Total Misconception about recruits!

[SeniorDrill]

Total misconception. It is a huge mistake to think there is a great deal of difference between Conference USA and SEC recruits. All you have to do is look at how many major conference schools were taken down by mid majors in the NCAA tournament. You take Southern Mississippi, Louisiana Tech, Tulsa, and Middle Tennessee (all 13-3 in conference) and pair them with the top four teams in the SEC - Florida, Kentucky, Georgia, and Tennessee by putting in a hat and drawing the pairing and Conference USA wins 1 or 2. If you pair them with the bottom four in the SEC, they win 3 of 4.
Let me make it a little simpler. Basketball teams have 14 players as opposed to football. That's a hell of a lot of talent to pick over. Some people are acting like USM recruits are inferior to SEC recruits. Tell that to the leading scorer in the conference and Missouri. Tell that to Mercer who came into Thompson Boling and beat Tennessee last year and followed that up with a victory over Duke in the NCAA this year (they play with ETSU). Tell that to Wichita State. You catch my drift! Never think that Coach T can not solidify his roster with his USM recruits if they choose to come.
(PS, being an ETSU grad, have to throw in that the Bucs swept the Vols in a home and home baseball series this year.So much for mid majors not having any talent on a level with the SEC.)

 

[k-town_king]

Winning one game and competing for a whole conference season and post season are different things. There is a huge difference.

 

[GAVol]

Winning one game and competing for a whole conference season and post season are different things. There is a huge difference.

The difference isn't quite as big as you think.

 

[99gator]

Amazing the stuff people try to convince themselves.

 

[K-town Vol Fan]

The difference isn't quite as big as you think.

Agreed. In basketball its more about coaching schemes and player development.

 

[SeniorDrill]

Winning one game and competing for a whole conference season and post season are different things. There is a huge difference.

Southern Mississippi 29-7
Louisiana Tech 29-8
Middle Tennessee 24-9
Tulsa 21-13

Florida 36-3
Kentucky 29-11
Georgia 20-14
Tennessee 24-13

 

[GAVol]

I think there's a difference as far as the kids that are ready to play their freshman year. But by year 2 or 3, there are a lot of kids in CUSA and A-Sun that could play on a lot of SEC rosters.

 

[Domestic Silence]

Sadly we'll find that out this year when we field an all Conference USA team and getting hammered by SEC teams.

 

[bleedingTNorange]

So we bash Zo's recruiting of guys who were courted by high majors, but are gonna applaud Tyndall's because they were courted by mid majors?

That's VN for ya

 

[GAVol]

Watching firsthand as Mercer has beaten Tennessee, Alabama, Ole Miss, Seton Hall, FSU, Ga Tech, Texas and Duke the past couple of years has changed my entire outlook as far as the talent gap goes.

 

[bleedingTNorange]

Watching firsthand as Mercer has beaten Tennessee, Alabama, Ole Miss, Seton Hall, FSU, Ga Tech, Texas and Duke the past couple of years has changed my entire outlook as far as the talent gap goes.

But at the end of the day what's mercer accomplished the last 4 years? I NCAAT trip, I would want more from Tennessee, wouldn't you?

 

[1972 Grad]

But at the end of the day what's mercer accomplished the last 4 years? I NCAAT trip, I would want more from Tennessee, wouldn't you?

The only realistic chance for Mercer to get in would be to win their conference championship tournament. You don't have to do that in the SEC.

 

[JacketVol]

So we bash Zo's recruiting of guys who were courted by high majors, but are gonna applaud Tyndall's because they were courted by mid majors?

That's VN for ya

Jucos with two years in college compared to frosh with none. Those mid majors guys are more developed than the mid major frosh.

That's BTO for ya

 

[bowlinggreenvol]

But at the end of the day what's mercer accomplished the last 4 years? I NCAAT trip, I would want more from Tennessee, wouldn't you?

They're also in a one-bid league. You conveniently gloss over details that would drastically change the premise of your point. Mercer can go 16-0 in the A-Sun and lose in the conference tourney and they're not getting in. Ask your boy Cuonzo what's its like to dominate the conference regular season and not get in.

You should probably slow down on your post count and give your points more thought before rushing to make your post ASAP. You wouldn't have to twisty, reach and backpedal so much to support your stance.

 

[bleedingTNorange]

Jucos with two years in college compared to frosh with none. Those mid majors guys are more developed than the mid major frosh.

That's BTO for ya

Huh?
Every player in USM's 2014 class is a JUCO? News to me.

 

[bleedingTNorange]

They're also in a one-bid league. You conveniently gloss over details that would drastically change the premise of your point. Mercer can go 16-0 in the A-Sun and lose in the conference tourney and they're not getting in. Ask your boy Cuonzo what's its like to dominate the conference regular season and not get in.

Ok what else has mercer done then?

Win the Nit? Nope.

Win 30 games? Nope.

I'm not diminishing what they've done at all, they've done great for Mercer standards...would you trade seasons with them though, I wouldn't?

And did we not see what a SEC roster can do to them, didn't we play them just a month ago?

 

[bowlinggreenvol]

Huh?
Every player in USM's 2014 class is a JUCO? News to me.

His point is directed at JUCO's and you know it. He didn't imply every recruit CDT has is a JUCO. You're just an ass who likes to argue semantics for the sake of arguing and being an ass.

 

[bowlinggreenvol]

Ok what else has mercer done then?

Win the Nit? Nope.

Win 30 games? Nope.

I'm not diminishing what they've done at all, they've done great for Mercer standards...would you trade seasons with them though, I wouldn't?

And did we not see what a SEC roster can do to them, didn't we play them just a month ago?

Did we not see what they can do to an NCAA blue blood with a roster 5x better than ours just a month ago?

The point is if a team (say us) experiences Mercer's success the last 3-4 yrs (in conference) they're in the NCAA from a major conference. Saying they've only made 1 tourney is stupid when they have a smaller margin of error. We only made it 1 in 3 yrs despite playing in perhaps the weakest SEC in my lifetime. Way to grab the bull by the horns Vols!

 

[RiseToTheTop]

really isnt much of a difference after the first 4-5 SEC teams. LA Tech proved that against UGA. there is some really piss poor SEC basketball teams. we may be one of them next yr though.

 

[MemphisCanes]

It is a huge mistake to think there is a great deal of difference between Conference USA and SEC recruits.

If you're talking about the bottom 6 or so teams in the SEC, you may be right. If you're talking about competing with Arkansas, Auburn (w/ Pearl), Florida and Kentucky, you couldn't be more wrong. There is a huge gap in that talent.

 

[MemphisCanes]

Did we not see what they can do to an NCAA blue blood with a roster 5x better than ours just a month ago?

The point is if a team (say us) experiences Mercer's success the last 3-4 yrs (in conference) they're in the NCAA from a major conference. Saying they've only made 1 tourney is stupid when they have a smaller margin of error. We only made it 1 in 3 yrs despite playing in perhaps the weakest SEC in my lifetime. Way to grab the bull by the horns Vols!

A lot of difference in beating one high-major team one time after a week's rest and under the big lights. Mercer would get dismantled in SEC play; they'd probably win 1 or 2 games in conference. That's where the talent gap comes in.

 

[tnwayback]

Well we wanted a change, we got it. I think that we are headed for prosperous times in BB starting at day one. Donnie will get it done.

 

[Sudden Impact]

There is just a broader base to pull from and it is limited room to put all this talent at the major level. 14 player rosters vs 85 player rosters.

Evaluation of talent, players are going to be missed. It happens in football. AAU helps with visibility, but players will always be missed.

NCAA Basketball Teams - 350 x 14 = 4900 positions available
NCAA Div 1 Football - 120 x 85 = 10200 positions available

I would think it does come down to coaching and the coach getting his fit for his system. Talent gap with limited slots is not a problem, its about coaching in basketball more so than it is in football.

 

[bowlinggreenvol]

A lot of difference in beating one high-major team one time after a week's rest and under the big lights. Mercer would get dismantled in SEC play; they'd probably win 1 or 2 games in conference. That's where the talent gap comes in.

I don't believe a roster of all Mercer guys wins the SEC by any means. But BTO's point was the SEC showed it's superiority vs them, when 2 days earlier they competed all game and beat a team with the likely #1 overall pick on their roster. Just like I can't use one win to show that they can compete night in and night out, one loss can't be used as a barometer either. That was the point I was trying to make to BTO.

 

[MemphisCanes]

I don't believe a roster of all Mercer guys wins the SEC by any means. But BTO's point was the SEC showed it's superiority vs them, when 2 days earlier they competed all game and beat a team with the likely #1 overall pick on their roster. Just like I can't use one win to show that they can compete night in and night out, one loss can't be used as a barometer either. That was the point I was trying to make to BTO.

I think that proves BTO's point. What did Mercer beat Duke by, and what did UTK beat Mercer by?

UTK wasn't much better (if any better) than that Duke squad, but Mercer could jump up and get anyone on any given day. However, if they played Duke 10 more times they probably lose 9 or 10 of them.

It's not about one game in particular, it's the probabilities over 18 games. That's where the talent gap shows itself.