There's few people in the world of A-Sun basketball that really get under my skin. The first is Josh Slater. This is for two reasons... He's a douche and he's a lot better at basketball than his momma's boy haircut makes him out to be.

The second is Murry Bartow. I know less of him than some of the people on this board (especially the ETSU posters), but my perception of him becomes worse by the day.

The guy is a complete arse. I've witnessed him get technical fouls for no legit reason at all. He's like an undisciplined freshman player that thinks he's hot stuff. An example is in the Mercer game the other day when he ended up getting a call in his favor only to ruin it by getting a T, and then giving Mercer a shot at two free throws AND possession. This makes for a great leader (sarcasm) for this team that in all honesty could probably have run circles around the other A-Sun teams for quiet a few years previous to this one. He's made comments and gestures to our fans at games before, and I'm sure we aren't the only floor that he's displayed that facet of unprofessionalism at. I also saw the news clip in which he trashed his own fans for leaving before the game before it was done when we played you on your home floor this year. Given, every coach desires fan support, but lashing out at your own? Yeah, that's going to put your fans behind you.
In addition, he just seems like an awful basketball coach. I've actually seen some good comments about him in certain press. I think he won A-Sun coach of the year in 06-07 or something like that for whatever that is worth, but I haven't seen anything good from him. I watched the Mercer game last Sunday, and I heard him in an interview talk about how he had several players riding the bench that had performed well earlier in the season when they played more, but he thinks that he owes it to his starting five to let them play more. By this reasoning, he rotates his team mainly between seven players when he could be making use of a deeper bench. This makes absolutely no sense.

So I know there's a lot of ETSU posters that can educate me. One, from those of you who loathe Murry Bartow as a coach, I would like to hear examples of his stupidity and general incompetence as a coach. And two, why does he still have a job?


Note: I fully support ETSU in keeping Bartow on as head coach, because I want to continue to see talented ETSU teams choke because of poor decision making.

Um...most of us agree 100% with you. He's a bozo who couldnt coach his way out of a paper bag.

i dont know who "us" is/are, but i disagree.

Before we ask why he's employed, it occurred to me Bartow has had six full seasons as ETSU's coach and has made a postseason tournament in half of them.

I hear you about the technicals, the comments, all of that.

But keep in mind at ETSU, we hear such patronizing comments from our administration all the time. His comments are generally company line thinking.

Next season Bartow will be at the ETSU helm longer than any men's basketball coach here since 1973. That was the last season of Madison Brooks, who was the ETSU head basketball coach for 25 years.

Has he been the best coach during that time? No, but he has come around at a time when ETSU administration would never DREAM of firing a coach, for it would make them look as if they'd actually done something wrong.

Bartow is in a situation where he's too old to be plucked away from ETSU if he does real well, and since ETSU has no ambition of breaking beyond one-and-dones every few years or so in the NCAAs, he's safe from being fired.

For as long as David Mullins is the AD, Bartow will be the head coach. Bartow followed an NCAA Tournament appearance with Ed DeChellis' players in his first year with a 7-19 record in is second, and MULLINS GAVE HIM AN EXTENSION AFTER THAT SEASON!!!!

I tell you what. We'll keep Bartow if you promise to get your coach a new wardrobe. Deal?

(02-17-2010 08:04 PM)MeetMrTubbs Wrote:  I tell you what. We'll keep Bartow if you promise to get your coach a new wardrobe. Deal?

No deal. We love the sweater vest.

It's my regret that Belmont and other A-sun fans will know ETSU based on the past five years. This is not the ETSU I am used to.

Excellent point.

Generally I can agree with that point, but I'm kind of glad they got to know last year's team...

A head coach is only as good as his assistants. On paper, Bartow has some credibility on his staff, but in reality, what's gotten done? That first team in the A-Sun that won 15 games should've won the conference. The only team that shouldn't have won anything was the 9-17 squad the year after Zakee and Jerald left, and they were better than their record, just too selfish and couldn't /wouldn't play defense. I think Coach Bartow is doing all he can, but would be better suited as an assistant at a top level program rather than a head coach at the D-1 level.
Or in short, he's just another in a long line of second generation coaches that haven't gotten it done. (See Sean Sutton)

Bartow is a solid coach...ETSU is way too hard on him. Lest you forget you made the tournament last year.

Compared to Ingle he's great. Compared to Rick Byrd he is garbage.

(02-18-2010 09:31 PM)KennesawBasketball Wrote:  Bartow is a solid coach...ETSU is way too hard on him. Lest you forget you made the tournament last year.

This is bullsh*t. Consider the amount of talent ETSU has had in the league during it's first four seasons. It went to the NCAA ONCE. In that we had athletes like Timmy Smith, Courtney Pigram, Twiley, Reed, Sneed, Knuckles, Thomas, Swayder, Strong, Rhoda, Mike Smith, Kevin Tiggs, and many more...and through 90% of that time Bartow is under the opinion that we can't play man to man defense? We just sit around for years and watch Belmont hit wide open three's with no one in a five feet radius? How many big time leads has he blown to teams filled with lesser players because he pulls ETSU out of their only current weapon...run and gun....in order to "protect a lead". X's and O's don't exist at ETSU. It's find a star..give him the ball...and get out of his way.


I have been following ETSU basketball for many years and he is without question the worst coach of my lifetime.

P.S.


He doesn't make the tournament without the fans

man this looks like an old UAB post

The difference being our athletic director has less backbone than a jelly fish.