Beyond the Boxscore: BYU 99, Arizona 69
Fredette scorches the Cats for record-setting 49 points
RELATED LINK:
>>UA outclassed again; Miller worries about team’s confidence (By Steve Rivera/TucsonCitizen.com)
Arizona 2009-10 schedule
(Full schedule and statistics available at ArizonaWildcats.com)
| LAST TEN GAMES (4-6) Nov. 23: L, Wisconsin 65, Arizona 61 Nov. 24: W, Arizona 91, Colorado 87 (OT) Nov. 25: L, Vanderbilt 84, Arizona 72 Dec. 2: L, UNLV 74, Arizona 72 (2 OT) Dec. 6: L, Oklahoma 79, Arizona 62 Dec. 9: W, Arizona 83, Louisiana Tech 67 Dec. 12: L, San Diego State 63, Arizona 46 Dec. 21: W, Arizona 83, Lipscomb 82 (OT) Dec. 23: W, Arizona 76, N.C. State 74 Dec. 28, L, Brigham Young 99, Arizona 69 NEXT FIVE GAMES (Tucson times) Dec. 31, 5 p.m.: Arizona at Southern Cal |
RPI BRACKETOLOGY >>Joe Lunardi Bracket: Arizona — UNLISTED (as of Dec. 15) ARIZONA’S RPI AS OF DEC. 28: No. 71 QUALITY WINS VS. RPI TOP 50: 0 |
Optimism vs. Opportunities
Analysis by Javier Morales
OPTIMISM
- Freshmen forwards Derrick Williams, Solomon Hill and Kevin Parrom provided some hope for the future in an otherwise dreadful night for the Wildcats. With the UA 6-6 overall and limping into the Pac-10 conference, when will it become appropriate to ask UA coach Sean Miller: When will you start coaching with 2010-11 and beyond in mind rather than this season? Williams, Hill and Parrom need as many minutes as possible together, it seems, to gain some momentum for next season and beyond. The trio shot 13 of 22 from the field for 32 points and 13 rebounds. The optimism presented by Arizona in this game starts and ends with these three guys. Kyle Fogg had 16 points, which is admirable, but he was 1 for 4 from three-point range, posted only one rebound and no steals.
Derrick Williams had another solid outing with 17 points and seven rebounds, but he had five turnovers and only one assist
OPPORTUNITIES ADDRESSED FROM LAST GAME VS. N.C. STATE:
- AGAINST N.C. STATE: The Wolfpack was without suspended forward Tracy Smith, the team’s leading scorer and rebounder, but it still outrebounded the Cats 41-30. Neither Kyryl Natyazhko or Alex Jacobson provided an answer for N.C. State center Jordan Vandenberg, who pulled down a season-high 11 boards. The Australian freshman center had a previous high of only four against Austin Peay. It appears rebounding will be a problem for the UA the remainder of the season. How severe of a problem will mean the difference between a good season and a bad one.
AGAINST BYU: Rebounding never was an issue in this game because the Cougars rarely missed. BYU actually outrebounded Arizona 34-28 anyway. Jacobson had a credible outing in only 10 minutes with three rebounds. Natyazhko had another empty brief outing; he played five minutes against N.C. State and only 7 against BYU. Williams led the Cats with seven rebounds, while Jamelle Horne finished with only six.
- AGAINST N.C. STATE: The Cats have shown the tendency to blow leads and break down defensively in the second half. That certainly was the case against the Wolfpack. The UA allowed N.C. State to tie the game although it was ahead by eight with less than 40 seconds remaining in the game. The Cats blew an 80-72 lead against Colorado with 52 seconds left and was forced to go into overtime earlier this season at Maui. The UA won that game 91-87. The opportunity here is to learn from the lapses and correct them through defensive intensity, not playing on their heels.
AGAINST BYU: The Cougars made sure that Nic Wise would not influence the end of the game with a close finish. They stormed out to a 39-16 lead with 9:30 left in the first half and never trailed thereafter. BYU actually cooled to 54.5 percent shooting after hitting 59 percent of its tries in the first half.
- AGAINST N.C. STATE: Brendon Lavender has gone from a starter who was lauded for his preseason workouts by Miller to being a bit performer. Where’s the fire? He played 18 minutes against Lipscomb — Lipscomb? — and his only number registered in the box score was one turnover? That does not bode well for Lavender, who needs to take a cue from fellow sophomore Kyle Fogg on what it takes to succeed: Believing in yourself and leaving nothing to chance.
AGAINST BYU: Lavender’s disappearing act continued, as he went scoreless in 15 minutes against BYU. His timid play was indicative of Arizona’s execution — or lack thereof — of the Cats’ offense against the Cougars’ 2-3 zone. Lavender attempted only one field goal in the game, a three-pointer, and missed. Lavender certainly had enough touches to shoot more, but he was not assertive enough and kept the ball in movement around the perimeter with pass after pass.
OPPORTUNITIES (PRESENTED AGAINST BYU)
- Not enough space for this category after the game. Arizona needs a bonafide leader now. That’s why I wrote that Miller and his staff might start having an eye toward next year with its substituting patterns. The Mountain West is not kind to Jamelle Horne and Nic Wise. The most experienced tandem on the team was 5 of 20 from the field in the UA’s loss to San Diego State a couple of weeks ago. They were 5 of 16, including 1 of 7 from three-point range, against BYU. Wise had only eight points, while trying only 8 field-goal attempts in 29 minutes. He rolled with the flow instead of being proactive — a problem he must correct now or else the NBA will be a pipe dream.
- Arizona’s defensive effort needs an overhaul. The Cougars committed only 11 turnovers while registering 22 assists. The UA, meanwhile, was practically in reverse with 19 turnovers and 11 assists. The Cats only had five steals, which indicates the Wildcats’ defense did not have an edge to it all night. Arizona will face a very tough defensive team in USC, which is active with its legs as much as its hands. Kevin O’Neill is making his imprint as far as that is concerned. Miller is trying with this group but it’s just not happening. Fredette finished with 49 points for a reason. Rarely was a hand in his face or a UA player in front of him to disrupt his release. “Jimmer Fredette played a great game … did we have something to do with that? Yes,” UA coach Sean Miller said. “We struggled to defend the other team’s best perimeter player. Their victory tonight was largely thanks to his play. He reminds me a lot of Mark Price, who played at Georgia Tech and had a long career in the NBA. I’m not an NBA general manager, but I would put Fredette against a lot of guards in the country. When he does miss a shot, he goes and gets it, and we made that very easy for him tonight.”
- Nic Wise had zero assists in 29 minutes, which is Arizona’s performance in microcosm. Aside from presenting questions about planning for next year with his personnel, Miller might be asked soon: Should he perhaps move Wise to the No. 2 position and utilize a different primary ball-handler (Fogg or Hill perhaps?). That could allow Wise more freedom to look for his shot.
A LOOK AHEAD: THURSDAY VS. USC
The Trojans, playing the best basketball in the Pac-10 right now, enter on a six-game winning streak with impressive wins against Tennessee, St. Mary’s and UNLV. The difference lately has been the addition of senior point guard Mike Gerrity, who will try to take a cue from Fredette’s performance against Arizona. The job O’Neill is doing with the Trojans is nothing short of amazing. Three of Arizona’s players (Willliams, Hill and Lamont “MoMo” Jones) bolted from what looked like a sinking ship at USC after Tim Floyd abruptly retired amid allegations of giving O.J. Mayo‘s handler $1,000 in cash. Rest assured, UA fans will see those three players fired up to play the Trojans to prove they did the right thing by leaving that program. Also, existing Cats who toiled under O’Neill in his one year as an interim coach at Arizona — such as Horne and Jacobson — will enter with a chip on their shoulder as well. According to one source, O’Neill openly questioned Jacobson’s value as a player during one practice on the road. But will their motivation be enough to close the wide gap between USC and Arizona in terms of each playing as a cohesive unit right now? Not likely.
FOLLOW US BY CLICKING ON THE LOGOS:
  |
Please help this site keep going: |
Tags: Derrick Williams, Kevin O'Neill, Solomon Hill
WILDABOUTAZCATS.com (RSS) Feeds
This entry was posted
on Tuesday, December 29th, 2009 at 12:20 AM and is filed under Beyond the Boxscore.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
Both comments and pings are currently closed.
December 29th, 2009 at 12:48 AM
I know not very many of us are going to do it but I am. I question Miller’s take on the whole Fredette thing and him being that good – Price good – and BYU having their ticket punched so quickly for the ’09-’10 Final Four by the history-making FT marksman and dribbler from Pennsylvania. What the hell is Miller talking about? The boxscore tells the whole story.
When we have Williams with 3 fouls and no one else with more than 2 fouls, many in fact with 1 or fewer, who the hell was playing the hawking D, was being aggressive to the ball, taking it to the hole, rebounding like a man possessed? No one. Absolutely no one. And that is a damn disgrace for a program like Arizona’s. That’s just making it way too easy for any team to take the UA for granted.
Lavennder in 15 minutes had 0 points and 0 rebounds, but he sure as hell had 1 TO, 1 assist and 1 whole blocked shot. Conversely, Parrom had 14 minutes and 4 points and 3 rebounds. That’s something. Shumpert? One rebound in a whopping 4 minutes, but at least he got in there and mixed it up a bit. If I’m Miller, I take Lavender’s time and give 3/5 of it to Kevin and 2/5 of it to Shumpert. Let’s then see if the bench is the motivator it can be because something has to done and now.
December 29th, 2009 at 1:20 AM
noone tried to post this comment and for some reason it did not go through (he e-mailed it to me)
My advice to the team for the USC game – dont get on the plane to LA.
Wow … Just wow.
They had no post game. It was as if they attacked the post instead of realizing they can actually play there.
Inspite of all their plays starting in the back court … they had no back court.
They did have Fogg and Williams and Hill … gold star.
A failing mark to Miller for not playing any post. I cant remember a time when anyone established position and made the other team move them out. They will drop in … pause … and just leave as if they had overstayed their welcome in someone elses house. Are they afraid of the blocks? What else are you going to do with Kyryl at this point? If you are going to move him … move him from one block to the other block.
A failing mark to Miller for saying they had no answer to Fredette … the UofA has no Fredette to be sure … and they didnt show they could defend the perimeter shot. If they dont have anyone that can defend a setshot … well … shameful.
Career shooting night?
I have said it before … every team will have a player that will have a career night against this team. It has more to do with this team than the player shooting lights out.
I will say this … Fredette hit a few contested shots and demonstrated that he can play. For the most part he knew an opportunity of a lifetime when he saw it … and shot lights out against the non-existant perimeter D. (Along with several teammates)
When will this team give a shit that players are waiting to play them so they can have a career game too? When will this team realize that they are being used as a door mat and actually play perimeter D?
Fogg … at this point is the man.
USC is going to drill this team.
Sorry to be harsh … the team I have been seeing develop just vanished.
December 29th, 2009 at 8:05 AM
I was at the game last night and you could tell by the body language that some of the players did not want to be out there after the game started. The Cats did not play very good perimeter defense in the first twelve minutes and that allowed BYU to gain a lot of confidence. BYU also looked like they scouted Arizona very well because they never left the corner three open which is where Fogg, Lavander, Jones and Hill like to shoot from. Wise disappeared for parts of the game and when BYU got into their 1-2-2, 3-2, or 2-3 defense, we would pass the ball around the perimeter and BYU keyed in on Nic.
Nic needs to get the ball and run the offense not Fogg. Fogg was the only player who attacked the middle of the zone and drew defenders away from Williams. Fogg did make some bad decisions but at least he understood where the open areas of the zone were.
Horne was out of it completely. He was frustrated, and would give up on a play he felt he was fouled. Someone should remind him that he is the most athletic person in the gym in every game he plays. Parrom showed some promise near the end of the game but I don’t think he shot a single free throw while he was out with a stress fracture in his foot.
I will say that this team will need to rely on it’s defense to spark it’s offense. Which happened at the start of the second half. And they played very well for that first five minutes. BYU played a great game and had an unbelievable shooting night from their guards.
I will say that the crowd did not do it’s part last night at all. Nobody would cheer to try and pump up the team or rattle BYU. You could have held a catholic mass in McKale last night. We as fans need to check our expectations at the door and support and cheer these players as loud as possible. I don’t get to many games, but the crowd was pathetic. So I challenge the fans to step up and support this team the way we supported the 88, 97, and 01 teams. Forget about the streak, or what you feel they should be doing and go cheer this team on. They need it and deserve it. Yeah the team looked unprepared and lost at times, but new coach, new system and new players are going to need more than 12 games to make it come together.
December 29th, 2009 at 9:37 AM
I resisted doing this for the longest time but there’s no other way. Not when Coach Miller is all too ready to name some guy named Jimmer (or was it Jammer?) the next Mark Price. A look at the boxscore by a rank amateur like me says Williams had 3 fouls and everyone else had 2 or fewer, more like 1 or none. So who was playing the defense, rebounding and driving it to the hole to stop the new and improved Mr. Price and his Cougar buddies because it sure as hell wasn’t this Coach’s mediocre team or damn philosophy.
Miller was damn lucky to get Williams, Hill and MoMo, guys who were originally destined for LA and SC but saw that the Trojans were in a mess. So these 3 guys more or less fell right onto Miller’s lap from right out of the sky. How hard was it to recruit them anyhow? Parrom was going to follow Miller to Xavier but must’ve thought that when UA came calling in the person of Miller he had certainly lived right and gone to what used to be known as Basketball Heaven: UA. The one guy Miller can be credited with recruiting hard and persuading to sign at Arizona? Kyryl. Can you say buyer’s remorse? Don’t even get me started on the Famous, Ferguson and Odom signings that weren’t hype. And now on December 29, 2009, there is no one, not a C, not a PG, not a SF who is beating down the doors at McKale to play at UA.
Is the right Coach for Arizona Basketball instead “stuck” somewhere off in Conference USA land, Memphis to be exact? I’m beginning to wonder and I thought for sure I’d never do it.
December 29th, 2009 at 10:59 AM
If I am not mistaken USC also just got Leonard Washington back in their lineup. This guy was an absolute beast in limited action as a freshman against Az last year. A 6’6″ player that is athletic and controls the paint and glass. I shudder to think what he will do to the UA post players.
Speaking of UA post players, Javier, do you know offhand how much experience Kyryl has playing basketball in the US? I seem to remember him being here for only a year at IMG. Is that right? I will try my best not to be overly harsh, but I really can’t believe Miller kept referring to him as the most talented of the freshmen. He has done a good job hitting the weight room, but he seems completely outclassed on the court. For some reason, whenever I think of Kyryl I recall those stories of Yi Jianlian demonstrating his post moves against a chair before the 07 draft. Similarly with Kyryl, we saw recruiting video of him shooting jumpers by himself. I question how much organized basketball Kyryl has really played because he does not seem to have the ability or instincts to guard anyone. And he seems terrified to take the ball to the hole, even when he is the biggest guy on the court.
December 29th, 2009 at 12:48 PM
When I was at the game last night, I wondered who gave up first, the team or the crowd. At the beginning of the game, the crowd definitely didn’t do its part last night. It is always difficult during the winter break games when the students aren’t given tickets. In years past during these winter break games, when the student pep band is gone, there is usually an alumni pep band. Last night there was no pep band, no cheer leaders, no pom squad, no Wilbur and very little crowd energy. I don’t know the details but would love to know why there wasn’t a pep band. It appears as though someone made the decision not to have a band and to sell those seats instead. If someone did make the decision of money over pep band…I would love to save the Athletic Department more money by getting rid of that individual. At the beginning of the second half when the team came out strong, the crowd was into it. After Momo was called for fouling on the three point shot, the crowd was still into the game and resumed booing the official and cheering the team, even after a long timeout. But alas the team energy seemed to have disappeared. It is a young team and crowd energy seems to be important. Even the energy from a hostile crowd is better than no energy. Unfortunately, Nic had an off game and Jamelle seemed to be on a mental vacation. No upperclassmen leading, no crowd energy, a bunch of young players–recipe for a slaughter. Watching the game in person, I definitely agree that Fogg seemed to be the bright spot in terms of effort and intensity. I’ll take the energy with the mistakes over a talented quitter.
December 30th, 2009 at 6:44 AM
quiqon…. I feel exactly the same about the crowd at McKale. I was so disappointed. I was getting funny looks for trying to stand up and create a rowdy raucous environment. These young guys need that energy. And clearly the lack of intensity from the getgo allowed Jimmer to get into the zone. If the crowd intensity, the defensive intensity is up from the onset, maybe Jimmer misses that first shot, and the game is entirely different.
December 30th, 2009 at 7:22 AM
AZgood…. I can’t lie, the thought has occurred to me that perhaps Pastner would have worked out better for us. Afertall, Pastner has retained the number 1 recruiting class in the nation for next year, at Memphis! Pair Josh up with Damon Stoudamire, Reggie Geary, et al. and think of what we could have done. What do we have? College unproven DB (thank goodness). It is scary watching how south this thing could go if we don’t land a few key recruits. If Selby or Ray decide not to come this could get real bad for us. And then after that we’re going to need another big because clearly Kyryl is gonna take a long time to come around, if ever.
I will say this, we just do not have the personell right now. We have zero, well except DWill, with NBA potential. Our one stud is DWill. I hate to say this but Lavendar needs to man up or take a hike, ala Zane Johnson. Garland should be gone last year.
I believe Fogg is also a player we can count on in our future. Fogg is smart and gutsy. He is good now. He will be Gardner good before it’s done.
Horne is a role player who does many positive things out there. I love his rebounding ability. And his defense has really improved. But the game between the ears continues to be a struggle for him.
Hill is a question mark for me. He has some upside, and I know he is a freshman, but everytime I turn around he’s dribbling it off his foot or making a sloppy pass that was too tricky to begin with. When Hill goes to the hole I have to cover my eyes because I don’t know what he’s going to do. Sometimes it’s good and sometimes not. His game is involves lots of risks.
Momo is still a question mark too. I’m still waiting to see all this offense we have heard about. I will say the questionable decisions have been resolved for the most part. And he does play with intensity. But really Momo is just another Lavendar out there right now.
Can’t really comment too much on Parrom right now but I like what I saw towards the end of BYU game.
Best case scenario next year:
Selby/Ray
Fogg
DB
Horne
DWill
off the bench….
Parrom, Momo, Hill, Kyryl, AJ, Shumpy
And I’m leaving off Lavendar and Garland because Judkins should be gone and Lavendar is not showing up anyway. I hope LAvendar reads this and finds some sort of motivation to man the heck up. Believe in yourself Lavendar.
So I guess the moral of the story is we have to wait and watch and see what Miller can do on the recruiting trail. And thus far I give a C, maybe a D. I know Miller has had little time but so has KO and Josh Pastner and their situation is looking pretty darn good. Of course we also need to recognize how damaging the lengthy exit of Olson was to our current situation.
December 30th, 2009 at 7:27 AM
The band, cheerleaders, pom squad, baton team and mascots are all in San Diego for the Holiday Bowl. That’s why they were not at the game.
December 30th, 2009 at 7:52 AM
Pastner and Damon on the bench together would have been great if Josh could have convinced him to leave his NBA job. That would have likely brought us a commitment from Terrance Jones who is Damon’s cousing and a five star big man.
December 30th, 2009 at 7:53 AM
ah.. thanks JT. That didn’t occur to me that everyone was in SD. Still the crowd should not need that.
December 30th, 2009 at 8:14 AM
Damon openly said he was willing to come and help. Heck all of the old guys did. There was a grassroots movement on goazcats, “keep it in family”. Livengood wanted to make that big hire though.
I’m not giving up on Sean but sometimes you wonder.
December 30th, 2009 at 10:18 AM
I would probably bet that if Pastner had become our coach, his staff would be the same as the one he has now in Memphis. Plus Damonwas a great player, but is he a good recruiter and/or coach? That is an unknown right now and if you rebuilding a program you can go with a gamble like Pastner and Damon, or you go for a more proven guy like Coach Miller. I have no second thoughts about the hire Livengood made. We have a great coach. We just have a program that didn’t recruit for two years and your seeing the effects that it is having. Oh by the way, those two years of non-recruiting were done by Simon and Geary, two “kept in the family” guys. I love that they wore the jersey but were not great recruiters.
December 30th, 2009 at 10:28 AM
I say this let’s get the guys that’s going to be there next year good minute and cut out some minutes for the other guys like Nic Horne Blav. Let Fogg Hill Parrom Williams and AJ start Kreal comes off the bench. There is a lot of people staying that Williams is our best NBA potential player. I say its Hill then Williams.
December 30th, 2009 at 10:57 AM
I would say this SM should encourage Hill to shoot the ball more often. I believe can be a scorer. He can score from inside and take his man off the bounce. Hill is a jumper away from being a legit scorer. I believe Hill is asked to do more things than anyone on the team. Just think about it. Hill plays at least 4 positions on the court except point. He helps run the O,rebound,assists,play tough D and score. Hill also plays the most minutes. One writer said that he is scared when Hill drives the ball to the lane because he doesn’t know what he is going to do. That is the fun part of it because you don’t. He can finish with either hand or pass it. I know you said that he is turn over prone but so is JWALL. I’m not comparing the to by no means. Just making a point. Most of Hill TO comes from trying to get people involved in the game. Hill is the MAN!
December 30th, 2009 at 1:59 PM
What I am reading is pathetic. Miller has only been here for 12 games and some of you are already crying for another coach. Shame shame shame…give the guy a chance.
December 30th, 2009 at 2:17 PM
JT… Simon and Geary both were recruiting without a known head coach…. just saying.
December 30th, 2009 at 2:28 PM
I’m not calling for Milller to resign. I personally believe it will take years to get back to an adequate level. Still, if we get beat USC….then we are MUCH, MUCH more screwed up than some of us would like to admit.
We stole USC’s recruiting class, they lost their head coach after a lot of drama and turmoil, they got KO as a coach, and they lost Derozen, Gibson, and Hacket…. They are admittedly worse off than us.
If USC still finds a way to beat us….then I suspect we are a decade-long rebuilding project and Miller cannot take us back to our previous levels. Miller is good, and I love the hire. To state that he was experienced or had “built” a program is myopic and stupid. He was promoted to head coach at a “VERY” good time in Xavier bball.
December 30th, 2009 at 2:37 PM
dkdono,
The only thing pathetic was the way the team played the other night. When you get beat by 30 at home to an unranked team and allow a good but not great college player put up 49 points you cannot completely blame it on the personnel that you have. I just don’t think Miller should get a total pass by continually blaming everything on our young team. I believe the coaching staff should be held responsible for not getting our players better prepared to play a team like BYU.
December 30th, 2009 at 4:31 PM
lutefan, you are correct and Geary had a much worse situation for recruiting.
December 30th, 2009 at 8:52 PM
I am with dkdono – you guys are acting like some serious lightweights. Grow up.
Put a cork in it for a bit – let these guys find their college game and the let the team find its identity. Then, when they make us all proud as hell, which they certainly will, be sure to post your public apologies to the team (and Coach) for your premature and imperceptive remarks.
Geez, you guys, you’d think this was an ASU blog. Pull your head out and Bear Down. Let’s go all in.
December 31st, 2009 at 8:18 AM
Did anyone catch what Izzo did to his star point guard, and team leader – Kalin Lucas? He benched him, and what happened? Lucas was actually a leader for his team last night. It might only be one game, and only time will tell if Izzo’s tactics are effective for the long haul, but at least he is doing something to try and force Lucas to grow up and lead his Spartans. If you ask me, Miller needs to do something to this regard to light a fire under Nic Wise. Don’t even get me started on Jamelle Horne, so I think Miller must focus on Wise. He needs to somehow convince Wise he is blowing an opportunity of a liftetime. He is too inconsistent. I understand if you’re shot is not falling, but that doesn’t mean you stop trying. You try to get the defense to key on you, and try to get your teammates more involved. Nic Wise should never have less than 5 assists. He doesn’t have to win every game, but he does need to play with consistency, and get his teammates involved every single game. In games in which Nic has 5 assists or more, I believe the Cats have lost like 6 games (or some ridiculous low number like that), and that’s for Nic’s entire 4 year career.
Miller needs to act now before the season is completely lost.
December 31st, 2009 at 8:24 AM
How are you guys going to dog Geary? The man had absolutely no Sales Pitch to give players, and the entire program was up in the air. Yet did he quit? No, he actually continued to hit the recruiting trails hard. He may not have brought in a ton of high level talent, but let’s be honest, how could he? No one knew what the future held, so how was he suppose to put some kid’s fears at ease?
I think we all need to cut Geary some slack. The man bled Cardinal Red and Navy Blue
December 31st, 2009 at 9:51 AM
DenverCat,
I was not dogging Geary. I was commenting on the statements that Pastner and Damon would be able to recruit any player they wanted because thay could sell the program on it’s history and their previous involvement. Geary was just as involved and could not sell it to high level players. My point was, Damon was a great player, but we have no idea of the kind of recruiter and coach he would be. Being an ex-player, even a great one, does not guarentee your being able to convince the best players to come play for you. Simon and Geary were great UA players and because of the situation they were in they could not get players. I went back and read my previous post and I did not communicate my point well enough. I respect Geary for everything he did while he was here and the job he tried to do.
December 31st, 2009 at 10:36 AM
Sorry for the misunderstanding JT
December 31st, 2009 at 10:48 AM
Geary is the one that recruited Hill. He tried to get Williams aswell.