Does Franz Pumaren have it all planned out, or does he make things up as he goes along?
The multi-titled DLSU coach has just resigned from his longtime post, leaving the reins to brother Dindo. Pumaren will be pursuing further political aspirations, and his focus has to be on the 2010 elections. Now, Dindo is a decent coach, (albeit ‘cursed’?) but he’s no Franz Pumaren. So you can expect some repercussions.
The most glaring will probably be in recruitment. Many young players make their decisions on which school to attend based on who their coach will be. And really, Franz Pumaren is one of the coaches that can sway a prospect one way or the other. There have been rumors, for example, of Ateneo Blue Eaglets phenom Kiefer Ravena leaning towards attending La Salle because of the coaching he can get under Pumaren.
(There are also rumors about Junior Archer Gwyne Capacio leaning towards attending Ateneo, for opposite reasons. FEU head coach Glen Capacio, and father of Gwyne, is said to be not too fond of the Pumarens. That would make a great story, if Ravena and Capacio somehow face each other in the finals again, only this time, they’ve swapped jerseys.)
So don’t expect the Green Archers to have the strongest recruiting pitch in 2010; not without Franz at the helm.
But here’s the thing, DLSU couldn’t care less.
No blue-chip recruits? No problem. This is the perfect time for them not to have any. Pumaren has already stockpiled on rookies both from the RP Youth Team he once coached (and quit coaching after he got commitments from his boys to go to Taft for college) and from the high school ranks. Arvie Bringas, Sam Marata, Joseph Tolentino, Yutien Andrada. With that kind of youth, you can afford not to have rookies for at least another year.
And it isn’t like Pumaren doesn’t have guys coming in as rookies this year either. RP Youth stalwart Norberto Torres spent last year establishing residency at the DLSU campus and will be eligible to play next season. Former JRU high school standout and NCAA Jrs MVP Keith Agovida is also rumored to have been part of the DLSU Team B as early as this year, even though he wasn’t scheduled to graduate high school until March of 2010.
In fact, the more you think about it, the more it makes sense that Franz went out of his way to coach the RP Youth team and went on that recruiting frenzy last season. Pumaren knew what his political plans were, and maybe all that was in preparation for this upcoming season; a season he knew he wouldn’t be around to help recruit for.
The man thinks a step ahead.
But there’s more. Rumor has it that his resignation from the head coaching position at DLSU isn’t quite what it seems. Think of it as a leave of absence, because Pumaren is said to be returning to his old seat at the bench after the elections. Meanwhile, it wouldn’t do his brother, the new head coach, any favors if they know he’s just an interim head coach. Thus, the resignation.
Yes, they say Pumaren will be back in green by 2011. Right in time to attempt to pry Ravena away from Katipunan.
Let me correct myself. The man thinks two steps ahead.
16 comments:
i havent seen agovida in practice yet. marata, torres and paredes are practicing with team B. i have not seen marata hit a shot in practice either from outside or inside. Paredes really looks to dunk that ball in every opportunity. why was he left out of team A? Doesn't the UAAP requires 2 years of residency before guys like Torres can play? Revilla and Walsham are helping run the drills but revilla is still not playing though. wow kiefer in dlsu? i must admit that he'd look better in a dlsu jersey than a admu jersey. norman's system doesnt really need a scoring PG. dlsu might also be able to recruit guys like van opstal, fortuna and elorde so the archers will not have any shortage of promising rookies. dindo's a good coach but he's not franz. i hope franz will do return by 2011. i believe he's prohobited to have a job during the campaign period, right? i would've liked it better if santiago was named the interim coach. he seems to be capable of that title.
Kiefer Ravena going to La Salle!!! This about it..If you say Franz is two steps ahead of Ateneo then what do you call MVP PERSONALLY recruiting Kiefer when he was at La Salle Greenhills. If you call yourself a basketball fan, were you aware of the reason why Kiefer left La Salle? Please do your homework before writing about Kiefer.So as they say you guys in taft can dream on...Libre ang mangarap pare
marata hasnt hit a shot? thats news to me. he was a pretty good shooter from the three point line last season.
walsham is helping to run drills? considering that he and franz didnt exactly see eye-to-eye last season, that comes as a bit of a surprise.
van opstal could be interesting for the seniors team. elorde, though, would be the guy to keep an eye on. with tolentino looking like the point guard for the future and la revilla probably coming back next season, is there room for nico elorde on the roster? he could end up like jeric fortuna or mikee reyes; la salle system standouts that ended up plying their wares somewhere else. remember, both guards torched DLSU for over 20 points in their team's match-ups last season.
haha. interesting comment by mr anonymous.
this is the first time in my entire life that i've been accused of being one of "you guys from taft". in fact, anybody who knows me personally can attest to the fact that i am blue-blooded. in fact, during the uaap season, i had to watch both the live games and the replay telecasts on balls channel 34 because i can never watch a game objectively the first time. as such, i always allow myself one viewing to watch the blue eagles as a fan, and one as an objective blogger.
either way, they were awesome this year.
and again, if you read the blog regularly, i have nothing but love for kiefer. and i do hope, in this case, that he sticks with the blue and white, for loyalty's sake. but like i said, "there are rumors of... kiefer ravena leaning toward attending La Salle."
dude, rumors are rumors. sometimes they turn out to be true, sometimes they don't. but they exist either way. i only used the rumor as an example to make the point that pumaren, like it or not, is a major factor when it comes to recruitment. where ravena eventually chooses to go is far from a done deal. i'm not saying he's going one way nor am i saying he's going the other.
but as a fan of the kid, i hope he makes the right choice and goes wherever it is thats best for him, personally. somewhere that will aid in his development as a basketball player, and as a person. not choose a school because he's pressured to do so.
and yeah, never said franz is two steps ahead "of ateneo", just that he thinks ahead.
peace, anonymous! hope you comment more often. we like discussion on our blog, and hope that you can contribute to it. thanks!
kung iicpn mo talaga kasi prang puro tres lang tinira ni sam sa uaap tpos volume shooter pa xa. kapag pumasok xa sa loob, mejo hnd maganda resulta.
well, i dont really see franz in their pratices anymore. its been dindo and santiago who are running their practice.
wow. nagalit yata. yun mejo ayaw ko sa uaap kasi parang battle of the schools na lang. parang minsan nawawala ung basketball. pero un kasi nagpapasikat sa uaap ung "battle of the schools". im from a dlsu but im a basketball fan 1st b4 a dlsu fan. i rooted for ateneo during the days of LA Tenorio and i stopped rooting for the eagles after the 2006 collapse because i didnt like tiu and jai b4.
have to agree. i'm a basketball fan, and as such, i often find myself rooting for good basketball, not necessarily a specific team. hey, i don't mind staying loyal to a certain team. nasa school song nga namin eh, "win or lose, it's the school we choose" so i do cheer for my school a little harder than for others. still, i dont really enjoy it when things regress to a point that its hardly about basketball anymore.
Thanks Jmyxx for the reply. I just find it highly improbable for Kiefer to move. Those rumors you mentioned have already made the rounds in the various Ateneo forums. My point in this whole exercise is to not circulate rumors without proper basis. It puts Kiefer in a bad light and might in fact put pressure on him from DIE HARD Ateneo Alumni. It is better to assume that he will go to Ateneo not only because of the education but on the fact that there are very few players recruited personally by Ateneo's chief patron MVP. This in itself is an indication that MVP saw this kid playing for the Ateneo for the long term. If La Salle had half a brain, they should have never allowed Kiefer to leave. When they allowed him to leave, it meant that he was gone for good and there is no turning back. Please note that Jamike Jarin the current juniors coach is part of the Seniors coaching staff so if Franz is making any moves Coach Jamike will know. Lastly, the father is an assistant coach with Talk and Text. Which brings me to my point that the rumor you circulated must have come from a polluted source which is no other than the DLSU camp.. You may have just helped them in their objective of driving a wedge between ADMU and Kiefer..Think about it? You were an unwitting accomplice in their grand plan. This is just my opinion.
actually, i heard it from a fellow atenean and someone with a little insider knowledge as well. hope you understand if i dont reveal the source.
thing is, we've discussed this extensively with me taking the side you are on. kiefer moved from lsgh to ateneo high school, but think about it. jamike's program has been the best in the high school ranks for years. it makes sense to want to transfer there, especially considering that zobel (at the time) didnt have as good a reputation and lsgh wasn't as high profile, since it played in the ncaa and not the uaap.
but dlsu has been to the college ranks what ahs has been to the high school ranks. it makes equally as much sense to make the same move. plus, the fact that norman black is making a reputation of being a big man coach, while franz has been better at producing guards.
and i busted out that bong ravena-TNT connection, too. you know, some have said, maybe unfairly, that the only reason bong has that gig is for ateneo to get the inside track on kiefer. still, if thats true, dlsu alumni have as much resources as admu alums. if the ravena family is afraid of losing that job, someone from dlsu can always offer him another. mikee romero, maybe? it wouldn't be surprising.
so yes, i agree that it is highly improbable. or at least i hope it is. but then, bj manalo once pulled that stunt on ateneo (and even almost returned to us when he was said to have applied at admu for graduate studies). gwyne capacio might do the same thing. stranger things have happened. but it is worth discussing.
and i did flat-out call it a "rumor" and not claimed it to be fact. and when i referenced it again later in the blog post, i said pumaren could "attempt to pry Ravena from Katipunan in 2011". attempts, in no way, mean success.
the post was meant to show how franz is a master of positioning himself for opportunities. whether he does or does not recruit Ravena, his timing, still, couldn't be better. he made sure his team was well taken care of in his absence, and will be back when the team could need him again.
like him or not, he's a pretty shrewd fellow.
thanks for the reply, too. its nice to be able to hear some other opinions on the matter, too. the comments page is an open forum and we are very much open to any feedback our beloved readers can provide us.
since BJ Manalo switched sides, there hasn't been a lot of HS players from ADMU and DLSZ who switched sides. Webb and Atkins have continued to play in green jerseys. Jai, Golla and Austria have continued their careers as Blue Eagles. (It was UP which stole a couple of players from great HS programs. Reyes, de asis, Gamboa, Lopez) I think Gwyne Capacio is a special case since his father is the one preventing him from going to dlsu just like what happened to Jeric Teng. I expect Kiefer to ultimately go on and play for Eagles because ADMU still has and most probably will have the advantage on him but I think Kiefer going to DLSU does make some sense. As you said DLSU is really known to be more a perimeter-oriented team compared to ADMU. Remember Norman Black had the best PG in LA Tenorio in one year and had the best SF in JC Intal in another year but he wasn't able to win a championship with those guy while Franz won multiple titles with the likes of Yeo, Casio, Cortez and Cardona.
not to mention renren ritualo.
still interested in where terrence romeo is going, though. im sure FEU has the inside track, but you never know with the recruiting wars.
just a thought, guys from this year's mythical 5 weren't really heavily recruited right? maybe paul lee for his championship stint with baste but what about the other guys like rabeh? webb and buenafe might eventually make the mythical 5 someday but the same cant be said with bringas in my opinion.
DREAM ON WITH KIEFER. :)
@trix
might be too early to tell on bringas. he did show some flashes of potential last season. and remember, it took rabeh until his third year before he became really really good.
@anonymous
mind if you elaborate? think hes staying in katipunan? :)
anonymous, relax, its not like im doing something illegal to recruit ravena. I'm just a little worried about him though. What if Norman Black makes him play more like an Olsen Racela and not a Jayjay Helterbrand? What if Norman doesn't want Kiefer to dominate the ball as much as Kiefer needs to? Look at Andy. Andy's been that talented ever since before joining Gilas. Its not like Rajko has a special medicine that makes his players extra talented. Glen just has a restricted offense that doesn't really allow Andy to erupt for 30 points in a uaap game. I just hope that whoever his coach will be, Kiefer's potential will be maximized even if it means that he has to go to NU.
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