Gonna get on a soapbox for a moment

[Shooter McGavin.sixpack]

The subject of support for the men's basketball team has been covered more than once on this board, other boards, podcasts, etc. I'm not going to tell anyone how they should or shouldn't spend their time and money. If men's basketball is not your thing that's fine. But one thing I've seen over and over and it just bothers me to no end.

It appears some (not all but some) fans seem to be looking for reasons not to support the men's team. Oh they don't play hard..their fundamentals are bad..the players don't stay long enough..it is street ball..they will just disappoint you. The re-seating sucks.. These are just some of the reasons I've heard.

The men's program is by no means perfect. It has been frustrating to watch at times. However, these young men chose to represent Mississippi State. They work very hard for Mississippi State. Isn't that enough reason to support them?

I'll step down now. Hail State. Go get them in Knoxville tonight.

 

[T-TownDawgg]

However, these young men chose to represent Mississippi State. They work very hard for Mississippi State. /[QUOTE ]

This is where most of the problem lies. You describe a team player; a dying breed; one who intends to stay in the program long enough to improve his game, develop leadership, and loyally represent the institution. These are the players who unfortunately are often overshadowed by the flashy, highly recruited high school superstar who doesn't give a damn about work, coaches, team, or the school. This is where the quality of play suffers, and due to the high rate of attrition, good fundamental basketball often gets left behind.

There are way too many in the sport who view college basketball as a obligatory chore; a purgatory, so to speak; a pit stop on way to a pot of gold at the end of some rainbow. And so many of those end up chasing this mirage to the detriment of the overall quality of the sport, and later wishing they had enjoyed the college experience more than they did.

 

[StarkVegas Steve]

While I do think that some players do see it as a pit stop and that can end up hurting the sport I don't think every player is like that. I thoroughly enjoyed watching the Freshman at Duke play this year. They seemed to really enjoy being on the court together and seemed to enjoy the college experience. I mean Zion didn't have to come back yet he came back because of the commitment he made to Coach K and Duke. If we're gonna have one and dones those are the kind I want. Not only because he's an absolute generational talent, but because it always seemed to me he was out there giving his all for his team. He wasn't just counting the clock til the end of March

 

[mount lefroy]

The subject of support for the men's basketball team has been covered more than once on this board, other boards, podcasts, etc. I'm not going to tell anyone how they should or shouldn't spend their time and money. If men's basketball is not your thing that's fine. But one thing I've seen over and over and it just bothers me to no end.

It appears some (not all but some) fans seem to be looking for reasons not to support the men's team. Oh they don't play hard..their fundamentals are bad..the players don't stay long enough..it is street ball..they will just disappoint you. The re-seating sucks.. These are just some of the reasons I've heard.

The men's program is by no means perfect. It has been frustrating to watch at times. However, these young men chose to represent Mississippi State. They work very hard for Mississippi State. Isn't that enough reason to support them?

I'll step down now. Hail State. Go get them in Knoxville tonight.

Your reasoning is sound. However, the streetball problem has made it nearly unbearable for me.

The lack of passing to create open shots just bores me.

I’ll always love the kids who play for my university. It’s just that I don’t like the pro game at all. Never watch it for more than a second or two switching channels. So I’ve switched to the women’s game. I did so in Vic’s first year. The winning is great. But the game is also. That’s why I love college football too. So much diversity in offensive and defensive philosophy.

But we should support these men and women simply for their wearing of the maroon and white......and gray and black....etc

 

[Msubulldogfan1]

We have a bunch of ignorant men’s BBall fans. Literally saw one idiot say he was ready for Q to leave.

 

[StarkVegas Steve]

We have a bunch of ignorant men’s BBall fans. Literally saw one idiot say he was ready for Q to leave.

The problem is that although those idiots are a very small minority, they're the ones tweeting at players and bitching about it on social media and message boards. So to the casual fan and players that's the only thing they're seeing so it's perceived there's no support for the team.

 

[maroonmania]

The subject of support for the men's basketball team has been covered more than once on this board, other boards, podcasts, etc. I'm not going to tell anyone how they should or shouldn't spend their time and money. If men's basketball is not your thing that's fine. But one thing I've seen over and over and it just bothers me to no end.

It appears some (not all but some) fans seem to be looking for reasons not to support the men's team. Oh they don't play hard..their fundamentals are bad..the players don't stay long enough..it is street ball..they will just disappoint you. The re-seating sucks.. These are just some of the reasons I've heard.

The men's program is by no means perfect. It has been frustrating to watch at times. However, these young men chose to represent Mississippi State. They work very hard for Mississippi State. Isn't that enough reason to support them?

I'll step down now. Hail State. Go get them in Knoxville tonight.

To be honest, the seating situation for baseball sucks just as bad if not worse than it does for basketball if you are not a local season ticket holder, but that doesn't seem to be harming attendance.

 

[thekimmer]

Looking for a reason not to support?....

The subject of support for the men's basketball team has been covered more than once on this board, other boards, podcasts, etc. I'm not going to tell anyone how they should or shouldn't spend their time and money. If men's basketball is not your thing that's fine. But one thing I've seen over and over and it just bothers me to no end.

It appears some (not all but some) fans seem to be looking for reasons not to support the men's team. Oh they don't play hard..their fundamentals are bad..the players don't stay long enough..it is street ball..they will just disappoint you. The re-seating sucks.. These are just some of the reasons I've heard.

The men's program is by no means perfect. It has been frustrating to watch at times. However, these young men chose to represent Mississippi State. They work very hard for Mississippi State. Isn't that enough reason to support them?

I'll step down now. Hail State. Go get them in Knoxville tonight.

Its not a question of looking for a reason. Whatever the reason for a person choosing not to support something is their reason. Sports for most fans is entertainment, its not a ministry or a support group. If fans do not perceive they are getting enough entertainment value to spend their time and money to support a sports program they won't do it. If they do they will. The touchy-feeley relationship that fans have with our WBB team is fantastic but make no mistake it would not exist without a winning basketball program.

I personally think support for the mens team has suffered from three things. 1) A decade of terrible teams that killed a moderate foundation of support. 2) The rise of an elite women's program in the vacuum created by point 1. 3) Under-performance once the team rebuilt their talent. I don't think #3 would have hurt support so much if not for #2. Everything, and I mean everything is predicated on one thing. Winning.

The thing is fans now have another option in BB and this does not exist for any other sport. Essentially, the men are paying a price for us having such a good women's program. We can have support for both but as long as the women are playing at an elite level fans will not have a lot of tolerance for a men's team that they perceive is not giving them their money's worth.

 

[Shooter McGavin.sixpack]

That is a perfectly reasonable stance. Men's bball isn't your cup of tea or maybe more accurately the current style isn't your cup of tea. I respect that way more than the vague reasoning some use as why they won't support the men's team.

 

[Shooter McGavin.sixpack]

I saw that person. I couldn't believe what I was reading.

 

[Shooter McGavin.sixpack]

I said appears to be so. Did I say those were iron clad reasons why the support is lacking? No I said appears to be so, but how else are you supposed to take it when someone says "this is why the men don't get support" followed by some vague reason. It might be just a vocal minority who feel this way. I hope so. I would like to say winning will cure everything, but this years team won more than we have in years. Yet it was a ghost town the last month of the season. We had a few good crowds this year, but many fans bailed at the first sign of adversity (the 0-2 start, the losses to LSU&UK)

Based on your premise, the only way the men will get a high level of support is if they reach the level of the women. If that is the case then you can shut the doors right now. They probably won't ever reach the sustained success of the women. However, the season we just had was nothing to sneeze at. Was is frustrating at times? Yes. However a 5 seed is one of the better seasons in the history of the program. Yet some of our fans, again hopefully just a vocal minority, threw a fit.

We expect these players to win at a high level and represent the university in a first class way. However we have some ,not all, fans who won't do their part. I understand those who live several hours away. However, there is plenty of local support that just don't/won't get on board. You are correct in that it's their right to use their time and money however they want. Just don't complain when we don't consistently make the tournament.

 

[thekimmer]

OK since you want to parse words I'll join in. I did not say the men would have to get to the level of the women to build support. I did say if fans don't believe the men's team are performing at a level close to what they are capable support will wane. This season is a prime example. The hype going into this season was veteran team, lot of returning talent, good incoming talent, this is the breakout year. Team was ranked and rose to 14th. Whether deserved or not we lost a few games we shouldn't have and developed a reputation for inconsistent, sloppy, uninspired play. That turned a lot of folks off for whatever reason. I agree a 5 seed in the NCAAT was a monumental step in the right direction. We didn't exactly vindicate ourselves of the 'inconsistent' label getting bounced in game 1 by a 12 seed.

I get your point. You believe that fans are being too hard on MBB. Maybe so. Perhaps we as a fanbase have built up too much cynicism about MBB over the past 10 years.

 

[StillTbonewannabe]

We have a bunch of ignorant men’s BBall fans. Literally saw one idiot say he was ready for Q to leave.

Same guy probably said the same thing after Mangum had a bad game against LSU.

 

[patdog]

This season is a prime example. The hype going into this season was veteran team, lot of returning talent, good incoming talent, this is the breakout year. Team was ranked and rose to 14th. Whether deserved or not we lost a few games we shouldn't have and developed a reputation for inconsistent, sloppy, uninspired play. That turned a lot of folks off for whatever reason.

This is exactly how it was with me. I finally allowed myself to get excited about men's basketball again back in December. Then I went to the Mississippi game in Starkville. Howland and the team lost me that day and never did anything to make me want to get invested in watching them again.

 

[Shooter McGavin.sixpack]

Fair enough. You are probably right in that I am underestimating the cynicism of some fans as well as the damage the Ray error actually did. However, at some point the cynical approach has to stop or we won't ever get out of the rut. Anyway I enjoyed the discussion. Hopefully, we can make the tournament again next year and really get things going in the right direction.

 

[fishwater99]

The subject of support for the men's basketball team has been covered more than once on this board, other boards, podcasts, etc. I'm not going to tell anyone how they should or shouldn't spend their time and money. If men's basketball is not your thing that's fine. But one thing I've seen over and over and it just bothers me to no end.

It appears some (not all but some) fans seem to be looking for reasons not to support the men's team. Oh they don't play hard..their fundamentals are bad..the players don't stay long enough..it is street ball..they will just disappoint you. The re-seating sucks.. These are just some of the reasons I've heard.

The men's program is by no means perfect. It has been frustrating to watch at times. However, these young men chose to represent Mississippi State. They work very hard for Mississippi State. Isn't that enough reason to support them?

I'll step down now. Hail State. Go get them in Knoxville tonight.

And go crazy of the Women's team. I guess some MSU fans really want to support a winner at all costs.
But or MBB team is winning and has made vast improvements since Stans and Rick Ray were here.
I think many fans are still in the Stansbury corner and refuse to support another coach, which is very disappointing and disrespectful of Howland and our players.

 

[patdog]

But or MBB team is winning and has made vast improvements since Stans and Rick Ray were here.

Fixed it for you. We are just now back to where we were consistently under Stans. It has nothing to do with Stansbury fans refusing to support another coach, and everything to do with Howland not giving us enough reason to support this team.

 

[dorndawg]

What on-the-court improvements have we made since Rick Stansbury was coach?

 

[FQDawg]

...everything to do with Howland not giving us enough reason to support this team.

Honest question here but what more do you want from him or this team? We made the tournament for the first time in a decade. Other than losses on the road against Kentucky and Tennessee, our losses were in the five points or less category, which means we were competitive in those games.

In short, we're making forward progress.

 

[patdog]

Just look at our women's program. Not in terms of them getting to the Final Four, but in terms of how well they're coached and the effort and intensity they play with.

 

[Shooter McGavin.sixpack]

I never thought we did not play hard. We didn't always play smart but the effort was there. Lamar Peters is the best example of this. Imo he always played hard. He just made baffling decisions sometimes.

 

[patdog]

You're probably right. They played hard enough. Just stupidly and at times selfishly.

 

[Len2003]

I think what's happened is that when you tell someone that they should like and support something, they feel compelled to come up with a reason they don't like it. Most people just don't care that much about basketball, but the basketball fans continued to basically shame people for their feelings. So those people felt compelled to come up with some reason, and the basketball fans didn't like the reasons.

 

[M R DAWGS]

The reason men’s basketball support is lacking is because the players are prima donnas only out for themselves. They only care about getting to the NBA. The sad thing about that is that they are too stupid to realize that 97% of them are not, and will never be good enough to play in the NBA. There is no “team” concept. The product that is displayed is boring, hard to watch, and frustrating as hell. A decade of this has created fans that don’t care about men’s basketball.

 

[fishwater99]

Just look at our women's program. Not in terms of them getting to the Final Four, but in terms of how well they're coached and the effort and intensity they play with.

You cannot compare women's basketball to men's basketball is like comparing softball to baseball.
It's a different game which requires different types of coaching.
That's just a fact.

 

[IBleedMaroonDawg]

Fixed it for you. We are just now back to where we were consistently under Stans. It has nothing to do with Stansbury fans refusing to support another coach, and everything to do with Howland not giving us enough reason to support this team.

Patdog... I like you, and this is not directed at you at all.

The problem I have with the men's program bitching is that half blame it on the ego players and the other half blames it on the coach that led us out of the desert we were wandering in like the Jews in Exodus.

Which do we blame it on? Howland or the ego players? We seem to constantly blame both.

The way I see it, unless you are a blueblood like Duke, Kentucky, etc... you are not going to get the best of both. All you can hope for is either the "right" combo of players and coach to arrive at the same time, which usually doesn't happen but once a decade or two.

If you guys really want to break the "mediocrity" circle of woe then we have to pony up the money the Kentucky and Dukes spend on their basketball programs. I cannot see that happening anytime soon as we are spending most of our money trying to rise above our last place spot in football that we inhabited thru the 70's, 80's, 90's, 00's... and I don't know about you guys but I don't have anymore money.

The best we can hope for right now at this moment is that we keep one coach that is good (not great but good) and catch lighting in the bottle soon. Otherwise, we can change coaches and go thru another 4-5 year period for them to find their way along in the SEC.

I'm not defending Howland but he has had some really bad luck with players the last couple of years. I would like to give him another season to right the ship and show some improvement.

Off my soapbox. Just saying, we have to blame one or the other or torch the whole damned thing.

off my soapbox

 

[patdog]

So it's unreasonable to expect men to play with effort, intensity, unselfishness, and some intelligence? If so, thanks but no thanks, I'll stick to watching our women play.

 

[fishwater99]

So it's unreasonable to expect men to play with effort, intensity, unselfishness, and some intelligence? If so, thanks but no thanks, I'll stick to watching our women play.

I guess we are watching two different men's teams or you aren't watching our MBB team at all b/c our guys did play with effort, intensity, unselfishness, and some intelligence.

Sorry you missed out.

 

[Foofighted]

I never thought we did not play hard. We didn't always play smart but the effort was there. Lamar Peters is the best example of this. Imo he always played hard. He just made baffling decisions sometimes.

I’d argue at Auburn we didn’t play hard. The second half of LSU we took our foot off the gas. The first half against Kentucky was also weak.

 

[Len2003]

You cannot compare women's basketball to men's basketball is like comparing softball to baseball.
It's a different game which requires different types of coaching.
That's just a fact.

How is the coaching different?