Fire the coaching staff

[shock]

IB buyout from now til May is $4M. After that it is $1.8M I believe. ADKS needs to start negotiations yesterday. The downside is who will coach this team. Kennedy doesn't speak well at this point in his disease, so that leaves...nobody. Ugh!

MT would come running

[Faithful]

MT would come running

I'm not sure anyone would run toward this program at the moment. There are a few coaches that come to mind that might be encouraged to rescue it. MT is among them. He did turn the ship when we were struggling. I can't blame him for bailing to take a bigger job. I do remember that he had trouble sustaining the new direction he established. Taking a run at some of Coach Marshall's more successful assistant coaches might be a sound idea also. I'm hoping these options, and others, are already being pursued. Further, I hope any discussions involve the promise of taking over from an interim head coach right after the Shocks lose their last game this year.

[WuDrWu]

I highly doubt Mark will coach again, but I have to admit, I would like to see what he could do with this group, because it would be a lot.

[MikeKennedyRulZ]

I highly doubt Mark will coach again, but I have to admit, I would like to see what he could do with this group, because it would be a lot.

Agreed. This roster would flourish with an offense like MT likes to run and he could do wonders with the athleticism.

[WuShock Reaper]

Yup .. Some seem to think our program is only good because of Marshall and that's the only path back to success. Program was good before Marshall (though maybe not to the heights he took us) but it can be just as good going forward without crawling back to Marshall.

[SHOCKvalue]

Taking a run at some of Coach Marshall's more successful assistant coaches might be a sound idea also.

Those ships mostly passed in the night while Boaty McBoatface was busy playing with his peepee up in his office the past few years. Last one left that wouldn't now be taking a step down is Heiar.

[Shockm]

Those ships mostly passed in the night while Boaty McBoatface was busy playing with his peepee up in his office the past few years. Last one left that wouldn't now be taking a step down is Heiar.

.................................but with your suggestion, we would be taking a step up.

[SubGod22]

Most of the fan base would be excited for Heiar as the next HC, assuming he doesn't completely tank this year in Las Cruces.

But it will be interested to see what direction Saal takes when the time comes.

[Shock Top]

It’s crazy how lucky IB was that first year to win all those close games.

if the scales are even close to balanced, he probably doesn’t win COY and get an extension.

I guess the “better to be lucky than good” saying is just some made up cliché…

[Faithful]

Anything is better than what is happening now. The program's vibe right now is one of living with a second class coach because it can't afford to make a needed correction. Meanwhile the team gets worse, the seats become emptier, the income continues to drop, and the remaining donors bail. That vibe will be more and more accurate as time progresses. Many good coaches have been fired just to change a perceived negative vibe.

The head coach is a symptom of the problem. Our AD has to come to terms with WSU basketball's fanbase. The Fanbase doesn't want "Game Day Experiences". We don't care about DJs running at the mouth during timeouts or halftime entertainment. We are at Koch to see quality, competitive, hard nosed basketball. We want to yell, cheer, yell some more, boo the Refs, and hear the band. The fanbase does not appreciate the lack of fire or winning attitude the program has been demonstrating. That's what is causing their absence at Koch and the tightening wallets. Some change that renewed the competitive fire of the program would entice most back into the fold rather quickly. It doesn't mean winning right away, just the a move that demonstrates a dedication to the return of quality basketball and an observable desire to compete on a high level.

[asiseeit]

Basketball, like many sports, has an element of science to it and this HC/Staff have no clue. This was very evident last year. It is obvious that IB hasn't learned a thing and I am not surprised. You can shuffle the lineup but the one constant is IB. He simply doesn't have a good grasp of X's and O's and doesn't have control of his players. Too much me first basketball with an emphasis on perimeter shooting which is obviously a weakness.

[WuShock16]

It’s crazy how lucky IB was that first year to win all those close games.

if the scales are even close to balanced, he probably doesn’t win COY and get an extension.

I guess the “better to be lucky than good” saying is just some made up cliché…

Two games in Florida.

USF was down 2 with 3 FTs (after WSU tried to give the game away at the end of regulation). Make-Miss-Make. WSU eventually prevailed in OT.

UCF had shot at buzzer that didn't fall (again, after WSU tried to give away the flipping game). I specifically remember telling a friend that I don't know how or why we deserved to win that, but whatever.

If that missed free throw attempt and that shot at buzzer both connect, it changes things dramatically. WSU still has a respectable record and thanks IB for getting the ship afloat, but there's no league title, no NCAA bid, and no way in God's green earth that DB would have been justified in hiring IB...though I suppose that DB still could have done something asininely stupid.

[Ashockalypse]

Anything is better than what is happening now. The program's vibe right now is one of living with a second class coach because it can't afford to make a needed correction. Meanwhile the team gets worse, the seats become emptier, the income continues to drop, and the remaining donors bail. That vibe will be more and more accurate as time progresses. Many good coaches have been fired just to change a perceived negative vibe.

The head coach is a symptom of the problem. Our AD has to come to terms with WSU basketball's fanbase. The Fanbase doesn't want "Game Day Experiences". We don't care about DJs running at the mouth during timeouts or halftime entertainment. We are at Koch to see quality, competitive, hard nosed basketball. We want to yell, cheer, yell some more, boo the Refs, and hear the band. The fanbase does not appreciate the lack of fire or winning attitude the program has been demonstrating. That's what is causing their absence at Koch and the tightening wallets. Some change that renewed the competitive fire of the program would entice most back into the fold rather quickly. It doesn't mean winning right away, just the a move that demonstrates a dedication to the return of quality basketball and an observable desire to compete on a high level.

True and well said!

[Stickboy46]

Anything is better than what is happening now. The program's vibe right now is one of living with a second class coach because it can't afford to make a needed correction. Meanwhile the team gets worse, the seats become emptier, the income continues to drop, and the remaining donors bail. That vibe will be more and more accurate as time progresses. Many good coaches have been fired just to change a perceived negative vibe.

The head coach is a symptom of the problem. Our AD has to come to terms with WSU basketball's fanbase. The Fanbase doesn't want "Game Day Experiences". We don't care about DJs running at the mouth during timeouts or halftime entertainment. We are at Koch to see quality, competitive, hard nosed basketball. We want to yell, cheer, yell some more, boo the Refs, and hear the band. The fanbase does not appreciate the lack of fire or winning attitude the program has been demonstrating. That's what is causing their absence at Koch and the tightening wallets. Some change that renewed the competitive fire of the program would entice most back into the fold rather quickly. It doesn't mean winning right away, just the a move that demonstrates a dedication to the return of quality basketball and an observable desire to compete on a high level.

The AD has been the AD for a grand total of 2 MBB games ... He's already expressed this stance that what happened in the 1 loss under his direction was unacceptable. It's unfortunately a series of bad timing events dating back to the Marshall firing. Going to have to give ADKS some time here.

Also, all of the game day experience improvements came from direct feedback from the fanbase... So I disagree that "the fanbase" doesn't want any of that.

That said... Winning or at least the right effort is absolutely the biggest GameDay enhancement... The other stuff is important too and more in his control right now.

[shockerfan]

It's going to take time for Saal to clean up this mess. At least we seem to finally have an AD who seems competent and capable enough to do so.