I recollect it took Mizzou's legend Norm Stewart years to establish...

[Husker Hoops Penitent]

an excellent program. I think eight years before he won a title. This is not to suggest that they are equivalents, but Stewart did eventually do great things at MU, who was rewarded for their patience! That said, I think Miles has intangibles that are worth making a commitment to. He is funny, smart and very personable. I have followed NU for over four decades and I think if he is given the resources others in the A.D. are (including a long-term contract so others can't frighten potential recruits) he might turn NU into a very successful program. I know this is one man's opinion based largely on a feeling, nevertheless I think starting over isn't the answer. Perhaps recognizing his honesty and verve (the media love him) are reasons to consider bucking a national trend which sees A.D.s throw away coaches based on the arbitrary standard (must turn around program in five-six years, on average) should be reevaluated? The point being, not every program is the same, and therefore "fixable" in the same amount of time. He has shown the ability to recruit interesting athletes. If he improves a bit in that area he is close to doing very good things. Think about some of the statistical bad luck this year- yes I know some fault rests with him- but not all of it. These are statistical anomalies which will reverse, just as the Red Sox "bad luck" did. Statistics are not fickle people. The wheel does spin around. Anyway, my humble opinion is just that, and should Moos lure someone who is a great fit for the program, say Hoiberg, I would be equally thrilled. Go NU!

[HuskerCager]

It did take him a while for a title, but he had some pretty good teams along the way.

[tcp]

6 minutes ago, HuskerCager said:

It did take him a while for a title, but he had some pretty good teams along the way.

 

and the general trend was upward steadily, with one aberration in there due largely to a reload of young players. 

 

that was Moos' issue with Miles, and it's the one fair gripe about him that's hard to argue: consistency. By 1970, it would probably be apparent to most that Stormin' was taking the program places. That's year 4. We all thought that about Miles in year 2! Until year 3 hit. And then 4-5 hit. Then 6 was way back up. Yay! Promised land! Except....bit of a mirage. Then this year. Similar to 2015. 

 

Just like this tourney, it seems like Miles moves from savior to scoundrel faster than light takes to travel from my eyes to my navel. 

 

Timmy's a maddening coach at the best of times. A guy you can't help but like and desperately want to see succeed, but a guy who moves mountains making that a supremely hard thing to actually do. 

Edited March 16, 2019 by tcp

[hskr4life]

While this year was certainly disappointing, it’s hard to compare this year to the year after we danced.  Arguably we were consistent this year with last year in that we had (or assume we had) a legit shot at dancing on the Friday before Selection Sunday.  Yeah, it was two different routes to get there, but it isn’t like this year was a total flop like our year after dancing.

[nebrasketball10]

26 minutes ago, hskr4life said:

While this year was certainly disappointing, it’s hard to compare this year to the year after we danced.  Arguably we were consistent this year with last year in that we had (or assume we had) a legit shot at dancing on the Friday before Selection Sunday.  Yeah, it was two different routes to get there, but it isn’t like this year was a total flop like our year after dancing.

 

Given what we had come back from a top-4 conference team, finishing 13th was a total flop. 

[KZRider]

2 hours ago, HuskerCager said:

It did take him a while for a title, but he had some pretty good teams along the way.

 

And, if getting to the Dance is the measuring stick, until, I think, 1985 it was a 32 team field. With a 64/68 team field, I suspect MU would have been invited in all of the highlighted years. We'd be thrilled to accomplish that beginning in year 4 of a coach's tenure!

[Husker Hoops Penitent]

I want to thank all the Husker fans for the sensible responses and analysis. I really have no definitive defenses that cannot be refuted. It will be interesting to see what Moos and the admin. decide.

Go Huskers!

[AuroranHusker]

"Sit Down" Norm Stewart is a legend. Nebraska's never had one of those in the Hoops dep't. Not that it couldn't happen, it's just that it hasn't. Neither Cipriano (253) nor Nee (254) won more games than Tom Osborne (255), and that's astounding that the two best record-wise coaches at NU Basketball have less wins than the Legend of Husker Football. Astounding.