Bull94

Bull94,

Once again you can do that with ANY conference. Who has the Big East beaten? Low ranked Maryland? MAYBE Miami or K-State?

The Big 10 clearly has the Biggest wins, Texas and Notre Dame, bit outside the top three teams, the rest of the conference is very very average or plain bad.

The Big 12 has no big wins to speak of (The Oregon debacle should be 1 but it doesn't count on the books...)

The Pac 10 has Arkansas, Nebraska, and Oklahoma that is two of those wins coming from  USC

The ACC....HA! I won't go there.

The point is there isn't enough outside research, and to pick apart every team in every conference you will find that some records might not mean as much as others, but for a conference to have 5 (0,1, or 2) loss teams at this point is very good. I mean the Big East with three is amazing in itself.

As for Year in and out, despite last year's loss, the SEC has the most wins in the BCS since it started. However, there are years that they aren't good and other conferences are great, and vice versa.

Joe,

I'm not saying that the SEC isn't the best conference this year only that your statement that they shouldn't have to play anybody outside the conference because their conference is so tough is completely false. How do you know if their conference is superior every year if they don't play anybody OOC?

Unless every team goes 4-4 in conference, simple math says that there will be 4 top teams in every conference. Bell curve. We automatically assume that the 4 best in the SEC are far superior to every other conference. Why?

There are 5 (0,1,2 loss) teams in the ACC too. Yet we assume that conference is terrible. Rankings are completely subjective. Just because Georgia was ranked in the top ten early in the year with one loss doesn't mean they are better than Wake who is barely ranked in the top 20 with one loss this late in the season(fluke loss at that, they should have won that game). The thing is there is such a bias towards the SEC that they get way too much respect when they might not deserve it.And Wake gets no respect because they are a traditional weakling.

My buddy and I had this arguement last year concerning basketball. He thought the BE was overrated. In the end he was probably right. The SEC had 2 teams in the final game. The problem is that if they played the NC game based on rankings UF or LSU would not have been anywhere near it. The BE might have been the toughest overall confernece but the top of the SEC was clearly better.

Why is a 2 loss LSU ranked 7 spots higher than a 1 loss Wake? They both have 1 win over a top 25 BCS team (LSU barely won that game) and Wake's only loss was a fluke against a team that was in the top 10 at the time(they should have won). In fact I believe LSU was ranked higher before they even had a win vs a top 25 team. Look at their wins before they beat UT. Not very impressive either yet they get all the respect. All of the wins came at home and they were against

Lou-Laf

Ariz

Tulane

Miss State

Kentucky

Fresno State

Not one quality win there but they were still in the top 20.

It's because of the SEC bias. Unfortunately it can't be settled on the field until they have a playoff.

Bull94,

Once again you can do that with ANY conference. Who has the Big East beaten? Low ranked Maryland? MAYBE Miami or K-State?

The Big 10 clearly has the Biggest wins, Texas and Notre Dame, bit outside the top three teams, the rest of the conference is very very average or plain bad.

The Big 12 has no big wins to speak of (The Oregon debacle should be 1 but it doesn't count on the books...)

The Pac 10 has Arkansas, Nebraska, and Oklahoma that is two of those wins coming from  USC

The ACC....HA! I won't go there.

The point is there isn't enough outside research, and to pick apart every team in every conference you will find that some records might not mean as much as others, but for a conference to have 5 (0,1, or 2) loss teams at this point is very good. I mean the Big East with three is amazing in itself.

As for Year in and out, despite last year's loss, the SEC has the most wins in the BCS since it started. However, there are years that they aren't good and other conferences are great, and vice versa.

No doubt the SEC is a good conference Joe but I was just pointing out that they really have to play and win some tough OOC games in order to prove it.you said they have enough tough inter conference games but how do we know if they are really that tough? was georgia tough this year? they were ranked in the top 10 at the begining of the year. in fact they were ranked in the top 10 with one loss before they played ut.

hell wake barely cracks the top 20 now with one loss and they should be undefeated.

all i'm saying is that the sec will always have 4 top conference teams just by virtue of the math. it doesn't mean they are necessarily heads and shoulders above everybody else in the country. especially if they feel they don't have to play them and prove it.

Ya, but you can easily say the same about the any of the Big 6 when looking at games v. the top 25 NOT in their conference. The Big 10 only has 2 wins (Texas, Notre Dame)

It's not fair NOT to include conference games when evaluating teams. Simply put Tennessee, Florida, LSU, Auburn, and Arkansas are still alive for BCS at-large bids. The next closest conference is the Big 10 and Big East with three a piece.

Listen, I agree the SEC does get favorites from time to time because they do have a lot of money, fans, and TV pull. However, if you're going to sit back and say they aren't the best conference, in 2006, in the country you're wearing your blinders.

Yes UGA is down, yes Alabama fell back to earth,  but there are still 5 teams there all with quality wins over ranked opponents and a few of them with some pretty good wins over OOC opponents.

NOTE: I am NOT saying Louisville could be preempted from the BCS title game for an SEC team, because they shouldn't be. I am looking objectively at the body of work of EACH conference. While the BE has beaten more BCS opponents, I am pretty sure most the teams at the top of the SEC would have taken care of Illinois, UNC, and Virginia had they scheduled them.

The problem with the SECs quality wins are that they are all in conference. They schedule cupcakes OOC every year and then the top teams wax the lower half of the conference and then lose an occasional game to each other.

Arkansas has played nobody this year. USC waxed them and they beat Auburn(only win vs. ranked team). Look at the rest of their schedule. By the way their new QB is going to be benched he is playing so well.

LSU finally beat a ranked team last week and that was UT who is barely ranked anymore.

I'll give you Florida and Auburn because they have beaten 2 ranked teams at least. (they might  not be ranked by the end of the year though)

UT has beaten Cal and that's it. I guess they'll have another win vs a ranked opponent this week when they wax the way overrated ARK team.

The SEC is way over rated as a conference year in and year out. Why do you think it took so long to expose how bad UGA is this year? Same with Auburn the year they came out #2 and didn't finish in the top 25. same with UT last year. UGA was still in the top 25 with 3 losses. That team is terrible.

the only reason they were still ranked was by reputation  (conference and team)

I wish I shared the hope of many on this board for an improved season but I don't.  What did we lose from last years 7-22 team( 1-15 conf).  Two names and what went with them Jones & Holmes - Top two scorers, team leading rebounder(Jones),team leading shot blocker(Jones) and steals leader(Holmes).  I guess the hope is Gransberry comes in and picks up the boards and blocks that Jones had but remeber he is trying to fill the shoes of a guy that turned out to be a second round NBA draft choice.  Tough shoes to fill.  Jesus Verdjo picking up the scoring for Holmes ?  Could be but he doesn't get started until we are almost into our BE games and that is a tough task to get into game shape facing those teams.  Chris Howard ?  Big question mark because of some major knee injuries.  I just don't see a 500 record for this team and at best three wins in BE play.  Where does that leave us ?  Four years of sub 500 overall record and a 10-53 conference record for the last four years.  I don't want to smack Mac because I am sure he is doing the best he can but to get USF to be competitive in the BE we need more then he has brought to the table.  GO BULLS AND PROVE ME WRONG !

Tough to lose those guys no doubt but it happens to every college team every year.  

Jesus will more then make up for James' scoring. remember he actually played for Arizona as a true freshman. He's been here for quite awhile so I see no problem with him gelling right away and we'll have his services for the next 3 years.

I remember last year when all the detractors said Mac couldn't recruit BE talent. That no one on our roster would play for any other team in the BE. Now they all say how tough it is that we lost a 2nd round guy to the NBA. Funny how things turn around.

I like how Mac develops his big men.

Gransberry was on scholarship at LSU. They wanted him back. They must have seen something in his play. I believe they went to the title game last year. I think Williams could work well in the middle defensively.

It would be great if Howard makes it back. We are dying for a good PG. No offense to Capko but it would work wonders for this team.

Once we get settled into BE play this team will be just fine. I see us winning 7 conference games easily if we get our PG back. Look for a NIT bid this year.

Here is my starting 5 at the end of the year if all stay healthy.

Howard PG

Jesus    2G

Buckley SF

Gransberry PF

Williams C

I'm a buy low kind of guy so if there is anyone out there giving up on this program and you have lower level tickets let me know.

USF 66-50 SL final

you can get live stats at gousfbulls.com

Hey,  you have to give props to Rod Smith.  He needed a good game and he came through.  The only play I questioned was the hook and lateral when it wasn't necessary.  

totally not needed. luckily it didn't hurt us in the end.

I could do with a few less QB draws. He's gonna get Grothe killed. The kid weighs like a buck 85.

other than that he called a good game.

The only change in coaching that I see needs to be made is OC.  I think Smith is too young and inexperienced and maybe just not talented enough to take us to the next level.  I base this on the his inability to make adjustments against defenses that adjust to hsi moves.  It's been his pattern for the last two years.  he was outcoached.  against Cincy.  Plain and simple he did nothing to help Grothe out.  It was a poor game plan and when it was shut down, he did nothing to make it better.

Step back and look at the way the Cincy game played out.  Nothing was happening on offense and the fumble that got run back was a result of Johnson trying to make something happen.  it was a mistake of aggressiveness.  Nothing wrong with that.  One of Jeremy Burnett's pops could have easily resulted in a fumble going the other way.  It didn't and too bad for us.  If it did, different ball game.

Nothing was happening on offense period.  This wasn't the first time Leavitt gambled on a fake punt.  i think Baker was standing on our own goal line in the bowl game last year.  Again, he was trying to make something happen.  He had the balls to try it.  Dumb call, I agree, but he has rolled the dice before.

Let's see what happens after all these Freshmen and Sophomores that started this year finsih up in a few years before we conclude we need to get rid of Leavitt.  

Looking forward, I would prefer to be in our position than even Rutgers position for next year.  they have Rice next year, but they are losing a hell of a lot.  they may be a lot like UCONN from 3 years ago.  They are losing 9 starters on offense to graduation including 2 all americans and then another 5 or 6 on defense.  they shoot their wad this year and have to rebuild for a couple of years.  On the other hand, we are pretty close this year and we lose what, 5 SRs off the entire team with a great deal of talent coming up behind them.

There seems to be a lot of foolish suggestions about the coaching staff around here.

I'm all about taking risks but calculated ones. What did we have to gain by faking the punt? A first down at our 30 yard line. What did we have to lose? Obviously an easy score to basically ice the game for them. Not enough reward for the risk taken.

I am so tired of this "we're to young" excuse. This is Leavitt propaganda. He's been quoted in the papers several times about how our kids are too young. Now our fans believe it. I bet our players read papers and believe it too. This is nothing more than a reason to fail. Why doesn't he just tell them we're too slow or we're too small.

Do you think Tiger Woods dad told him that he was too young to beat 16 year olds when he was 10? Hell no. How about Mack at texas? Do you think he reminds his true freshman QB that he is too young to compete at this level? I bet not. What about Nutt over at Arkansas? Does he fire Mustain up by telling him he is too young to beat #2 Auburn on the road? By saying this stuff in the papers, Leavitt has his team and fans believing that we shouldn't expect to win because we are too young. We go into games expecting to lose.

What's going to be the excuse next year? inexperienced linebackers? Last I checked every team in the country plays with 18-22 year olds.

I would much rather be in Rutgers position. They are 7-0 and still in the hunt for a conference title as well as BCS birth . Who cares about next year. This year isn't over yet. Looking forward to next year is for teams that are losing. I bet the NFL lions are looking forward to next year while the bears are kicking ass this year. "There's always next year" is lame.

I agree with Sheriff. I think Plancher being named #1 was because Leavitt knew Ponton would be suspended. I think Leavitt still has something against Ponton and he better get over it quick. The kid more than paid his dues. Look at Miami's guys. or even the Gators D tackle. They were punished far less for far worse (equal in the case of gators guy) offenses.

Has anyone on this board ever been a coach at any level?  It is an unbelievable experience seeing things that you thought were great decsions go up in flames and mistakes turn in to game winning plays.  

I don't think I have ever been any more angry at playcalling than during the UCONN game last year.  That series at the goal line still baffles me.

Not sure if this is the time to roll heads at USF.  Coaching changes don't always end up bringing positive results.  Witness the Ole Miss change from David Cutcliffe.

It may be time to take that risk. Look how it has worked in UFs case.

Leavitt reminds me a lot of Zook. They both get flustered and panic at inopportune times. They do have their moments when they get the team up for big home games but they always choke against a team they should handle easily. Their game management is atrocious.

Year after Year CJL and company have called plays, timeouts, set starters, recruited QB talent, etc. that have made me think they were lost. How in the world can you call a fake punt at your own 25 with 15 minutes left to play and down by 9?? They gave the game away right there. High risk: low reward. Kick it away and rely on your D for a 3 and out.

Did anybody notice Williams ( a walk-on 5'7" RB) split out wide against Kansas with the game on the line? Did you notice all of the stud scholarship receivers standing on the sideline?? Why make personel decsions like that? inexplicable.

Why would PJ start ahead of Grothe ever?? He should have started as a true freshman. Hall and Grothe in the backfield would have been a thing of beauty.  It works for Tex and Ark.

Why would you call voodoo 5 on 4th and 1 at the opponents 25 yard line (UNC)? luckily it worked but an absolutely terrible call. way too risky a call in that situation. not the first time either.

This stuff is basic coaching strategy that these guys don't get. I wish they were half as poised as our QB.

I think this program has passed them by and it's time to find a staff that can handle the pressure of major college football. We're not mid major anymore and our talent won't be able to bail them out of all of these terrible decisions anymore.

Fellow Bull fans let us not forget that the offense was retooled in the off season to best utilize the talents of C. Hill.  The coaching staff visited several schools to study their offenses to create that offense for Hill.  MG is playing in a system that had to be put together in a short time to maximize his talents, therefore, next year, the staff will have more time to create an offense that suits MG and allow for MG himself to study his mistakes and become stronger.  

Dont you think the coaching staff may have knew all along that Grothe was gonna be the man and that they may have planned this system with HIM in mind, rather than C. Hill?

Sure, they tell us that C. Hill was moved to WR last year "as a way to get him on the field", but dont you think they may have saw something that we didnt?

I'm just sayin...

grothe had to be the best qb on roster last year let alone this spring.hill may be more athletic but grothe is a real qb.not even close.

smazza that's what makes me nervous.

How could they have him #3 behind Julmiste and Hill when he is clearly the best QB of the three?

Are they that poor at evaluating talent? He should have started last year. Hasn't hurt Ark or Tex to have a true freshman start.

Imagine if we had Grothe back there with Hall last year. What a potent backfield that would have been. Play action bootlegs all day long.

You have to answers then other than "these guys can't do it"  Who will do it?  It's not like we will have our pick of any coach in the country.  If we were to hire a new coach, who would be on the short list.  Do we know these guys would be upgrades?

I don't have the answers. That's why we have an AD. I just don't see their coaching skills translating into consistent wins against tougher competition.

They get too flustered in big games and make way to many mental errors. Maybe he's too hopped up on Pepsi??

Leavitt looked like a deer in the headlights for his halftime interview at the UCONN game last year. I knew then we wouldn't win.

Players feed off of the coaches confidence and he showed absolutely none.

They came out flat against cincy. It's the coaches responsibility to get the players ready physically and mentally for the games.

Maybe we just need a strategist (some NFL teams use these now) and a motivational speaker?

When they do get these guys playing, we can steamroll some teams though. I definitely think we have the talent.

Nothing against you Bien but we did get beat by a team with CDOA talent not BE talent. I believe Cincy is new to the BE as well.

My problem with this staff is that their logic confounds me. They call timeouts to let other teams set up for field goals when time otherwise expire, let them contemplate going for it on 4th downs, etc.

They don't use the top recruit RB talent we have to try and establish the run against a tough D. They go to the walk-on talent instead. I don't get their line of thinking sometimes.

At the end of the first half against Kansas, when Kansas intercepted the ball on their own 1/2 yard line, why didn't we call a timeout with 1 second left? Make them run a play. We took a timeout to the locker room.

It's these little things that make me believe these coaches won't be able to get everything out of this program. Nothing against CJL and company but as you get closer to the top levels of competition, there is less room for error.

You can't lose games against UCONN and Cincy when the BE is on the line. UCONN joined the BE in 2004. They have been 1-a for as long as we have and they beat Florida talent with Conneticut talent. Cincy has the same CDOA talent we have.

No excuse.

so, and they're just about as talented against us.  We lost to a team that's equally as talented as us, or slightly better.  Logical since our series is knotted at 2 games a piece, but why do people presume we're better then them?  Logic aside it confounds me how some people on this board thought we're so much better than CInci and we should just walk-up there and win by 30.  We're not Miami, some how there must have been a mix-up on this site and some UM fans were inadvertently directed to this site instead of miami rivals.  I hate to be the bearer of bad news but our talent level has been comparable to Cinci, and they've got a good coaching staff too.  They've been recruiting at the 1-A level a lot longer than us, but yet last year we beat them bad, bouncing back after they throttled us up in Cinci the year before.  Cinci's facilities put ours to shame, and they've been recruiting well enough the past few years to keep up.  These teams play the game too.  I will get concerned after this year if we lose to non-BCS opponents but if everytime we lose to any BCS opponent, or conference foe this place goes on meltdown mode and smazza blindly calls for firing then we'll have an unbearable board.

Uconn is just about as talented as us too....and they've got worlds better facilities and attendance then we do.  This blind belief we're some super star program is confusing, we're still trying to recruit BCS.

As for the game decisions, Ponton had more carries then Williams 9 to William's 5 so I don't think we under used Ponton.  They're trying to use Williams, the goalline safety is BS, we can all 2nd guess that call but like someone put it Barry Sanders couldn't have escaped that onslaught.  Their DL blew up our OL, pure and simple our OL got their asses kicked on that play and the call was on the players there not the coaches, Ponton wouldn't have made a bit of difference.  Also, Ponton is not big enough right now to be a 25-30 carry a guy, 15-20, so you're going to need a change of pace to give Ricky breathers, that's just the way it is.  Remember if it wasn't for a freak ACL tear the change of pace would be Plancher and we wouldn't be having this discussion, again you can't blame the staff for an ACL tear.

The timeout against Kansas?  That's pushing it a bit since there was like 6 seconds left before the half.  Not a huge mistake, good way to think of things after the fact.

After the fact? I was screaming at him to call a timeout at the game. He must not realize that the rule has changed this year. Not a huge mistake  but I bet a lot of top coaches would have made them run a play.

How about his timeout against Cincy? They were obviously going to punt the ball when Leavitt called a timeout because he had no one back to catch the punt. The result was Cincy decided to go for it. Didn't hurt us in the end but it will in the future.

He called a timeout against someone  before the end of the half. They kicked a field goal. Time would have run out.

These are not isolated incidences. Happens all the time. Army homecoming game- we are at their 35 witha 4th and 1. Try to draw them off. Calls a timeout and punts. why not take the 5 yard penalty? Time runs out at the end of the game with us driving for the winning score. No timeouts left.

You don't think we under used Ponton?? He is our #1 guy and he carried the ball 9 times!!!  He didn't need a breather. Williams carried it 6. We ran the ball like 95% of the first 20 plays and yet our #1 recruited RB touches it like 3 times.

Our lines played awful and the safety probably would have happened if Ponton were in there but that doesn't excuse the fact that these guys logic is flawed. Ponton still should be the one in there.

I know you find absolutely no fault in what they do but I don't think these guys can take us to the next level if they can't beat teams like Cincy and UCONN in these situations. There is no way those teams have better talent than we do. Why do you think they recruit Florida so heavily?

I bet Tiger Woods never used that "I'm too young to win" excuse.

Nothing against you Bien but we did get beat by a team with CDOA talent not BE talent. I believe Cincy is new to the BE as well.

My problem with this staff is that their logic confounds me. They call timeouts to let other teams set up for field goals when time otherwise expire, let them contemplate going for it on 4th downs, etc.

They don't use the top recruit RB talent we have to try and establish the run against a tough D. They go to the walk-on talent instead. I don't get their line of thinking sometimes.

At the end of the first half against Kansas, when Kansas intercepted the ball on their own 1/2 yard line, why didn't we call a timeout with 1 second left? Make them run a play. We took a timeout to the locker room.

It's these little things that make me believe these coaches won't be able to get everything out of this program. Nothing against CJL and company but as you get closer to the top levels of competition, there is less room for error.

You can't lose games against UCONN and Cincy when the BE is on the line. UCONN joined the BE in 2004. They have been 1-a for as long as we have and they beat Florida talent with Conneticut talent. Cincy has the same CDOA talent we have.

No excuse.

LOL. No, I'm full of quotes and trivia. (insert "full of b.s." Eats It).

You're going off on a tangent. Current donations are more important than future donations, I never said that wasn't the case. Afterall, we have to keep the lights on for this week's games.

All I said is that important people read this thread (in what frequency I don't know). Therefore, the best way for me to get heard at the current time is by posting here. I added the 'future big wig donor' to get a rise, plain and simple....seems like it worked; it kept this thread at the top where all those important people can see it.  

Imo, the school needs to take more risk; bring in a guy that brings instant credibility. Then, I think you'll see the donors come out of the woodwork, not to mention a packed Sun Dome. Until USF proves they are dedicated to putting a good product on the court, my money will flow to other places/parts of the community (like www.thebullspen.com). I'm tired of waiting for this bb program to rebuild.

Rueben Horowitz ~ Future Big Wig Donor.  

Now how is it that you know that important people read this thread but you're not sure of the frequency? Aren't you the numbers guy? don't you need statistical proof?

And the best way for you to get heard would be to donate to the program then maybe somebody would give a **** what you have to say. Posting on an anonymous message board is not going to do it.

I'm sure you're such the philanthropist. It's a shame there's nothing left over after all of your generous giving for the underfunded Athletics program you constantly criticize. Sounds like you are a bandwagon fan if you're not willing to stick with a program through thick and thin.

You want the school to take more risks by paying a coach 5 times what we currently pay. a guy that could drop dead of a heart attack at any moment. a guy with an arrest record, whose program has been on probation, doesn't graduate players, recruits kids who get arrested for all sorts of felonious acts. he would have an NCAA target on his back as soon as he signs. That's definitely taking a risk.

I was embarrassed by the whole B Fisher episode. Gator friends ragged me and that was a suspended license. Imagine having to hear about a guy beating up pregnant girlfriend or a guy kidnapping and burning his roommate or a guy who was finally kicked off the team after being arrested for the 3rd time in 11 months. no thanks.

I'd be the first one to drop my donation to the Bulls Club if we hire this clown. I'd refuse to fund schollies for the types of players he brings in.

maybe someday we'll see "current donor" next to your name. until then who gives a rat's ass about what you think. certainly not anybody who has any influence on any decisions.

hopefully the "important people" see this.

This is exactly the type of post that make some people wonder why no one is suppose to talk out against anything?

Dumb? Yeah, sorry, we like our crappy basketball team and continue to wish it to stay that way for 4+ more decades.

Dude drank and drove. Bet 98% of the posters on this board have done it AT LEAST ONCE when you shouldn't have driven home. Pot meet kettle.

dude also recruited players that have been arrested for ****, weapons charges, assault, kidnapping beating and burning  roommates, beating and throwing bottles at pregnant girlfriends,punching girlfriends in their faces, drunk driving, etc,etc.

thanks but no thanks.

check out thread on Cincy site for list of articles concerning huggins and his transgressions.

No one said Woolard is reading this; but if you think he is the only important person in the decision making process, or that he makes decisions in a vacuum; you have little understanding of how things get done in this world.

And if you think Woolard doesn't care about future donors, you're mistaken.

So you can sit around and hope CRM turns things around; but as us traders say - Hope is a very bad risk manager. Woolard knows this, and that's why he's looked/looking into Huggins. Whether he pulls the trigger or not is up for debate, but not final...

You see things and you say "Why?"; but I dream things that never were and I say "Why not?".

Rueben ~ Future big wig donor.

I'm sure Woolard is more concerned with what CURRENT donors have to say and not a bunch of internet board yahoos who claim to be the next fat cat donors.

If you think important people are on this board and would use any of the opinions expressed, as a part of their decision process for something as important as a coach, by you or any of us for that matter then I'm not sure you know how the real world works.

I guess you have inside info on what Woolard is or isn't looking into?? According to Brett the decision has been made and RMC isn't going anywhere.

Do you keep a book of inspirational quotes on your desk?

How about if you become a CURRENT average donor before you try throwing your weight around as a future fat cat donor.

We might not have ever been a powerhouse, but our bb program has been around for almost 30 years!!  I think it is about time we see some glimmer of hope.

By the way CUSA was a **** good bb confrence!!  Cinci, Louisville, Depaul, Marquet, Memphis have all made solid showings in the NCAA tourni the past few years.

Oh, and by the way I don't think Seth was ever 6-18!!

CUSA may have been decent but take out Memphis and add UCONN,Cuse,Nova,GTown,WVU, PITT,SHall and others.

There are 6 teams in the BE that are ahead of ANY former CUSA teams in the current standings.

Seth always had average records with above average talent in an average at best conference.

I think if we were playing in the old CUSA we would have a much better record then we currently have.

If McCullum is such a great X and Os guy why is it that we can never seem to get off a good shot in the last seconds of a close game.  With the exception of the Villanova game when Holmes' shot rimmed out with three seconds left we have yet to have any decent shots in the final seconds of close games.

Louisville, we were lucky to get off a shot, and even then there were two defenders in Holmes' face.  Against BCC we couldn't even get off a shot in the last 1:30.  West Virginia was the same.  If you look back on all of our close games the x and Os in the last seconds was leaving something to be desired.

Point is McCullum may be a good coach when it comes to disipline and academics, however, I don't see what  he brings to the court.

we don't have a PG who creates opportunities for his teammates.

unfortunately our shooters aren't the type that can create a shot on their own. Buckley can't create off of the dribble and that isn't Holmes strong point either.

we need a PG to be able to create good looks. drive and dish. a setup man.

I'm thinking the laughing is done at you ***** and moaners that think we can get Huggins in here. Again, look around, you guys are in the minority and it's got nothing to do with blowing sunshine anywhere or being a "forever optimist" (except velcro maybe). Reality is we have been more competitive in the BE than most imagined. The supposed "forever optimist" that I am was looking at double digit losses every game. Mac has earned next year with a deeper bench to see what he can do with it. Woolard is smart enough to see that ....

I think some of the moaners (Hawaii Bull, Rocky top, beastie) have seen very few games this year(live or on TV). I doubt Woolard is too concerned with their evaluation of the job our coach is doing when they haven't seen most of them.

It's obvious they haven't seen how competitive RMC has these guys playing in the best conference of all time. 9 teams will probably make the tourney this year.He's actually doing an amazing job getting these kids to play well above their potential. I'm surprised with the talent we have that we aren't blown out every night. They haven't quit on him either.

It takes time to build recruiting momentum especially at a school with no basketball history in the toughest conference in the history of college basketball. He's definitely a great motivator and good x's and o's guy.

Hilarious. I'm sure Woolard wants to do everything he can to please these future $1mm/year donors!!

No offense to Rocky Top but I bet if he ever becomes a big time donor to a program it will be to UT. He's on a USF website, claims to be a fan, and has UT sigs everywhere.

Maybe Woolard can walk into a bank and ask them to loan him the money to buyout CRM and hire huggins based on Rube's $1mm/year future donations?

 

Reggie kohn was playing injured during his last two seasons.  

BB Waldon was playing injured his last 2 seasons.  Chonsey Asbury played injured his last 2 seasons.  Marlyn Bryant was injured during our former coach's almost entire tenure between his wrist and leg injuries.  Right, he had no injuries to deal with and neither does any other school in the nation.  Injuries were as big if not a bigger during Seth's tenure as it is now.  

If RMC wants to exacerbate the issue by bringing in well known problem players like Zaronn Cann (injuries) and David Sills (attitude) then he has noone to blame but himself.  

Beastie,

check out how this quote leads off. notice anything? That's right, you admit that these guys PLAYED. whether or not they were injured, they all still actually played. and most of them were quite effective even when injured.

Imagine if Kohn(starting PG) and his backup were out for the year and first half of the year respectively then tell me how Seth overcame injuries to have such a stellar record in CUSA.

Who knows how good Howard is but he is a PG and I think even you will have to admit that every team runs through the PG.

He is the floor general.

Most important position on the floor.

Bryant was a role player. He did a little of everything well. He couldn't carry a team.

I loved the way he played and wouldn't take anything away from him.

He played 2 seasons for Seth. He played in 43 out of 61 games. 70% of his games.

He played 2 seasons for Mac. He played in 41 of 57 games. 72% of his games.

virtually identical.

Good thing you weren't around to fire Pascal after his first 3 years of 20+ loss seasons. We wouldn't have made the tourney and NIT the next 3 years.

When comparing a 6 win sun belt team to a 6 win BE team, what would you expect?

I guess this is a glass half-full way to look at it.  Things have been worse.

The point being, things will get better. Pascal had 3 years in a row where he lost 20+ games. 1986-87,1987-88,and 1988-89. He went to the NIT and NCAA's the next 3 years.

Clearly the season isn't over but as we approach the end the question becomes is this the worst USF BB team to ever take the court ?

1. One game away from setting the all time losing streak.

2. Current RPI 225

3. Out of conference RPI 241

4. Record vs Top 50 RPI    -  0-9

  51-100   -  0-2

  101-200 - 2-3

   201+     - 4-3  

5. Contenders:  1979-80  6-21

  1987-88  6-22

My personal pick would be the 1987-88 team.  I don't know what their final RPI was but they where so bad we cheered everytime they manged to get the ball past half court.  Matt Yobe became the starting point guard and about all he could do was dribble well enough to get the ball into the front court.  How bad was that team ?  Check out the Bulls media guide and try and figure out how their 3 point shooting was ?  We couldn't even keep accurate stats on the team.  I just have this crazy feeling that Brantley didn't shoot 850 from behind the arc plus the numbers don't even add up.  Check it out.

Those were some rough years. 8 wins, 6 wins and then 7 wins. We weren't even in the Best basketball conference of all time then either. Ahh to be back in the sunbelt.

I believe we made the tourney shortly after those awful years though. good thing they stuck it out with Pascal and his 3 first years of 20+ losses.

If you want to try to focus on the minor discrepencies of an argument in order to attempt to question someone's credibility, then let's do so.  Marlyn Bryan was a 2 guard NOT a PG.  

do you know how to read?

what does this mean?

"Bryant was a good role player. Not a starting PG."

nowhere did I say he was a PG. In fact I said he was NOT a starting PG. we lost a starting PG this year (IMO a much more important position)and his backup.

When Seth lost Bryant for half a season(16 games), he was a sophmore. In fact Bryant played in 30 of 32 games the year before under your beloved Seth.

Seth had players like McDonald, Baxter, Swift, Leather, Baker,Kohn,Oglesby, Brigman, and Morris all play 26 or more games out of 29 that year.

Seth went 15-14 that year in the CUSA. For you to say Seth had bigger issues with injuries is completely false.

Compare that to what RMC has gone through losing a starting PG before the season starts, his backup for more then half the year, his top returning scorer due to cancer,etc. Look at the stats beastie. They don't lie.

Bryant missed 16 games RMC's first year.

He missed a total of 18 the previous 2 years combined under Seth. In fact Bryant played a total of 43 games out of a possible 61 for Seth the 2 years before he left.

Even your 1 lame example of all the injuries Seth put up with accounts for only 30% of the possible games Bryant could have played.

meaning he actually played 70% of his possible games the 2 years before Seth left

Seems to me that if your major (the reason you go to class) is accounting, you're gonna focus on debits and credits. What a wonderful short-story you wrote in your creative writing class.

If your major is MIS, you're gonna focus on bits and bytes. Congratulations on the ash tray you made in your art class.

If you're a full-ride athlete for the school, you focus on wins and losses. Glad you got a C in your BizCalc.

What is it you do best? Why is it that I don't see a lot of 'heavy lifting' majors playing IA sports? Every time we run across an athlete NOT getting a degree in Sports Management, we talk about how 'bright' they are.

If the University cuts a deal for your free ride if you'll play ball...play ball. You can always get your degree when your ball playing days are gone.

I'm not sure where you are going with this but if your thought is they are only there to play sports then shouldn't they be paid? Revenue producing sports bring in quite a bit of money to these schools. In fact these coaches are paid millions of dollars for what these kids achieve on the field.

It should be the coaches responsibility to get these kids ready for the real world and part of that is making sure they are educated.

Why don't we just give them the option to be paid whatever their scholarship is worth per year?

Heck they don't need to bother with classes at all. Might as well be semi-pro ball. not college. They should be the Temple Terrace Bulls.

I'm sure there are tons of 1a student-athletes that pursue "heavy lifting" majors and would be insulted by your arrogant statement. I think LRSjr double majored. same with gerrick morris. Swift got a degree in finance I believe. in fact alot of these kids go on to grad school.

yeah but those 3 players were seniors last year.  The year when 3 years of hard work pays off.  

BTW our former coach had injuries as well: Reggie and Chonsey Asbury were pretty much injured all the time.  BB was always injured during his last 2 seasons.  Anyone remember Marlyn Bryant?  injured for pretty much his entire career while SG was here.  

I remember at one point in 2002 Ced Smith, Altron, Reggie, BB and I believe someone else were all injured at the same time yet we won 18 games.  All this yet I don't remember anyone giving SG the injury crutch at all.  only the blame for late season collapses.  Could those injuries have led to the late season collapses?  Naaah...

It was the 2000-2001 season that they went 18-13. They may have played hurt but they weren't out for the year. Smith, Altron, BB and Kohn missed a total of 4 games that year out of a total of 124 possible.

I wonder how well Seth would have done that year if Kohn were out for the season before it started and his backup was lost for half of the season?

Bryant was a good role player . Not a starting PG.

sorry but Seth had no excuses for the late season collapses.

In basketball, having high graduation rate and being very successful in Division 1 are mutually exclusive. This is because the professional leagues dangle a lot of money in front of these kids when they are still teenagers, far from graduation and they go for the money. For the most part, I don't blame them - the object of college for the majority of people is to improve their chances at earning a decent living.

I think this is different from the concept of "thug" which implies someone with low moral character and a penchant for breaking the boundaries of social decency.

You look at schools like Duke, who project an image of squeaky-clean high academics, and you find out that a lot of kids left early which has affected their graduation rate. Does this put Coach K in the same league as Huggins or Tarkanian, etc?

You could look at a school like Memphis, who does not profess to have high graduation rates, and actually encourages kids to come for 1-2 years on the way to the NBA. Is that somehow bad? The fans get what they want (wins) and the kids get a chance to showcase their skills in the NCAA tournament and then get drafted and make their money. This is the system that exists in this country. I don't think this system needs to be confused with "thugs" or criminal elements, etc. because it doesn't have to be.

You're way off on Duke. Most of his players stay in school all 4 years. Redick and Williams are both seniors. If you think their grad rates are even comparable to Cincys then you are completely lost.

How about all of the arrests that happened at Cincy and UNLV under those coaches? Does that project an image of thuggery?