Did USM make a better Basketball hire than us?

8dog

All-American
Feb 23, 2008
14,023
5,929
113
Ha. I know you are trolling but the thought of this boards reaction if we hired a guy that got canned
From the d1 school that cares the least about basketball would be terrific
 

esplanade91

Redshirt
Dec 9, 2010
5,656
0
0
Ha. I know you are trolling but the thought of this boards reaction if we hired a guy that got canned
From the d1 school that cares the least about basketball would be terrific
I don't know about that. I think most knowledgable fans would realize he was at a school that will never win anything in the game of basketball and still managed to leave with a winning record. When Nebraska fired him they held a banquet to honor him. It's not like he left on bad terms, really. If he did anything wrong it was ever accepting a job at Nebraska.

He was also an assistant for the two top programs in the Big 12 the last several seasons.

On paper they made a helluva lot better hire than us, but there's also the possibility we got a guy just as good or better who just hadn't got that UTEP-level job yet.

But yes, they made a better hire vs our hire at this point.
 

Uncle Ruckus

All-American
Apr 1, 2011
14,393
5,295
113
I say show many his record against the top 20 and then you'll have my answer.
 

Dawg1976

All-Conference
Aug 22, 2012
8,139
2,648
113
Yes. I still believe RR needs a 3rd year to really know what we have. But on paper, USM did better than us.
 

wooffster

Redshirt
Sep 27, 2013
34
0
0
I don't know about that. I think most knowledgable fans would realize he was at a school that will never win anything in the game of basketball and still managed to leave with a winning record. When Nebraska fired him they held a banquet to honor him. It's not like he left on bad terms, really. If he did anything wrong it was ever accepting a job at Nebraska.

He was also an assistant for the two top programs in the Big 12 the last several seasons.
Out
On paper they made a helluva lot better hire than us, but there's also the possibility we got a guy just as good or better who just hadn't got that UTEP-level job yet.

But yes, they made a better hire vs our hire at this point.
Then why are 90% of the people on the Buzzard Boards complaining about the hire?
 

esplanade91

Redshirt
Dec 9, 2010
5,656
0
0
Then why are 90% of the people on the Buzzard Boards complaining about the hire?
Because it was rumored they were in the discussion to hire one of 2 guys who took their schools to the dance this past year. Then they hired an assistant coach from ISU.

One of my best friends from high school is a best writer for them now and I follow him out of some sense of friendship. That was one of the things he discussed. USM fans think they're UK right now (best 3 years of USM's basketball history back-to-back-to-back) and having to hire an assistant coach who was let go at his last job (maybe unjustifiably so) is an insult to them, apparently.

This is the same fan base that claims they have the best football program in the state's history and acted as if they won the damn thing and were the first school to ever be invited to it when they went to the CWS.
 

fishwater99

Freshman
Jun 4, 2007
14,073
54
48
When we were looking for a coach and you told me my options were Rick Ray, an unknown assistant at Clemson, or Doc Sadler, I would take Sadler all day.

This is just more proof that Scott made a horrible hire and is in way over his head as our AD.
When we fire Ray in two years, do you really want him making another basketball hire?
 

dawgstudent

Heisman
Apr 15, 2003
39,460
18,908
113
Jeremy Foley hired Ron Zook.

Mitch Barnhardt hired Billy Gillespie.

Sometimes you swing and miss. Just curious - do you think we should have hired Kenny Payne? B/c he obviously is a hot commodity.
 

fishwater99

Freshman
Jun 4, 2007
14,073
54
48
I was never in the Payne corner, that was C34...
I do think our options were limited and like you said we swung and missed big...
Don't you think we could have gotten a coach with Head coaching experience?
The fact that Scott wanted a guy that doesn't "work" the AAU circuit really hurt us.
 

GTAdawg

Redshirt
Sep 11, 2010
2,162
25
48
Has this coach beat any Top 25 teams? Only way to tell****

#fishwater99matrix
 

fishwater99

Freshman
Jun 4, 2007
14,073
54
48
Doc beat a #20 Creighton in his 2nd game as a head coach.

That's something Ray or Mullen haven't been able to do at MSU...
 

WayboDawg

Redshirt
Jun 7, 2013
1,219
1
38
Then why are 90% of the people on the Buzzard Boards complaining about the hire?

If you are talking about EaglePost, that place is a deadzone full of vipers and morons who have nothing better to do than complain about a long dead athletic program. So I would take what they say with a grain of salt...
 

patdog

Heisman
May 28, 2007
56,899
26,314
113
If Mullen ever got to play a top 20 team that was comparable to Creighton in basketball, he'd have a few top 20 wins.
 

dawgstudent

Heisman
Apr 15, 2003
39,460
18,908
113
I think we all thought we had a better reputation than we did b/c of the success Stansbury had. With the coaching search, it was either Stricklin doing a horrible job or we weren't as highly regarded that we as fans thought our program was.

If our true options were Kenny Payne or Rick Ray - then I think it was 6 or 1/2 dozen the other. And from rumors that our program had a horrible reputation nationally in the coaching circle - Stricklin probably made the right choice by choosing the cleaner choice - Rick Ray.
 
Last edited:

patdog

Heisman
May 28, 2007
56,899
26,314
113
I kept trying to tell everyone it was going to be a lot harder to hire a new coach if we fired Stansbury. As for Payne or Ray, I think the fact Payne hasn't even been considered for any head coaching job ever says a lot. What he does is something you need an assistant to be doing, not your head coach. I do think fish's original point stands though. Right now, it looks like USM made a better hire than we did and that's inexcusable. The jury is still out on Ray, he's had to deal with a lot of fallout that wasn't his fault, but he's made some questionable recruiting decisions and he needs to start winning some damn games areal soon.
 

Seinfeld

All-American
Nov 30, 2006
11,169
7,017
113
For me, I think it was a little of both. I'm nowhere near the point of crucifying Strickin for the hire, but I do think he made a poor decision. In addition, while we undoubtedly weren't as highly regarded as some fans thought or hoped, I think that we had more options than just Payne and Ray.

At the end of the day, my belief is that Stricklin felt that he could hire a hard working guy with a decent pedigree and a great attitude, and everything else would work itself out. As he's now finding out, that's just not how college basketball works 99% of the time. Maybe Ray's fortunes will turn around this year or next, but as of right now, it seems like Stricklin will be making a new hire in two years and all I can hope is that he has learned from his mistakes by that point.
 

patdog

Heisman
May 28, 2007
56,899
26,314
113
I think after years of putting up with Stansbury's under-performing, high maintenance, pre-Madonna's, Stricklin wanted to make a complete 180 degree change. Right now, it looks like he over-reacted.
 

fishwater99

Freshman
Jun 4, 2007
14,073
54
48
I agree we thought our program was better than it was, but Stans left it in such bad shape that most coaches stayed far away.
I know our options were limited due to this.
If Stans would have left a year earlier, but he didn't, I can assure you we would have been able to make a much better hire.

It is what it is now, and USM just hired a better basketball coach than us. Let that sink in.....
 

The Peeper

Heisman
Feb 26, 2008
15,475
10,626
113
I would rather have to rehire a good one every 2 years than fire a bad one every 3............