This needs to be Howland's last year

[Bulldog1]

Absolutely terrible showing today. You want to know why no one shows up to games? Games like today are the reason why.

I have accepted the fact that Howland is not an offensive coach - but defense is supposedly his specialty. Still, our defense is not that good. No adjustments whatsoever.

He can get talent but he can't coach the talent he has. This team will not make the tourney.

Pack your bags Howland. I'm ready for someone else.

[Quaoarsking]

We just have to decide if going around .500 in the SEC and usually being a Bubble Out team, but maybe getting in the NCAA Tournament a little bit, and not having off-the-court drama and program embarrassments, is good enough for us.

If we go to coaching roulette, it can get a lot worse, like it did in 2012. Or maybe we can strike it rich.

[Dak Holliday]

I don?t follow basketball closely, so please excuse my ignorance, but do coaching affiliation with Brands- Nike, Adidas, etc- play into our ability to bring in different coaches?

[gtowndawg]

Had 6 tickets and didn't go. How the game went is exactly what I expected. Getting paid $$$$ to coast into retirement.

[TheLostDawg]

Do we let him go during the season and see if Brooks can coach

[OLJWales]

Do we let him go during the season and see if Brooks can coach

That would take big balls from Cohen and others. I wouldn't mind at this point. See if any one on staff can interject some enthusiasm immediately. I'm to the point where sub .500 with less talent playing smart and hard than this strip tease show howland's been flaunting.

[LC Dawg]

I'm not saying keep Howland but the list of who we could get to replace him would not be impressive. I don't think our job is very attractive to coaches. It's depressing because I love it when we are good at basketball.

[Lord McBuckethead]

Sometimes, you wonder why we never switch to zone 2-3 or 1-3-1 would slow teams down on the offensive side while they adjust. No idea why we don't switch it back and forth throughout the game. Let our team catch their breaths.

[IMissJack]

Having been at MSU during the early '90's when Richard Williams had the place rocking with Mississippi kids and standard near sellouts, I can't even stand to watch these days. There were more students at Williams' open practices than fans in the Hump these days. We beat Shaq and LSU 6 straight with noone on the court over 6'7" tall. It's called coaching.

[MCsMGs]

I don?t follow basketball closely, so please excuse my ignorance, but do coaching affiliation with Brands- Nike, Adidas, etc- play into our ability to bring in different coaches?

Yes...our affiliation with Adidas is what got Howland here. Also, the shoe companies have big time influence in AAU ball which translates into big influence in recruiting.

[SPMT]

People have other things to do.


Our fans are ridiculous.

[msstate7]

Having been at MSU during the early '90's when Richard Williams had the place rocking with Mississippi kids and standard near sellouts, I can't even stand to watch these days. There were more students at Williams' open practices than fans in the Hump these days. We beat Shaq and LSU 6 straight with noone on the court over 6'7" tall. It's called coaching.

Williams thru 6 seasons: 105-103, 2 postseason (1 nit - 2nd round, 1 ncaa - 1st round)

Howland thru 6 seasons: 116-82, 3 postseason* (2 Nit - nit semi-final, nit final, 1 ncaa - 1st round)

*would be at least another NIT, but postseason canceled

Williams went 13-16 (5-11 sec) in year 7.

Most of ED would be calling for Williams to be fired after year 7.

[SPMT]

Williams thru 6 seasons: 105-103, 2 postseason (1 nit - 2nd round, 1 ncaa - 1st round)

Howland thru 6 seasons: 116-82, 3 postseason* (2 Nit - nit semi-final, nit final, 1 ncaa - 1st round)

*would be at least another NIT, but postseason canceled

Williams went 13-16 (5-11 sec) in year 7.

You would be calling for Williams to be fired after year 7.

****ing stupid fans. That Minnesota team is clearly very good.

Let the team get deeper in the season.

[IMissJack]

****ing stupid fans. That Minnesota team is clearly very good.

Let the team get deeper in the season.

They may be great, but we were 12 pt. favorites at home.

[chef dixon]

It's just not a very good product. From the coaching, play on the court, atmosphere, fans etc. it's been consistently disappointing for so long now

[Bulldog1]

****ing stupid fans. That Minnesota team is clearly very good.

Let the team get deeper in the season.

We've played 2 teams with a pulse and lost both.

[maroonmania]

Sometimes, you wonder why we never switch to zone 2-3 or 1-3-1 would slow teams down on the offensive side while they adjust. No idea why we don't switch it back and forth throughout the game. Let our team catch their breaths.

You are joking right? Howland never changes anything. He plays man-to-man defense and man-to-man only, even if the other team is eating that defense alive. Bet he hasn't played more than 5 minutes of zone defense in his entire coaching tenure at MSU. We play the exact same way against every opponent in all aspects for better or worse. We have to be one of the easiest teams to prepare for in all of college basketball.

[Dawsonmsu]

Lol. Comparing Richard Williams and the 90’s to Ben Howland and the current state of our basketball program is a complete joke.

[Coach34]

Howland is the football equivalent of a team running the Airbone and a 4-2-5 every play on D with no blitzes

[Coach34]

Lol. Comparing Richard Williams and the 90’s to Ben Howland and the current state of our basketball program is a complete joke.

1st year Williams took over we were so bad we lost to Delta State. Bob Boyd recruited over the telephone.

[msstate7]

3 previous years before Williams: 30-48 (18-38)

3 previous years before howland: 37-60 (13-41)

[maroonmania]

3 previous years before Williams: 30-48 (18-38)

3 previous years before howland: 37-60 (13-41)

If we could let Howland recruit and Williams be our floor coach you would probably have a much better overall basketball product.

[msstate7]

If we could let Howland recruit and Williams be our floor coach you would probably have a much better overall basketball product.

Howland certainly is frustrating. I certainly think he underachieves with what he has. On the other hand, I think he overachieves in getting talent.

[Saltydog]

****ing stupid fans. That Minnesota team is clearly very good.

Let the team get deeper in the season.

They will finish in the bottom half of the Big 10! They?re solid but they?re not ?very good?!

[Cooterpoot]

We just have to decide if going around .500 in the SEC and usually being a Bubble Out team, but maybe getting in the NCAA Tournament a little bit, and not having off-the-court drama and program embarrassments, is good enough for us.

If we go to coaching roulette, it can get a lot worse, like it did in 2012. Or maybe we can strike it rich.

Maybe in? He's made one tournament here. He's past his expiration date. Let Adidas send us a new coach.

[Dak Holliday]

Yes...our affiliation with Adidas is what got Howland here. Also, the shoe companies have big time influence in AAU ball which translates into big influence in recruiting.

So, does that limit our ability to move off of Howland and dictate who we have to consider as replacement?

[Coach34]

It would help quite a bit to have an Adidas affiliated HC. Adidas will spend money we dont have to

[Dak Holliday]

It would help quite a bit to have an Adidas affiliated HC. Adidas will spend money we dont have to

Thanks for the clarification. I knew basketball seemed different than other sports.

[wasabaka]

The game has long passed Howland by. We shouldn't fire him, because who knows what we would end up with. It would probably be RickRay2.0.

Howland is a dinosaur whose best years are behind him. That meteor is coming soon if he doesn't give up the ghost first.

[PMDawg]

Howland is kind of Stansbury-lite at this point. It's just kind of "meh" whether we keep him or not. But, there's really no reason to fire him unless we plan to get serious. By that, I mean, do what Alabama has done with Saban. Find the best, most sure thing out there, and offer him a truck load of money. Pay $10M/yr. Break the bank. Show you mean it. Get a "sure" thing, as much as there can be one in coaching. Another normal coaching search? Just keep Howland. Go big, or go home. I'm sure we'll go home.

[msstate7]

Howland is kind of Stansbury-lite at this point. It's just kind of "meh" whether we keep him or not. But, there's really no reason to fire him unless we plan to get serious. By that, I mean, do what Alabama has done with Saban. Find the best, most sure thing out there, and offer him a truck load of money. Pay $10M/yr. Break the bank. Show you mean it. Get a "sure" thing, as much as there can be one in coaching. Another normal coaching search? Just keep Howland. Go big, or go home. I'm sure we'll go home.

We could go the Gregg Marshall or Rick pitino route.

[PMDawg]

We could go the Gregg Marshall or Rick pitino route.

Yeah, it's definitely easier said than done. I never heard exactly what happened with Gregg Marshall, but it might be worth a shot. Unless whatever he did was pretty bad. I really don't know.

[thf24]

I've generally remained a Howland defender and I'm still in his court, but man it's getting frustrating the more I see us throw the ball around the perimeter a few times, then jack a contested three and run back the other way. We don't need to go Princeton offense or anything, but it just seems like a little more consistent activity to get us more open looks in the half court would go a long way.

[OLJWales]

I've generally remained a Howland defender and I'm still in his court, but man it's getting frustrating the more I see us throw the ball around the perimeter a few times, then jack a contested three and run back the other way. We don't need to go Princeton offense or anything, but it just seems like a little more consistent activity to get us more open looks in the half court would go a long way.

What had me excited was the pre-season hype about our bigs in the paint. Sad.

[DawgFromOxford]

Anybody that thought this year was going to be any different was only kidding themselves. Howland is who he is. I like the guy but his best coaching days are behind him. The offense will be boring most games. We will win a game or 2 that's a highlight win. Your die hard fans will complain about not having full fan support. We will go and lose to a team we have no business losing to that kills any fan momentum. We'll mess around and probably squeeze our way into the tournament on talent alone, then exit in the first round or 2.

Could our program be better? Yes. Could our program be worse? Yes. The administration has to decide if they'll do away with "meh" results in exchange for potentially elevating or crashing the program.

[msstate7]

What had me excited was the pre-season hype about our bigs in the paint. Sad.

You realize those bigs have practiced together for all of 1 week tomorrow, right?

[R2Dawg]

Having been at MSU during the early '90's when Richard Williams had the place rocking with Mississippi kids and standard near sellouts, I can't even stand to watch these days. There were more students at Williams' open practices than fans in the Hump these days. We beat Shaq and LSU 6 straight with noone on the court over 6'7" tall. It's called coaching.

True. 6-7 Cameron Burns tore Shaq and Roberts a new one back then. Shaq wasn't even the best player on the floor either - it was Chris Jackson.

We have so much talent now but just no chemistry or enough motivation. X&Os doesn't look good either. We have to do something. Howland can get talent but what is the point is you don't do anything with it.

[OLJWales]

You realize those bigs have practiced together for all of 1 week tomorrow, right?

Thanks. Can you re
mind me why that's the case?

[msstate7]

Thanks. Can you re
mind me why that's the case?

T. Smith has been hurt

[PGHBulldogBG]

While Howland is frustrating, he hasn?t done anything to warrant a firing. My hope is that after this year he retires. I don?t expect to land a top coach, but I think we have a better chance of finding someone from a mid major that would want our job. It?s not like after Stansbury where we had off court issues and shady dealings. Alabama made a great hire in Nate Oats so I don?t see why we can?t pull someone of that quality from the mid majors and bring them here.