O.K…so we missed this one!
LetsGoDU’s local choice for the DU’s open hoops scholarship was Ladarius Thomas from Aurora Central. Yesterday, he signed with the Division II Black Hills State University Yellow Jackets. They play in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) and are based in Spearfish, South Dakota.
The waiting game continues to see who Rodney Billups signs to a letter of intent with DU’s last remaining scholarship.
He’s a new head coach. He was an assistant coach for a power 5 program and he was a good recruiter. Sound like Rodney Billups? I’m talking about the new coach of South Dakota State University – TJ Otzelberger. Continue reading Conference Basketball Coaching Change Could be Game Changer
The top reasons DU hoops did not sign a prospect to a National Letter of Intent yesterday:
LetsGoDU will update you when DU Basketball announces their new scholarship player.
DU has just one open scholarship roster spot for the 2016-2017 season. According to sources close to the Denver basketball program, DU has several players under consideration to fill their only remaining scholarship opening by national signing day April 13th.
Will Denver use their valuable pick as a symbolic selection and pick a local urban player? Will the Pioneers pursue the best available athlete, despite geography? Will they try to fill a positional need or select a player best capable of filling Rodney Billups up-tempo ‘vision’? Continue reading Open Scholarship Marks Billups’ First Move
It’s no surprise that DU needs a big man. DU currently has only one available scholarship for the 2016-2017 season.
As the recruiting coordinator for CU basketball, Rodney Billups broadsided DU’s plans by landing a Pioneer target, 7’0″ Dallas Walton from Arvada West. Walton made a verbal commitment to CU shortly before Billups accepted the DU head coaching role. Continue reading How could CU Basketball Transfers Impact DU?
He is young, handsome, smart, a Denver native, and an alum. Rodney Billups is starting his run as head coach with a hand full of aces – so he can push the boundaries.
When it comes to men’s basketball, what does the University of Denver have? A middling basketball program in a middling conference (Summit League) at an excellent university and very good facilities in an extraordinary city. Some contend that there is a low level of interest in college basketball in Denver while others argue that there is pent-up demand for a strong college basketball program. DU has no regular history of excellence in basketball. If you follow online student forums, DU is seen as an elite snobby university by many urban students and community members who see DU as aspiring to be ‘ivy league’, a rich kid school, and stocked by white suburban kids. Continue reading Part 2: Putting Denver Hoops on the Map
Jim Harbaugh was the boring, weird coach of the San Francisco 49’ers. The big pre-Super Bowl ‘story line’ when he coached the 49’ers was that his wife complained that he always wore the same khaki pants. With the Chicago Bears, he was mostly the back-up punching bag for Mike Ditka. Even the 49’ers dumped him after a successful coaching tenure. Yawn.
Now, he is the most interesting man in the (football) world. Michigan football is relevant again. How did he do it? Continue reading Part 1: How Jim Harbaugh Can Help DU Hoops
Photo Credit: Jim Cowsert, USA TODAY Sports
When watching the first weekend of March Madness, one couldn’t help but see other basketball programs that might offer the University of Denver men’s basketball program some hope. Here are three teams that caught my interest and how their performances may provide DU with a roadmap for future success. Continue reading What DU Can Learn from Lumberjacks, Crusaders, & Bulldogs
Sure all our brackets are busted. But at least 68 teams got to go to the dance. Then, some of us have never been asked.
Alas, the John Evan’s schools remain in the Never Made the Tournament Club (NMTC) – 2016. Denver made it to the Summit Semis and then got knocked out by South Dakota State, the eventual winner of the Summit League automatic bid. A 56 year drought. Northwestern was a 9 seed in the Big 10 Tournament and immediately got bounced by #8 Big 10 seed Michigan. A 76 year drought. Ironically, the former coach at Northwestern, Bill Carmody, who ran the Princeton system and was fired after 13 years at NU, immediately went to Holy Cross and won a tournament bid this year. The last time Holy Cross received a bid was 1953. Despite not getting the Northwestern program to the NCAA tournament, Carmody took the Wildcats to the NIT four years in a row before his firing. Continue reading Never Made the Tournament Club – 2016
Photo: cuindependent.com
Following the Colorado Buffaloes’ first-round NCAA exit yesterday against UConn, Rodney Billups thoughts must have shifted to his to his new team. In particular, what is his roster going to look like? Continue reading Big Roster Decisions for DU Hoops
