Wellllllll, we proved who we are tonight

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Originally Posted by R2Dawg

Yeah, the guard he got in the portal is DJ which don't fit the need.

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There were 10 guards in the portal we could have gotten that would have allowed this team to make the NCAA tourney. Probably 5-10 more if we had broadened our scope to point guards as well as shooting guards. Imagine if this team had a Timmy Bowers type, or even a Dashuan Ruffin type to pair with Molinar. Moore is a good player, but he should be a rotation guy on a NCAA tourney team. Same with Watts. I don't know why we felt we were addressing a hole with those guys. Big miss by the staff and Howland.

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Originally Posted by confucius say

After his first two years building from the Rick ray debacle, Ben has had us in the tournament or the NIT five years in a row. Are we sure we are a better program than that?

And that's playing in a Sunday school environment every home game where our fans don't show up and our administration does nothing to encourage students to show up.

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Maybe, maybe not. It is time to move on though.

Go hire the biggest cheater with a winning track record you can find. Make Will Wade look like a penny slots guy.

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Originally Posted by EdwardDrayton

We harbored concerns but were hopeful things would get worked out and it would all come together. Just didn?t happen. Very disappointing game and season. Ben/John have been allowed plenty of time to get it done but now it?s time for Keenum to make changes.

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The reason we got Rick Ray was because of Keenum. He refused to hire a coach who played the AAU recruiting game, i.e. buying players. Let that sink in. Keenum gave you Rick Ray. He needs to be as far away from this hire as possible.

College Basketball is a dirty, dirty sport and there are no clean hands in the industry. Go hire a winner, and get out of his way. That's the only way to win in CBB.

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Originally Posted by MoreCowbell

Maybe, maybe not. It is time to move on though.

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I don't disagree. I'm just saying our administration has to reseat the hump and create a student-led environment, or the next guy won't have a chance either. Nobody enjoys going to basketball games now.

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Originally Posted by Coach34

We are NIT bound and will underachieve. Howland will "retire" at the end of the season.

Will be interesting to see where this program goes from here as we head into April

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As much as I tried to manage my own expectations, I really thought that Howland would eventually figure things out. Not sure if he's not the same coach or the game has changed too much or what, but it doesn't look like it's going to happen for him.

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Originally Posted by confucius say

I don't disagree. I'm just saying our administration has to reseat the hump and create a student-led environment, or the next guy won't have a chance either. Nobody enjoys going to basketball games now.

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I agree that the reseating has to happen and we have to improve the environment. That being said good coaches find ways to win even in less than impressive environments, happens everyday in every sport. Ben's had the talent he just doesn't seem to have the drive anymore, like most of us have said he looks old and tired and the team plays like it.

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Originally Posted by Johnson85

As much as I tried to manage my own expectations, I really thought that Howland would eventually figure things out. Not sure if he's not the same coach or the game has changed too much or what, but it doesn't look like it's going to happen for him.

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I was right there with you. I always like giving our coaches a chance to build it their way and see what they can do before losing confidence in them, but it's obvious Ben is past his prime and it's just not gonna work. It happens. He got us at least respectable again and I'm grateful for that.

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Originally Posted by Commercecomet24

I agree that the reseating has to happen and we have to improve the environment. That being said good coaches find ways to win even in less than impressive environments, happens everyday in every sport. Ben's had the talent he just doesn't seem to have the drive anymore, like most of us have said he looks old and tired and the team plays like it.

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Its not only at the Hump. Corps buy up the best seats, usually in blocks, and never get anyone to go to the games. The casinos bought most of the best seats at MGM park and can't give them away. At least one casino who has 10 tickets has a promotions guy walking the Highway giving them away. As a result the seating that is most public goes empty. The UNI needs to tell the ticket owners that 10 mins into the game they are going to open these if they haven't been checked in.

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Originally Posted by parabrave

Its not only at the Hump. Corps buy up the best seats, usually in blocks, and never get anyone to go to the games. The casinos bought most of the best seats at MGM park and can't give them away. At least one casino who has 10 tickets has a promotions guy walking the Highway giving them away. As a result the seating that is most public goes empty. The UNI needs to tell the ticket owners that 10 mins into the game they are going to open these if they haven't been checked in.

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Yep.

I'm just glad we have been so much better since Coach34 led the charge to get rid of the coach before the last one. All we had to do to get better was get rid of that guy he told us....and it worked!!!! ******* 34 knows his basketball.

The REAL demise of the atmosphere at the Hump was when the much revered ( and he should be reviled for this alone) Greg Byrne basically kicked the local hardcore basketball fans out of the Hump in favor of big donors who only show up for Kentucky and Ole Miss (if it's on the weekend and they don't have anything else to do) and corporate donors whose seats likely as not are taken up by opposing fans. The Hump has never been the same and never will be again atmosphere wise as long as we continue to cater to those folks. The locals and their kids were the real keepers of the flame, not the students. If we went back to the old way it would take YEARS, and another Richard Willams, to get it back. Our basketball woes were totally preventable, and totally self inflicted.

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Originally Posted by Liverpooldawg

I'm just glad we have been so much better since Coach34 led the charge to get rid of the coach before the last one. All we had to do to get better was get rid of that guy he told us....and it worked!!!! ******* 34 knows his basketball.

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You are so stupid its both laughable and sad. Our Administration fired Stands because of the shitshow we had become and the rampant drug use going on in the program. A national magazine called us the "most dysfunctional program in America". That had zero to do with my ass you moron. Only blind Stands fans couldnt see it.

I really hate we fired him in 2012. I wish we had kept him 1 more season when it would have really gotten bad. Our Administration saved him and his legacy. They just went idiot and wanted to try hiring a coach that wasnt going to pay for players as Stands did

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Originally Posted by Coach34

You are so stupid its both laughable and sad. Our Administration fired Stands because of the shitshow we had become and the rampant drug use going on in the program. A national magazine called us the "most dysfunctional program in America". That had zero to do with my ass you moron. Only blind Stands fans couldnt see it.

I really hate we fired him in 2012. I wish we had kept him 1 more season when it would have really gotten bad. Our Administration saved him and his legacy. They just went idiot and wanted to try hiring a coach that wasnt going to pay for players as Stands did

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Nobody cares about some failed drug tests and a fight if you are winning at an acceptable level. We've proven that time and again. We fired Stans bc he wasn't winning at the level we thought he should. It's why we didn't him fire after the fight and the failed tests, we waited until he didn't make the tournament.

Before we run Ben off, we better make sure we have a plan so history doesn't repeat itself.

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Originally Posted by Johnson85

As much as I tried to manage my own expectations, I really thought that Howland would eventually figure things out. Not sure if he's not the same coach or the game has changed too much or what, but it doesn't look like it's going to happen for him.

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I was in the same boat, but I think it's become obvious that he simply doesn't have the energy or drive left to prepare for and coach every moment of big games at a high level on a consistent basis. Contrary to popular belief, at a glance we don't play a brand of basketball that's lacking or inferior to what most other teams are doing. But we seem to always come out of the gate on our back foot when it matters most, and even when we manage to get back in it, Howland gets utterly whipped by his opposite number in the crucial moments. I think it's undeniable at this point that while he did a fine job at pulling us out of the dumps and stabilizing the program, it's time for him to hang it up.

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Originally Posted by confucius say

Nobody cares about some failed drug tests and a fight if you are winning at an acceptable level. We've proven that time and again. We fired Stans bc he wasn't winning at the level we thought he should. It's why we didn't him fire after the fight and the failed tests, we waited until he didn't make the tournament.

Before we run Ben off, we better make sure we have a plan so history doesn't repeat itself.

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I promise you that is 100% untrue. He was absolutely fired because of off the court. Not on the court. Same as JoMo. JoMo went to two bowls and beat Mississippi twice- fired. Why? Shitshow behind the scenes

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Originally Posted by Cooterpoot

John Cohen doesn't have the balls to hire anything but another retread or outside the box nobody. Nothings going to change.
He should save the renovation money and put it toward football if that's what he's going to do again.

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If anything he has too much balls and hires someone that requires a complete roster overhaul and two year rebuild.

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Originally Posted by Coach34

You are so stupid its both laughable and sad. Our Administration fired Stands because of the shitshow we had become and the rampant drug use going on in the program. A national magazine called us the "most dysfunctional program in America". That had zero to do with my ass you moron. Only blind Stands fans couldnt see it.

I really hate we fired him in 2012. I wish we had kept him 1 more season when it would have really gotten bad. Our Administration saved him and his legacy. They just went idiot and wanted to try hiring a coach that wasnt going to pay for players as Stands did

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AT THE TIME I was arguing for one more year for that very reason and you blasted me over and over. You thought no such thing back then, and everyone around back then knows it. You wanted to fire him years before that. You are dang laughable. I actually agree with you on most things Football, but you don't know a damn thing about college basketball and have proved it over and over again. I'll admit I don't know much about it NOW, but back then I did, and I was a heck of a lot more wired in to the MSU program than you were. You were wrong about pretty much everything you every said back then, and time has proved that. We are STILL paying the price for what went on in that 4-5 year period. Stans can not escape blame for it, but you and most other MSU fans are completely wrong about what really happened. The fat dude had little to nothing to do with it. He was a symptom, not a cause. The rot started several years before that, and that only because of fan pressure. As long as those involved are alive I'm not commenting farther than that, unless I outlive the names, which I won't.

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Originally Posted by Coach34

I promise you that is 100% untrue. He was absolutely fired because of off the court. Not on the court. Same as JoMo. JoMo went to two bowls and beat Mississippi twice- fired. Why? Shitshow behind the scenes

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So if we make the sweet 16 in 2012 he is fired? No.

The off the court stuff was going on long before we fired him. We just got tired of it and decided it wasn't worth it when he didn't make the ncaa in 2012 with a very good roster. When he was making the ncaa tourney 6 of 11 years we didn't care about players fighting and failed drug tests and players popping off on social media. Same way we didn't care about it under sherrill when we were winning big.

I just don't get the bashing of any ex-Coach, especially Stans as he has been gone a long time. I will say Stans and JWS did more for Msu than most ex-coaches.