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Jack Mitchell sounds off!!


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Anyone catch Jack Mitchell sound off during the after show on KLIN today?  Holy crap, he nailed it in my opinion. I think he posted part of it on his Twitter. Basically, he remarks how the Nebrasketball fan base is a unicorn, that we continue to show up despite records, tourney possibilities, blizzards, and want to win so bad, yet have to put up with an administration that hasn’t always (if ever) put appropriate resources into the basketball program. He doesn’t say his opinion on whether or not he thinks a change should happen, but begs whomever is making the decision to fully go all in on the coach and fully support him and not handstring his recruiting by being wishy washy. I highly recommend giving it a listen-

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It’s fascinating that there is even a question right now regarding who is making said decision. I remember Pedey’s presser when he announced Solich was being let go, that the search process would be handled by “me and me alone”

For some reason, I get the vibe currently is nobody truly knows if Moos has sole autonomy to make this decision, or if it goes up to Ronnie and Hank, amongst others.  Every time I see Marc Boehm at PBA destiny child’s “I’m a survivor” goes through my head...

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30 minutes ago, Faux Mike Peltz said:

Anyone catch Jack Mitchell sound off during the after show on KLIN today?  Holy crap, he nailed it in my opinion. I think he posted part of it on his Twitter. Basically, he remarks how the Nebrasketball fan base is a unicorn, that we continue to show up despite records, tourney possibilities, blizzards, and want to win so bad, yet have to put up with an administration that hasn’t always (if ever) put appropriate resources into the basketball program. He doesn’t say his opinion on whether or not he thinks a change should happen, but begs whomever is making the decision to fully go all in on the coach and fully support him and not handstring his recruiting by being wishy washy. I highly recommend giving it a listen-

http://klinam.streamon.fm/listen-pl-704

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Maybe I’m missing it....but what resources is Miles and this staff lacking right now? 

 

This excuse has grown old. I would buy in if this was Nebrasketball under Collier and Doc and we were still playing in the Bob and no practice facility. I would buy in if Miles wasn’t expected to make 2.5 million next year and if we didn’t open up the checkbook to get a guy like Lewis. 

 

At the end of the day, Miles had a team in 2015 that was expected to make the big dance and he went under .500. Miles has a team that was expected to make the big dance this year and is on the verge of going under .500. If resources are an issue(I don’t think they are)....it’s not the main issue. 

 

If the “resource” issue revolves around Miles contract situation my argument to that is 90% of this board loves Miles current recruits.  It would be nice if we hired an AD that will be around ten years with his guy but we won’t have that luxury this time around either. 

Edited by huskerbaseball13
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1 hour ago, huskerbaseball13 said:

Maybe I’m missing it....but what resources is Miles and this staff lacking right now? 

 

This excuse has grown old. I would buy in if this was Nebrasketball under Collier and Doc and we were still playing in the Bob and no practice facility. I would buy in if Miles wasn’t expected to make 2.5 million next year and if we didn’t open up the checkbook to get a guy like Lewis. 

 

At the end of the day, Miles had a team in 2015 that was expected to make the big dance and he went under .500. Miles has a team that was expected to make the big dance this year and is on the verge of going under .500. If resources are an issue(I don’t think they are)....it’s not the main issue. 

 

If the “resource” issue revolves around Miles contract situation my argument to that is 90% of this board loves Miles current recruits.  It would be nice if we hired an AD that will be around ten years with his guy but we won’t have that luxury this time around either. 

 

You didn't actually listen to this if you think it was a pro-Miles rant.  He is essentially saying that the administration has no more excuses, a sentiment that should extend well beyond firing the coach.

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1 hour ago, huskerbaseball13 said:

Maybe I’m missing it....but what resources is Miles and this staff lacking right now? 

 

This excuse has grown old. I would buy in if this was Nebrasketball under Collier and Doc and we were still playing in the Bob and no practice facility. I would buy in if Miles wasn’t expected to make 2.5 million next year and if we didn’t open up the checkbook to get a guy like Lewis. 

 

At the end of the day, Miles had a team in 2015 that was expected to make the big dance and he went under .500. Miles has a team that was expected to make the big dance this year and is on the verge of going under .500. If resources are an issue(I don’t think they are)....it’s not the main issue. 

 

If the “resource” issue revolves around Miles contract situation my argument to that is 90% of this board loves Miles current recruits.  It would be nice if we hired an AD that will be around ten years with his guy but we won’t have that luxury this time around either. 

Maybe he didn't have the resources for a Final Four, but he certainly had resources for more than one tourney bid in 7 years. I get that people like TM, but I don't understand this need to shift the blame beyond where it lies. He has a D-1 conference winning percentage under .400 in TWELVE years. What on earth says he's a great coach who just needed support?

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Not sure I took it as lack of resources- I do agree with Jack when he was talking about the lack of Committment by the Administration to go “all in” on Nebraska basketball. And I think he meant that historically, previous administrations haven’t always been. It’s largely what had Lee B write that article that put the shim shams on notice. It’s what partially or nearly fully  contributed to Roburt Sallie making it on campus and then his admission gets botched and he gets ruled ineligible. I remember a very prominent member of the upped administration at NU, told me “if he were a football recruit and this happened, someone’s getting fired” I get the facilities, from Hendricks to PBA, are a commitment, but there’s more to committment than just buildings and facilities.  

 

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I do not believe a lack of resources plays a role.  Heck, even Coach Izzo hitched a ride on the private plane Coach Miles accessed during an early recruiting trip.  We arguably have four areas where we are lacking or where issues may exist; no program history, high numbers of power five talent within a 300 mile radius (granted we have some, but many other areas are saturated with that talent), famous alumni who assist in drawing talent and lack of a true rival.

 

Let me touch a bit more on the lack of famous alumni.  I am speaking strictly from a basketball sense.  Historically, who are the biggest stars and how often are they even around?  I guess star power is somewhat in the eye of the beholder, but arguably our biggest stars are Hoppen, Strickland, Lue and Pike?  Pike is in Omaha, but he doesn't seem to be around the program.  Same goes for Lue, who I believe is in Vegas and Strickland who is maybe in the Dallas area?  Dave Hoppen is in Omaha, and he does attend almost every home game.  We may host a Legends Day; but we seem to get little from our basketball alumni.  Why?

 

We should be able to overcome each of these issues.

Edited by Huskerpapa
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5 hours ago, Handy Johnson said:

I don’t buy the “lack of resources” bit anymore and there was someone in the crowd yesterday, initials T.O. that might chime in with his 2 cents when/if it comes to a new hire...

 

I think TO would give an introspective look into what would generally make for a successful coach here but could he do so under the frame of mind that basketball is as vital to this school as football? When he was offering the job to Gregg Marshall last time would a bigger sell of resources, salary, commitment, etc have done the trick?

 

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2 hours ago, Chuck Taylor said:

Maybe he didn't have the resources for a Final Four, but he certainly had resources for more than one tourney bid in 7 years. I get that people like TM, but I don't understand this need to shift the blame beyond where it lies. He has a D-1 conference winning percentage under .400 in TWELVE years. What on earth says he's a great coach who just needed support?

Nee would be considered one of Nebraska's best coaches and he had a winning % of .431 in conference at Nebraska.

 

 

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3 hours ago, hhcmatt said:

 

You didn't actually listen to this if you think it was a pro-Miles rant.  He is essentially saying that the administration has no more excuses, a sentiment that should extend well beyond firing the coach.

 

Yes, I did not listen to the segment. More so responding to the OP and saying we may not have ever put appropriate resources into the basketball program. I feel we have enough resources now to be better in year 7. Miles has failed and it has nothing to do with resources IMO.  There are many other directions I would go before bringing up resources

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14 hours ago, Faux Mike Peltz said:

It’s fascinating that there is even a question right now regarding who is making said decision. I remember Pedey’s presser when he announced Solich was being let go, that the search process would be handled by “me and me alone”

For some reason, I get the vibe currently is nobody truly knows if Moos has sole autonomy to make this decision, or if it goes up to Ronnie and Hank, amongst others.  Every time I see Marc Boehm at PBA destiny child’s “I’m a survivor” goes through my head...

I think if Green or Bounds told Moos who to hire or how to do his job it would probably end in Moos quitting. I don’t think the guy who was fired from Oregon for butting heads with Phil Knight would be the type to bend to university administrators. I think Moos is more than capable of making a big hire. 

 

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3 minutes ago, cornfed24-7 said:

I think we are all going to get to find out ?

I think so too. I’ll wait to judge our commitment to basketball until after that hire is made. Seems like a lot of people wanting to write off our ADs commitment to basketball after being here for 1 year. I gave Miles 7 years to make his mark on Nebrasketball before writing him off, I’ll give Moos at least a couple years to attempt to make us a consistent winner. 

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I do not doubt that Mr. Moos will direct the search, but I suspect there may be committee involved in the process.  I could see a committee that looks something like this>>>

- Bill Moos

- Bounds

- Green

- $$Booster$$

- Ex-player (Hoppen or Pike)

 

I once had a very astute HR  Director provide me with this thought...HR will review all applicants and then determine which candidates fits the culture and meet the values of the company, and you will then choose the perfect fit for your division.  In basketball terms, the list of viable candidate will be culled and the Director of Athletics will have the final say.  Perhaps...perhaps not -- but just a thought.

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47 minutes ago, TimSmiles said:

i'm gonna say this again. collier, sadler, and miles never won a tournament game at their previous school.

 

we got the results we signed up for. 

 

if the next coach is an underwhelming hire, i think you're gonna see attendance drop big time.

Nee had a win in the NCAA tournament and went 0 - 5 here.

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1 hour ago, The Polish Rifle said:

 Seems like a lot of people wanting to write off our ADs commitment to basketball after being here for 1 year. 

 

Some of it is because of a lifetime of basketball being an afterthought. Some of it is because we've kept a coach around where it very much seems like he's been on the chopping block for 4 years (him not winning is definitely part of that)

 

It's inevitable that Miles is going to be fired and the point is that doesn't fix anything.  Is hiring a mid-major guy or assistant while leaking stories of the big names we *almost* hired any different from hiring Miles or Sadler or Barry or Nee or Cipriano? Is 'we couldn't spend enough because we're paying the football coach an awful lot and the academic side is doing poorly so here' so this is the hire a commitment to basketball?

 

It's not about not believing Bill Moos can't spend money on a guy he knows he can win; he's done it with Mike Leach and hopefully Scott Frost.  The issue is whether or not we will make our biggest hire since picking up Harry Good in 1946 from Indiana because Branch McCracken was back from the war. Do that and there is your buy-in.  Otherwise we're just gambling that an Athletic Department that really doesn't seem to know how to achieve basketball success is gong to get lucky.  I'll go to bat for whomever we hire but for the love of Jumbo Stiehm get very, very serious here.

 

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20 minutes ago, hhcmatt said:

 

Some of it is because of a lifetime of basketball being an afterthought. Some of it is because we've kept a coach around where it very much seems like he's been on the chopping block for 4 years (him not winning is definitely part of that)

 

It's inevitable that Miles is going to be fired and the point is that doesn't fix anything.  Is hiring a mid-major guy or assistant while leaking stories of the big names we *almost* hired any different from hiring Miles or Sadler or Barry or Nee or Cipriano? Is 'we couldn't spend enough because we're paying the football coach an awful lot and the academic side is doing poorly so here' so this is the hire a commitment to basketball?

 

It's not about not believing Bill Moos can't spend money on a guy he knows he can win; he's done it with Mike Leach and hopefully Scott Frost.  The issue is whether or not we will make our biggest hire since picking up Harry Good in 1946 from Indiana because Branch McCracken was back from the war. Do that and there is your buy-in.  Otherwise we're just gambling that an Athletic Department that really doesn't seem to know how to achieve basketball success is gong to get lucky.  I'll go to bat for whomever we hire but for the love of Jumbo Stiehm get very, very serious here.

 

Good post, and educational to boot.  

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22 minutes ago, hhcmatt said:

 

Some of it is because of a lifetime of basketball being an afterthought. Some of it is because we've kept a coach around where it very much seems like he's been on the chopping block for 4 years (him not winning is definitely part of that)

 

It's inevitable that Miles is going to be fired and the point is that doesn't fix anything.  Is hiring a mid-major guy or assistant while leaking stories of the big names we *almost* hired any different from hiring Miles or Sadler or Barry or Nee or Cipriano? Is 'we couldn't spend enough because we're paying the football coach an awful lot and the academic side is doing poorly so here' so this is the hire a commitment to basketball?

 

It's not about not believing Bill Moos can't spend money on a guy he knows he can win; he's done it with Mike Leach and hopefully Scott Frost.  The issue is whether or not we will make our biggest hire since picking up Harry Good in 1946 from Indiana because Branch McCracken was back from the war. Do that and there is your buy-in.  Otherwise we're just gambling that an Athletic Department that really doesn't seem to know how to achieve basketball success is gong to get lucky.  I'll go to bat for whomever we hire but for the love of Jumbo Stiehm get very, very serious here.

 

I get it - and I listened to Jack and thought he had some fantastic points. At the same time, it seems like we're pointing our finger at the new Athletic Department brass, for a problem that lingered well before they got here - and we're yelling "FIX THIS NOW". Its gonna take some revamping, its gonna probably take a entire new coaching staff, and its probably gonna take a couple of years. We gotta let this new batter step to the plate and take a few cuts, before we yell at him for striking out. Jack is right, Husker fans deserve a sure thing, home-run, get this thing right, situation - but that doesn't exist in college sports 99% of the time. All we can do is keep doing our part, let the AD do what he was paid to do, and hope for the best.

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Here's my $0.02 on a new hire. If we go the route of firing Miles, Moos needs to have somebody that is a proven winner, and by that I mean they've actually won games in the tournament. An analogy I thought of was the lottery. If you fire Miles and hire somebody that is the next flavor of the month but unproven, you're throwing away a lottery ticket without checking the winning numbers and hoping that your new ticket is going to produce the winning ones. We have a guy who loves it here, wants to be here, and is a great recruiter. If we don't have somebody that checks those boxes better than Miles, then I say retain him. 

 

For a football comparison, look at what the administration (different people, I know, but still it was the University's cash-cow and most proven sport) did over the years after Osborne. I will give Solich a pass since he was handpicked by Osborne. But after that, Callahan, Pelini, and Riley had no proven track record at the college football level. Look how those three staffs turned out. Obviously the jury is still out on Frost, but at least he is a local legend, took a Central Florida team that was recently down and brought them back, and won a major bowl game.

 

So football and basketball have both recently chose candidates that were unproven at the college level, and both programs haven't had the success the fan base wants/deserves/etc. If we fire Miles, I pray it's not a situation like Callahan where we either didn't have a coach better than Solich waiting or our proven candidates told us no.

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