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There is something missing with the coaching. Acker's sideline demeanor was awful at times last year, much better this year, still he shows his anger too much at his players I'd prefer any HC we have stay more composed.
The X's and O's on offense I think improved and showed some progress, but the team got lazy in the 2nd half of conference and regressed on offense, way too much one on one and the passing downgraded from some very nice ball movement to tentative, slow developing easy to defend movement. Grade for team offense is a C and that's generous based on the early season success. Towards the end its been a D.
The defense sucked. I can't remember one game where I was impressed with a full 40 minutes of smart and active defensive effort. Saw some spurts and maybe a few games were overall good, but the grade for team defense is a D.
End of game management, F all season and its been a problem two years in a row under Acker.
Ball out of bounds and vs. full court pressure, F too often...overall I'd give it a D+.
Rebounding started decent then went to hell. D+.
Shooting 3s, FGs, FTs, maybe a C+ it seemed decent.
Sykes: A-. Needs refinement but the natural abilities are there in abundance.
I can't think of one aspect of the game we did very well other than halfway decent shooting.
Previous Message
I enjoyed watching Sykes and Diaz. I even liked Acker and his coaches coach during the game. We need the school to find a way to them both.
Acker might be ok as well but we need for him to bring in a great recruiting class. Previous Message
Good perspective Sparky. If this becomes the norm, with teams like us being developmental for guys like Sykes, I hope it can become the norm that teams that sign a guy like Sykes after a team like us develops him, have to pay up for the honor, maybe 10% of the NIL offer (above and beyond what the player gets) for each year the player was at the developmental team. I could stomach this new era better if that was the reality. Previous Message
The world of MBB recruiting has changed with the professional era. Many kids today realize that playing time at P4 schools may be harder to come by. So leagues like the BW have become minor leagues for the P4. I recently saw a rating that had the BW ranked as the #11 league, which is the highest since the days of UNLV and NMSU in the league. So I guess we are a AAA league.
The decision to come here has certainly served Sykes well, he will cash a massive check next season and the opportunity to develop his game as the #1 option has played out well. One would hope that Acker can parlay that into recruiting more highly talented players out of HS. Previous Message
It happens, a kid flies under the radar in HS for whatever reason, gets a nice player rating and attracts mid level attention, then his college coaches realize he's a stud and play him a ton of minutes and he blows up. I think Lucius Harris kind of fits this profile as well though he was probably more widely recruited. Probably every home run frosh recruit in the BWC for 40 years was 4 star or less out of HS.
Acker deserves praise for focusing in and landing Gavin. I will enjoy watching him in person one final game, hope he gets 40! Previous Message
To explain how Gavin Sykes slipped under the radar and landed at LBSU. Quite a coup for Acker, one of his few bright spots. He did have a few other offers including Cal that he somehow turned down even though he is from Northern Cal. Whatever the answer, it has turned into one of the best recruiting jobs in the history of LBSU. Too early in Sykes career to compare, but it reminds me of Steph Curry going to Davidson.
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on 3/1/2026, 3:54 pm, in reply to "