Is Bob West and Billy Tubbs attempting to throw a curve?

[Guest abovetherim]

Somebody’s credibility is going to be on the line when Lamar introduces its football coach Monday. Cardinal AD Billy Tubbs insists I was totally off base last week in listing Ray Woodard of Navarro Junior College, West Brook’s Craig Stump and former North Texas offensive coordinator Ramone Flanagan as the finalists, and predicting the job would go to Woodard. In my opinion, Billy is just sending out a smoke screen. We’ll soon know . . . LU basketball coach Steve Roccaforte made an interesting offer to fill one of his assistant coach jobs. Roc knows Tom Abatemarco, his mentor at Lamar 20 years ago, is looking to get back into coaching at the college level and invited him to return to Beaumont. Abatemarco, currently an assistant for the WNBA team in Sacramento, liked the idea but not the salary. Too bad. I don’t think there’s anybody who could have been a bigger asset to Roc, both as a recruiter and on the bench, than Abatemarco .

http://www.panews.com/sportsbobwest/local_story_138214900.html

[UNLV]

Does Tom knows the lower cost of living makes up for lower pay. Or Lamar could stop being so cheap.

You got a passed sports funding vote and a cheap football coach. Get Tom back here.

[Guest abovetherim]

UNLV, I totally agree. Tom was the last coach to win 20 games in a season in Beaumont. I would think Lamar could cough up another $25,000-$50,000 to get him here. Heck if the school can't fund the salary then get some major donor to write the check.

Coach Abatemarco is a really good coach and great recruiter. Remember NC State beating UH in the national title? Well, Coach A was the 1st assistant to Coach V.

[UNLV]

Tom and Roc recruiting....very nasty.

[Guest coachacola]

That would  be great to get Tom Abatemarco on the bench with Roc, but maybe he wants to make close to what Roc is making.  To hire him would probably mean paying Roc more too, along with the other assistants.  I think they would win more games and it would pay off big in the long run.  Maybe someone will step up and make it happen.

[westendfirst]

That would  be great to get Tom Abatemarco on the bench with Roc, but maybe he wants to make close to what Roc is making.  To hire him would probably mean paying Roc more too, along with the other assistants.  I think they would win more games and it would pay off big in the long run.  Maybe someone will step up and make it happen.

Are yall serious??  Abatemarco was one of the most obnoxious coaches in the history of LU!!

[Guest abovetherim]

Sorry to disagree, I don't care if he was obnoxious. The man can coach college basketball.

[Guest DickVitale]

I remember Coach Abetemarco very well, and yes, he was a character, BUT, the guy got it done...He and my dad talked a lot and I remember Tom saying how he needed to bridge the gap with the Houston area coaches because he wanted more Texas kids, namely Houston kids... and that was long before recruiting Texas was the huge trend that it is now. He KNEW what would win for Lamar in the long run...You wanna know how many Houston area kids have signed with Lamar since 1988? 3.....my brother (Calvin Rice) in 88, Victor Trahan (one of my teammates at Madison) in 89, and Jonathon Burnett (from Texas City) in 01....Think about that for a sec.  You have one of the LARGEST metropolitan cities in the nation 80 miles away and you sign 3 in 20 years? Remember NOLAN RICHARDSON from Arkansas? They won the 1994 NCAA title and of the 13 players on that roster, 7 were from the MEMPHIS area, and that is yet ANOTHER hot recruiting area (Roc should know that too) that was untapped.. Abetemarco and (then asst.) Tony Branch knew what to do to get Lamar going, and if Branch were given a fair shot, HE would have done it......SOLUTION: Hire an asst. coach that is FROM the Houston area...That can also recruit Dallas, Austin and San Antonio as well, but the kids are in HOUSTON...No question...

[AggiesAreWe]

I remember Coach Abetemarco very well, and yes, he was a character, BUT, the guy got it done...He and my dad talked a lot and I remember Tom saying how he needed to bridge the gap with the Houston area coaches because he wanted more Texas kids, namely Houston kids... and that was long before recruiting Texas was the huge trend that it is now. He KNEW what would win for Lamar in the long run...You wanna know how many Houston area kids have signed with Lamar since 1988? 3.....my brother (Calvin Rice) in 88, Victor Trahan (one of my teammates at Madison) in 89, and Jonathon Burnett (from Texas City) in 01....Think about that for a sec.  You have one of the LARGEST metropolitan cities in the nation 80 miles away and you sign 3 in 20 years? Remember NOLAN RICHARDSON from Arkansas? They won the 1994 NCAA title and of the 13 players on that roster, 7 were from the MEMPHIS area, and that is yet ANOTHER hot recruiting area (Roc should know that too) that was untapped.. Abetemarco and (then asst.) Tony Branch knew what to do to get Lamar going, and if Branch were given a fair shot, HE would have done it......SOLUTION: Hire an asst. coach that is FROM the Houston area...That can also recruit Dallas, Austin and San Antonio as well, but the kids are in HOUSTON...No question...

I could not agree more, Dicky. Lamar has missed the boat the last 2 decades with the Houston area recruits. Lot's of folks have argued that Lamar needs some local recruits to fill the seats in the Montagne, which is true. But I also believe that if you get some Houston players, you will see some of those folks drive over for games too. I'm not sure it is totally necessary to hire a Houston coach as an assistant, but whoever is on the staff needs to definetly work the Houston area very hard.

[TradinUp BH]

I remember Coach Abetemarco very well, and yes, he was a character, BUT, the guy got it done...He and my dad talked a lot and I remember Tom saying how he needed to bridge the gap with the Houston area coaches because he wanted more Texas kids, namely Houston kids... and that was long before recruiting Texas was the huge trend that it is now. He KNEW what would win for Lamar in the long run...You wanna know how many Houston area kids have signed with Lamar since 1988? 3.....my brother (Calvin Rice) in 88, Victor Trahan (one of my teammates at Madison) in 89, and Jonathon Burnett (from Texas City) in 01....Think about that for a sec.  You have one of the LARGEST metropolitan cities in the nation 80 miles away and you sign 3 in 20 years? Remember NOLAN RICHARDSON from Arkansas? They won the 1994 NCAA title and of the 13 players on that roster, 7 were from the MEMPHIS area, and that is yet ANOTHER hot recruiting area (Roc should know that too) that was untapped.. Abetemarco and (then asst.) Tony Branch knew what to do to get Lamar going, and if Branch were given a fair shot, HE would have done it......SOLUTION: Hire an asst. coach that is FROM the Houston area...That can also recruit Dallas, Austin and San Antonio as well, but the kids are in HOUSTON...No question...

I could not agree more, Dicky. Lamar has missed the boat the last 2 decades with the Houston area recruits. Lot's of folks have argued that Lamar needs some local recruits to fill the seats in the Montagne, which is true. But I also believe that if you get some Houston players, you will see some of those folks drive over for games too. I'm not sure it is totally necessary to hire a Houston coach as an assistant, but whoever is on the staff needs to definetly work the Houston area very hard.

I agree, I'm not a basketball guru, but LU needs to start winning some games and do it fast. Coach Roc has been here a couple of years and I just don't see fans keeping cool for too much longer. Get an asistant from H-Town that can recruit some of the top players. The Hoops ranking I seen for the latest recruits is embarassing. We aren't even in the top 3 or 4 in the Southland in recruits. Better do something fast.

[Guest mffl]

Lets look at the guys Roc has recruited from Houston:

This year he has Anthony Miles coming in.

He signed Larry Handy out of Houston a few years ago... the kid was big and has a soft touch but he transferred out to a JUCO after Roc became HC and then signed with another D1 school, but he was a guy Roc recruited.

Ray Sansom from Houston Jones, i guess he was a walk on but only because it took him a few years to qualify.

Wow that is only 3. I guess you're right... we need to get on more guys from Houston... hopefully we're looking around Houston more now. However alot of kids do like going off you know.

[Guest abovetherim]

Recruiting today is a lot different than it was 20 years ago. Back then young men listened to the advice of their High School coach but now there are all these AAU guys and they or out for the money, not what is best for the student-athlete.

Also without the AAU events there were more diamonds in the ruff so to speak and LU had more of a opportunity to sign those guys.

[Guest DickVitale]

Yes ATR, that has a lot to do with it, but if you would go BACK to the Houston high school coaches and establish a rapport with them as well, I can assure you that when the rubber meets the road, that high school coach will push that kid in the right direction.  The AAU guys have prostituted these kids long enough, and true, for every kid like Daniel Gibson (Houston Jones 2004) that was smart enough to listen to his coach and his parents, there is a kid like Tack Minor (Houston Washington 2003) that was guided around by all these AAU guys and given HORRIBLE advice...There is NO WAY that kid should have gone to a school like LSU with all of his baggage he had...Lamar would have been GREAT for him because 1) he would have played right away, 2) he would have been an ELITE SLC player as opposed to another SEC guard, and 3) he would have stuck at a school like Lamar instead of being thrown away for the next guy at LSU.  Now Gibson is flourishing in the NBA, and Minor is at home reading his old clippings...At 5'11 it would have been hard for him to go to the league from Lamar anyway, BUT, he would have played four years and had his degree..I can name 20 Houston kids RIGHT now that Roc is not even looking at that CAN START for Lamar NEXT YEAR....Remember Wheatley's Dewayne Reed? He is now at Auburn, miserable, because they were the ONLY school that waited for him to make his score...so he signed..What if Roc would have been all over that kid OR sent him to Lamar-PA if he did not make the score? Can you say ALL SLC?  Gotta be smart, but more than that you gotta KNOW where they are...IN YOUR BACKYARD.

[Guest mffl]

Great post... So whose thinking we should get Roc to call up DickieV for Lamar's last assistant opening position?

[Guest DickVitale]

Not a bad idea..... 8)...I was actually thinking the same thing..I am not a "big name" yet like my father, but I do have the SAME name as him!! ...

[hjhawks]

I remember Coach Abetemarco very well, and yes, he was a character, BUT, the guy got it done...He and my dad talked a lot and I remember Tom saying how he needed to bridge the gap with the Houston area coaches because he wanted more Texas kids, namely Houston kids... and that was long before recruiting Texas was the huge trend that it is now. He KNEW what would win for Lamar in the long run...You wanna know how many Houston area kids have signed with Lamar since 1988? 3.....my brother (Calvin Rice) in 88, Victor Trahan (one of my teammates at Madison) in 89, and Jonathon Burnett (from Texas City) in 01....Think about that for a sec.  You have one of the LARGEST metropolitan cities in the nation 80 miles away and you sign 3 in 20 years? Remember NOLAN RICHARDSON from Arkansas? They won the 1994 NCAA title and of the 13 players on that roster, 7 were from the MEMPHIS area, and that is yet ANOTHER hot recruiting area (Roc should know that too) that was untapped.. Abetemarco and (then asst.) Tony Branch knew what to do to get Lamar going, and if Branch were given a fair shot, HE would have done it......SOLUTION: Hire an asst. coach that is FROM the Houston area...That can also recruit Dallas, Austin and San Antonio as well, but the kids are in HOUSTON...No question...

You forgot about Landon Rowe....(late 90's) from McCullough HS  (Woodlands)

haha  that makes a grand total of 4!

[westendfirst]

I remember Coach Abetemarco very well, and yes, he was a character, BUT, the guy got it done...He and my dad talked a lot and I remember Tom saying how he needed to bridge the gap with the Houston area coaches because he wanted more Texas kids, namely Houston kids... and that was long before recruiting Texas was the huge trend that it is now. He KNEW what would win for Lamar in the long run...You wanna know how many Houston area kids have signed with Lamar since 1988? 3.....my brother (Calvin Rice) in 88, Victor Trahan (one of my teammates at Madison) in 89, and Jonathon Burnett (from Texas City) in 01....Think about that for a sec.  You have one of the LARGEST metropolitan cities in the nation 80 miles away and you sign 3 in 20 years? Remember NOLAN RICHARDSON from Arkansas? They won the 1994 NCAA title and of the 13 players on that roster, 7 were from the MEMPHIS area, and that is yet ANOTHER hot recruiting area (Roc should know that too) that was untapped.. Abetemarco and (then asst.) Tony Branch knew what to do to get Lamar going, and if Branch were given a fair shot, HE would have done it......SOLUTION: Hire an asst. coach that is FROM the Houston area...That can also recruit Dallas, Austin and San Antonio as well, but the kids are in HOUSTON...No question...

Man, you are not very bright.  First, you are CRAZY if you think Lamar has only signed 3 players from Houston since 1988.  I would venture to say it close to 20 or 30 than it is 3.

Second, Branch was HORRIBLE.  If we didn't give Branch a fair shot then who has?  What college program is he leading now?  What has he done since we fire him?

Third, where is Abatemarco?  How did he do at Drake when he left here?  How did he do with that Sacramento St powerhouse?  Geez...give me a break!!!!

[Guest DickVitale]

I remember Coach Abetemarco very well, and yes, he was a character, BUT, the guy got it done...He and my dad talked a lot and I remember Tom saying how he needed to bridge the gap with the Houston area coaches because he wanted more Texas kids, namely Houston kids... and that was long before recruiting Texas was the huge trend that it is now. He KNEW what would win for Lamar in the long run...You wanna know how many Houston area kids have signed with Lamar since 1988? 3.....my brother (Calvin Rice) in 88, Victor Trahan (one of my teammates at Madison) in 89, and Jonathon Burnett (from Texas City) in 01....Think about that for a sec.  You have one of the LARGEST metropolitan cities in the nation 80 miles away and you sign 3 in 20 years? Remember NOLAN RICHARDSON from Arkansas? They won the 1994 NCAA title and of the 13 players on that roster, 7 were from the MEMPHIS area, and that is yet ANOTHER hot recruiting area (Roc should know that too) that was untapped.. Abetemarco and (then asst.) Tony Branch knew what to do to get Lamar going, and if Branch were given a fair shot, HE would have done it......SOLUTION: Hire an asst. coach that is FROM the Houston area...That can also recruit Dallas, Austin and San Antonio as well, but the kids are in HOUSTON...No question...

Man, you are not very bright.  First, you are CRAZY if you think Lamar has only signed 3 players from Houston since 1988.  I would venture to say it close to 20 or 30 than it is 3.

Second, Branch was HORRIBLE.  If we didn't give Branch a fair shot then who has?  What college program is he leading now?  What has he done since we fire him?

Third, where is Abatemarco?  How did he do at Drake when he left here?  How did he do with that Sacramento St powerhouse?  Geez...give me a break!!!!

First off, I am brighter than most, particularly YOU on my worst days, so there is no need to bash and slight anyone on here. Second, If there are more, NAME THEM....I did, can you? No you can't because there are no more than that...Maybe one or two that did not stick, but if there are more, please point them out...Tony Branch WAS NOT given a chance at coaching that program...ONE YEAR? How is that giving a coach a chance? Tony's only downfall was that he was an EXTREMELY nice guy, and if that is a fault, its not a bad one to have... No, YOU are CRAZY if you think that one year can justify a coach, good or bad..Say what you want about Tom, but he was a good coach, as animated as he was, he was not a bad coach...Just because Drake did not work out for him does not mean he was a BAD COACH...Look, sometimes I dont know why I try to explain things to some of you FANS, that KNOW NOTHING about coaching or the business of coaching.....Some of you guys "expertise" truly baffles me...They have never SET FOOT on a sideline, yet have the audacity to critique a coach.....How dumb is that?  Amazing.

[Guest coachacola]

You can go to this site to get the player stats for Lamar basketball starting in the 96-97 season.  I found 4 players from Houston:  Marvin Hill, V.H. Shelton, Jo Adande, and Mike Ridgway.  There's been other players from the suburbs around Houston but I don't think you can count them.

Tony Branch coached 2 years and compiled a 19-37 record.  He was also only 31 years old so he was a very young coach.  Grey Giovanine was almost as young when he took over and he went 21-33 his first 2 years, not much better than Tony Branch.  For some reason Giovanine was given 6 years and Branch only 2 years, but with a young coach you need to show some patience.

Link: http://statsheet.com/mcb/teams/lamar

[BIGREDFAN2]

Tom, Tony and Grey were too young and/or had no HC experience to make a difference in the program.  The suits of the day went low budget and we got what we paid for.

They all were nice guys, some could coach.  But the talent level of that time was dismal at best.  Each team had maybe one player that was at the level of talent of the teams we have had the last few years.  We were lucky to have a player that could get above the rim to rebound or slam dunk.  Jonathon Burnett and Landon Rowe from the Houston area come to mind as players that contributed, but some of the others didn't do diddly. I could be wrong or missed someone obvious, but you see would I'm implying.

We also have to be careful to get recruits that can make the grades, a reason we lost two scholarships.  Some of the talent in Houston may have to go the JUCO route to qualify.

I understand Tic Price (though not signed) is going to be one of the coaches, who is the other assist. going to be?

[Guest DickVitale]

You would have to be retarded to think that in a city with more than 2 million people and more than 100 area high schools, you can't find ONE kid talented enough and qualifies academically to play at LAMAR?? That is just crazy...Furthermore IF they do not qualify there IS a remedy...SEND THEM TO LAMAR STATE COLLEGE-PORT ARTHUR UNTIL THEY DO!! Its not rocket science guys...Its a $50 recruiting trip..IN YOUR OWN BACKYARD, practically...Recruit Houston and Dallas, NOT Des Moines, Iowa and Buttcrack, Nebraska!!! what a concept, huh? :

[BIGREDFAN2]

If you noticed I did say that some of the talent may have to go JUCO - LAMAR STATE COLLEGE-PORT ARTHUR or Penola College, D. Hop did go to Penola.

No doubt Houston, our BACKYARD, has talent.  We need to tap into that, for a lot of reasons.  We need to keep our self's out of the pentally box. We are not going to be able to get a big man this year, because of it. 

I don't think we have not gotten good talent from the Houston area, with a few exceptions, because of our past records, coaches, and some of the negative feeling about Lamar.  The present situation is much better and much more attractive to recruits.  The addition of football will help it time.  We may or should recruit better out of Houston.

[Guest mffl]

Does LSC-PA have dorms for athletes to stay in? Last I heard, they didn't and thats why local players fill up the roster.

[Guest DickVitale]

No not yet, but there is a plan....I will tell you guys about it at a later time...I promise.

[Guest abovetherim]

No not yet, but there is a plan....I will tell you guys about it at a later time...I promise.

Please do DV. That could be a "farm system" for Lamar University.