Welcome to VCU, Tarique Foster!

2012Ram · Sep 29, 2022

LazyStegosaurus said:
He might not have stars, but he as a real nice smile.

Wolfpack Ram · Sep 29, 2022

I sure hope Tarique and his family aren't reading this thread. :roll:

ramluvr99 · Sep 29, 2022

Wolfpack Ram said:
I sure hope Tarique and his family aren't reading this thread.

especially considering our coaching staff has proven again and again to know what they're doing

AlienAiden · Sep 30, 2022

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1575823466296639492

Mercury · Sep 30, 2022

Wolfpack Ram said:
I sure hope Tarique and his family aren't reading this thread.

I'm sure a family who just had their dream come true would be devastated by what strangers on the internet wrote.

share the ball · Sep 30, 2022

i have seen a number of circumstances where the 2nd and 3rd best high school players on really great high school teams achieve more in college than the star on the team because they continue to work harder and recognize they need to get better
I hope Tarique is that Guy! Have a great season at Putnam.
Go Tarique

SteveMM · Sep 30, 2022

AlienAiden said:
https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1575823466296639492

I'm confused. I thought the story was that he had to sit out of basketball for a while and that hurt his recruitment. This article says he was cleared to play 13 days after the shooting. I'm not questioning whether the kid will be good or not, I'm just thinking someone had their story wrong.

BradRamFan · Sep 30, 2022

Mercury said:
I'm sure a family who just had their dream come true would be devastated by what strangers on the internet wrote.

I'm going to answer this based on my feeling that the post is sarcastic in nature. I hear this similar things a lot on here from posters who tear down players and then 24 hours later when a Dilione or Demary come for a visit they post..."Send them love on twitter", "talk them up", "Let them know how much we love them". And we KNOW it has an effect, positive and negative on players. Dilione and Demary have specifically stated how tons of VCU throw love their way and they appreciate it. MR has specifically stated how negativity (on the internet) towards certain players has had an impact on their performance and motivation here at VCU during the season. I believe Shaka even said something similar when he was HC here.
So to act like fan negativity has zero impact on players, recruits or parents is just plain ignorant, IMO. But it can and has had an impact on players. It doesn't mean you have to be ecstatic with everyone we sign, but negativity serves no useful purpose other than to prop up the posters ego that they know more than the coach and coaching staff.

Mistachill · Oct 1, 2022

BradRamFan said:
I'm going to answer this based on my feeling that the post is sarcastic in nature. I hear this similar things a lot on here from posters who tear down players and then 24 hours later when a Dilione or Demary come for a visit they post..."Send them love on twitter", "talk them up", "Let them know how much we love them". And we KNOW it has an effect, positive and negative on players. Dilione and Demary have specifically stated how tons of VCU throw love their way and they appreciate it. MR has specifically stated how negativity (on the internet) towards certain players has had an impact on their performance and motivation here at VCU during the season. I believe Shaka even said something similar when he was HC here.
So to act like fan negativity has zero impact on players, recruits or parents is just plain ignorant, IMO. But it can and has had an impact on players. It doesn't mean you have to be ecstatic with everyone we sign, but negativity serves no useful purpose other than to prop up the posters ego that they know more than the coach and coaching staff.

I think there are two separate issues some are merging as one. Stating valid facts and being negative are two separate matters. I'm not sure how if a post isn't glowingly positive it's considered negative.

Which posts would you consider to be "negative?" And are you suggesting blind optimism 24/7?

In this situation you have a recruit who isn't rated with little evidence of an impressive offer list, I don't see why being neutral is unreasonable unless somebody is deep into the recruiting weeds and has seen the kid's talent or potential first hand.

Ramlove81 · Oct 1, 2022

Mistachill said:
I think there are two separate issues some are merging as one. Stating valid facts and being negative are two separate matters. I'm not sure how if a post isn't glowingly positive it's considered negative.

Which posts would you consider to be "negative?" And are you suggesting blind optimism 24/7?

In this situation you have a recruit who isn't rated with little evidence of an impressive offer list, I don't see why being neutral is unreasonable unless somebody is deep into the recruiting weeds and has seen the kid's talent or potential first hand.

Give me blind optimism over automatic negativity any day! They are both contagious. I'd rather spread optimism.

BradRamFan · Oct 1, 2022

Mistachill said:
I think there are two separate issues some are merging as one. Stating valid facts and being negative are two separate matters. I'm not sure how if a post isn't glowingly positive it's considered negative.

Which posts would you consider to be "negative?" And are you suggesting blind optimism 24/7?

In this situation you have a recruit who isn't rated with little evidence of an impressive offer list, I don't see why being neutral is unreasonable unless somebody is deep into the recruiting weeds and has seen the kid's talent or potential first hand.

I agree the line and thin and a bit fuzzy between critical analysis and negativity. I myself said the extra year at PSA will hopefully allow him to put some weight on his frame and up his 29% 3 point shooting. But I also added that he was shooting over 40% total on all his shots which is certainly a positive. But that analysis is based on his stats.
But I will agree the line can be a bit fuzzy with respect to neutral vs negative. But I think, also, thinking negative comments don't have an impact on players is incorrect.

SteveMM · Oct 1, 2022

Mistachill said:
And are you suggesting blind optimism 24/7?

There's a Facebook page for that, and they're becoming increasingly annoying about how much they censor their page.

2012Ram · Oct 1, 2022

This thread has been extremely tame given the circumstances

Mistachill · Oct 1, 2022

Ramlove81 said:
Give me blind optimism over automatic negativity any day! They are both contagious. I'd rather spread optimism.

I would rather spread objectivity (knowing that too is subjective). I don't see a problem with balance and I don't really see anything on this thread that is particularly out of bounds, unless the expectation is to believe every recruit who commits will be an all-time great (yeah, I'm looking at you DL

).

Personally I welcome the kid and if MR sees something in him that he thinks will help the program I'm willing to wait and see (just like every recruit including the 4 stars). But let's be honest, unless you see everything through black and gold colored glasses is it realistic to expect fans to throw a parade for a recruit if the tangible info about him is pretty limited?

And I guarantee, if the kid blows up this season and creates a buzz, fan enthusiasm will elevate.

CrozetRam · Oct 1, 2022

I love getting a 6-8 athletic player. And i love getting a player who said a reason he wants to be here is that he felt the love from the staff, that they wanted him specifically, not that they were just looking to plug a specific hole. You bring in someone like that in any workplace or situation, and you are more likely to get maximum effort and fewer whiny complaints about whether they made a mistake. Let’s go!