I see us making two HC basketball hires this off-season

[The Federalist Engineer]

It might sound crazy but next season will be a big season as Covid restrictions are eased up and we probably go back to full capacity. Limping into what could be a massive financial season with the two lame duck coaches we have would be a financial disaster.

Hopefully Cohen has the balls to make a move and make two big hires. Otherwise, this basketball program is going down the drain fast.

Oh Dear, you are going to trigger some folks on this message board

Last we discussed- it?s our fault as fans she is losing, we are not backing and praying for her enough AND the apotheosis of the previous coach is wrong because he was never that good. Those final fours were an aberration and a collective delusion.

Fairness, can you really fire a coach after one season? Seems not right.

[Dawgface]

zero chance we fire either coach this offseason.

Hopefully Howland retires with a little nudge($$$). I agree there is no chance NMP is fired after 1 season.

[Coach34]

I don’t see Howland retiring before next season because we could be pretty good.

[robert]

It snowed in hell today....Niki got a break.

[BayouDawg]

I don’t see Howland retiring before next season because we could be pretty good.

I dont see how. We have one decent front court player when he decides to give a shit and no true small forward. Love mol and dj but they can only do so much.

[maroonmania]

I don’t see Howland retiring before next season because we could be pretty good.

Maybe the bad winter weather will remind him how nice it is back in LA. I really, really like Howland personally but as a basketball coach he is a dinosaur.

[HailStateSZN19]

I don’t see Howland retiring before next season because we could be pretty good.

What makes you think we?ll be pretty good next season? The talent/inexperience BS isn?t the problem, it?s the HC leading them. If he?s back, that wouldn?t change next season and we?d underachieve yet again.

[KOdawg1]

We SHOULD be better next year, but he went one and done in the NCAAT with 3 NBA players, and then couldn't even make the tourney with two of those guys back + Tyson Carter. So color me skeptical.

[weblow]

Can we just knock down the ugly ass hump and create more parking for baseball?

The guys will never be back with fan support and NMP has brought one of the top ladies programs in the nation to its knees in record time.

Cohen doesn't get to make the next hire for either program.

[Coach34]

What makes you think we?ll be pretty good next season? The talent/inexperience BS isn?t the problem, it?s the HC leading them. If he?s back, that wouldn?t change next season and we?d underachieve yet again.

7 of our top 9 players are Sophs or Freshmen. Teams always get better with age and experience. We will have the best backcourt in the SEC next year

[Homedawg]

There is ZERO chance nmp gets let go, short of choking a player on tape. ZERO. None.

[Homedawg]

Can we just knock down the ugly ass hump and create more parking for baseball?

The guys will never be back with fan support and NMP has brought one of the top ladies programs in the nation to its knees in record time.

Cohen doesn't get to make the next hire for either program.

He might not. But if that's a fact, then why hasn't keenly fired him already??

[HailStateSZN19]

7 of our top 9 players are Sophs or Freshmen. Teams always get better with age and experience. We will have the best backcourt in the SEC next year

Nah not always. The fact is, the problem is the HC, not the ?youth? BS excuse some want to continue to push. If it?s youth, shouldn?t we be getting better as the season goes along as they gain experience? We?ve progressively gotten worse as the season has gone on. We just let Vandy, who had won 1 SEC game this year and like 4-5 total the last 3 years, beat us down in the Hump. Deivon Smith has made some small strides and Fountain had a nice game recently but as a team, we?ve gotten worse.

[maroonmania]

7 of our top 9 players are Sophs or Freshmen. Teams always get better with age and experience. We will have the best backcourt in the SEC next year

One of the issues is that, in college basketball, there is never any real sure thing that players are going to return because of the constant draft risk and transfer risk. Its one of the things that has turned college basketball into such a hard to watch inferior product. Apparently, some mock drafts already have Stewart as a possible borderline 1st round pick. Don't know if that is realistic, but if for any reason Molinar or Stewart don't come back, then its right back to the drawing board and it will be another miserable season under a coach that plays as vanilla a style of basketball as I've ever seen.

[Johnson85]

Yeah, we won't move after one year on NMP. People are so scared of the optics of something like this. I say to hell with the optics. Better get rid of her ass while we still have some talent left. Another year like this one and we'll be back to where we started.

I don't think it has anything to do with optics. Hard to pay buyouts for non-money making sports. Women's basketball was pretty beneficial to MSU under Vic as far as publicity goes, even if the hard numbers didn't show it being a money maker. But an above average woman's basketball team does basically nothing for us; has to be elite. And it's hard to pump money into it when it's unlikely the next hire will be elite either, just because so few are.

[Homedawg]

I don't think it has anything to do with optics. Hard to pay buyouts for non-money making sports. Women's basketball was pretty beneficial to MSU under Vic as far as publicity goes, even if the hard numbers didn't show it being a money maker. But an above average woman's basketball team does basically nothing for us; has to be elite. And it's hard to pump money into it when it's unlikely the next hire will be elite either, just because so few are.

We lose our behinds in women's hoops. Even while packing the hump w Vic. I agree the elite comment. Uber elite helps in the PR Dept but that's about it.

[R2Dawg]

You think Howland ?retires? at the end of the year? I don?t see how he survives after yesterday. The team quit. We won?t win more than 1, maybe 2 games max the rest of the way. I feel like yesterday was the final nail in the coffin. Cohen needs to talk him into retirement and a reduced buyout, let him walk out in good light and for a smaller fee than his full buyout would be. That?d be best case scenario to me.

We need to go grab Craig Smith from Utah State. He?s my #1 want.

Agree, this team appears done. What a fall and disaster of a season. WBB is even worse, way worse.

[R2Dawg]

I don't think it has anything to do with optics. Hard to pay buyouts for non-money making sports. Women's basketball was pretty beneficial to MSU under Vic as far as publicity goes, even if the hard numbers didn't show it being a money maker. But an above average woman's basketball team does basically nothing for us; has to be elite. And it's hard to pump money into it when it's unlikely the next hire will be elite either, just because so few are.

Don't disagree with general thought but we were elite when Vic left. #2 in nation the past 4-5 years in wins just a win behind Uconn.

[Johnson85]

Don't disagree with general thought but we were elite when Vic left. #2 in nation the past 4-5 years in wins just a win behind Uconn.

I wasn't saying we weren't elite, I was saying we were elite, and even then, you have to rely on things like exposure and goodwill to make a case that any investments in women's basketball is beneficial to the school. If you're not elite, you get basically zero recognition. Most people won't be able to tell you a team that is above average but not elite. The teams that I can name as being good are basically national championship caliber teams. UConn, Baylor, USCe, Notre Dame. Beyond that, I have no clue who might be good right now or over the past 6 years. If we hadn't been good in basketball, I probably wouldn't have known anybody but UConn and Baylor, and the only reason I would know of Baylor is because we had to hear about it in baseball season when playing LSU. The only school you can be confident most sports fans will know is a good women's basketball program is UConn. We might be #2 without a national championship because people might be aware that we broke UConn's streak.

[Madisonmd]

I wasn't saying we weren't elite, I was saying we were elite, and even then, you have to rely on things like exposure and goodwill to make a case that any investments in women's basketball is beneficial to the school. If you're not elite, you get basically zero recognition. Most people won't be able to tell you a team that is above average but not elite. The teams that I can name as being good are basically national championship caliber teams. UConn, Baylor, USCe, Notre Dame. Beyond that, I have no clue who might be good right now or over the past 6 years. If we hadn't been good in basketball, I probably wouldn't have known anybody but UConn and Baylor, and the only reason I would know of Baylor is because we had to hear about it in baseball season when playing LSU. The only school you can be confident most sports fans will know is a good women's basketball program is UConn. We might be #2 without a national championship because people might be aware that we broke UConn's streak.

It is astounding how much money we lost for being good in girls basketball !