Stop Making Excuses

[Cajunsmike]

Mike, I think you might be surprised at the number of people who are not satisfied with the direction our program has taken. Many people want us to elevate the level of competition we play to make our program relevant on a larger stage. When Marlin has done this, the results have been less than spectacular. We are paying him a significant amount more than any other coach in this conference and he has not delivered on a level commensurate with his compensation.

I agree his job is in no danger this year, but I do think the pressure is on for him to improve both scheduling and results.

The no. of people who want a change is different than those expecting improvement. We all want that. I have no doubt there are many not satisfied. However, I also know there are more who support the current staff strongly and I firmly believe they are the majority.

[cajundiehard]

The no. of people who want a change is different than those expecting improvement. We all want that. I have no doubt there are many not satisfied. However, I also know there are more who support the current staff strongly and I firmly believe they are the majority.

I'm in that number, Mike. While I'm not satisfied and want continued improvment - from scheduling to results... I think scheduling is much more difficult than any of us can fathom. No "good" teams want to come here and take a loss. We are traditionally tough to beat at home and many refuse to play us here for that reason. I do see steady improvement (after hitting the reset button twice in early years). I believe Coach Marlin is doing it the right way and the quality young men coming through the program are evidence of that. Going forward, I think he continues to improve, although, replacing Stove, Washington, and Bartley will be no easy task.

My expectation is to compete for the conference regular season and tournament championship EVERY year - top 3 or 4 should be a realistic expectation every year. I would like to make the NCAA tournament at least once every 3 years, but I could live with 1 in 5 years under the current circumstances of having to win the tournament to get in as long as at least 1 in 5 ends in an NIT bid. So - at least one NCAA and one NIT appearance every 5 years. I think that is a realistic MINIMUM expectation for this program at this point. Do I want more than that. Yes. But, trying to be realistic. I would be thrilled with NCAA every year or every other year - but that is not going to happen any time soon - regardless of who our head coach is.

[VObserver]

The no. of people who want a change is different than those expecting improvement. We all want that. I have no doubt there are many not satisfied. However, I also know there are more who support the current staff strongly and I firmly believe they are the majority.

Mike, when the man uses lack of funding as a reason for not buying a quality home game, then forks over 50k to play in a bogus tournament, something is not congruent. I don't trust him on scheduling matters. There is a new sheriff in town, so that may improve. You do trust him in that regard, and I understand that.

My major complaint is his inability to beat quality teams at an acceptable rate. 54-85 against the top 200 RPI is putrid when you are being paid more than any other coach in the conference. One title and one tournament title in 8 years is not acceptable. An average finish of 4th in a conference as putrid as the Sun Belt is not acceptable. A road record below 40% is not acceptable.

The big concern for those who strongly support the staff should be whether he can start winning against good teams and winning more on the road, if scheduling improves.

[Cajunsmike]

I would hold his extension over his head

Win this game and you can have it, lose well ... don't lose

Obviously that won't be part of the administration's position. Besides, I think the regular season championship already bought him an extension due to a provision in the current contract.

[VObserver]

I'm in that number, Mike. While I'm not satisfied and want continued improvment - from scheduling to results... I think scheduling is much more difficult than any of us can fathom. No "good" teams want to come here and take a loss. We are traditionally tough to beat at home and many refuse to play us here for that reason. I do see steady improvement (after hitting the reset button twice in early years). I believe Coach Marlin is doing it the right way and the quality young men coming through the program are evidence of that. Going forward, I think he continues to improve, although, replacing Stove, Washington, and Bartley will be no easy task.

My expectation is to compete for the conference regular season and tournament championship EVERY year - top 3 or 4 should be a realistic expectation every year. I would like to make the NCAA tournament at least once every 3 years, but I could live with 1 in 5 years under the current circumstances of having to win the tournament to get in as long as at least 1 in 5 ends in an NIT bid. So - at least one NCAA and one NIT appearance every 5 years. I think that is a realistic MINIMUM expectation for this program at this point. Do I want more than that. Yes. But, trying to be realistic. I would be thrilled with NCAA every year or every other year - but that is not going to happen any time soon - regardless of who our head coach is.

The low level of expectations among people I know to be real fans baffles me. Middle Tennessee has 5 titles in the last 8 years, and multiple wins in both the NCAA and the NIT. If it can happen for them, it can happen for us, but we, as fans, have to demand results for it to happen here.

[Cajunsmike]

Mike, when the man uses lack of funding as a reason for not buying a quality home game, then forks over 50k to play in a bogus tournament, something is not congruent. I don't trust him on scheduling matters. There is a new sheriff in town, so that may improve. You do trust him in that regard, and I understand that.

My major complaint is his inability to beat quality teams at an acceptable rate. 54-85 against the top 200 RPI is putrid when you are being paid more than any other coach in the conference. One title and one tournament title in 8 years is not acceptable. An average finish of 4th in a conference as putrid as the Sun Belt is not acceptable. A road record below 40% is not acceptable.

The big concern for those who strongly support the staff should be whether he can start winning against good teams and winning more on the road, if scheduling improves.

The 50 grand to Savannah State was part of the Cayman's Islands tournament. Not sure how that ties in but I know it was part of the deal. Agree we need to win more a title more than 25% of the time. Those are legitimate concerns and we will see next season if this year was an anomaly or if progress will continue. As far as the new sheriff in town goes, he supports the staff more than most fans and he believes the scheduling problems are real.

[Turbine]

Anyone expressing dissatisfaction with Marlin "right now" has terrible, terrible timing.

[Cajunsmike]

Anyone expressing dissatisfaction with Marlin "right now" has terrible, terrible timing.

I understand the concerns voiced by some. As many have pointed out, the NCAA tournament is the only thing that matters in college basketball these days. Therefore the timing of those concerns being raised makes a lot of sense as we once again did not get there. Now I also think many people who only pay attention now don't realize how the health situation of Gant and Stove impacted this. Our depth is good but not to the extent of having your rim protector and the best sixth man in years basically unavailable. We will never know if things would have been different with a better health situation but I firmly believe they would have been. Also, as this has played out I have come to strongly believe the lock out on mid major at large bids is directly responsible for declining basketball interest in this region. In the long run, that will hurt all of college basketball.

[CajunVic]

Anyone expressing dissatisfaction with Marlin "right now" has terrible, terrible timing.

Just in the past week we have had posters discussing the "firing" of Glasco and Marlin. It must be a virus that has continued from the 4th quarter of 2017. Really sad state of affairs.

[cajun_lannister]

Just in the past week we have had posters discussing the "firing" of Glasco and Marlin. It must be a virus that has continued from the 4th quarter of 2017. Really sad state of affairs.

No one wants to fire Marlin many just don't want his contract renewed

[CajunVic]

I don't know if that's exactly how I would do it, but I would agree with the general premise.

He has had 8 years and 2 NBA first rounders with only 1 NCAA appearance and 1 conference regular season championship to show for his efforts. Up to this point, I would equate him to Ricky Bustle and Mark Hudspeth in that they were the right guys for the job at the time they were hired, but the job outgrew them. If he can't beat LSU, or at least be very competitive in the game, then we thank him for his contribution to the program and move on.

Really Lannister? "Thank him for his contribution to the program and move on"

[ManAboutTown]

The low level of expectations among people I know to be real fans baffles me. Middle Tennessee has 5 titles in the last 8 years, and multiple wins in both the NCAA and the NIT. If it can happen for them, it can happen for us, but we, as fans, have to demand results for it to happen here.

Our basketball core fan base is not committed to winning. They are committed to enjoying themselves. As long as we win “enough”, no one will rock the boat.