Malik Newman update

[Tbonewannabe]

but all they were told was that he was going to get drafted mid-1st

I am a dumbass. I just looked up the 2005 draft and I thought he went late first round. He went late 2nd round. He definitely believed in himself and was going to the NBA because that is pure stupidity with no guaranteed contract. A lot of 2nd round picks don't even make the team much less get a contract. I wonder what person told them he was getting drafted in the 1st round when every measure the NBA typically used would tell you he might not even get drafted.

Well when Stans signed him No shooting guard in the last 20 years had been drafted out of high school as short as he was. I remember people thinking because of that we should get him in school. I remember Travis Outlaw was coming to college until Portland promised him a 1st round pick at least that was the word around Starkville at the time. I believe they were the only team that planned on taking him in the first round but that is all it takes. I had no connection to Jackson then so I have no clue if just one team set on Monta or if there were multiple teams talking to him about drafting him.

JFF almost fell out of the 1st round purely due to his height and basketball is even more important with not having your shot blocked.

[mcdawg]

but all they were told was that he was going to get drafted mid-1st

Serious question - who would you take on your high school team (Monta or Malik)? I saw both play in high school and thought Monta was better.

[shannondawg]

I see my retort to Grandpa about the "old network" fell on deaf ears

Ray has 2 more seasons folks- might as well get used to it

Ray needs to get his own network. Why don't you help him? They do a lot more things than just what you are implying...

[Coach34]

Serious question - who would you take on your high school team (Monta or Malik)? I saw both play in high school and thought Monta was better.

i haven't seen Malik play- but Monta is the best overall HS player I've seen in oerson

[maroonmania]

I am a dumbass. I just looked up the 2005 draft and I thought he went late first round. He went late 2nd round. He definitely believed in himself and was going to the NBA because that is pure stupidity with no guaranteed contract. A lot of 2nd round picks don't even make the team much less get a contract. I wonder what person told them he was getting drafted in the 1st round when every measure the NBA typically used would tell you he might not even get drafted.

Well when Stans signed him No shooting guard in the last 20 years had been drafted out of high school as short as he was. I remember people thinking because of that we should get him in school. I remember Travis Outlaw was coming to college until Portland promised him a 1st round pick at least that was the word around Starkville at the time. I believe they were the only team that planned on taking him in the first round but that is all it takes. I had no connection to Jackson then so I have no clue if just one team set on Monta or if there were multiple teams talking to him about drafting him.

JFF almost fell out of the 1st round purely due to his height and basketball is even more important with not having your shot blocked.

Yep, I clearly stated Monta went in the second round in my earlier post and it was a key point because really at that time it was very unusual for a second round guy to skip college. Hard to put blame on Stans for that one other than it was quite obvious Ellis was looking any way he could find to skip the college route.

[Homedawg]

Ray needs to get his own network. Why don't you help him? They do a lot more things than just what you are implying...

So, Stan's network was just that Stan's. And they aren't for the university? Gotcha. I know the answer.

[Coach34]

So, Stan's network was just that Stan's. And they aren't for the university? Gotcha. I know the answer.

Yeah- his post pretty much said it all didn't it?

[thf24]

Yeah, why should Ray have it so easy? I bet Bruce Pearl had to "get his own network" at Auburn.*****

[ScottH]

Serious question - who would you take on your high school team (Monta or Malik)? I saw both play in high school and thought Monta was better.

Monta.

He and Chris Jackson were by far the two best high school players I have ever seen in person.

I'm not sure who third would be but it's a really big gap between 1/1A and 3rd.

[Coach34]

Yeah, why should Ray have it so easy? I bet Bruce Pearl had to "get his own network" at Auburn.*****

no shit...but Ray is getting a fair shake isn't he?

[RougeDawg]

This staff can't recruit? Based on what? On the fact that the #1 player in the country, who we probably had at best a 10% shot to land to begin with, decided he wants to be a package deal with the #3 player in the country who has no ties at all in any way to Mississippi State, and we can't land them both? Seriously?

Was Ray supposed to convince Newman not to be a package deal with this kid? Or was he supposed to convince Stone to come play at State, for essentially no reason?

I enjoy the assumption that a) Ray didn't know about the package deal already, and b) that he didn't care about it and decided he didn't want the #3 overall player in the country.

Good grief, people. If you want to fire Ray, then wait until we see what we have on the court and if it's bad, use that.

But trying to use the fact that he can't land two top-5 players against him only proves your agenda.

He couldn't even find an upperclassman transfer to fill our allotment of schollys the last two years, when everyone from UK to ULL was reeling in quality transfers. That's inexcusable for a SEC program that used to be in the top half every year.

Tell me what exactly Ray has done to show he is even a mediocre recruiter? From what I and many others hade seen this far, is Ray doesn't have the ability sell a chocolate cake to honey boo boo, let alone a SEC basketball program to upper tier recruits.

[Dawg61]

no shit...but Ray is getting a fair shake isn't he?

How many excuses are we going to give him? Program is a dumpster fire…check, Stansbury left him with nothing…check, Stricklin won't let him play the game…check, Players left had drug problems…check, media labels us the biggest circus…check, Boosters won't support him…check, Stansbury is sabotaging him…check, fans won't support him…check, recruits read fans talking negative…check, Steele refused to play…check and on and on and on and on.

The basketball disaster has made a lot of Bulldog fans dislike other Bulldog fans. Thanks Stricklin.

[Goat from MSU]

How do we know if Ray has even ask for help? Good chance he has not .

no shit...but Ray is getting a fair shake isn't he?

[Goat from MSU]

This as RougeDawg has stated sums up Rick Ray to a T . I will love to see when we are 14 and 18 next season how The Gang of 3 will spin it for him to get more time.

He couldn't even find an upperclassman transfer to fill our allotment of schollys the last two years, when everyone from UK to ULL was reeling in quality transfers. That's inexcusable for a SEC program that used to be in the top half every year.

Tell me what exactly Ray has done to show he is even a mediocre recruiter? From what I and many others hade seen this far, is Ray doesn't have the ability sell a chocolate cake to honey boo boo, let alone a SEC basketball program to upper tier recruits.

[smootness]

How do we know if Ray has even ask for help? Good chance he has not .

Why do people assume he's lazy?

Probably hasn't even bothered talking to Diamond Stone, lazy recruiter, probably hasn't asked for any help in recruiting, probably doesn't know how to counter a 1-3-1, probably hasn't even bothered watching any tape of our opponents...

[Coach34]

We will be .500 or better this year

[smootness]

This as RougeDawg has stated sums up Rick Ray to a T . I will love to see when we are 14 and 18 next season how The Gang of 3 will spin it for him to get more time.

It sums up Ray to a T? The fact that he hasn't gotten any one-year upperclassmen transfers? O...K.... Look at our current situation - please tell me what quality one-year transfer is going to decide to play that one year at Mississippi State right now. Perhaps he would rather use those scholarships elsewhere.

This is exactly like the, 'We shouldn't have brought in Daniels and Ndoye because they didn't play in year one!' argument. Perhaps Ray is making decisions for our long-term benefit rather than fleeting short-term rewards?

He came into a disastrous situation, and instead of cutting corners to try to get an extra couple of wins right away, he has clearly decided to build long-term, even if it means it's a little more difficult in the first year or two. Well, it's impossible to determine if that is a good strategy in the first year or two when we haven't seen the potential rewards he's trying to make decisions for.

Year 3 is huge for him, and we will be able to see this year if he knows what he's doing in any way. If we are 14-18, it's difficult for me to see how we will be improved enough, or show enough promise, for me to believe at that point he will get it done.

I don't know why so many of our fans have been so quick to jump all over him, except that some have an agenda and others are your typical knee-jerk fan who sees what is immediately in front of them and wants to make permanent, long-term decisions on that without any consideration given to a long-term plan. The same kind of fans who thought Cohen was an idiot because he didn't compete for the SEC in year one.

[Coach34]

Why do people assume he's lazy?

Because people are basically stupid. Ray has recruited Newman harder than anybody in the country. And the group that didn't like him from the day he got the job- aka The Stands Sheep- perpetuate it.

People expect Ray to recruit like Stands but won't give him the help or the resources. It's ridiculous

[Dawg61]

Because people are basically stupid. Ray has recruited Newman harder than anybody in the country.

It's stupid to spend 90% of your recruiting efforts on a lost cause. We needed immediate help 2 years ago. We needed immediate help last year. We need immediate help this upcoming year. Why is Ray recruiting a lost cause harder than anybody in the country when we have other immediate needs right now?

[smootness]

So Ray is lazy if he doesn't go all out to get Newman and Stone...but then he's also stupid if he goes hard after Newman. Sweet, definitely a good spot for Ray to be in with our fan base.