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Post by epx on Apr 19, 2022 15:07:57 GMT -5
Coach Taylor said a lot of what I wanted to hear, said a thing or two I didn't want to hear, but gave the best press conference of any coach hired at Elon in the Blank era. There's too much to repeat here, but the PC is on YouTube. Here's the link www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJi2BY7JBIAAt this point I'm cautiously optimistic. Of course, we won't really know anything until next season.
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Post by phoenix15 on Apr 19, 2022 15:25:22 GMT -5
Agreed. I was vocal last week about my disappointment with the hire but came away impressed and a fan of him after the press conference. Not sure if “playing fast” wins games, but when it comes to recruiting it is probably what high schoolers/transfers want to hear. Now let’s get some recruits!
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Post by mtdewslushie on Apr 20, 2022 10:10:08 GMT -5
Got a chance to watch and he certainly seems polished. I like his ultimate aspirations for the program and that the first thing he hit in his bullet points had to do with winning.
With what's going on in college athletics, don't agree that it needs to be a slow build and talk of that worries me. Coaches are going to have to get used to a lot of turnover and building/rebuilding each year pretty quickly. I don't like the trend, but that's how it's trending.
All around, first impressions were positive. Certainly hope he can achieve the goals he's set out for himself.
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Post by phoenix15 on Apr 22, 2022 13:25:00 GMT -5
What do we think happens first?
1. We name an assistant coach. 2. A player commits/recommits to Elon.
The complete silence on both fronts is….odd.
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Post by elonhoops4life on Apr 22, 2022 14:47:26 GMT -5
He already has one Asst. ITT just has not been officially announced yet. I believe it was one of his Asst. At Lehigh. Burford is gone and I think it is all but certain that Mackintosh and Graham will be leaving. Perhaps we can keep Ervin and Woods. Watson and Junkin will not enter the portal. If they do they have to sit out a year.
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Post by elonlax01 on Apr 22, 2022 15:46:14 GMT -5
Via Hoopdirt. 2 Assistants so far.
Earlier this week, I reported that new Elon head coach Billy Taylor was adding Converse College head coach Ryan Saunders as an assistant (D2 DIRT). I have now also heard that Johnson & Wales (Charlotte) head coach Josh Gross will be joining the Phoenix staff as well.
Gross had previously worked as an assistant under Taylor at Belmont Abbey during the 2017-18 season. Gross played at UNC Greensboro while Taylor was an assistant there in the early 2000’s.
In addition to his time at JWU and Belmont Abbey, Gross also spent two seasons as the head coach at the Gaston Christian School (NC).
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Post by phoenixlifer on Apr 23, 2022 10:48:41 GMT -5
Tick-tock, time is wasting coach. I see no progress on the recruiting front, and we have 8 scholarships to fill.
Rise Phoenix! Class of ‘82
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Post by epx on May 12, 2022 13:15:56 GMT -5
I just saw this art19.com/shows/voices-of-elon-athletics which was published on elonphoenix.com on 5/6/2022. If you saw the YouTube video you won't get anything more by listening to this. The format is different, Taylor Durham throws up powder puff questions and Billy Taylor answers them. I learned that the press conference was standing room only, that in addition to Coach Lembo, Coach Trisciani was in attendance, Taylor talked about his high school coach being a hall of famer and he talked about Phelps' and McCaffery's recruiting him. Nothing else was new. My questions are: What do you mean by "The Right Way?" Does this mean Gonzaga, Davidson, Belmont, Towson, St. Josephs, Iona, St. Mary's, etc. are doing it the wrong way? We currently have a roster of 8 players filling a typical 15-16 position team and have 2 DII level commits. First, do you have a plan for replacing the talent we lost in Burford, Graham and McIntosh? And second, are there any quality D1 players from the Transfer Portal or quality 2022 graduates that may have decommitted from their original VC or LOI, that are interested in coming to Elon? Lastly, you have brought in two D2 coaches as your assistants. How will they be able to coach and recruit on a D1 level? I think these are reasonable questions. I'm fine with his not mentioning any names of recruits, but he needs to be put on the spot with regard to what is happening with the program. Right now I see no positive movement.
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Post by phoenix15 on May 12, 2022 21:18:10 GMT -5
Agreed on all levels
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Post by elonlax01 on May 13, 2022 8:02:51 GMT -5
Perhaps there is other social media I don't see, but why is Elon basketball twitter congratulating guys who have transferred to other schools and hasn't said a thing about any assistant coaches or recognized the 2 players that have signed? You can't even find the new assistants on the Athletics directory. They do have email accounts but you can't find them anywhere. I don't think this is a Coach Taylor issue.
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Post by elonlax01 on May 16, 2022 12:39:17 GMT -5
Well we have a new offer out there to L.A. Pratt, PG from Pittsburgh.
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Post by epx on May 17, 2022 7:01:41 GMT -5
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Post by epx on May 17, 2022 7:11:17 GMT -5
I'd say Northeastern has the inside track on Pratt. He's from Pittsburg and had committed to Duquesne which tells me he wants to stay home. Of the other schools making him offers, I'd say we should be next. Just depends on what he wants for his education and whether he's interested in warmer weather, beautiful campus and obviously to play for Billy Taylor. He would certainly have the possibility of starting at Elon.
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Post by phoenixlifer on May 18, 2022 8:12:41 GMT -5
I'd say Northeastern has the inside track on Pratt. He's from Pittsburg and had committed to Duquesne which tells me he wants to stay home. Of the other schools making him offers, I'd say we should be next. Just depends on what he wants for his education and whether he's interested in warmer weather, beautiful campus and obviously to play for Billy Taylor. He would certainly have the possibility of starting at Elon. Why would his roots in Pittsburgh give northeastern the edge? Rise Phoenix! class of ‘82
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Post by epx on May 18, 2022 18:45:57 GMT -5
Northeastern's a little closer to home should he want to visit family or vice versa.
There is another interesting dynamic going on which could possibly give us an inside track. When Devin Carney decommitted from Elon, he almost immediately signed with Duquesne. Very shortly after this, Pratt decommitted from Duquesne. I assume Pratt decommitted, because they pushed his spot on the team forward a year, asking him to go to a prep school first. That information came from the article for which I posted the link above. I obviously have no evidence of this, but it looks like Duquesne stole Carney from Elon, which basically eliminated Pratt's 2022-23 scholarship. I would think Pratt's signing with Elon would give him the opportunity to show Duquesne they made a mistake. I know that's grasping, but Pratt stands to get a lot of PT at Elon at the D1 level. He needs to beef up a little, but the video I saw looks like he's got a lot of natural talent.
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