(03-23-2019 04:16 PM)BDB5yp Wrote:  At some point we have to stop bringing up Ricardo Patton. Montgomery came off his best coaching year. He’s trending in the right direction. Guys wanting to leave and transfer programs is as big of an issue to college basketball as one and dones. Everyone loses people. Duke, Kentucky, UNC will have to replace there entire starting lineup next season. Mid majors get hit with the transfers. Same problem at a different level. Nader was our biggest loss since he moved on to the NBA, but it’s part of the game now. Maybe we can replace these guys with hungry juco guys.

How can so many of you accept mediocrity?
IF this was Montgomery's "best coaching year" then NIU is doomed to never make even the MAC championship let alone a post-season tournament.
IF it takes eight years to be "trending in the right direction" then when -- IF EVER -- can Huskie fans anticipate being good enough to go into the season as a true title contender and then either fall just short or actually win.
While some on this board are no longer content with winning seasons in football IF they don't include a MAC title or a bowl victory, then why are there some so willing to just shrug at NIU's basketball inadequacy?

In another thread there was a supposed ranking of MAC basketball programs to "determine the best JOBS in each league, all the way down to the ones that are most difficult."
Understand the need for anonymity but when it says they "polled a handful of veteran coaches" how many is that? Four of 12, six, seven, etc. of the MAC. How objective are some of them since they likely believe and took their job in the MAC thinking it was a good opportunity. Debated in another thread is whether Monty fully understood the challenges he undertook coming to DeKalb.

Even the categories are open to debate based on perspective. Tradition, meaning the history of the program. Buffalo has barely been in the league and it ranked 11th. Certainly hasn't stood in their way for a few years now. Miami and Ohio were ranked 1-2 in this category, which of those two were in the 2019 semifinals?
Media exposure had NIU ranked 12th. When Hammel's team made the NCAA tourney the Chicago papers and TV were all over us in coverage. As someone working in media for decades don't even challenge this before you ask Mike Korcek or his staff for the multitude of clips from the Tribune, Sun-Times, Daily Herald, Rockford Register-Star, Daily Southtown, etc. IF -- yes it's now a huge IF -- NIU made the NCAA hoops tourney the Huskies would get treatment similar to Bradley, hopefully minus the embarrassment of the poor PR the Braves got.
Akron is ranked 1 and Kent State is 2 -- why because they're close to Cleveland? How many people even know the name of the paper in Akron?
Game atmosphere had NIU ranked 11th. No argument, actually surprised we weren't 12th considering the lack of attendance and the obnoxious DJ.
Recruiting base had NIU's best ranking of fourth. The only argument there is why not higher since as pointed out in another thread, virtually every MAC team has players from Illinois. The cream of the P5s, the middle of the P5s, the bottom of the P5s, every mid-major recruits Chicago. The best recruiting bases were supposedly Toledo and Muncie. One of UT's go-to players was from Geneva and BSU had zero hometown kids.
Selling Pros was another category and NIU was ranked 12th. Ohio and Akron were 1 and 2. Utter B.S. There isn't a single recruit in the MAC who chose his school based on thinking it's a pipeline to the NBA. The Ron Harpers, Dan Majerles and Bonzi Wells are exceptions to the rule. IF you're a standout actually expecting to play NBA, you're being recruited by someone well above the MAC.
Buy Games was supposedly based on "programs who are bought the fewest number of times will rank first." Since NIU was ranked 12th shouldn't that mean every one of our road games was worth tons of money. Unlike football, I doubt NIU basketball gets far more than the transportation (plane or bus) and hotel costs (rooms and meals).
The only two truly relevant categories were: most importantly budget/resources, plus facilities. NIU's second-best rating was fifth for facilities with some MAC assistant coach commenting "quality practice facility and decent arena." Without knowing if a Freedom of Information Act was used, another MAC assistant said of NIU "general apathy towards basketball from both the administration and also the fan base, and bottom of the league resources." Not going to debate the resources but the general apathy, just like game atmosphere and media exposure were all sunk to the bottom of the well by the now needing to be nameless individual with the first name Ricardo.

Bradley's coach was hired in May 2015 for the 2015-16 season -- not 2011-12 -- and they made the NCAA in 2018-19. Mark Huger was hired the same season as Bradley coach and Bowling Green was a step closer to a MAC title than NIU. Ohio hired Saul Phillips the season before (2014-15) and he just got let go. Apparently the OU AD had a short list in mind because they immediately got a replacement. That is an answer to someone's question in a previous thread about the chances of getting an upgrade --- that all depends on the AD.
IF -- and again this is a huge IF at NIU -- the AD is any good, they'll have a short list in mind in case of either success leading to someone being hired away or in case mediocrity isn't to be tolerated with unnecessary extensions.

Sorry to be redundant, but that's inherent in defining mediocrity.
Every single significant measure of Monty's record minus home games which include Carthage, Rockford, Aurora, Judson, St. Joseph's IN, Eureka, IU Northwest, Chicago State, Olivet Nazarene, UI Springfield, St. Francis IL, and Illinois Tech, -- overall, conference, away, neutral, MAC post-season -- is under .500.

Monty's eight-season records are as follows:
Overall: 105-150 (.412)
MAC regular season: 51-89 (.364)
MAC Post-season: 2-4 (.333)


2011-12 / NIU 5-26 ---- h 4-11 / a 1-14 / n 0-1
MAC 3-13 ---- h 3-5 / a 0-8
2012-13 / NIU 5-25 ---- h 3-11 / a 2-14
MAC 3-13 ---- h 1-7 / a 2-6
2013-14 / NIU 15-17---- h 10-7 / a 5-9 / n 0-1
MAC 8-10 ---- h 5-4 / a 3-6
2014-15 / NIU 14-16 ---- h 10-5 / a 4-11
MAC 8-10 ---- h 4-5 / a 4-5
2015-16 / NIU 21-13 ---- h 17-1 / a 3-10 / n 0-2 ****
MAC 9-9 ---- h 8-1 / a 1-8
2016-17 / NIU 15-17 --- h 9-8 / a 6-9
MAC 7-11 --- h 3-6 / a 4-5
2017-18 / NIU 13-19 --- h 11-4 / a 1-13 / n 1-2
MAC 6-12 --- h 6-3 / 0-9
2018-19/ NIU 17-17 --- h 10-6 / a 5-9 / n 2-2
MAC 7-11 --- h 4-5 / a 3-6

Overall / 105-150 (.412) h 75-53 / a 27-89 / n 3-8
MAC 51-89 (.364) --- h 34-36 / a 17-53

**** -- Indicates the single worst schedule in NIU men's basketball history. Monty's one shining year began with the team 16-3 overall and 5-1 in the MAC during the first 19 games. The last 12 of that season saw NIU 4-8 overall and 4-8 in MAC play.