What I would do with men's basketball if I was Strick

[Irondawg]

Unless we have a dramatic turnaround it's time to thank Ray for having to deal with what he did and congratulate him on his nice new bank account balance.

The job while not super attractive is much more attractive than it was when we hired Ray. You don't have to follow Stans and you've got a full roster of semi-talented kids and some decent signees. More people will return your phone calls.

But to get good there are 2 paths I see:

1) Call up Horatio and basically whore out the program and take a chance on whoever gets you Newman. If he's as good as advertised with our decent supporting cast he'll instantly put you back on the map as long as the coach is semi-competent. We could be the media darling turnaround story and that good press could lead to another good signing class or two. So worst case even ifyou have to can the next coach you've had some juice injected back into the program and some better talent for the next guy.

2) Go international. Find a guy with good international connections and bring in 2-3 Euros a year that understand how to play the game and simply outfundamental teams while saving your local schollys for guys like D. Houston that can bring in a punch of athleticism to finish breaks, guard the tough matchups and make some athlete only type plays.

The problem the whole SEC outside of FL and KY has is the absolute lack of kids that have any sort of basketball IQ and fundamental techniques. Every blue moon a nice combination comes together but nobody in the SEC (KY, FL excluded) has really been able to build a stable program. Bama, for example, has recruited outstanding the past 5 years and what do they really have to show for it? The South produces lots of athletes that simply have no idea how to use their talent and by the time they start to figure it out, it's time for them to graduate. Simply put we cannot be consitently successful just recruiting MS/TN/AL/LA/GA unless we get a master evaluator and incredible teacher of the game.

So we have to recruit nationally or internationally. The easier one to tap into would seem to be internationally b/c very few teams have committed to that route that I'm aware of.

[ScottH]

3. Hire WWW as the search firm. Let him pick the coach. Be tickled with Cal's leftovers. Have the 3rd or 4th most talented SEC team overnight. (Mostly tongue in cheek. Not totally.)

[1bigdawg]

If the last few games are indicative of the year, then we will get to see if Strick can improve at hiring a basketball coach at the end of the year.

[msugolf]

Strick will have very little influence in hiring the next coach, that's a fact. His one opportunity to go out on his own and hire against the basketball backers has blown up in his face. He won't be allowed a second chance to do it.

[Johnson85]

Strick will have very little influence in hiring the next coach, that's a fact. His one opportunity to go out on his own and hire against the basketball backers has blown up in his face. He won't be allowed a second chance to do it.

I don't think he went against the basketball boosters. Some of them maybe, but at least one big basketball booster was in Ray's corner.

[Liverpooldawg]

Who exactly do y'all think we could have got when we fired Stans? The names that were being kicked around at the time were pure fantasy land. That firing was not widely thought of the way our fans thought of it. That was an impossible situation for an AD.

[quickstrike2]

I think you have to let the season play out, and then if it continues the way it has so far then you have to make a move. If last night was any indication, SEC play will be really bad.

My biggest thing thru the whole thing was why Strick picked Ray. An assistant at mediocre Clemson with not the first tie to the SEC or Mississippi, I will never understand that. I agree, the job wasn't appealing, but damn did we have to hire an unknown which no ties to anything.

[LC Dawg]

I would like to see a team of international players play in the SEC. I don't think they could win the conference but I think they could finish in the top four.
I can't speak to other states but the quality of high school basketball in Mississippi has regressed horribly in the last twenty years. I used to watch a lot of 4A/5A level games and they were fun to watch. There was some very good basketball being played in Mississippi. Now I usually go to games only if my daughter is cheerleading because the quality of play is hard to watch. It's really hard to watch these high school kids run any kind of a half court offense and its embarrassing to see kids try to defend it.

[drunkernhelldawg]

Who exactly do y'all think we could have got when we fired Stans? The names that were being kicked around at the time were pure fantasy land. That firing was not widely thought of the way our fans thought of it. That was an impossible situation for an AD.

He could have stepped into his office, closed the door, and assessed the situation objectively. He didn't have to buy into the emotion of the fanbase. He could have been a leader in control. If anyone in the department was making this difficult for him, he could have reassigned that person out of his sight. I have no idea what role other university administrators had in his decision making, but other than that, it's all on him.

[ScottH]

big basketball booster

Serious question. What does one have to do to be in this club? Does it really exist?

I was at a athletic department fundraising type event earlier in the year. Of the 6 folks seated where I was, 4 were in the top 15 of the Bulldog Club.

The basketball situation came up. None of the 4 knew anything the basketball process before Ray's hiring and a meet and greet shortly after.

Obviously Standsbury had his long time supporters. Kenny Payne had a couple of former basketball players pushing for him.

So are there big boosters at MSU that yield actual influence? Or are there are just inner circle boosters, some big some small, that have access to Scott's ear?

It's not like we have a Phil Knight calling the shots. We don't have a donor on an annual basis that moves the needle on the budget. Building campaigns, of course, excepted. Thank you Seal family. Thank you Mize Family. Thank you new Dudy Noble donors.

[Johnson85]

Serious question. What does one have to do to be in this club? Does it really exist?

I was at a athletic department fundraising type event earlier in the year. Of the 6 folks seated where I was, 4 were in the top 15 of the Bulldog Club.

The basketball situation came up. None of the 4 knew anything the basketball process before Ray's hiring and a meet and greet shortly after.

Obviously Standsbury had his long time supporters. Kenny Payne had a couple of former basketball players pushing for him.

So are there big boosters at MSU that yield actual influence? Or are there are just inner circle boosters, some big some small, that have access to Scott's ear?

It's not like we have a Phil Knight calling the shots. We don't have a donor on an annual basis that moves the needle on the budget. Building campaigns, of course, excepted. Thank you Seal family. Thank you Mize Family. Thank you new Dudy Noble donors.

I don't know if it's a club, but I'm guessing once you give a certain amount of money, or have influence with people who do, you get to be in a somewhat inner circle of the AD.

I have zero connections, but one of my friends was the right hand man for a State booster who brought home several hundred million when his company sold. He was the one that told me that one of the big boosters that was a college basketball junky was excited about Ray and was supporting his hire. No clue if he helped get his name in the ring or just got excited about him once his name emerged, and no clue if he really had any influence, but I'm guessing if the guy worth a few hundred million (who is a big booster in his own right) calls you a big booster, the AD at least picks up the phone when you call and pretends that you are having actual input.

[Dawg61]

Richard Adkerson is the CEO of Freeport Mcmoran and mega millionaire. He's a MSU grad and big basketball fan. His son was a GA for Stansbury for awhile. He's up there in the club.

[maroonmania]

Strick will have very little influence in hiring the next coach, that's a fact. His one opportunity to go out on his own and hire against the basketball backers has blown up in his face. He won't be allowed a second chance to do it.

Just curious, who won't allow it? Keenum? Technically that's the only person Strick answers to in his job.