Ok, another Stans to Auburn thought

[whosyourdawgy]

We've all heard he has Pollard lined up to come but what about Josh Gray? Isn't he back in juco as well? Dude has to have some issues but he is a pretty damn good player. Could Stans still pull in 2 of his recruits from his last recruiting class if he gets the job at auburn?

[Coach34]

We've all heard he has Pollard lined up to come but what about Josh Gray? Isn't he back in juco as well? Dude has to have some issues but he is a pretty damn good player. Could Stans still pull in 2 of his recruits from his last recruiting class if he gets the job at auburn?

LSU has supposedly purchased Gray already...Gray was a worse shooter than Sword as a Freshman- and had more turnovers than assists. not really worried about him

[whosyourdawgy]

I believe the bought part but what does LSU need a juco point guard for? Hickey is back for a senior season and gray will be behind him for certain leaving Gray with one year to be the starter at the point. Auburn will need all the help they can get next season at most every spot.

[engie]

Gray has signed with LSU. They'd never release him into the SEC... Not happening...

[Coach34]

It seems like most of the "Stands to Auburn" talk is coming from Stands and his minions. It doesnt look like he is being seriously considered

[drunkernhelldawg]

It seems like most of the "Stands to Auburn" talk is coming from Stands and his minions. It doesnt look like he is being seriously considered

I think they'd love to have him. Hope it doesn't happen.

[engie]

I think they'd love to have him. Hope it doesn't happen.

If this is the case, why isn't he on the list of their initial top 5 or 6?

[fishwater99]

Auburn will go for Pearl....

[whosyourdawgy]

I did not know that. Well scratch this thread then.

[engie]

Auburn will go for Pearl....

Will be the first in what I predict will be a botched and embarrassing coaching search where they are turned down a bunch of times.

They fired Barbee the "wrong way". That will be frowned upon in the coaching ranks. There is NOTHING coming back on that team. It'll be as bad or worse than what Ray inherited -- without much hope of retaining a Rodney Hood type of player.

They are going to have to pay top dollar to get a decent hire -- and that might not do it. It's going to be a Ray/Martin type rebuild where a coach's stock takes a couple of year hit before he has any chance to win there...

[MarketingBully01]

Will be the first in what I predict will be a botched and embarrassing coaching search where they are turned down a bunch of times.

They fired Barbee the "wrong way". That will be frowned upon in the coaching ranks. There is NOTHING coming back on that team. It'll be as bad or worse than what Ray inherited -- without much hope of retaining a Rodney Hood type of player.

They are going to have to pay top dollar to get a decent hire -- and that might not do it. It's going to be a Ray/Martin type rebuild where a coach's stock takes a couple of year hit before he has any chance to win there...

Hopefully, you are right and it will be us circa 2 years ago.

[Coach34]

Will be the first in what I predict will be a botched and embarrassing coaching search where they are turned down a bunch of times.

They fired Barbee the "wrong way". That will be frowned upon in the coaching ranks. There is NOTHING coming back on that team. It'll be as bad or worse than what Ray inherited -- without much hope of retaining a Rodney Hood type of player.

They are going to have to pay top dollar to get a decent hire -- and that might not do it. It's going to be a Ray/Martin type rebuild where a coach's stock takes a couple of year hit before he has any chance to win there...

I think they will go with Stands if their initial 5-6 guys turn them down. They could bring him in to recruit a few years then fire him and get a real coach.

[drunkernhelldawg]

I think they will go with Stands if their initial 5-6 guys turn them down. They could bring him in to recruit a few years then fire him and get a real coach.

That's ridiculous. Stans is not, according to this post, "a real coach". Jeez.

[MadDawg]

I think they will go with Stands if their initial 5-6 guys turn them down. They could bring him in to recruit a few years then fire him and get a real coach.

Kind of like what the last team you coached did.

[dawgs]

It's going to be a Ray/Martin type rebuild where a coach's stock takes a couple of year hit before he has any chance to win there...

ray didn't have stock to begin with.

[engie]

ray didn't have stock to begin with.

Sure he did. He was an associate head coach and the "best recruiter" in a far superior basketball conference to the one we play in. He had turned down several smaller jobs prior to our opening.

Even then -- established names aren't taking risks on jobs like that -- and Frank Martin is giving a perfect example of why that is. He had options out of KState. Who wants to hire him right now?

[Johnson85]

If this is the case, why isn't he on the list of their initial top 5 or 6?

All I can guess is they don't want somebody that seems to have a ceiling even if it would be reasonably likely to be a solid hire. My guess is Stans could get Auburn to the NIT in two or three years and keep them there while being on the fringe of bubble talk many years, just like he had started to do at State. Looking at the results from other hires around the SEC, that'd actually be a pretty good result for them, but it's hard to pull the trigger to hire a coach if you believe his ceiling is the first weekend of the tourney.

[drunkernhelldawg]

All I can guess is they don't want somebody that seems to have a ceiling even if it would be reasonably likely to be a solid hire. My guess is Stans could get Auburn to the NIT in two or three years and keep them there while being on the fringe of bubble talk many years, just like he had started to do at State. Looking at the results from other hires around the SEC, that'd actually be a pretty good result for them, but it's hard to pull the trigger to hire a coach if you believe his ceiling is the first weekend of the tourney.

I don't think they believe that. A lot of people on here say that, but the truth is that nobody knows what Stans's "ceiling" is. We do know he's got as close to touching the top as about any other coach being named. We've played Duke, Memphis and Kentucky in several losses but mostly games that could have gone either way. How horrified will we be to see Stans take Auburn to a Final Four or beyond? To me, this whole thing feels like the beginning of a nightmare.

[engie]

I don't think they believe that. A lot of people on here say that, but the truth is that nobody knows what Stans's "ceiling" is. We do know he's got as close to touching the top as about any other coach being named. We've played Duke, Memphis and Kentucky in several losses but mostly games that could have gone either way. How horrified will we be to see Stans take Auburn to a Final Four or beyond? To me, this whole thing feels like the beginning of a nightmare.

And how is he going to do all of that? "As close to the top as any other coach being named?" Please.

Him being at Auburn is about as big of a nightmare as Polk leading UAB to national prominence and Raffo being dominant at Arky St. How many times do you have to lose with your chips on the table as a favorite before a ceiling has been established? A ceiling that we had, consequently, surpassed just 3 years prior to his hiring.

[MadDawg]

I don't think they believe that. A lot of people on here say that, but the truth is that nobody knows what Stans's "ceiling" is. We do know he's got as close to touching the top as about any other coach being named. We've played Duke, Memphis and Kentucky in several losses but mostly games that could have gone either way. How horrified will we be to see Stans take Auburn to a Final Four or beyond? To me, this whole thing feels like the beginning of a nightmare.

I don't think Stans will end up in the SEC. Not in the near future anyway.

When was the last time a former MSU coach not named Polk was hired into another decent head coaching position?

[Coach34]

Problem Auburn faces is similar to what we faced 2 years ago minus the dysfunction- they are losing 4 starters and 4 of their 5 best players. So in effect, like our job falling to Ray- the Auburn job could fall to Stands. Unless they throw out 2 million or so and make it so someone just has to take the chance...

[War Machine Dawg]

And how is he going to do all of that? "As close to the top as any other coach being named?" Please.

Him being at Auburn is about as big of a nightmare as Polk leading UAB to national prominence and Raffo being dominant at Arky St. How many times do you have to lose with your chips on the table as a favorite before a ceiling has been established? A ceiling that we had, consequently, surpassed just 3 years prior to his hiring.

Bingo. Stands didn't advance despite multiple favorable opportunities. The only one he gets a pass for from me is Xavier. The way they shot that day, no one was beating them. But all the others, directly on Stands. Hell, he didn't even make the Tournament with a team that had Swat, Barry Stewart, Bost, Ravern, Kodi, and Phil Turner. And don't even get me started on losing to Butler in Birmingham. Shit, if Stands could've coached worth a damn and not lost to Hellen Keller's School for Blind Girls every year, he wouldn't have had to be matched up with a Dook or Tiger High because we'd have been seeded better.

[drunkernhelldawg]

Bingo. Stands didn't advance despite multiple favorable opportunities. The only one he gets a pass for from me is Xavier. The way they shot that day, no one was beating them. But all the others, directly on Stands. Hell, he didn't even make the Tournament with a team that had Swat, Barry Stewart, Bost, Ravern, Kodi, and Phil Turner. And don't even get me started on losing to Butler in Birmingham. Shit, if Stands could've coached worth a damn and not lost to Hellen Keller's School for Blind Girls every year, he wouldn't have had to be matched up with a Dook or Tiger High because we'd have been seeded better.

You're right that losing sucks. But I don't get this ceiling idea. It's ridiculous. Every year is a new year and every game starts 0-0. Many coaches have a single national title. Who allowed them to exceed their "ceiling". Even if it exists, it cannot be static.

[engie]

You're right that losing sucks. But I don't get this ceiling idea. It's ridiculous. Every year is a new year and every game starts 0-0. Many coaches have a single national title. Who allowed them to exceed their "ceiling". Even if it exists, it cannot be static.

Those coaches have a "national title" ceiling. It's a simple concept. It's where you "top out at" as a coach.

Is it "impossible" for him to surpass what he's accomplished before? Of course not -- and if he did, he would have raised his ceiling. But 14 years is a good enough sample size to safely assume a ceiling has been set.

Much like next year will basically, in my mind, set Mullen's ceiling at MSU...

[HailState39110]

I don't think Stans has a shot at Auburn. If Tyndall or White go to Auburn I could see Stans at LaTech or USM

[Raytoraid83]

Bingo. Stands didn't advance despite multiple favorable opportunities. The only one he gets a pass for from me is Xavier. The way they shot that day, no one was beating them. But all the others, directly on Stands. Hell, he didn't even make the Tournament with a team that had Swat, Barry Stewart, Bost, Ravern, Kodi, and Phil Turner. And don't even get me started on losing to Butler in Birmingham. Shit, if Stands could've coached worth a damn and not lost to Hellen Keller's School for Blind Girls every year, he wouldn't have had to be matched up with a Dook or Tiger High because we'd have been seeded better.

Butler was an awful loss, but Duke in North Carolina, Texas in Texas, an eventual elite 8 team in Xavier that we already beat once that year (ncaa screwed us on that one), runner up and one seed Memphis that Jamont had a shot go off the rim to send to overtime, but Xavier is the only loss that wasn't a bad tournament loss?

[Coach34]

I don't think Stans has a shot at Auburn. If Tyndall or White go to Auburn I could see Stans at LaTech or USM

That's what I see as the most likely scenario. Stands ends up in the bus leagues like Brady did.

[Raytoraid83]

That's what I see as the most likely scenario. Stands ends up in the bus leagues like Brady did.

Agreed.

[MarketingBully01]

Problem Auburn faces is similar to what we faced 2 years ago minus the dysfunction- they are losing 4 starters and 4 of their 5 best players. So in effect, like our job falling to Ray- the Auburn job could fall to Stands. Unless they throw out 2 million or so and make it so someone just has to take the chance...

If we had offered $2 million to Stricklin's first choice (Prohm), no one would be divided and the perception of our program wouldn't be where it is now. Instead, Stricklin was cheap and we are where we are now.

[engie]

If we had offered $2 million to Stricklin's first choice (Prohm), no one would be divided and the perception of our program wouldn't be where it is now. Instead, Stricklin was cheap and we are where we are now.

This is bullshit.

Where was the money going to come from? It's been proven conclusively that the money people were mostly Stansbury supporters that have withdrawn support outside of their tickets.

There was going to be an extremely vocal minority that were going to bitch their ass off no matter what. Let Cohen lose 2 this weekend and you'll see a few of the Polk cronies come back out. Prohm wouldn't have had it any easier during the first 2 years. At that point, he would have been "the lucky guy that rode Billy Kennedy's recruits to one good year previously"...

Maybe you can make the argument next year when we've got the new influx of cash we'll have -- and next time we make a hire, I expect to spend top dollar. At that point, the booster contribution is somewhat marginalized...

[HailState39110]

Agreed.

Although if you look at B Marcellos list of candidates you think that if 4 or so guys turn it down then Stans it is :

Bruce Pearl - Auburn compliance director is the guy who brought Pearl down when he was with the NCAA a few years ago. also Pearl can't recruit until August when his ban is lifted . So lots of questions there

Ben Howland - coached at Pitt and UCLA . Not familiar with the south or SEC. Did anyone know who Russell Westbrook was until he got to the NBA?

Michael White- might hold out for better job. Dad is AD at Duke so he has connections in the college bball world . Is Auburn a destination job for White?

Tyndall- would leave USM but for Auburn? Like White might want to hold out for a better job

Cue Stans .....

[dawgs]

Sure he did. He was an associate head coach and the "best recruiter" in a far superior basketball conference to the one we play in. He had turned down several smaller jobs prior to our opening.

Even then -- established names aren't taking risks on jobs like that -- and Frank Martin is giving a perfect example of why that is. He had options out of KState. Who wants to hire him right now?

no, he didn't have any real value. he was a "best recruiter"/associate HC for a mediocre program and has no reputation as a high level assistant coach. at the end of the 2011-2012 season, he was a penny stock.

[engie]

no, he didn't have any real value. he was a "best recruiter"/associate HC for a mediocre program and has no reputation as a high level assistant coach. at the end of the 2011-2012 season, he was a penny stock.

Basically -- he's not who you wanted -- so you decided on the front end that he's terrible and you will look into it no further.

You must not have actually taken an unbiased look into Ray's history and seem the comments from people he's worked with. Would you also call Purdue a "mediocre program with no reputation of producing good assistants"? Or did you skip over him working there? How about him being an assistant that took a team he recruited to the tournament for the first time since Larry Bird played there(twice)? Or him being the primary recruiter on the back-to-back ACC defensive player of the year?

Fact is -- he went to Clemson ONLY for the associate head coach title -- and Clemson even commented that they knew he wouldn't be there long because he would be getting a head coaching gig. People are blinded by the reputation of the most recent program -- which consequently was an NCAA team either both or 2 of 3 years he was there -- while refusing to see what he actually did along the way.

[Coach34]

no, he didn't have any real value. he was a "best recruiter"/associate HC for a mediocre program and has no reputation as a high level assistant coach. at the end of the 2011-2012 season, he was a penny stock.

It's quotes like this that are just ridiculous. Ray had coached on teams that had been to the NCAA Tourney 5 of the previous 6 years before coming to State. And even the one he didnt- that group went 8-8 in the ACC.

[TimberBeast]

Where was the money going to come from? It's been proven conclusively that the money people were mostly Stansbury supporters that have withdrawn support outside of their tickets.


Where can you show that this has been proven conclusively?

[engie]

Where can you show that this has been proven conclusively?

Recruiting.

[TimberBeast]

Recruiting.

Yeah that's what I thought, bullshit. Your definition of conclusively and mine must be very different.

[Goat Holder]

Agreed. Just another opinion-conclusive-fact made by engie. Engie also says we have gobs of money coming in that we should be using to build the new baseball stadium. Surely we can spare a measley 2 million for a basketball coach.

[MarketingBully01]

This is bullshit.

Where was the money going to come from? It's been proven conclusively that the money people were mostly Stansbury supporters that have withdrawn support outside of their tickets.

There was going to be an extremely vocal minority that were going to bitch their ass off no matter what. Let Cohen lose 2 this weekend and you'll see a few of the Polk cronies come back out. Prohm wouldn't have had it any easier during the first 2 years. At that point, he would have been "the lucky guy that rode Billy Kennedy's recruits to one good year previously"...

Maybe you can make the argument next year when we've got the new influx of cash we'll have -- and next time we make a hire, I expect to spend top dollar. At that point, the booster contribution is somewhat marginalized...

Everything you have said here is bullshit. If we had offered $2 million for this job, I guarentee you 15 or so better options would has said yes. Money heals a lot of ills. If it was an exciting hire we had gone with (for instance Frank Martin) our alumni and the money people would have gotten behind it. The fact that we went with a coach people had to google to even know who he was could have something to do with the alumni and money people not getting behind it. Oh and by the way, the main recruiter when Rick Ray was at Pursue was Cuonzo Martin who at least had head coaching experience before he went to Tennessee. Lower level teams like Winthrop or someone like that was the other option Ray had other then us. Ironically, had he taken that job he would have better value because at least at that point he would have head coaching experience.

[engie]

Everything you have said here is bullshit. If we had offered $2 million for this job, I guarentee you 15 or so better options would has said yes.
And you just will this $2mil into existence in a sport that was just breaking even for us?


Money heals a lot of ills.
We'll see what it "heals" with Auburn.


If it was an exciting hire we had gone with (for instance Frank Martin) our alumni and the money people would have gotten behind it.
And you know this, how? John Cohen was a frigging exciting as you can get -- and a damn significant number of them didn't support him until year 5. Explain that to me.


The fact that we went with a coach people had to google to even know who he was could have something to do with the alumni and money people not getting behind it.
Bullshit based on previous example. Feel free to prove otherwise.


Oh and by the way, the main recruiter when Rick Ray was at Pursue was Cuonzo Martin who at least had head coaching experience before he went to Tennessee.
But everyone was GREAT with getting the #3 assistant at UK... It's nonsensical. I never once said Ray was the #1 assistant at Purdue. That doesn't mean he wasn't primary recruiter on a whole bunch of the talent they brought in.


Lower level teams like Winthrop or someone like that was the other option Ray had other then us.
Winthrop was the only opportunity Gregg Marshall had after being an assistant at College of Charleston and Marshall as well. Obviously, he's a terrible coach -- and we would have been SCREWED had we hired him when we could**


Ironically, had he taken that job he would have better value because at least at that point he would have head coaching experience.
No, he wouldn't. He'd be a $3-400k coach in the Big South Conference. Instead, he's got a $1.2mil gig in the SEC. Clearly, he made a bad decision**

[MarketingBully01]

Agreed. Just another opinion-conclusive-fact made by engie. Engie also says we have gobs of money coming in that we should be using to build the new baseball stadium. Surely we can spare a measley 2 million for a basketball coach.

We can afford $2 million a year for a basketball coach for the right hire. Basketball IMO is a sport where we can thrive and be successful at. Shit, we have won an overall SEC championship more recently in basketball then baseball or football. To me, we could have been a basketball school had we made the right hire. That is why I am most upset. We allowed our athletic director to blow up our basketball program.

[engie]

Yeah that's what I thought, bullshit. Your definition of conclusively and mine must be very different.

You already made it clear you don't have a frigging clue what is going on behind the scenes with our basketball program -- I'm not the one that is going to explain it to you in this very public forum. Things can be factual and not need discussing on public message boards.

[MarketingBully01]

And you just will this $2mil into existence in a sport that was just breaking even for us?


We'll see what it "heals" with Auburn.


And you know this, how? John Cohen was a frigging exciting as you can get -- and a damn significant number of them didn't support him until year 5. Explain that to me.


Bullshit based on previous example. Feel free to prove otherwise.


But everyone was GREAT with getting the #3 assistant at UK... It's nonsensical. I never once said Ray was the #1 assistant at Purdue. That doesn't mean he wasn't primary recruiter on a whole bunch of the talent they brought in.


Winthrop was the only opportunity Gregg Marshall had after being an assistant at College of Charleston and Marshall as well. Obviously, he's a terrible coach -- and we would have been SCREWED had we hired him when we could**


No, he wouldn't. He'd be a $3-400k coach in the Big South Conference. Instead, he's got a $1.2mil gig in the SEC. Clearly, he made a bad decision**

Had Marshall taken a higher level job straight from being an assistant, we never would have heard from him again.

[engie]

Agreed. Just another opinion-conclusive-fact made by engie. Engie also says we have gobs of money coming in that we should be using to build the new baseball stadium. Surely we can spare a measley 2 million for a basketball coach.

With money that doesn't start coming in until next year with the SECNetwork and new bowl structure plus stadium expansion, you dumb ****.... At which point, yes, we could pay $2+ million for a basketball coach. That money wasn't there 2 years ago when we were hiring.

Hell, why not pay $3mil to get Shaka?1!1 That's all it would have took!11!1 Oh -- the program only brought in $6 mil/yr on average in the last decade?? Who gives a flying **** if it actually loses the school money -- at least we'll have a "proven" coach that would have still led us to 2 sucky years!1!

[engie]

Had Marshall taken a higher level job straight from being an assistant, we never would have heard from him again.

What's that got to do with the price of peas in China? Please quit trying to spin yourself out of a terrible example of why Ray can't be successful -- and can't be a good hire.

The point was "Winthrop was Marshall's only option at the time -- so obviously, he's terrible" and would have been unlikely to ever achieve success if given a better job on the front end according to the definition you fools have set up. Had we hired Marshall fresh from being an assistant -- many of you would have lost your mind and been convinced he couldn't coach these first 2 years exactly like you've done with Ray. Without having a friggin clue...

[dawgs]

Winthrop was the only opportunity Gregg Marshall had after being an assistant at College of Charleston and Marshall as well. Obviously, he's a terrible coach -- and we would have been SCREWED had we hired him when we could**

no, the point is that 90% of the time, a new HC needs time to grow into being a HC. for major conference programs, you should either only hire the best of the best assistant coaches or coaches who have gone through the winthrop's of the world to grow into being a HC and proven to be at minimum, not a complete disaster at at least one HC stop along the way. marshall proved to be a good HC, got a better job, and has been a top candidate for major conference gigs for a few years, but he's comfortable where he's at. i wanted us to go find our own greg marshall (small school HC with success), not take a shot in the dark with an unknown assistant.

i didn't write ray off the moment he was hired, i praised him last year. but i can't help but view him skeptically until he does something to really make me believe in him because there is literally nothing on his resume that causes me to take a deep breathe and trust him (whereas cohen - who despite you continuing to bring him up was not nearly as bashed as ray, so can we stop saying that the same people that are skeptical of ray were calling for cohen's head in year 2? - had that winning resume as a HC as 2 different programs that allowed me to take a deep breathe and believe in him). a situation like we were in, it was even more imperative to find a proven HC that could right the ship imo, not hand the reigns to an unproven, unheralded assistant to see what he could get done.

and i'm sick and tired of hearing about all that was going on behind closed doors with our program. maybe if yall would straight up tell us something instead of mysteriously alluding to shit, we might understand better, but until then, i find it all bullshit. i know there were problems. but i can't believe we were in such terrible shape that guys who would immediately double or triple their salaries with a guaranteed 4 years were turning us down without our AD ****ing shit up pretty badly.

[Goat Holder]

You are deflecting like crazy, you "dumb ****" as you like to say.

[MarketingBully01]

What's that got to do with the price of peas in China? Please quit trying to spin yourself out of a terrible example of why Ray can't be successful -- and can't be a good hire.

The point was "Winthrop was Marshall's only option at the time -- so obviously, he's terrible" and would have been unlikely to ever achieve success if given a better job on the front end according to the definition you fools have set up. Had we hired Marshall fresh from being an assistant -- many of you would have lost your mind and been convinced he couldn't coach these first 2 years exactly like you've done with Ray. Without having a friggin clue...

My point is you have to spend a few years at a lesser job figuring out how to be a head coach instead of learning on the job like Ray is having to do. Marshall learned quite a bit at Winthrop. Cuonzo Martin did at SEMSU. Ray would have been a better coach had he taken the Winthrop job. I am sure the roster situation wouldn't have happened had he had previous head coaching experience. By the time he figures everything out, odds are good he will be let go here. Just saying...

[MarketingBully01]

no, the point is that 90% of the time, a new HC needs time to grow into being a HC. for major conference programs, you should either only hire the best of the best assistant coaches or coaches who have gone through the winthrop's of the world to grow into being a HC and proven to be at minimum, not a complete disaster at at least one HC stop along the way. marshall proved to be a good HC, got a better job, and has been a top candidate for major conference gigs for a few years, but he's comfortable where he's at. i wanted us to go find our own greg marshall (small school HC with success), not take a shot in the dark with an unknown assistant.

i didn't write ray off the moment he was hired, i praised him last year. but i can't help but view him skeptically until he does something to really make me believe in him because there is literally nothing on his resume that causes me to take a deep breathe and trust him (whereas cohen - who despite you continuing to bring him up was not nearly as bashed as ray, so can we stop saying that the same people that are skeptical of ray were calling for cohen's head in year 2? - had that winning resume as a HC as 2 different programs that allowed me to take a deep breathe and believe in him). a situation like we were in, it was even more imperative to find a proven HC that could right the ship imo, not hand the reigns to an unproven, unheralded assistant to see what he could get done.

and i'm sick and tired of hearing about all that was going on behind closed doors with our program. maybe if yall would straight up tell us something instead of mysteriously alluding to shit, we might understand better, but until then, i find it all bullshit. i know there were problems. but i can't believe we were in such terrible shape that guys who would immediately double or triple their salaries with a guaranteed 4 years were turning us down without our AD ****ing shit up pretty badly.

This x1000. Well said.

[Coach34]

Allow me to interject- we are all pretty much in agreement that our AD didnt do the best job on this coaching search.

My contention is that it's not Ray's fault he was hired- it's a credit to him. Because of us going with a no-name- we basically made this a 2 yr rebuild instead of possibly just 1 with a better name. Once this season ends- it's all on Ray to lift us back up. The free pass is over.

Now then- could we have paid more money to get someone? I dont know. I'd like to think we could. Shaka told us 3 million+ and we said good luck Sir in your future endeavors. Money was not even discussed with Marshall before he withdrew his name.

Bottom line now is Ray has rebuilt- and we will have a full team next year. It will be time to be better. We need to support him and the team and give them a home court advantage next year to aid in winning. We should know by the end of the OOC if we will be decent or not. I have a feeling we will be.

[MarketingBully01]

Allow me to interject- we are all pretty much in agreement that our AD didnt do the best job on this coaching search.

My contention is that it's not Ray's fault he was hired- it's a credit to him. Because of us going with a no-name- we basically made this a 2 yr rebuild instead of possibly just 1 with a better name. Once this season ends- it's all on Ray to lift us back up. The free pass is over.

Now then- could we have paid more money to get someone? I dont know. I'd like to think we could. Shaka told us 3 million+ and we said good luck Sir in your future endeavors. Money was not even discussed with Marshall before he withdrew his name.

Bottom line now is Ray has rebuilt- and we will have a full team next year. It will be time to be better. We need to support him and the team and give them a home court advantage next year to aid in winning. We should know by the end of the OOC if we will be decent or not. I have a feeling we will be.

Here is a post I can at least agree with. Although I would replace didn't do the best job with flat out sucked hard on the coaching search. I think some random person on the street picking a name out of a hat would have done a better job then Loafers did. He also saw a way he could save a ton of money by going with this choice. I am not sure very many coaches would have said yes to that situation for $1 million dollars. That is embarrassingly low enough to be what a USM or some third tier college can pay their head basketball coach. We should have been better then that.

[MarketingBully01]

Allow me to interject- we are all pretty much in agreement that our AD didnt do the best job on this coaching search.

My contention is that it's not Ray's fault he was hired- it's a credit to him. Because of us going with a no-name- we basically made this a 2 yr rebuild instead of possibly just 1 with a better name. Once this season ends- it's all on Ray to lift us back up. The free pass is over.

Now then- could we have paid more money to get someone? I dont know. I'd like to think we could. Shaka told us 3 million+ and we said good luck Sir in your future endeavors. Money was not even discussed with Marshall before he withdrew his name.

Bottom line now is Ray has rebuilt- and we will have a full team next year. It will be time to be better. We need to support him and the team and give them a home court advantage next year to aid in winning. We should know by the end of the OOC if we will be decent or not. I have a feeling we will be.

And I have never been upset at Ray one bit. He did what was best for himself and family. He is actually doing about what we should be expecting him to. Loafers is the one fans should be upset with if this doesn't work out. He is the one that imploded our basketball program for really no reason. Shit, he isn't even a basketball mind whatsoever and Keenum allowed him to go on his own with this.

[BiscuitEater]

LSU has supposedly purchased Gray already...Gray was a worse shooter than Sword as a Freshman- and had more turnovers than assists. not really worried about him

is a shooter that averages over 43 points a game ** Gray will hurt us while he is at LSU.

Gray is one of the best junior college prospects in the country. According to Brad Winton of JucoRecruiting.com, he has scored 61 points and 59 points in his last two games. Gray can beat his defender consistently off the dribble, showing the ability to get into the lane and finish at the rim or dish to a teammate for an open shot. During the summer, he also showed improved ability to initiate offense for others and utilize ball-screens and pick-and-rolls.

[Coach34]

is a shooter that averages over 43 points a game ** Gray will hurt us while he is at LSU.

Gray is one of the best junior college prospects in the country. According to Brad Winton of JucoRecruiting.com, he has scored 61 points and 59 points in his last two games. Gray can beat his defender consistently off the dribble, showing the ability to get into the lane and finish at the rim or dish to a teammate for an open shot. During the summer, he also showed improved ability to initiate offense for others and utilize ball-screens and pick-and-rolls.

He may be hell- but as a true freshman at TT:

18% from 3
9.3 PPG on 36.3% shooting
99 assists
101 turnovers

Call me skeptical until he performs in the SEC