I don't think you have to mention to @DonnyMost what the UH basketball program is and has become. He's actually one of the few that's been there throughout the beginning of it all. But it doesn't really have anything to do with the football program that yall are talking about. UH football is so far behind as in years before becoming relevant to the basketball level. Simply moving to the B12 isn't just going to dramatically change the recruiting level to the degree you're expecting. You might be alluding to it with a coaching change but as long as Dana is here who is extended to 27' if i remember correctly, I would urge not to expect suddenly high recruits just deciding to come to UH. It's literally unrealistic to expect it. He's going to be forced to rely on the transfer portal with guys who didn't work out that well with their initial commitments. It's going to be a tough couple of years for the football program before it gets significantly better for the long haul.
I don't think there's inherently anything wrong with making your bones by the transfer portal... That is the new reality of CFB... especially for non blue blood programs. There's enough talent there every year to build a half a roster off it and keep chugging if you're savvy enough. The problem is Dana is just not capable of winning the conference.
oh for sure. it applies to the basketball programs too that aren't able to otherwise field better talent. But now that the transfer portal has changed, you might as well use it as is. Yeah i'm in the Dana isn't the one boat too. he's proven that to this point and I've heard plenty of negative rumblings about him. But sadly, they're committed to the point where he won't get canned sooner than he should.
I think we're gonna ride him to 6-8 wins a year for the next 2 or 3 years before they finally can him. By that time all of the positive momentum and excitement from the Big 12 promotion will be gone.
I'll be surprised tbh if he reaches 6-8 wins a year for the next 2-3 years in the B12 lol. But yeah I'm expecting him to be gone by probably prior to the 3rd year
Well for one I never said they'd be the #1 recruiting team in the nation. That's a lot to ask and if I had to bank on any team being that moving forward, it'd be USC or UCLA. No one can compete with the LA market outside of NYC but they don't have any relevant college programs. I said that UH should be getting 4* on the regular and 5* shouldn't be out of the question due to NIL deals, moving to a P5 and the development of the program overall. It's not unheard of. Do I think they'll be able to compete with the likes of UT and A&M? I do. Maybe not right now, but if the basketball team can surpass them in 5 years in the AAC I don't see why the football team can't do it in the B12. I could see a scenario where UH falls just under UT/A&M but above Baylor/TCU for recruiting. I just dont really think the "college experience" is a huge sell anymore. It's why OTE/G League have become what they've become. Even the Ball family went to the Australian league. Why? Money. Moving forward, collegiate programs in big metro areas absolutely will have advantages that the small town programs don't. It is what it is and UH is a beneficiary of that. As are the other programs I've mentioned. The only thing holding UH back right now is Dana. But I also think the administration will not deal with him resting on his laurels this upcoming season. He'll get canned if he trots out another disaster of a team like he did this year.
UH basketball did it only because he and his staff do a great job of turning guys most people never heard of into good players with player development and has an established identity and standards. What Sampson does and what they've accomplished to this point isn't really a norm in your typical one and done powerhouse school that rotate most of their guys every single year. It definitely doesn't correlate with this UH football program. He'll continue to have his pipeline of guys that stay and develop for multiple years in his program You're not going to find that with the current UH football program and won't be able to do what Sampson has done, especially starting from scratch in the B12 Personally, I don't think most folks care for the OTE/G league. it's really just a reason for players who don't want to move overseas and want to stay in the US to play and make some quick money. And they're just holding onto that small chance they can make it and stick in the NBA somehow
The point for the OTE/G League comparison is that talent goes where the money is. We've had a number of high level talents already (Ball, Green, Scoot, Amen) choose to go this route vs college. Fickell did the turnaround at Cincinnati. Hell even Herman did it here. Briles at Baylor. UCF. Forget which coach said that if he got his choice of all players from just Houston he'd win the natty every year. It's ironic that UH is in the best spot it's ever been for recruiting and resources and Dana is probably the 4th or 5th best coach we've had in the last 20 years. UH has a unique culture which has developed in tandem with Houston's culture in general. It went away from trying to mimic the goodie two-shoes college atmosphere most other programs have and has created its own grungy Houston thing, which a lot of athletes and students like. I went to the S16 in San Antonio and the UH fans were *rough*. UH is hood and it knows it and embraces it. And so do it's alums which is kinda cool. I'm a little more bullish on the program moving forward and looking forward to the games next year but worry that we're going to waste prime years on the Dana Red Bull show.
I don't think that's necessarily true. How many actual stars have come from OTE/G-League compared to college. There's sure been more underwhelming players. Ball is probably the best name out of that group and he's still very much unproven when it comes to winning. Better talent and smarter players come out of college from what I've seen still. Herman got lucky with Ed Oliver and the fact that his bro played here. Ed would have played somewhere else if it wasn't for him. UH isn't in that great of a spot right now. The program is without an identity and struggling to find players to even be competitive on paper. That's not exactly going to scream high level recruits to come just to get demolished in the B12
You said this: I'm guessing you either misspoke or didn't realize at the time that having a class of nothing but 4 and 5 star recruits would make us the defacto #1 recruiting program in the country (and perhaps greatest ever). You keep saying this, but not backing it up. You're pinning your hopes on UH NIL money just somehow materializing out of thin air because "big city". I'd appreciate some specifics or even an educated guess. "Houston money" doesn't mean "UH money" the same way "Dallas money" doesn't mean "SMU money".
That's where it is. No I don't mean they need to be getting minimum *only* 4 and 5 stars. That'd be crazy. But before they weren't in contention at all save for the obscure 4 star and of course Ed Oliver. I think moving forward UH should be comfortably landing at least a gaggle for 4* recruits and be in the running for 5* whereas before they wouldn't be even in the running. They've done a lot to get there but I don't trust Dana's ability to recruit these kids. He just strikes me as a dude that's collecting a paycheck living a comfy life in Houston. And as far as NIL money, I don't really think there's ever been a history of UH alumni or companies really supporting the program like there seems to be now. I think with the new rivalries in the B12 (especially if UT stays a couple of years) the boosters here should be a little more likely to follow Tillmans footsteps in putting up the cash to move the program forward. Or at least put it level with the other major programs in the state.
That's more realistic, but you're going to be disappointed. Unless Mr. Golden Nugget starts writing checks, we will be fortunate to get 2-3 four star recruits a year. Mind you, going from one four+ star recruit every 10 years to a couple every season is a massive step forward. No more generalities please. Offer some specifics. The R12E campaign is already well under way but I don't really have any idea how that is coming along. There is no doubt that our fundraising has probably doubled or even tripled in the last 10 years. The problem is that still wouldn't put us in the upper half of the Big 12. I think you need to just relax and enjoy the ride. We're not a blue blood and that's OK. We punch above our weight and have made some of the most impressive progress of any FBS program over the last 20 years. The Big 12 is going to be a boon for us financially (nearly quintupling our revenue) and will provide much needed oxygen in terms of media exposure. The future is bright and I wouldn't be surprised if we're running the conference in 10 years time. We're not going to be an unstoppable juggernaut in this new paradigm though. Our teams will suck from time to time, and when they don't we're still going to have to deal with coach poaching and fickle fan support. It is what it is. Like Coach Y said...
Oct 21 vs UT & Arch Manning Joseph Duarte on Twitter: "Houston 2023 Big 12 schedule Sept. 16 - vs. TCU Sept. 30 - at Texas Tech Oct. 12 - vs. West Virginia Oct. 21 - vs. Texas Oct. 28 - at Kansas State Nov. 4 - at Baylor Nov. 11 - vs. Cincinnati Nov. 18 - vs. Oklahoma State Nov. 25 - at UCF https://t.co/l0GADaiXVC" / Twitter Mark Berman on Twitter: ".@UHCougarFB 2023 schedule: https://t.co/b9tYQRZYwf" / Twitter
