Messages

16

YSU Penguin Athletics / Re: YSU in Wisconsin

« on: February 25, 2024, 05:42:09 PM »

If we tied at 6 losses, Green Bay would control the tiebreaker and get the second seed. They beat Oakland once. But the odds of Green Bay beating both Cleveland and Milwaukee on the road would seem to be slim.

If we tied at 6 losses with Wright State, we would earn the second seed.

17

YSU Penguin Athletics / Women's Basketball: What does Strollo do with John Nicolais?

« on: February 25, 2024, 09:54:54 AM »

When Barnes announced his resignation around the middle of January, the program had hit rock bottom. Now they are back to .500 in the league, likely to finish the regular season 9-11. During the second league rotation, Nicolais has defeated five teams that had beaten us the first time around, with three of those reversals coming on the road.

So what does Strollo do? Reward this improvement and allow Nicolais to preside over the complete rebuild that must come next season (7 incoming freshmen?) Or does Stollo assume that Nicolais shares with Barnes responsibility for the lack of talent on the current team and show him the door?

18

YSU Penguin Athletics / Re: YSU at CSU

« on: February 17, 2024, 05:38:56 PM »

We have a good collection of talented college basketball players. But we do not have a good college basketball team. I have run out of words trying to describe this group of talented individuals who simply refuse to play hard for 40 minutes.

19

YSU Penguin Athletics / Re: YSU Beeghly facilities upgrade

« on: February 12, 2024, 03:39:35 PM »

This will not be the major renovation that some of you were expecting. Updating the existing red seats and replacing the bleachers with proper seating will enhance the atmosphere in the facility.

They better commit to opening the upper stands on BOTH sides for every game. Quite frankly, it is embarrassing to force fans to sit in the end zones when about 1300 side court seats are available but not used. They could not be so stupid as to replace the bleachers only on the east side! Could they! After watching this athletic department for over 40 years nothing would shock me.

Retaining the end zone bleachers is a good thing; much better than constructing loges for the fat cats. It would be nice to add permanent cushions on top of the wood as a courtesy to our fans.

20

YSU Penguin Athletics / Re: Milwaukee tonight

« on: February 09, 2024, 09:02:15 AM »

The team demonstrated great character by regaining composure after the meltdown in the final two minutes of regulation.

Memo to Calhoun: When you have the lead in the final two minutes but your team is getting trapped by the press and up against the ten-second count, please use your freakin' timeouts.

21

YSU Penguin Athletics / Re: National Signing day today Football

« on: February 07, 2024, 04:46:44 PM »

Class of six is now listed on the university athletics site. Two tight ends, two linebackers, a punter and a long snapper. Kid from Mooney is the long snapper. Might seem insignificant but that specialist can win or lose a game with one play.

Ferrell is the linebacker from Cincinnati Princeton. 3 star recruit for those of us who are obsessed with such numbers. Tight ends come from Virginia and Texas.

22

YSU Penguin Athletics / Re: YSU @ Wright St MBB

« on: February 02, 2024, 10:16:37 AM »

Here are the remaining games for Green Bay and Oakland.

Green Bay

Home: NKU, PFW, YSU
Away: RMU, YSU, CSU, Milw

Oakland

Home: CSU, IUPUI, WSU, Detroit
Away: NKU, WSU, PFW, RMU

I doubt that Green Bay can navigate that schedule successfully. And with two games remaining against Oakland, Wright State is now our friend.

23

YSU Penguin Athletics / Re: Youngstown St loses Defensive Coordinator

« on: January 27, 2024, 10:15:37 AM »

Given the financial realities of modern college football, our only reasonable option will be to hire an ambitious, successful defensive coach from D2 or even D3. A guy that wants to test his abilities at the highest level of FCS football and also get a pay raise. The last thing that we need is a retread who failed in DI and is just looking for any job. Also an internal promotion would seem insane given how awful our defense was.

24

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

25

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!

26

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.

27

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.

28

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.

29

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.

30

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.