2014-15 Games of Interest

[wufan]

If they could just get into the sunbelt, I'm sure Lusk would have a better record.

[DwShock]

It's Missouri state and they played Texas tech. Did anyone honestly think they would do anything but lose that game?

[DUShock]

The Bears never should have fired Barry. The fact that the overwhelming majority of fans failed to see that MSU was screwed with 22 wins and an RPI in the 30's still boggles my mind.

[Rlh04d]

This early for firing talk is probably premature, I'll agree, because a lot can still happen. Remember, Memphis lost to Christian brothers, and yet they're likely to be pretty decent by year's end.

You do have to wonder how much of the talk is based on what's happened BEFORE this season under Lusk. Still, not all rebuilders are able to win 25 games in their third year the way Marshall did at WSU, and in fact Lusk is actually ahead of where Mark Turgeon was through three years as a Shocker in terms of just wins and losses. And yes, I know -- you can argue whether Lusk and MT started from the same level in terms of talent, but Lusk's cupboard wasn't exactly overloaded when he arrived, so it's at least a reasonable comparison. Yet did anybody seriously believe MT belonged on the hot seat at that point? So (admittedly viewing from a distance) I'd probably be thinking the "fire Lusk" stuff was excessive, too, if I had the misfortune to be a Bears fan.

I think the pretty clear linear progression under Turgeon is where the difference is there. By year three Turgeon had a 12-6 record in conference and an NIT birth. By year four Turgeon had WSU in a tie for second in the Valley and an NIT win. Every year was consistently better.

Lusk is in a different situation. Year 2 was a clear regression from Year 1. Year 3 was a clear improvement over Year 2 ... but if Year 4 is a clear regression over Year 3 again, then what do you have? A team showing no upward momentum still yet to finish over .500 in the conference (which Turgeon had done twice by Year 4) and the best postseason appearance as a first round CIT loss to an 18 win Ohio Valley team (while Turgeon had a 1-2 NIT record). All while competing in a pretty terrible Valley period.

[Rlh04d]

Pretty fair assessment. In my opinion, unless a coach absolutely embarrasses the school or stinks it up beyond comprehension, you give him four years. Lusk has been mediocre at best, but has never embarrassed the school. If he has a mediocre year this year, can him, but to call for a coach to be fired after the first loss in a 30+ game season is ridiculous. If after 10 games there was a little rumbling, agitation after 15 and anger after 20 games, I'd get it, but the Bears are 2-1 after three games and fans are calling for the coaches head!

Are they calling for him to be fired "at the end of the year if improvement isn't made," or literally firing him today? The latter would be insane, but the former is logical.

[shock]

MVC



WSU

[SHOCKvalue]

Now that some have started the snowball I'll just come out and say it; Lusk isn't the guy.

Seems like a really good man, so it's nothing personal, but I've just never believed. Something that always nagged me; regardless of talent you aren't a superstar coach by taking a team to a 1-25 or whatever record. That made me nervous he coaches to the talent level.

I gave him the benefit of the doubt for a while, but I believe it was the first or second conference game of his first year that I had lost faith in his coaching philosophies. He's just not a good basketball coach. He doesn't recruit above his level (hell, he doesn't really even try to) and he has not drawn talented assistant coaches that have the ability to be stars elsewhere.

I'd take that Coach from Missouri Southern above ours all day long, and that's without knowing how he'd recruit at this level.

As is, we don't take transfers, we don't pressure in any reasonable way, we play not to lose and just hope you lose it or make mistakes. We don't even protect our rim. We don't switch everything on the perimeter and I don't know what we teach on defense.

Barry was a much better Coach than our current one and I couldn't stand his schtick. At least he stole the secondary break from another Coach and then brought in an epic local recruiting class by chance.

I wanted Kellogg at the time and now I want anyone who will demand success, play with a chip on their shoulder, recruit above our level, hire talented assistants who will get the most of their positional groups and take freaking transfers!

Give me just three of those attributes in a Coach and I'll be happy.

Dude this is like the second post in nearly as many days that was obviously meant to be posted on the MSU board, but somehow ended up on SN.

I can understand being on the WSU board because our school shites gold and fields winners, but WTF would anyone not directly attached to MSU waste breath and life on their board?

Do you have thousands of posts on each MVC school's message board? Don't you have like... I don't know... hobbies?

[Play Angry]

Some of these are already underway. All times CST.


SIU vs. UIC (neutral), 12 PM
SLU vs. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, 2 PM
Bradley vs. NC A&T, 4 PM
Seton Hall vs. Gardner Webb (neutral), 5 PM on CBS Sports
Illinois State vs. Old Dominion (neutral), 8 PM on CBS Sports


SIU leading UIC 30-14 at the under 4 timeout.

[Play Angry]

Also, forgive me if this was already noted but NMSU blew a 15 point second half lead and lost by 1 @ UTEP last night.

Yesterday sucked hard for our SOS.

[ShockerPrez]

In all fairness to MSU, that TT crowd was quite intimidating. Tough environment for any team to deal with.

[Play Angry]

Texas A&M-CC leading SLU 12-4 early. Noteworthy mostly because an 8 point deficit for SLU equates to a 20 point deficit for most teams given their tempo on offense.

Come on Bils.

[wufan]

SIU wins.

[Downtown Shocker Brown]

Creighton up 5 on UNC Central 27-22 at the half.

[LuskingforGuttin]

The Bears never should have fired Barry. The fact that the overwhelming majority of fans failed to see that MSU was screwed with 22 wins and an RPI in the 30's still boggles my mind.

I respectfully disagree. Barry is a great guy and I will root for him to win every game at SIUC when he doesn't face MSU, but he is not a winning basketball coach that was ever going to take us to the level that we aspire to be at.

Hiring Cuonzo was brilliant, he was amazing. I think everybody expected him to stick around for another 2-3 years before a blue blood swept him away. Bruce Pearl and his silly transgressions hurt us mightily, who knows what might have happened if we hung onto Cuonzo.

Paul Lusk is another good guy. He is a little strange around some boosters but otherwise he is likable and all that good stuff. He is just an awful basketball coach. I consider him part of the Gene Keady coaching tree and he maybe the worst branch or whatever. He makes Steve Lavin look like he belongs in Mensa. I just hope we have a quicker hook with him than we did with the football coach Terry Allen.

[shockmonster]

I respectfully disagree. Barry is a great guy and I will root for him to win every game at SIUC when he doesn't face MSU, but he is not a winning basketball coach that was ever going to take us to the level that we aspire to be at.

Hiring Cuonzo was brilliant, he was amazing. I think everybody expected him to stick around for another 2-3 years before a blue blood swept him away.

With all due respect,Tennessee a blue blood in basketball? If they are a blue blood, then so is Wichita State. They had a few good years with Pearl and a few more with Don Devoe. They are not a Blue Blood.