If there is any one thing that DOES makes MSU a coaching graveyard....

[Harry Truax Jr.nafoom]

it is the idiotic mentality of the MSU fans that want to fire one Rick Stansbury. I don't care what sport. If you are one of them, you are one of the stupidest mfers alive. And don't cry about "mediocrity". There's an element of realism here. We don't need to accept Croomesque mediocrity. But what the hell else can you ask an MSU basketball coach to do?

Effing morons. Been listening to those idiot rebels too much. They'd take Stans anyday.

 

[dawgstudent]

but if he doesn't make the tourney the next 2 years, I say it's time for a change.

 

[Harry Truax Jr.nafoom]

wanting to fire Stans is right up there with the stupidity of firing Houston Nutt. We're starting to take the success we have had for granted.

EDIT: And, there hasn't been the NBA type player come out of MS since Ellis. If they grow up in MS, Stans is sure to get them. I can only dream of what could of been had we had the NBA 1 year rule in place 5 years ago.

 

[BigMotherTucker]

but if he doesn't make the tourney the next 2 years, I say it's time for a change.

I agree. I dont want State fans to get fire happy, but in a few years time if changes needs to be made then I trust Byrne will pull the trigger.

 

[dawgstudent]

4 out of 5 years, he would have been fired.

Stansbury is a catch 22. He has done a lot as our coach but at some time, you have to not be complacent and say 4 out of 5 years of not making the tourney is unacceptable.

 

[RonnyAtmosphere]

....except for a tiny minority of nuts?

I've read a lot of Stansbury/basketball threads in the last 24 hrs. and only a few have called for Stansbury to be fired.

The majority are bitching about Stansbury's year-in, year-out lack of a coherent offense (including me).

And his crazy substitution patterns.

And his "we're young" theme that goes on year after year.

But that's just messageboard critcism; it's not calling for him to be fired.

If it's the same-ole same-ole this time next year, it will time to be demanding Stansbury be fired.

And I'll be leading the charge.

 

[Original48]

Byrner*

 

[Harry Truax Jr.nafoom]

he was trying to uphold some agenda or something. Mind you, I don't think we'll miss the tourney for the next two years. If Stans completely flops, then that's different. I don't think you can fire a coach with a winning record that is a regular in the postseason, whether it be NIT or NCAA.

 

[josebrown]

I am a Stans fan, but I agree with Dawgstudent here. If he doesn't make the tournament in the next 2 yrs it will be time.

We all know what the team usually looks like on the floor. Good defense, can rebound, and offense that most here can coach. That was a little absurd, but I imagine the point should have been made.

Everyone talks about being a great recruiter just not an x's and o's guy, and I am not too sure of the great recruiter label being used anymore. Don't get me wrong Stans gets some very good players, but I was looking back on the numbers of guys taken in the draft since 2000 and we are in the middle of the league overall and in the middle of the pack in the West.

He has a tough time keeping guys on the team for whatever reason, but soon he will need to keep a team together again to be successful. i think the group he has now if he keeps them a few years and adds a couple more pieces he shouldn't have any trouble getting back to the dance and all will be fine, but with the kind of game we play he needs continuity on the team.

 

[RonnyAtmosphere]

...That Miss. State is a "coaching graveyard" is right up there with "Croom wasn't given enough time to succeed" & "Mullen is a poor recruiter." And "it's next to impossible to get anybody to come to Starkville" (whether talking about players or coaches).

In other words, it's all media myths.

****** coaches come to Miss. State & dig their own graves; Miss. State does not victimize crappy coaches; crappy coaches victimize Miss. State.

Of course, that's not how the media sees Miss. State. They see it as a place where everything athletic related comes to wither & die, despite proof to the contrary.

 

[Harry Truax Jr.nafoom]

just saying that my reason is about the only ammo the graveyard arguers have. Funny how crazy our fans get when we have some success.

Take the sheep for instance with Croom. If he had not won in '07, I bet he could have stayed 10 years crowing about improvement. But instead he wins in '07 and can't maintain it, and gets canned and the sheep (majority) turn against him.

Of course, you and me both know that didn't really play a part in his firing. He sucked from the beginning.

 

[Sutterkane]

that we will make the tournament either this year or next? We haven't beaten a good team yet this year and I don't see us getting much better. Next year, we will lose Johnson and probably Varnado and I haven't seen anyone who is going to take their place in our recruit list. Bailey just isn't going to be the man, although he is not a bad player by any means. We'll have a decent guard set but we'll get demolished on the boards and in the paint next year unless we get some magical transfer or Varnado stays.

 

[rugbdawg]

But I'm completely frustrated with his lack of production and consistent mediocrity. He has two years to make the tourney. If you don't see it, then you are blind or you are somehow comparing Croom to Stansbury.</p>

 

[PineGroveBully]

We haven't beaten a good team yet this year and I don't see us getting much better.

I am not pardoning Stansbury but have you not watched MSU basketball the past 5-7 years. IF there is one thing that his teams does then it is get better as the season goes along. Did you watch us last year against Miami and Southern Illinios? There is no way anyone watching those games would have thought MSU was was capable of making the tourney, much less going toe-to-toe with the team that would have won the National Championship if they could hit free throws in Memphis. There is one guarantee. This team will get better. Will it get better to the extent to dominate in league play and have a chance on selection Sunday? Who knows. But there is no way anyone thougth we would have last year when we was sitting at 5-5.

 

[Shmuley]

even be our AD by the time Stans is "let go," if it comes to that. There is no way in hell we can keep Byrne. But, damn, it's been a helluva ride while we had him.

 

[8dog]

its just a natural progression that occurs regardless of coach b/c guys keep playing together.

And I sure don't think Rick should get credit for last year. Its not that we got leaps and bounds better, its that we played awful and well below what we should have in the nonconference.

 

[Dawgzilla]

I am starting to wish Stansbury would decide to "retire". I'm getting old (45), and I've been following State sports long enough to know that Stans' "success" in basketball is unprecedented at MSU. Nevertheless, I'm starting to think that he has gone stale. 10 seasons is a long time to be in one place if you are not at least making the NCAA tournament on a regular basis. I KNOW we could do a whole lot worse, but I just don't see how teams like Cincinnati can improve so drastically in less than 3 years, while MSU is appearing stagnant. Maybe it is time for new blood.

 

[Todd4State]

not like I am baseball and football at least. Stansbury has been the only coach that we have had the past 5-7 years that has done what I expect out of our program- consistenly make the Big Dance and if not, make the NIT one out of four or five years. I will acknowledge that my expectations are a little lower than some that want us to make the Sweet 16 every year, but that's only because I don't care as much.

Beyond that, his teams are always solid and they tend to get better as the season goes along. They ALWAYS play hard and they very rarely, if ever give up. Stansbury is no Phil Jackson, but his teams play at an acceptable level, whether the X and O's are all that complex or not, he wins. His style may be simple, but his players can run what he asks them to do and they usually do it well- unlike Croom. He does recruit well, and he usually finds some pretty good diamonds in the rough like Barry Stewart.

The only thing I have a complaint about is the people transferring all the time, but that's only because it could hurt our APR eventually.

That said, I don't think he has gone stale at all. I think he has several more good years in him, and maybe even a coveted Sweet 16 appearance.