Messages

1816

YSU Penguin Athletics / Re: 1 dead, 1 critical, 10 wounded near YSU

« on: February 06, 2011, 08:32:38 PM »

It is not enough for our black students to just attend the university.  To be successful in life, these kids must disassociate themselves from the criminal element that they may have grown up with.  Unfortunately, many cannot seem to do that.  Remember that Jermaine Hopkins was murdered by the worthless childhood friends of Darnell Bracey.  This episode is disgustingly similar.  Street predators show up at that ill-advised after-party, get escorted out, then return with their freakin' guns.  I am really beyond disgusted at the way that these relatively small bands of punks can destroy everything good about Youngstown.  I might be more disgusted by the defense attorneys that make a good living by recycling these same punks through the justice system over and over and over again, and by the gutless prosecutors who plea bargain instead of securing maximum sentences at trials.

1817

YSU Penguin Athletics / Re: Guins vs Valpo

« on: February 06, 2011, 01:18:09 PM »

I have a question for Indy, IP, or anybody else who follows college basketball much more closely than I do.  Is hand-checking legal in college now?  I am not talking about placing a hand on the small of the back of your stationary opponent.  I mean placing your hand on your opponent as he dribbles for fifteen feet.  Or keeping contact with an opponent as he moves without the ball.  Half of the Valpo team did that last night, especially one of their bigs, #45 and most especially guard, #15.  I will not rant if the college rule is now the freakin' NBA.  But if hand-checking is illegal, as hoops noted, that was a travesty yesterday.

1818

YSU Penguin Athletics / Re: Congrats...YSU Coaches / Staff

« on: February 03, 2011, 11:51:18 AM »

In the old days when we recruited a kid outside the area, we definitely had to wait until we saw him to form impressions.  Internet video and television coverage of high school games changed that.  IP is correct to suggest caution, but the video on these kids looks very good.  For example, I watched Stubbs from Maple Heights play in the state championship game in consecutive years.  He was a dominating player.  To me, he was more dangerous than Teague, simply because he produced against quality competition and Ursuline didn't play anybody in the playoffs.  Some of our other recruits look just as impressive.  As someone else pointed out on another thread, we will finally have DI size.  And on paper, at least, we would seem to have true competition at every position.  The only real concerns that I have are the academic abilities of the jucos and the Harding player that could not get into Michigan.

1819

YSU Penguin Athletics / Re: Signing Day - Youngstown State Penguin Class of 2011

« on: February 02, 2011, 08:08:14 PM »

I don't have any information, but I would expect that a significant number of players from last season will not return.  For example, the logjam at quarterback and at running back will not continue.  It will be a good thing to see quality players leave because they cannot get on the field rather than to see players leave because they could not compete at this level.  We experienced way too much of the latter during the past decade.

I am really impressed by Wolford after his first year plus.  Last winter, he did not turn to multiple jucos but rather played the 2010 season largely with the talent handed down from Heacock.  That worked well on offense; on defense it was a catastrophe.  Now with a firm grasp of the talent level on hand, he recruited coast-to-coast to fill our needs.  Does anybody seriously believe that Heacock and staff could have recruited these kids from the South and from California?  He also did not neglect the Mahoning Valley during a distinctly "down" recruiting year on the local scene.  Most of the local recruits might be projects, but Wolford understands that he not only must win games but also reinvigorate interest in our program among casual fans.  We might all be setting ourselves up for more bitter disappointments, but I feel perfectly confident that we will soon ascend back to the top of the FCS universe.

1820

YSU Penguin Athletics / Re: New Basketball Coach

« on: February 01, 2011, 07:54:27 PM »

Dan Peters left primarily because he was frustrated coaching basketball at a football school where the athletic director was also the football coach.  So he would jump at the opportunity to return to the football school where the athletic director was a former football player for his old boss.  He would love to compete in the Horizon League with a lower recruiting budget than any rival.  He would enjoy trying to rebuild a program in this amazingly fertile basketball recruiting zone called the Mahoning Valley.  Yep, seem perfectly logical to me.

1821

YSU Penguin Athletics / Re: Work gets started on YSU’s WATTS Center

« on: December 01, 2010, 12:56:48 PM »

If you talk to our track athletes, they desperately wanted the indoor facility.  During the summer, most see no problem practicing at their old high school.  Distance runners have the perfect facility in Mill Creek Park.

Long-range plans call for an outdoor track west of Fifth Avenue.  That can only happen with a new round of private donations.  Compared to having your name associated with the WATTS center, that is going to be a very hard sell to the local fat cats.

1822

YSU Penguin Athletics / Re: Work gets started on YSU’s WATTS Center

« on: May 26, 2010, 06:54:48 PM »

Elpenguin

Thanks for the info.  I was getting nervous as nothing was happening for the entire month.  Your explanation has eased my concerns.

1823

YSU Penguin Athletics / Re: Work gets started on YSU’s WATTS Center

« on: April 30, 2010, 03:12:01 PM »

Just a quick update.  The site has been cleared and graded down to level dirt. There is no construction going on yet. Since about 75% of this facility is basically a warehouse, and warehouses can be constructed very quickly, this facility should go up rapidly.  Of course, starting construction would be nice.