Will 2020 be a good year for RMU football and basketball fans?
I am excited for the Colonials to start the NEC basketball schedule after a brutal non-conference schedule. For one, there will finally be some home games at the new UPMC Events Center when students are on campus. I know scheduling is always a challenge for lower tier D-1 programs, but in the first two months of the season to only have one game at home when the students were on campus and that was against the local ACC team that had a very high probability of a loss for the Colonials, and that is what it turned out to be. It was a fun evening, except for parking issues and the ultimate loss, but I still question the wisdom of asking Pitt to do us a favor by being the opponent for the opening night. Yes, it assured a sellout, but if you cannot sellout the opening game of a new facility maybe the facility was not worth it. Sorry, I just had to vent a bit. Now onto the Conference schedule. The Colonials have the talent and experience to be among the top programs in the NEC provided they stay healthy. They have an eight man rotation with no depth. Considering Coach Toole loses players continuously, I don't understand why he would have left one scholarship unfilled last summer. Some on this forum have indicated in the last couple of years that the new arena should help us keep players, so far this season two players left by Thanksgiving. I know there is a lot of roster movement in college basketball, maybe more so with lower tier D-1, but Coach Toole needs to provide a better explanation of why it is so frequent that his players leave. In the last six or seven years, how many players have come in as freshmen and how many have stayed with the program for four years, very, very few. I know there have been a few that transferred up, but there have been many more that have left the program for other reasons. Sorry, I am venting again. I will say that this is when Coach Toole does his best coaching, when his roster has shrunk so he does not have players complaining about playing time. Go Colonials!
On to football. Has Coach Clark turned the ship around? After the loss to Kentucky State things looked pretty bleak. But, after a nice win at VMI, and a 6-1 Conference record things are looking pretty good. A lot of those wins were close games that could have gone either way, but regardless the Colonials had their first winning record in a lot of years. I am excited about the recruits that signed early that should make up a strong recruiting class. Coach Clark and staff seem to be doing a good job of bringing in JUCOs and other transfers to fill the most pressing needs. The fall of 2020 could be a good one for RMU football. Go Colonials!
I am interested in others commenting about the direction of the basketball and football programs.
I am excited for the Colonials to start the NEC basketball schedule after a brutal non-conference schedule. For one, there will finally be some home games at the new UPMC Events Center when students are on campus. I know scheduling is always a challenge for lower tier D-1 programs, but in the first two months of the season to only have one game at home when the students were on campus and that was against the local ACC team that had a very high probability of a loss for the Colonials, and that is what it turned out to be. It was a fun evening, except for parking issues and the ultimate loss, but I still question the wisdom of asking Pitt to do us a favor by being the opponent for the opening night. Yes, it assured a sellout, but if you cannot sellout the opening game of a new facility maybe the facility was not worth it. Sorry, I just had to vent a bit. Now onto the Conference schedule. The Colonials have the talent and experience to be among the top programs in the NEC provided they stay healthy. They have an eight man rotation with no depth. Considering Coach Toole loses players continuously, I don't understand why he would have left one scholarship unfilled last summer. Some on this forum have indicated in the last couple of years that the new arena should help us keep players, so far this season two players left by Thanksgiving. I know there is a lot of roster movement in college basketball, maybe more so with lower tier D-1, but Coach Toole needs to provide a better explanation of why it is so frequent that his players leave. In the last six or seven years, how many players have come in as freshmen and how many have stayed with the program for four years, very, very few. I know there have been a few that transferred up, but there have been many more that have left the program for other reasons. Sorry, I am venting again. I will say that this is when Coach Toole does his best coaching, when his roster has shrunk so he does not have players complaining about playing time. Go Colonials!
On to football. Has Coach Clark turned the ship around? After the loss to Kentucky State things looked pretty bleak. But, after a nice win at VMI, and a 6-1 Conference record things are looking pretty good. A lot of those wins were close games that could have gone either way, but regardless the Colonials had their first winning record in a lot of years. I am excited about the recruits that signed early that should make up a strong recruiting class. Coach Clark and staff seem to be doing a good job of bringing in JUCOs and other transfers to fill the most pressing needs. The fall of 2020 could be a good one for RMU football. Go Colonials!
I am interested in others commenting about the direction of the basketball and football programs.
