Part of this goes to the NCAA selection committee. Only 5 mid-majors were at-larges this year, out of 32, while conferences like the SEC, B12 etc., had their 8th place teams in. If Loyola-Chicago hadn't won their conference do you think they would have been selected?
It's not all on the coach and team.

(03-27-2018 12:43 AM)FoUTASportscaster Wrote:  I don’t agree with it, but I see where the AD is coming from. I was severely disappointed in this year. Preseason favs, with the best PG in the conference and returning PotY. Six other seniors were there too. We beat Louisiana, and lost to App and CCU. I can count on one hand the times we played a full 40 minutes of basketball.

Yea, we are a one-bid league, but UTA should have gotten in on its merits last year. We were head and shoulders above the rest of the SBC and we choked when it mattered. This year, we had five guys playing basketball, not one team and some of that (not all) does rest on the team.

Ironically, it was Texas State that started this mess. Just another way the cats get one last laugh at our expense.

I know that we like to "rag" on y'all from time to time, but I can assure you, most Bobcats find this move by UTA to be a head scratcher. Personally, I think that Cross was a Class Act, and I'm not convinced that you'll necessarily find a replacement as good.

As to a last laugh at your expense. I think you'll find that most of us aren't laughing at UTA today.

(03-27-2018 10:10 AM)CatMom Wrote:  Part of this goes to the NCAA selection committee. Only 5 mid-majors were at-larges this year, out of 32, while conferences like the SEC, B12 etc., had their 8th place teams in. If Loyola-Chicago hadn't won their conference do you think they would have been selected?
It's not all on the coach and team.

true but as a conference our teams need to play and beat teams from the b12 and sec and others and not be the "gimmies" on their schedules before we can gripe too much about being left out.

(03-27-2018 08:37 AM)slycat Wrote:  

(03-26-2018 07:40 PM)Bobcat87 Wrote:  

(03-26-2018 07:34 PM)GaSoEagle Wrote:  Sometimes these type decisions result in a realization that finding someone who can do better isn’t t as easy as some think

Yeah, just look at "The Withers experiment" in San Marcos . .. . .

Tad different. One is taking a team that is winning and making them better. The other is taking a long time loser and trying to make them relevant.

Yeah, I never said it was an apples to apples comparison... . merely pointing out that while many wanted Fran gone (including me), what came after wasn't better (at least not the past two seasons). Could that change? Sure. But to date, Cat fans wanted a change believing that whatever came after Fran would be better, and to date it hasn't been. Be careful what you wish for was all that I was pointing out to Mav fan.

Also Fran left on his own accord. Cross most definitely isn't. Larry said publicly he tried to talk Fran into staying.

(03-27-2018 09:52 AM)UTArlingtonMaverick Wrote:  Having digested the news for almost a day, I can now say I support the decision.

The last two years are key. We were by far the best team in the conference last year and choked when it counted. We had a very talented team this season, and strangely under performed; they didn't play as a team with fire in the belly. Made a little noise in the conference tournament, but, again, choked when it counted. Very disappointing season. We have a pattern, and this is on the coach. We also know Cross departs with a depleted roster and would have to begin a new cycle, and otherwise see what Cross comes up with three or four years from now.

If we do nothing, we are saying this is good enough.

We can all be proud of Coach Cross and what he has done; however, it is best to not be sentimental or attach oneself to a particular person or personality.

This is a business, and it is all also a roll of the dice with coaching changes. So, yes, lets give it a roll. Let's bring in somebody blood thirsty and who actually has post-season experience. I'm excited about a new coach, and I think he will bring new energy and excitement.

Do you actually think UTA will be able to find someone with this kind of experience at the D1 level? Just asking because I'm thinking this will be a job for a high major assistant.

I gotta say. I don’t like the decision. But this past year was my most disappointed year in my two decades as a Maverick. We won 21 games. To say those two sentences together is a very rare occurrence, if totally unprecedented. So that’s a positive.

We have the best arena in the conference and one of the best on-campus arenas in the NCAA. We’ll be fine recruiting talent just on that alone. What we need is someone who can maintain consistency both within the game and throughout the season.

Nothing is a given of course and that’s where MavCity prolly has the most angst. One bad hire and we set back the program quite a bit. That’s where I’m not sure the risk is worth the reward.

To say I'm pissed off would be an understatement. You don't replace a successful coach for the unknown unless he leaves on his own. Our AD is delusional if he thinks any team in the Sun Belt will consistently make the toruney every year because conf tourneys are a crap shoot. The way I see it there will be no building on what Coach Cross has done. At best our program just became a stepping stone.

(03-27-2018 11:53 AM)FoUTASportscaster Wrote:  I gotta say. I don’t like the decision. But this past year was my most disappointed year in my two decades as a Maverick. We won 21 games. To say those two sentences together is a very rare occurrence, if totally unprecedented. So that’s a positive.

We have the best arena in the conference and one of the best on-campus arenas in the NCAA. We’ll be fine recruiting talent just on that alone. What we need is someone who can maintain consistency both within the game and throughout the season.

Nothing is a given of course and that’s where MavCity prolly has the most angst. One bad hire and we set back the program quite a bit. That’s where I’m not sure the risk is worth the reward.

Once Azore went down in the Oklahoma scrimmage my expectations for the season dropped. He was going to be the scoring off the bench and that left when he went down. Right now our program is at a level where we should always finish in the top 4 of our league. Unless they are going to put enough money in the program to have a top 4 budget to go with it we will continue with the same results.

(03-27-2018 12:50 PM)grumpdoggMav Wrote:  To say I'm pissed off would be an understatement. You don't replace a successful coach for the unknown unless he leaves on his own. Our AD is delusional if he thinks any team in the Sun Belt will consistently make the toruney every year because conf tourneys are a crap shoot. The way I see it there will be no building on what Coach Cross has done. At best our program just became a stepping stone.

Somehow SFA has managed to find a way.

(03-27-2018 11:26 AM)leofrog Wrote:  

(03-27-2018 09:52 AM)UTArlingtonMaverick Wrote:  Having digested the news for almost a day, I can now say I support the decision.

The last two years are key. We were by far the best team in the conference last year and choked when it counted. We had a very talented team this season, and strangely under performed; they didn't play as a team with fire in the belly. Made a little noise in the conference tournament, but, again, choked when it counted. Very disappointing season. We have a pattern, and this is on the coach. We also know Cross departs with a depleted roster and would have to begin a new cycle, and otherwise see what Cross comes up with three or four years from now.

If we do nothing, we are saying this is good enough.

We can all be proud of Coach Cross and what he has done; however, it is best to not be sentimental or attach oneself to a particular person or personality.

This is a business, and it is all also a roll of the dice with coaching changes. So, yes, lets give it a roll. Let's bring in somebody blood thirsty and who actually has post-season experience. I'm excited about a new coach, and I think he will bring new energy and excitement.

Do you actually think UTA will be able to find someone with this kind of experience at the D1 level? Just asking because I'm thinking this will be a job for a high major assistant.

Yes, it's possible, in some role. Assistant coach, player, whatever.

This is a very high risk move ... obviously the AD is willing to tie his job to this next hire ... I honestly don't think this is the best move long-term, as they are looking for a program builder, but had the closest thing to one and he was LOYAL ... maybe tensions with Baker would of caused Cross to leave at the next opportunity ... maybe this relationship was destined to fail ... but I put the onus on Baker for that ...

UTA had a very good coach, with STRONG ties to the University, good recruiting ties (quite a few of his former players are coaches in the area, and they are MAD!!!), and a squeaky clean record .... that is a hard person to find twice ... especially for a mid major with a minimal to non-existent reputation ...

But holy crap, if Baker gets to fire the next coach and is not out the door with him .....

Now that the shock of the Coaching decision is starting to subside, any word or thoughts on talent (recruited by Cross) heading for the exit(s) ?

You may get lucky and not suffer much of a talent loss, but I would expect some of these guys, especially those fond of Cross to consider "other" options.

(03-27-2018 02:54 PM)FoUTASportscaster Wrote:  

(03-27-2018 12:50 PM)grumpdoggMav Wrote:  To say I'm pissed off would be an understatement. You don't replace a successful coach for the unknown unless he leaves on his own. Our AD is delusional if he thinks any team in the Sun Belt will consistently make the toruney every year because conf tourneys are a crap shoot. The way I see it there will be no building on what Coach Cross has done. At best our program just became a stepping stone.

Somehow SFA has managed to find a way.

certainly coaching jobs at this level are stepping stones. nobody at this level is going to pay the big bucks so we will most likely be looking for a top level assistant looking to make a name for himself. the university has a top flight arena and the metro area probably has 100 high schools to recruit players from. probably the biggest stumbling block to getting a top assistant may be who we play and whether a top coaching prospect will think coaching a team in the sbc would be a good deal or not.

John Wooden was so lucky to coach at UCLA when he did. Won his first championship in his 16th season at UCLA. Won 9 more in the next 10 years.

(03-27-2018 09:16 PM)Fanther Wrote:  John Wooden was so lucky to coach at UCLA when he did. Won his first championship in his 16th season at UCLA. Won 9 more in the next 10 years.

Those were the daaaaaaays!

(03-27-2018 06:27 PM)Bobcat87 Wrote:  Now that the shock of the Coaching decision is starting to subside, any word or thoughts on talent (recruited by Cross) heading for the exit(s) ?

You may get lucky and not suffer much of a talent loss, but I would expect some of these guys, especially those fond of Cross to consider "other" options.

The current players have been fairly quite on Twitter at least ... the entire freshmen class red-shirted this past year and we had 2 D1 transfers sit out too ... if they were to transfer that would mean 2 years of sitting out, which might be OK for some and not OK for others ...

Best guess is they are waiting to meet the new hire, the AD says a new coach should be announced next week ...

I'm seein' this is a "high risk" move and the next coach will want to use us as the proverbial "stepping stone." Let me be devil's advocate.

It's all risky. There was risk staying with Cross. A risk of settling for 1 NCAA every 12 years; a risk for settling-in and getting comfortable; a risk of waiting no telling how many more years for him to possibly assemble the next most talented collection of players in school history and watch them oddly blow it, often acting like they didn't care, and not win a thing.

It may not even be the next coach that moves the needle for us; it might be the one after that. just a thought.

Also, the stepping stone argument. That's a problem we can only dream of. I hope the next coach is so darn successful he does, in fact, use us as a stepping stone to a huge salary somewhere else. That's the least of our problems. And, don't kid yourself. Although Cross was loyal, that loyalty only extended for lateral moves. He was never quite successful enough to get a job with a bigger program, but he absolutely would have used us as a stepping stone if he could have. If he had, for instance, gotten one upset win in an NCAA, he would have been gone. Nobody walks away from triple or quadruple compensation for "loyalty."

We know about where our upper limit is with Cross. If we want a CHANCE to move the needle, we need to shake things up with a new, hungery, up-and-comer from a proven program. A once a generation shake-up is in order.

Coach Cross is such an appealing man; that's what makes this harder. However, for the rest of his life, he will be able to walk the UTA campus as a famous and beloved man. Along with his cash settlement, not a bad deal. Also, he will land a nice job somewhere. Later, once the emotions of the moment are a distant memory, he will be honored by the University; he is a sure-thing as a future hall of honor member.

(03-28-2018 08:48 AM)UTArlingtonMaverick Wrote:  I'm seein' this is a "high risk" move and the next coach will want to use us as the proverbial "stepping stone." Let me be devil's advocate.

It's all risky. There was risk staying with Cross. A risk of settling for 1 NCAA every 12 years; a risk for settling-in and getting comfortable; a risk of waiting no telling how many more years for him to possibly assemble the next most talented collection of players in school history and watch them oddly blow it, often acting like they didn't care, and not win a thing.

It may not even be the next coach that moves the needle for us; it might be the one after that. just a thought.

Also, the stepping stone argument. That's a problem we can only dream of. I hope the next coach is so darn successful he does, in fact, use us as a stepping stone to a huge salary somewhere else. That's the least of our problems. And, don't kid yourself. Although Cross was loyal, that loyalty only extended for lateral moves. He was never quite successful enough to get a job with a bigger program, but he absolutely would have used us as a stepping stone if he could have. If he had, for instance, gotten one upset win in an NCAA, he would have been gone. Nobody walks away from triple or quadruple compensation for "loyalty."

We know about where our upper limit is with Cross. If we want a CHANCE to move the needle, we need to shake things up with a new, hungery, up-and-comer from a proven program. A once a generation shake-up is in order.

Coach Cross is such an appealing man; that's what makes this harder. However, for the rest of his life, he will be able to walk the UTA campus as a famous and beloved man. Along with his cash settlement, not a bad deal. Also, he will land a nice job somewhere. Later, once the emotions of the moment are a distant memory, he will be honored by the University; he is a sure-thing as a future hall of honor member.

Just playing Devil's Advocate here . . . Yes, there was a risk staying with Cross .. . But I think that your risk rises significantly dumping Cross at this time.

First, Cross was/is a proven winner: 72 games in the last 3 years. There's no guarantee that "the next guy" will attain this level of success. And the odds say, he probably won't.

Second, The Belt is still a 1 bid league. With the Tourney Winner getting the nod to the Big Dance, and we all know how unpredictable Conference Tourneys are. Hell, y'all could resurrect Dean Smith or John Wooden, and there's no guarantee that you'd make the tourney any more than you did under Cross.

Third, The Sun Belt is not known as a Basketball Conference, and again there's that 1 bid thing . . . The Best/Brightest on the market (coaching wise) will hold out (and land) better situations (conferences). Which means you're probably hiring an Assistant from somewhere (unproven) and hoping that he can at least attain the same level of success that Cross did.

Personally, I see more "down side" to this move for y'all than "up." Of course, I could be wrong . . . in any event, you're on the path . . . hope it works out . .

(03-28-2018 08:31 AM)giantbenmav Wrote:  

(03-27-2018 06:27 PM)Bobcat87 Wrote:  Now that the shock of the Coaching decision is starting to subside, any word or thoughts on talent (recruited by Cross) heading for the exit(s) ?

You may get lucky and not suffer much of a talent loss, but I would expect some of these guys, especially those fond of Cross to consider "other" options.

The current players have been fairly quite on Twitter at least ... the entire freshmen class red-shirted this past year and we had 2 D1 transfers sit out too ... if they were to transfer that would mean 2 years of sitting out, which might be OK for some and not OK for others ...

Best guess is they are waiting to meet the new hire, the AD says a new coach should be announced next week ...

If Cross was to be fired, the timing is suspect. Why not announce it at the conclusion of UTA’s season? The statement above “the AD says a new coach should be announced next week” is suspect as well. It sounds like the AD had a back door deal with another coach and when he reached a deal with that coach he suddenly fired Cross. That seems to be some shady AD-ing going on. However, it could mean a potentially home run hire for UTA.