Welcome - Paul Mills

[Stickboy46]

The athletic department is in such a financial mess that there's no option of replacing Mills before Marshall and IB are paid off. If Mills is the ONLY option for a few years then I'm going to try to stay positive until something can be done. Holding a first-year coach who inherited what remained from a 17-15 team and had a short recruiting cycle "accountable" strikes me as being unfair to that coach.

I don't disagree with most of what you said there. But you also didn't even attempt to answer the question. Im genuinely curious what you would consider "good enough" the next few years. I 100% agree he has at least 3 years due to the buyouts.

[ShockTalk]

Tad early for this discussion, isn't it? By my count, (feel free to correct me) there is only 2 that won't be back, and 1 scholarship left unused this year. Mills has filled 2 of those with what I would consider, very good freshmen, at a minimum. The addition of those 2, however, could also affect 2 of our current players Mills recruited this year. If so, we may have another spot or two to fill.

Hopefully we'll have a minimum of defections, so that should give more insight to his coaching skills next year. The following year, he will definitely need to be on top of his recruiting game.

[Aargh]

Honest question, at what point do you see Mills being accountable? I realize I'm on the opposite end of the spectrum than you in that I hold the coach ultimately accountable (but I'll admit maybe I'm impatient with how soon) while you seem to take the position that Mills has so many things stacked against him that we shouldn't expect any good results anytime soon. Everything is out of his control according to your posts.

So honest question, what would you see as acceptable results for the rest of this year and the next couple years based on your take of everything going against the program?

The athletic department is in such a financial mess that there's no option of replacing Mills before Marshall and IB are paid off. If Mills is the ONLY option for a few years then I'm going to try to stay positive until something can be done. Holding a first-year coach who inherited what remained from a 17-15 team and had a short recruiting cycle "accountable" strikes me as being unfair to that coach.

[ShockHat]

Im not clear on who’s on what track, but personally speaking, Mills has about the same time as IB to prove himself. This is a new era of college basketball where a coach has a chance to prove themselves quicker, with piecing together a strong team of transfers and all of that, as opposed to slowly growing a core who sticks around. So he needs to prove himself QUICK.

That being said, this is also an era where our new AD has to prove himself, and he’s well on his way. Why am I brining him up? Because in this era, for a coach to be as successful as they can be, they need to have NIL backing them up, and that’s on Saal and Mills both. M

For what it’s worth, I think Mills is on the right track with what he’s got. He’s gotta do better against the teams that are actually decent though. Otherwise, he’s gonna lose confidence which makes NIL harder which … makes winning harder. It’s a vicious circle.

I’ll also say this. Mills is our chance to get back to relevancy. We have to hope he does well. Otherwise, we’re officially a thing of the past and will be thought of as a flash in the pan.

[Stickboy46]

The "narrative" is that things at WSU had gone downhill quite a ways before Mills arrived. Mills ability to right the ship has been affected by changes in college basketball. Mills is already taking heat on SN, mostly from posters who opposed his hire.

Honest question, at what point do you see Mills being accountable? I realize I'm on the opposite end of the spectrum than you in that I hold the coach ultimately accountable (but I'll admit maybe I'm impatient with how soon) while you seem to take the position that Mills has so many things stacked against him that we shouldn't expect any good results anytime soon. Everything is out of his control according to your posts.

So honest question, what would you see as acceptable results for the rest of this year and the next couple years based on your take of everything going against the program?

[Aargh]

Shamet played his last year here, but not his senior year.

Tang had Marquis Nowell on the roster. Mills has Xavier Bell on the roster. If you want to compare Mills first year to Tang's first year, go ahead and compare Nowell to Bell as a team's starting PG. K State dropped off significantly when Nowell graduated.

K State alums have more money than you might think. Farmers retiring with 2,000 acres are able to sell that for around $3,000 an acre, and K State fans are LOYAL to K State.

The "narrative" is that things at WSU had gone downhill quite a ways before Mills arrived. Mills ability to right the ship has been affected by changes in college basketball. Mills is already taking heat on SN, mostly from posters who opposed his hire.

[Kung Wu]

Shamet? He played his final season here between then and now.

Shhh, that doesn't fit the narrative.

[Stickboy46]

Only if we have a much bigger NIL warchest than they do. They already have the advantage of playing in a P5. That has to be overcome.

So I'm guessing, no. They can't be compared.

While we probably will never know for sure because it isn't public record .. I wouldn't be surprised if KSU basketball has a similar size NIL to WSU basketball. KSU isn't exactly rolling in donor dough compared to most P5s and most of it goes to football.

[Shockm]

This could be an absolute disaster for Mills. Fans who expect or want the results Marshall got aren't likely to see anything resembling those results and then blame Mills for it. The environment in college ball has changed radically from when Marshall was here. Comparing anything in the current era to that era is pointless.

This makes it sound like you predicted F4, a #1 NCAA Seed, and 34-0 teams for Marshall the first year when he was hired. Comparing anything to that success is pointless. No one was even close to it.

[RoyalShock]

Could we compare Mills and this team to Tang and last year's Wildcats?

Only if we have a much bigger NIL warchest than they do. They already have the advantage of playing in a P5. That has to be overcome.

So I'm guessing, no. They can't be compared.

[Stickboy46]

The season before Tang arrived kstate finished 14-17.

So roughly a 2.5 game difference between what HCIB's last year was (17-15). So roughly comparable considering the competition difference in conference.

[ShockingButTrue]

Could we compare Mills and this team to Tang and last year's Wildcats?

The season before Tang arrived kstate finished 14-17.

[ShockHat]

As another poster said some months ago, we're getting the P5 castoffs that they cut loose in order to take the top players out of the portal.

This could be an absolute disaster for Mills. Fans who expect or want the results Marshall got aren't likely to see anything resembling those results and then blame Mills for it. The environment in college ball has changed radically from when Marshall was here. Comparing anything in the current era to that era is pointless.

Baker, Mills, and Early would have been getting $500,000+ NIL offers. Cotton probably half that. The top players at WSU get a used car they can drive while they're on the team, but they have to pay maintenance and insurance.

Porter is the only NBA player since Baker, FVV, and Early to play his final season or Sr year here. NIL and the portal make it even harder to keep that level of player in the program.

Shamet? He played his final season here between then and now.

[pogo]

One can compare anything to anything else but most comparisons are worthless in their essence.

[pinstripers]

Could we compare Mills and this team to Tang and last year's Wildcats?