Miami was fine roster wise before the FBI basically made it impossible for L to sign anyone worth a ****. How many teams do well when they are unable to get anyone to come in, especially after losing two NBA draft picks? Miami has historically played with 10 guys, with the rotation shorting to the industry standard of 8 or so when conference play started. Miami didn't even have that many scholarship athletes this year, especially after Hernandez got screwed and Gak got hurt.
1. As for roster management issues; they have been prevalent for a long time. They existed before the FBI bullchit too. Now the FBI investigation did really hurt us recruiting wise, nobody would say the opposite, but this doesn't mean that these issues didn't exist before that. So you have an issue that already existed, roster management, and then you have an even bigger hurdle (from outside forces). Even with the FBI bullchit, Coach was able to bring in 3 transfers last year (McGusty, Mack and Johnson). Clearly those 3 didn't care, I am sure there were others too. Also, Coach was able to recruit this year and has 2 signed recruits so far. There are other ways to fill the class besides elite HS recruits. Our best teams didn't have elite HS recruits.
Again, not saying this FBI bullchit didn't *** us. I am just saying that we've had roster management issues for some time.
2. As for historically playing with 10 guys, I am not going to argue whether this is true or not but look at the numbers below. The first number represents the "active" scholarships being used (those eligible to play). The second number represents the total scholarships being used.
(Active/Total Ships Used)
2018-19: 9/11 (McGusty is sitting out and Miller is redshirting)
2017-18: 10/12 (Wilson sat out and Gak redshirted)
2016-17: 9/11* (Gilmore sat out but was kicked out of school during the season)
2015-16: 10/11 (Muhammad sat out)
2014-15: 11/12 (Murphy sat out)
*Waardenburg sat out 2016-17 but arrived late. He is included in the numbers even though he sat and redshirted.
It is clear that having so few active ships (9.8 on average, see above) is not a good way to start the season.
- Injuries happen.
- Players get thrown out of school (e.g. Muhammad kicked out during the season).
- Players choosing to transfer (e.g. Mack)
- Then you have kids sitting out for other reasons (e.g. transfers coming in and redshirts)
3. What is the argument against bringing in more kids? Nobody is saying that every kid we recruit or that transfers into the program needs to be elite. We're just saying fill the class. As a program, we know kids are leaving all the time.
4. The thing I don't understand is why don't we bring in more grad transfers as fillers. I am not talking about highly sought after grad transfers (e.g. Z. Johnson), that is obvious. But if you know you have 2 open spots and there are no more really good transfers, why not bring in fillers? I am talking about players like Joe Thomas. They're low risk players who are willing to compete. They're gone in a year. It is better to have them then no one.
5. The other thing I don't get is our local recruiting. Why don't we take chances on more local prospects? Remember Neftali Alvarez? Local kid from Miami Christian HS. Are you telling me we couldn't bring this kid in late? For those that forget...
http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/player/stats/_/id/4398075/neftali-alvarez
Neftali Alvarez joins the Fairfield University men's basketball program after last season at Miami Christian where he helped the school capture two state titles. In his junior season, Alvarez netted the game-winning three pointer in the first of those titles. He averaged a double-double last season with 27 points and 11 assists per game which caused the Miami Herald to select him as the 5A-1A Player of the Year. He was one of nine finalists for Florida's Mr. Basketball award, an honor bestowed to the top player in the state. He also garnered All-State honors both as a junior and as a senior.
Maybe you can convince him to redshirt. Maybe he just wants to compete. Why not bring more of these kids in?
