Is there any reason to think that we can hire a good replacement MBK coach?

[Eric Nies Grind Time]

Should I have any hope at all? If we blow the next hire we may as well kiss the program good bye.

[Coach34]

Yes- we just have to spend the money to do it.

[Eric Nies Grind Time]

I am hoping that Stricklin knows how huge this next hire is and will go all out.

[Aces High]

Only way for us to be decent is to go all in with someone with aau ties and do what it takes to be competitive. Sec basketball is dead.

College basketball is dirty. We need to embrace it.

[Political Hack]

I am hoping that Stricklin knows how huge this next hire is and will go all out.

I hope I win the lotto.

The last hire was important and we bitched that search from start to finish. I have zero confidence in his ability to identify, negotiate, and land a big time coach. If he doesn't admit he needs to use a search firm and makes up with the basketball coaches association, he's going to screw us again.

[maroonmania]

Only way for us to be decent is to go all in with someone with aau ties and do what it takes to be competitive. Sec basketball is dead.

College basketball is dirty. We need to embrace it.

And the Keenum/Stricklin/Bracky trio have no intention of doing that so MSU basketball is dead. Best advice is just to enjoy MSU football and baseball and find a good hobby to occupy your time for most of Dec-Feb. If the women's team continues to excel maybe they can be a bit of a distraction.

[headcoach98]

With the recruits coming in that are scorers(Tookie, Weatherspoon) & with Dunlap Ray needs to change up his philosophy a bit. This all out defensive philosophy isn't working and won't work. You gotta let scorers be scorers and let them loose.

[maroonmania]

With the recruits coming in that are scorers(Tookie, Weatherspoon) & with Dunlap Ray needs to change up his philosophy a bit. This all out defensive philosophy isn't working and won't work. You gotta let scorers be scorers and let them loose.

Yes, he is just further alienating the fanbase by coming into the press conference complaining about our defense when we don't crack 50 points offensively. If you can't score 50 then how you play defense is totally irrelevant.

[MabenMaroon]

I hope we can land an outstanding coach/recruiter. 'If***' and when we do, we will probably be staring at some of the same results at least for a couple of years until we can get some good shooters and ball handlers on the team. Right now we are loaded with good athletes/slashers and some project pf's, both currently on campus and including the incoming. I don't think that there is a coach out there that can consistently win or build a winner with what we currently have (+ incoming). Bottom line, we will get better but it will take at least a year or two under the new regime to really start seeing some improvement, unless we do some intense encouragement of players leaving and transferring. Certainly there are some programs out there in dire need of athletes/slashers and developmental pf's.

[archdog]

I am not sure we are not letting the current scorers be scorers. Looks like we actively try not to push the ball in any phase of the game because the guys miss layups and are too easily stopped around the rim. Combo that with our inability to hit a three. No offense to be found.

Ray isn't keeping the players from scoring, its just no one can actually take over a game like Lrob used to.

[YazooDawg23]

I honestly don't think a guy in the Brad Stevens or Gregg Marshall mold is a good fit for us. I think we should go and make a hire like LSU did with Johnny Jones. A guy that has Mississippi State ties and understands recruiting in the South. Robert Kirby and Butch Pierre come to mind, maybe Kenny Payne. Pastner is on the hot seat at Memphis so Kirby may be looking for work pretty soon. Maybe we can get Butch and Kirby. That is a dynamic recruiting duo.

[JOHNHEVESYMADE]

Kenny Payne, Joe Dooley, Kermit Davis, and Phil Cunningham. The job is more attractive because you have no where to go but up and expectations are real low. Following the all time wins leader in program history is no easy task. The good news is we can't make a worse hire than Ray.

[Liverpooldawg]

It will be more attractive than it was the last time but I'm not sure the stigma of what we did has had time to fade enough for a really good one yet. I still say we have at least 7 years left before we can really start rebuilding. I hope like heck I'm wrong. I will gladly eat crow in this one.

[ScottH]

Ray Harper WKU currently 500k salary.

If he will come.

[Coach34]

We can get a good coach- much better than a Kirby or Pierre- but we have to pay. We can't be tightassed. Pay $2MM and get a damn coach

[War Machine Dawg]

Only way for us to be decent is to go all in with someone with aau ties and do what it takes to be competitive. Sec basketball is dead.

College basketball is dirty. We need to embrace it.

And the Keenum/Stricklin/Bracky trio have no intention of doing that so MSU basketball is dead. Best advice is just to enjoy MSU football and baseball and find a good hobby to occupy your time for most of Dec-Feb. If the women's team continues to excel maybe they can be a bit of a distraction.

Basically how I see it. Until we understand the absolute need to work in the "gray areas" at the administration level, we won't be any better than what we are currently in either basketball or football. It's dirty, so get in the mud and wallow with everyone else. The NCAA is impotent, unless you do the investigative part of the job for them, like Bracky Fife does. I'm still pissed Redmond will be a Senior this season.

[ScottH]

I'm still pissed Redmond will be a Senior this season.

Someone should have lost their job over that.

That is an indictment of our indictment or our extreme incompetence or over officiousness or both.

[maroonmania]

Basically how I see it. Until we understand the absolute need to work in the "gray areas" at the administration level, we won't be any better than what we are currently in either basketball or football. It's dirty, so get in the mud and wallow with everyone else. The NCAA is impotent, unless you do the investigative part of the job for them, like Bracky Fife does. I'm still pissed Redmond will be a Senior this season.

Totally agree. And we aren't going to get a decent college basketball coach even if we replace Ray after this year as long as our leadership has this idealistic, naive view of college basketball recruiting.

[engie]

Need to just pay $2mil and make a grand slam hire that unites the fanbase and gets people excited on day 1.

Ray Harper would be a good option...
Ben Jacobson
Archie Miller
Chris Jans
Mike Lonergan
Randy Bennett
Make another run at Bryce Drew or Steve Prohm
Brian Wardle
Bobby Hurley
Brad Underwood
Dan Hurley
Chris Mack
Tim Floyd(LOL Bracky)
Eustachy(LOLLLLL Bracky)
Rob Murphy
Keith Dambrot
Michael White(LOLe Miss)
Tim Cluess

These are all guys that we would(should) have had a decent chance of pulling before the new money came in. You make yourself willing to pay $2mil or slightly more, and the pool of potential candidates becomes much larger and "more established" than this...

[War Machine Dawg]

Someone should have lost their job over that.

That is an indictment of our indictment or our extreme incompetence or over officiousness or both.

But Keenum and Strick say Bracky Fife does a good job.