Someone please make me feel ok about basketball going forward

[maroonmania]

We have 2 redshirting and 3 signed coming in. And we only lose 1 player

Next year will be better

Not unless someone on our team magically becomes a scoring threat.

[thf24]

I'm not panicking yet about the mediocre recruiting so far. It's got to be pretty hard to sell yourself as practically a no-name less than two years into your first head coaching gig. I think that will start to change if Ray can just put together a few solid seasons in the next few years, which I think he will. While our incoming class isn't stellar, it should put our depth issues to rest, and a system like Ray's doesn't require top talent to compete, as evidenced by Shaka Smart and VCU among others.

[maroonmania]

Based on what? I don't deal in hypotheticals, I go off actualities. Its funny, how people get their feathers ruffled easily when you don't conform. And for the record, I was a SG for a state-runner up team, my college roommate played on a MSU final four team, and I can't stand Stansbury (for the people who automatically assume if you're not a Ray fan then you must be a Stans fan). So I think I know the sport fairly well thank you.

I never said Ray wasn't a good coach; I just don't think he can recruit.

That was always my hesitation about canning Stans. With all his program's issues, he wasn't known as "The Recruiter" for nothing. College basketball coaching is probably 75% about recruiting. If you don't have the players you've got no chance and HS basketball players that can make an impact in college are much more easily identified than HS football players.

[HailState39110]

Will we be better next year ? A little. I think we win 2 more before the SECT and finish 5-13 in the league this year. Next year we will be more like 7-11 or 8-10 in conference . Houston will add a little scoring and Ndoye will add some depth in the post. No NIT next year IMO

[HancockCountyDog]

A bear friend of mine compared Ray to Rod Barnes, and the more I watch the more I see what he is talking about. I hope Ray can prove me wrong.

[FlabLoser]

Ray just needs to work the crootin machine,

[starkvegasdawg]

Can't possibly get any worse.

[dickiedawg]

We're a football/baseball school.

[Coach34]

Will we be better next year ? A little.

Yes we will. We are a team of Sophomores and Freshmen. Having depth next year will make a world of difference.

Ware will be better
Sword will be better
Ready and Davis are playing their first year of college basketball- they will be improved
Bloodman has turned into a solid back-up PG

People get impatient but you have to look at where you are. Maturity and experience make a world of difference

[Dawg61]

Ray refuses to play Moore and Bear and those two are no worse than 3 that play all the time. Then we lose every game because we are spent in the second half. Therefore Ray cares MORE about being the stubborn coach that plays only his favorites than he does about actually WINNING the game. Don't call it bullshit. It's the TRUTH. We have 11 basketball players. NOT EIGHT. Just finding a way to rest the players for a couple extra minutes BEFORE we get spent would make a huge difference. Yet Ray refuses to do that.

[thunderclap]

How about: It can't get any worse?

[thf24]

How can't it get any worse when we aren't even the worst team in our conference? Yeah, we all know, we aren't in a great spot in basketball right now and it's hard to see right now how exactly we're going to get back to where we're used to being. But this histrionic, doomsday attitude some of you have and insist on maintaining isn't helping at all, and makes you look pretty ridiculous to those of us looking at the situation objectively and rationally.

[mcdawg]

I post that and they show a stat on TV that our first 28 points were scored from the post or foul line

I was at the game, and it was hard to watch - we have no shooters or elite players. The atmosphere is gone - most people that I saw were looking at their phones and not at the game. I was bored, as I was the last 2 games (we even won) that I attended. How can you enjoy us scoring 25 points a half. OM scored 91 today. Basketball is no longer relevant at State - nobody keeps up with it, nobody goes to games, and the ones at the game are bored. One good thing - it is very easy to drive up 15 minutes to tip-off and no traffic jams when you leave (left right before the end and was in a restaurant in 5 minutes).

[Political Hack]

we need some scorers. if we had 2-3 guys that could fill it up we'd be much, much better.

[maroonmania]

Yes we will. We are a team of Sophomores and Freshmen. Having depth next year will make a world of difference.

Ware will be better
Sword will be better
Ready and Davis are playing their first year of college basketball- they will be improved
Bloodman has turned into a solid back-up PG

People get impatient but you have to look at where you are. Maturity and experience make a world of difference

Depth will primarily help us not just totally fade out in the second half but just because a lot of these guys get a year older its not going to make them shoot the ball better. Most guys that are true scorers in college basketball are scoring consistently by their sophomore season. I don't understand why we aren't trying to add a top notch perimeter JUCO shooter to the mix we have now? We need a JUCO guard to come in that is knocking down 20 a night primarily from the outside on his JUCO team.

[mcdawg]

Depth will primarily help us not just totally fade out in the second half but just because a lot of these guys get a year older its not going to make them shoot the ball better. Most guys that are true scorers in college basketball are scoring consistently by their sophomore season. I don't understand why we aren't trying to add a top notch perimeter JUCO shooter to the mix we have now? We need a JUCO guard to come in that is knocking down 20 a night primarily from the outside on his JUCO team.

Maroonmania - google Josh Gray. He had committed to State but didn't come after Stans left. He is averaging 37 points and 6 assists a game - and just signed with LSU. He would have been on our team with Sword, Ware, and Fred plus others. But, we all wanted a team that played hard and hustled over talent.

[maroonmania]

Maroonmania - google Josh Gray. He had committed to State but didn't come after Stans left. He is averaging 37 points and 6 assists a game - and just signed with LSU. He would have been on our team with Sword, Ware, and Fred plus others. But, we all wanted a team that played hard and hustled over talent.

Very good chance if Stans had been retained that Gray and Hood would both be scoring for us but we would still have a soap opera or a transfer might still have happened. Point is that we seldom lacked talent with Stans but I'm concerned whether Ray will ever recruit enough sufficient talent to compete at an NCAA tournament level. Guess we will all find out over the next couple of years.

[Dawg61]

Bruce Pearl's show cause ends Aug 23rd

[Political Hack]

Very good chance if Stans had been retained that Gray and Hood would both be scoring for us but we would still have a soap opera or a transfer might still have happened. Point is that we seldom lacked talent with Stans but I'm concerned whether Ray will ever recruit enough sufficient talent to compete at an NCAA tournament level. Guess we will all find out over the next couple of years.

and Jalen and Wendell.

it's a weird feeling but to me, it's a question of 1) suck now in hopes of reaching something special, or 2) win 19-23 and have a ceiling of being an NCAA participant without a real shot to make a run.

[Dawg61]

and Jalen and Wendell.

it's a weird feeling but to me, it's a question of 1) suck now in hopes of reaching something special, or 2) win 19-23 and have a ceiling of being an NCAA participant without a real shot to make a run.

Stans wasn't the answer. I'd rather burn through 10 coaches to finally get to the right one then to stay with the wrong one any longer. Stansbury is incapable of even making a Sweet 16. I want to see another Final Four before we all die. That's not asking for too much. I will also say I expect my AD to make better hires than the coaches he fires. Especially when he goes on his own and hires who only he wanted. This isn't Scott Stricklin University.