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Post by jimflamesfan on Jul 1, 2005 22:43:51 GMT -5
Thought I'd start this so we didn't have to keep posting things on the Dunton needs to be out thread.
It looks like we have a lot of good recruits. Anyone know anything on Elijah Miller's eligibility?
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Post by LUconn on Jul 2, 2005 12:33:05 GMT -5
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Post by SCAR on Jul 2, 2005 16:06:58 GMT -5
Fellas, I really don't like to put pressure on college players by raising expectations of them, especially when they are just coming out of high school so I won't talk about the new recruits other than to say that they have a whole lot of potential. We said back a few months ago that Dees was replacable even though no one wants to lose a player of his quality at the offensive end. They will have some guys that can put the ball in the basket I think. I am looking forward to seeing how things play out in the fall because there are going to be some battles on the perimeter. Smith will be in the mix for sure as a frosh. Blair, Risher and of course the Juco players. BTW the Juco transfers that were said to have been signed have in fact been signed. Someone in that other thread said that they were not sure if it was true because they have not seen it on the website yet but I can confirm that 3 players have been signed out of the Maryland Juco circuit. I have only seen 1 of them play recently and I talked about Hubbard being a great get for Liberty last month (see the website for news of his signing). The 1 guy I saw was extremely athletic along the lines of Lightbourne before the ankle injury. This team is going to compete for the Big South again. I hear Russell Monroe is developing nicely as well. Miller is still very much a question mark.
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Post by thesportscritic on Jul 2, 2005 16:55:16 GMT -5
Fellas, I really don't like to put pressure on college players by raising expectations of them, especially when they are just coming out of high school so I won't talk about the new recruits other than to say that they have a whole lot of potential. We said back a few months ago that Dees was replacable even though no one wants to lose a player of his quality at the offensive end. They will have some guys that can put the ball in the basket I think. I am looking forward to seeing how things play out in the fall because there are going to be some battles on the perimeter. Smith will be in the mix for sure as a frosh. Blair, Risher and of course the Juco players. BTW the Juco transfers that were said to have been signed have in fact been signed. Someone in that other thread said that they were not sure if it was true because they have not seen it on the website yet but I can confirm that 3 players have been signed out of the Maryland Juco circuit. I have only seen 1 of them play recently and I talked about Hubbard being a great get for Liberty last month (see the website for news of his signing). The 1 guy I saw was extremely athletic along the lines of Lightbourne before the ankle injury. This team is going to compete for the Big South again. I hear Russell Monroe is developing nicely as well. Miller is still very much a question mark. It is nice that we have guys who potentially can put the ball in the hole. Our problem last year was defense. We gave up about 77 points a game and that is pathetic. A team will not win games if one gives that or more points, young or not. We can't simply relax on big leads which is something from last season that must be fixed this upcoming season. Hopefully the team will have more of a hunger on defense this season coming up. Maybe Arizona got away with giving that much points in a game but they are clearly much better than us. But we will not get away with that at all this year and beyond. SCAR are you trying not to jinx the freshman by not talking about what they can do? I don't believe in jinx at all but I kinda sense that with part of your statement about the freshman. |
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Post by ATrain on Jul 2, 2005 19:45:45 GMT -5
What we really need to do is work on turnovers...we're being way too generous in that area.
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Post by SCAR on Jul 2, 2005 20:03:32 GMT -5
SC05 I don't believe in jinx. I do believe in heightened expectations and I do know the power of the written or spoken word. I don't want to contribute to raising the expectation level of a group of kids because I have sat in that seat and it is not fun. Earlier in the other thread some of the older guys were talking about 1989 and how we sucked ( Thanks PAMedic for that dig on my team :-)) but the truth is we were laying a foundation for a program to grow as members of the 1st division 1 team and many of us were not ready for that (collectively). We had Bailey Alston who more than lived up to his billing scoring wise (27ppg career) but never did play defense, rebound and share the ball enough for us to be a better team. I think is some ways BA regrets those days even though he made a name for himself. Ultimately you are judged by winning. Many of you have never heard of him other than me mentioning his name and that is because we went 14-15, and 11-17 twice in his 3 seasons. I don't want compare what we went through to today's team because in many ways they have it tougher and in many ways they have it easier. My point is that you really don't know how someone is going to perform until the "lights come on." No need to get everyone all ready for a Jordan like performance from someone when they are just trying to learn how to play college ball. Then if they come out and play well it will be a pleasant surprise instead of everyone saying, "they're ok but I thought they'd be better." It is not easy even when you are talented.
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Post by SCAR on Jul 2, 2005 20:09:22 GMT -5
A train you are right about the turnovers. That was a big issue with last years team. At one point they were averaging like 18 per game. I will tell you that it drove Dunton crazy at times. I think with Risher at the point you will see a team with some discipline and that puts a premium on ball possession. I have to disagree a little with SC05 about playing D. I don't remember the stats in conference but they really improved drastically over the course of the season in defensive FG%. Part of the numbers being high is because they gave up a lot of points to some teams in the early part of the season because they were missing some key players and they were playing up. Not many teams can battle against both of those things and do well. I don't want to sound like an apolgist for Liberty basketball shortcomings on the court or anything, I am just stating the situation as it was. I know there is a commitment to playing defense with this program though. It was evident in March of 2004 when High Point couldn't buy a bucket.
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Post by thesportscritic on Jul 2, 2005 21:37:29 GMT -5
SCAR I see what you are saying about the expectations concerning the freshman. On the topic of defense um... how did we let a ten point lead get away from us against Charleston Southern in the first round of the BST? Lack of defense when it mattered the most down the stretch. Actually I kept up with the stats the entire year on this team and we gave up about 73 points a game. The bottom line was our defense was inconsistent last year and that has to change this year coming up. I don't care whether we were missing players or not. The defense has to change or else. The team from the 03-04 year was much better on D than the 04-05 team. The 04-05 team was very inconsistent on defense. There may have been a commitment on defense last year but it sure didn't show up hardly. There is no excuse to give up that many points and say that this team was committed on defense. If you want to see good defense in this conference then see Winthrop. I was very impressed on how they played defense. I really liked how they pressured the ball in the full court and then they are very stingy in the half court. They gave up an average of 60 points a game. That is defense there. I was not impressed with Liberty's defense at all last season but they have the chance to change my mind. I am not a person to easily impress. I guess that is why I named myself the sportscritic. The team has to show it on a consistent basis.
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Post by Sly Fox on Jul 2, 2005 22:54:23 GMT -5
For you youngsters on the site, trust us when we say Bailey was a scoring machine. Ball hog, yes. But he could light it up in a heartbeat. Though I have a feeling Scar feels he could've done the same if given the same opportunity. Well, at least close to the same.
I agree with Scar is not getting a kid overhyped before he hits the floor. Its good to be excited about an 18-year-old's potential. But let's let him develop before we start retiring his jersey.
That said, it good to have more Texans on the squad. And being a Top-20 kid in Texas is pretty stout stuff. Particularly when you consider there are hundreds of kids down here who sign D-I letters every year (about 60-70 in Houston alone). Texas Roundball Report has a mediocre reputation for rating athletes. But if Anthony is Top-20, he must have some serious skills.
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Post by SCAR on Jul 3, 2005 8:51:30 GMT -5
I don't think I would have averaged 27 but yes it is true that a few guys on our team could score more than we did. The most shots I ever took in a game was 14. The thing was I shot 50% for my career and close to 40 from 3. I knew how to score. I will say that in college there are guys that other teams don't guard and there are guys who the whole defense is geared to stop. When I was a soph, I had people daring me to shoot. When I was a jr and sr, I had to work just to get the ball sometimes. Bailey and me saw a lot of triangle and 2 that senior year for sure. Not comparing myself to Bailey mind you ( he was special). But I would rather win and score 2 points a game but I didn't see that mentality in others.
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Post by Sly Fox on Jul 3, 2005 9:02:07 GMT -5
Just giving you a hard time, dude. Personally, I think the offense should've run through Eduardo. ;D
As for Elijah, is he in summer school right now? Otherwise, we should have word on his eligibility for the fall by now. Hopefully he's able to get things in order not only for basketball, but also so he can keep working toward a degree. Its a tough world out there beyond college ... even tougher without at least a Bachelor's degree.
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Post by Formerplayer on Jul 5, 2005 9:46:35 GMT -5
Sly,
Yes. Elijah is in summer school. I haven't had a chance to find out if he's going to make it through. I will find out though.
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LUeer
New Member
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Post by LUeer on Jul 5, 2005 14:35:52 GMT -5
scar,
I'm relatively new to the board, but I graduated from LU in '89. I'm trying to figure out who you are. What position did you play?
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Post by HarrisburgFlame on Jul 5, 2005 14:38:02 GMT -5
Scar was a guy that would never give the ball up and hoist from anywhere on the court. he was Iverson before Iverson was hip.
Scar - you know I am busting your chops. How was the shooting backdrop in the Multipurpose Center Scar? That place was a home court advantage when it got rocking.
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Post by PAmedic on Jul 5, 2005 14:40:04 GMT -5
he was the guy frantically waving at Rodney whatever-his-name was to dish it off (to no avail)
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Post by SCAR on Jul 5, 2005 15:45:32 GMT -5
Lueer,
I was #20. Tim Scarborough. People always call me Scar for short. I am one of the few people that registered with a regognizable screen name although I have decoded a few people on here that I know from their screen name. I played Point guard and shooting and small forward. I was a natural shooting guard but little chance of getting to play that since Alston was there so I learned to play the point. About halfway through my Jr Year I became a full time starter. I used to come off the bench as a Soph. Didn't really play at all my freshman year. If you graduated in 89 we probably know each other. It seems like we all knew each other then or at least had a 2 degrees of separation thing going on. HBF and PAMedic, I knew you guys would get in on the fun before it was all over. You couldn't let Sly bust my chops by himself ;-). Yes the multi-purpose center was a real home court advantage that is for sure.
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Post by thesportscritic on Jul 5, 2005 15:46:32 GMT -5
hey SCAR were you at Liberty for the thunder on the mountain?
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Post by SCAR on Jul 5, 2005 15:57:11 GMT -5
My wife and I did a drive by. We parked for a while and then walked through the stadium but we didn't stay that long. Were you there? There were a lot of people. Man I wish the football games would draw those kinds of crowds everyweek. Maybe we need to promise fireworks (on and off the field).
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Post by thesportscritic on Jul 5, 2005 15:58:36 GMT -5
Yeah I saw you from a distance. That would be very cool to have fireworks after football games. Maybe that will help out with the shoddy attendance.
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Post by SCAR on Jul 5, 2005 16:06:42 GMT -5
I knew you would be taking attendance so I showed up, signed in and left! Just kidding SCO5. I can't wait for Football season on the mountain. That might be the next time you see me in the Burg. It will be here before you know it. (Also Madden 2006 will be out soon). We will have to start a thread for that when the time comes. I would love to meet up with some of you guys online PS2 style. (I went way off topic this time!)
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Post by thesportscritic on Jul 5, 2005 16:12:37 GMT -5
I knew you would be taking attendance so I showed up, signed in and left! Just kidding SCO5. I can't wait for Football season on the mountain. That might be the next time you see me in the Burg. It will be here before you know it. (Also Madden 2006 will be out soon). We will have to start a thread for that when the time comes. I would love to meet up with some of you guys online PS2 style. (I went way off topic this time!) \ HA HA good one SCAR. Will you be at any of the home games this year? Maybe I will take attendance again.  It sounds like the new AD has some great ideas. Do you know when the news of the new coaches and recruits (JUCO) will be on the athletic website? |
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Post by jimflamesfan on Jul 5, 2005 19:42:04 GMT -5
What this has to do with basketball, I don't know. But I too wish that the football games would draw that kind of crowd. LU has had fireworks after football games before...I think it was '97 against Hampton. What was bad is LU lost in overtime, and then we had the fireworks...I was in the band, and they actually didn't let us stay for the fireworks b/c it was past curfew (I am not kidding...).
What's even funnier, for a while they used to shoot fireworks after we scored a touchdown...I think it was in '99 or something like that. What was funny is one game we scored to tie it...and we're trying to kick the extra point to take a 1 point lead with something like a minute and a half left...we snap the ball...and then all of these fireworks start going off in the endzone...but somehow the kicker manages to make it anyway.
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LUeer
New Member
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Post by LUeer on Jul 6, 2005 7:58:49 GMT -5
scar.
Thanks for the reply. I remember you. I don't think we actually knew each other, but I know who you are now. Did you have a younger brother that went to LU but didn't play basketball?
Lueer
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Post by SCAR on Jul 6, 2005 8:08:34 GMT -5
No younger brother. I am the youngest in my family. I had a nephew that went to Liberty in the late 90's. Who are you referring to? Was there another Scarborough roaming the halls of Demoss?
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LUeer
New Member
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Post by LUeer on Jul 6, 2005 9:08:55 GMT -5
Scar,
No, actually I had you confused with another basketball player for a minute. I was thinking of a guy with a name like Steve Fahrquar or something really weird like that. Anyway, he had a younger brother that roomed with a friend of mine. I got you figured out now though. You had some good hops. You're right about Bailey Alston too. He could fill it up, but he never met a shot he didn't like.
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Post by bigsmooth on Jul 6, 2005 9:47:06 GMT -5
i saw bailey at the NC state/Liberty game this past winter, he is doing well. scar was the man back in the day at liberty gym, one of the most classy players in LU history...we should play one home game a year there like nc state does at reynolds coliseum, i think they call it heritage day. the old barn could rock again!
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Post by HarrisburgFlame on Jul 6, 2005 10:20:19 GMT -5
Smooth - the old barn doesn't have seats anymore. I was there this past winter and they have stripped the seats out. The old tartan surface remains on the floor and I think a scoreboard is still hanging but that is it. The end of an era - I loved that place.
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aLUmnus
Full Member
old school LU
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Post by aLUmnus on Jul 6, 2005 12:26:01 GMT -5
Actually, they replaced all the floors. Where the main court used to be they have a new surface for tennis/volleyball. The other side of the Schilling is now hardwood basketball courts.
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Post by HarrisburgFlame on Jul 6, 2005 12:45:52 GMT -5
At least the space is being put to good use.
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Post by SCAR on Jul 7, 2005 11:37:48 GMT -5
BigSmooth,
thanks for the kind words about me. Those were some fun times in that old gym. There was actually talk about maybe having a throwback night but that can't happen now with the way they remodeled the Schilling center (Multi-Purpose Center for you old heads)...Yes I had hops. Emphasis on had. I told my wife I will be able to dunk when I am 50. I don't think it is going to happen though....Steve Farquhar and I were always confused with each other which is weird because we aren't even from the same race. Steve and I played against each other in high school. If you remember he averaged 49 ppg in high school! He played for a small Christian School in NJ. He scored 53 on my team when I was a Jr at Cedar Grove and he was a senior. PAMedic you remember Cedar Grove right? Now it is called International Christian School. Anyway, we used to call Steve Chicken Hawk. I have not talked with him in a while but when I was coaching at Liberty he was the head coach at Stanton River high outside of Lynchburg.
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It sounds like the new AD has some great ideas. Do you know when the news of the new coaches and recruits (JUCO) will be on the athletic website?