I Knew it Was a Bad Decision to Emotionally Reinvest in Basketball Tonight.

[msstate7]

I think we actually found a lineup last night with Peters, Q, X, Keglar, and Holman. And then what happens, X hurts his knee again and has to come out. That lineup was matching up well as far as defense and rebounding and we were closing the gap.

Any word on Stapleton?

[tcdog70]

No, that is not yet to be seen.

Smoot, how much more proof does someone need? Pretty sure our Coach is a top 10 Coach. He is like Cohen He proved what he could do before ever setting foot on campus.

[fishwater99]

Any word on Stapleton?

Not yet, hope he just tweaked it. Can he tear it again with that metal brace on?

[drunkernhelldawg]

MSU has not finished a season in the Top 25 since 2004. MSU has not had a NCAA Tourney team since 2009. It's 2017 - and it has been 13 years since we were really relevant on a national level. We had a nice run from 1991-2004 - but even that only included six finishes in the Top 25. That is not a basketball power school. It just isn't. And before that, you have to go back to the 1960s to see us ranked.

.

It's still pretty damn good. I miss the rocking hump and the knowledge that we are the dominant team in our division and our state.

[drunkernhelldawg]

Howland is a good recruiter. It is yet to be seen if he can coach.

One thing that gives me hope is the realization that a small change can make a big difference. Remember last night on tv when the announcer said Bama's coach told the team to stop looking to the bench for a play and just play basketball? That seemed to be working for the five loss team last night. Maybe we're just teaching one thing the wrong way.

[Dawg-gone-dawgs]

wth? Kentucky? We didnt get 5 McDonalds All-Americans like they do every year. In fact we didnt even get 1!!! The ignorance about basketball on this board is off the charts. Yes were not a good team right now but we are so damn young, geez. We have players that played in their first SEC game!

It's been said before but I think many on here have forgotten or just don't know how Howland's path has gone at each of his stops. Well here ya go folks. Look particularly year 2 to year 3 difference. (Oh he is in year 2 here btw, in case you forgot)

1994-95 Northern Arizona 9-17 4-10 7th
1995-96 Northern Arizona 7-19 3-11 7th
1996-97 Northern Arizona 21-7 13-1 1st NIT First Round
1997-98 Northern Arizona 21-8 12-2 1st NCAA Round of 64

1999-00 Pittsburgh 13-15 5-11 11th
2000-01 Pittsburgh 19-14 7-9 5th (West) NIT Second Round
2001-02 Pittsburgh 29-6 13-3 1st (West) NCAA Sweet Sixteen
2002-03 Pittsburgh 28-5 13-3 T-1st (West) NCAA Sweet Sixteen

2003-04 UCLA 11-17 7-11 T-7th
2004-05 UCLA 18-11 11-7 T-3rd NCAA Round of 64
2005-06 UCLA 32-7 14-4 1st NCAA Runner-up
2006-07 UCLA 30-6 15-3 1st NCAA Final Four

[HSVDawg]

Smoot, how much more proof does someone need? Pretty sure our Coach is a top 10 Coach. He is like Cohen He proved what he could do before ever setting foot on campus.

And also like Cohen, he needs 3 years to clean up the mess. Anyone remember how awful Cohen's first 2 squads were?

[Liverpooldawg]

Not yet, hope he just tweaked it. Can he tear it again with that metal brace on?

Yes

[HoopsDawg]

And also like Cohen, he needs 3 years to clean up the mess. Anyone remember how awful Cohen's first 2 squads were?

Howland has said the situation here in Year 1 reminded him of when he took over Northern Arizona. Let that sink in for a minute.

[Liverpooldawg]

Some of y'all just need to chill out. Anyone that thought we were going to be decent this year had unrealistic expectations. We have the least experienced team in Division One. That's last out of something like 315 teams. It was also apparent early on that our bigs were raw as heck. The effort will get better. These guys were just getting used to the level of competition we had been playing. Even though the SEC is down and Bama ain't good, it's still a whole new level. I'm not worried about the effort. What I am worried about is the inside game. That may take a lot longer to come around.

[Dawg-gone-dawgs]

adding Ado and Brooks, Feazell next year will help. Where was Datcher last night? I must have missed it being talked about?

[msstate7]

adding Ado and Brooks, Feazell next year will help. Where was Datcher last night? I must have missed it being talked about?

Not sure why we've seemingly given up on datcher...

Herard...
16.0 mins/game 36.8 fg% 4.4 reb 0.3 blk 0.1 steal 1.6 pts

Datcher...
8.3 mins/game 40.0 fg%. 2.3 reb 0.8 blk 0.2 steal 1.0 pts

Seems pretty equal

[thf24]

Howland has said the situation here in Year 1 reminded him of when he took over Northern Arizona. Let that sink in for a minute.

To add for reference, Howland's records in his first three years there were 9-17, 7-19, and then 21-7.

[BrunswickDawg]

To add for reference, Howland's records in his first three years there were 9-17, 7-19, and then 21-7.

Great Point.

We are already on pace to exceed this year. We are 9-4. Other than KY, UF, and Ark - who else on our schedule are we not competitive with? We can easily go 9-9 or better in conference play. That would put us at 18-20 wins. 20 Wins is 1 off of Stands average season over 14 years. Hell, most years we "won" the West with 9-7 or even 8-8 records in SEC play. Are we really going to melt about Howland potentially performing at the same level of Stansbury 2 years into a rebuild?

[DudyDawg]

Any word on Stapleton?

Howland said Xavian Stapleton is getting an MRI tomorrow. He heard a pop, was worried it was an ACL, but looks like it's mostly OK.

From bob c

[Dawg61]

Not sure why we've seemingly given up on datcher...

Herard...
16.0 mins/game 36.8 fg% 4.4 reb 0.3 blk 0.1 steal 1.6 pts

Datcher...
8.3 mins/game 40.0 fg%. 2.3 reb 0.8 blk 0.2 steal 1.0 pts

Seems pretty equal

I'm guessing Datcher has made a couple freshman mistakes off the court which is why you aren't seeing him on the court. Btw Kegler last 3 games 2-13 on 3's but still has 21 rebounds. Holman is 5-31 on 3's his career. Stretch 4's don't really help when they can't shoot and when you're already severely outmatched down low vs everyone. Herard would be as successful shooting 3's as Holman. Does that make Herard a stretch 4 too?

[Dawg-gone-dawgs]

Are my posts invisible on this board? I'm halfway serious

[smootness]

adding Ado and Brooks, Feazell next year will help. Where was Datcher last night? I must have missed it being talked about?

Definitely, and Holman may take the next step into an All-SEC player. Herard should be much improved next year.

And while I know you were focusing on the big men, we will add a freshman next year that should be immediately better than any freshman we've brought in the last two years. Nick Weatherspoon is the kind of freshman Kentucky brings in. He will help a ton.

[Dawg61]

Are my posts invisible on this board? I'm halfway serious

[HoopsDawg]

Where was Datcher last night? I must have missed it being talked about?

We had to tighten up our rotation. Datcher and Eli were the casualties last night. Herard is ahead of Datcher and X is ahead of Eli.