Chat with Scott Stricklin

[MarketingBully01]

Who can't go 7-11 with a roster half full of 3 year starters? Y'all just gonna **** around and end up keeping Ray for 5 years. Just. Like. Croom. Would you of preferred to get a 3 year head start on where we are today in football? We are sitting pretty right now in football. But what if today was actually three years ago. What if Croom had been let go after two years not five and we'd have Mullen for an extra three years? Where would we be today? Serious preseason favorites to win the SEC West? Maybe. This is what I'm saying for basketball. If we are looking at a new coach or our Mullen for basketball after year 5 then we shouldn't wait. We can give that coach a 3 year head start on building his program today. Won't happen though cause we have the cheapest AD in the SEC and too many fans that think Ray hasn't been given a fair shot. You can pay me $2+ mill for an unfair shot all day every day.

If they keep lowering the bar, Ray will stay here forever. First it was, gotta make the NIT. Next it was gotta be over .500 and just miss the NIT. Now it's go at least 7-11 in the conference. Woohoo!

[gtowndawg]

Who can't go 7-11 with a roster half full of 3 year starters?

If that's our goal in year three than Stricklin and Ray both deserved to be tarred and feathered while I watch on the new video board.

What's worse, are people really going to sit back and say "That was a great year! Good job Ray. We won 7 games in the SEC!"

[quickstrike2]

You mean like dan Mullen? Never a head coach. We were rebuilding I'd say...

You just can't compare Mullen are Ray in my opinion. Mullen was pretty well known, had coached some big name QB's and had coordinated National Championship teams. I don't mind someone with some solid credentials being handed a program as a first time head coach. I do have a problem with a unheard of guy being handed a train wreck of a program. Still, I support Ray and am hopeful he proves something in year 3. However, if he doesn't then the clock is ticking. I don't want to hear shit about him not having that 13th scholarship player and how you can't win with the 12 scholarship players.

[HailState39110]

If that's our goal in year three than Stricklin and Ray both deserved to be tarred and feathered while I watch on the new video board.

What's worse, are people really going to sit back and say "That was a great year! Good job Ray. We won 7 games in the SEC!"

If Ray goes 7-11 in conference in 10-3 OOC that's 17-14 overall and enough improvement in year 3 to give him a 4th year with a senior laden team. We won 7 conference games in 2 years . If he can double his conference win total in year 3 yes I think he deserves a 4th year . As a fan this is the BARE MINIMUM he needs to do to maintain his job . 7 wins is not a goal.

[engie]

Pearl, however, is being careful when it comes to setting expectations for his first Auburn team.

?I think the No. 1 thing you do with expectations when you first come in is don?t set a timetable,? he said. ?I?ve got to build a strong foundation and we?ve got to have a focus on the process. I?m not concerned about the record right away...

Highlight to see who said all of this...because it sounds an awful lot like what a bunch of you are slaughtering Ray for...

Link

[MarketingBully01]

If Ray goes 7-11 in conference in 10-3 OOC that's 17-14 overall and enough improvement in year 3 to give him a 4th year with a senior laden team. We won 7 conference games in 2 years . If he can double his conference win total in year 3 yes I think he deserves a 4th year . As a fan this is the BARE MINIMUM he needs to do to maintain his job . 7 wins is not a goal.

10-3 is a pretty lofty goal for OOC. What if we go say 8-5 and 7-11 in the conference to finish 15-16 overall. Does he keep his job then?

[MarketingBully01]

Pearl, however, is being careful when it comes to setting expectations for his first Auburn team.

?I think the No. 1 thing you do with expectations when you first come in is don?t set a timetable,? he said. ?I?ve got to build a strong foundation and we?ve got to have a focus on the process. I?m not concerned about the record right away...

Highlight to see who said all of this...because it sounds an awful lot like what a bunch of you are slaughtering Ray for...

Link

Duh, of course Pearl is going to say that but guess what, he is Bruce Pearl. If some no name assistant head coach said that (of course Auburn would not of gone the Stricklin route), I don't think the Auburn fans would be as patient.

Of course with Pearl's track record, he will more then likely have them .500 next year and in the dance a year after that. His rebuild will be probably 2 years max.

[engie]

Of course with Pearl's track record, he will more then likely have them .500 next year and in the dance a year after that. His rebuild will be probably 2 years max.

Bookmarked.

He can't recruit but 2.5 months of this entire recruiting cycle. SO, he's going to miraculously recruit an NCAA team of freshmen in 2.5 months at a traditionally shitty SEC school? Get back on your rocker.

What he is actually going to prove is that total rebuilds of meandering programs take time. But you've proven in this very thread that you are comfortable moving the goalposts between every post -- so in 2 years, I'm confident that you will do the same once again...

[HailState39110]

10-3 is a pretty lofty goal for OOC. What if we go say 8-5 and 7-11 in the conference to finish 15-16 overall. Does he keep his job then?

As a fan no . I think Ray needs a winning record and at least 7 conference wins to continue to sell the program to the fanbase IMO ( signing Malik Newmann would be the wildcard in this )

[bully99]

I think money is a big difference between auburn and state. In the last couple of years auburn ,they have spent loads of money on coaches. Malzahn, Pearl, They hired the head baseball coach from Oklahoma, and the head softball coach from Arizona State, who's won two softball national championships in the last few years. I like van steudaman a lot, but when is the last time we hired a head coach of that stature who didn't have Mississippi State ties.

[MarketingBully01]

Bookmarked as well when Ray has his amazing 3rd season next year and all but Smoot will stay on the Ray bandwagon. Remember Engie, you and Coach have said numerous times that if Ray doesn't make the NIT next year it's time to go in a new direction. By Ray's fourth year, he may only have Smoot on his side.

[MarketingBully01]

What you guys fail to realize is that rebuilds in basketball don't take as long as what we are seeing with Ray.

He has several factors working against him that prolong any rebuild.

A) Never been a head coach - this is huge. If he had been a head coach, you wouldn't of seen him take chances on players like a Daniels or the kid from Findley Prep and yes Dawg61 we would have a full roster. There would also be some other nuances that he would have learned along the way that would make our program better.

B) No ties to the southeast for recruiting purposes - this is really killing him. If he were a great recruiter, it would alleviate problem A. If he were a great recruiter, we would be channelling great young players into the program and be seeing strides forward instead of going backwards from next to last to dead last.

C) Stricklin saying he has all the time in the world to rebuild. This shit is all on Stricklin here which may have lead to some of Ray's questionable decisions in the first place. When you feel no pressure to win, that is a very bad thing. Just is. Ask Croom, he thought he had 5 years and would never get fired.

When you add A, B, and C up you get at minimum a 4-5 year rebuild when a 1-2 year rebuild in basketball is usually all you need unless you are on Probation, your program was rocked with a murder scandal or your AD blows up the program.

[gtowndawg]

If Ray goes 7-11 in conference in 10-3 OOC that's 17-14 overall and enough improvement in year 3 to give him a 4th year with a senior laden team. We won 7 conference games in 2 years . If he can double his conference win total in year 3 yes I think he deserves a 4th year . As a fan this is the BARE MINIMUM he needs to do to maintain his job . 7 wins is not a goal.

But the only way I consider hanging on to Ray after next year if he only get's 7 SEC wins is if he shows MASSIVE improvement recruiting. Right now, that's not on the horizon at all.

[C222]

13 by game 1. For myself I'll grant him year 3 if he accomplishes that. Been saying that. I know you and others think that's stupid but it paints a bigger picture than you're seeing if he doesn't imo. As of right now he's in line to suit up 12 and will have saved a scholarship for the third consecutive season. That alone is enough to let him go imo. He keeps pushing back the importance to win now till next season every time he does that. Why else does he keep saving it? Because he can't land someone good enough to warrant that spot? Because he likes the option for next season? Last place and last place because we have NO BENCH washes ANY excuse he's got to keep saving that spot till the next year till the next year till the next year. If your soldiers keep dying cause they run out of bullets ya better damn make sure they got more bullets the next time. js

So you want him to just offer someone to get to 13 next year but you want to cut guys who you don't think have developed in 1 year. What if we offered Troutman? Will that make you happy because we got to 13 or will you want to cut him after 1 year because he's not as good as you hoped?

[Coach34]

Bookmarked as well when Ray has his amazing 3rd season next year and all but Smoot will stay on the Ray bandwagon. Remember Engie, you and Coach have said numerous times that if Ray doesn't make the NIT next year it's time to go in a new direction. By Ray's fourth year, he may only have Smoot on his side.

This is not completely correct. I said we better be at least competing for the NIT. It takes 20+ wins now to make the NIT, and we better be at least close.

[MarketingBully01]

So you want him to just offer someone to get to 13 next year but you want to cut guys who you don't think have developed in 1 year. What if we offered Troutman? Will that make you happy because we got to 13 or will you want to cut him after 1 year because he's not as good as you hoped?

Quick question C222, were you happy with the Stricklin coaching search and him eventually coming to the decision that Rick Ray was the right man for the job?

[Coach34]

What you guys fail to realize is that rebuilds in basketball don't take as long as what we are seeing with Ray.

I keep seeing this- but nobody can name one other than Kentucky that took just a year or so when the team lost 4-5 starters and had major roster change

[MarketingBully01]

This is not completely correct. I said we better be at least competing for the NIT. It takes 20+ wins now to make the NIT, and we better be at least close.

So 15-16 would jump you off the bandwagon. Good to know.

[engie]

Quick question C222, were you happy with the Stricklin coaching search and him eventually coming to the decision that Rick Ray was the right man for the job?

The coaching search was 2+ years ago. WTF difference does that make at this point? NONE is the correct answer.

A search can be an imperfect process and still arrive at the correct conclusion. Hence how Nick Saban ended up at Alabama after they were publicly humiliated by Spurrier, RichRod, and Petersen...just among the names we know about...

And, I already know you are going to fail reading comprehension and attempt to twist that into me saying that Rick Ray = Nick Saban -- when that wasn't what I said at all -- but have at it.

[engie]

So 15-16 would jump you off the bandwagon. Good to know.

15-16 and everyone is off the bandwagon.

The funny part is your assumption that is what's going to happen...based on nothing...