Bullpride08

yeah and the point is the circumstance is worse since the time of the article....

Please, Rueb, don't flatter yourselves. What your constant ******** abut Mac may have done was sway the fence-sitters to the Light. Again, with the delusions. A lot of the pro Macers have a ton more invested in the hoops program, both emotionally and financially, than you. Just as a lot of the anti-Macers do. All both sides want is for the program to succeed and to say that one side would prefer that the program not improve out of spite for some yahoo message board posters is predictably ridiculous. Grow up. I agree. Very succintly put. Trip, You know the biggest irony of everything is I've found that some of the bigger supporters of Mac, and I should refrain from saying supporters the ones that wouldn't be repulsed if he was granted one more year (like me), more often then not are season ticket holders of hoops. While many of those 'darksiders' are not. You'd normally guess the opposite, but I haven't found that to be the case.

Absolutely. This is insane. Losing momentum in football would do much more damage to the school's athletic reputation than staying bad-to-mediocre in basketball. But here in lies the point of this board...you've got a bunch of kids, and students posting on this board that have never invested a dime, time, or sweat equity into the University. They don't have a clue, and just demand- like they call the next generation the "Generation of Entitlement". We're already bad in basketball, football per dollar provides a greater return on invested capital then hoops....we're so close to the cusp of greatness in football so even a dollar taken from football to put towards hoops is shortsided, and crazy. Furthermore, anyone to suggest such a thing has not spent 25 years cheering for USF athletics as I have, and seen nothing but USF come up short in virtually every sport- and I mean come up short from the pinnacle. Football, to me, is the one sport that could get us to that mountain top of respectability, and promise. I think we're possibly two years away from a New Year's Day BCS bowl....we should put all the time, money, and energy into building every aspect of that program to the top. Once it gets there it will bring the profile of the entire athletic department with it. Rueb to suggest otherwise doesn't know USF enough, and hasn't been a fan long enough.

How does talking about the program ruin a "fun" season?  What about this season was "fun"?  That's the attitude I don't get.  I get what you are saying that everyone is hoping we win, but sometimes it seems like it doesn't matter to people.  It seems by that statement that you'd enjoy the season no matter how successful we are.  After football season is over and some other sports have yet to get started (softball, baseball), what else is there to talk about?  Are we supposed to ignore the negatives and not criticize the program at all until the season is over?  What else would we talk about?  I also understand not calling anyone a "clown" as Bulliever says, but a lot of people can criticize the program without going nuts and name-calling.  Those are completely different things.  I don't know the coach personally so I'm not going to judge him personally.  However, our team needs to do better and I don't get the point of waiting for the season to be over to say anything negative about the basketball team.  Anyway, hopefully it does matter to everyone that we win, but sometimes it just seems like people are too complacent. It's real simple, and I hate that I have to resort to childish explanations because I was pretty blatant and obvious before but clearly you require more explanations- must be something to do with your childhood. I don't want to denegrade the discussions, and topics to be solely about the coach and his status. I prefer to enjoy the season, watch the games, appreciate the opponents and hope for wins. I complain, I point fingers, I've shouted at the refs at games, I've shouted at our players and the coaches...but I've always believed, as most sports people do, that a season is to be judged in it's totality and not it's parts. If this concept is still to difficult to understand then please refrain from responding because you'll never get it. I don't like to get into mindless, personal opinioned debates during a season about why a coach is gone, or why he should stay when he could just as easily win 3 in a row as he could lose 6 and completely change perceptional. No one is complacent, and I've supported this team before your momma was bending you over the knee. Don't tell me about complacent, I've been around demanding for two coaches to be fired, I was the one two years ago saying CRM is done- back when things looked far worse if you could see things up close. Now I think that CRM has things going right, so how in the hell is that complacent? **** man, this is the reason I hate getting into it because idiots decide to ignore a decent explanation and simply destroy a good discussion down to labeling. No, a season is to enjoy, and writh in pain, but to worry about a coaching drama is not serving anyone any purpose. State your position and then leave it until the end of the season...some of you don't get it.

it is pretty sweet for all those that have man crushes on the guy. Yeah, I wake up in the morning hoping to catch a glimpse of big sweaty football players stretching. Kyle, Did you accidentally type what you were thinking again? That's more information then we needed to know. Just kidding.

it is pretty sweet for all those that have man crushes on the guy.

JKP, aka whatever.... I don't recall anyone ever saying this job is a 'career killers', it's been simply called the 'toughest job in America', and whereas I will not agree with the assertion as the 'toughest' I do believe it is one of the top 5 hardest hoops jobs in all the major conferences. That's not an opinion but there is real fact to prove it. With that being said, McCullum might not have been 'skilled enough' to handle the complete daunting task that is required at USF, because here the responsibility of this hoops program rests squarely on the shoulders of the coach. There is no hiding, you have to be a 'great' recruiter, x and o guy, and promoter at USF there is no inbetween....again there is insurmountable evidence to prove this is factual. With that being said, many, like myself, have believed that despite a series of early missteps, and uncontrollable obstacles like injuries, defections, and losses a corner was finally being turned...just take into account the youth in the back-court and talent sitting on the bench (Dante Curry often compared to a Rip Hamilton type of player)....with the wins this year many felt next year would be promising and used the UofM entry into the Big East in 91' in which they went 1-31 in conference play in their first two years before winning it in year four, as a reason for optimism and comparison (Hamilton is a similar coach in style and skill to McCullum). With that being said (again), it is clear that McCullum's deficiencies haven't made the road easy, and if Woolard makes a change then I am all for it because ultimately i support Doug, and USF. My money, my season tixs, go to them not CRM, but I do think CRM could get us where we needed to be. Darksiders, if that's how we need to term this crap, seem to think he's had his time and change is mandatory. However many of the Darksiders seem to be younger student types (I could be wrong) and aren't fully aware of USF's limitations from a budget, and facilities standpoint, as well as from the pathetic history of USF hoops as a whole. Therefore, some of us cagier vets know that patience is truly a virtue as a USF hoops fan, and we're realists knowing what to REALLY expect from USF and it's hoops program. With that being said (yet again), that's not to say a change isn't appropriate but rather the concern, since we've been down this road, again, and again, and again (hello groundhog day)- been going to USF hoops games since 81' by the way- that change, for the sake of change, doesn't often go very well for USF, particularly if we're doing it cheaper with less money, less support, and less facilities then everyone else. The facts again don't lie. In fact, I've heard very personally of candidates that have expressed interest and let's just say the names, many are recycled from the CRM hiring, and few have accomplished much more than what they claimed back then. Yet a school like South Carolina, which appears poised to fire Odom, has candidates that are the "Who's who" lining up to be da man there....relativity and realism. I hope, no pray, that Woolard has some new found money and reason to pop the top- but as many of us know the only areas it could come from are sponsorship, naming rights, or a giant advertiser. We shall see, I completely support Mac right now for the shear sake of the team...I believe if Woolard sticks with him for one more year, which I think there's reason and justification for this move, then he will finally shock some people....some could say and it would be appropriate, that even a blind squirrel can find a nut once in a while over five years, but then again next year might be the more appropriate time to make a move when we can hire with a bit more substance. But should Woolard make a change I fully support it and believe there are good reasons and justification to make this move as well, and trust Woolard, even if he must do it on the cheap, will find a quality replacement because this is his sport. I think that's how everyone SHOULD look at this team and program. CRM is giving everything he has to make things better, and I think some people act like CRM is acting like Greenberg did in his final two years- coasting through. Now this is the last thing I am going to say on the matter until after the season and a decision has been made. I would expect anyone with even a modicum of class would respect the position and agree with it even as a 'darksider' or someone that simply wants change. We all want change, that's the joke of it, even the guys supporting Mac WANT TO WIN. DUH! Some are waiting until the season is over, like me, I own season tixs for years so i hate spoiling a fun season over this petty crying and whining, and some want the change yesterday. Regardless all this bickering is about winning....right? Every faction, "Keep him," "Fire him," "Wait until the season concludes to make a decision," wants to win just different ways to go about it.

I'm confused, Joe Henderson said the money is not the issue.  I am now a Dark Sider - I want Pat Reilly.  Do you want Pat Reilly or the Heat Coach Pat Riley...hey we need clarification can't go hiring the wrong guy with all this extra doe that's being alleged. ;D

It probably says that until more people care about basketball than baseball, Woolard isn't going to care. Good one Harvey, and maybe more accurate then most care to imagine. I guess those who care about basketball, do not have the financial means to have any influence. Sorta, kinda accurate Jew. Remember if change meant we could hire a real pistol that could guarantee a turnaround don't you think all would jump aboard. But what would change really represent other than a different face on the court next year. Another million dollar question. I think if Woolard had his way, and the dollars a change might have already occurred, but then again if Woolard and had those kind of dollars would Mac be in the circumstance he's in. That's the real conundrum....to 'want' change doesn't make you a fan. I have tickets at mid-court in the lower bowl so you can imagine improvement means a lot to me too, but only if i think we'll achieve better doing it because I think some positive steps are finally occurring with the present regime (no need to challenge we know who you are and why you will). But i support Woolard, and expect that if or when he changes it will be because he believes we can improve through change. That's the only time it's good in these circumstances.

It probably says that until more people care about basketball than baseball, Woolard isn't going to care. Good one Harvey, and maybe more accurate then most care to imagine.

Why am I Mac? Because you're throwing out accusations that are not real, and i rebuke them? I am just telling it like it is.

excuses Maybe, but the question is if the 'excuses' are legit then what is wrong with an 'excuse' because by definition an 'excuse is a reason or explanation about something. If they're not legit, or trumped up then maybe there's a reason to attack their explanations for the issues, but if not then it must be considered.

What's even funnier about KL posting on this topic is HIS OWN TEAM is one of the reasons for the perceived 'weak' OOC. So essentially accentuating this issue is personifying the weakness of his program. What a loser!

yikes, a personal suggestion is don't open mouth and insert foot. Greenberg was not run off, he 'ran off', and had his resume in the open market for 3 years until he had found a very desperate option at VPI. This is well known, and during his last three years the program sunk to lows both on and off the court. Let's not degrade the essense of this thread, Greenberg is gone and proved that VPI was not the toughest job in America- possibly his previous stop was- so good for him.

doesn't have to...by definition he's still enrolled at USF, but suspended for academic ineligibility. If he returns with grades in order, or an AA degree he gets back on track. Technically he's still a Bull. If he chose to go to another school he would be forced to sign a grant-in-aid.

He is to blame for losses fan83, but one must also realize that with 'more' of the talent that is currently injured he would have probably have had less of them, which he will finish the year with less losses than last season. He does deserve the glory too, especially if he's winning games 'short handed'.

Jewbull, that's probably exactly what Woolard is grappling with, when is it enough, or is all the recent positives just a set-up for another step back, Zeus transfers, or Holmes flunks out, or Howard's knee never fully recovers.... You are right about 'when', and that's the million dollar question. When will we stop getting bad luck like Prekevicious not taking a $75k/year pro salary to play one more year in college...and the next question is are these unfortunate incidents attributable to Mac, or can another coach do away with them, or will the new coach be just as unfortunate because the real root of it is, just like in football, to get ahead USF must take some risks here and there, sign a player with a pre-existing condition, sign a guy that's got some past grade issues, sign a transfer.... we are not a program that can build from the bottom up by signing virtually all HS studs. Hell for those of you that even give Jose credit need to realize he did it in his early by signing lots of transfers from other schools eventually building a program around those kids then he slowly got better or was able to get more of the top flight HS kids. The point is there are reasons Lee Rose, Paschal, and Greenberg struggled to do things they found to be relatively easy to achieve at other schools. At some point we needed to take a different approach, and trust me a team next year with Zeus, Gransberry, Holmes, and Williams will not be bad even though we didn't get any of these guys straight out of HS, it might even be enough to entice a decent candidate. But anyway, Jew you hit the million dollar question. Improvement is being seen, but I think the biggest concern is it could all dissolve with another stretch of bad luck.

Big game, big opportunity if we win so you bring in the guy that's been in a zone. Ask any pitching coach who they'd bring in for a game 7. With that being said sometimes baseball coaches have tendencies to overthink things, and like Data says it's all about the bounces, and cuts...you could be having a great day and you go against a pitcher or batter that's in a freakin zone...that's baseball. You definitely have to weigh this staff on a 10-15 game clip, and the moves, the ability to manufacture runs (something we shied from last year), solid pitching in clutch times. They're looking pretty good as a staff so you can never question a coach for one wrong move in baseball, because it could be a great move but it's going up against a no-win situation-- guy in a zone, a bad hop.

You've got to be kidding me. He was going to clear the air with Henderson before a last minute change of position. You don't think he was going to publically decry CRM, and call for change before the season ended, and to the public do you? The fact he even agreed to this interview initially doesn't bode well for those that want change. This isn't as easy as a decision as some would want. The pre-season losses of Dante Curry, and Howard hurt, Chris Capko, and Aris Williams. Joe Henderson makes a valid point that injuries make the recruiting issues more glaring, and in previous seasons that would be the case but we entered this sesaon we had 12 scholarship players (if you include Capko) that's not a depth issue. And any program that suffered season ending injuries to four players would have troubles. For you gentlemen that seem to feel a need to attack anything that states a position other than total hatred for Mac JUST CHILL. I am simply telling you what Woolard must take into account. He can't ignore that those players, had they maintained their health, might have been good for 3-4 more wins for USF, and then this issue would have been moot. This is why things are not cut and dry, and not to mention CRM is close to signing two other players in the late signing period...he signs those and he has 12-13 players returning for next year and 11 will be back for 2008, so the retention, recruiting stability issues isn't as big an issue as it once was. Just be honest with yourselves before giving ignorant rants about how he's not doing this or, some player isn't that. Those two aspects, coupled by the improved overall improved record does make this something Woolard needs to consider. Oh, and the fact the buyout is over $400k, and the quality of candidates inquiring isn't going to inspire anyone to jump for joy. Odd for Henderson to bring up Huggins like he did when it was all Tribune motivated on that issue, and there was no contact or flirting between USF and Huggins. Maybe between an agent and a certain reporter but not between the other two parties.

Ah Brad, reality is to painful for many of these darksiders. Like I said the darksiders are not 'realists' as they claim to be, they're 'idealists' with not one notion of reality or how to come to grips with it. This is not to say "CRM is your coach forever, deal with it," but rather the cost associated with raising the profile of hoops is more than a coaches salary and until more alum and the community start taking the program more seriously then we're in for much of the same- REGARDLESS WHO THE COACH IS! This isn't a bad coaching hire, this is a bad hoops program, and regardless of the coach. It's hard to tell who is to blame or who to be the most mad at. I don't know if Mac even made all the right moves up to this point if his record would be much better. A program that needs more dollars, more facilities, and more fans.

Selvie was a redshirt freshman when he had his breakout year. For now we should just hope Davis gets eligible.

No, I just weigh things appropriately and keep away from the knee jerk reactions. I am a huge hoops fan, been going to USF hoops games since 1981, so I can appreciate the good with the bad, as others have a skewed view of reality at USF.

I completely disagree. Howard, Bozeman, Saaka are all freshmen!  Jesus is a sophmore! And they are all getting significant minutes. Mattis, Buck & KG are all upper classmen. Give those 3 experience and they will be excellent BE caliber players.  You will see.  That I am certain.  I am not certain who the coach will be, but I know those guys, along with Dante/Holmes are all going to tremendous players for us, and they will get us back on track regardless of who the coach is. I can see them being solid, but we were talking about how BE ready Mattis and Buckley were going to be 2 years ago. The BE is a league of great players. Solid players make it very hard to win the league with. Joe, no offense but what do you expect of these players? Mattis, despite being a role player is one of the BE leaders in block shots, and rebounds, and Buckley is in the top 10 in scoring. That's a good BE player. Kentrel Gransberry leads the league in rebounds. It's all about gelling, and everyone becoming complete players. Howard would be the assist leader, and assist to turnover leader in the BE if he had enough games. And that's at around 80%, and not fully conditioned- you've got to like where Howard is going with that.

Bien, I usually I agree with your assessment of players but this I can't. I've heard it since last year. 1st: If we had Howard, Cann this team might be in MSG (last year) 2nd: When we get the reinforcements this team will be MSG caliber (KG, Varejo) 3rd: Wait til Howard gets back for a true PG, he should help right away and we should steal some wins and possibly make it to MSG These guys are very solid players, but the BE is unrelenting, it's like the SEC in football. You just can't put together a team of solid guys and expect to win. I do like the fact that we will have more 4 year players next year with expirience to help fill roles and solidfy the unity aspect. I just don't believe in my heart that this team has the talent to compete in the BE. Joe, those aren't excuses above those are facts. Howard and Cann are playing on knees that are about 80%, if that healthy, but Howard LEADS THE BE IN ASSISTS! He is helping. The chemistry has not gelled as expected. Gransberry has risen, but for some reason Verdejo has folded after an amazing start, because of a lack of confidence and trouble finding his role. There is still more amunition to come, and what many say are the best talents on the team in Curry, and Holmes...unfortunately they're not available this year. Freakish things cannot be overlooked. In a perfect world Cann, and Howard sit the bench all year and get completely healthy, but now unfortunately people measure their skills based on guys that are not truly fully recovered...no one forced them, and they're healed just not 100% back to their old selves, it just takes awhile.

JOe, this is a poor argument...our leading player is a JC transfer that didn't even start until late December, the second is Buckley, a rare senior...but would you like to compare... Louisville- ever heard of sa kid named Palacious, and Padgett- both four year juniors. Seton Hall- uhh, Nutter is a junior, they guy that went off on us. Laing, Gaines, and Marshall were all juniors and seniors too....they had two freshman that are big contributors. Quette- had a great guard class that came in two years ago. But remember last year it was only James that starred it wasn't until this year as sophs and with a year under their belts that Matthews, and McNeal started dominating. USF, has Bozeman playing as a true freshman, Howard as a RS-Freshman, Cann playing as a RS-Freshman...Amu Saaka playing as a true freshman, Aris Williams as a RS-Soph....Verdejo as a RS-soph...that's youth to me. Bring in Holmes, Curry, and Nique Jones and you add more scorers.