So Hugh Kellenburger sees Ole Miss baseball as an 'elite level' program.....

Elite takes many many years to accomplish. No they are not. Mid level.

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Originally Posted by Goat Holder

Problem for Ole Miss, they don't really have an 'Ole Miss guy' to come in and bust his ass for them like we did with Cohen. They think they can get Dan McDonnell, but Louisville is now arguably a better program and can pay more than Ole Miss. Being in the ACC now only helps, good baseball over there. Plus he's from like New York or somewhere, not exactly a black bear guy. Just because he was an assistant there doesn't mean he's dying to come to Oxford.

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McDonnell isn't going to seriously entertain OM unless Bianco gets to leave OM on his own terms. He's still best friends with him. They talk almost weekly.

They are going to have to throw MAJOR money at the next coach if they get rid of Bianco without letting him bottom out first if they think they can pull a big name. There's ALOT of inherent disadvantages to OM and MSU that few other coaches in the country deal with(no lottery scholarship etc) -- especially if they are expected to keep a team in the top 8 or top 16 in a state that isn't just loaded with baseball talent.

OM hasn't been to Omaha since they lost wood.

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Originally Posted by bully99

I agree about pitching depth, but Polk had 4 first round pitchers in the early to mid 90's and a second round pick, not including Jay Powell and Scott Tanksley and others. Polk had some great arms.He played for the 3 run homer and got out managed too many times.

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Yes, we had better pitching than most which is why we won a lot of games. But when it comes regional/Omaha time- that's when it really shows up. Usually we would have someone like BJ Wallace, Eric DuBose, Bobby Reed, etc. and then a really good closer like Powell and Tanksley.

Last year for example- we were deeper on the mound than most of Polk's teams even though we only had one clear cut starting pitcher. Plus, Butch and John were willing to be unconventional with how they used Girodo, Fitts, Ross, etc. and it was a big reason why we were able to go deeper into the CWS than ever before. I also don't think it was a coincidence that Polk's best team went further when he had his best starting duo- Brantley and Morgan along with Thigpen.

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Originally Posted by engie

McDonnell isn't going to seriously entertain OM unless Bianco gets to leave OM on his own terms. He's still best friends with him. They talk almost weekly.

They are going to have to throw MAJOR money at the next coach if they get rid of Bianco without letting him bottom out first if they think they can pull a big name. There's ALOT of inherent disadvantages to OM and MSU that few other coaches in the country deal with(no lottery scholarship etc) -- especially if they are expected to keep a team in the top 8 or top 16 in a state that isn't just loaded with baseball talent.

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Not to mention that they are going to have to deal with a major in state powerhouse which will further decrease their talent pool. And that will in all likelihood build a facility much better than the one Ole Miss currently has.