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Post by bsu0 on Mar 6, 2019 15:57:41 GMT -6
Whit was quoted by the Press today saying,''The league is tough. The conference is the the best has been in the history of the conference.'' Whit has hit rock bottom...time to check him in to rehab and hope for the best. The best in the history of the conference? Who is he trying to kid? Once again I call for his resignation and/or firing. This is the quote of a man who ''coaches'' the 10th worst team in a 12 team conference that hasn't played good basketball in two decades. This is a man who is grasping at straws. This is a man who sounds desperate and is trying to save his job. This a man who thinks all of the Ball State fans are idiots and do not know or have forgotten the history of the MAC. This is a man who is full of sh*t. Sorry Whit but it is far past time to shut this dog and pony show down.
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Post by rgmillikan on Mar 6, 2019 19:21:57 GMT -6
Someone needs to create the James whitford sock puppet caricature with built -in post game excuses programmed.
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Post by cardfan on Mar 6, 2019 19:27:51 GMT -6
Looking forward to the post season press release from the AD: Disappointed. Expect better. Not the season we expected to have. Coach knows we need to do better and we’ll work to give him the resources he needs. We look forward to next season and we’ll see how it goes. Add in select quotes from whit about being disappointed, but proud of the guys, injuries, great effort, group played the right way, stick to the process, league was really tough this year, close losses, bounce back next year.
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Post by bsu0 on Mar 7, 2019 10:31:52 GMT -6
Same ol', Same ol'...Does ANYONE BELIEVE THIS HORSESH*T ANYMORE?
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Post by rmcalhoun on Mar 7, 2019 10:45:40 GMT -6
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Post by cbcjanney on Mar 7, 2019 10:50:01 GMT -6
The MAC this year is not the strongest in history, not as strong as the 1982-97 stretch where we regularly put 2 teams in the NCAA's 64 (not 68) team field, and regularly won tourney games - as in 6 different MAC schools won games in that stretch. However......this year the MAC is better than anytime in the last decade, maybe last 15 years.
Regardless of the eye test perception, and posters on here who like to rag on MAC backetball, we're generally regarded by the conference rankings I've seen as the 9th best conference out of 32, & being much closer to 8th than 10th. We've for the first time in maybe forever had a team ranked in the Top 25 almost all year long. Our 2nd highest team is ranked around #55 per KenPom, and perhaps the biggest mark of improvement is that 10 MAC teams are ranked in the top 150. During the Billy Taylor years, we'd struggle to get more than 1 or 2 MAC teams in the top 150. The MAC was significantly better this year than in recent memory vs other mid-major midwestern conferences, i.e. Missouri Valley, Horizon, etc. To think we're rated higher than the Mountain West, and several notches higher than Atlantic-10, MVC, & Colonial is something few would've predicted a few years ago.
Of course the double-edge sword of using the "newfound MAC strength" as an excuse for BSU's results is that it's easy to infer that 1) the rest of the conference has passed us by and have improved more than we have, & 2) we were only able to win 20 games previously when the MAC was weaker. Which may all be true but not exactly the spin a struggling coach should want to hang his hat on.
This would've been the year that had we been 23-7 or better at this point, and like 15-3 or 14-4 in the MAC that we'd realistically have been the NCAA bubble/NIT conversations.
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Post by cardfan on Mar 7, 2019 10:59:32 GMT -6
The college basketball I watch, not just MAC basketball, doesn’t look as strong as it used to be. Teams are lackluster. So many of them can’t score. Fundamentals are bad. No one can shoot. Georgia had 14 points at the half last night. Scored 39 for the game. That’s a power 5 school. So I’m kinda tempering the MAc’s higher rating with an overall decline in quality.
At any rate, our team was disappointingly bad this year.
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Post by bsu0 on Mar 7, 2019 12:16:37 GMT -6
So if we look at the MAC through the eyes of some ratings service, we have had one team in the top twenty five and another rated 55. What happens if Toledo gets upset in the MAC tournament? We still only get one team in and the Rockets get beat in the first or second round of the NIT. This is the best you can come up with? and the MAC is the 9th best in the nation? The MAC is horrible. It is unwatchable. It is inexcusable. It sucks, IMHO. I am sure you don't want to know how I really feel. My my my, how low can college basketball fall?
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Post by Hoopsmith on Mar 7, 2019 12:22:00 GMT -6
The MAC this year is not the strongest in history, not as strong as the 1982-97 stretch where we regularly put 2 teams in the NCAA's 64 (not 68) team field, and regularly won tourney games - as in 6 different MAC schools won games in that stretch. However......this year the MAC is better than anytime in the last decade, maybe last 15 years. Regardless of the eye test perception, and posters on here who like to rag on MAC backetball, we're generally regarded by the conference rankings I've seen as the 9th best conference out of 32, & being much closer to 8th than 10th. We've for the first time in maybe forever had a team ranked in the Top 25 almost all year long. Our 2nd highest team is ranked around #55 per KenPom, and perhaps the biggest mark of improvement is that 10 MAC teams are ranked in the top 150. During the Billy Taylor years, we'd struggle to get more than 1 or 2 MAC teams in the top 150. The MAC was significantly better this year than in recent memory vs other mid-major midwestern conferences, i.e. Missouri Valley, Horizon, etc. To think we're rated higher than the Mountain West, and several notches higher than Atlantic-10, MVC, & Colonial is something few would've predicted a few years ago. I 'd agree that the MAC is much stronger the last year or two as compared to any year in the 10-15 years but I think "regularly" is a bit of a stretch. The league got multiple bids five times in that span if you stretch it to include 1999. That's one roughly every four years, and four of those were Miami getting bailed out after it faltered in the tournament... and its AD had a seat on the selection committee. The Billy Taylor years and awful conference seasons are nearly a complete overlap.. highlighted by the West "title" we shared one year. BSU was competitive in those seasons but outclassed by the East teams. If the program had its act together in those years, we'd be looking today at a string of new banners in Worthen. We could just wink n' nod to ourselves and say, "the league wasn't very good then, but we'll take it." That goes down a lot easier than, "the league is terrible and so are we," or "the league is the best it's ever been (and we haven't kept up). "
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Post by cardfan on Mar 7, 2019 12:53:42 GMT -6
I would say if the league is better we have failed to grow with it. Whitford has ONE tourney win and multiple years of flaming out. This year the bottom totally fell out and I think it did due to a combination of lack of enough talent, including no one who can shoot well, and a lack of a tough mindset overall. No spark. No passion or intensity. Whit preaches process over play making and we just haven’t made enough winning plays. We are seriously flawed in terms of fundamentals so if the other teams are improved that’s caused us to fall further behind. And we lack a coach who can adjust in game. At least not until it’s too late. Or, we’re good early and once the opponent catches us we’re toast because he can’t counter.
Supposed to be our big year. It was the opposite. How much was it a “historic” year for the conference and how much of it was internal?
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Post by JacksonStreetElite on Mar 7, 2019 13:33:12 GMT -6
I would say if the league is better we have failed to grow with it. Whitford has ONE tourney win and multiple years of flaming out. This year the bottom totally fell out and I think it did due to a combination of lack of enough talent, including no one who can shoot well, and a lack of a tough mindset overall. No spark. No passion or intensity. Whit preaches process over play making and we just haven’t made enough winning plays. We are seriously flawed in terms of fundamentals so if the other teams are improved that’s caused us to fall further behind. And we lack a coach who can adjust in game. At least not until it’s too late. Or, we’re good early and once the opponent catches us we’re toast because he can’t counter. Supposed to be our big year. It was the opposite. How much was it a “historic” year for the conference and how much of it was internal? The insane frustration of going down 10 early and knowing we can't catch up or going up 10 early and knowing we're going to give it all back.
Good times...
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Post by cardfan on Mar 7, 2019 13:34:47 GMT -6
Exactly. Like clockwork.
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Post by realitycheck on Mar 7, 2019 14:39:41 GMT -6
The MAC this year is not the strongest in history, not as strong as the 1982-97 stretch where we regularly put 2 teams in the NCAA's 64 (not 68) team field, and regularly won tourney games - as in 6 different MAC schools won games in that stretch. However......this year the MAC is better than anytime in the last decade, maybe last 15 years. Regardless of the eye test perception, and posters on here who like to rag on MAC backetball, we're generally regarded by the conference rankings I've seen as the 9th best conference out of 32, & being much closer to 8th than 10th. We've for the first time in maybe forever had a team ranked in the Top 25 almost all year long. Our 2nd highest team is ranked around #55 per KenPom, and perhaps the biggest mark of improvement is that 10 MAC teams are ranked in the top 150. During the Billy Taylor years, we'd struggle to get more than 1 or 2 MAC teams in the top 150. The MAC was significantly better this year than in recent memory vs other mid-major midwestern conferences, i.e. Missouri Valley, Horizon, etc. To think we're rated higher than the Mountain West, and several notches higher than Atlantic-10, MVC, & Colonial is something few would've predicted a few years ago. Of course the double-edge sword of using the "newfound MAC strength" as an excuse for BSU's results is that it's easy to infer that 1) the rest of the conference has passed us by and have improved more than we have, & 2) we were only able to win 20 games previously when the MAC was weaker. Which may all be true but not exactly the spin a struggling coach should want to hang his hat on. This would've been the year that had we been 23-7 or better at this point, and like 15-3 or 14-4 in the MAC that we'd realistically have been the NCAA bubble/NIT conversations. After Buffalo, I just don't see it. I've seen over 30 seasons of MAC ball and too many players and teams to even count that are better than the best our league has to offer this year. Again, Buffalo being the exception this year. Everyone else is not overly impressive. I spun up a thread a few years ago about the pipeline of NBA talent from the MAC over a 20 year stretch. I'll see if I can find it again and re-post. Point is, it's not even close.
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Post by Hoopsmith on Mar 7, 2019 14:49:34 GMT -6
I agree, Reality. Buffalo is a powerhouse in an above-average season for the conference, part of why they remind me so much of our "great" teams, along with their physicality and lunch-bucket plays to scrape out wins. Even in our dominating years, Eastern, Kent, BG and even Toledo had solid teams that could go toe-to-toe with us and knock us off. I know Buffalo has some conference losses this year, but I can't imagine any series that would stretch beyond four or five games for them.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 7, 2019 14:52:37 GMT -6
I question the algorithms that are used to rate entire conferences against each other. MAC basketball is almost unwatchable compared to other games I watch on television. I think they put too much weight on a ranked team in the conference. Buffalo probably tips the MAC scale disproportionately in the conference rankings.
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