced guards for next season. Does that mean you're not expecting him to be back -- or -- that you believe this (so far) unnamed juco guard has better D1 & Fairfield experience to convey to Nelson and Segura than Grennan has.
I would consider a JUCO guard to be experienced..... someone who has played a ton of minutes, scored a ton of points, and hit a lot of big shots in the last 2 years. Someone who comes in with the attitude as a Go-to-guy. And he did it in the last 2 years. There will be some adjustment issues and subtle differences coming to Division I...... like defense
I do not think a JUCO has to worry about being rusty because of not playing competitive Hoops in 2-3 years. I don't expect him to have a "deer in the headlight" look. I don't expect that he would have ballhanding issues. I don't expect him to have a negative assist to turnover ratio. And I don't expect him to have issues of living away from home for the first time.
The kind of profile you describe sounds like Dan Galvanoni. And this example makes the point that even JUCO's come with issues. Dan was a solid player but I don't think Dan gave us everything we needed or as much of a boost as the prognosticators expected. So I question if we will really get a JUCO of the quality to give us everything we need. Getting a JUCO is one thing, getting the right one is another. Its competitive to try and get difference makers at this level and why Fairfield? My experience is those kids always seem to end up at schools like Iona.
Sounds more like Kim Fisher to me, who filled an immediate role next to Desantis. The purpose of getting a Juco is to get someone with immediate impact and experience at the College level . Will they always work out? No. But, Iona is not the only school that uses JUCO's, many schools do..... to fill specific needs and roles.
Our Immmdiate need is a 2G that can Score. There are a lot of scorers at the JUCO level. We should have got a JUCO for last year.
Jerome “Rome” Segura | 5′-11″ | PG | Langham Creek (TX)| Tyler Nelson | 6′-0″ | PG | Central Catholic (MA)| Kevin Degnan | 6′-7″ | PF | Pearl River (NY)| Ami Lakoju | 6′-8″ | PF | St. Luke’s (CT)|
A balanced quartet of frontcourt and backcourt prospects inked with the Stags during the early signing period, as Fairfield replenished their roster for the 2014-2015 season.
In the backcourt, Jerome “Rome” Segura is a significant addition to the roster. He was heavily sought after at the mid-major and below level, and was considered to be one of the most effective point guards in the loaded state of Texas. He averaged 16 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists per game as a senior. Segura will have a talented future running mate in the backcourt in Tyler Nelson, who was named the Gatorade Player of the Year in Massachusetts as a senior. Nelson posted 23 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists per game, for a state runner-up squad. He will need to add to his 165 pound frame, but his track record is quite impressive.
Kevin Degnan was the first D-1 basketball player in his school’s history, and had an impressive high school career, posting over 1,000 points. Degnan is an inside-outside forward that averaged 23 points and 12 rebounds per game as a senior. Degnan is a good shooter that could thrive in the Stags’ system. Fairfield also has a player for the long term in Ami Lakoju. He’s thought of as a rebounder and defensive presence, but will need time to improve his overall game.
Good info here Va. Hard to compare each team and who made out best or worse, etc. because of the bland, generic description of most of these players. And no ratings listed (probably 95% are 2*), plus very little mentioned of other schools involved (something I always look for) means this is really more of a "listing" of additions rather than an opinion piece. But that's fine, this can be a reference point as we get near the start of next season. As far as our own recruits, the descriptions of the type of players they are are accurate IMO. Of course this doesn't predict greatness or failure in the future. So many other factors have to play out. Indeed if you just take the words about almost all these guys, EVERYONE will be good at some point. Of course that will not turn out to be true. And another interesting thing (concerning such a large discussion about JUCOS in this thread) is that it appears almost none of them are from these type of schools. I do think however that like the Stags (who we are pretty certain are going to acquire at least one), other schools might pick up a late signing of a JUCO in order to fill a specific need.