Thursday Evening Notes

by Seth C on Jan 11, 2007 9:35 PM CST

I'm a little late posting some entries tonight as I, and part of me hates to admit this, took my wife to the ballet this evening. I know, the name-calling starts in the comments section, however, for those of you who aren't married or otherwise attached this is called "bonus points" in my house.

Onto some Tech related news:

SEN's Tim Griffin reports that the Big 12 and the Pac 10 have agreed on a 4 season series and Tech is considering playing their game in San Antonio.

Interestingly, Knight was the only Big 12 coach who spoke with reservations about the series with the Pac-10 schools. Among the more intriguing games next season will be UT at UCLA, Texas A&M at Arizona, Arizona at Kansas and Washington at Oklahoma State.

"It doesn't make any difference what I think," Knight said. "But I'm not anxious in the middle of December to go to the Pacific coast. There are plenty of teams we could play that are within an hour's flight."

DMN's Tim MacMahon reports that Gabe Hall will not seek a 6th year of eligibility and will declare for the NFL draft.

LAJ's Jeff Walker reports that Esmir Rizvic's surgery to repair a fractured orbital will take 6 to 8 weeks to heal and Rizvic is more than likely out for the season.

The Sporting News' Matt Hayes has an interesting article about how good coaches can reap incredible results and why universities are willing to pony up to make that happen.

Because a national title is always as close as two years away. Any coach at any level will tell you players are the key ingredient to a championship team. But the right coach in the right situation can be the difference between playing in Glendale and teetering on the brink of ordinary in Shreveport.

The only reason I post this is to give a little credence to Hayes' idea that great coaching can lead to a quick turnaround, say replacing an old defensive coordinator who no longer recruits with a young energetic coach who might bring in some players. I don't, know, I'm just saying.

Tech WR Joel Filani gets a little recognition by CBS Sportsline, J. Darin Darst, as Filani makes his all-bowl team.

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Comments

We agree on the D-Coordinator

This team will perennially be one of the best offenses in the league. If we had top ranked defense, I don't know how we'd ever lose a damn game.

It is my uninformed opinion that recruiting matters far more on defense than it does on offense. A brilliant gameplan can out-offense better talent, to a degree. Tech fans should understand that point as well as anyone; watching Mike Leach compete offensively with superior programs is a source of great pride.

But on defense speed matters, size matters, and athletes matter. There is no schematic way to overcome large recruiting deficits. If we go with a new D-Coordinator, I like the idea of going at it from a recruitment angle.

by Red Blooded @ Double-T Nation on Jan 12, 2007 9:36 AM CST reply actions

1000% ageee

Scheme can get you by on offense, but on D you are completely limited to the athletes you have. From that point all a DC can do is make you worse.

We need a recruiter at DC. Period. To the staff's credit the 2006 signing class was stacked defensively. But Lyle wasn't the one out there hitting the road getting them to sign on the dotted line. It's time for a change.

by hubcityraider on Jan 12, 2007 1:27 PM CST up reply actions

Third verse same as the first

Knight opposed the Big 11/ACC match up while at IU. Indeed, he volunteered to be an odd team out due to the imbalance between the composition of the two leagues.

Better opponents an hour flight away? Is Bucknell and Eastern Tennessee State? Coach, look at a map for a moment. Now, go schedule a Pac 10 team that people will pay more than $10 to watch.

by milevin on Jan 12, 2007 11:30 PM CST reply actions

I agree,

Knight always gripes about not selling out at home during the pre-conference play, this would seem to be an elixir that would solve that problem. Not to mention, he had no problem flying out to Cali for the Pete Newell tournament earlier this year and Stanford handed Tech one of their worst losses of the year.

Didn't know about the opt-out while at IU.

Go Raiders . . .

by Seth C on Jan 13, 2007 6:48 AM CST up reply actions