Nebraska BBall Program Now better than Us

kingcy · 03-09-2008, 05:41 PM

Originally Posted by btkc

Take off the rose colored glasses. Reality sometimes hurts. This team is going nowhere fast. Next year shows no optimism. I think its really funny that most people on this board think Lucca is the answer to all the problems. But i'd like to know exactly how many people on here have actually seen the guy practice or play in a game. Remember Jerry Curry and Rodney Hampton were great shooters. They really helped us out alot didn't they.

So are you going to sit and worry for the next 8 months at how bad this basketball team is going to be. That sounds fun. Or are you going to look at the good things going on and say there is a chance at being good.
Some of us here go for the 2nd option. If you go for the first that is fine. You say you are realists that is fine, think what you want. Being a fan is suppose to be fun, sure it sucks to lose but why sit there and think this team is never going to be good. Do you feel better after a loss than those of us that think they have a chance? I doubt it.
When you hit a rough spot in life do you go well I'm no good, the future for me doesnt look good, I dont see it ever getting better so why not be sad all the time. Or do you pick yourself back up, find what is good in your life and fix the problems.

I have enough stess in my life I dont need to worry about a bad basketball team all summer and how they can fix their problems, they pay coaches to do that. I want to make sports fun and find the good in things. When I played sports it was work, now as a fan I want to sit back and enjoy sports.

Landshark · 03-09-2008, 05:46 PM

No optimism? Huh, Diante is playing lights out and Craig went for 24 yesterday against a good KSU team. I know this season has been depressing for the most part, but we've got some real talent coming in. Next year will be interesting and I can't wait for it too start.

I think everyone should wait till after the 2009/10 season to start ripping on GMac, but I think by then we'll be competing for post-season play.

kingcy · 03-09-2008, 05:50 PM

Originally Posted by Landshark

No optimism? Huh, Diante is playing lights out and Craig went for 24 yesterday against a good KSU team. I know this season has been depressing for the most part, but we've got some real talent coming in. Next year will be interesting and I can't wait for it too start.

I think everyone should wait till after the 2009/10 season to start ripping on GMac, but I think by then we'll be competing for post-season play.

I agree. If you knew nothing about college basketball and watched that game yesterday. Who were the best 2 freshmen on the court?

CYKOFAN · 03-09-2008, 06:36 PM

Message to "Steve"- You said you have yet to see anybody supply an explanation for Morgan's mediocre third year. You must not have read any of my or several other's posts on the subject, so here we go again. We had lost Homan and Staple from the NCAA 2nd round team, and ALL of our bigs were first year players. Had we not lost Faulkner and George, that would not have been the case. Haluska also would have given that team a huge boost. The starters on that team actually were younger and had less experience than this year's team. However that team still won the Big 4 over an Iowa NCAA team, Greg's best UNI team, and a rising Drake team, and it still managed a winning record. Want to compare that to this year? Yes Greg took over a bad situation with all the defections, but that was the risk JP took when he fired a coach that was very popular with his players and recruits. When Morgan took over for Larry after Larrygate, he was able to keep the current players (except Haluska) and kept the recruits coming. Greg wasn't able to do that, and I'm not necessarily blaming him. It should have been one of the factors JP considered when he fired Morgan, and now we're paying the price.

kingcy · 03-09-2008, 06:46 PM

Originally Posted by CYKOFAN

Greg wasn't able to do that, and I'm not necessarily blaming him. It should have been one of the factors JP considered when he fired Morgan, and now we're paying the price.

Keeping or hiring a coach to keep players inst always the smart thing to do. Its funny when Morgan was hired one reason he was hired because the players were going to stay. If he wasnt hired who knows what would have happened. Yet when he was let go the players left anyway. Why is that. Morgan probly didnt tell the players to leave, but did he help the ones that left find a new school, after they decided to leave? Not many do know. Morgan did a good job at ISU, he was the man for the job at the time and he cleaned some stuff up. There are some questions to what went on in his last few months as the coach and the months after he was let go. The coaching change was to move the program foward even if it meant taking steps back to get there.

Bobber · 03-09-2008, 06:59 PM

Originally Posted by CYKOFAN

When Morgan took over for Larry after Larrygate, he was able to keep the current players (except Haluska) and kept the recruits coming. Greg wasn't able to do that, and I'm not necessarily blaming him. It should have been one of the factors JP considered when he fired Morgan, and now we're paying the price.

Let me preface this and say I liked Wayne and I believe he should have gotten another year. However, I think JP thought it was time to cut the losses and move on. He didn't like what he was seeing for what ever reason. He knew it was going to be painful and it's one of the reasons he's paid to make the decision he does.

It is what it is and countless threads have been written on this topic. We have GMac now and he's still picking up the pieces.

Back to Nebraka, while there program was down, they didn't have any of this luggage to deal with.

CYKOFAN · 03-09-2008, 07:00 PM

Kingcy-It's been stated by somebody on the board in a position to know that Morgan did not encourage players to leave. However it would not surprise me (and it shouldn't surprise anybody) that if a player wanted to transfer for whatever reason (not liking the new coach, style of play, or whatever) that Morgan would have helped them find a new school. Even coaches that haven't been fired usually do that. Yes JP made the decision that he thought we could do better by firing Morgan. He should have considered the fact that we could lose a lot of players and recruits and the program could go backwards, which is exactly what happened. Right now I'll be glad if Greg can get us back to where Morgan had us in 3 short years (beating top ten teams and winning post season games).

CYKOFAN · 03-09-2008, 07:05 PM

Bobber- I agree with most of what you said. But I've said before, when posters continue to put down Wayne and his program, I'm going to counter their opinions with records and facts (and maybe an opinion or two thrown in).

chrishull14 · 03-09-2008, 07:07 PM

The history of most Cyclone Sports is the same. We are an average program that has peaks of great excellence and valleys that fall all the way to the bottom of all BCS schools. If Coach was just looking to win as many games as possible, we probably would have played differently and won more games. (The same thing could be said for football). However, I don't think our current coaches are satisfied with same old-same old. I think coach Mac (and Coach Chizik) is trying to build a foundation for the future. He doesn't want to fight and claw and wait on pins and needles on Selection Sunday to see if the Cyclones can squeeze in. Coach Mac wants us to be at the top of the Big 12 every year. That kind of success does not come easy. Pollard and the coaches are trying to change the way things are done at Iowa State. The goal is not to win this year or even next year. The goal is to win every year. If that means sacrificing a few wins now, so be it. Instead of starting every sport's season hoping for the best and trying to be positive no matter what...we could actually get to a place where we are the best and can enjoy the ride. Meanwhile...growing pains are just that...painful. We just need to keep our eye on the prize.

CycloneWarrior · 03-09-2008, 07:09 PM

i cant believe we haven't beaten a ranked team in 2 years. teams that were ranked when we played them, cause to say mcdermott's biggest win so far is over a purdue team who is very young and third in the big 10, i hope next year greg has the team beating kansas and texas and other great teams and not just crappy colorado teams, oh wait we lost by 12 to colorado, im excited for garrett and brackins to dominate, they are the next tinsley and fizer, maybe jk

Bobber · 03-09-2008, 07:09 PM

Originally Posted by CYKOFAN

Bobber- I agree with most of what you said. But I've said before, when posters continue to put down Wayne and his program, I'm going to counter their opinions with records and facts (and maybe an opinion or two thrown in).

Hat's off to you. However it seems to be human nature to belittle the guys we let go. DMac, Wayne, etc etc. It's too bad. DMac did a lot of good and so did Wayne. We just didn't part with them on the best terms.

chrishull14 · 03-09-2008, 07:11 PM

Originally Posted by CYKOFAN

Bobber- I agree with most of what you said. But I've said before, when posters continue to put down Wayne and his program, I'm going to counter their opinions with records and facts (and maybe an opinion or two thrown in).

The only danger with this is none of us have all of the facts. W's and L's is only part of the picture.

CyValley · 03-09-2008, 07:17 PM

Originally Posted by btkc

Next year shows no optimism.

This is you speaking for yourself. What you say is not law. Hell, it's not even accurate in the eyes of most of us here.

I have tons of optimism for next year, and for reasons that in my estimation are rooted in reality and are therefore sound.

If you have no optimism about Mac's Iowa State basketball program, that's your problem. Most of us here are immune to the disease you're attempting to spread among the ISU fans who gather here.

Originally Posted by btkc

Take off the rose colored glasses.

And we might say to you, remove your blinders, open your eyes to the wonders of the real world.

I don't know, guys, somethings fishy about btkc; no fan reasonably can be this down about this basketball program, can he? If not, btkc is not an ISU fan but is posing here as one; he's an ISU fan but is driven to fuel a personal anger by posting innanely here; he's someone who gets some sort of pleasure from inflaming the community with his diatribes; he is something . . . else.

I gotta quit responding to him, there's nothing in it for me. He's too much of a down and depressed sort to deal with, imho. I'll leave it to my fellow Mac supporters to joust with him, I guess.

Wesley · 03-09-2008, 07:19 PM

Originally Posted by chrishull14

The only danger with this is none of us have all of the facts. W's and L's is only part of the picture.

Yet the Ws and Ls are what is remembered in the record books 5 years from now. You can have a great program but at some point you have to beat a ranked team like Ne did 3 times to say you are progressing. 15 and 14 wins should be the bottom floor for this tenure. Should be.

CYKOFAN · 03-09-2008, 07:23 PM

Agreed, none of us has all the facts and that's why I don't speculate, just go by what is known and what the record shows. It's been insinuated by some that something bad must have been going on in Morgan's program to get him fired, but if it hasn't come out by now, I seriously doubt there is anything to it. The D-1 scheduling thing turned out to be a non-issue, and the NCAA so much as said so. He recruited a lot of talented players and good kids, and raised the team gpa, and for anybody to try to cast a shadow on his program isn't being fair imo.