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- Thread starter jdbulldog
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You're not going to get anyone with a better resume than Ben Howland. MSU basketball is a conundrum. I honestly don't know where we go from here.
All MSU basketball fans should want Howland to return. He got us back to where Stans had us which appears to me to basically be the top of MSU basketball capabilities.
It does feel like if we ever want to break the mold, we’re gonna have to make a bold and maybe even unpopular hire. Scooping up Bruce Pearl before Auburn got him comes to mind
Otherwise, we’re in the exact same boat as basically every SEC team not named Kentucky. Continuously throwing puzzle pieces on the table while hoping that they actually make something tangible every few years. It’s nuts to me how many time in the last 25 years Arkansas and Bama fans have thought that they have “their guy”. It really is nowhere near as easy as some thought it was back when Stans was here
Otherwise, we’re in the exact same boat as basically every SEC team not named Kentucky. Continuously throwing puzzle pieces on the table while hoping that they actually make something tangible every few years. It’s nuts to me how many time in the last 25 years Arkansas and Bama fans have thought that they have “their guy”. It really is nowhere near as easy as some thought it was back when Stans was here
You won't find a coach with a better resume, but you might find a better coach. It's pretty obvious Howland is several years past his prime as a coach. As to where we go from here, you certainly can't fire him, so it's his decision as to whether he wants to retire or not.
Instead of looking at resumes we need to be looking at the type of systems (offense and defense) they run. Howland has a good resume built on a totally different type of game. It was half court oriented, very physical. Now it's up tempo, guard and shooter oriented.
There aren't a lot of pure shooters in the south and basketball IQ is garbage so we have to get our points by running and pressing. We have the team for that now just not doing it.
This is not our ceiling, so we don't need to accept that. We do maybe need some fans to figure out how to enjoy pretty good results. If we hire a coach that keeps us in the tournament discussion on a yearly basis, that's pretty good. Many and possibly most of our hires won't be able to do that.
And especially in basketball, being in the tournament mix really is "good enough". There have been some pretty mediocre teams get hot at the right moment and make deep runs. We have the advantage that we are going to have the talent to do it, we just need the team to click at the end of the year. Might not happen, but we have the talent and coaching to copy say Godfried's Elite 8 team.
We can worry about this later, but I love the Nate Oats hire at Bama. We need to go a similar route.
This team is turning a corner. Nick is adjusting to be a true PG. He has played pretty well the last 4 games. We are going to make the NCAAT and it's anybody's game at that point.
This team is turning a corner. Nick is adjusting to be a true PG. He has played pretty well the last 4 games. We are going to make the NCAAT and it's anybody's game at that point.
Howland said postgame Saturday that we haven’t practiced end of game situation.... WTH! Even in 1A High School ball you practice down 1.2 or 3 with 10 seconds on the clock .... he don’t have the fire anymore
I heard that! Inexcusable. I almost broke something when he said that. Throw in the times last year when he said he forgot to put Woodard back into the games. Unbelievable
Oats may end up being fantastic, but there has been a recurring theme for the last 30 years involving SEC teams thinking they’ve hit a home run hire only for the luster to quickly wear off after 2-3 years. Just in the last ten years, Bama thought they were in great shape with Grant and Johnson too, but for whatever reason.... a lot of these guys seem to come out of the gates swinging and then get a little too comfortable with their jobs. Hate to say it, but Howland isn’t too far from being on this path as well
No. Even if this is as far as he can carry the program, it's time for us to let him maintain the current level until he either can't or retires. You don't fire a coach unless either (1) it's likely you will upgrade or (2) you'd rather move backward than accept the current results.
I don't think either of those things are true right now.
Andy Kennedy would be a very safe hire and I would be ok with that hire if Howland wanted to retire. I actually always liked Kennedy. A little douchey but seemed to be a genuinely nice guy.
It's looking like this year is going to be one of the biggest waste years of a collection of talent on an MSU team that I can remember. That will absolutely lie at the feet of Howland. We've got 2 possible first round draft picks, a SR shooting guard, a JR C that is a good defender and rebounder, and a PG that was a 5 star on some ratings coming out of HS (though he has missed a bunch of games of the past year) and its looking like this group cannot win a close game against a quality opponent and will not even make the NCAA tournament. That is pathetic and inexcusable.
This is where I am as well. Next year is going to be a rebuild year anyways so it would be a good time to do it. We're getting nothing from our assistants right now other than connections into AAU teams
I don't see the upside in firing Howland right now. We're competitive and a capable team because of talent. I'd rather keep it that way than burn it back down again.
Reggie is shooting 28% from 3. He needs to realize, better yet Howland needs to instruct him not to take any 3's unless he is wide open.
Nick's inability to knockdown outside shots is hurting us. Teams have scouted us and are sagging off of him. Too late to change his stroke so he's just got to get up as many shots in practice as he can.
Nick's inability to knockdown outside shots is hurting us. Teams have scouted us and are sagging off of him. Too late to change his stroke so he's just got to get up as many shots in practice as he can.
I disagree with that. I just think Ben Howland isn’t the coach he was at UCLA. I think he’s a great recruiter and mediocre coach Right now and that leads to just decent results.
bracky would have given us the death penalty as soon as the FBI announced their investigation.
when this season started, Perry's attempts outside seem like an effort by him to expand his game for the next level. now I watch, and sometimes I think he goes outside because he's tired of the pounding he's taking on the inside.
It's a lot easier to coach when you have players that can shoot.
DJ is shooting 31%, Perry 28%, Carter 32%, Nick 12.5%. I mean, that is just brutal.
I love that Howland has cut down our rotation to basically just 7 players. We've played well 3 out of the last 4 games. Nick has settled in at point and made us better defensively. Perry has to understand when teams decide to double team him, he is not going to get his points. Someone else will have to score. OU double teamed him and Doolittle did a great job on him.
If a desperation 3 by LSU doesn't go in, and if we score on our last possession against OU (or Reggie doesn't get the T) we would be in a totally different mindset right now.
DJ is shooting 31%, Perry 28%, Carter 32%, Nick 12.5%. I mean, that is just brutal.
I love that Howland has cut down our rotation to basically just 7 players. We've played well 3 out of the last 4 games. Nick has settled in at point and made us better defensively. Perry has to understand when teams decide to double team him, he is not going to get his points. Someone else will have to score. OU double teamed him and Doolittle did a great job on him.
If a desperation 3 by LSU doesn't go in, and if we score on our last possession against OU (or Reggie doesn't get the T) we would be in a totally different mindset right now.
I can’t imagine us firing Howland this year. But he is on the other side of 60 now so you never know when he will decide himself that he’s had enough.
I don’t think this is MSU basketball’s ceiling, but I fear that it’s Ben Howland past his prime’s ceiling. He’s done a respectable job, don’t get me wrong, but we’ve yet to have a season where I feel like we maxed out our potential, including his first two years that people generally give him a pass for.
It’s Year 5 and every season has at best accomplished the bare minimum with numerous instances of disappointment, and we are still waiting one signature unifying win.
I don’t think this is MSU basketball’s ceiling, but I fear that it’s Ben Howland past his prime’s ceiling. He’s done a respectable job, don’t get me wrong, but we’ve yet to have a season where I feel like we maxed out our potential, including his first two years that people generally give him a pass for.
It’s Year 5 and every season has at best accomplished the bare minimum with numerous instances of disappointment, and we are still waiting one signature unifying win.
Someone made the point that the LSU and Oklahoma games are games that tournament teams win. Plus you have 2 OOC games that leave you wondering what if.
No doubt. We are basically the polar opposite of what I mentioned. Whereas other schools pick up guys like Pearl and Petrino, we go after Croom and Rick Ray.
I like the Leach hire, but it does seem like we’re afraid to make someone mad at us at times
I like the Leach hire, but it does seem like we’re afraid to make someone mad at us at times
Agreed, but I will say that the current trajectory is not playing in his favor. Last year’s postseason performance was a disappointment, this season has NIT written all over it, and it’s hard to conceive next year being anything but a major rebuild at this point.
He really needs something positive to happen either on the court or in recruiting. Otherwise, it’s starting to feel like we all know how this story is going to end
He really needs something positive to happen either on the court or in recruiting. Otherwise, it’s starting to feel like we all know how this story is going to end
We need some bad *** assistant coaches here. No offense to Brooks and the others but we really need upgrades at our 3 assistant positions if we are going to take the next step in basketball and it'd probably be beneficial for them to take a HC job at a lesser job for a bit too. This is an example of where Howland is too nice.
College basketball in general just isn’t what it used to be. The game is pretty different than it was when we were rolling along pretty well.
I think the days of huge wins in front of awesome crowds for big SEC games are just a thing of the past. They might come back someday but it will take something and someone truly special to reignite that fire.
I think the days of huge wins in front of awesome crowds for big SEC games are just a thing of the past. They might come back someday but it will take something and someone truly special to reignite that fire.
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