How many of you identify as "the baseball crowd"?

[CajunEXPRESS]

Well first of all get your statements accurate. Not two NBA players in consecutive years. Second we will see if long gets drafted. Third if all UL was the best fit for a homesick Long. Fourth EP worked out.

Now how much did he actually do with that much talent. One NCAA trip. Give him credit he pulled off two long shot wins back to back.

You've seen Marlins best work. One trip
In six years. I don't think we are Duke,Kentucky, or Kansas. But is it reall to much to ask, can we be the Duke,Kentucky, or Kansas of this weak SBC. Is that not what the least you'd demand.

[Just1More]

I'd like to start off by saying I'm not a Marlin defender and would surely like to see us have better records than what we are currently seeing... But I've heard a lot of comments about how Marlin can't recruit and/or develop talent. I'd just like to point out that we will send two players to the NBA in consecutive years. Either those were great recruiting gets, or the coaches coached em up and got them playing above their recruiting grade. Either way one of those statements is pretty inaccurate. If you say what about the rest of the team, remember we are not Kentucky. We're not going to sign 3-5 NBA talent players every year and that expectation should be tempered a bit. We all have one thing in common. We love Cajun sports and we want to see them succeed. But we must remember there are other schools with a lot to offer besides our beloved University.

So if it isn't a problem recruiting, what is the problem? If you say that we can't expect much better... due to reasons outside the control of the coach... and we are pretty much stuck without much hope of NCAA or NIT appearances... then we don't need to pay a coach close to $500k... and we sure don't need better basketball facilities. Is that a fair statement?

[CajunRed]

So if it isn't a problem recruiting, what is the problem? If you say that we can't expect much better... due to reasons outside the control of the coach... and we are pretty much stuck without much hope of NCAA or NIT appearances... then we don't need to pay a coach close to $500k... and we sure don't need better basketball facilities. Is that a fair statement?

And evidently this "situation" that exists is...1) so bad...and...2) is worse here...that we can only be a mid-Belt team. Who knew?

[Just1More]

And evidently this "situation" that exists is...1) so bad...and...2) is worse here...that we can only be a mid-Belt team. Who knew?

Maybe our "situational ceiling" is lower than most fans realize. But I'd rather let other programs use it as their go to excuse... and we do what it takes to defy the odds. I still believe we've got remnants of being a "basketball school" and with the right recruiting we could be relevant more often in the post season. I think we have a bigger, interested basketball fan base that is dormant... waiting to get crazy over Cajun basketball.

To me, it's like Bob knows what goes on the grocery list to make a good gumbo. He just doesn't know how to make a great day of cooking it. Bob needs to know when to ask a drunk Cajun for some help.

[Duckster]

According to the NCAA record book for MBB UL has an all time .559 winning percentage. This year's record is reflective of the program's average win percentage. This year's team was built to make the NCAAs. Instead it earned a 4th place finish in the watered down SBC. No WKU, no MTSU or we could have been 6th place. Never mind losing to La Tech. Coaches know they can win here. We're just not winning enough.

[Turbine]

According to the NCAA record book for MBB UL has an all time .559 winning percentage. This year's record is reflective of the program's average win percentage. This year's team was built to make the NCAAs. Instead it earned a 4th place finish in the watered down SBC. No WKU, no MTSU or we could have been 6th place. Never mind losing to La Tech. Coaches know they can win here. We're just not winning enough.

A truckload of forfeited games bringing down that average.

Today's method, vacated games (wins and losses) guarantee your historical average is less likely to get slammed.

[Cajunsmike]

According to the NCAA record book for MBB UL has an all time .559 winning percentage. This year's record is reflective of the program's average win percentage. This year's team was built to make the NCAAs. Instead it earned a 4th place finish in the watered down SBC. No WKU, no MTSU or we could have been 6th place. Never mind losing to La Tech. Coaches know they can win here. We're just not winning enough.

MT was very good this year. However, WKU really struggled. Their coach just resigned under pressure. Apparently there were some NCAA issues. From what I recall it may have involved KNOWINGLY playing ineligible players. Despite those guys they had a losing record and fell pretty far down the conference standings.

[VObserver]

MT was very good this year. However, WKU really struggled. Their coach just resigned under pressure. Apparently there were some NCAA issues. From what I recall it may have involved KNOWINGLY playing ineligible players. Despite those guys they had a losing record and fell pretty far down the conference standings.

Mike, the difference is that neither the WKU administration nor it's fan base will tolerate mediocre basketball. You can bet that they won't stay down long.

[Duckster]

MT was very good this year. However, WKU really struggled. Their coach just resigned under pressure. Apparently there were some NCAA issues. From what I recall it may have involved KNOWINGLY playing ineligible players. Despite those guys they had a losing record and fell pretty far down the conference standings.

Thanks for setting the record straight. Always appreciate your insights on the MBB program.

[Cajunsmike]

Mike, the difference is that neither the WKU administration nor it's fan base will tolerate mediocre basketball. You can bet that they won't stay down long.

WKU was worse than mediocre the last two years. They were downright poor. I have to think were we to have two years like that in a row we would be making a change as well.

[VObserver]

Mike, they were 18-14 vs D1 schools last year, with a final RPI of 117, this year they were 16-16 vs D1, with an RPI of 158.

We were 17-14 and 149 last year; 15-14 and 157 this season. Very comparable to WKU, yet we are comfortable.

The Toppers have gone 7-10 vs top 100 RPI schools over the last two seasons; we are 2-9.

[zephyr]

I'd like to start off by saying I'm not a Marlin defender and would surely like to see us have better records than what we are currently seeing... But I've heard a lot of comments about how Marlin can't recruit and/or develop talent. I'd just like to point out that we will send two players to the NBA in consecutive years. Either those were great recruiting gets, or the coaches coached em up and got them playing above their recruiting grade. Either way one of those statements is pretty inaccurate. If you say what about the rest of the team, remember we are not Kentucky. We're not going to sign 3-5 NBA talent players every year and that expectation should be tempered a bit. We all have one thing in common. We love Cajun sports and we want to see them succeed. But we must remember there are other schools with a lot to offer besides our beloved University.

Well stated. However, 1) if we recruited so well and have two NBA players on our team (which Long may not play in the NBA, at least for a while) why can't we win more than 17 games? 2) if you have two NBA players on your team, how can you not recruit better players around them while having 2-3 walk out the door every year?