The Fighting Rick Ray's cruise to 3-0

[Coach34]

looking forward to seeing this bunch improve

Texas A&M barely beat Prairie View tonight- 67-59

[smootness]

Texas A&M also was up on this same MVSU team by 1 with 11 minutes to go. They ended up beating them by more than we did, but it looks like that is one team we can beat in the SEC, and it's one nobody picked us ahead of.

I like the development I've seen under Ray. His team plays hard, and they're starting to play smarter and more disciplined, too. It looks like Davis will add another shooting dimension, and he looks like the kind of scorer overall that we've lacked much of.

This should be a fun year, just to see where these guys can go. We improved quite a bit over the course of last year, and we've started this year ahead of where we finished last year. Very good signs.

[Bo Darville]

I despise laziness. I despise lack of work ethic. I despise malcontents. That's why I'm on the Rick Ray bandwagon. These guys busted their tail last year and are doing the same this year. I can respect effort, win or lose. I'm liking the hire of Ray. These guys are fun to watch. I hope he works out long term. Recruiting is going to tell the tale.

[CadaverDawg]

I despise laziness. I despise lack of work ethic. I despise malcontents. That's why I'm on the Rick Ray bandwagon. These guys busted their tail last year and are doing the same this year. I can respect effort, win or lose. I'm liking the hire of Ray. These guys are fun to watch. I hope he works out long term. Recruiting is going to tell the tale.

100% agree.

[I seen it dawg]

I despise laziness. I despise lack of work ethic. I despise malcontents. That's why I'm on the Rick Ray bandwagon. These guys busted their tail last year and are doing the same this year. I can respect effort, win or lose. I'm liking the hire of Ray. These guys are fun to watch. I hope he works out long term. Recruiting is going to tell the tale.

Halle fn lujah to all that

[CadaverDawg]

Utah State will be an incredible challenge in the next game. If we win that one...#WeBelieve*

[Dawg61]

Utah State is a tourney team I think

[drunkernhelldawg]

Great to get a positive start to the season. Agree with about every post in this thread.
Bravo

[tcdog70]

Gonna, give RR a thumbs up and I'm a sceptic

[fishwater99]

Yep we need a big man and a pure shooter.

[JOHNHEVESYMADE]

Thumbs up for beating two SWAC teams and a Kennesaw State team fresh off a 3-28 season?

[engie]

I'm not saying it actually happens -- but Utah St has potential to be a turning point in the program. If we somehow managed to pull that game out, the overall wool in the fanbase would grow tremendously, and I have to think that the Hump would liven up quite a bit...

[smootness]

Thumbs up for beating two SWAC teams and a Kennesaw State team fresh off a 3-28 season?

We got it. You think Rick Ray blows. What does continuing to post crap like this accomplish?

So we should give them a thumbs down for winning these games?

[DawgsBite34]

Thumbs up for beating two SWAC teams and a Kennesaw State team fresh off a 3-28 season?

I don't see how anybody really cant hate on Rick Ray with what he was dealt last year I think he got the most out of that team down the stretch, should be much improved this year. we've got a good nucleus of players need to stay healthy

[Irondawg]

Hopefully Ready can come back soon, I was really interested in watching him play and he's losing a lot of good developmental time before SEC play. Getting Davis back will help some in the interim.

I also like how Ray tonight focuses on Ware after he got very few looks the game before.

[Dawg61]

Colin Borchert is pretty decent. Nice find by Ray with him.

[dawgs]

I don't see how anybody really cant hate on Rick Ray with what he was dealt last year I think he got the most out of that team down the stretch, should be much improved this year. we've got a good nucleus of players need to stay healthy

100% agreed. i honestly don't think we'd have won more than 2-3 more games under coach K/izzo/roy williams/calipari/whatever top tier coach you want to name with that roster and situation.

that's not to say ray will ultimately pan out, and god knows i was skeptical of the hire and would prefer a better hiring process, but i think 2012-2013 season went better than could be reasonably expected and has me feeling pretty good about the program's future under ray. recruiting is the big question mark, but i think from an actual coaching standpoint, he's well above average.

[Madisonmd]

Placed at EMCC by Phil Cunningham, that is Borchert

[Bo Darville]

Thumbs up for beating two SWAC teams and a Kennesaw State team fresh off a 3-28 season?

I believe every win is a big win. There are only two possible outcomes in a game. So while a win over Kennesaw State may not be big, a loss would have been huge. So by winning we avoided the huge loss. The schedule is set and isn't going to change. Ray can either win them or lose them. If we are going to play them, we might as well win them.

[Ronny]

...aTm beat Prairie View 75 - 65.

[Ronny]

I despise laziness. I despise lack of work ethic. I despise malcontents. That's why I'm on the Rick Ray bandwagon. These guys busted their tail last year and are doing the same this year. I can respect effort, win or lose. I'm liking the hire of Ray. These guys are fun to watch. I hope he works out long term. Recruiting is going to tell the tale.

..you must really despise our football team.

[Eric Nies Grind Time]

I'm not saying it actually happens -- but Utah St has potential to be a turning point in the program. If we somehow managed to pull that game out, the overall wool in the fanbase would grow tremendously, and I have to think that the Hump would liven up quite a bit...

It would definitely be a good win, and I think some people would recognize that beating Utah State shows that we are actually ahead of where we should be...but I am not sure if the average MSU fan would care about beating Utah State.

The better record we have going into the SEC home games, the better the crowds will be though.

[C222]

We got it. You think Rick Ray blows. What does continuing to post crap like this accomplish?

So we should give them a thumbs down for winning these games?

RICKYRAYMADE, MadDawg, coastdoglover, RAYTORAID...... they will do this all year. It doesn't matter what Ray does, they always make these stupid ass posts. Big time Stans supporters that will never change their mind. No point in even entertaining them.

[MadDawg]

RICKYRAYMADE, MadDawg, coastdoglover, RAYTORAID...... they will do this all year. It doesn't matter what Ray does, they always make these stupid ass posts. Big time Stans supporters that will never change their mind. No point in even entertaining them.

Thanks for including me in your rant. However, I support Rick Ray. I don't blame him for hiring himself.

[SignalToNoise]

Thumbs up for beating two SWAC teams and a Kennesaw State team fresh off a 3-28 season?

You know good and ******* well that is a team Stains probably would have lost to.

[thf24]

..you must really despise our football team.

You can't be serious. This kind of crap is just as bad as the worst of genespage.

[thf24]

You know good and ******* well that is a team Stains probably would have lost to.

Agreed, he would have figured out how to lose against one out of the three.

[Raytoraid83]

Thanks for including me in your rant. However, I support Rick Ray. I don't blame him for hiring himself.

Same. And Utah St is 196-10 under the current head coach at home, so yes I would comsider that a good win but 20 point wins against swac teams don't do anything for me.

[smootness]

Thanks for including me in your rant. However, I support Rick Ray. I don't blame him for hiring himself.

This is such a cop-out, though. It allows you to bash the hiring of Rick Ray endlessly while claiming to support Rick Ray. It's asinine. We get it, you guys think it was either a dumb idea to fire Stans or a dumb idea to hire Rick Ray. But it doesn't have to be thrown into every possible basketball thread.

I'll make a deal with you guys. From now on, when I see a basketball thread, I'll think to myself, 'I know RICKRAYMADE, MadDawg, coastdoglover, and RAYTORAID think hiring Rick Ray was a bad move' if you guys will stop posting it constantly. Deal?

[smootness]

..you must really despise our football team.

By the way, what the heck with this?

You think our football team is lazy, lacks work ethic, and is full of malcontents? Based on what, exactly?

[MadDawg]

I'll make a deal with you guys. From now on, when I see a basketball thread, I'll think to myself, 'I know RICKRAYMADE, MadDawg, coastdoglover, and RAYTORAID think hiring Rick Ray was a bad move' if you guys will stop posting it constantly. Deal?

As long as you can get the constant updates of Mullen's record against the top 20 and calls for Hud's hiring to end, I'm good with it.

Look, I know I've got a target on my back for not being 150% behind Croo, uh I mean Ray's hiring. That's fine. But I don't start threads bitching about him or the team. The only time I even feel compelled to comment is when someone has different expectations from our team now that we have a different coach - in other words, being a hypocrite.

[tenureplan]

By the way, what the heck with this?

You think our football team is lazy, lacks work ethic, and is full of malcontents? Based on what, exactly?

We get it, you're the message board police.

[smootness]

We get it, you're the message board police.

Huh? If you want to call me the message board police for asking certain people to stop posting the same thing all the time, that's fine.

But that was a legitimate question; I'm not telling Ronny not to post about the work ethic of our football team, I'm asking him what makes him think that about them. It was a legitimate question that I would like a response to.

[CJDAWG85]

Pretty sure every win this team gets builds confidence. I don't care if we beat Millsaps, this team needs every win they can get to build confidence and experience.

[smootness]

Look, I know I've got a target on my back for not being 150% behind Croo, uh I mean Ray's hiring.

This is what I'm talking about, though. You can't claim to support Rick Ray while saying things like this. Your primary issue may be the fact that we hired him, but that's because you believe he isn't a good coach.

It would be like claiming you support Tyler Russell, just think Prescott should start, but then constantly insulting Russell by comparing him to terrible QBs. It doesn't make sense.

[smootness]

Pretty sure every win this team gets builds confidence. I don't care if we beat Millsaps, this team needs every win they can get to build confidence and experience.

Very much this.

[FlabLoser]

BTW, Stans was 2-1 in the first three games of his last year.

[rtdawg]

..you must really despise our football team.

Not sure how you can seriously say this. For all of our issues in the football program, I don't believe there is a question with how hard our players have been playing. Certainly haven't seen a lack of commitment or work ethic on the players part to this point. What the players can control, I think they have busted their asses to this point in the season.

[MadDawg]

This is what I'm talking about, though. You can't claim to support Rick Ray while saying things like this. Your primary issue may be the fact that we hired him, but that's because you believe he isn't a good coach.

Actually no. My issue may be with the hiring, but it's not about him being a bad coach. Who the hell knows if he's a good coach. We, as well as all of creation, sure as hell didn't when we hired him. No, it's the way we went about it, just like we did when we hired Croom. That's why I freudian-slipped that nugget in there. The way we completely turn against coaches sickens me. We turned against Sherrill so bad we (at least most of you) were convinced "anybody would be better than this clown!". So we went out and hired a bigger clown and proved ourselves wrong. Now we did it again with basketball. Everyone was finally convinced Stans was the worst coach in America and anyone could do better. So we go out and hire a coach to test that theory again.
Thankfully Cohen was such a no-brainer hire we didn't screw that one up.
And that's what worries me about everyone turning against Mullen. You can make legitimate arguments that he needs to improve in some areas. Hell, I'll agree with you all day long he's got to get better in recruiting. But our fans keep up the negativity so high, that to some Mullen is the worst coach in America already. I've heard the last season and a half described as a "dumpster fire". I've heard callers into talk radio and posters on these boards and other social media rewrite history all the time making claims like that Mullen has never beaten a ranked team. That he's never beaten a team that was any good. That he doesn't care. That he, well damn, you get the picture.

[engie]

Actually no. My issue may be with the hiring, but it's not about him being a bad coach. Who the hell knows if he's a good coach. We, as well as all of creation, sure as hell didn't when we hired him. No, it's the way we went about it, just like we did when we hired Croom. That's why I freudian-slipped that nugget in there. The way we completely turn against coaches sickens me. We turned against Sherrill so bad we (at least most of you) were convinced "anybody would be better than this clown!". So we went out and hired a bigger clown and proved ourselves wrong. Now we did it again with basketball. Everyone was finally convinced Stans was the worst coach in America and anyone could do better. So we go out and hire a coach to test that theory again.
Thankfully Cohen was such a no-brainer hire we didn't screw that one up.
And that's what worries me about everyone turning against Mullen. You can make legitimate arguments that he needs to improve in some areas. Hell, I'll agree with you all day long he's got to get better in recruiting. But our fans keep up the negativity so high, that to some Mullen is the worst coach in America already. I've heard the last season and a half described as a "dumpster fire". I've heard callers into talk radio and posters on these boards and other social media rewrite history all the time making claims like that Mullen has never beaten a ranked team. That he's never beaten a team that was any good. That he doesn't care. That he, well damn, you get the picture.

So, your overriding point is that Sherrill just needed more time... At what point did you get behind actually running Polk out of town? I mean, he was one year removed from Omaha...

[C222]

Actually no. My issue may be with the hiring, but it's not about him being a bad coach. Who the hell knows if he's a good coach. We, as well as all of creation, sure as hell didn't when we hired him. No, it's the way we went about it, just like we did when we hired Croom. That's why I freudian-slipped that nugget in there. The way we completely turn against coaches sickens me. We turned against Sherrill so bad we (at least most of you) were convinced "anybody would be better than this clown!". So we went out and hired a bigger clown and proved ourselves wrong. Now we did it again with basketball. Everyone was finally convinced Stans was the worst coach in America and anyone could do better. So we go out and hire a coach to test that theory again.
Thankfully Cohen was such a no-brainer hire we didn't screw that one up.
And that's what worries me about everyone turning against Mullen. You can make legitimate arguments that he needs to improve in some areas. Hell, I'll agree with you all day long he's got to get better in recruiting. But our fans keep up the negativity so high, that to some Mullen is the worst coach in America already. I've heard the last season and a half described as a "dumpster fire". I've heard callers into talk radio and posters on these boards and other social media rewrite history all the time making claims like that Mullen has never beaten a ranked team. That he's never beaten a team that was any good. That he doesn't care. That he, well damn, you get the picture.

Then take shots at Scott and the Administration. Not at Ray.

Stans all but burned our program to the ground. Yeah, let's just keep him around.

[Coach34]

[QUOTE=MadDawg;91142 So we went out and hired a bigger clown and proved ourselves wrong. Now we did it again with basketball. Everyone was finally convinced Stans was the worst coach in America and anyone could do better. So we go out and hire a coach to test that theory again.
.[/QUOTE]


Ray has actually proven to be a better coach, disciplinarian, and strength management guy than Stands already. It's easy to see already.

But he hasnt proven he can recruit like The Recruiter. And that is a big part of keeping your job.

[MadDawg]

So, your overriding point is that Sherrill just needed more time... At what point did you get behind actually running Polk out of town? I mean, he was one year removed from Omaha...

Just to make sure the record is clear: I was a huge Sherrill fan (he was the coach when I was there, and made us care about football again, bite me), but even my biased eyes knew it was time for him to go.

Polk was never what he once was in his second incarnation. He was too eat up with the anti-NCAA stuff to be effective. It was time for him to go too, just wish it could have been handled better.

I backed Stans to the bitter end. He had a formula for winning at MSU. When it worked it was great, when it didn't, it got ugly. If Ray makes it long enough to start feeling the heat, he will eventually figure out the Stans formula too.

[engie]

Just to make sure the record is clear: I was a huge Sherrill fan (he was the coach when I was there, and made us care about football again, bite me), but even my biased eyes knew it was time for him to go.

Polk was never what he once was in his second incarnation. He was too eat up with the anti-NCAA stuff to be effective. It was time for him to go too, just wish it could have been handled better.

I backed Stans to the bitter end. He had a formula for winning at MSU. When it worked it was great, when it didn't, it got ugly. If Ray makes it long enough to start feeling the heat, he will eventually figure out the Stans formula too.

So, if you basically agree that something had to be done with all 3 moves -- what are you actually upset at the fans about?

Why were you mad about our wanting a move to be made with Jackie -- when you agree that a move had to be made? And you are mad at US about knowing something had to be done about what Stansbury had become?

You misdirect a lot of your anger toward Ray and our fans -- when you should simply be bitching at the people making the questionable hires. Because they make a WRONG hire doesn't mean that the RIGHT move would have been sticking with former coaches...

[smootness]

I backed Stans to the bitter end. He had a formula for winning at MSU. When it worked it was great, when it didn't, it got ugly. If Ray makes it long enough to start feeling the heat, he will eventually figure out the Stans formula too.

Just wondering, when is the last time you believe Stans' formula 'worked' or was great?

[I seen it dawg]

So, if you basically agree that something had to be done with all 3 moves -- what are you actually upset at the fans about?

Why were you mad about our wanting a move to be made with Jackie -- when you agree that a move had to be made? And you are mad at US about knowing something had to be done about what Stansbury had become?

You misdirect a lot of your anger toward Ray and our fans -- when you should simply be bitching at the people making the questionable hires. Because they make a WRONG hire doesn't mean that the RIGHT move would have been sticking with former coaches...

Spot on. Firing a coach and the subsequent hiring of his replacement are mutually exclusive of one another. If you pull a Crooms after firing a coach you can't go back and say we shouldn't have fired him. You can only say we ****ed up firing Crooms. The decision to fire the guy is made on his own merit not whether the next guy you hire is going to be a homerun or a turd. If we would have hired me to replace Polk you couldn't go back and say well we should have just kept Polk.

[dawgs]

So, if you basically agree that something had to be done with all 3 moves -- what are you actually upset at the fans about?

Why were you mad about our wanting a move to be made with Jackie -- when you agree that a move had to be made? And you are mad at US about knowing something had to be done about what Stansbury had become?

You misdirect a lot of your anger toward Ray and our fans -- when you should simply be bitching at the people making the questionable hires. Because they make a WRONG hire doesn't mean that the RIGHT move would have been sticking with former coaches...

exactly. baffles me that so many of our fans can't separate the 2.

[601Dawg]

Yep we need a big man and a pure shooter.

THIS

[MadDawg]

If we would have hired me to replace Polk you couldn't go back and say well we should have just kept Polk.

Like hell I couldn't.

[MadDawg]

You misdirect a lot of your anger toward Ray and our fans -- when you should simply be bitching at the people making the questionable hires. Because they make a WRONG hire doesn't mean that the RIGHT move would have been sticking with former coaches...

I direct some anger at our fans because, frankly, a lot of our fans suck. Big time.

I don't direct anger at Ray. I don't hate the man. And I truly hope he is succesful. Because unlike many of our horrible fans, I want MSU to succeed more than I want to be the first one right about how much coach X sucks.

[PMDawg]

I direct some anger at our fans because, frankly, a lot of our fans suck. Big time.

I don't direct anger at Ray. I don't hate the man. And I truly hope he is succesful. Because unlike many of our horrible fans, I want MSU to succeed more than I want to be the first one right about how much coach X sucks.

My Goodness I hate this "argument". It is the worst "argument" you could possibly make and the dumbest, most cliche, most overused (by all fan bases), most counterproductive, and most useless straw man in the world. If you get any group of people together, there will be disagreements and different opinions. Different thought processes and different levels of understanding and emotion. To label people that don't fit in your little box of what they should be as stupid or "sucky" or whatever else you people throw around is meaningless. I wish people could make more thoughtful arguments and quit tossing that little nugget out every couple of hours.

[engie]

I direct some anger at our fans because, frankly, a lot of our fans suck. Big time.

I don't direct anger at Ray. I don't hate the man. And I truly hope he is succesful. Because unlike many of our horrible fans, I want MSU to succeed more than I want to be the first one right about how much coach X sucks.

Could've fooled me and many here. I don't have the time to research through it right now -- but this has not been your consistent position with any semblance of clarity over time.

[MadDawg]

My Goodness I hate this "argument". It is the worst "argument" you could possibly make and the dumbest, most cliche, most overused (by all fan bases), most counterproductive, and most useless straw man in the world. If you get any group of people together, there will be disagreements and different opinions. Different thought processes and different levels of understanding and emotion. To label people that don't fit in your little box of what they should be as stupid or "sucky" or whatever else you people throw around is meaningless. I wish people could make more thoughtful arguments and quit tossing that little nugget out every couple of hours.

I don't label our horrible fans as horrible because they don't fit in my "little box of what they should be". I call them that because they are horrible, horrible fans. The type of fans we could all do without. The whole program would be better without them. As I get older, I have less and less tolerance and patience for complete morons.

[MadDawg]

Could've fooled me and many here. I don't have the time to research through it right now -- but this has not been your consistent position with any semblance of clarity over time.

You can research all you want. You will find this to be true.

[Madkinmecrazy]

Just wondering, when is the last time you believe Stans' formula 'worked' or was great?

We won a SEC West Title in 2010, so I'd say it was working pretty well then.

[PMDawg]

I don't label our horrible fans as horrible because they don't fit in my "little box of what they should be". I call them that because they are horrible, horrible fans. The type of fans we could all do without. The whole program would be better without them. As I get older, I have less and less tolerance and patience for complete morons.

So you're considering suicide?

[PMDawg]

Obviously I'm kidding there. That stance (my way is the only way) is a pet peeve of mine. Be it sports, politics, religion, whatever. It's a terrible attitude to have. But if that's your way, so be it. Fact of the matter is we just need more fans. Stupid, old, young, smart, sidewalk....whatever. You don't have to like them, but we need them. Alabama has the dumbest fan base in America. Also the biggest. You tell me if their stupidity is holding that program back.

[MadDawg]

Obviously I'm kidding there. That stance (my way is the only way) is a pet peeve of mine. Be it sports, politics, religion, whatever. It's a terrible attitude to have. But if that's your way, so be it. Fact of the matter is we just need more fans. Stupid, old, young, smart, sidewalk....whatever. You don't have to like them, but we need them. Alabama has the dumbest fan base in America. Also the biggest. You tell me if their stupidity is holding that program back.

While I agree with your statement, it's not an apples to apples comparison. When you are playing for your 3rd consecutive NC, you don't have much to bitch about. The fanbase is pretty happy whether they are sidewalk, fair-weather or whatever fans. Our situation requires a little knowledge and perspective. When you have neither, you constantly bitch about how much the coach sucks and the program is in shambles when you lose 6 games to top 20 teams, 5 of which to the top 10. It's not for the faint of heart.

[PMDawg]

While I agree with your statement, it's not an apples to apples comparison. When you are playing for your 3rd consecutive NC, you don't have much to bitch about. The fanbase is pretty happy whether they are sidewalk, fair-weather or whatever fans. Our situation requires a little knowledge and perspective. When you have neither, you constantly bitch about how much the coach sucks and the program is in shambles when you lose 6 games to top 20 teams, 5 of which to the top 10. It's not for the faint of heart.

Wellllll, they bitch just as much as any other fan base. It's just about different things.
They still had tons of fans during the Dubose years. They have tons of fans with lots of passion. It actually helps that a lot of them are dumb because they will miss a payment on their trailer in order to attend a game. I stand by my original stance. We need more fans, not less. Who cares if they are ignorant as long as they have cash and passion?

[engie]

I always laugh at the irony of bitching about other people bitching

[MadDawg]

I always laugh at the irony of bitching about other people bitching

ah, quit your bitchin', engie!

(just kidding.......)

[PMDawg]

I always laugh at the irony of bitching about other people bitching

And now I'm bitching about people bitching about people bitching. Haha.