Palm lost me when he projected both Belmont and MTSU to San Jose. Why you folks would let this moron ruffle your feathers is beyond me.

(02-11-2013 01:39 PM)NJ1 Wrote:  

(02-11-2013 01:29 PM)Latilleon Wrote:  I would say you are doing more to spin what ultimately comes down to an inferior challenge to a program that has championship aspirations.

At various times in our program's history, we have had championship aspirations.

Various times? We ALWAYS have championship aspirations. Do we always have a team good enough to compete? no.

Quote:I'm not sure I'd call that our current objective. In the wake of the Calipari departure and the loss of a recruiting class, I'd say Pastner's first three seasons more realistically had "rebuilding aspirations." A good many of us fans recognized this to be so. In his fourth season, this is when I'd like to see some results. Right now, I have "top 25, second-weekend aspirations." In other words, I want to be competitive with the top teams and build over the next few seasons to return to championship-caliber form. To me, that seems most realistic.

This is season four, not season two. And if you give one of the top 25 coaches in college basketball this team and this schedule, many of them would have won Atlantis and the game against Louisville.

You don't recruit like Pastner has recruited and then say we should still be in a rebuilding mode.

Quote:

Quote:There is little we can do against inferior programs in the conference... We just better try to get as many real challenges as possible and win many of those challenges.

In many ways, that's easier said than done from a scheduling perspective when you're anchored with a poor conference. It becomes doubly hard when you actually do a decent job scheduling OOC but many teams underperform. Fortunately, beginning next year, it becomes somewhat less of an issue.

That's why you don't lose to VCU, and when you lose to VCU you don't lose to Minnesota and when you lose to Minnesota you don't lose to Louisville.

You're whole season is based on those games, and not a potential 28-3 record.

Quote:

Quote:But you can fatten yourself a-plenty on teams who have no top hundred recruits, no money invested in basketball, and little concern or expectations about making the NCAA tournament, but that is not symbolic of what you are capable of.

There is a reason that we have memories of so few of the conference games in our successful four year run.

Now all of a sudden, a resume is built on those games?

not any of those games individually, but when you're talking astronomical winning percentages and long winning streaks, then the aggregate of that becomes pretty impressive. If you don't believe me, just take a look at the AP and Coaches polls this week.

Cal bragging on the undefeated streak in CUSA was hollow and everyone would admit that. Cal's teams were challenged out of conference and they won most of those games too.

I'll tell you what... Let us go undefeated through the CUSA tournament, and we end up ranked in the top fifteen.

How many pundits will cry for us when we get a 8 or 9 seed and we are ranked so high?

What happens when we make the NCAA tournament and CUSA has no other NCAA teams and just two NIT teams?

(02-11-2013 01:29 PM)Latilleon Wrote:  

(02-11-2013 01:19 PM)NJ1 Wrote:  

(02-11-2013 01:10 PM)Latilleon Wrote:  

(02-11-2013 01:07 PM)NJ1 Wrote:  But I happen to believe in his abilities as a coach and his upside. I think it would be equally foolish to write him off given the current track record and trajectory.

Wins against CUSA and low level basketball programs?

That's how you'd spin it if you were attempting to minimize the results so far.

You could also say 75% winning percentage, very few losses to bad or inferior teams, elite recruiting on a consistent basis, on pace to be somewhere between 5th and 10th winningest coach in NCAA history through four seasons, etc etc etc.

I would say you are doing more to spin what ultimately comes down to an inferior challenge to a program that has championship aspirations.

There is little we can do against inferior programs in the conference... We just better try to get as many real challenges as possible and win many of those challenges.

But you can fatten yourself a-plenty on teams who have no top hundred recruits, no money invested in basketball, and little concern or expectations about making the NCAA tournament, but that is not symbolic of what you are capable of.

There is a reason that we have memories of so few of the conference games in our successful four year run.

Now all of a sudden, a resume is built on those games?

OK ,I would agree with you that there are no real great wins this year. My question is why have you payed no attention to the fact that untill this year no Memphis kids that are on this team have shown any heart. Even this year Joe is the only player from Memphis that has shown improvement .Yet every kid on this team from out of town has grown each game . Tarik Black is coming off the bench behind a freshman. Cris Cris Crawford has suddenly found his shot and passing ability. A.T. is all but invisible out there every game. Geron is the leader of this team in his first year here. The problem is this team has to many Memphis kids that have been told how great they are,yet get schooled by players who are willing to work and earn their way. D.J Stephens is by far contributing more than any of the Memphis kids on the team. Pastner is a coach who has been learning on the job,but the Memphis kids are players that seem to be at the same level they came into the program at. Our problem is not that we need a new coach, but that we need new kids with better attitudes toward working hard everyday and improving. You can not blame the coach when these type of facts are obvious. The Memphis kids want to wait till the conference tournament to start working, but that is not the type of attitude that wins N.C games ,thats the kind of attitude that lets you play ball in Italy.

(02-11-2013 02:00 PM)FUB Wrote:  OK ,I would agree with you that there are no real great wins this year. My question is why have you payed no attention to the fact that untill this year no Memphis kids that are on this team have shown any heart. Even this year Joe is the only player from Memphis that has shown improvement .Yet every kid on this team from out of town has grown each game . Tarik Black is coming off the bench behind a freshman. Cris Cris Crawford has suddenly found his shot and passing ability. A.T. is all but invisible out there every game. Geron is the leader of this team in his first year here. The problem is this team has to many Memphis kids that have been told how great they are,yet get schooled by players who are willing to work and earn their way. D.J Stephens is by far contributing more than any of the Memphis kids on the team. Pastner is a coach who has been learning on the job,but the Memphis kids are players that seem to be at the same level they came into the program at. Our problem is not that we need a new coach, but that we need new kids with better attitudes toward working hard everyday and improving. You can not blame the coach when these type of facts are obvious. The Memphis kids want to wait till the conference tournament to start working, but that is not the type of attitude that wins N.C games ,thats the kind of attitude that lets you play ball in Italy.

So maybe it is a coach problem when he cannot maximize performance from several high level players.

What's the benefit of being on a fertile recruiting ground if you can't benefit from those recruits?

(02-11-2013 12:13 PM)Latilleon Wrote:  My opinion is he'll never be good enough as coach to beat the cream of the crop.

This is where you're losing most folks.

(02-11-2013 02:10 PM)Latilleon Wrote:  

(02-11-2013 02:00 PM)FUB Wrote:  OK ,I would agree with you that there are no real great wins this year. My question is why have you payed no attention to the fact that untill this year no Memphis kids that are on this team have shown any heart. Even this year Joe is the only player from Memphis that has shown improvement .Yet every kid on this team from out of town has grown each game . Tarik Black is coming off the bench behind a freshman. Cris Cris Crawford has suddenly found his shot and passing ability. A.T. is all but invisible out there every game. Geron is the leader of this team in his first year here. The problem is this team has to many Memphis kids that have been told how great they are,yet get schooled by players who are willing to work and earn their way. D.J Stephens is by far contributing more than any of the Memphis kids on the team. Pastner is a coach who has been learning on the job,but the Memphis kids are players that seem to be at the same level they came into the program at. Our problem is not that we need a new coach, but that we need new kids with better attitudes toward working hard everyday and improving. You can not blame the coach when these type of facts are obvious. The Memphis kids want to wait till the conference tournament to start working, but that is not the type of attitude that wins N.C games ,thats the kind of attitude that lets you play ball in Italy.

So maybe it is a coach problem when he cannot maximize performance from several high level players.

What's the benefit of being on a fertile recruiting ground if you can't benefit from those recruits?

Why is this a reoccuring problem that Lary finch,John Calapari,and now Josh Pastner have had. You need to take a real look at the situation, i.e. scooter mcfagdon,Shawne Williams. I wish nothing but good things for any kid from Memphis but the effort is not there ,

(02-11-2013 10:49 AM)Latilleon Wrote:  

(02-11-2013 10:24 AM)BigTigerMike Wrote:  

(02-11-2013 10:09 AM)Latilleon Wrote:  

(02-11-2013 09:55 AM)JMSTiger Wrote:  

(02-11-2013 09:48 AM)Latilleon Wrote:  Do we know Southern Miss is good? They have a crappy schedule and benefit from quirks of the RPI system by playing so many road games.

If Palm is going on more than just RPI, you don't think it'll hurt if USM wasn't a NCAA team?

Did you not watch the game on Saturday? If you don't think USM is a quality basketball team, you need to have your head examined. It is interesting how you align yourself with the anti-Memphis/anti-Conference USA media slowleaks. You seem to go out of your way to prop up their ridiculous arguments and actions. If you believe a 13-point whipping of USM on Saturday justifies dropping Memphis from a 10 seed to an 11 seed, you are clearly blinded by your hatred for Josh Pastner.

I don't hate Josh Pastner. I don't wish bad results upon the team I have been a fan of for 20 sumthin years. I don't think Pastner will get us to the promiseland. Simple as that.

Now Southern Mississippi has the same problem as us, but worse... They haven't beat anyone of substance. If half of their road games were played in Hattiesburg, where would their RPI be?

We have final four talent... We haven't beaten anybody.

I think that you are being a little too heated about something not to argue about.

Jerry Palm is just like you. His creditibiliy is hurt when he doesn't analyze the data properly. If he is showing a bias against Memphis he is severely wrong, where does that leave him?

But I haven't seen his brackets (I'm not caring about predictions until the season comes to a close)...

Where does he have USM in his brackets?

You said that Josh should leave not too long ago

I still hope we can get another coach by next season because even with the great talent we'll have, I don't think Josh Pastner will have a successful season in the Big East.

We couldn't do anything more stupid. Seriously, that would be the most stupid possible thing we could do. Saying it the day we are ranked is insane even by your extremely bottom of the barrel standards. I know this must be torture for you.

(02-11-2013 01:09 PM)Latilleon Wrote:  

(02-11-2013 01:06 PM)Mimi Wrote:  (stop feeding)

This was a tired and easy one to catch a while ago.

So I've been posting on this board for 9 years and I'm a troll?

Why, because I have a difference of opinion?

Learn what a troll actually is.

It isn't right for people to call you a troll. You are an uninformed troll.

(02-11-2013 12:46 PM)Latilleon Wrote:  

(02-11-2013 12:25 PM)ksigtigerdood Wrote:  Lat, who would you want to replace Pastner (who realistically would take the job)? And Shaka Smart would not take the job.

I don't have a name. I don't research and review coaches.

Only name I've really said was Bruce Pearl, but Pearl can't feasibly coach until 2015 (Unless a program is willing to wait and hire him in August 2014).

i can't believe you actually mentioned pearl. you're a complete goof.

I just don't get why some people are so hard on Pastner. The guy is in his 4th year and, barring an epic collapse, will have been to the dance 3/4 years. Yes, we need to win at least one game (and probably two) when it matters to prove we are continuing to make progress. However, for me personally, I see a young coach who is improving. Is he great yet- no. Can he be great- I think so.

The team has gotten better every year, he seems to be doing better with in game coaching (although still growth to be made). People argue the players haven't gotten better under JP. I think that's grossly overstated. Not every player lives up to the hype; however, Will Barton got better, JJ has improved dramatically, TB, while still needing to come around with rebounding, has developed a solid low post game under the coaching staff. Also, what about DJ Stephens? How can anyone say JP's players haven't gotten better when an unranked/unknown guy can develop his game over 3 years and have a monster senior year?

The guy runs a clean program, the players are graduating (which is overlooked by many), he's an ace recruiter, and he wins 70+% of his games. He also represents the city and university in exemplary fashion. The only argument that can really be made is he hasn't won any of his big games- which is true. He's had chances and, yes, it is frustrating to know that he hasn't capitalized on one of those chance yet but if he puts a few wins up in the dance this year nobody can honestly say we aren't on the up and up. The trend has been moving in the right direction since he took over and I think it will continue. I know our current 14 game win streak hasn't included any world beaters but there is something to be said for not losing focus and not having a letdown. I believe that lies with the coach keeping the team focused.

So far this year, for me, I'm enjoying watching this team blossom with improved play. The USM game had plenty of opportunity for the Tigers to let their guard down and let that game slip away. I'm not saying USM is Michigan or Indiana but they played a hell of a game against us and it took a big time effort for our guys to come out on top. We are 20-3....20-3. We win one of those three games and our national perception is completely different. There is still work to be done but I think we are having a good year and a few wins in the tourney is still in reach.

My apologies for the long post and these are simply my opinions.