I'm not a CLO supporter, but he did go to the Sweet 16 his 3rd year and came within a few points of the Elite 8. Also 2 NCAAs before that. After that, things went South in a hurry.
Losing to Ohio Dominican was one of the all-time low points of Saluki Bball ....
until BBQ lost to Edwardsville!
Ohio Dominican was much worse than Edwardsville. That Ohio Dominican team was like a 5-26 D2 team
True but psychologically, losing to E was much worse! 🤥
I'm not a CLO supporter, but he did go to the Sweet 16 his 3rd year and came within a few points of the Elite 8. Also 2 NCAAs before that. After that, things went South in a hurry.
Losing to Ohio Dominican was one of the all-time low points of Saluki Bball ....
until BBQ lost to Edwardsville!
Once he lost his coaches on the floor and had to rely on his own guys, he was at best mediocre (to be REALLY nice).
There is a reason teams aren't beating down his door for an HC position. Nothing wrong with that: I'll bet he's a fine assistant. I'd gladly accept the $$ he's making as an assistant at KSU.
(Inflammatory political snark)
I'd say the first-year atmosphere is much more positive for Mullins. Weber was really an unknown commodity to most of us at the time of his hiring.
I was going to write an elongated post, then I saw Dooley largely beat me to the punch. I think the biggest difference between 1999 and now is that Weber was not known by the locals where Mullins was pushed hard by said locals to get the job.
The next few years of Saluki sports are going to be fun. Maybe even the remainder of the current season! I am amazed how far ahead of expectations SIU is and I think it’s a great sign of what’s to come.
well, the bobber remembers. hell, i go back to the naismith days.
sometimes life is about who you follow. herrin arrived after the ridiculous years of gottfried and van winkle. the fan base was more numb than angry. there were no expectations. any level of success, even from a local high school coach, was all that was expected.
it's different with bryan following lowery and then hinson. after the success we had, and what we had fallen into, the fan base was now past angry. and they sat and watched the administration throw out extensions for results that meant nothing.
the fans see bryan, and they know there is no BS going down. they remember how hard he played, they remember the 4.0, and they know we will get his best shot. there was probably a ceiling with rich. i wouldn't put any ceilings on what bryan and brendan can do.
our time is coming again. it's just a matter of when.
oh. this was about bruce.
Ha, no one is judging. 👍🏼
I was one of the locals, a high school kid who was adding 2+2 together with Weber and Williams and was seeing some fun basketball as a kid traveling down to watch games with friends.
I was going to write an elongated post, then I saw Dooley largely beat me to the punch. I think the biggest difference between 1999 and now is that Weber was not known by the locals where Mullins was pushed hard by said locals to get the job.
The next few years of Saluki sports are going to be fun. Maybe even the remainder of the current season! I am amazed how far ahead of expectations SIU is and I think it’s a great sign of what’s to come.
Also, the facilities and total amount of money invested in basketball now in 2020 vs 1999 automatically makes us yearn more as fans. In 1999 with the old arena and budget, it was like the little engine that could. Now with the renovations and all the brand recognition we still can cling to from the 2000s run, it should be easier to turn things around (hence why everyone was anxious about Barry not doing so).
And it should also be noted we are now 13 — THIRTEEN — years removed from our last NCAA bid. When Weber took over, the program was just 3 years removed, and before that, it was the 3-peat and the NITs before that. The fan base now is just waiting to explode.
...
Hope I didn’t ramble.
Great story, thanks for sharing!
IMO you didn't ramble - loved the story and your take on that season. Thanks.
Go Dawgs!
