At Utah State

[LanderPoke]

We got WORKED. This is not going to be a fun season

[TheRealUW]

The talent gap between Utah State and Wyoming was immense. Linder has to find a way to attract (and retain) better talent in Laramie.

The only teams in the MWC we will be able to hang with this year are Air Force, Fresno State, and San Jose State. Everyone else is way better than Wyoming - I just can't see us winning a single game against any of them, even at home.

[LawPoke]

The talent gap between Utah State and Wyoming was immense. Linder has to find a way to attract (and retain) better talent in Laramie.

The only teams in the MWC we will be able to hang with this year are Air Force, Fresno State, and San Jose State. Everyone else is way better than Wyoming - I just can't see us winning a single game against any of them, even at home.

Honest question: What do Utah State and Logan, Utah, have to attract and retain recruits that Laramie doesn't? How can they be competitive year in and year out...while we look like a steaming pile of hot garbage?

[OrediggerPoke]

The talent gap between Utah State and Wyoming was immense. Linder has to find a way to attract (and retain) better talent in Laramie.

The only teams in the MWC we will be able to hang with this year are Air Force, Fresno State, and San Jose State. Everyone else is way better than Wyoming - I just can't see us winning a single game against any of them, even at home.

Honest question: What do Utah State and Logan, Utah, have to attract and retain recruits that Laramie doesn't? How can they be competitive year in and year out...while we look like a steaming pile of hot garbage?

Utah State lost basically their whole team from last year (similar to us). They then assembled a team of transfers and Utah locals that is very good. It’s quite shocking.

[OrediggerPoke]

The talent gap between Utah State and Wyoming was immense. Linder has to find a way to attract (and retain) better talent in Laramie.

The only teams in the MWC we will be able to hang with this year are Air Force, Fresno State, and San Jose State. Everyone else is way better than Wyoming - I just can't see us winning a single game against any of them, even at home.

Honest question: What do Utah State and Logan, Utah, have to attract and retain recruits that Laramie doesn't? How can they be competitive year in and year out...while we look like a steaming pile of hot garbage?

I was wrong. Utah State returned less production than we did. Utah State didn’t return a single point, rebound or assist from last year.

https://news.yahoo.com/getting-speed-lo ... 00956.html

[Poke in New England]

I think we are going to have a real conversation about next year being a make-or-break season for Jeff Linder.

[LanderPoke]

The talent gap between Utah State and Wyoming was immense. Linder has to find a way to attract (and retain) better talent in Laramie.

The only teams in the MWC we will be able to hang with this year are Air Force, Fresno State, and San Jose State. Everyone else is way better than Wyoming - I just can't see us winning a single game against any of them, even at home.

Honest question: What do Utah State and Logan, Utah, have to attract and retain recruits that Laramie doesn't? How can they be competitive year in and year out...while we look like a steaming pile of hot garbage?

I don't know how the H they do it. They are guaranteed to have good-great basketball teams. Someone there sold their soul to the devil.

[bladerunnr]

I think we are going to have a real conversation about next year being a make-or-break season for Jeff Linder.

I'm afraid that's right. I was willing to give him a pass last year. I think we knew this year wouldn't be very good but there is no talent in the pipeline to make me think next year will be any better. This 2 man game of screen and roll only works if there is some real serious talent handling the ball and a big who's a low post threat. I remember when Shyatt came to town the first time and took a really limited talent team to respectability in the conference. But he ran a motion offense where all 5 guys were moving and screening. Frankly, we can't even get an open look if the opposing team is serious about playing defense. I thought Linder was going to right the ship but we are looking more and more like the Titanic.

[LawPoke]

I think we are going to have a real conversation about next year being a make-or-break season for Jeff Linder.

I'm afraid that's right. I was willing to give him a pass last year. I think we knew this year wouldn't be very good but there is no talent in the pipeline to make me think next year will be any better. This 2 man game of screen and roll only works if there is some real serious talent handling the ball and a big who's a low post threat. I remember when Shyatt came to town the first time and took a really limited talent team to respectability in the conference. But he ran a motion offense where all 5 guys were moving and screening. Frankly, we can't even get an open look if the opposing team is serious about playing defense. I thought Linder was going to right the ship but we are looking more and more like the Titanic.

I was a huge Jeff Linder fanboy after the run to the NCAA tourney his second year. I even irritated the AD because I pushed hard on social media to pay him whatever he wanted to keep him. In hindsight, it appears my admiration and devotion were premature and misplaced.

A guy like Linder can win when they control their players - start to finish. If he can build a squad like he did at UNC and not suffer mass attrition in the portal, I think he wins. But those are no longer the rules. Now, players that experience his tough love can simple transfer - and have. Like it or not, lament it, be angered by it, be frustrated by it...it is still our reality.

I think we are in a death spiral with Linder. We need a player's coach. He ain't one. He is the guy that yells, crosses his arms and pouts, and, yes, is demanding to an apparent fault. If we can only muster 1-3 more wins, which that will even be a stretch, I think you have to look at making a change at the end of this season. Next year will be worse by all rational accounts.

[WYO1016]

The talent gap between Utah State and Wyoming was immense. Linder has to find a way to attract (and retain) better talent in Laramie.

The only teams in the MWC we will be able to hang with this year are Air Force, Fresno State, and San Jose State. Everyone else is way better than Wyoming - I just can't see us winning a single game against any of them, even at home.

Honest question: What do Utah State and Logan, Utah, have to attract and retain recruits that Laramie doesn't? How can they be competitive year in and year out...while we look like a steaming pile of hot garbage?

For one, Sprinkle brought his 2 best players from Montana State with him to Logan (Osobor and Brown). Both of them had been in his system for a couple years before going to Utah State. That in itself is a pretty big adavantage.

Linder effed up with the transfers he brought in last year, which in turn blew up the team. They looked good on paper when they were signed, but were a colassal failure. Due to this screw up we're starting completely from scratch this season.

[TheRealUW]

The talent gap between Utah State and Wyoming was immense. Linder has to find a way to attract (and retain) better talent in Laramie.

The only teams in the MWC we will be able to hang with this year are Air Force, Fresno State, and San Jose State. Everyone else is way better than Wyoming - I just can't see us winning a single game against any of them, even at home.

Honest question: What do Utah State and Logan, Utah, have to attract and retain recruits that Laramie doesn't? How can they be competitive year in and year out...while we look like a steaming pile of hot garbage?

I think the biggest advantage Utah State has is that they are in Utah and in a heavily Mormon community. Utah high school basketball is at a much higher level compared to Wyoming high school basketball. As such, they can count on getting one or two in-state quality players each and every year, and those kids have a very low chance of transferring. Utah high school recruits aren't always the most athletic, but they are typically great shooters and have a really good understanding of the game that they learn at the high school level. Utah State also has the ability to attract other Mormon prospects from outside Utah (remember Jaycee Carroll?).

As other's have eluded to already, the landscape of college basketball has changed a lot in just the last decade. Coaches can no longer count on having players in their program for 4+ years anymore. You almost have to take the approach of looking at each and every year as a brand new team - this is literally the case in some instances. If you told me every player that comes to UW would be in the program for 4 years, I have no doubt that Linder would have a damn good team in 2-3 years worth of time. But those days are over and never coming back. Can Linder make the necessary changes to keep up with the shifting landscape beneath him? I don't know, but his coaching career may just depend on it.

[LanderPoke]

I think we are going to have a real conversation about next year being a make-or-break season for Jeff Linder.

I'm afraid that's right. I was willing to give him a pass last year. I think we knew this year wouldn't be very good but there is no talent in the pipeline to make me think next year will be any better. This 2 man game of screen and roll only works if there is some real serious talent handling the ball and a big who's a low post threat. I remember when Shyatt came to town the first time and took a really limited talent team to respectability in the conference. But he ran a motion offense where all 5 guys were moving and screening. Frankly, we can't even get an open look if the opposing team is serious about playing defense. I thought Linder was going to right the ship but we are looking more and more like the Titanic.

The part that kills me is Linder is supposedly a basketball genius. Well if having 3/5 players stand around at all times and never generating open looks is a sign of basketball genius then Linder is a genius

[LKGates]

Better luck next time.
Go Aggies!

[bladerunnr]

I'm afraid that's right. I was willing to give him a pass last year. I think we knew this year wouldn't be very good but there is no talent in the pipeline to make me think next year will be any better. This 2 man game of screen and roll only works if there is some real serious talent handling the ball and a big who's a low post threat. I remember when Shyatt came to town the first time and took a really limited talent team to respectability in the conference. But he ran a motion offense where all 5 guys were moving and screening. Frankly, we can't even get an open look if the opposing team is serious about playing defense. I thought Linder was going to right the ship but we are looking more and more like the Titanic.

The part that kills me is Linder is supposedly a basketball genius. Well if having 3/5 players stand around at all times and never generating open looks is a sign of basketball genius then Linder is a genius

In hindsight, it sure seemed strange to have Maldanado with the ball in his hands all the time. He had games with 8-10 turnovers and Jeffries and Ike weren't even seeing the ball. I figured Linder knew what he was doing because we were winning. But how much more could we have done had the ball been distributed more evenly? Now, without all the talent, the offense just looks stagnant and predictable.

[LanderPoke]

The part that kills me is Linder is supposedly a basketball genius. Well if having 3/5 players stand around at all times and never generating open looks is a sign of basketball genius then Linder is a genius

In hindsight, it sure seemed strange to have Maldanado with the ball in his hands all the time. He had games with 8-10 turnovers and Jeffries and Ike weren't even seeing the ball. I figured Linder knew what he was doing because we were winning. But how much more could we have done had the ball been distributed more evenly? Now, without all the talent, the offense just looks stagnant and predictable.

I'm not seeing much evidence Linder is an above average coach. He landed Ike and had a good couple months with him until opponents figured out we had the Ike post up and the Maldo post up and nothing else then limped to the finish line and backed into a NCAA berth. Linder hasn't done anything outside those 2-3 months

[307bball]

In hindsight, it sure seemed strange to have Maldanado with the ball in his hands all the time. He had games with 8-10 turnovers and Jeffries and Ike weren't even seeing the ball. I figured Linder knew what he was doing because we were winning. But how much more could we have done had the ball been distributed more evenly? Now, without all the talent, the offense just looks stagnant and predictable.

I'm not seeing much evidence Linder is an above average coach. He landed Ike and had a good couple months with him until opponents figured out we had the Ike post up and the Maldo post up and nothing else then limped to the finish line and backed into a NCAA berth. Linder hasn't done anything outside those 2-3 months

I have become jaded when it comes to the impact that coaching has....If you are bad...I think it's mostly because you don't have talent on the roster. A good coach is slightly less bad but still will be bad. This Wyoming team is pretty low on talent. If you coached them with a perfect style for their capabilities, are they a top half MWC team? Maybe?...but I don't think so.

[stymeman]

Gonna be a tough conference season but glad the mwc is playing so well and getting national attention again