yes AL Davis thanks for the correctionTotally agree! JUST WIN and the fans will pack the Arena.
Note: I think it was Al Davis of the Raiders that said "just win baby"
I do think BM and this team need to exceed the expectations of their per-season pick of 8th in the league. I have been an SIU basketball optimist for 40 years or so. I sat through (I believe) was the 1980 version of Saluki basketball the went 0-16 in conference play (attended every home game), and every year since I have had high hopes for the team. I do again this year.
Here's to looking forward to hopefully an exciting an winning year for SIU Basketball.
Good luck getting crowds with a boring product and system. You won’t. Nobody wants to watch hustle ball.
Fire away.
You must not have been around during 2002 to 2007. There were a lot of people in the building in those days. As long as you win.....
First memory that comes to mind on this is at the midnight bracket buster game when the Arena went nuts after Tony Young picked up Hawaii's point guard at full court and gave him about 1 inch of space to bring the ball up the court.
Tony played D on a guy like a pissed off wood tick on a hound dawg! Loved his attitude and toughness. Fun to watch.
Used to love to watch Rich Herrin's teams with Amaya, Timmons, Carr, Lowery. They could put up points. Really good talent too.
OK, I would consider myself a strong Mullins supporter and have advocated multiple times here for giving him plenty of time based on everything he brings to the table, but seriously? "For some reason ..." ?
SIU has not made the postseason since 2008, including Bryan's first four years, and are now picked 9th in the MVC preseason in his fifth season. It's not a freakin' mystery why there is some restlessness. 😆
Was not responding to you, but since you chimed in, I'll add my two cents. 2008 - 2019 has nothing to do with BM or this current staff. The last four years 2019-2023 do. We have a young coach in his first Head coaching assignment, still finding his way. Has it been great? No, in fact underwhelming at times, but there have been some good moments, but obviously not enough. I want the post season like every one else, however, the margin for error is extremely small. Let's do a simple comparison shall we.
NCAA Tournament BIG = 9-10 teams (most losing in first round)
NCAA Tournament MVC = 1 TEAM
NIT Tournament BIG 2-4 teams
NIT Tournament MVC = ? No more automatic bid
23 - 10 record for a BIG team gets you a 3 or 4 seed. MVC ? Notta
They say play a better non-conference schedule, play more P5 schools, go on the road, play in better MTE's etc. Wonder if beating Butler, Oklahoma State and Colorado on the road helps our chances to do this? Doubt it.
Let's than add TWO schools to the MVC that are rich in basketball tradition, and may have better resources in Belmont and Murray State.
Would being picked 3rd, 2nd or 1st make us all feel more positive about the direction of the program? YES! Finish in first place, lose in the MVC tourney, not even to receive an NIT bid? This is reality, is it not?
GO DAWGS!!!
Until this year, SIU has played a bunch of lousy schedules under Mullins. It was as bad as it was under Hinson. And SIU was still struggling in those games last year. Got blown out by a bad Southern Indiana team and nearly lost to horrific teams like Alcorn State (for the 2nd year in a row).
SIU was 78th in KenPom before the Southern Indiana game and a few weeks later they dropped into the 100’s and never really were a serious NIT contender unless they won the league.
I never question the effort under Mullins but his teams lack a killer mentality that the good mid-majors around College Basketball seem to have. SIU might come away with wins but they constantly are struggling with bad teams around the country like Alcorn State which just can’t happen when the metrics matter so much. The good teams tend to blow the bad teams out of the building as they should.
OK, I would consider myself a strong Mullins supporter and have advocated multiple times here for giving him plenty of time based on everything he brings to the table, but seriously? "For some reason ..." ?
SIU has not made the postseason since 2008, including Bryan's first four years, and are now picked 9th in the MVC preseason in his fifth season. It's not a freakin' mystery why there is some restlessness. 😆
Was not responding to you, but since you chimed in, I'll add my two cents. 2008 - 2019 has nothing to do with BM or this current staff. The last four years 2019-2023 do. We have a young coach in his first Head coaching assignment, still finding his way. Has it been great? No, in fact underwhelming at times, but there have been some good moments, but obviously not enough. I want the post season like every one else, however, the margin for error is extremely small. Let's do a simple comparison shall we.
NCAA Tournament BIG = 9-10 teams (most losing in first round)
NCAA Tournament MVC = 1 TEAM
NIT Tournament BIG 2-4 teams
NIT Tournament MVC = ? No more automatic bid
23 - 10 record for a BIG team gets you a 3 or 4 seed. MVC ? Notta
They say play a better non-conference schedule, play more P5 schools, go on the road, play in better MTE's etc. Wonder if beating Butler, Oklahoma State and Colorado on the road helps our chances to do this? Doubt it.
Let's than add TWO schools to the MVC that are rich in basketball tradition, and may have better resources in Belmont and Murray State.
Would being picked 3rd, 2nd or 1st make us all feel more positive about the direction of the program? YES! Finish in first place, lose in the MVC tourney, not even to receive an NIT bid? This is reality, is it not?
GO DAWGS!!!
2008-2019 are not Mullins' fault, but the reality is coaches, CEOs, politicians, etc., have to deal with the environment they walk into, and at SIU, there is a lot of deep frustration about the program's descent into mediocrity over the past 15 years. I mentioned that backdrop in the context of you wondering why some people have a problem with Mullins ... fair or unfair (and I agree it's mostly unfair to him), fans' patience and goodwill is not what it otherwise would be if Southern wasn't 15 years into a postseason drought.
I do recognize and agree that making the postseason for midmajors has gotten harder in recent years, which is brutal for all of us. But Southern hasn't even been on the NIT bubble these past four years, and the outlook is murky this year. That said, looking forward to the season and seeing what Mullins and the Dawgs can do this winter.
