DawgBytes is spot on about the Chancellor.
Had Mullins stayed HC and been given a one-year extension, we would have had the following:
Kennard Davis, AJ Ferguson, D'Amico, Ebube (maybe it doesn't matter with his inconsistencies), and Rupert would have stayed.
Per conversations with people in the absolute know - Mullins had NJ Benson. The relationship was there and established. People in the know also mentioned that Conor Enright, who Mullins lost out to Drake on recruiting out of HS, would have come. Those two ended up with Mullins at DePaul.
All Wright was coming to Southern. Bryan got fired, and he ended up committing to Valpo in April.
@so-ill-24 it’s real covenient that he couldn’t put together a team to win the league or tourney but all of a sudden “if” he was given the extension he was going to be able to get all these guys to come here and stay. I’d be inclined to believe that if he was able to do that in any of the other years he was here. Because a lot of the reports say that players didn’t want to come here because the type of play that Mullins put forth wasn’t a enticing style for high scoring players
@so-ill-24 it’s real covenient that he couldn’t put together a team to win the league or tourney but all of a sudden “if” he was given the extension he was going to be able to get all these guys to come here and stay. I’d be inclined to believe that if he was able to do that in any of the other years he was here. Because a lot of the reports say that players didn’t want to come here because the type of play that Mullins put forth wasn’t a enticing style for high scoring players
Yes, a lot of ifs in this rehashing that there’s no real way to substantiate. If it all came together as laid out … sure, that would have been a formidable roster. What’s indisputable is Mullins lost Benson and Enright out of high school to MVC foes.
@siufan81 I don't disagree. But you have to realize in this new recruiting world that you invest time in guys, and sometimes they don't initially come. The relationships you build over a year or more recruiting them out of high school can benefit you when those guys hit the portal and have 2 months to decide.
Mullins never got us to where we wanted him to take us. He had his flaws. But firing a super young coach, who is in the HoF and had won 42 games in his last two seasons, is head-scratching. Then we decide to try and up our NIL money after firing them.
I can understand some of the reasons for firing Mullins. I get it. But when you go and fire the guy with the credentials above, who graduated our student-athletes, broke records as far as team GPA, etc., you had to 100% have the guy you would lock up to be the next coach. SIU struck out on three guys before landing Nagy, who was not liked at Wright State and were happy to see go.
Scott Nagy's Salukis had a KenPom of 195 this year.
Scott Nagy KenPom Wright State
2020-2021 313
2021-2022 169
2022-2023 197
2023-2024 195
Bryan Mullins KenPom Southern Illinois
2020-2021 192
2021-2022 125
2022-2023 139
2023-2024 124
I was/am a Mullins supporter and wanted him to get an extension.
But, to gently push back on a couple of the points above:
1). Pretty much everyone is increasing their NIL now. The recognition of how essential NIL funding is has shifted dramatically across the midmajor landscape over the past 12-18 months. That said, agree that they probably could/should have stepped up for Mullins more toward end of his tenure.
2). SIU SHOULD have better KenPoms/metrics than Wright State. MVC vs. Horizon, more support for the program, etc.
@siudawgs Kenpom should be higher. Yes. But we fired a guy with 42 wins in his final two years with a higher KenPom rating (who happened to increase attendance, graduate players, was in HoF, and is 25 years younger) and hired a guy with 42 wins in a lesser conference with a lot lower KenPom rating. We also paid the new guy more, allowing his Assistant to do 80% of the coaching.
It's crazy that Nagy's #1 and #3 players were Mullins guy...
@so-ill-24 All Wright was on Southern's radar? Dang, I didn't realize that.
Oh well, he'll likely be playing big time basketball in a few months.
@so-ill-24 if it was a mistake to get rid of him. Why weren’t Mullins or any of his staff hot commodities when it came to hiring? Or did Mullins join DePaul because his wife wanted to live in Chicago? It was always rumored his wife hated living in southern Illinois
@so-ill-24 if it was a mistake to get rid of him. Why weren’t Mullins or any of his staff hot commodities when it came to hiring? Or did Mullins join DePaul because his wife wanted to live in Chicago? It was always rumored his wife hated living in southern Illinois
DePaul is a good opportunity for Bryan to gain more experience and get another head job down the line. I’m sure he could take Northern Illinois or Chicago State or another bum job if he wanted to but that seems like a poor career choice.
@siufan81 Bryan more than likely has a higher IQ than you and I combined. Chicago is home to him? He was raised there. His family is there. A new HC was hired, so he has job security for 4-5 years. He gets to wait until Valentine is fired at Loyola and potentially get that job? Maybe he waits for another Mid-Major job to open up. Maybe he gets a crack at Murray State.
Bryan is extremely smart and will make the best moves for him and his family.
His resume says:
He was the youngest D1 coach in America but won 56% of his games.
His only losing season was during COVID-19 when his star player was injured after game 10 (7-3) when that happened, and two of the losses were back-to-back games against Drake (they were 26-5).
Graduated players—team Records for GPA. There were no problems within his program.
Unlike other coaches in the past, in his final two years, where he won 42 games, the best teams in the league that he finished behind had 5th and 6th-year players due to Covid eligibility.
Increased attendance and ticket revenue for the University.
Collaborated and worked with Student Groups to improve the game atmosphere
Bryan wanted HS kids and to develop them for four years. It's the same thing the current coach has said he wants to do in a world where you have a shorter leash to compete.
Our administration could have invested more around our HoF, class act coach, to help him compete with other schools in our conference who have more. Instead, they chose to fire him, swing and miss on three guys, and landed a coach with zero personality, the same amount of wins the last two years in a lower conference and decided to pay him $100,000 more and invest in more NIL deals to attempt to make him successful.
The same new coach said how good our defense would be at the beginning of the year but "fired" himself from coaching the defense halfway through the season. The administration wanted a coach with a better offensive scheme and up-tempo. I'm happy we paid a guy $100,000 more annually to have our team score .2 more points per game than the previous guy.
Your last sentence cracked me up!@siufan81 Bryan more than likely has a higher IQ than you and I combined. Chicago is home to him? He was raised there. His family is there. A new HC was hired, so he has job security for 4-5 years. He gets to wait until Valentine is fired at Loyola and potentially get that job? Maybe he waits for another Mid-Major job to open up. Maybe he gets a crack at Murray State.
Bryan is extremely smart and will make the best moves for him and his family.
His resume says:
He was the youngest D1 coach in America but won 56% of his games.
His only losing season was during COVID-19 when his star player was injured after game 10 (7-3) when that happened, and two of the losses were back-to-back games against Drake (they were 26-5).
Graduated players—team Records for GPA. There were no problems within his program.
Unlike other coaches in the past, in his final two years, where he won 42 games, the best teams in the league that he finished behind had 5th and 6th-year players due to Covid eligibility.
Increased attendance and ticket revenue for the University.
Collaborated and worked with Student Groups to improve the game atmosphere
Bryan wanted HS kids and to develop them for four years. It's the same thing the current coach has said he wants to do in a world where you have a shorter leash to compete.
Our administration could have invested more around our HoF, class act coach, to help him compete with other schools in our conference who have more. Instead, they chose to fire him, swing and miss on three guys, and landed a coach with zero personality, the same amount of wins the last two years in a lower conference and decided to pay him $100,000 more and invest in more NIL deals to attempt to make him successful.
The same new coach said how good our defense would be at the beginning of the year but "fired" himself from coaching the defense halfway through the season. The administration wanted a coach with a better offensive scheme and up-tempo. I'm happy we paid a guy $100,000 more annually to have our team score .2 more points per game than the previous guy.
The advancement and diffusion of knowledge is the only guardian of true liberty.
James Madison
