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UB Nate Oats leaving to go to Alabama


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9 hours ago, 707BillsFan said:

 

Pre-season polls mean nothing. My UCLA Bruins were ranked 21 in a few polls, they're still wiping their bottoms after messing themselves all season. Alabama has the 5th best recruiting class behind KY, GA, FL, Auburn. https://247sports.com/Season/2019-Basketball/CompositeTeamRankings/?Conference=SEC - Can any recruits back out if they were Avery guys? I wish Oats the best, but I do think it'll be a tough ride for him. I'm sure he wanted the challenge as well. 

 

Yes, they absolutely can. His first two tasks will be trying to convince the young guys currently on his roster not to transfer and then to try to convince the recruits not to back out. It sounds like at minimum, he's losing 2 of his 3 best players and possibly all 3 of them plus recruits that haven't stepped foot on campus yet.

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9 hours ago, 707BillsFan said:

 

Pre-season polls mean nothing. My UCLA Bruins were ranked 21 in a few polls, they're still wiping their bottoms after messing themselves all season. Alabama has the 5th best recruiting class behind KY, GA, FL, Auburn. https://247sports.com/Season/2019-Basketball/CompositeTeamRankings/?Conference=SEC - Can any recruits back out if they were Avery guys? I wish Oats the best, but I do think it'll be a tough ride for him. I'm sure he wanted the challenge as well. 

 

5th best recruiting class (in the SEC) and 19th in the nation with a 'hot' new coach that got plenty of praise by talking heads on TV during the past two tourneys?    Even if he loses a few guys this year, he should be able to ramp recruiting back up in 2020 and have equal success to Johnson.   Nate's a players coach and 'Bama's committed to driving the basketball program into a higher gear.       BTW, what was UB's recruiting class rated?    117th.   

 

Nate will have a hell of a good run in Tuscaloosa, especially if he can land Trendon Watford...

 

https://247sports.com/player/trendon-watford-84000/

 

 

 

 

 

14 minutes ago, The Poojer said:

Looks like Niagara is getting ready to finalize bringing in Belien...great move by them.

 

Oh boy!   As a NU alum, I applaud that hire if they can finalize it!...

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3 hours ago, eball said:

If Oats is getting 3M per year at Bama (that's what Avery Johnson was making) the move from UB and his 800K salary was a no-brainer.

 

this is how life works

 

 

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14 hours ago, 707BillsFan said:

 

He'll also be going up against other SEC teams and powerhouses. Alabama has never been known as a basketball school, usually in the second tier of the SEC, so it's not a huge draw for recruits (better than Buffalo, yes). There was talk about Oats building a Gonzaga style program in Buffalo. Gonzaga isn't a well known school, with the exception of basketball. Spokane isn't a huge draw for any kid. How does Mark Few do it? Consistency. He always wins and he's not leaving. Is that the draw? I don't think I can remember any GU player in the NBA that succeeded...except maybe Sabonis. 

 

 

Ah, Gonzaga is not a mid major anymore guys.  Few's contract although small at annual salary of 1.4 million is still more than what Oates would ever make at UB.  Donors of the Zags have pumped in a ton of money into the basketball program with the McCarthey Athletic Center, which although only hold 6k, it is a state of the art facility, opened in 2004 & had major renovations done to it in 2017.  Zags have been 1 seed several times, #2 seed several times & are usually in the discussion for National Title Contender.  Few certainly could make money else where but from what I have read about him he loves living out there & that trumps everything.  He also knows that every year at Gonzaga he has a chance to win the NC.  Oates said something very peculiar after the loss to Tech, said "we need to work on getting a better seed so we are setup better in the tournament." What?????   MAC teams odds are have no chance of getting a better seed than 6th if history is any indication.  

 

My point is stop comparing Gonzaga to UB, they are in two different universes when it comes to basketball.  Gonzaga is not a mid major.  

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37 minutes ago, Lurker said:

 

BTW, what was UB's recruiting class rated?    117th.   

 

Nate will have a hell of a good run in Tuscaloosa, especially if he can land Trendon Watford...

 

https://247sports.com/player/trendon-watford-84000/

 

Were Harris, Caruthers, Perkins and Massinburg highly recruited players? No. We don't know what these kids will do at the collegiate level. There a lot of very good players that, for some reason, fly under the radar, mature later or have to go through the JC route first. You can have all the catered, 4 and 5 star recruits who are looking for one and done collegiate careers you want. How about some hungry players who want to prove the world everyone else they were wrong. I'll take a handful of those guys. 

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There is one downside to choosing Alabama against most other power 5 conference schools.  The students, fans, and most especially, the powerful alumni, are used to the football program being the best(or at the very least being in the playoffs)...every single year.  Tough to compete with that.  Making the tourney, and getting bounced in the first two rounds, or even the sweet 16, isn't going to cut it.

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11 minutes ago, LabattBlue said:

There is one downside to choosing Alabama against most other power 5 conference schools.  The students, fans, and most especially, the powerful alumni, are used to the football program being the best(or at the very least being in the playoffs)...every single year.  Tough to compete with that.  Making the tourney, and getting bounced in the first two rounds, or even the sweet 16, isn't going to cut it.

 

it's clearly a step up for him, and he wants to take that step

 

SEC hoops isn't is its own zone, without a national powerhouse the conference would be ignored

 

 

 

 

 

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32 minutes ago, Gordio said:

 

 

Ah, Gonzaga is not a mid major anymore guys.  Few's contract although small at annual salary of 1.4 million is still more than what Oates would ever make at UB.  Donors of the Zags have pumped in a ton of money into the basketball program with the McCarthey Athletic Center, which although only hold 6k, it is a state of the art facility, opened in 2004 & had major renovations done to it in 2017.  Zags have been 1 seed several times, #2 seed several times & are usually in the discussion for National Title Contender.  Few certainly could make money else where but from what I have read about him he loves living out there & that trumps everything.  He also knows that every year at Gonzaga he has a chance to win the NC.  Oates said something very peculiar after the loss to Tech, said "we need to work on getting a better seed so we are setup better in the tournament." What?????   MAC teams odds are have no chance of getting a better seed than 6th if history is any indication.  

 

My point is stop comparing Gonzaga to UB, they are in two different universes when it comes to basketball.  Gonzaga is not a mid major.  

But Gonzaga had to start somewhere. They are a decade+ into this strong program. What did you consider Gonzaga a decade ago? A cute story about a small Washington university who wins a game or two in the tournament. Now, they are a true perennial powerhouse. The coach hasn't left and he has no desire to leave....strange concept of someone willing to stay and build a perennial winner despite people constantly knocking at your door trying to lure you away. 

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19 minutes ago, 707BillsFan said:

But Gonzaga had to start somewhere. They are a decade+ into this strong program. What did you consider Gonzaga a decade ago? A cute story about a small Washington university who wins a game or two in the tournament. Now, they are a true perennial powerhouse. The coach hasn't left and he has no desire to leave....strange concept of someone willing to stay and build a perennial winner despite people constantly knocking at your door trying to lure you away. 

 

 

Gonzaga was a cute story actually well over two decades ago.  & I get it, you got to start somewhere, but....they are a national power & have been for the past 15 years.  I can't ever see UB getting to that point.  

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32 minutes ago, 707BillsFan said:

But Gonzaga had to start somewhere. They are a decade+ into this strong program. What did you consider Gonzaga a decade ago? A cute story about a small Washington university who wins a game or two in the tournament. Now, they are a true perennial powerhouse. The coach hasn't left and he has no desire to leave....strange concept of someone willing to stay and build a perennial winner despite people constantly knocking at your door trying to lure you away. 

 

a decade ago it had Adam Morrison, maybe more years ago, and he met his match in one of the biggest choke-jobs in NCAA history against UCLA

 

since then they've played barely any top 40 teams in the regular season, or even March Madness

 

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56 minutes ago, 707BillsFan said:

I'll take a handful of those guys. 

 

And you'd lose to a Power-5 team 90% of the time.    There's a reason mid-major teams not named Gonzoga rarely get to the sweet 16...

 

(and, as a part of SUNY--where the faculty is diametrically opposed to big-time sports--it would be difficult to replicate the Gonzaga model)

 

 

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1 hour ago, row_33 said:

 

a decade ago it had Adam Morrison, maybe more years ago, and he met his match in one of the biggest choke-jobs in NCAA history against UCLA

 

since then they've played barely any top 40 teams in the regular season, or even March Madness

 

 

 

They played Duke, UNC, Wash, & Tenn this year.  Not sure how many more games you want Few to schedule against Top teams.  

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1 hour ago, Lurker said:

 

And you'd lose to a Power-5 team 90% of the time.    There's a reason mid-major teams not named Gonzoga rarely get to the sweet 16...

 

(and, as a part of SUNY--where the faculty is diametrically opposed to big-time sports--it would be difficult to replicate the Gonzaga model)

 

 

 

with a real conference Gonzaga would lose at least 6 times a year.

 

they didn't even win their conf tour

 

OH, MAKE THEM #1 ANYWAY, WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

 

 

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2 hours ago, 707BillsFan said:

But Gonzaga had to start somewhere. They are a decade+ into this strong program. What did you consider Gonzaga a decade ago? A cute story about a small Washington university who wins a game or two in the tournament. Now, they are a true perennial powerhouse. The coach hasn't left and he has no desire to leave....strange concept of someone willing to stay and build a perennial winner despite people constantly knocking at your door trying to lure you away. 

 

 

Reminds me of peterson with boise state football.  He was there quite awhile before heading to washington.  

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