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Antarius Offline
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Post: #41
RE: Kazemi
(02-11-2013 09:48 PM)MemOwl Wrote:  
(02-11-2013 06:33 PM)I45owl Wrote:  I think posting those rumors was inappropriate, but I'm not the one that did so. I don't think saying that "if xyz is true, then he should be terminated" is inappropriate. I've generally presented it or tried to present it in that conditional form, but what I did above did stray a bit from that.

I will say definitively that I cannot substantiate them in any way.

Do you want to amend or retract your statement that RG has sunk our basketball program?

The fact is, under RG, we haven't gone anywhere. And now we are saddled with Braun till 2017. Prematurely extending a contract with no results is well within the scope of sinking a program.

RG is responsible for this as the leader/Director of the athletics program.
02-13-2013 01:59 AM
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d1owls4life Offline
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Post: #42
RE: Kazemi
(02-13-2013 01:59 AM)Antarius Wrote:  
(02-11-2013 09:48 PM)MemOwl Wrote:  
(02-11-2013 06:33 PM)I45owl Wrote:  I think posting those rumors was inappropriate, but I'm not the one that did so. I don't think saying that "if xyz is true, then he should be terminated" is inappropriate. I've generally presented it or tried to present it in that conditional form, but what I did above did stray a bit from that.

I will say definitively that I cannot substantiate them in any way.

Do you want to amend or retract your statement that RG has sunk our basketball program?

The fact is, under RG, we haven't gone anywhere. And now we are saddled with Braun till 2017. Prematurely extending a contract with no results is well within the scope of sinking a program.

RG is responsible for this as the leader/Director of the athletics program.

Hindsight is 20/20. But we've been over this one a few times. I probably should just leave it alone.
(This post was last modified: 02-13-2013 07:27 AM by d1owls4life.)
02-13-2013 07:27 AM
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Antarius Offline
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Post: #43
RE: Kazemi
(02-13-2013 07:27 AM)d1owls4life Wrote:  
(02-13-2013 01:59 AM)Antarius Wrote:  
(02-11-2013 09:48 PM)MemOwl Wrote:  
(02-11-2013 06:33 PM)I45owl Wrote:  I think posting those rumors was inappropriate, but I'm not the one that did so. I don't think saying that "if xyz is true, then he should be terminated" is inappropriate. I've generally presented it or tried to present it in that conditional form, but what I did above did stray a bit from that.

I will say definitively that I cannot substantiate them in any way.

Do you want to amend or retract your statement that RG has sunk our basketball program?

The fact is, under RG, we haven't gone anywhere. And now we are saddled with Braun till 2017. Prematurely extending a contract with no results is well within the scope of sinking a program.

RG is responsible for this as the leader/Director of the athletics program.

Hindsight is 20/20. But we've been over this one a few times. I probably should just leave it alone.

Perhaps. I merely challenge calling it hindsight, because if you look back to my posts about it back then, they are the same as now.
02-14-2013 07:17 AM
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d1owls4life Offline
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Post: #44
RE: Kazemi
(02-14-2013 07:17 AM)Antarius Wrote:  
(02-13-2013 07:27 AM)d1owls4life Wrote:  
(02-13-2013 01:59 AM)Antarius Wrote:  
(02-11-2013 09:48 PM)MemOwl Wrote:  
(02-11-2013 06:33 PM)I45owl Wrote:  I think posting those rumors was inappropriate, but I'm not the one that did so. I don't think saying that "if xyz is true, then he should be terminated" is inappropriate. I've generally presented it or tried to present it in that conditional form, but what I did above did stray a bit from that.

I will say definitively that I cannot substantiate them in any way.

Do you want to amend or retract your statement that RG has sunk our basketball program?

The fact is, under RG, we haven't gone anywhere. And now we are saddled with Braun till 2017. Prematurely extending a contract with no results is well within the scope of sinking a program.

RG is responsible for this as the leader/Director of the athletics program.

Hindsight is 20/20. But we've been over this one a few times. I probably should just leave it alone.

Perhaps. I merely challenge calling it hindsight, because if you look back to my posts about it back then, they are the same as now.

Perhaps. However, you could not have known then the turmoil that was coming. If I had known that, hell yeah, I would have been against it. I don't believe the events that happened with the players transferring was the reason you laid out that Braun shouldn't have gotten an extension.
02-14-2013 07:29 AM
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RiceLad15 Online
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Post: #45
RE: Kazemi
(02-14-2013 07:29 AM)d1owls4life Wrote:  
(02-14-2013 07:17 AM)Antarius Wrote:  
(02-13-2013 07:27 AM)d1owls4life Wrote:  
(02-13-2013 01:59 AM)Antarius Wrote:  
(02-11-2013 09:48 PM)MemOwl Wrote:  Do you want to amend or retract your statement that RG has sunk our basketball program?

The fact is, under RG, we haven't gone anywhere. And now we are saddled with Braun till 2017. Prematurely extending a contract with no results is well within the scope of sinking a program.

RG is responsible for this as the leader/Director of the athletics program.

Hindsight is 20/20. But we've been over this one a few times. I probably should just leave it alone.

Perhaps. I merely challenge calling it hindsight, because if you look back to my posts about it back then, they are the same as now.

Perhaps. However, you could not have known then the turmoil that was coming. If I had known that, hell yeah, I would have been against it. I don't believe the events that happened with the players transferring was the reason you laid out that Braun shouldn't have gotten an extension.

Agreed, and, IMO, this year has shown that he can figure out how to coach some basketball, and maximize his return on players.

Unfortunately, we just don't have that many players to maximize...
02-14-2013 09:50 AM
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WIowl Online
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Post: #46
RE: Kazemi
(02-14-2013 09:50 AM)RiceLad15 Wrote:  
(02-14-2013 07:29 AM)d1owls4life Wrote:  
(02-14-2013 07:17 AM)Antarius Wrote:  
(02-13-2013 07:27 AM)d1owls4life Wrote:  
(02-13-2013 01:59 AM)Antarius Wrote:  The fact is, under RG, we haven't gone anywhere. And now we are saddled with Braun till 2017. Prematurely extending a contract with no results is well within the scope of sinking a program.

RG is responsible for this as the leader/Director of the athletics program.

Hindsight is 20/20. But we've been over this one a few times. I probably should just leave it alone.

Perhaps. I merely challenge calling it hindsight, because if you look back to my posts about it back then, they are the same as now.

Perhaps. However, you could not have known then the turmoil that was coming. If I had known that, hell yeah, I would have been against it. I don't believe the events that happened with the players transferring was the reason you laid out that Braun shouldn't have gotten an extension.

Agreed, and, IMO, this year has shown that he can figure out how to coach some basketball, and maximize his return on players.

Unfortunately, we just don't have that many players to maximize...

I have no problem with the extension. It didn't work out. So now, at most schools that care about winning, you fire him and honor his buyout, thank him for his efforts, and start looking for a new coach. Sometimes, even with his coaching effort this year, things just don't work out and you move on.
02-14-2013 10:14 AM
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MemOwl Offline
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Post: #47
RE: Kazemi
(02-14-2013 09:50 AM)RiceLad15 Wrote:  Unfortunately, we just don't have that many players to maximize...

(02-13-2013 09:11 PM)Tiki Owl Wrote:  Another gutty effort. How anyone can criticize these players is beyond me.

(02-14-2013 06:24 AM)Owl 69/70/75 Wrote:  This is probably Braun's best coaching job. Among other things going on with this team, Braun is obviously coaching his butt off...

...I think Braun came here to turn things around in a hurry, repair his reputation, and leave for a big-time job.

I paste from Tiki's and 69's posts from the other thread.

Trying to divine the line of acceptable commentary here.

Our guys are giving great effort and our coach is coaching his butt off.

But we are losing to bad teams, often by large margins--is this acceptable to say, or by saying it am I dissing the players?

Our best win is against UH, which sits at 171 in Sagarin. SMU sits at 169 and beat us by 22 at Autry, holding us under 40 points

We are 93 Sagarin spots behind 11th place Marshall. We are rated lower than 7 of the 8 Ivy League schools, which don't give scholarships. We are marginally better than in WTW's last season in the wilderness.
=============

I'm going to remain optimistic and express confidence that Leebron is aware of all of the above and thinking about what to do. CDC sold Leebron on the necessity of fixing basketball. The facility investment and coaching change were necessary and logical on that path. But now we reach another decision point.

Braun is almost 60. Given that we face a long fix, not a quick fix, do we think Braun is able and willing to get us there? By the time he gets it fixed enough to move on to bigger time, he will be too old, I think, to be an attractive candidate.

Double clicking, I think you get to:
1. Can he get far more of his players to stay 4 years?
2. Can he recruit in Houston? (I believe this would help attendance and increase retention. Not a surprise that two of his 4 year guys are Herndon and Frizzelle, Texas boys)
(This post was last modified: 02-14-2013 04:14 PM by MemOwl.)
02-14-2013 04:13 PM
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RiceLad15 Online
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Post: #48
RE: Kazemi
(02-14-2013 04:13 PM)MemOwl Wrote:  I paste from Tiki's and 69's posts from the other thread.

Trying to divine the line of acceptable commentary here.

Our guys are giving great effort and our coach is coaching his butt off.

But we are losing to bad teams, often by large margins--is this acceptable to say, or by saying it am I dissing the players?

Our best win is against UH, which sits at 171 in Sagarin. SMU sits at 169 and beat us by 22 at Autry, holding us under 40 points

We are 93 Sagarin spots behind 11th place Marshall. We are rated lower than 7 of the 8 Ivy League schools, which don't give scholarships. We are marginally better than in WTW's last season in the wilderness.
=============

I'm going to remain optimistic and express confidence that Leebron is aware of all of the above and thinking about what to do. CDC sold Leebron on the necessity of fixing basketball. The facility investment and coaching change were necessary and logical on that path. But now we reach another decision point.

Braun is almost 60. Given that we face a long fix, not a quick fix, do we think Braun is able and willing to get us there? By the time he gets it fixed enough to move on to bigger time, he will be too old, I think, to be an attractive candidate.

Double clicking, I think you get to:
1. Can he get far more of his players to stay 4 years?
2. Can he recruit in Houston? (I believe this would help attendance and increase retention. Not a surprise that two of his 4 year guys are Herndon and Frizzelle, Texas boys)

I raise two good questions at the end, and everything you say at the beginning is just stating facts.

This year we were dealt a crap hand with the loss of arguably 5 of our 7 best players, and NOT to planned graduation or the draft. I don't know many programs that could survive losing their EXPECTED starters for the next year, and we are a prime example of how hard it is.

The biggest frustration is that we don't have any idea (except maybe with Chadwick) with why they all really left. We have assumptions and rumors, all of which may be true or false. Due to that, I have a hard time calling for Braun's head because I liked the product he was putting on the floor and you noticed improvement every single year.

Now, Braun has always had a player or two transfer off the team each year, but they were generally bit players who wanted to be starting somewhere else, which is something I can live with because of how common it is in the NCAA currently. I BIG sign of trouble would be if we have students transfer at the end of this year. If that happens, then there is obviously something amiss.

I think recruiting in Houston should improve, and it's strange that it hasn't. I like that he is going for a more diverse team, but as many people have stated, it seems like he is overlooking the potential off -court benefit of recruiting in Houston.

In the end, I won't cry if Braun is cut loose at the end of the season, and I certainly won't if he stays. This has just been a strange, and very unfortunate year for MBB.
02-14-2013 04:34 PM
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Owl 69/70/75 Online
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Post: #49
RE: Kazemi
I think back to WTW's season in the wilderness and remember expressing the opinion that no matter the excuse, it was simply unacceptable in what would be something approaching the 15th year of a program to get caught in a situation like that. I have some simliar thoughts now. I think Braun's age was a factor. If he was going to get back to the big time, 60 was starting to push it age wise. Thus the temptation for a quick fix and thus the hope of catching lighting in a bottle with Morcos.

I simply am no longer close enough to the program to offer anything more than speculation about whehter Braun should go or stay. Like RiceLad, I don't think I'll cry if he goes and I don't think I'll cry if he stays.

What I do believe very strongly is that getting basketball to where baseball is now would probably be the fastest way to fix this program.
02-14-2013 06:02 PM
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WIowl Online
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Post: #50
RE: Kazemi
(02-14-2013 06:02 PM)Owl 69/70/75 Wrote:  What I do believe very strongly is that getting basketball to where baseball is now would probably be the fastest way to fix this program.

I agree 100% with you. But the question is, can Braun get us to that level? If yes, then keep him. If the answer is no, then get rid of him. After six years, we should know the answer.
02-14-2013 06:11 PM
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Post: #51
RE: Kazemi
Another nice Kazemi highlight. Rare that he shows that much initiative on offense with the ball.
02-15-2013 11:10 AM
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Tiki Owl Offline
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Post: #52
RE: Kazemi
A move he made a number of times at Tudor.
02-15-2013 11:22 AM
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mrbig Offline
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Post: #53
RE: Kazemi
Felt like the games I watched on TV/computer, he did 80% of his scoring by getting open away from the ball, put-backs from offensive rebounds, and from the FT line. There were certainly instances like that in the highlight where he showed initiative, and he was usually successful enough that I wondered why he didn't do it twice as often. But I confess I saw very few games in-person and certainly watched no more than 50% of the games during Kazemi's sophomore and junior seasons at Rice.
02-15-2013 11:59 AM
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That Guy 2012 Offline
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Post: #54
RE: Kazemi
I will confess that I don't understand some of the nuances of a basketball offense, so maybe there was something that I was missing, but when AK was here, I always felt like he gave 150%, but only 60% of the time. Makes for good highlights and has good potential for stuffing the stat sheet but leaves a lot to be desired.
02-15-2013 01:13 PM
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Post: #55
RE: Kazemi
Kazemi currently rebounding his butt off on ESPN against Cal.
14 first half boards
02-21-2013 10:24 PM
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Post: #56
RE: Kazemi
I was flipping the channels last nite in my hotel room and came across the oregon-cal game. Arsalan was his normal awesome self, playing away from the ball, getting steals, rebounds and attracting fouls. He had the best hands (and was our favorite) of anyone since Michael Harris. I have little doubt that had we kept all of our players from last year, this could have been a banner year. I also have little doubt that his whole transfer thing will just be shrugged by an administration who I am convinced just doesn't care or is actively trying to kill all of athletics by starvation. Reminds me of renewing Bob Polk's contract and hiring Bill Peterson. sigh..........
02-22-2013 09:35 AM
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RiceDad Offline
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Post: #57
RE: Kazemi
(02-22-2013 09:35 AM)texowl2 Wrote:  I also have little doubt that his whole transfer thing will just be shrugged by an administration who I am convinced just doesn't care or is actively trying to kill all of athletics by starvation.

Oh, really? So, you think that Bobby Tudor, the soon to be Chairman of the BOT, gave $8MM to renovate TUDOR Fieldhouse only to watch athletics die by starvation. No, I think it is a lot more complicated than indifference. Everything at Rice is driven by funding (most of it by contributions) and this is no different.
02-22-2013 02:36 PM
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Post: #58
RE: Kazemi
(02-15-2013 11:59 AM)mrbig Wrote:  Felt like the games I watched on TV/computer, he did 80% of his scoring by getting open away from the ball, put-backs from offensive rebounds, and from the FT line.

Those are pretty good ways to score points! And while I don't know very much about the inner game of basketball, these strike me as skills that are less dependent on physical prowess than on awareness and practice, and thus ones that a heady and disciplined player can get very good at over a college career. In other words, the kinds of things that (in general) might be well suited to Rice teams.
02-22-2013 03:28 PM
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Post: #59
RE: Kazemi
(02-22-2013 02:36 PM)RiceDad Wrote:  
(02-22-2013 09:35 AM)texowl2 Wrote:  I also have little doubt that his whole transfer thing will just be shrugged by an administration who I am convinced just doesn't care or is actively trying to kill all of athletics by starvation.

Oh, really? So, you think that Bobby Tudor, the soon to be Chairman of the BOT, gave $8MM to renovate TUDOR Fieldhouse only to watch athletics die by starvation. No, I think it is a lot more complicated than indifference. Everything at Rice is driven by funding (most of it by contributions) and this is no different.

Well then after 40+ years of nothing, we need to start seeing something....
02-22-2013 07:12 PM
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RiceDad Offline
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Post: #60
RE: Kazemi
(02-22-2013 07:12 PM)texowl2 Wrote:  
(02-22-2013 02:36 PM)RiceDad Wrote:  
(02-22-2013 09:35 AM)texowl2 Wrote:  I also have little doubt that his whole transfer thing will just be shrugged by an administration who I am convinced just doesn't care or is actively trying to kill all of athletics by starvation.

Oh, really? So, you think that Bobby Tudor, the soon to be Chairman of the BOT, gave $8MM to renovate TUDOR Fieldhouse only to watch athletics die by starvation. No, I think it is a lot more complicated than indifference. Everything at Rice is driven by funding (most of it by contributions) and this is no different.

Well then after 40+ years of nothing, we need to start seeing something....
Are you going to give to give the lead off gift of $5 or 10 million, or find the donor who will, otherwise, your complaining is just bull****!!
02-23-2013 02:12 AM
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