Chat With Rayner Noble

Rayner Noble

Chat With Rayner Noble!

Welcome to the UHCougars.com moderated chat room. On Tuesday, December 10, UH baseball head coach Rayner Noble will drop by to chat about the upcoming season.

Noble begins his ninth season at the helm of his alma mater in 2003.

In the win column, in the NCAA Tournament bids, in the major league draft and in the classroom, Cougar baseball has reached soaring heights with Noble leading the way.

During his tenure at UH, Noble has led the Cougars to five appearances in the NCAA Regionals, two berths in NCAA Super Regionals and Conference USA regular-season championship in three of the last four years. In addition, he is the only coach in league history to guide his teams to first or second-place finishes in each of the last six years.

Noble led the Cougars to one of the greatest seasons in UH history during the 2002 campaign. With a 25-9 record over nationally-ranked opponents in 2002, the Cougars finished in the Top 10 of all four national polls, including a spot at No. 9 in the final National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association poll.

After finishing the C-USA regular season and tournament, Noble guided the Cougars out west, where his team swept through the NCAA Regional at Mesa on the way to claiming UH's second NCAA Regional championship.

For his and his team's impressive efforts, Noble was recognized as the South Central Region Coach of the Year by the American Baseball Coaches Association. It was the third Coach of the Year honor in his career.

He also became the third-winningest coach in UH history with the Cougars' 5-4 win at Baylor on May 14, 2002.

Coach Noble won't be stopping by until 11:30 a.m. CT on Tuesday, but you can submit your questions now and we'll save them for his arrival.

Click here for more on Cougar baseball!

Moderator: Good morning everyone, We are about 15 minutes away from our on-line chat with baseball head coach Rayner Noble. Coach Noble has finished his lunch and should be with us in just a few minutes. We already have many questions lined up so we will answer those first, but please feel free to ask questions as we go along. Thanks for your support of Cougar Baseball and we will talk to you in just a few moments.

Moderator: Good morning again everyone, Coach Noble just walked in so we will get started a little early. Let's begin with the first question.

John: Coach, how can you build on 2002 for the 2003 season?

Rayner Noble: The thing that we can do is it's reasonable for us to win the converence again. We jave just as much talent as anyone in the league. We stack up pretty well against our non-conference opponents from a pitching standpoint. If we can put together 40-42 win in the regular season and beat some of the midweek teams, we have a chance to be in the same situation that we were last year. From there, anything can happen.

Rob Houston: How does the early signed 2004 rcruiting class compare with prior years ?

Rayner Noble: We have more probable draft picks that we have ever had and high draft picks at that. Anytime you move in that direction, if you can get them in school, it bodes well for you. That's the biggest challenge, getting them in school and not signing.

Olympia, Wa.: Brian Harris having recovered from his shoulder surgery,do you except to be using him in a starting pitching role,or?I would think we should be seeing more of him this season.Comments of his prospects this coming season after the perseason workouts.

Rayner Noble: We will probably bring Bryan along slowly out of the bullpent. He threw well in the fall. His velocity is not where it needs to be but he's getting closer.

Brice (The Woodlands): 1. Where did Cameron Blair go? 2. Will Sullivan get to start some Rice games? 3. Admittedly it is early, but can you give us your current view of who plays where in the infield, and primary backups?

Rayner Noble: I have heard that Cameron is going to land at Grayson Community College. As far as Sullivan starting at Rice, anything is a possiblity. In the infield, if we started tomorrow, it would probably be Cooley at Third, Musslewhite at short, Cho at second. First base could be a number of guys. We just don't know there yet.

Mark (Houston): Coach Noble How does the bullpin look this season? How has Dave Maggard affected the attitude of the entire sports program at UH and the baseball team in particular? Coach you have a superb program and we'll be out there Cheering. Beat Rice!

Rayner Noble: Our bullpen looks slike it will be really sound. It hinges on how we use Ryan Wagner. If we don't use him as a closer, we are probably looking at someone like Brett Cooley and Brian Hednerson has thrown the ball well in the fall. We have multiple guys who can come out of the bullpen and stop rallies. We have Taylor Gartz, Brian Martin, Bryan Harris. We have a multitude of guys to factor in. Gene Flores could be a swing starter/reliever or even a closer. We will probably have our pitching solidified about a thrid of the way through the season. Dave Maggard has been very good to the University of Houston Athletics. He added a personal touch that is necessary for us to be successful.

LarryHouston: Coach, Many of our fans are concerned about replacing the power numbers of Chris and Jesse. Your thoughts on this plus a bit of an overview of the recently signed November recruiting class. See you in Malibu on Feb 7th.

Rayner Noble: Any time that you have two second round poicks that signed, it is hard to replace them. We have to brting those guys coming back up to the next level. We arent' looking for two guys to stand out like they did. We need four or five guys to post better numbers and pick up that slack. Bruce, Cooley, Cho and Musslewhite along with Tully and Farrington are going to be in the mix with that.

GLENN GOEBEL - LIFE ALUM: COACH WHAT ADVISE WOULD YOU GIVE COACH ART BRILES ON TURNING THE FOOTBALL PROGRAM AROUND AS YOU HAVE DONE FOR BASEBALL ? BEST REGARDS G.

Rayner Noble: the first advice I would give is to be himself. Everyone has advice. Do the things that have been suyccessful for him in the past. If he sticks with what he has done and the success that he has had, he will do just fine here.

Anonymous: Coach how do you feel about some of the students who heckle during the game. Do you think that is more of a distraction to our players than an attraction. Does heckling really work, or does it do more harm?

Rayner Noble: It has its place as long has it is done in halfway decent taste. We play in certain places where it can get to your players. I have noticed at our ball game that we take it a little over the edge. I would like to see our fans have the kind of class that is expected. There were several occasions when we played Rice that it got out of hand and that is unnecessary. It helps the fans become a part of the game, but not at the expense of the people that they sit around.

Bruce H. Luerson(Texas City): Coach, what is it that the team needs to win the NCAA championship? And do we have it this coming season? Oh, and thanks for being a very bright spot in Cougar athletics!

Rayner Noble: The first key to us winning a national championship is we have to have three pitchers with 10 wins or more. We need to have a stopper out of the bullpen similar to what Jesse Crain gave us. We have the potential to have that. We have to have six of our nine starters have better than average years. There is more to that. We have to stay healthy. You can't lose intergral pieces of the puzzle although I do feel good about our depth. To be able to play at home in the postseason is a huge part of it. Hopefully, we can put the type of year together to get to Omaha. Every team that makes its way to Omaha has a chance to win it. It's just who is playing well at the time.

Richard Moke ( Helotes): who will be at 3rd base? who is projected to be the Saturday and Sunday pitchers?

Rayner Noble: I think that we have five or six candidates to fill the other three starting slots. We will have a Saturday, Sunday and midweek guy. A guy like Ryan Wagner, Danny Zell, Garrett Mock, Gene Flores, Brian Henderson are all strong candidates to slide into the starting roles. If we started tomorrow, we would probably go with Garrett Mock and Danny Zell on the weekend and would take a strong look at Ryan Wagner or Gene Flores for the Tuesday slot. We are lucky to have that much available.

Rayner Noble: Another guy is someone like Brian Martin, who can slide into the mix.

Brian Pool (Houston): 1. With the loss of Snyder, who do you expect to step up at the Catcher position, and who will pick up the slack at the plate we'll miss with his departure? 2. What are you looking at as far as rotation at this point if everyone stays healthy?

Rayner Noble: The front runner there is Brett Logan. If there is one area where we are inexperienced its at the plate. We are picking up Nick Bott at the break who will help us there. Clint Decuir will also be in that mix.

Kent (Texas City): Who do you see as your starting 8 position players? And, among the newcomers, who were the big surprises or most promising future players?

Rayner Noble: The player to me who has stood out more than anybody are Garrett Mock. He has a very bright future. Physcially, everything is there. Another player is Matt Farrington. He is going to be a pleasant surprise. He has that intensity and fortitude that ytou are looking for in a young player. He will help us in the outfield and on the mound. I am looking forward to seeing him play. It's hard to single out a couple of guys but those are the two that come to mind.

Ken, Houston: How about the transition of Sean Allen from the field to the coaching ranks? As a fan I know how dedicated he was on the field and I can only expect the same from him as a coach.

Rayner Noble: That's one of the reasons I decided to offer him the position. He is dedicated to the gam e of baseball and that's what you need at this level. He has done really well for us at this point.

Moderator: We have time for only one more question. And here it is.

Houston: How's Cho rehab coming along?

Rayner Noble: It coming along well. He is getting out of his boot today. The trainers tell me that once he gets out of his boot, it's down hill from there.

Moderator: That's all the time that Coach Noble has for today. We thank him for joining us and we certainly thank you for a list of good questions. Pay attention to UHcougars.com for more online chats will all Cougar coaches in the future. A reminder that the Cougar baseball team opens the 2003 season on Feb. 7-9 at the Pepperdine Tournament in Malibu, Calif. The team returns to Houston to compete at the Astros College Classic on feb. 14-16 with games against Baylor, Alabama and Texas A&M. Thanks again for supporting Cougar athletics and we will talk to you soon.

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