Steve Prohm returns as head coach at Murray State

[HFCS]

This is such a wild take. Gonzaga has been in the tournament every year since 1999. 12 Sweet 16s. 5 Elite 8s. 2 Final Fours. 2 Championship games. They get one and done talent now. They get multi year starter P6 talent. They get some of the top transfers now. They were like the premier mid major school up until 2015 when they rose up and have been one of the best teams in the country since.

I would trade our last 20 years for theirs in a heartbeat. And so would just about every team in the country except the blue bloods and even then I bet some would, like Indiana.

I didn’t say Gonzaga sucks or that we are at their level.

I’m saying their schedule is laughable.

Why are they #1 overall seed when I think they were ranked 6th when they stopped playing non conf?

What about running through an easy conference can elevate a team over big 12 and SEC teams?

They get treated like Duke or Kentucky by media and committee yet only have to play UNi’s schedule. You think that’s wild and untrue?

ISU is probably a #2 seed if we tack our 13-0 non conf onto a WCC season and only had 3-4 losses the entire year. That doesn’t mean we’re better than Gonzaga but their conference is nothing like the big 12.

 

[Cyinthenorth]

WCC can easily become a one bid year too if St Mary's has a down year. BYU has been their 2nd or 3rd best on average this decade they have been playing there. That's a really big loss.

Agree it's stronger than current MVC, but after losing BYU the gap won't be huge. It's not a deep conference at all.

Picking Gonzaga to lose to Arkansas wasn't that difficult. They get treated with the all the same hype and worship as Duke but play a schedule that is much more like Northern Iowa's.

San Francisco too, if their coach gets poached, will go back to irrelevance.

 

[Remo Gaggi]

He’s going to get a warm welcome at the Knapp Center next season.

 

[Acylum]

We will see how this works out. For reference: How's Fred doing?

Not a fair comparison- Fred’s at a low major.

 

[megamanxzero35]

I didn’t say Gonzaga sucks or that we are at their level.

I’m saying their schedule is laughable.

Why are they #1 overall seed when I think they were ranked 6th when they stopped playing non conf?

What about running through an easy conference can elevate a team over big 12 and SEC teams?

They get treated like Duke or Kentucky by media and committee yet only have to play UNi’s schedule. You think that’s wild and untrue?

ISU is probably a #2 seed if we tack our 13-0 non conf onto a WCC season and only had 3-4 losses the entire year. That doesn’t mean we’re better than Gonzaga but their conference is nothing like the big 12.

Gonzaga was 10-3 in Quad 1 this year, tied for 3rd most with Baylor. Sure, they have more Quad 4 games then most at the top with 13. But they aren't far away from UK and Iowa State with 8 and Texas Tech with 9 who are the next closest in the top Quad 1 wins teams.

 

[Die4Cy]

I didn’t say Gonzaga sucks or that we are at their level.

I’m saying their schedule is laughable.

Why are they #1 overall seed when I think they were ranked 6th when they stopped playing non conf?

What about running through an easy conference can elevate a team over big 12 and SEC teams?

They get treated like Duke or Kentucky by media and committee yet only have to play UNi’s schedule. You think that’s wild and untrue?

ISU is probably a #2 seed if we tack our 13-0 non conf onto a WCC season and only had 3-4 losses the entire year. That doesn’t mean we’re better than Gonzaga but their conference is nothing like the big 12.

"Eye test" which we are all familiar with, is the tool used to hand wave away these kinds of criticisms without actually offering an explantation.

 

[1UNI2ISU]

the valley is a one bid league.

those other leagues are multi-bid leagues.

I know last year was an anomaly with drake getting an at large but 90% of the time the MV is a one bid league

The A10 was a one bid league last year and would have been this year had Davidson beaten Richmond (thank goodness they didn't). The Mountain West was a 1 bid league from 2017-19.

It's all cyclical at this level.

 

[heitclone]

I just wasn't ever convinced Prohm was as nice a guy as everyone keeps saying. He seemed extremely inconsistent in his "teaching character" and Yada Yada.

TJ says someone doesn't fit in with what his program wants to stand for, and he means it. Prohm's answers were vague and his actions didn't match.

I understand by this time he was desperate and under the gun, but it made me sick to my stomach the time he left Haliburton playing with one arm. And at the press conference after the game he said he didn't think it was the right choice, but Haliburton WANTED to stay in. Haliburton was only 19 years old, he could have done damage to his arm that affected his future. I lost a lot of respect.

My money says he can't build a program.

He doesn't have to build a program, he's being hired by a school that has been at the top of the conference for 30 years. The last handful of guys that coached there have gone on to p6 jobs and honestly, Prohm was one of the most successful at that level. Murray would be fine with almost anyone they chose to hire.

 

[1UNI2ISU]

This is such a wild take. Gonzaga has been in the tournament every year since 1999. 12 Sweet 16s. 5 Elite 8s. 2 Final Fours. 2 Championship games. They get one and done talent now. They get multi year starter P6 talent. They get some of the top transfers now. They were like the premier mid major school up until 2015 when they rose up and have been one of the best teams in the country since.

I would trade our last 20 years for theirs in a heartbeat. And so would just about every team in the country except the blue bloods and even then I bet some would, like Indiana.

Everybody not named Kentucky, Kansas, Duke and Carolina would.

 

[Acylum]

Even with adding Murray and Belmont most years the Valley will be a one bid league. The bottom half of the league really drags the numbers down and with the emergence of all the extra holiday tournaments teams aren't looking for quality games against Valley type conferences anymore.

I’d love to see the Bracket Buster weekends come back.

 

[Die4Cy]

Premium Prohm emoji probably goes away now, I suppose. Gotta get us a Pollard and TJ!

 

[megamanxzero35]

Gonzaga was 10-3 in Quad 1 this year, tied for 3rd most with Baylor. Sure, they have more Quad 4 games then most at the top with 13. But they aren't far away from UK and Iowa State with 8 and Texas Tech with 9 who are the next closest in the top Quad 1 wins teams.

I'm going to update this.

Last year, Gonzaga was 12-1 in Quad 1 games and only played 7 Quad 4 games.

2020 tournament was cancelled but they were 6-2 in Quad 1, 10-0 in Quad 3 and 4. By far their weakest resume to date.

2019, 16-3 in Quad 1. 7-0 each in Quad 3 and 4.

We know how much importance is placed on the Quad 1 games and Gonzaga schedules them and wins them quite a bit. They might play in a mid major conference but their resume is leaps and bounds above any mid major school.

 

[davegilbertson]

Call me a skeptic but he highly benefitted from having two NBA point guards at Murray State his first go around. One was an experienced carryover from the previous coach who stayed two more years. The other was drafted #14 after two years. There was no gap.
In that league, such players are quite rare and a big reason for the success. Is he finding those guys again? And, jumping up a league, he's going to need pieces around them even if he is fortunate enough to land them. He's also entering a league as a geographical outsider, so recruiting will add some wrinkles too.
I wish him the best and hope he succeeds bc he does it the right way and wants to develop more than just ball players. I can see where he's going to have to grow as a coach though to find new successes given the challenges cited above.

He's got 3 NBA guards he scouted, offered and landed. 1 is playing Allstars level, another is a young hopeful centerpiece for a storied franchise.

Hes got one more headed to the league if Hunter keeps up his development and pace.

 

[Stormin]

Congratulations to Steve Prohm. Good luck.

 

[megamanxzero35]

Everybody not named Kentucky, Kansas, Duke and Carolina would.

Yep. Even some schools that won it all would I would guess. Maryland comes to mind. Final Four in 2001, won it all in 2002. One Sweet 16 since. That's it.

 

[BillBrasky4Cy]

I’d love to see the Bracket Buster weekends come back.

Man those games were great.

 

[cyfanatic]

Man those games were great.

Not the same purpose but I loved the 24 hours of basketball stuff they did for awhile too...broadcasting a live game for 24 hours straight or so.

 

[BillBrasky4Cy]

I'm going to update this.

Last year, Gonzaga was 12-1 in Quad 1 games and only played 7 Quad 4 games.

2020 tournament was cancelled but they were 6-2 in Quad 1, 10-0 in Quad 3 and 4. By far their weakest resume to date.

2019, 16-3 in Quad 1. 7-0 each in Quad 3 and 4.

We know how much importance is placed on the Quad 1 games and Gonzaga schedules them and wins them quite a bit. They might play in a mid major conference but their resume is leaps and bounds above any mid major school.

This is their biggest weakness though. I get that they get up for those big non con games but you can't argue that playing a WCC schedule is the same as a P5 conference slate. Teams are also much different in Feb and Mar that in Nov and Dec.

 

[cycloner29]

Has some friends of ours run into he and his family at the lake there this past summer. Friend told him he lived in Ames a he was pretty talkative about things in regards to the football program and the athletic program in general. He had no hard feelings about anything when he was here. Kudos to him for getting the job! I met he and his wife when they were in Ames and they were both super nice.

 

[8bitnes]

He's got 3 NBA guards he scouted, offered and landed. 1 is playing Allstars level, another is a young hopeful centerpiece for a storied franchise.

Hes got one more headed to the league if Hunter keeps up his development and pace.

First step for him is to keep McMahon's recruits especially with a reported 7 guys graduating. 6'5 6'6 6'6 guards and a 6'9 post coming next year. That's outstanding size.

Otherwise, if he doesn't put together a good squad next year, momentum will be real hard to build as he'd be on a three season streak and would have lost one thing that Murray has had for such a long time which is continuity.