Rick Ray fired.

[Pinto]

Stricklin just released it. Where do we go now?

[I seen it dawg]

Hallelujah

[I seen it dawg]

Ok hoops chest thumpers go find us a high dollar coach.

[Coach34]

Thanks to the Big Dawgs- they came through

[Drugdog]

Hate to see someone lose their job, but it was time. I'm sure he will get a Million for not coaching.

[thf24]

I'm ok with it. I think Ray still had a shot to get something going, but we can do better. Thanks Rick for playing the Croom role and cleaning up the culture for the next guy.

In the message board world, pretty amusing on both sides of the issue. Apparently Ray was not guaranteed a fourth year from the admin as we've been hearing, but neither is Stricklin too wrapped up in his own ego to pull the plug on his own hire as we've also been told.

[I seen it dawg]

Hate to see someone lose their job, but it was time. I'm sure he will get a Million for not coaching.

He made plenty of money. Doubt he thought he would make the 3 yr total he did. He's an asst. He hit the lottery.

[DudyDawg]

I think some of yall owe Scott an apology. Not as stubborn as you thought

[KB21]

I hope the job is more attractive now than it was three years ago.

[THE Bruce Dickinson]

Kelvin Sampson. Let's get back in the game

[Quaoarsking]

Thanks for the memories Rick (to be fair, the wins over Ole Miss, the win over LSU, and the win @ Tennessee are probably among my top MSU basketball memories, so he did register a few), and thanks for setting up the next coach to have a shot at success.

[Bucky Dog]

Way to nut up Stricklin! He knows that next year might be ok but back down the year after. Go ahead and bring in a good coach that will have some good players on board and let him see success early. Easier to bring in a coach you want in that situation rather than a complete rebuilding one.

[Coach34]

I think some of yall owe Scott an apology. Not as stubborn as you thought

im pretty sure this came from above SS

[DudyDawg]

Kelvin Sampson. Let's get back in the game

Hell no

[Coach34]

John Pelphrey...add Butch Pierre or Robert Kirby to be Asst HC.

[preachermatt83]

Toldt yal

[Jacksondevildog]

And Horatio as a bench coach.
John Pelphrey...add Butch Pierre or Robert Kirby to be Asst HC.

[I seen it dawg]

Toldt yal

Good job. Don't break your arm.

[Dallas_Dawg]

Wooooooo!!!!!!

[mic]

May have been a situation where it was Scott it is either you or Rick..

[JohnnyQuid]

Just saw this on my twitter feed and though was a hoax at first. Hope we can make a good hire now and get this thing turned around

[smootness]

Stricklin just released it. Where do we go now?

I'm honestly shocked, but ok with the move.

My list:
1. Archie Miller
2. Archie Miller
3. Steve Prohm
4. Tommy Amaker

This is obviously assuming guys like Smart and Marshall aren't an option. I would love Ed Cooley from Providence, but he's from there and just got a pretty good extension, so I assume he isn't a possibility, either.

[Jacksondevildog]

Hopefully Keenum will hire a search firm and help lead the search and not let Stricklin and Bailey Howell hire a Ray 2.0

[smootness]

John Pelphrey...add Butch Pierre or Robert Kirby to be Asst HC.

Um....NO

What the heck?

[Coach34]

We hired a search firm last time

[Jacksondevildog]

Then we need to change search firms. **
We hired a search firm last time

[I seen it dawg]

Dick Williams

[ScottH]

Then we need to change search firms. **

And ask for a refund.

[KB21]

Hopefully Keenum will hire a search firm and help lead the search and not let Stricklin and Bailey Howell hire a Ray 2.0

You can't blame Scott Stricklin for coaches turning the job down after the mess Rick Stansbury left. Job was offered twice to Steve Prohm, who turned it down. Offered to Bryce Drew, who turned it down. No one wanted this job.

[NCDawg]

I think some of yall owe Scott an apology. Not as stubborn as you thought

I think SS owes us an apology for hiring Ray in the first place.

[Bucky Dog]

I wonder if Kenny Payne will even get looked at this time around. I say no. People say Mike White won't come but I wouldn't be so sure. He needs to get a call. Don't know what Marshall is making and do we try to get Bryce Drew again and leav Strick out of the negotiations?

[tcdog70]

im pretty sure this came from above SS

Coach, first basket post I agree with. This wasn't what Scott wanted.

[tcdog70]

You can't blame Scott Stricklin for coaches turning the job down after the mess Rick Stansbury left. Job was offered twice to Steve Prohm, who turned it down. Offered to Bryce Drew, who turned it down. No one wanted this job.

Bullshit

[smootness]

Let me amend my list slightly. I would actually have Larry Krystkowiak #1 on my list, and I would make him turn it down before I went anywhere else. He may be from out west, but he's making less than $1 million per year. Utah may be willing to increase that considerably if they have to, but I would still come with at least $2 million per and make them do it.

I would consider Michael White, too, if only to anger Ole Miss. He's been good at La. Tech but still hasn't made an NCAA Tourney.

[KB21]

Bullshit

The only BS is the BS that gets spewed about Scott Striklin when it comes to that coaching search. No one wanted to take on the cesspool that Stansbury left. It was a set up for failure.

[tcdog70]

John Pelphrey...add Butch Pierre or Robert Kirby to be Asst HC.

Agree again

[tcdog70]

The only BS is the BS that gets spewed about Scott Striklin when it comes to that coaching search. No one wanted to take on the cesspool that Stansbury left. It was a set up for failure.

Again- bullshit

[KB21]

DeMarcus Simonds has already decommitted.

[HancockCountyDog]

Wow, I'm stunned. Stunned.

[smootness]

Please, someone tell me why in the heck we would want to hire John Pelphrey. I would MUCH rather to get Stans back than hire him. Holy crap.

[smootness]

DeMarcus Simonds has already decommitted.

That was obviously going to happen. Hopefully the new guy will be someone who can go out and get some guys like that from the 2016 class.

What I'm more worried about is losing Tookie and/or Weatherspoon. That would really hurt us.

[Coach34]

Pelphrey has head coaching experience and has been Donovan's right hand man at Fla since leaving UPig. Pel also had a top 5 recruiting class signed when he was fired at UPIg

[engie]

LT part 2 IMO***

[mic]

You can't blame Scott Stricklin for coaches turning the job down after the mess Rick Stansbury left. Job was offered twice to Steve Prohm, who turned it down. Offered to Bryce Drew, who turned it down. No one wanted this job.

Of course they turned it down .. What we were offering and they way he asked them to win.. Who could blame them

[TheDogFather]

I think SS owes us an apology for hiring Ray in the first place.

I think Coach34 owes this board an apology for all of his incorrect info and sources in the situation.

[Bully13]

Thanks to the Big Dawgs- they came through

your inside source isn't so inside it appears 34. you were convinced you had the scoop but in reality you didn't.

[engie]

We'll know whether we made the right hire by whether or not Malik jumps in the boat immediately. That's one of those guys that Ole Miss absolutely would not lose from within our shoes. Find a damn way...

[HailState39110]

John Pelphrey...add Butch Pierre or Robert Kirby to be Asst HC.

Im on board with Pelphrey and Kirby

[smootness]

Pelphrey has head coaching experience and has been Donovan's right hand man at Fla since leaving UPig. Pel also had a top 5 recruiting class signed when he was fired at UPIg

And he proved he isn't a good enough coach. I don't want a program that treads water and makes the NIT. Otherwise I would have rather we just kept Stans, who was much better than Pelphrey.

[bgover4]

I hope the details are already worked out and we already have the next guy lined up this time

[mic]

And he proved he isn't a good enough coach. I don't want a program that treads water and makes the NIT. Otherwise I would have rather we just kept Stans, who was much better than Pelphrey.

Not saying I'm for Pelphrey. But he could recruit and just because he couldn't win like they wanted him too at Ark doesn't mean he would be a terrible hire.
A Grant went NCAA NIT NCAA in his 3 years at VCU and couldn't win at Bama..

[RougeDawg]

Thanks for the memories Rick (to be fair, the wins over Ole Miss, the win over LSU, and the win @ Tennessee are probably among my top MSU basketball memories, so he did register a few), and thanks for setting up the next coach to have a shot at success.

I feel your pain. Assuming you are a student. I was a student during the Croom debacle.

[RougeDawg]

Hey all you Ray supporters who thought/hoped Ray would eventually make some MSU Basketball noise in March, you got your wish. Oh and these**.

[HailState39110]

I'm a little shocked by the news . I think alot of the Alumni who have given money to the university and basketball program over the years expressed their thoughts to SS and SS listened . Nothing more. Not a lot of people were ever on board with Rick Ray and 3 years of not showing any life costs him his job.

I just hope in the next month when we announce a hire I don't have to google the name of the guy we hire because I've never heard of him

[Coach34]

your inside source isn't so inside it appears 34. you were convinced you had the scoop but in reality you didn't.
I clearly said the decision was going to have to come from above Stricklin- and it did

[KB21]

I'm a little shocked by the news . I think alot of the Alumni who have given money to the university and basketball program over the years expressed their thoughts to SS and SS listened . Nothing more. Not a lot of people were ever on board with Rick Ray and 3 years of not showing any life costs him his job.

I just hope in the next month when we announce a hire I don't have to google the name of the guy we hire because I've never heard of him

The program is in better shape now than it was then. It's not a cesspool of drugs and malcontents any longer.

[Coach34]

And he proved he isn't a good enough coach. I don't want a program that treads water and makes the NIT. Otherwise I would have rather we just kept Stans, who was much better than Pelphrey.

Well, the coach we hire isn't going to have 5 NCAA Tourney appearances as a HC - I can promise you that

[Coach34]

Nick Saban didn't win a NC at his first big college job- sometimes it takes the right situation for a coach to have success- no matter how good he is

[TheDogFather]

The program is in better shape now than it was then. It's not a cesspool of drugs and malcontents any longer.

We are now one coach removed from Rick Stansbury. Yet we still are reminded of how he single handedly brought down the greatness of what was MSU basketball.

At least the next coach will be compared to a perennial loser instead of a perennial winner.

[sandwolf]

Hey all you Ray supporters who thought/hoped Ray would eventually make some MSU Basketball noise in March, you got your wish. Oh and these**.

I have got to hand it to you......you are incredibly consistent in being the worst poster on this board.

[grinnindawg]

Why in heavens name would we do that?

His record after four seasons with the Razorbacks was 69?59

I'd rather take a flier on a complete unknown than go with someone who wasn't successful with the resources of Arkansas.

[mparkerfd20]

Hell yes!!!! Just got online and saw this. Hallelujah my weekend has just been made!!

[Liverpooldawg]

I clearly said the decision was going to have to come from above Stricklin- and it did

LOL, you info wasn't as good as you thought. It never has been for basketball.

[Acid mouth]

I'm crying tears of joy! It's even better news when u least expect it!!

[Dawg61]

**** YESSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!

[mic]

2 hammers have come down in the past couple of hours....

[mparkerfd20]

Hey all you Ray supporters who thought/hoped Ray would eventually make some MSU Basketball noise in March, you got your wish. Oh and these**.

Best post in this thread so far.

[shannondawg]

Why can't we just say it was a well thought out decision that was what was best for the program.

[mstatefan91]

Damn, Rick Ray is trending on Twitter. Didn't realize our program was still that big of a deal

[Interpolation_Dawg_EX]

@ESPNAndyKatz:Mississippi State should go get Ben Howland. You want to be relevant w/ John Calipari, Billy Donovan and Bruce Pearl in SEC? Get Howland.

I wouldn't be mad if this happened.

[smootness]

Nick Saban didn't win a NC at his first big college job- sometimes it takes the right situation for a coach to have success- no matter how good he is

Saban had to go to a program with far more resources and prestige before he had ultimate success. And he still had good success at Michigan State. He wasn't fired, he got hired at LSU off of that.

Pelphrey already failed at a program with more inherent advantages than State. He was never better than mediocre and got fired. That analogy is awful. Anyone touting Pelphrey should be excluded from the conversation.

And others get labeled with the 'poor ol State' moniker? Good grief.

[engie]

@ESPNAndyKatz:Mississippi State should go get Ben Howland. You want to be relevant w/ John Calipari, Billy Donovan and Bruce Pearl in SEC? Get Howland.

I wouldn't be mad if this happened.

SAME here... Wow, that's a great name I hadn't thought of in awhile...

[Dawg61]

2 hammers have come down in the past couple of hours....

Other hammer?

[engie]

Why can't we just say it was a well thought out decision that was what was best for the program.

Cheers to this.

[mstatefan91]

Other hammer?

This^

[Interpolation_Dawg_EX]

994
SAME here... Wow, that's a great name I hadn't thought of in awhile...

That's a pretty impressive run from Pitt to UCLA. I know he didn't win a national championship, but he's shown he can get in position for one.

[Saltydog]

him one more year. It's time we regain our basketball superiority in this State.

[C222]

994

That's a pretty impressive run from Pitt to UCLA. I know he didn't win a national championship, but he's shown he can get in position for one.

I mentioned Howland months ago. He would load our roster with talent.

[smootness]

994

That's a pretty impressive run from Pitt to UCLA. I know he didn't win a national championship, but he's shown he can get in position for one.

The only thing that gives me pause is what happened immediately following this stretch. Something happened within that program in 08 or 09, and it wasn't good. He basically ended his tenure there the way Stans did here; the only difference is that he won a little more, but not more than the relative difference between State and UCLA.

If we get Pitt-early UCLA Howland, amazing. If we get late UCLA Howland, it could mean really bad news.

[engie]

The only thing that gives me pause is what happened immediately following this stretch. Something happened within that program in 08 or 09, and it wasn't good. He basically ended his tenure there the way Stans did here; the only difference is that he won a little more, but not more than the relative difference between State and UCLA.

If we get Pitt-early UCLA Howland, amazing. If we get late UCLA Howland, it could mean really bad news.
I think we'd get even better than the earlier version. He's had time to recharge his batteries and reflect now and has, by all accounts, been chomping at the bit to get back into coaching.

I think Stans will also be better than the guy he was early in his career and be a much better head coach when he gets another shot somewhere. That time for reflection can really help guys understand and accept shortcomings and thus be more apt to address them on the front end...

[smootness]

I think we'd get even better than the earlier version. He's had time to recharge his batteries and reflect now and has, by all accounts, been chomping at the bit to get back into coaching.

I think Stans will also be better than the guy he was early in his career and be a much better head coach when he gets another shot somewhere. That time for reflection can really help guys understand and accept shortcomings and thus be more apt to address them on the front end...

Perhaps. It's probably a good risk to take, but we may be hesitant to do it since that's precisely what we were trying to get away from.

[thf24]

Hey all you Ray supporters who thought/hoped Ray would eventually make some MSU Basketball noise in March, you got your wish. Oh and these**.

http://i.imgur.com/40Idny0.png?1?fb

[tcdog70]

I clearly said the decision was going to have to come from above Stricklin- and it did

Coach you say so much shit, some of it has to be right.but all the shit you get wrong outweighs it.

[Coach34]

Coach you say so much shit, some of it has to be right.but all the shit you get wrong outweighs it.

Not even close dickhead. Enjoy your day- Ray was fired. I personally didn't think the call would come from above- but glad it did.

[FlabLoser]

The machine needs to wake up.

[bluelightstar]

It's funny -- national media initially lambasted us for giving Ray a quick hook. It looks like some might have come to their senses once they actually took a look to write their stories. For example, Jeff Goodman on Twitter said it was "a joke" that Stricklin fired Ray so soon. In his story on ESPN.com (which has been fleshed out since its initial posting), he now has come to recognize that "Not only were the Bulldogs bad, they were usually boring."

I legitimately believe the national media thought we fired him too quickly, because they hadn't actually bothered to pay attention to us -- and now that they're seeing what people who watch us regularly see, they're realizing their mistake.