Long Beach State Athletics!: Re: Nice article in the Athletic about Cal Poly MBB

but do agree - I think they'll be the favorite, have fifth year players, and athletic.

I do think they'll improve dramatically on defense, and fuel a lot of offense next year.

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why there is a lot to be positive about DeGeorge (run and gun style, demeaner)

watching them is they can and do play themselves out of games.

can he actually get a team that defends the post, and can he get a good post defender with his positionless style when there's not a good fit in the offense if your 6'9" guy can't shoot a 3?

his scheme does rely on disrutping the offense on the perimeter so that post play effectively does not matter much. but they could be beat inside a lot.

they may well win the Big West especially as the Big West teams they face can't put enough talent on the floor to defend Cal Poly

I though Mousa was international,, still do not understand the rules on NIL and foreign players

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I remember when Coach DeGeorge was hired from a D2 school in Colorado the same year Acker was hired and everyone scratched their head and said who? 3 years later, it's pretty clear which school hired the better coach. A few things from the article (it's behind a pay wall):

1) Cal Poly has a $500,000 budget to pay players for MBB, virtually all funded by revenues earned from body bag games.

2) Their star player, Hamad Mousa, averaged 20 points per game, is the only All-Big West selection to return. Mousa entered the transfer portal last season but decided to come back. The first offer he received when he entered the portal was 1.5 million. Offers after that were even higher but Mousa decided he wanted to play for DeGeorge.

3) 13 out of 14 are returning this year! Isn't that the inverse of the Niners for the last two years???

4) All the players love DeGeorge. Do ANY of the players love Acker?

5) Coach DeGeorge plays a "no position" style of basketball. G,F, and C's all have to be able to dribble, shoot, and pass well. Mousa stated this style of play is better for his development and getting to the NBA.

6) DeGeorge is expecting a breakthrough season in the Big West this coming year. I don't know if they can take down UCI but it will be fun watching them. They play a very watchable style while Acker's teams have been predictable, with little movement, and even less creativity. They may not take down UCI this year but the gap between two programs who are similarly funded (CP and LBSU) will be so noticeable. The only downside for CP is that other programs will notice and try to hire DeGeorge in a few years.