(03-13-2016 11:39 PM)uiniu57 Wrote:  

(03-13-2016 02:31 PM)MaddDawgz02 Wrote:  No doubt NIU is on a sharp rise anyone who says differently has some ulterior agenda, and those people you just can disregard.

Yes by all means disregard anyone whose simply expectation was to become compeititive for at least the division. Five year with Monty and staff handling the scheduling and the metrics are quite simple. Five years in and the overall record is 50-86 (a mere .368 win percentage overall).
Five years based on MAC 0pposition the record is 31-55 (.361).
Yup, Not one single year has Monty's program managed to rise above .500 strictly for league contests, despite the concensus the league has declined.
Five seasons produces 31-55 (.361). Clearly the definition of "a sharp rise" involves new standards.

So let's disregard anyone who viewsnot being able to do better than .500 after five years of league play as has having that "ulterior agenda" of wanting to be in contention instead of just talking about.

Joe Novak was 63-76 at NIU. I would hope you base his ability on more than his record. You have to throw out Monty's record from the first two years while he cleaned up the mess he inherited. Also, NIU is certainly not the only team that plays bad teams pre-conference. It's quite common.

(03-14-2016 06:25 AM)huskiewithanie Wrote:  

(03-13-2016 11:39 PM)uiniu57 Wrote:  

(03-13-2016 02:31 PM)MaddDawgz02 Wrote:  No doubt NIU is on a sharp rise anyone who says differently has some ulterior agenda, and those people you just can disregard.

Yes by all means disregard anyone whose simply expectation was to become compeititive for at least the division. Five year with Monty and staff handling the scheduling and the metrics are quite simple. Five years in and the overall record is 50-86 (a mere .368 win percentage overall).
Five years based on MAC 0pposition the record is 31-55 (.361).
Yup, Not one single year has Monty's program managed to rise above .500 strictly for league contests, despite the concensus the league has declined.
Five seasons produces 31-55 (.361). Clearly the definition of "a sharp rise" involves new standards.

So let's disregard anyone who viewsnot being able to do better than .500 after five years of league play as has having that "ulterior agenda" of wanting to be in contention instead of just talking about.

Joe Novak was 63-76 at NIU. I would hope you base his ability on more than his record. You have to throw out Monty's record from the first two years while he cleaned up the mess he inherited. Also, NIU is certainly not the only team that plays bad teams pre-conference. It's quite common.

basketball is no longer a sport where you get a couple of players and you are good to go. Over 300 players transfer every year. I think hanging in there with MM will pay big dividends. We are really positioned well with the 4 frosh and 1 soph, good bench. And these young players won't be jumping to the NBA, There is a good chance this core will be there as seniors. We are in good shape.

Not 4, but really 5 frosh. Don't forget Austin. Actually 6 with the redshirt walk-on shooter Sui. And two sophs with Marin and big Z. Yes very good future. And add in 3 quality signed recruits. Should be a fun few years ahead.

(03-13-2016 11:39 PM)uiniu57 Wrote:  

(03-13-2016 02:31 PM)MaddDawgz02 Wrote:  No doubt NIU is on a sharp rise anyone who says differently has some ulterior agenda, and those people you just can disregard.

Yes by all means disregard anyone whose simply expectation was to become compeititive for at least the division. Five year with Monty and staff handling the scheduling and the metrics are quite simple. Five years in and the overall record is 50-86 (a mere .368 win percentage overall).
Five years based on MAC 0pposition the record is 31-55 (.361).
Yup, Not one single year has Monty's program managed to rise above .500 strictly for league contests, despite the concensus the league has declined.
Five seasons produces 31-55 (.361). Clearly the definition of "a sharp rise" involves new standards.

So let's disregard anyone who viewsnot being able to do better than .500 after five years of league play as has having that "ulterior agenda" of wanting to be in contention instead of just talking about.

I'm one of the least optimistic people on here but I see improvement going on - I had hoped this would be the year they would finish above .500 - but the MAC was better this year, not worse. Next year I will be disappointed if we don't finish above .500 in the MAC and do better in the conference tournament. This year the team is very young.

I actually think the scheduling was perfect by MM and staff. They needed to get the young guys feet wet and their heads up. This is a game about confidence and runs and they played well together from the start. The immaturity showed a little bit when they were challenged in league play but they were able to pull it back a little bit at the end to win at home. Now these guys know what it's like on the road and this staff is going to get them ready for post season and next season.

(03-14-2016 10:09 AM)Thre42 Wrote:  I actually think the scheduling was perfect by MM and staff. They needed to get the young guys feet wet and their heads up. This is a game about confidence and runs and they played well together from the start. The immaturity showed a little bit when they were challenged in league play but they were able to pull it back a little bit at the end to win at home. Now these guys know what it's like on the road and this staff is going to get them ready for post season and next season.

I don't object to the scheduling , but if you are going to have that schedule then don't do things like sitting porter for an entire half at UIC. I just feel like the non conf was an opportunity lost. It did feel like a win grab and not with the intention of developing young players

Every game is a win grab! They developed youth and won at the same time.

(03-14-2016 10:22 AM)dekalb222 Wrote:  Every game is a win grab! They developed youth and won at the same time.

Porter saw long stretches of no meaningful minutes and hiding Zelis for half the year did him no favors. Yes you want to win every game but the UIC game was such a red flag for me in terms of the motives for the schedule. I will never forget a quote from Montgomery after the UIC game "Our freshman will be in big spots and we need them but it was not going to be tonight". I realized then developing youth was not on the agenda. But man, if you can't put your freshman in games against 350 RPI teams like UIC, it made you wonder

They had very good reasons to not play Porter. He has a tendency to talk back to the coaches during practice and Monty doesn't put up with it anymore. There was a lot of it when it wasn't his guys but now he has more control over his group. Laytwan needed to be put in his place.

(03-14-2016 11:10 AM)Thre42 Wrote:  They had very good reasons to not play Porter. He has a tendency to talk back to the coaches during practice and Monty doesn't put up with it anymore. There was a lot of it when it wasn't his guys but now he has more control over his group. Laytwan needed to be put in his place.

That would not surprise me, and if I am right on who this is, you would certainly know better than me!

(03-14-2016 11:10 AM)Thre42 Wrote:  They had very good reasons to not play Porter. He has a tendency to talk back to the coaches during practice and Monty doesn't put up with it anymore. There was a lot of it when it wasn't his guys but now he has more control over his group. Laytwan needed to be put in his place.

That would certainly explain it. Which is too bad considering he seems talented.

(03-14-2016 12:58 PM)NIU007 Wrote:  

(03-14-2016 11:10 AM)Thre42 Wrote:  They had very good reasons to not play Porter. He has a tendency to talk back to the coaches during practice and Monty doesn't put up with it anymore. There was a lot of it when it wasn't his guys but now he has more control over his group. Laytwan needed to be put in his place.

That would certainly explain it. Which is too bad considering he seems talented.

The last quarter of the season, it really seemed to me he had a semi-turn around in attitude.

He is very talented and should be the starting PG next season. He's a good leader, the guys respect him and he reminds me of Nic Moore out of SMU

I think that Porter's potential (yes, potential often does not translate) is through the roof (at an "NIU" level). I don't know the behind the scenes which may dictate, but I do know what I see on the floor.

Mr. Baker seems to be such a nice, beloved kid...and great NIU product, but he has ceiling and he hit it. Porter, if his head stays straight and he is coached up....his ceiling, like some of our other freshman, appears very high. I don't want to lose him...I don't want to lose any of our freshman.

Great things ahead if we stay intact and grow.

Porter also tends to, in my opinion, pout when taken out and if he makes a bad play he takes a few seconds to get back into the play as it is moving away from him. Talks back to refs a lot too.

I think Monty has a good handle on it and knows how to channel it into a positive. He's very competitive and hates losing, goes hard in paractice and will be a good leader down the road

(03-14-2016 05:41 PM)Thre42 Wrote:  I think Monty has a good handle on it and knows how to channel it into a positive. He's very competitive and hates losing, goes hard in practice and will be a good leader down the road

the big guy has it right--nobody plays harder in practice or games than Porter. and all the guys seem to like him.......a real competitor but a handful to deal with when things don't go his way......a challenge for the coaches to mature him to get the most out of his natural talent, court awareness and athleticism while harnessing his kvetching. no doubt, he could be a really good one down the road.