So Akron and UB are squaring up in the finals. Teams we both beat in the regular season. There is optimism for the future with this young team, but what frustrates me is UB loses a coach, their best player and I though a bunch of other players to graduation and/or transfer after their coach left. Yet they are in the finals. Waiting now 36+ yrs and going through a major rebuilding, that is where it gets frustrating as a fan. We got close with a coach k team of transfers, now we are rebuilding again. It just seems like it shouldn't be this hard to win the tourney. There is always next year, right?

(03-12-2016 01:26 PM)emanoh Wrote:  So Akron and UB are squaring up in the finals. Teams we both beat in the regular season. There is optimism for the future with this young team, but what frustrates me is UB loses a coach, their best player and I though a bunch of other players to graduation and/or transfer after their coach left. Yet they are in the finals. Waiting now 36+ yrs and going through a major rebuilding, that is where it gets frustrating as a fan. We got close with a coach k team of transfers, now we are rebuilding again. It just seems like it shouldn't be this hard to win the tourney. There is always next year, right?

Same is true on the women's side where the Rockets went 3-0 against Central and Buffalo in the regular season, but, like the UT men, also went 0-1 in the tournament.

Where you see optimism for the future (in the case of the men anyway), what I see is an ongoing tendency in Rocket basketball (both men and women) for the teams to peak too soon and usually go into the tournament not playing their best ball. During the past 5 years both the men and the women won the regular season championship and were favored to win the tournament as well, but failed. As to next year or the future in general, nothing is ever promised which makes missed opportunities all the more disappointing.

(03-12-2016 01:26 PM)emanoh Wrote:  So Akron and UB are squaring up in the finals. Teams we both beat in the regular season. There is optimism for the future with this young team, but what frustrates me is UB loses a coach, their best player and I though a bunch of other players to graduation and/or transfer after their coach left. Yet they are in the finals. Waiting now 36+ yrs and going through a major rebuilding, that is where it gets frustrating as a fan. We got close with a coach k team of transfers, now we are rebuilding again. It just seems like it shouldn't be this hard to win the tourney. There is always next year, right?

If I recall correctly, we "stole" Navigato from UB, as well, after their coaching change. Got to be just a little frustrating for him to see this pan out...

That was great. Can't stand Akron. Pretty sure they walked off without shaking hands

Hats off to the Bulls . . . men and women.

Although Ohio and Akron have been dominant recently and have both had multiple MAC tournament championships during the past 5 or 6 six this is the first time in over a decade that a men's team has won the MAC Tourney back to back.....and their women's team is also going to the NCAA----imagine that! Two teams in the NCAA in the same year!!!! WOW!!!

By all rights the Bulls were a train wreck last August having lost a head coach, several recruits, a current player transferring to ASU with Hurley, (as well as a player with an season ending injury?) topped off by having the then current MAC POY kicked off the team for criminal activity-----they were prime candidates for a 2-3 year rebuilding program by most team standards, yet against all odds they win a second consecutive MAC Championship. A major accomplishment by any measure and one that deserves recognition and congratulations.

Could we be witnessing the dawn of a new MAC basketball dynasty? If so, given their academic profile they could very easily move to the top of the MAC list in terms of becoming the most desirable candidate to move on should there ever be another shakeup in conference memberships.

T-Town said it better than my first post and elaborated. Good Post. I knew UB lost a ton and had issues, but they found a way....for a 2nd year. We'll have our moment in the sun, hopefully before I'm 6 ft under.

I guess they are better at finding coaches than we are. You pretty much have to pin the success/lack of success on the coaches - particularly with basketball. They make most of the recruiting decisions, develop the players, put the framework for the offense and defense together, etc. etc. Other than unexpected injuries, you can determine the success of a coach based on his record - and how well they play in tourneys or big games. It is the preparation and attention to details along with discipline that weed out the contenders from the pretenders.

(03-12-2016 09:44 PM)NewMex RocketFan Wrote:  Hats off to the Bulls . . . men and women.

You'll be able to tell how it's been since I've been to Cleveland when I say that the last time I was there I witnessed the UB fans yelling, "FU UT."

That being the case, I won't take my hat off to them. But maybe my socks.

or maybe they used up everything and they enter a dormant period?

(03-12-2016 10:38 PM)T-Town Wrote:  Although Ohio and Akron have been dominant recently and have both had multiple MAC tournament championships during the past 5 or 6 six this is the first time in over a decade that a men's team has won the MAC Tourney back to back.....and their women's team is also going to the NCAA----imagine that! Two teams in the NCAA in the same year!!!! WOW!!!

By all rights the Bulls were a train wreck last August having lost a head coach, several recruits, a current player transferring to ASU with Hurley, (as well as a player with an season ending injury?) topped off by having the then current MAC POY kicked off the team for criminal activity-----they were prime candidates for a 2-3 year rebuilding program by most team standards, yet against all odds they win a second consecutive MAC Championship. A major accomplishment by any measure and one that deserves recognition and congratulations.

Could we be witnessing the dawn of a new MAC basketball dynasty? If so, given their academic profile they could very easily move to the top of the MAC list in terms of becoming the most desirable candidate to move on should there ever be another shakeup in conference memberships.

(03-12-2016 06:12 PM)bcunn3128 Wrote:  

(03-12-2016 01:26 PM)emanoh Wrote:  So Akron and UB are squaring up in the finals. Teams we both beat in the regular season. There is optimism for the future with this young team, but what frustrates me is UB loses a coach, their best player and I though a bunch of other players to graduation and/or transfer after their coach left. Yet they are in the finals. Waiting now 36+ yrs and going through a major rebuilding, that is where it gets frustrating as a fan. We got close with a coach k team of transfers, now we are rebuilding again. It just seems like it shouldn't be this hard to win the tourney. There is always next year, right?

If I recall correctly, we "stole" Navigato from UB, as well, after their coaching change. Got to be just a little frustrating for him to see this pan out...

Yea UB lost a lot, which is why I think Oats really should have been up there in COY voting.

Lost: Ford (Last years MACC MVP), Evans (1st team), Moss (POY), Regan, and quite a few others to graduation.

Three days after Hurley leaves Oats is named the head coach, Evans leaves a week after that, recruits bail after that. Some want to ASU with Hurley and some, like Navigato, reopened their recruiting as is the prerogative of a player when a potential coach loses.

Conner, Massinburg, and Hamilton all signed within a week of Oats taking over nobody had really recruited them.

Then Moss does something stupid and lifts some money while working in the dorms and gets kicked out of school.

Finally we lose Raheem Johnson, one of our bigs, to an injury and later LaMonte is suspended three games for team rules.

All of that and UB earned a bye.

(03-12-2016 10:38 PM)T-Town Wrote:  Could we be witnessing the dawn of a new MAC basketball dynasty? If so, given their academic profile they could very easily move to the top of the MAC list in terms of becoming the most desirable candidate to move on should there ever be another shakeup in conference memberships.

It's so hard to tell. The MAC has gotten so much better in the middle and on the bottom that there are 6 teams who really have an equal shot at it next year.

UB is losing Jarryn Skeete and Rodell Wigginton.

Skeete was quiet this year but *HUGE* in Cleveland. Wiggs had his moments. We have a couple of interesting guys coming in, including a 7 footer.

But a lot of good young players in the MAC this year and a lot of teams pushing hard. *IF* UB does not emerge as a dynasty then it may be because the MAC's top end gets strong enough to be a multibid conference.