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Agree with everyone on tougher schedules, not even big schools but comparable mid majors instead of Rhodes. Since Frank Martin is at UMASS now, I can see us scheduling them next season. We also should have done a Home and Home with UCONN in basketball when we scheduled them in football too.

Also, the WVU game was probably the most hostile environment and the largest crowd they will play at this season.

(12-11-2022 09:43 AM)DuelingDragon Wrote:  I hope this will improve in the American.

We need to play tougher competition out of conference for many reasons, a big one being simply that when you have that kind of talent you need to face that kind of talent. Iron sharpens iron. I feel like right now we get so few cracks at it that we actually put too much pressure on ourselves.

Agreed. It feels like we just try to do too much. I said I thought the offense would let us down if we lost, and it did. Too many unforced errors.

Turnovers costly for UAB in road loss at West Virginia

Quote:Andy Kennedy: "Honestly, I didn’t think the moment was too big. I just think we weren’t good enough. We’ve got to get better."

Pretty much my take. We just aren't good enough to beat a decent power team on the road. We don't shoot well enough, don't defend well enough, and don't take care of the ball well enough. We're a pretty good mid major but not real good.

For me it starts with shooting. A lot of teams put 3-4 legitimate perimeter threats on the floor at the same time and we really only have one that I see on the roster.

I think we showed pretty well against them when we weren't turning the ball over left and right and doing dumb things...

I just hope that this game was the wake up call that shows the team they can't play the same lackadaisical, sloppy, and half-ditched effort that they have against our weak schedule (and in the 1st half last night) and think that they can beat anyone decent. How they played most of the second half should be the baseline for the rest of the season. If I see them come out sloppy and uninspired against USC, then the problem is with the players and their mindset. If they can't match that 2nd half effort going forward, we may finish 3rd or 4th in conference. CUSA is actually good this year.

All in all, not terrible.. but we aren't as good as I thought we would be to this point in the season.

(12-10-2022 10:09 PM)UAB Band Dad Wrote:  Scheduling philosophy (to the extent that there is one) has to be largely on Ingram.

Why? Why do you say it's has to be on Ingram. I know it's in vogue to sh!t on him around here, but I'd like to hear something to back that statement up. I mean, just the other day I heard Kennedy during pregame interview discussing at length scheduling, and it sure came across to me that he is the one doing it, not Ingram.

(12-11-2022 03:30 PM)BatesUAB Wrote:  

(12-10-2022 10:09 PM)UAB Band Dad Wrote:  Scheduling philosophy (to the extent that there is one) has to be largely on Ingram.

Why? Why do you say it's has to be on Ingram. I know it's in vogue to sh!t on him around here, but I'd like to hear something to back that statement up. I mean, just the other day I heard Kennedy during pregame interview discussing at length scheduling, and it sure came across to me that he is the one doing it, not Ingram.

It's mostly AK

Then AK has to own the results. We are consistently not ready for big time games and aren't tested enough. It's a big part of the reason for our poor attendance too.

Agreed on the scheduling. In his weekly interview on The Next Round today, AK was asked about getting more P5 games in Birmingham like South Carolina. He said it should get somewhat easier going forward being in the AAC. I also think being aligned with ESPN will help.

But overall, I think our philosophy needs to change. Not playing a true road game until December 10th isn't good. We need to challenge ourselves more OOC instead of loading up on home games against Alabama St, Rhodes, Southern, etc. As a season ticket holder, I'd rather pay the same price but have 2 less home games and go on the road for two additional quality games. So no revenue loss from season tickets and it makes the team more interesting to follow/creates the opportunity to build more momentum by having a greater chance for quality wins.

At a minimum, moving to the AAC will create a better schedule during conference play.

I think this team specifically needed to be challenged more in the OOC schedule, in addition to the fact that our OOC scheduling in general has sucked for years.

The neutral site games were a good start, even though we lost one, but they obviously weren't true road games in hostile environments like Saturday's game.

This team still has the potential to be one of the best ever at UAB, and they should've been challenged with a schedule commensurate in stature. Playing ONE road game in the OOC schedule, which wasn't until almost the middle of December, wasn't the right choice for this team. Furthermore, I think this team has the personality to kind of get a little full of themselves and complacent when they are playing bad teams over and over. They did it so many times last year, took bad losses as a result, and are doing it again this year. They have to learn that the effort they gave against UGA and in the 2nd half of the WVU game is the baseline for how they should play EVERY game. Otherwise, we may be sitting out in March, looking at a massively disappointing season, and have no one to blame but ourselves.

I really hope I see a fired up team against USC tomorrow. Otherwise, this team may never learn that important lesson.

(12-11-2022 03:30 PM)BatesUAB Wrote:  

(12-10-2022 10:09 PM)UAB Band Dad Wrote:  Scheduling philosophy (to the extent that there is one) has to be largely on Ingram.

Why? Why do you say it's has to be on Ingram. I know it's in vogue to sh!t on him around here, but I'd like to hear something to back that statement up. I mean, just the other day I heard Kennedy during pregame interview discussing at length scheduling, and it sure came across to me that he is the one doing it, not Ingram.

Because that's a core part of an Athletic Director's job? Certainly AK is part of that process, but it's still on him to negotiate scheduling. I understand that "it takes two", that's been a mantra for years here, including before Ingram's time. AAC should help, yes, and lord knows I'm no insider on any of it. I've just seen our schedules for years.

No different from a CEO who is failing in some aspect of corporate performance. Who else should we look at first? Has AK taken over scheduling altogether? Even if he has largely done so, he should still be reviewing the schedule, shouldn't be?

(12-13-2022 06:29 PM)UAB Band Dad Wrote:  

(12-11-2022 03:30 PM)BatesUAB Wrote:  

(12-10-2022 10:09 PM)UAB Band Dad Wrote:  Scheduling philosophy (to the extent that there is one) has to be largely on Ingram.

Why? Why do you say it's has to be on Ingram. I know it's in vogue to sh!t on him around here, but I'd like to hear something to back that statement up. I mean, just the other day I heard Kennedy during pregame interview discussing at length scheduling, and it sure came across to me that he is the one doing it, not Ingram.

Because that's a core part of an Athletic Director's job? Certainly AK is part of that process, but it's still on him to negotiate scheduling. I understand that "it takes two", that's been a mantra for years here, including before Ingram's time. AAC should help, yes, and lord knows I'm no insider on any of it. I've just seen our schedules for years.

No different from a CEO who is failing in some aspect of corporate performance. Who else should we look at first? Has AK taken over scheduling altogether? Even if he has largely done so, he should still be reviewing the schedule, shouldn't be?

So, you have absolutely nothing to back up your assertion that the scheduling philosophy for our basketball team (or lack thereof) "has to be largely on Ingram." Noted. The sheer number of question marks in your response tipped your hand there. Your contribution is greatly appreciated...

I would say scheduling is the weakest link in the UAB athletic department. Year after year. Before the "Return" IIRC, we had BYU and Navy scheduled in football out of conference. Has scheduling improved under Ingram? Can we do better?
What are the honest answers to those questions?