Players fear that Shockers losing "Winning Identity"

[Shockm]

Shockers concerned identity is ‘getting lost’ as losses mount for Wichita State basketball

A few of the players are concerned that what made Wichita State a winning program is being lost. You don’t got to be the best scorer, you don’t got to be the most talented. Guys that have come through here, they haven’t necessarily been the highest-recruited,” Porter said. “But there’s just a will to want to play hard and win, that’s the culture of Wichita State. I feel like that message is kind of getting lost with our team this year. The coaches and all of us players, we preach it, but I feel like we, as players, let it go in one ear and out the other. W


https://www.kansas.com/sports/colleg...270842512.html

[Shockm]

Our team realizes the exact things we are saying. They're not listening to IB anymore.

If a team can't shoot the ball, then you shouldn't be playing zone (except for occasional full and half court presses) where you can never steal the ball and get easy layups.

[SubGod22]

Lost? It was lost before the interim year was up, or at least slipping away at that point. It hasn't been there for a while. I know Porter got to see some of it as he came here under Marshall, but there's nothing about IB that inspires or demands that sort of effort and focus. Like anything else he says, if he does preach it, it just comes off as coach speak I'm sure.

Marshall demanded that focus. He demanded that effort. He lit a fire under players, coaches and fans. IB has snuffed all of that out.

How can we have a winning identity when IB has no identity?

[Stickboy46]

I was already off the train .. but I might be at the point i'm ready for a mid year fire after this quote

"“I’ve got to go back to practice and do the same things that I’ve been doing to get these guys to understand when you don’t defend like you need to, you’re not going to win basketball games,”

What i have been doing isn't working and in fact making things worse .. so i'm going to keep doing it. That's just a disconnected tone deaf statement. Not even bad coach talk like he normally has .. just an overall dumb statement.

[shockerfan]

I was already off the train .. but I might be at the point i'm ready for a mid year fire after this quote

"“I’ve got to go back to practice and do the same things that I’ve been doing to get these guys to understand when you don’t defend like you need to, you’re not going to win basketball games,”

What i have been doing isn't working and in fact making things worse .. so i'm going to keep doing it. That's just a disconnected tone deaf statement. Not even bad coach talk like he normally has .. just an overall dumb statement.

Definitely felt like a Coach that believes none of this is on him. Kind of just blaming on players not listening. He has to take a lot of the responsibility also. The fact he isn't is the exact reason he shouldn't be head coach.

While I agree you have to have a good defense. He basically comes across thinking the offense doesnt need work. Exhibit B of not being head coach material.

[cjp27]

We won the AAC in 21 with some combination of left over discipline instilled by Marshall, some COVID scheduling luck, and a little luck at the end of a few games.

In 22, with the entire AAC championship roster minus Alterique, we had a losing record.

This year has been a train wreck of monumental proportions, and it's not even close to over. Any left over "identity" has been gone since about April of 21 at best.

At the beginning of this season, I figured the team would hang around the mediocre level long enough to give Brown a couple more years.

A couple weeks ago, I felt there was a good chance he got fired at the end of the year.

Now, if this keeps up, part of me wonders if he will make it to the end of the year. I have no information to back that up, but this season has been bad beyond even the most negative expectations. I expected something in the 9-9, 8-10 range. This team will be lucky to win 4 conference games.

[Shock Top]

An article like this tells me the end is near,

[shockerfan]

And yeah. Finish the year with an interim coach. This season is basically cooked anyway. Won't be any worse than what we are getting.

Figure out the financials. But this aint working.

[top20shock]

Brown should be fired as soon as the season concludes and the AD/Admin should be working now on potential replacements. Rallying key donors behind the scenes needs to be happening as well.

[SubGod22]

I still don't think an in season firing accomplishes anything other than it shows the fans that change is coming. If he finishes the season or someone else does, it's still going to be a **** season with no hope. I think most of us believe there will be a new staff next season. I'm fine with that. If it's Brown or one of the assistants finishing the year, nothing is going to change.

With that said, I wouldn't object with firing him before the conference tournament. You're not really going to be able to dive into your coaching search before that point anyway. Anything you can do now in that regard, you can do with or without Brown running things and that's limited. Saal can basically be evaluating coaches and shortening his list to likely candidates while Brown is still in charge. But I don't think he can really start putting out any feelers until March is here, unless he's targeting an NBA assistant or someone who is currently out of a job. But if that's the case, I'm sure he could still have some unofficial behind the scenes inquiries through 3rd party sources with Brown still in the seat. Nothing official, but gauging potential interest. But if you're wanting a sitting HC or even a college assistant, you can't really have any contact with them until the end of the season. You can still evaluate and do your research.

I'm not sure anyone here wants Brown to be in charge next year. I'm not sure anyone in the fan base really wants that, but there might be a couple. Saal has been visibly not pleased and has stated as much at some point last month. We know he has a pulse and cares, unlike the douche who previously held the title of AD.

Change is coming. Change will be here. We just have to make it to March.

[Dan]

Brown can chirp all he wants about players not buying in, but it's his job to do in-game coaching. When Bell misses his 40th in row 3 pointer, pull his ass out of the game and chew his ass on the sideline about taking that shot, or better yet, stop playing him. When James Rojas finds another way to turn the ball over, pull his ass out and chew his ass on the sideline, or better yet, stop playing him 26 minutes. At what point does IB stop blaming them for not listening and actually start chewing some ass mid game? I noticed that Okafor only played a handful of minutes. I guess that's IB's passive way of getting a point across. His coaching style is really bad and will never work to turn this thing around.

[asiseeit]

Personally, I'd vote for immediate change cause IB isn't changing squat. Let Kennedy finish the season. I would hope he changes some things up like starting Abidde at PF to start developing him asap. Give poor bears minutes to QB if he is physically able for more experience. Place more emphasis on court vision / assists. More emphasis on getting the ball to KP on the block more. It's obvious to me that the sooner some changes are made the better. I think a move now would kindle some interest right off the bat. Interest level has about no where to go but up.

[vancedave56]

You can see on the faces of the players and in their body language...they view the situation as having little or no hope.

[pinstripers]

'REBOUND OR SIT YOUR AZZ DOWN !!"

[SubGod22]

Personally, I'd vote for immediate change cause IB isn't changing squat. Let Kennedy finish the season. I would hope he changes some things up like starting Abidde at PF to start developing him asap. Give poor bears minutes to QB if he is physically able for more experience. Place more emphasis on court vision / assists. More emphasis on getting the ball to KP on the block more. It's obvious to me that the sooner some changes are made the better. I think a move now would kindle some interest right off the bat. Interest level has about no where to go but up.

I'm not sure Kennedy is well enough to be a valuable assistant. Handing him the reins aren't going to make anything better. If Kennedy were in a position where he could lead a team, he'd be doing that. There's not a single HC on that bench at this point and that includes IB.

Firing IB now makes some people happy, but I don't think it will change how the team plays as there is no leadership on the sideline at all. There's is nothing to salvage this season. It's a lost cause. Let it just play out and deal with everything in March.