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Basketball question

Its not about friends of either coach. Its about people who are critical of one coach who has a winning record most of his coaching career and 1 title, being demolished by the fans for not winning, and another having the same resume but being given a ton of free passes because "gosh golly darn, I love his analytics speech!"

I do agree politics has probably been a key part of all this. Dan's got his wife on the MU BoG I believe? So where's he going? Doc was more of a "I'm here to coach the team" kind of guy. I had no problem with that either.
I'm sure Hamrick preferred Doc since he hired him and was not the one to not renew his contract (Gilbert did that) but the AD is likely to be in support of both coaches regardless.
Coach D'Antoni's wife does not serve on the Board of Governors. That is his sister, Dr. Kathy D'Antoni, a Marshall graduate who had a distinguished career working for the WV Department of Education. She retired in June of last year.
 
In the last 10 years of the teams you have mentioned, only UAB (3 times - twice when CUSA had two teams in) and ODU (once) have made the NCAA as members of CUSA. UAB Is 1-3 over this span. ODU is 0-1. MU and Coach D have just as many NCAA wins in the last 10 years as these storied programs have combined during this time period as members of CUSA.



I'm pretty sure MTSU was in CUSA in 16 and 17 where they went 1-1 both years.
 
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It is easier to manage a smaller group but football also has a considerably larger coaching staff and the players are somewhat more segregated - offense vs. defense, strength vs skill positions, etc. If Doc had won some key games I believe he would still be here but he didn't and we are now having this discussion.

Dan will be 74 this summer. He's not going to be HC forever. His teams do blow leads but they have also come back and overcome some big deficits. I've enjoyed his run and so have many others that I know. You and many others don't like him and/or his style of basketball. I do. Not the end of the world either way. There are many bigger issues in this world today. I get to go to MU football and basketball games with a dear friend who is in his mid 80s. He has really enjoyed Dan's run too. We have had more fun at the basketball games over the last few years that at the football games. I treasure that time with him because I don't know how much longer we will be able to enjoy them. I guess that is where my positive bias for DD comes from.
Mike Krzyzewski is 74 now and seems to be doing ok. There are many young or younger coaches than Dan or Doc for that matter that don't win anything near like they do or did. I certainly don't know your age KyMUfan....but would you want to be pushed out or your current job and be forced to look for another one perhaps in a different state or not be able to even get a job.........when you are my age you want to go out on your own terms (and I would guess that you would too)......not looking for an argument or anything......just making a statement.
 
I'm pretty sure MTSU was in CUSA in 16 and 17 where they went 1-1 both years.
Those two wins are included in the 5 wins. Plus the aforementioned UAB win plus ours. Memphis won one NCAA game in 2013, their last year in the conference. Those are the 5 CUSA NCAA wins over the last 10 years.
 
Mike Krzyzewski is 74 now and seems to be doing ok. There are many young or younger coaches than Dan or Doc for that matter that don't win anything near like they do or did. I certainly don't know your age KyMUfan....but would you want to be pushed out or your current job and be forced to look for another one perhaps in a different state or not be able to even get a job.........when you are my age you want to go out on your own terms (and I would guess that you would too)......not looking for an argument or anything......just making a statement.
I really don't know where you're coming from on this. I just recently had a 99 year old bookkeeper pass away that my family looked after. She "worked" at my company until she was 98 (she played a lot of computer solitaire the last few years and really just came in for lunch 🙂😥). I think she was allowed to leave on her own terms.

I met John Wooden at a Disciples of Christ dinner in Lexington probably in 1995. He would have been close to 85 then. I think he was probably the sharpest man in the room and certainly knew the most of anyone about basketball, and I was sitting next to Joe B. Hall with Danny Crum one table over.

I said DD won't be the HC forever (which he won't) and my older friend and I have really enjoyed watching his teams play. I'm treasuring these games because time doesn't stop and none of us know how much time we, or our loved ones, have.

Unlike many others here I'm good with DD coaching as long as he wants. I've had more fun at The Cam since the mid 1980's. Again I really don't know what I said that would make you think otherwise.
 
One is the Herd is playing in a weak basketball conference that it should be dominating and another that trumpets the past glories of several CUSA member teams and possibly overstates the strength of the conference in the process.

These present a dichotomy - on the one hand MU should be winning virtually at will and the other that we can't compete with such rich and storied programs with our pedigree.

The truth, as is often the case, lies somewhere in the middle. CUSA is neither as weak as some here tend to believe nor is it head and shoulders about the MAC because of NCAA performances of some member teams from 40 or 50 years ago.

What CUSA basketball is, is really pretty simple to understand. It is just another one bid league whose champion will be the sole NCAA representative and will be seeded somewhere between 11 and 14 in a region.

Yes, some teams have an ancient history that is grand, in one case amazing. Those days are long past. Nothing about that matters today.

The only other salient point is that, unlike most other conferences, CUSA has basketball teams at all sorts of different levels, including many that should be automatic wins, every time, every year, forever.

That, and the fact that celebrating one win, once, makes us look backward and small time.
 
Greg White was a good player, but as a coach he is straight up doo doo. I don’t care how many wins he has. He couldnt win when it counted.... kinda like Doc.
 
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What CUSA basketball is, is really pretty simple to understand. It is just another one bid league whose champion will be the sole NCAA representative and will be seeded somewhere between 11 and 14 in a region.

Yes, some teams have an ancient history that is grand, in one case amazing. Those days are long past. Nothing about that matters today.

The only other salient point is that, unlike most other conferences, CUSA has basketball teams at all sorts of different levels, including many that should be automatic wins, every time, every year, forever.

That, and the fact that celebrating one win, once, makes us look backward and small time.
While your trashing CUSA hoops you do realize the football side had one of the worst bowl seasons ever
 
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What CUSA basketball is, is really pretty simple to understand. It is just another one bid league whose champion will be the sole NCAA representative and will be seeded somewhere between 11 and 14 in a region.

Yes, some teams have an ancient history that is grand, in one case amazing. Those days are long past. Nothing about that matters today.

The only other salient point is that, unlike most other conferences, CUSA has basketball teams at all sorts of different levels, including many that should be automatic wins, every time, every year, forever.

That, and the fact that celebrating one win, once, makes us look backward and small time.

CUSA football was just bad this yr
 
I get a lot of what you're saying. In fact I agree with much of what you said in your most recent post. I'm good but not great at a lot of things but bad at at lot too. One thing I think I am pretty good at is analyzing data, identifying trends and do the research to back it up in a logical, non-emotional manner.

What CUSA basketball is, is really pretty simple to understand. It is just another one bid league whose champion will be the sole NCAA representative and will be seeded somewhere between 11 and 14 in a region.

Agree completely with this. As with anything there may be exceptions to the rule with a possible higher seed or at-large bid in the future, but the days of being a 4 - 6 bid league are largely behind CUSA.

Yes, some teams have an ancient history that is grand, in one case amazing. Those days are long past. Nothing about that matters today.

While WKU has an impressive history, they haven't made the NCAA since joining CUSA. They did make the NIT Final Four in 2018 after we beat them in the conference title game.

When a reference was made here that the MAC was possibly a stronger basketball conference there were a lot on emotionally charged comments bringing up the not so recent history of WKU, ODU, UTEP, etc.

Well the MAC has the some number of NCAA Tournament wins over the last 10 years with a higher winning % than CUSA. During this same time MU is 7-13 against the MAC for a 35% winning percentage. And oh by the way, that standard bearer for CUSA UTEP has a sub .500 winning record over the last 5 years. So yes, I'd say arguably the MAC has recently been a stronger basketball conference than CUSA.

So in essence I agree with your point.

The only other salient point is that, unlike most other conferences, CUSA has basketball teams at all sorts of different levels, including many that should be automatic wins, every time, every year, forever.

Not so sure I agree with this however. Basketball fortunes can change rather rapidly just with the addition or loss of one or two talented players. Look at what Larry Bird did for Indiana State or more recentlywhat Hassan Whiteside did for the Herd.

Every conference will have a bottom third, a middle third and a lower third and CUSA is no exception.. Over the last five years nine separate schools have been included in the bottom 5 of the conference with no school being there for all five years. FAU and USM have been there for four of the five years with FAU having a 17-15 season last year and USM going 20-13 in 2018-2019. Prior to our NCAA appearance MTSU was the team to beat in CUSA. For the last two seasons they have been a cellar dweller. Fortunes can and do rise and fall quickly in college basketball. So no I don't there are automatic wins against specific opponents year in and year out.

That, and the fact that celebrating one win, once, makes us look backward and small time.

I'm Paul Brown old school - don't act surprised when you've scored and appear that you fully expect to score again. While I enjoy history, I am by nature a forward looking person. However I will defend DD and the basketball team when I feel they are being unfairly maligned.

It was and is no easy feat to win the conference tournament. The Herd had to beat a really good WKU team to do it (and yes in true DD fashion. almost let a big lead get away late...). WKU played well in the NIT making the Final Four. They were a good team.

We beat a really good Wichita State team in the NCAA and had the misfortune of playing WVU who was playing very well. They gave Villanova their biggest challenge as they dominated the tournament.

And yes I think if Penava came back we were a legitimate Top 25 team the next season. I am encouraged by how the current team is playing and look forward to next year as well. I've had fun watching DD's teams and hope to be able to for a while longer.

This said we probably agree more than we disagree.
 
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I get a lot of what you're saying. In fact I agree with much of what you said in your most recent post. I'm good but not great at a lot of things but bad at at lot too. One thing I think I am pretty good at is analyzing data, identifying trends and do the research to back it up in a logical, non-emotional manner.



Agree completely with this. As with anything there may be exceptions to the rule with a possible higher seed or at-large bid in the future, but the days of being a 4 - 6 bid league are largely behind CUSA.



While WKU has an impressive history, they haven't made the NCAA since joining CUSA. They did make the NIT Final Four in 2018 after we beat them in the conference title game.

When a reference was made here that the MAC was possibly a stronger basketball conference there were a lot on emotionally charged comments bringing up the not so recent history of WKU, ODU, UTEP, etc.

Well the MAC has the some number of NCAA Tournament wins over the last 10 years with a higher winning % than CUSA. During this same time MU is 7-13 against the MAC for a 35% winning percentage. And oh by the way, that standard bearer for CUSA UTEP has a sub .500 winning record over the last 5 years. So yes, I'd say arguably the MAC has recently been a stronger basketball conference than CUSA.

So in essence I agree with your point.



Not so sure I agree with this however. Basketball fortunes can change rather rapidly just with the addition or loss of one or two talented players. Look at what Larry Bird did for Indiana State or more recentlywhat Hassan Whiteside did for the Herd.

Every conference will have a bottom third, a middle third and a lower third and CUSA is no exception.. Over the last five years nine separate schools have been included in the bottom 5 of the conference with no school being there for all five years. FAU and SMU have been there for four of the five years with FAU having a 17-15 season last year and SMU going 20-13 in 2018-2019. Prior to our NCAA appearance MTSU was the team to beat in CUSA. For the last two seasons they have been a cellar dweller. Fortunes can and do rise and fall quickly in college basketball. So no I don't there are automatic wins against specific opponents year in and year out.



I'm Paul Brown old school - don't act surprised when you've scored and appear that you fully expect to score again. While I enjoy history, I am by nature a forward looking person. However I will defend DD and the basketball team when I feel they are being unfairly maligned.

It was and is no easy feat to win the conference tournament. The Herd had to beat a really good WKU team to do it (and yes in true DD fashion. almost let a big lead get away late...). WKU played well in the NIT making the Final Four. They were a good team.

We beat a really good Wichita State team in the NCAA and had the misfortune of playing WVU who was playing very well. They gave Villanova their biggest challenge as they dominated the tournament.

And yes I think if Penava came back we were a legitimate Top 25 team the next season. I am encouraged by how the current team is playing and look forward to next year as well. I've had fun watching DD's teams and hope to be able to for a while longer.

This said we probably agree more than we disagree.
Did you compare LB to HW. ;)
 
Did you compare LB to HW. ;)
Wow - big stretch there... Examples of what one player can do for a team. Arguably one of the most famous examples ever with Larry Bird and one from recent memory as an example for the Herd. That is where the analogy ends. It's not a literal world...

I guess you can assume anything as you evidently just did...
 
I totally get your Larry Bird deal and understand that you were not meaning to compare him to Whiteside. It was an analogy.

The point is that if an 18 year old Bird presented himself on the campus of the bottom third of CUSA, no one there would care. Because the bottom third are not trying. Which is why they should be automatic every time out.
 
I totally get your Larry Bird deal and understand that you were not meaning to compare him to Whiteside. It was an analogy.

The point is that if an 18 year old Bird presented himself on the campus of the bottom third of CUSA, no one there would care. Because the bottom third are not trying. Which is why they should be automatic every time out.
Plus Whiteside was recently in the news for setting the career blocks record in ONE season that Jannson broke going on four.

Agree to a point. Only thing I am saying about the bottom third is there doesn't appear to be any permanent residents there. Do you expect MTSU to stay there much longer? Just curious.
 
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Wow - big stretch there... Examples of what one player can do for a team. Arguably one of the most famous examples ever with Larry Bird and one from recent memory as an example for the Herd. That is where the analogy ends. It's not a literal world...

I guess you can assume anything as you evidently just did...
I guess the winking emoji didn’t get it done.
 
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So over the last 5 seasons virtually 2/3 of the conference finished 9-14 (9 teams). That leaves UAB, La Tech, ODU, WKU and MU. WKU barely stayed out of the bottom 5 with a #8 in 2016 and a tie for #7 with UAB in 2017. UAB had the #7 tie in 2017. La Tech finished 2018 at #9 but stayed out of the bottom with a better overall record. They followed that up with #8 in 2019.

That leaves ODU and MU as the only two teams not to flirt with the bottom third of the conference over the last five years. Average finish for ODU is 3 while MU is 3.8. WKU with their storied history is third at 4.4. So recently MU is the second highest performing CUSA team behind ODU. I think DD has done a pretty good job then but agree there is always room for improvement.
 
With regard to records, ignoring this year, over the past 5 years:

1) MTSU: 66-24
2) ODU: 61-29
3) La Tech: 55-35
3) Marshall: 55-35
3) WKU: 55-35
6) UAB: 54-36

Everyone else in the conference has been mediocre to bad, with all of them changing out their place in order with occasional jumps by a USM/Rice/UNT/UTSA into the top 5.
 
With regard to records, ignoring this year, over the past 5 years:

1) MTSU: 66-24
2) ODU: 61-29
3) La Tech: 55-35
3) Marshall: 55-35
3) WKU: 55-35
6) UAB: 54-36

Everyone else in the conference has been mediocre to bad, with all of them changing out their place in order with occasional jumps by a USM/Rice/UNT/UTSA into the top 5.
MTSU hasn't been the best or most consistent team over the 5 year period. They had 1 good year, 2 excellent years and two bad years. I have them with 32 conference losses - 5, 1, 2, 10 and 14.
 
I have also heard Dan and MH don’t get along. The one thing you didn’t include in the discussion is the football program always seemed to have drama surrounding the team.
Basketball also doesn't get the same amount of press as football does. If MU did actually make the media exposure for both, equal, we'd have seen a ton of drama in the basketball program.

From the limited amount of exposure we have had to the basketball teams, there was drama. No doubt we would have seen more if basketball got the football media treatment.
 
What CUSA basketball is, is really pretty simple to understand. It is just another one bid league whose champion will be the sole NCAA representative and will be seeded somewhere between 11 and 14 in a region.

Yes, some teams have an ancient history that is grand, in one case amazing. Those days are long past. Nothing about that matters today.

The only other salient point is that, unlike most other conferences, CUSA has basketball teams at all sorts of different levels, including many that should be automatic wins, every time, every year, forever.

That, and the fact that celebrating one win, once, makes us look backward and small time.
Automatic wins? Every time? Every year? Forever? Should LeBron and the Lakers never lose to this year's worst NBA teams, the Timberwolves and the Pistons? C'mon man, give me a break.
 
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Plus Whiteside was recently in the news for setting the career blocks record in ONE season that Jannson broke going on four.

Agree to a point. Only thing I am saying about the bottom third is there doesn't appear to be any permanent residents there. Do you expect MTSU to stay there much longer? Just curious.

Whiteside was unreal in 1 season here...just raw talent and hardly any real coaching. Its good to see he's established himself in the NBA.
 
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The MAC TV contract is much better then CUSA from what Im told
Define "much better."
TV money? Sure. They do make more. They get ESPN's weekday slots as well, because no MAC school will ever be shown over the P5.
Exposure for potential recruits? When was the last time the MAC shocked America with recruiting classes? How come the MAC isn't spoken about more? I mean, they are on TV and ESPN, right?
Given how bad attendance is everywhere, and weeknight games being difficult to plan around, you lose live gate revenue. The TV money I imagine would barely offset the financial losses from said live gate, and many MAC schools lose money each year anyway. So where is the benefit?
You also have zero say in the schedule of your games. You're at the mercy of ESPN and their perception of where you are in the pecking order, which is low.
 
So as this thread has progressed there seems to be two prevailing thoughts. One is the Herd is playing in a weak basketball conference that it should be dominating and another that trumpets the past glories of several CUSA member teams and possibly overstates the strength of the conference in the process.

These present a dichotomy - on the one hand MU should be winning virtually at will and the other that we can't compete with such rich and storied programs with our pedigree.

The truth, as is often the case, lies somewhere in the middle. CUSA is neither as weak as some here tend to believe nor is it head and shoulders about the MAC because of NCAA performances of some member teams from 40 or 50 years ago.

It is not easy competing as a mid-major school with a limited athletic budget and smaller than average enrollment. Sure MU has some great facilities but some are lacking. It just isn't easy to just go out and win. Everyone is trying to win as well. Most D-1 players and coaches didn't get to where they are because they didn't know how to win or weren't competitive enough. It just isn't easy to win consistently at a high level, regardless of conference affiliation.


While MU doesn't have the money or student body, it has the focus and effort into wanting to be better at either sport.
Seems to me some schools put a huge effort into looking like they were trying and once they gained membership, haven't really done much and are just coasting.
Honestly, CUSA should just have some members as basketball only. Some with historically good programs, would boost CUSA's basketball conference footprint if they could put their money into just basketball IMO.
 
*Yawn*. It's the old "teams that aren't trying" argument that Sam brings over and over again, without providing any context around it or defining what "trying" means. I'd like to know...which are the four teams that are "trying" the least?
 
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Everyone else in the conference has been mediocre to bad, with all of them changing out their place in order with occasional jumps by a USM/Rice/UNT/UTSA into the top 5.
I was intrigued by the records of some of these teams. Rice only finished in the Top 5 once in the last 10 years (2016-2017) while finishing dead last twice (2012-2013 & 2013-2014). UNT only had one good year in 2019-2020 and was dead last in 2016-2017. UTSA had two good years before falling back down to 11 in 2019-2020.

USM had a pretty good run from 2011 - 2014, the last few years of Memphis plus the first year they were gone. Got to thinking maybe competition with Memphis was driving their success, which it may have, but then I remembered who the coach was then. Donnie Tyndall... Remember him and the NCAA troubles?
 
Guys, in terms of any valid and concrete "team" success, Hassan Whiteside did very little for Marshall when he played here! What did MU do in conference tourney play then? In the post season? Just another overall nondescript year in MU basketball among several decades of nondescript MU basketball!!
 
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Guys, in terms of any valid and concrete "team" success, Hassan Whiteside did very little for Marshall when he played here! What did MU do in conference tourney play then? In the post season? Just another overall nondescript year in MU basketball among several decades of nondescript MU basketball!!
If you recall when he exited the final time in the tournament in Tulsa he removed his jersey and went to the bench with time remaining. It was a bad look, especially to NBA scouts in attendance. I was sitting next to his mom and she was disgusted that he did that
 
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If you recall when he exited the final time in the tournament in Tulsa he removed his jersey and went to the bench with time remaining. It was a bad look, especially to NBA scouts in attendance. I was sitting next to his mom and she was disgusted that he did that
He also didn't give much effort in the two CIT games played at The Cam after that. Remember that as well?
 
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