ACCJesse

after UVA spent $30 million on the roster.

Recruiting is all about the Benjamins now. You have to have NIL money to recruit. The team with the best players usually wins. With more NIL money, we can recruit better, and we'll win more. Magically, the coaching is better.

albeit not as undersized as we are.

Much like last year, we are small and can't shoot, a bad combination. Too many turnovers - many from passes that were too cute or too lazy. JMU dominated the paint on both ends, and they are undersized (but not as undersized as we are). Unless she can coach up the freshman really quick, or maybe if she can, we are going to be hard pressed to match last year's results. ACC teams will eat us alive in the paint.

he's a prima donna and high maintenance. But he still may be a good hire. We'll find out. It does make a statement that Virginia Tech is serious about football again.

I would rather have Shane (if he will come) or someone else who wants to be at Virginia Tech.

because Franklin is a hot commodity right now. I acknowledged upfront that he may not be realistic, so there was no need to be snarky.

but it would be fun to discuss anyway. Sorry that you don't want to engage. I've heard a lot about Alex Golesh, but I suspect he'll have a lot of better offers, including Indiana. My guess is that Penn State gets Cignetti. Any rumors about him. I would hire Golesh or Cignetti, but I don't think either is realistic.

and lower level bowls were never relevant. Gets you some extra practices, but now most of the players don't participate.

you gave me some rumors and speculation. The only fact you gave me is what I'll lead with - an absence of NCAA compliance issues. I'll add that his players speak highly of him and are loyal to him (see, e.g., Drew Allar). I hear nothing but good things from my contacts at Penn State. His problem at Penn State is that they went all in for a National Championship this year, and spent a lot of money on it. In the past, I would say that Virginia Tech should have the same goal. But in the NIL and transfer portal era, that's not realistic unless we got a bunch of sugar daddies and sugar mommas - A LOT. Franklin made Vandy relevant. Franklin made Penn State relevant again after the scandals there. I think he can make Virginia Tech relevant again, and maybe win an ACC Championship. The ACC isn't the B1G or the SEC. And if he gets Virginia Tech back in the conversation, that would be a helluva job. Is he perfect? No. Is he Nick Saban? No. But he's probably the best that Virginia Tech can expect (and he may be out of our reach, anyway, making this conversation irrelevant).

who else that we can realistically get (understanding that Franklin may not be realistic) is better?

Maybe not realistic, but a change of scenery may help him and he's a lot better than other realistic alternatives that I can think of. I know our latest Penn State hire didn't turn out too well, but Franklin is going to get another chance somewhere. May as well be here. He's a good guy who can recruit and he runs a clean program.

Over an hour from the Atlanta airport.

But I've only been watching for 45 years. I feel like such a bandwagon fan.

no one really cares. Great that we get to have some practices and play some more games, particularly for the players that return next year, but it's the WBIT. As much as I would love to do so, I'm not going to travel 4 hours each way.

with the full court press 40 minutes a game, but she's winning when the other team doesn't turn it over much. She doesn't even press sometimes. LSU wouldn't let her press the first game. So she didn't press in the first half of the second game. Opened the second half with the press, and Mulkey had to call a timeout to stop the bleeding. She's smart as Hell.

it was love at first sight for me when we played Marshall last year. We beat the crap out them, but most of their players were Glenville State transfers - 5'3", 5'5". I don't think they had a 6 footer. They never stopped coming though.

The Texas bigs were just too much for her. Texas has some very good (and very big) bigs. Oldacre, the backup center, had a career game. Then Jones, the starter, ate up the back up post player for Kentucky. Characteristic of Brooks, Kentucky is not deep. He plays 6 unless he has to play more. So, when they have to play they aren't ready.

Texas was the first tough SEC game that they played. Tennessee, on the other hand, has played LSU twice, Texas, South Carolina, and, outside of the conference, UConn. Caldwell is a helluva coach for Tennessee.

give Duffy some time.

I said don't get TOO excited. SMH.

But let's wait to see her recruiting classes before we get too excited. To coach this team to the NCAA tourney would be amazing, but we need to see how good her recruiting classes are before we worry about losing her. Next year and the year after will be key.

JW hiring Wolff was a real low point for the history of the program. Not diminishing the hole that Duffy has to dig out of. When a popular coach leaves and takes all of the players and recruits that he wants, that's a tough start. She's done an amazing job. But JW and Wolff had the PROGRAM in the toilet. Players today seem to go more with the coach than with the PROGRAM these days. A lot of recruits that were looking at Virginia Tech are now looking at Kentucky, because Kenny is the draw. Duffy is going to have to recruit based on her implementation of the program. It will take awhile.

Heckuva a job if we make the NCAA tourney.

but is very inconsistent.

She played 40 years ago, when women's basketball wasn't nearly as popular or supported by the university and the public as it is now. It's not all about stats. You have to look at context. I'm not trying to say that one is greater than the other, just saying that, imo, you shouldn't just look at the stats and say "not particularly close."