Online Q/A with LU basketball coach Clif Carroll

The scoreboard in the Montagne Center is terribly outdated. Are there plans to update it with a new video scoreboard anytime soon?

 

I want to add to this question coach carroll. With all the excitement surrounding the program whether there are plans for a new video scoreboard or not what type of game experience enhancements can be implemented and does the staff have any input? I think a new PA announcer would help and obviously if the money is there a better scoreboard as mentioned above. The atmosphere in the arena is much better when the students pack it in so whatever we can do to get them there the better. oh and thanks again for taking your time to answer our questions.

The scoreboard in the Montagne Center is terribly outdated. Are there plans to update it with a new video scoreboard anytime soon?

 

I want to add to this question coach carroll. With all the excitement surrounding the program whether there are plans for a new video scoreboard or not what type of game experience enhancements can be implemented and does the staff have any input? I think a new PA announcer would help and obviously if the money is there a better scoreboard as mentioned above. The atmosphere in the arena is much better when the students pack it in so whatever we can do to get them there the better. oh and thanks again for taking your time to answer our questions.

 

Call me crazy, but I kind of like the old school scoreboard. I can hear some of you screaming at the screen as you read that. :D ;) I do realize that a video board would greatly enhance the fan experience, so I do hope that we can get a new one. I do know that there has been an effort by Montagne Center administration to raise money for a video board. I am in complete support of that, though I do not have much to do with it. The only thing I want is for them to do it right. I do not want to spend a significant amount of money on a little dinky screen, when a)we could have waited and raised enough money for a screen worth it and/or b) the money raised could have been put to better use in other areas in which we sorely need upgrades.

 

Our job is to build a program in which we are proud to put out in front of our fans. We leave the promotions to our marketing department. We hired a guy last fall who is in charge of promotions during games. He did not have enough time to fully implement his ideas last season. He runs his thoughts by me all the time and I know that he is full of ideas that will get more tail ends in the seats, and then keep them entertained once they get there. With a full year to handle his budget and implement his ideas, things will be better on that front.

 

As far as getting more students to come to games? That will come. I think we get more students to games than people realize. Our students tend to scatter into the empty seats around the stands instead of packing themselves into the "student section". As our attendance continues to rise, the students will be concentrated into the student section. Our promotions guy also has many great ideas to get the students involved with the program.

 

In my mind, attendance comes down to this: you have to put kids on the court in which the community can be proud to associate with and you have to win games. If you do those two things, more people will want to associate themselves with your program. Within the past year, I think we have done those two things.

Winning cures a lot of ills. Lamar fans will come out when we start winning consistently. Good things are coming for Lamar basketball in the the future. You gotta believe!!!

Coach, Thanks for the opportunity to have this forum. It gives us outside of Beaumont a chance to get an inside look at the program. Congratulation on the little guy too.

I am glad that there is more of an effort to schedule D-1 teams, I feel it will help the team not only in conference, but may eventually produce better seeds in the NCAAs. I attended the TCU game last year and will attend the Baylor game this year - I live in Austin. My question is if you get any suggestions from fans on certain players that some feel would be a good fit and if this type of thing would be considered illegal under NCAA regulations?

Coach, Thanks for the opportunity to have this forum. It gives us outside of Beaumont a chance to get an inside look at the program. Congratulation on the little guy too.

I am glad that there is more of an effort to schedule D-1 teams, I feel it will help the team not only in conference, but may eventually produce better seeds in the NCAAs. I attended the TCU game last year and will attend the Baylor game this year - I live in Austin. My question is if you get any suggestions from fans on certain players that some feel would be a good fit and if this type of thing would be considered illegal under NCAA regulations?

 

We have talked with the Horns about playing a agame in Austin, but the dates have not worked out. I get recommendations on players all the time. So long as you aren't going out and buying those players corvettes, it is perfectly fine to shoot me an email giving me the heads up about a player.

How often are those leads actually helpful

How often are those leads actually helpful

 

About half the time they are kids that we already know about. There are some that just flat aren't good enough. However, one of the best players I have coached was a tip given to me by a guy who didn't know beans about basketball. The kids grandfather and the guy who gave me the tip were fishing buddies. I did a little research on the kid and he turned out to be a really good player that was overlooked. He was a 2 year all conference guy for us at Collin and had a decent year at Gardner Webb last year. Now days with google and all of the recruiting data bases, I can do 10 minutes worth of research on my iPhone and get plenty of information on a kid. So it is worth it to me to chase down every lead.

Coach,

 

The teams at Tech tried up to go up tempo, which I thought might work if the team played like the great team Pat was on at IU in the early 90's. I really hoped he would find a few players and make that work in the B12. Some saw Pat as abandoning principle. I thought he was actually fine on principle but could not get execution, maybe wasn't able to teach as well as RMK, but heck, nobody ever did that better. People misunderstood Bob Knight and thought he as always old school, but he was very creative and innovative.

 

How much is Pat a different coach now than when he was at Tech and you first met him. How much will we old timers see in Lamar basketball that goes way back, how much do you think will be something new? I love the ball oriented man defense and the motion offense, hope we continue to see that old time religion!

 

As much as I hate seeing a team with so many new faces, it really is a chance to teach and build toward a time 3 or 4 years down the road, where he will have a roster full of kids who know how to play. What is the plan for teaching so much to so many new kids? You have said they fit well, do any come in with previous experience in a similar system?

Coach,

 

The teams at Tech tried up to go up tempo, which I thought might work if the team played like the great team Pat was on at IU in the early 90's. I really hoped he would find a few players and make that work in the B12. Some saw Pat as abandoning principle. I thought he was actually fine on principle but could not get execution, maybe wasn't able to teach as well as RMK, but heck, nobody ever did that better. People misunderstood Bob Knight and thought he as always old school, but he was very creative and innovative.

 

How much is Pat a different coach now than when he was at Tech and you first met him. How much will we old timers see in Lamar basketball that goes way back, how much do you think will be something new? I love the ball oriented man defense and the motion offense, hope we continue to see that old time religion!

 

As much as I hate seeing a team with so many new faces, it really is a chance to teach and build toward a time 3 or 4 years down the road, where he will have a roster full of kids who know how to play. What is the plan for teaching so much to so many new kids? You have said they fit well, do any come in with previous experience in a similar system?

 

The baseline of our team will always be a true motion offense and man to man defense with help principles. That will never change. Pat has thrown in a little zone and more ball screens than we ran at Tech with coach. There was a misconception about Coach Knight wanting to slow it down and grind it out. Over 3/4 of our offensive drills at Tech included conversion. He believed in running as much as any others, but because he demanded discipline there was a label thrown on him as a slow down coach. Pat is no different. We encourage our guys to push as much as anybody else, but we aren't going to settle for poor shots.

 

We are going to approach this year the same as we did last year. We have to get everyone on the same page defensively. We will slowly introduce the offense. It will be easier this year because we have the returners + Rhon, who was in a couple weeks of practices, and the two kids from Collin which ran a motion type offense. With over half the team comfortable with the offense, the other will come along quickly.

Coach I hope I'm not too late to post a few questions,

 

What are the odds we can get Lamar in a game with Indiana? I know that would sell out. What are Coach Knights ties to the school?

 

Who was the best player you have ever coached?

 

Liquor or beer?

 

I love that we are recruiting Indiana, will that remain a priority?

 

Do we know all the teams we will play in the NIT this year?

 

Lastly, what was the best game you have ever gotten to help coach, win or lose?

 

Thanks for your time!

Coach I hope I'm not too late to post a few questions,

 

What are the odds we can get Lamar in a game with Indiana? I know that would sell out. What are Coach Knights ties to the school?

 

Who was the best player you have ever coached?

 

Liquor or beer?

 

I love that we are recruiting Indiana, will that remain a priority?

 

Do we know all the teams we will play in the NIT this year?

 

Lastly, what was the best game you have ever gotten to help coach, win or lose?

 

Thanks for your time!

 

Never too late to get questions in. I think we would play anybody if the price was right. I have talked to Indiana St, Valpo, IUPUI and Butler about home and home series. We have purdue on the schedule this year and we will play more guarantee games with Big 10 teams. I think any game we would play in Indiana would be huge draws.

 

The most talented player I have ever coached would be Mike James. I had a few guys on campus at Collin that were NBA talents, but Jr High mentalities. Those three guys never could get their life in order to get on the court. It is hard to say who the best is. James had a great year this year. My first year of coaching we had a kid named Stevie Harley who ended up having a so so career at Nebraska, but he was a freak for us. The year we won the JUCO National Championship we had Nick Okorie and David Tairu that played at Tech. At Collin we had Gilberto Clavell who went on to be one of the best players in the SLC and Adam Brown that was a JUCO all American and played at Houston. We also had a kid named Hartley that wasnt overly talented, but was a tough SOB and competed his ass off. I wold also say that Amos Wilson is one of the top guys I have coached.

 

I am a man of many different tastes. Most of the time I like a cold Lonestar Light. Sometimes a Jack and 7 Up hits the spot. Sometimes it is a little Sailor and Pineapple.

 

PK is headed towards Indy as we speak. This week is the opening week of The July recruiting period. I think we would be idiots not to take advantage of some of the recruiting advantages we have there.

 

Tentatively we are in a pod with K State and North Texas. They are still looking for another team to complete the pod and set the schedule.

 

The best game I ever coached was in 08 qat South Plains vs Howard. That is a big time rivalry and the coaches are very good friends. It was a knock down drag out game that went 5 overtimes. We finally won on a last second offensive put back. Other notable games was the Big Monday game vs Kansas on Valentines day. Darryl Dora hit a three with under 2 seconds to put us up. The fans rushed the court. The SLC championship game was fun because our crowd took over tHe Merrill Center. It was raucous. In the NJCAA title game in '08 we fell behind 24-4 to start the game. We fought back to take a 2 point lead at half time then won by 20 points. I have been fortunate to be apart of many great games in my short career.

 

Great questions.

 

Coach,

 

I just wanted to thank you for taking the time to respond to the questions. This thread is one of my favorites and makes me wish Basketball season was all year long. I know it is for you. In the mean time, this thread is a good way to help keep basketball alive during the off season for us fans.

 

Since Coach Knight wants to only schedule DI programs, how much of a challenge is that in building the schedule?

 

Are there any plans to get a long term schedule with any of the universities or is the normal OOC schedule short term?

Coach,

 

I just wanted to thank you for taking the time to respond to the questions. This thread is one of my favorites and makes me wish Basketball season was all year long. I know it is for you. In the mean time, this thread is a good way to help keep basketball alive during the off season for us fans.

 

Since Coach Knight wants to only schedule DI programs, how much of a challenge is that in building the schedule?

 

Are there any plans to get a long term schedule with any of the universities or is the normal OOC schedule short term?

 

I'm glad everyone enjoys the thread. It is fun for me as well.

 

The s hedule was a real challenge this season. We have the schedule stabilized over the next 5+ years though. It was tough going from having 4 non d1 home game to home and home series and having the conference add 2 games to the schedule. I think people will really like what we are doing with the schedule in the future if we an get through this season.

 

We inherited long term contracts with Pan Am, Ark St and La Laff. I want to keep/renew some of regional rivalries while bringing in some new teams to the Montagne.

Coach C. What can you tell about Brian Curran from Salt Lake City. I think he is on academic scholarship. ....thanks

Coach C. What can you tell about Brian Curran from Salt Lake City. I think he is on academic scholarship. ....thanks

 

Brian will walk on for us this year. He is a solid shooter and was a good,player in high school. He will definately bring up the team gap as well.

Is Brian expected to get any playing time this year? What kind of role will he play with this team?

 

Can you comment on Sebastian Norman's performance with the Swedish U19 game? Do you think that his performance in that game can translate to the D1 college level?

 

With Brain Curran walking on to the program, how do you rate this incoming class from 1-10?

 

Once again thank you for doing this! It sure helps the off-season go by a little faster.

 

Is Brian expected to get any playing time this year? What kind of role will he play with this team?

 

Can you comment on Sebastian Norman's performance with the Swedish U19 game? Do you think that his performance in that game can translate to the D1 college level?

 

With Brain Curran walking on to the program, how do you rate this incoming class from 1-10?

 

Once again thank you for doing this! It sure helps the off-season go by a little faster.

 

I don't really know much about Brian on the court. We only had 2 tapes to watch on him. He has strong community ties and is a very good student. Every coach I talked to in Utah highly recommended him. We'll just have to,wait and see how he does when we get them on the court next week.

 

Sebastian is doing very well for his U20 national team. He took a pretty good shot to the chops and missed 2 games. He is averaging about 15 points and 7 rebounds. When they get into the Euro championships, he will be playing against high level college players and pros. I have a good friend who is in Europe and will watch him play. I also stay in contact with his national team coach. I think this experience is going to do wonders for him.

 

When you look at ranking classes there are a lot of factors that go into it. Do I think we signed a class equivalent to Kentucky? No. I do feel really good about our class. We had some key pieces to replace and I think we have gone a long way to setting this program up for several years to come. I don't think I can fairly put a number value on the class, but I think this group of kids can compete for banners for years to come, and to me that is a success.

Can you give us any info on teams that will be coming into the Montagne in say 2013 and beyond?

Can you give us any info on teams that will be coming into the Montagne in say 2013 and beyond?

 

The only teams we have under contract is George Mason, Louisiana Laffayette, Arky St and Tx Pan Am. I have a gentlemens agreement with Louisiana Tech. I'm not going to sign contracts for games a year in advance until we get our conference settled. I do not want to find ourselves in a situation like we had this season with the conference adding games to the conference schedule and we have to give up valuable home games.

 

I have talked to several teams and have agreed in principle to have home and home series with Valpo, U San Francisco, and Indiana State. I have also spoken with 4 or 5 major conference schools about playing 2 for 1. That means we would go to their place twice and then they would come to us. I don't know if that will ever happen, but I'm trying like hell to get it done.

Coach, if I could afford to buy a corvette it would be for me, not giving that away

 

I have a couple of questions about Osas. He did quite well especially near the end of the season. How is his development going? Is he working on his offensive skills? I think he's pretty good defensively and I'm sure he'll get better next year. Thanks for the opportunity.

Coach Carroll, I am so glad that you have agreed to do this chat. I think that the thing that I have always loved about the Knight's wherever they have been besides all the wins, is the things they do for the instutions where they have coached at, and the tons of help and props that they have given to the other sports that the school competes in, the help that they have given to the towns where they have coached, and the youngsters that they have brought in, and how for the most part they have conducted themselves as gentlemen, or they don't play or stay long!!!!!!! And that they have done everything within the rules of the NCAA, whether they liked the rules or not!!!!!!!!!!!! And I know that Pat and his staff will continue to do that!!!!!!!!!

 

G

Coach, I cant remember if I asked or someone else asked but with the turnover of the coaching staff this off-season,

 

(1) have you guys had much time to get together as a staff?

 

(2) have your roles and responsibilities changed since last season?

 

(3) aren't you now the senior member of the staff??

 

Thx....

 

 

Coach, if I could afford to buy a corvette it would be for me, not giving that away

 

I have a couple of questions about Osas. He did quite well especially near the end of the season. How is his development going? Is he working on his offensive skills? I think he's pretty good defensively and I'm sure he'll get better next year. Thanks for the opportunity.

 

I was on the road recruiting and took a little hiatus from answering questions. Osas has everything he needs in terms of physical abilities. Before he can reach the next level, he is going to have to change his approach to the game. If he decides that he is going to bring it everyday, he could be scary!

Coach Carroll, I am so glad that you have agreed to do this chat. I think that the thing that I have always loved about the Knight's wherever they have been besides all the wins, is the things they do for the instutions where they have coached at, and the tons of help and props that they have given to the other sports that the school competes in, the help that they have given to the towns where they have coached, and the youngsters that they have brought in, and how for the most part they have conducted themselves as gentlemen, or they don't play or stay long!!!!!!! And that they have done everything within the rules of the NCAA, whether they liked the rules or not!!!!!!!!!!!! And I know that Pat and his staff will continue to do that!!!!!!!!!

 

G

 

I appreciate it. We are working real hard to bring young men into this program that the entire community can be proud of. The Knights are first class folk, and I am extremely lucky to be able to have worked for Coach and now Pat.

Coach, I cant remember if I asked or someone else asked but with the turnover of the coaching staff this off-season,

 

(1) have you guys had much time to get together as a staff?

 

(2) have your roles and responsibilities changed since last season?

 

(3) aren't you now the senior member of the staff??

 

Thx....

 

We have not had much time together. I got together with Sherron last April after we learned that JP was going to Grambling. I think he will be a great addition to the staff. He is organized and very well respected in the mid-west. Our recruiting in Indiana is really going to take off I think. Sherron and his wife weren't able to move down here right away, so he has spent most of his time in Louisville. Even though he is gone, we talk everyday and have built a great relationship.

 

Our responsibilities won't change much. Obviously, Kermit will go back out on the road recruiting and be back on the court coaching, but the day to day operations haven't changed much. We just have taken on a few extra duties to pick up some of the slack this summer.

 

I don't know if I would call is senior! I have been with Pat the longest, I guess you could say, because of my time Tech. Kermit has been here at Lamar for 3 different coaches now and did a great job for us in the DOB spot last year. Sherron is bringing a great energy to the staff. I am really excited about what is going on here at Lamar.

 

I have to say this about Paulino. I think he is a young superstar in the making as a coach. It's funny how a guy from Meadow, TX and a guy from South Central Los Angeles get a chance to not only work together, but become good friends. I will always thing fondly of the time that we spent working together here at Lamar and I am going to miss having him in the office over from me. At least now he won't have to listen to my country music! He will do great things for Fresno State and beyond. That being said, the real loss to the community is his wife Shillete! You can always tell if a coach can recruit by the type of wife that he has, and he can recruit on a high major level. haha