yussi1870

6 hours ago, BullBoy said:

My guess is the team will play well on Tuesday at Toledo. This team plays a lot better away from home and I can’t blame them. 
 

Just look at this board…we won by double figures and everyone complains. Nobody cheers at all during the game except when the Shout song comes on. We might have the worst Home atmosphere in the entire league. It is really sad

The students will be back in Feb and then the atmosphere will be good

7 hours ago, DaBulls99 said:

What the heck is up with Mballa? He was at the 3 point line all game - on offense and defense. Yo man, there’s a reason they leave you all by yourself. STOP SHOOTING! Also, he had several easy layup/potential dunks and he chose to pass it back outside.  Head scratcher.  

He had covid and is still recovering. They touched on it in the post game broadcast.

Mballa doesn’t start?

The best teams play better than the refs. We used to play better than the refs.

More zone D

12 hours ago, skrabukes said:

Come on, surely this can't be a real question. These guys all are like pros. They practice shooting everything tons, both within the actual sessions and on their own (not to mention film and the like). Nate's teams often had rough games (or stretches of seasons) at the line as well. The FT misses are not on the coach. If you want to find fault with other things, that's your choice, but don't lay that one at his doorstep.

I don’t know. Teams that have great FT shooting percentages, and I mean like first standard deviation, they ask the coach how he does it, it’s not a given just because of the team’s talent. Usually the coach answers with some practice, practice, practice kind of thing, like no one leaves until they’ve made 10 in a row.

Many coaches require their players to shoot free throws as part of practice. Does JW?

9 hours ago, BasketBull said:

JW is 62 and has been coaching for 40 years now. The best resolution for all parties would be for him to announce his retirement at the end of this season.

Would you still be in favor of this if the result is a promotion of one of his assistants?

12 minutes ago, MKBullsfan said:

Pathetic. Let’s start over next year. I bet this Coaching job will get a ton more attention then last time and I have no idea how we messed it up before. Maybe we need to pay more. Be ready to start the search right after the season ends in the first round at home at the on campus game. Then hire a well known name that is has played the game like Gerry McNamara or a former NBA player or a top HS or AAU coach. Be bold and get a name that can attract recruits. This program should not be in decline but growing into an every top mid major. I hate it when people on here mock those who expect more and there is nothing wrong with having high standards and expectations. Let’s turn the page soon and start fresh.

Haven’t we gone with a top HS or community college coach before? 
 

St Johns can explain the benefits of a former NBA player coach.

11 minutes ago, Jeseph said:

It was the safe decision. The program could have taken a step back if we didn’t play it safe.

Do we take a risk next time?

I’d be pleased if this were a rebuilding year. The team plays and acts like one. I can’t image what a real Whitesell rebuilding year team will look like. Seems like he has enough supporters to ensure we’ll get a chance to find out.

2 minutes ago, DooleyBull06 said:

I’m at a loss of words. Can’t blame Whitesell for this one. All the players. Just completely disappeared in the 2nd half. Wtf. 

Can’t blame Whitesell for this team being unprepared? Not sure why he doesn’t have the team practicing free throws? It’s a basic skill. Also they need to practice for 40 minute games, not 20.

Who taught Mballa to carry a free throw shooting stance twice the width of his body?

Is the MAC able to use the shortcut through Canada, or are the teams taking the long way?

Are we allowed to Zoom him into the game so he can participate, albeit remotely?

1 hour ago, dutchcountry7 said:

Top-100 team.  Winning record.  75% of losses by one possession.  Top ranked team in the conference.  You can be disappointed and want more but those are not bad results.

I can assure you that the programs you want to schedule in the future and the events that you want the team to get invited to are looking at those results and are confident that UB is a solid program.

 

A conferences are not judged by how good the top team is in the conference.

The metric most commonly used by programs for ballparking competitive level is KenPom.  It's an easy metric for people to follow and is made public. 

Power Conference teams tend to look at the number of Top-100 teams in a conference when judging the strength of the conference.  Mid-Majors tend to look at the number of Top-150 teams.

When you're talking about at-large bid teams they aren't judged by their conference but by their own merit.  This is a point many people don't seem to understand.  Gonzaga isn't considered a WCC team.  They are simply considered a Top-20 team which is why they can get good games. 

The reason conferences are considered by these levels is because this is what teams in those tiers consider acceptable challenging games.

You're focused on a team like Iona and think that they dictate the strength of the conference.  They don't.  No one who does scheduling and considers conference strength looks at conferences that way.  

They look at the MAAC and see that there are two teams in the Top-150 which means that winning the regular season or conference tournament means those are your challengers.  They look at the MAC and see that there are five teams in that range that could challenge.  Yes, upsets by teams outside of that range happen but the

The MAC is considered significantly better than the MAAC.

I am sure that doesn't make much sense but it is important to remember that MTEs are often scheduled blind.  We played in the Cancun Challenge this year so I will give that as an example. 

We committed to play in the event, not to play against any specific teams.  The event coordinator has complete control over the assignment of games and selection of teams.  But what they do communicate are the conferences they are working with and negotiating with.  It is common for events to work with the same tier of teams every year.

We were likely told that they were in talks with also securing a team from the Atlantic 10, CUSA, Southland, Missouri Valley Conference.  So while we didn't know the teams we would play we had an idea of the tier of the team and the type of teams that they would be accustomed to playing during the year.

We ended up in a bracket with Saint Louis from the Atlantic 10 (who we didn't play), and played games against Illinois State (MVC) and SF Austin (who moved to the WAC).   The Southland team was better than we might have thought as they were the flagship of the Southland before moving to the WAC.  Illinois State was below what we would expect from the MVC but Saint Louis is one of the best programs in the Atlantic 10.

The MAC does significantly better scheduling than the MAAC.  The MAAC has to sponsor their own events which is how they get into events like the Gotham Classic and Orlando Invitational.  The MAAC sponsors those and puts money into them.  The MAC doesn't sponsor any events but we get invites.

Yes, there is no reason to act.   

In the last 15 years Buffalo, despite having four different head coaches the team has only been outside the top-150 two times, with the most recent time being 10 years ago, in 2003.  The program has remained in the level that mid-majors consider a strong and stable program--regularly inside the top-100.  

The equation now is very different than it was just a few years ago.

This is why we are just now getting good games.  UC Irvine, North Texas, Western Kentucky are big games.  Those are solid teams that Hurley and Oats could not get scheduled.  They were not able to schedule anticipated top-100 teams.  And we've won those games and done it on the road.

Mid-majors struggle with scheduling because of the risk of turmoil.  So few programs sustain success.  The boom and bust cycle is common in mid-majors.  Many mid-majors find success but very few of them sustain it at a conference level let alone at a national level (as judged by overall rank among D1 programs).  Stability long term is the sign of a strong program--which is very different than a strong team which is more fleeting.

This is what makes a job attractive.

And the job wasn't as attractive as many think when Oats left.

There were a lot of coaches that were skittish about UB.  School with competing football interest... located in a location that doesn't have local recruits so you have to travel for recruits... Mid-major with a mid-major budget but one of the better mid-major conferences so can be tougher to get to the NCAA tournament which is the easiest way to attract power conference offers...  The high expectations after following Oats which makes it hard for a coach to be viewed as a success and can stunt a career for a young motivated coach looking to rise through the ranks.  (Which is exactly what we are seeing in this discussion.)

It was understood by many candidates that they would struggle to keep the team together as it was the first off season with the new transfer portal that made it much easier for kids looking to transfer to find quality suitors. and the talented Mid-Major players were expected to be very valuable for power conference teams looking to fill holes in their lineup.

Now, I want to preface this by saying that I don't accept the premise that the program is destined for failure but I think it is is important to discuss contingencies when you are assessing risk and looking at possible outcomes.  This is a worthy discussion.

Every coach and every program can have bad games and bad seasons.

The program is one of the better mid-major programs.  But if the program were to struggle the next few years (for more than a year) then there is no doubt a change would be made.  But at that point, there would be a lot more interest in the position.  The track record of success through four coaches, the ability to keep players from transferring out in the modern area, the ability to schedule quality teams and getting considered for quality events, and not following one of the top coaches in college basketball but rather being viewed as someone to save the program is a much more welcoming environment for a coach.

 

Thanks for this detailed and thoughtful response. 

1 hour ago, dutchcountry7 said:

... the program made the wise decision to go with an internal hire.  UB is a strong program and one of the best in the MAC--a strong conference.  I know we have had some losses that we don't want to see but that doesn't change the calculus.  We are in a better position as a result.

If the program is unable to reload in the next year or two then we would look for a change but the hire has been successful and it has helped make the program more attractive. 

The reality is that the job will be more desirable for the next hire than it was when Whitesell was hired...

You say the program made a wise decision. That will be based on results. So far it is not looking good.

You say the MAC is a strong conference. Maybe it was in years past when it was a multiple bid conference. Now? I'm not sure the MAC is better even than the MAAC.

You say there is patience to wait a year or two. Can we afford those delays? Isn't the writing on the wall?

You say the job will be more desirable after failure. Why?

9 hours ago, 121Merrimac said:

I’m from the Spoon era, and still don’t understand this comment.  

Maybe you were one of the ones who supported Spoon to the end. There were so many on this board like that.

2 hours ago, 121Merrimac said:

Now that nearly everyone agrees, hopefully these things won’t need to be repeated every minute of every game thread.  

I’ve never understood why UB fandom doesn’t heckle the other team more often, instead of their own. 

It’s because we weren’t heard during the Spoon era. Now we have to double down. Also, good to see so many caring these days. It used to be so few

23 minutes ago, skrabukes said:

Like players playing in basketball games, with coaches, managers, trainers all huddled together? Evidently those 51 million people over the past 2 years were asking for it! 200 million people in the US vaxxed, yet more stoppages than pre-vax. Makes sense. Must be because people go to places without masks.

Let’s move the virus debate to its own thread

3 hours ago, Ubbulls84 said:

Appreciate the optimism but have you watched the team this year, 8-0 against any competition won’t happen, even the bottom of the MAC. They lack consistent effort, especially from some of the best players on the team. They will find a way to lose atleast one if not a few of those games. I’m trying to be optimistic myself even it’s been difficult to watch this team. Things will have to change if we’re going to win 3 games in a row in mac tourney because right now I’m not sure if this team has the discipline and effort to do so. 

Right because as soon as they win even one game the players start to think they’re heading to the NBA and it messes out their game. Coach ignores it. Then we lose.

Thinking back to just prior to the game, UB came out to watch the end of the Niagara game, and then for some on court practice. Segu showed a ton of energy, even racing across the court to grab basketballs on a cart for his teammates. Meanwhile the rest of the team looked awed and out of place, almost unsure of what they should be doing.

Compare that to Canisius which was running drills and exercise in tandem. Also, while UB spent an extra 10 minutes on the court “warming up” Canisius was in the locker room getting detailed on the strategy. When the game started one team was comfortable and confident while the other team had one guy with his head in the game (Segu) and the rest not sure where they were or what they were supposed to do.

16 hours ago, UBlearns said:

Worse than the Dartmouth and Army debacles.  It'd be tough for anyone to argue this isn't the worst loss of the Whitesell coaching era.

For the sake of arguing the difference is that this is a rivalry game and Spoon wanted to show it.

6 minutes ago, Ubbulls84 said:

Let’s face it besides the Michigan game he’s been a disappointment this year. 

How sad that the best that can be said for him is he didn’t lose as bad as people thought he would 

1 minute ago, Erie County said:

Ask their coach

Shhh…. He’s sleeping. He’s exhausted