Has the Bball Program Hit Rock Bottom, Yet?

[Spur20001]

Originally Posted by Ace Dilcock

Two problems caused us to hit bottom. One was Horn - just a bad coaching hire. I mean, what coach with any sense would run off Ramon Galloway? The other is the turnover that comes with a coaching change. No Harris, no Gill. Losing Geathers to injury did not help either.

Now we just need stability for a couple of years. We have a man who can coach and recruit and it will get better quickly.

Be fair and just judge the one season Martin has been here:

Did our team get better as the season progressed?

Did our players get better? Name the ones who did.

I did not see our team get better. I only saw improvement from Chat.

Another thing to consider: How many players above a 3* rating has Martin signed to date?

[thumpin big]

Yes, I think the program has hit bottom. I think the team will be much better next year, and won't be as bad as it is now as long as Frank Martin is the coach.

[al hough]

Folks, when you have players that can't dribble, can't pass and can't shoot just what do you expect? How many lay-ups can you miss from right under the board? How can you air ball a lay-up? Most of the current left over guys are just not division I types! Most of them do not have a clue what that sheet of glass is for, Buck Freeman is turning over in his grave watching these guys trying to score.
Coach Martin has and will get players that can do all of the above and will get us a strong presence in the post. I hope he signs all the guys that he is still after, sorry for the left overs from DH that will drop by the wayside but we just need players with talent.

[Travelin]

I'm hoping once we have played the first three or four games next season, there will be no doubt that we are on the way out of this hole with a much brighter outlook on the horizon. I hope we all never have to live through such a miserable era in Gamecock basketball again. The last three years have been brutal.

[Luke Skycocker]

Originally Posted by Spur20001

Another thing to consider: How many players above a 3* rating has Martin signed to date?

He has Thornwell, Stroman, and Johnson.

Horn had 3 in his entire time here, Bruce, Harris, and Leonard.

He's going to make this team good, already much better coach than Horn

[MjGCock]

Originally Posted by Luke Skycocker

He has Thornwell, Stroman, and Johnson.

Horn had 3 in his entire time here, Bruce, Harris, and Leonard.

He's going to make this team good, already much better coach than Horn

All six of those were above 3? Or was the question 3 and above? If thornwell, etc. are all 4+ I'm very impressed by Martin.

[Luke Skycocker]

Originally Posted by MjGCock

All six of those were above 3? Or was the question 3 and above? If thornwell, etc. are all 4+ I'm very impressed by Martin.

Above 3*. They are all 4*

[Ace Dilcock]

Stroman has not signed yet (2014 recruit) but he is a Top 50 for next year and Thornwell is a Top 50 for this year. Tyrone Johnson was rated #55 coming out of high school. That would make then all high 4 stars and higher rated than anyone currently playing/recruited by Horn. We still are involved with 2014 Top 50 players LJ Peak (long shot unless he comes back to Gaffney for his SR year) and Ahmed Hill (better shot, wants to play with Stroman) and 2015 #15 rated PJ Dozier.

I can't say that Martin's team got better as the year went on but they did not get worse like Horn's teams did. Chatkevicius improved and others will get better during the offseason with practice and strength training. Kacinas, in particular, needs to get stronger before he is a factor. The rest of the improvement will have to come through recruiting better players.

[STEPHONGILMOREFAN!]

desmond ringer is a highh 3. almost a 4.

[ucan'tlickourcocks]

It will be nice just to finish a season without a gun to my head!!!

[HeadCockFan]

Originally Posted by STEPHONGILMOREFAN!

desmond ringer is a highh 3. almost a 4.

What are his strengths? I'm guessing he's got no offense, but he can board and D.

I hope he's shooting free throws right now.

[STEPHONGILMOREFAN!]

Originally Posted by HeadCockFan

What are his strengths? I'm guessing he's got no offense, but he can board and D.

I hope he's shooting free throws right now.

umm.. he can finish around the rim and throw down... better than any big on offense right now. hes pretty polished on D tho

[HeadCockFan]

Originally Posted by STEPHONGILMOREFAN!

umm.. he can finish around the rim and throw down... better than any big on offense right now. hes pretty polished on D tho

We had bigs this year?!

LOL.

[Spur20001]

Originally Posted by Ace Dilcock

Stroman has not signed yet (2014 recruit) but he is a Top 50 for next year and Thornwell is a Top 50 for this year. Tyrone Johnson was rated #55 coming out of high school. That would make then all high 4 stars and higher rated than anyone currently playing/recruited by Horn. We still are involved with 2014 Top 50 players LJ Peak (long shot unless he comes back to Gaffney for his SR year) and Ahmed Hill (better shot, wants to play with Stroman) and 2015 #15 rated PJ Dozier.

I can't say that Martin's team got better as the year went on but they did not get worse like Horn's teams did. Chatkevicius improved and others will get better during the offseason with practice and strength training. Kacinas, in particular, needs to get stronger before he is a factor. The rest of the improvement will have to come through recruiting better players.

I disagree with you on us not getting worse. Just look at the game results of the 1st time we played LSU, Miss. State & Missouri and the last time we played them this season. We also suffered big losses to Kentucky (who was not good this season) and Florida the last half of SEC play.

[Travelin]

Originally Posted by Spur20001

I disagree with you on us not getting worse. Just look at the game results of the 1st time we played LSU, Miss. State & Missouri and the last time we played them this season. We also suffered big losses to Kentucky (who was not good this season) and Florida the last half of SEC play.

Yes, we got worse. It was the same players that seem to pack it in when the going gets tough. This is the third year we regressed as the season went on. However, this was the worst team we've had in those three years. We lost Cooke, Harris, Gill, Geathers from last years team for numerous reasons. We also lost our top scorer and PG in Page this year. This is a important off season for Carolina Basketball. The sooner we have Frank Martin recruits on board, the sooner we will see progression during the course of the season.

[STEPHONGILMOREFAN!]

Originally Posted by HeadCockFan

We had bigs this year?!

LOL.

touche

[trapper82]

To the op's original question, if it hasn't I am not sure what rock bottom looks like.

[314Gamecock]

This program is ready for improvement. The first step is getting the right coach, and now we have that.

[NJGCfan]

I have confidence in Martin, but he hasn't proven anything yet. We have a 5* SG with Thornwell and a high 4* PG in Johnson. Add that to Carrera (All-SEC Frosh) and Stroman (high 4* committed for 2014) and potentially LJ Peak and we could have a really talented team in a few years. The contingent is obviously whether or not CFM can get the most out of his players and if he can find bigs that can grab rebounds and play fierce defense. If he can find those guys, given the excellent recruiting thus far at the other positions we could be looking at a contender.