everybody knows how important the position of point guard is to a basketball team. It has been discussed many time on this board that not ever getting a solid pg was one of the biggest problems/failures of Ken Bone. IMO Bennie was the key to Kelvin Sampson's success at WSU. From what I've seen thus far and especially against Utah State I'm wondering if Flynn could be that kind of recruit for coach Kent. The player who makes everybody around him better and truly turns a program around. Thoughts??
Seltzer and Flynn
- Thread starter jourdand
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Flynn has the skill set to become a special player. As a PG,he understands the game. He understands "spacing" and the team is now looking to him as their leader. This is impressive since there are senior guards on the team. When i saw his tapes,i thought that he was a under recruited player. My only question was his competition and his athleticism.People pointed to his lack of offers and thought that he was not a D1 player. The past posts are mostly negative. So far,he has risen above expectations. I still want to see how he handles defensive pressure from the elite PAC 12 guards. His presence will make players better and that is the sign of a good PG.
I think the only question with Flynn is when not if he becomes a top Pac 12 pg. The thing that struck me most when I first saw him was physique. Based on posts I expected a skinny kid who could pass and shoot. He is much more developed physically than I expected.
Flynn reminds me of a Seltzer-like recruit. I have been critical more and more and wasn't sure how Flynn would translate but from the first time I saw him on campus I was sold. Flynn has a lot more around him than Seltzer. Issue at the moment is whether Flynn will have as much around him as Seltzer did his second year. Adding Lewis, Derrick, Critton, Maxey and the freshmen (Corkrum, Vik, etc.) allowed the program to evolve.
Kent has 2 to give (and really should have at least one more). The Pac 10 wasn't as strong as it's become now but it still comes down to talent. It's great to finally have a viable pg but we need to get Flynn a lot more around him. As critical as I have been I'm excited to see how Acquaah projects to this level and what he can do especially with Flynn. They could be a viable Pac 12 backcourt next season. What can Ergas and Chidom provide next season? How does Pollard and Franks continue to develop? Lots of questions in the other spots.
What Kent needs to recognize is what will bring back Cougar fans. It's not just wins although that obviously helps. If you put enough players like Flynn on the court that appear to be viable Pac 12 talents at some point people will start to get excited. We aren't the best fans in the country. We aren't like a South Carolina in football that would sellout their stadium through 20 straight losing seasons or whatever. We do come out if we can see effort/energy now and hope on the horizon even if it's a few years down the road. Right now that's not what people are seeing.
Flynn is looking good so far. Not ready to put him in the Bennie category yet. Bennie was Kelvin's foundation. Why Bennie isn't in the WSU Hall is beyond me. That aside I don't see the type of talent you cite coming in to support Flynn. Franks is coming on so that helps. But who is there after that? Pollard is very limited. He works hard and plays defense as best he can but he's a little slow, not athletic and has no shot beyond dunk range. The Utah Valley center ate him alive.
I keep questioning why, if they are Pac-12 players, are they red-shirted. Understand Acquaah because of injury, but the others not so much. Maybe they are good and Ernie has a plan. One can hope.
Beyond that what does he have coming in? Two JC's from the same school who, quite frankly, seem like afterthoughts. No HS recruits. A JC here and there is fine but HS recruits have to be your bread and butter. You know darn well if you're signing most of your players in spring you're probably not getting good talent.
After last year, and what we've seen so far this year it's gonna take wins to get anyone excited.
I keep questioning why, if they are Pac-12 players, are they red-shirted. Understand Acquaah because of injury, but the others not so much. Maybe they are good and Ernie has a plan. One can hope.
Beyond that what does he have coming in? Two JC's from the same school who, quite frankly, seem like afterthoughts. No HS recruits. A JC here and there is fine but HS recruits have to be your bread and butter. You know darn well if you're signing most of your players in spring you're probably not getting good talent.
After last year, and what we've seen so far this year it's gonna take wins to get anyone excited.
Rich, I may not have stated it clearly but that's my issue as well. Seltzer had nothing around him year 1 but in year 2 Sampson/Newman brought in a quality class. Flynn has more talent around him year 1 but most of us don't see a whole lot coming back for his second season.
Kent needs to score big with the last 2 spots he has open.
I still like Daniels upside. Agree on Pollard. I think RS for Chidum makes good sense, not so much for Ergas. Kid doesnt have much of a shot and often times it never develops. He does seem really athletic though. If we could just get a couple more decent HS kid it would make me more optimistic
I understand Chidom at a listed 6-9" 200 lbs. Ergas sounds more Neil Derrick/Bryan Pollard than Nate Erdman although Erdman had to develop his shooting as well.
Far too many projects on the roster. ElC mentioned 3 high school players they are still after. The Nevada PF seems like a long shot but if you could get all 3 there would be a nucleus of talent to work with.
With Curtis Allen recovering from major surgery I wonder where recruiting stands with the players they have targetted.
I don't remember him being a good shooter when he arrived but a good mid-range game in the Tournament year. When he landed with Sampson at Oklahoma he definitely had range out to 3 and was a really good all-around player.
He was only in Pullman for Sampson but one of the tougher players to see transfer.
Nate was New Mexico POY his senior year. He was an excellent all-around player. Serious athlete with big-time hops. Had Kelvin stayed and with Abercrombie coming in we would have been a serious Pac-10 contender and perennially tournament team. Dickson and Kelvin didn't see eye to eye and I always thought he would have stayed had it not been for that. Of course he would have gotten us in trouble sooner or later.
Sampson's final group was close to ideal for WSU. Ellison, Fontaine, Erdman, Hendrickson, Daniels all could score and shoot, all high IQ players, and all pretty 'tough'. Obviously Rotchestie, Low, Weaver, Baynes, Cowgill, etc. had a lot of those elements as well. The right kind of group of players for Pullman and to compete in the Pac 10/12.
That group Sampson landed had much better pedigree than the Cowgill group. Hendrickson was a top 100 player in high school on some lists. Ellison was a player of the year in LA. Fontaine absolutely blew up his senior year after Sampson signed him. All would have gone to higher programs but for circumstances. Ellison wanted to go to USC but Raveling had already signed a pg. Fontaine would have gone to Stanford but they were out of rides.
Hendrickson couldnt get an offer from UW right down the road despite him easily being one of the best in the state
Hendrickson couldnt get an offer from UW right down the road despite him easily being one of the best in the state
The UW thought they would duplicate what they already had in Mark Pope with Hendrickson. Pope later transferred to Kentucky of course (and is now the Utah Valley coach).
That would have been a great group had Sampson's stuck around. Rich mentioned Abercrombie (who's letter mysteriously disappeared in Pullman) but there was also the big 6'9" center from the south that I remember as well. He ended up at Arkansas but they were always trying to get him back before moving on to Oklahoma.
We do need circumstance to work in our favor but obviously both Sampson and Dick/Tony did a lot of leg work to project those players. That's been missing with those coaches who have not been able to succeed. WSU is a challenge but you have a lot more time to get things going than at other places.
The cougs need a couple of recruiting breaks to go their way.They missed out on a couple of HS players who had potential
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