Richie Saunders staying at BYU
- Thread starter RunninRichie
- Start date
Hard for a coach to get a guy to transfer to be a role player. Almost impossible to get a coach to get a Mormon to leave a Mormon school to go to a non-Mormon school to be a role player. This is much to do about nothing but of course it’s amplified.
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I mean, couldn't he have figured that out almost immediately, without coming to visit?
I'm fine with kids taking the free trip or hearing out the coach.. but if being Mormon was a huge thing for him, why was this even a possibility?
I see everybody's stressing out. This is a death of a thousand cuts. You guys really should check out for a month or two, then check back in. Some of you are going to get some extra grey hairs over this.
Weren't you the guy who got banned for spazing out too much?
Tough break that BYU hit a homerun with the new coach. Saunders would have been a great rotation piece. His energy and knowledge of the offense would have been a real asset.
Saunders was a unique situation. Just guessing here but I’d say his marriage had more to do with it than anything. It’s hard enough being married that young without having to uproot and go across country to a high intensity situation like UK. And I assume his wife is of the Mormon faith as well, so she probably has deep ties to the area.
I would have welcomed Saunders because he’s a solid player. But I don’t see him staying at BYU as anything to be concerned about, or as some sort of failure on the part of coach Pope and his staff. Sometimes circumstances just don’t fit.
I would have welcomed Saunders because he’s a solid player. But I don’t see him staying at BYU as anything to be concerned about, or as some sort of failure on the part of coach Pope and his staff. Sometimes circumstances just don’t fit.
Haven’t you ever had a really difficult life decision to make?
Apparently this kid loved playing for Pope (and the feeling was obviously mutual) and wanted to keep doing so. So he had to weigh the interests of that and the opportunity to play for a prestigious blueblood like UK vs. the interests of home, faith and presumably his wife and family’s wishes.
That’s some heavy shit to weigh on a kid’s head. Just because the latter interests won out doesn’t mean the former were not a possibility. And I’m sure it was a difficult choice, always is when both options sound near equally desirable …but for very different reasons.
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I get most are ok with his not coming since there are other transfers out there with better skillsets. However, I really was hoping Pope would bring 2-3 players from BYU for no other reason than to help the team get familiar with the offense/defense quicker. Having someone be able to run a drill, etc, makes practice more efficient, and players can lean into one another outside of practice and asks questions, work together in the gym, etc.
Having a guard, a wing, and a big that knew the positions would help the new players get it that much quicker...“a rising tide lifts all boats”
Supposed is the key. Who does UK actually have locked up?
It probably wouldn't be a huge deal to me.. if we werent just basically been turned down, kind of left and right, by a plethora of other guys. I think there's a bigger issues here, but I'll wait and see how the 2nd.. 3rd weekend goes? What weekend are we on, I keep hearing that THIS is the weekend to watch for..
If a couple more weeks go by with very few player commitments, yes. Too early to be concerned just yet. Portal deadline hasn’t even closed.
Right!?!?
Some folks are just too fragile emotionally to follow this stuff. If you can't handle players considering us and taking visits, just stop. We're NOT GOING TO LAND EVERY RECRUIT we contact or that visits. It's a process not a microwave meal
The big issue is that our coach just got hired here, just finished his staff hirings, and has reached out to 50 prospects. EXPECT its going to be tough sledding. EXPECT it won't be a landslide of decisions. Whatever it takes not to be whining over every half day of silence or "missed" recruit.
Most likely the kid wanted to stay at a Mormon school with his personal values in mind.
Last week people acted like Osobar was a lock. Hopefully Smith gets locked up this weekend.
I'm willing to bet whatever amount of money that it's more than that.
If his Mormon views and personal values mattered this much, he'd have never even bothered setting up a visit.
I think he just wasn't wowed by what he saw. I think he didn't feel all that inclined to leave BYU to come to UK. And having the NBA assistant coach sure helps (and maybe it was a deciding factor here), so maybe I'll stick with that as the reason, for now.
We aren't just "missing a guy or two" lol. We're at like a 5% hit rate right now, maybe less.
But hey, THIS is the weekend right? This is the one!
It amuses me how I keep seeing posters talking about which of these portal guys we should “take” …as if they think the player has no choice in the matter. And then they seem shocked when one declines us.
Some folks don’t quite get that the purpose of these visits is far more for UK to sell itself to them than the other way around. The most we can do is offer. They’re the ones who decide the taking part.
We are speculating on what Pope told him. We have no idea if the kid would be a starter or a bench player. We are jumping to crazy conclusions that actually could be hurting recruiting. If we don't get a recruit it does not mean we didn't really need, want or he was not a take. Who on here is a quqlified judge of basketball talent, especially a kid you most likely have not seen play. If Pope gets kids to come to UK, it does not make them an instant All American player. We will have NO idea the recruited kids skills until mid season in 2024 - 2025 season. Stop smashing recruits that do come to UK. It HURTS recruiting. We are not going to compete for the SEC title in year one, maybe not in year two. It takes time. NIL is not what will win a National Championship if we don't have the right culture in the locker room. UCONN has the culture, not the best players but the best team. Someone posted above, "take some time off," it will help you and Coach Pope.
I don’t even know at this point . That is why I said maybe cause I could be wrong .
Hopefully we get a few commitments by Monday .
I saw it as more of a “I’ll give my ex coach a look while I wait to see who is hired and think about it” kind of deal. If he really wanted to leave BYU he would have been visiting more schools. He is married, so there’s the issue of having to move his wife with him as well. So between his faith and his family it’s a hard sell leaving a starting role at a school that aligns with your faith to move across the country and be a bench player. No doubt getting a good replacement at BYU helped make the choice to stay easier.
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