Messages

31

YSU Penguin Athletics / Re: Youngstown St loses Defensive Coordinator

« on: January 26, 2024, 06:38:26 PM »

I suggest an alternative headline:

YSU IMPROVES BY THE DEPARTURE OF THE DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR

32

YSU Penguin Athletics / Re: Coach Barnes

« on: January 22, 2024, 01:13:53 PM »

ET,

Transfers are possible, but all 15 scholarships for next season are now accounted for. The only way a new coach can bring in a transfer is if someone projected to be on next year's roster leaves, which of course is likely in the modern world of college athletics.  Right now for next season we are looking at 8 freshmen (true and redshirt) and 3 sophomores who have played very, very few minutes. And of the 4 returning veterans who have played extensively this season, only 1 is really a DI athlete. Ouch!

33

YSU Penguin Athletics / Re: Coach Barnes

« on: January 22, 2024, 09:13:37 AM »

This did not surprise me since Barnes had been on a leave of absence since early October. The reason for that has been cloaked in a level of secrecy that would rival the Manhattan Project.

YSU women's basketball is a very good mid-major job. It features competitive pay, strong administrative support, an excellent fan base by mid-major standards, and now a renovated gym on the horizon. Also the level of high school talent for girls in a radius of 100 miles is solid.

But the new coach will face a massive rebuilding project after the collapse this season. I expect at least three freshmen will have to start next year, and it will be three years before we can place a competitive team back on the court in the Horizon League.

This will be Strollo's fifth hire for women's basketball. His first two choices were absolutely pathetic (Hill and Martin.) His last two were very good (Boldon and Barnes.) Let's hope that he can keep his winning streak intact.

34

YSU Penguin Athletics / Re: Football: 2024 and Beyond

« on: January 19, 2024, 03:18:55 PM »

About the Defense:

When some of our starters hit the portal, the question was would they land in D2 or actually advance to FBS? That was answered when most of them were grabbed by P5 programs. That fact is a stinging indictment of the defensive staff. They were operating with numerous players deemed worthy of P5 attention, and yet week by week they delivered embarrassing performances. How does Phillips retain these guys?

On the quarterback:

Of the four quarterbacks currently on the roster, three led their teams to appearances in an Ohio high school championship game. So did Crenshaw, but all three of our guys, including Brungard, could PASS in high school. Whether that translates to the college game, we shall see. They all lack game experience, but Brungard and Blanc have been in the program for two years and are quite familiar with the offense. That matters a lot. I expect that the winner of the quarterback competition will do just fine.

35

YSU Penguin Athletics / Re: Football: 2024 and Beyond

« on: January 18, 2024, 08:34:15 AM »

For those that are predicting gloom and doom next season, please keep in mind that, with the exceptions of SDSU and NDSU, every other team in the league has issues and uncertainty. Like us, most teams will need to break in new quarterbacks. In the new world of college football, just because a team was good or bad in 2023 does not automatically mean that they will repeat that performance in 2024. Look at South Dakota as a classic example. They were terrible in 2022; a seeded playoff team in 2023.

My main concern for next season is not the talent level; it is the incompetence of our defensive coaches.

36

YSU Penguin Athletics / Re: Football: 2024 and Beyond

« on: January 17, 2024, 08:47:02 AM »

The 14 transfers that we added to the program are now listed with their bios on the university athletics site. 10 from FBS, 2 from FCS, and 2 from D2. Plenty of high school accolades for a few of these guys, including those "star ratings" that some get so excited about.

37

YSU Penguin Athletics / Re: Women

« on: January 12, 2024, 10:15:07 AM »

Two years ago we tied for the regular season title with three impact players, Olson, Ritz, and Callahan. Last year with Olson graduated, the team collapsed down the stretch. This year without Olson, Ritz, and Callahan, the team is a league bottom-feeder. To put it bluntly, I don't think that there are more than three legitimate DI players on this roster.

And it will get worse next season. We are starting five seniors and the two freshmen who are dressed rarely play. I fear that this once proud program has no future.

As far as Barnes is concerned, I have heard nothing.

38

YSU Penguin Athletics / Re: Wright St

« on: January 11, 2024, 11:09:32 PM »

The Fort Wayne game proved two things.  First, this team can play defense. Second, this team refuses to play defense for the entire game. CAN they give us 40 minutes of effort tomorrow? Yes. WILL they give us 40 minutes of effort tomorrow. I doubt it.

39

YSU Penguin Athletics / Re: FCS final

« on: January 11, 2024, 11:05:17 PM »

NCAA is done. Big 10 and SEC growth is ALL about leaving NCAA to go after seperate TV deal.  Without big school tv money those  arrogant bastards at NCAA are history. Probably s bad thing, but they've done such a bad job they deserve it

The first three words of your post are absolutely true. In the past the NCAA could at least theoretically control the perks that schools gave to athletes and identify under-the-table booster money. Now the NCAA has no control over perks (NIL) and money payouts are legal. How do you discipline cheaters when there are no rules?

40

YSU Penguin Athletics / Re: FCS final

« on: January 08, 2024, 09:38:16 PM »

Excellent research, Go. The transfer portal has already caused a great deal of chaos for all levels of college football. 2024 will be even more destructive as this will be the first season when wealthy programs can openly pay players under the new rules.

I wonder how many of the studs at NDSU would have stayed there for four or five years over the past decade if Big Ten programs were offering them 50-75K to defect and join them. Even the four comparatively wealthy FCS programs (NDSU, SDSU, Montana, Montana State)  are probably going to get outbid by the big boys for their blue chip talent. College football will be unrecognizable in two or three years and not for the better.

41

YSU Penguin Athletics / Re: FCS final

« on: January 07, 2024, 10:31:14 PM »

Most of the SDSU All-Americans or all-conference players have used up their eligibility. Also, the announcers today said that the stud running back is declaring for the NFL draft. And there is a rumor that the SDSU OC is heading to the big time and likely to take the quarterback with him. I don't mean to downplay the gap between them and us. It is formidable. But they will not be as dominant next season.

The "professionalization" of college sports might end up helping us more than it hurts us. We have seen the last of  the FCS super teams. Under the new rules, all of those SDSU stars would have been gobbled up by the P5 and paid much more than SDSU could handle. You will never again see legitimate pro prospects playing in the FCS as seniors; they will all be stolen and paid very well after one or two seasons at our level.

Our Penguin Collective NIL won't shield us from raids, but it will give us an advantage over 90% of FCS schools who have nothing.

42

YSU Penguin Athletics / Re: Ysu vs IUPUI

« on: January 06, 2024, 12:55:55 PM »

More insanity. The odds that casual fans will choose YSU hoops over the NFL is ZERO. Strollo should tell the Horizon League office that we are not playing basketball games on Sunday afternoons during the NFL season. If the league insists, tip-off the game at 8pm.

43

YSU Penguin Athletics / Re: YSU VS NKU

« on: January 05, 2024, 04:01:51 PM »

YSU a basketball school... LOL

YSU a Womens bowling school 

A National Power and legitimate NCAA DI title contender women's bowling school! 

It would be nice if the basketball team played with the same drive and intensity on the court as our women display on the bowling lanes. 

44

YSU Penguin Athletics / Re: YSU VS NKU

« on: January 05, 2024, 09:14:51 AM »

Calhoun told us that this batch of transfers were good, and we believed him. It is obvious now that this is an average basketball team, 2-2 in conference and 6-5 overall against real opponents. These guys have some offensive skills, but they refuse to play defense for 40 minutes. The meltdowns in the second half of the Oakland game and now Northern Kentucky make that abundantly clear.

Last year was an aberration: a group of transfers focused on a goal bigger than themselves and playing hard to attain that goal. There is no sign of such cohesion and unity within this bunch.

45

YSU Penguin Athletics / Re: Penguins Announce December Signees

« on: December 26, 2023, 04:34:56 PM »

I don't understand the hostility between football-centric and basketball-centric YSU fans. Just enjoy that both teams are now successful, and the women gave us a decade of quality before that program collapsed this season.

On the matter of being a basketball school and basketball gaining national notoriety, Calhoun is not building the foundation for long-term dominance. By bringing in a batch of senior/grad student transfers each year, he is striving to advance to the big time. When he leaves, probably after this season, he will take Lovelace and the 7-footer with him. The next coach will barely have enough bodies to place a team on the court. That is not something that happens at a basketball school.