Paul Mills Caramelized Marshmallow Seat

[WstateU]

We long for the days like this. Will they ever return? (Pic is from 11 years ago today, vs. ISURed I believe)

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[shocker43]

I think the jury is out on several AAC head coaches because they are so new.

Fisher at Temple can wind up being a good coach. Same with Schwartz at ECU. Hodge at UNT.

Ron Hunter at Tulane appears to be a good coach. He was a relatively hot name when they hired him. He's just got a tough job recruiting to Tulane, given their standards.

Other factors weigh in, too. Abdur-Rahim appeared to be a fantastic coach, until he unexpectedly died this past offseason.

It just seems that, for the first few years we were in the AAC at least, if there was a vacancy at an AAC school, they were interviewing a much higher caliber candidate than the average MVC school was looking at in the same situation. That said, not sure what would happen if one of the new schools to the AAC had an opening.

Ron Hunter is not good. He's in his 6th season and his best finish is 3rd. He has a losing record overall, and is 40-56 in conference.

In this new crop, Hodge is by-far the best. Fisher seems to be doing alright at Temple. But even then, we're looking at two good coaches + Penny??

[ShockerFever]

We long for the days like this. Will they ever return? (Pic is from 11 years ago today, vs. ISURed I believe)

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Not for at least 2 years. Minimum.

[SB Shock]

Lmao, Mills is so beyond disconnected to the fan base.

How could he be connected?

They protect him from the fan base on the "Coaches Show" that actually supposed to connect him to the fan base. There is no real media coverage where reporters are able or willing to ask tough questions. If he is ever on the radio shows, he is protected.

[shocker43]

How could he be connected?

They protect him from the fan base on the "Coaches Show" that actually supposed to connect him to the fan base. There is no real media coverage where reporters are able or willing to ask tough questions. If he is ever on the radio shows, he is protected.

I think Taylor is great for Wichita and Wichita sports in general. We're very lucky to have him. That said, I wish he would ask some more difficult questions. We don't have a single media person that is willing/able to ask any of our coaches tough questions about the state of the programs at Wichita State. It's clear that the fanbase is not happy, and I don't think the AD/HC has been held accountable for that.

[BostonWu]

I think Taylor is great for Wichita and Wichita sports in general. We're very lucky to have him. That said, I wish he would ask some more difficult questions. We don't have a single media person that is willing/able to ask any of our coaches tough questions about the state of the programs at Wichita State. It's clear that the fanbase is not happy, and I don't think the AD/HC has been held accountable for that.

Has to be a helluva balancing act by whoever serves as the WSU beat writer. The reality is we're a nice, cordial, small community. You step out of line and you risk being cut off. I'm sure WSU officials adore the TSF sunshine and unicorns crowd.

[rjl]

Ron Hunter is not good. He's in his 6th season and his best finish is 3rd. He has a losing record overall, and is 40-56 in conference.

In this new crop, Hodge is by-far the best. Fisher seems to be doing alright at Temple. But even then, we're looking at two good coaches + Penny??

I did not do an exhaustive analysis of all the AAC coaches. There could be other "good coaches." I just picked a few at random.

You're the one trying to take a contrarian stance, so the onus is on you.

For starters, who are the good MVC coaches? And will they still be in the MVC in another year or two?

[SubGod22]

All things considered, I'd rather play North Texas than Northern Iowa. I'd rather play Rice than Evansville. I'd rather play UAB than SIU. I'd rather play Temple than Bradley (and I always liked Bradley).

People freaking out over one year are a bit much for me. The AAC is still in a better place to compete overall than the MVC. There are more resources, better locations and areas to recruit, better TV time, and still more recognition.

And being that we suck either way, what does it matter where anyone is finishing this year? We'd still suck ass in the MVC, would be getting less money and recognition, and the campus and research dollars probably wouldn't be where they are today without our affiliation with so many like minded institutions.

The MVC isn't really looking like more than a 1 bid league this year. Drake has the best NET at 59 and are likely on the outside looking in right now. They also have five teams at 200+.

I'm not sure why someone earlier mentioned being behind the WCC like it's a bad thing. They've been pretty consistently up led by Gonzaga and Saint Mary's each year. Both are generally at large caliber and they almost always have a few more top 100 teams. Add in the fact that they have Oregon State and Washington State this year and that only helps. Neither is generally a great basketball school, but those teams were more or less built to try and compete in the old PAC and have a lot of resources. The WCC in a couple of years won't be a threat and will most likely be a one bid league more often than not as they lose the two PAC schools and Gonzaga.

And we wouldn't be contributing anything positive to either conference right now.

[ShockHat]

Lots of new coaches + most decent players poached from previous year. Kind of a recipe for a super down year. But I’m not too concerned at the moment.

We can start being concerned when we’re being dragged down by the conference and not being the ones dragging it down

[pinstripers]

Lots of new coaches + most decent players poached from previous year. Kind of a recipe for a super down year. But I’m not too concerned at the moment.

We can start being concerned when we’re being dragged down by the conference and not being the ones dragging it down

I think we should go ahead and start being concerned

[ShockBand]

I think we should go ahead and start being concerned

We can also start being concerned about whether or not college athletics is going to immolate itself in the next few years over the almighty bag.

[WstateU]

We can also start being concerned about whether or not college athletics is going to immolate itself in the next few years over the almighty bag.

[Kung Wu]

I think we should go ahead and start being concerned

[rjl]

If we could manage to have a good coach and good players, the biggest thing conference-wise that concerns me is how big of a check the school is getting as its share of the conference media contract.

The American signed a 12-year deal with ESPN that began in the 2020-2021 season. Now, I'm not certain and I'm not going to take the time to look it up, but I can just about guarantee that deal pays WSU more money than it ever got from a Valley deal. Happy to be proven wrong, though.