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Post by Psychopotamus on Feb 27, 2003 13:10:09 GMT -5
Thomas is a great attacker but I think right now he is too sporadic. Also, he is extremely athletic but doesn't have that prototypical 6'10" frame. I think he will be considered for his qingspan and quickness, but unless he becomes a blocking force, becomes more consistent and becomes more of an exceptional type player, he will be relegated to a reserve role(at best) as far as the national team goes. There are too many middles who attack as well and do other things much better for him to take a spot without a lot of improvement.
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Post by bruinfan5 on Feb 27, 2003 13:32:55 GMT -5
I don't know if any of you guys actually followed the National Team this summer or not but they did fairly well with some really young talent. This board is all about College teams which is the high school level to our proffesional players over seas. I think one of the reasons that players seem to fade is because no body pay's attention to them after college. Clay Stanley split time with Brook Billings and each has their qualities at opposite. Nothing against Big George, but he has differernt opinions than Doug Beal. He also wants to pursue his career in the WWF someday,  rumor has it. If LLoy Ball comes back into the pic for the Olympics the team will have a ligitimate shot at it. Reid Priddy is a very developed player out of college as for Jim Polster. TEAM USA took Down Brazil in the World Championships with two of there youngest players. For the guys coming out of college like Toppel, Keenan, and maybe Rooney (only because he is young), they will have a legitimate shot at it too. This will provide some great training for our mens team to have all these players out in Colorado Springs. GOOD LUCK TO THE MENS TEAM and we should all be supporting them in there events during the summer.  |
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Post by Saruman on Feb 27, 2003 14:25:31 GMT -5
I understand and appreciate the lsat posters comments....especially since he/she got back on track.
Personally when I look up and down the college ranks righ now ther are 3 names that jump out. Frame technique and ability to have a 5th gear. All 3 are legit ( Yeah yeah toppel and Ptak have been hurt alot....so what)
Rooney, Ptak and Toppel. Of the 3, the greatest need will probably be filled by Ptak. He is the best natural athlete in the men's game flat out. He is the most exciting player in the game and will be even better when he is surrounded by other world class athletes.
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Post by vballdoll on Feb 27, 2003 14:40:29 GMT -5
Roumain has been injured a lot in the past few years which is why his appearance on the beach has been sporadic. But he won't be going back indoors. He started on the beach and if he continues to play, that is where it will be.
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Post by Wondering on Feb 27, 2003 15:31:16 GMT -5
Saruman... how can you forget Keenan... Rooney will definetly contend... but not in 2004... he has no plans of leaving Pepp... Keenan will be there before Ptak
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Post by Psychopotamus on Feb 27, 2003 16:04:22 GMT -5
Like I said, great players, but no Karch. Even on the international level, every team needs a player that can deliver in the cruch, whether it be a dig a block or a kill. IMO the US hasn't had anything close to that since Timmons left.
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Post by VBfanatic on Apr 16, 2003 13:40:28 GMT -5
Let's be honest.
Top guns out of college will be Keenan and Ptak.
Rooney is just a 'kid' who doesn't have hops...is NOT great athlete like Ptak. Can NOT block like Keenan and NOT nearly as strong as Ptak.
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Post by CaliforniaVBfan on Apr 16, 2003 17:18:27 GMT -5
Toppel is healed and well, hotter than ever. Stanford hasn't lost a match since he returned, went from #10 to #4 AVCA. Keenen seems to have slowed down a bit this year, but is definitely solid. Rooney is the promise of the future. Are they staying with volleyball after graduation, indoor, beach? What are their plans?
We seem to have lost some of the most promising players of the last years, Romain, Taliaferro, Millar, just to mention a few. Lack of US professional opportunities may be to blame. Taliaferro and Bunker cancelled their contracts in Europe early. What is the recruiting policy/effort of the USA National Team?
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Post by roy on Apr 16, 2003 17:24:00 GMT -5
Toppel is healed and well, hotter than ever. Stanford hasn't lost a match since he returned, went from #10 to #4 AVCA. Keenen seems to have slowed down a bit this year, but is definitely solid. Rooney is the promise of the future. Are they staying with volleyball after graduation, indoor, beach? What are their plans? We seem to have lost some of the most promising players of the last years, Romain, Taliaferro, Millar, just to mention a few. Lack of US professional opportunities may be to blame. Taliaferro and Bunker cancelled their contracts in Europe early. What is the recruiting policy/effort of the USA National Team? Actually, you make a very excellent point. We keep talking about these players as if they will continue their careers for the national team. There are some excellent players that we are not considering but have possible bright futures in volleyball. I think that Tuyay is a good example. Watching him play, I can honestly say I doubt that he will make it with the national team or have a professional career in Europe. But I think there is huge potential for him to be a great beach volleyball player. Likely, he has more potential as a beach player than Kenaan or Costas (I can see Rooney and Ptak as beach players). But that doesn't mean he is a better player than either of them. |
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Post by FanOfStanford on Apr 16, 2003 18:35:39 GMT -5
The 2003 biannual University Games this summer will showcase the up and coming talent. Eligible are all student athletes that have not been out of university or its equivalent for more than a year and that are between 17 and 28 years old.
For reference, the 2001 team won the first US gold with the following members (recognize some of the names?):
Starters for Team USA in the final (gold winning) match against France were
outside hitter Curt Toppel,
outside hitter Jim Polster,
middle blocker Mac Wilson,
middle bocker Colin McMillan,
outside hitter David McKienzie,
setter Chris Seiffert,
and libero Andy Rivera.
Also seeing action were
Keith Barnett
and Chris Gisslen.
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AsianThug
Freshman
"Everytime someone bites into a tofu burger, a soy bean screams in pain."-Etiquette For Outlaws
Posts: 50
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Post by AsianThug on Apr 16, 2003 19:15:50 GMT -5
Thomas is a great attacker but I think right now he is too sporadic. i agree...i think it has a lot to do with the fact that he's an emotional player..much like Tony was..even all through highschool. i think that if D. Thomas tweaks a few things and focuses his intensity, it'll be all "g". |
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Post by So What on Apr 16, 2003 20:31:33 GMT -5
Winning the gold medal in the World University Games does not mean jack. I mean dont get me wrong, a gold medal is a gold medal, but look at some of the competition that they have played. All the international powers, Brazil, Italy, Cuba, Yugoslavia (sp?) and Russia, have strong Adult national teams, but none of them have a great University Team because by the time the players get out of High School, either they stop playing or they go to play professional. No other country -that I know of- has a league of college ball as strong as the US. So the competition was probably like a varsity sport -the US team- playing some JV team or even an intramural...
GET THE POINT?
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Post by FanOfStanford on Apr 17, 2003 3:02:18 GMT -5
Winning the gold medal in the World University Games does not mean jack. I mean dont get me wrong, a gold medal is a gold medal, but look at some of the competition that they have played. All the international powers, Brazil, Italy, Cuba, Yugoslavia (sp?) and Russia, have strong Adult national teams, but none of them have a great University Team because by the time the players get out of High School, either they stop playing or they go to play professional. No other country -that I know of- has a league of college ball as strong as the US. So the competition was probably like a varsity sport -the US team- playing some JV team or even an intramural...
Very wrong, the gold was huge.
Since most other countries do not support college sports the way the US does (as you very acurately stated), the participants in these countries are serious club team and/or paid national team players with years of high degree of international, competivie experience. They are not restsricted to 12 unit 2.5 GPA college demands, but able to focus on volleyball during their college days and during the one year eligibility period after graduation.
The absence of professional opportunities in the US really hurts. Once the good US players go overseas and make money they have a hard time coming back for peanuts. Consider this, they are college students or grads and grown men that want a life, not the dorm environment in Colorado Springs or on the road without pay. In order to practice and compete in the University Games, the players have to give up their summer vacation. Not everybody is that motivated. Good US college player have been known to turn down the inviation to participate.
That is the reason that the US has not been able to do better than a single silver medal in the mid-90s. The gold in 2001 is quite an achievement and points to a strong crop of new players in the US. Let's just hope we can keep them. That is Doug Beal's challenge.
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Post by hwy1 on Apr 21, 2003 20:46:54 GMT -5
Toppel is the best by far!!!!!!!
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Post by hands on Apr 22, 2003 1:14:54 GMT -5
What about Tamas? He is pretty athletic and has good hands.
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rumor has it. If LLoy Ball comes back into the pic for the Olympics the team will have a ligitimate shot at it. Reid Priddy is a very developed player out of college as for Jim Polster. TEAM USA took Down Brazil in the World Championships with two of there youngest players. For the guys coming out of college like Toppel, Keenan, and maybe Rooney (only because he is young), they will have a legitimate shot at it too. This will provide some great training for our mens team to have all these players out in Colorado Springs. GOOD LUCK TO THE MENS TEAM and we should all be supporting them in there events during the summer. 
