Cayman Islands Classic Game 3 vs Boise State, 12:30 PM CST

[ISU FAN 1]

[Slow clap for this post: [emoji122].......[emoji122].......[emoji122].......[emoji122].......[emoji122]]

Now that we got that out of the way, LOL!!

While there are likely some hyperbolic responses on these threads that make it appear like fans want to castigate Muller & Co., it's equally annoying when peeps chime in with drippy, sanctimonious posts similar to the ones above. Again...

I don't believe anyone here denies Dan's character or passion for his players / coaching. If anyone outright did that, I would be on the frontlines defending HCDM.

The last two games showed promise for what making adjustments, playing to your strengths and limiting mistakes can yield for this team. That said, the facts that have led to years of 'just coming up short' over the last ~20 seasons - or more specifically the last 5-7 years - for this program have been consistent:

- LOADS of talent recruited into the system (I would say - of recent and perhaps with the exception of Wichita St. during their last few years in the MVC - ISU far and away has had the most/best collection of talent.

BUT

- Inability to balance talent with high basketball IQ / limiting bone-headed on-court decisions resulting in equally bone-headed losses.

Have to conclude that there's something amiss in the culture when continually plagued with such issues...

It's truly perplexing to me considering HCDM's origins playing for THE quintessential model of talent + smart basketball under Stallings (and - sorta tongue & cheek - being a Bone Scholar himself!, LOL!)

I mean Loyola - under a former ISU HC - brings together a collection of *somewhat* talented, but exceptionally smart basketball players (including a FROSH and a cple other underclassmen in the core rotation)...and make an unthinkable run to the FF. Meanwhile ISU with all their years of talent can't even get into the dance to have any chance at such a run (let alone winning a couple games). Ben Jacobsen is another example of having history bringing together "smart talent" capable of making deep, sustainable post season runs.

When will this come to fruition for this ISU program...in the face of all these years of being picked by prognosticators as "the mid-major team to watch"?

It's just so deflating when HCDM fields teams with such promise...only to perpetually fall short when it matters. As a Redbird alum ('97) who witnessed / covered the very best of what ISU produced under HCKS, I would say I've been *more* than patient. So, please be honest with yourselves in balancing evaluation of HCDMs character with rightful, smart criticism of his program's shortcomings.

I hope they can build on the last two victories with commitment to basketball competency and efficacy...yielding important wins en route to a conference tourney championship and long-awaited NCAA berth!

(Sidenote: HCDM's halftime and postgame comments in the BSU game were spot-on assessments. He's paid - relatively well - to turn around these issues and impart a culture of discipline in-balance with talent, which in-turn will lead to stacks if W's!)

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

100% this. Well written and spot on.

I agree! I have been fortunate enough to have the opportunity to live through the Donewald days (Lamb, Brad Duncan, Johnson, Stefanovic etc) to Bender, Stallings, Richardson, Moser, Janks, to now Muller! Donewald, and Stallings seem to be the only two that really knew how to build a program! It’s amazing to see the difference in each other’s views! I remember being upset that’s Donewald seem to never bring a Juco player in! He seem to make it work!

Moser figured it out.

 

[Tpguy]

Those that want to get rid of Muller now are the same ones that were pissed when we got screwed a couple of times by not getting selected for an at large. I would imagine you would feel different if we would have been picked and played in a couple of NCAA's. That wasn't Muller's fault, he had some pretty good teams those years.

 

[gobirds72]

Those that want to get rid of Muller now are the same ones that were pissed when we got screwed a couple of times by not getting selected for an at large. I would imagine you would feel different if we would have been picked and played in a couple of NCAA's. That wasn't Muller's fault, he had some pretty good teams those years.

We can be saying “IF” for all of life’s challenges! How do you push a coach to reach for higher aspirations? We can incentivize him...we have already done that! We rewarded him for getting bounced by UCF in the NIT! What’s really left? I wouldn’t being giving extensions and salary increases like it’s candy! It should be done for merit based circumstances. If SMU came calling tomorrow there is really nothing holding Muller here! But...we have to be tied down for several more years. I guess we will hold on to hope for the next 10 years!

 

[bombay]

The hysteria 6 games into the season here has truly been amazing. If we win, it’s not by enough. If we lose the sky is falling so let’s fire the coach. Few, if any, of us are close enough to the team to make grand pronouncements about how he’s lost the team yada et al. Nor am
I !! What I DO KNOW is Dan is a really intelligent man, who was a great player and interned under a really good coach. 6 games don’t prove much. And finally all the naysayers about how he dealt with Milik the proof is in the pudding the last four games. Enjoy your turkey today!

Similar to the overreaction early in the '16-'17 season. And that team won 27 games.

 

[CaliRdBrd]

The hysteria 6 games into the season here has truly been amazing. If we win, it’s not by enough. If we lose the sky is falling so let’s fire the coach. Few, if any, of us are close enough to the team to make grand pronouncements about how he’s lost the team yada et al. Nor am
I !! What I DO KNOW is Dan is a really intelligent man, who was a great player and interned under a really good coach. 6 games don’t prove much. And finally all the naysayers about how he dealt with Milik the proof is in the pudding the last four games. Enjoy your turkey today!

Similar to the overreaction early in the '16-'17 season. And that team won 27 games.

And accomplished what in the post season?

 

[Tpguy]

Like someone else said, pick another team and get on their bandwagon. Looks like it might be Bradley this year. You should be ashamed to call yourself a fan, you're just a fair weather fan like so many other babies on this board.

 

[CaliRdBrd]

Like someone else said, pick another team and get on their bandwagon. Looks like it might be Bradley this year. You should be ashamed to call yourself a fan, you're just a fair weather fan like so many other babies on this board.

Ha. Graduated in ‘90. Been a fan for longer than some, not as long as others.
You should be ashamed for being so accepting of mediocrity.
That said, we all have the same goals (at least I used to think so) of post season succces...and I’m not talking CBI.

That said, Happy Thanksgiving.

 

[gobirds72]

Like someone else said, pick another team and get on their bandwagon. Looks like it might be Bradley this year. You should be ashamed to call yourself a fan, you're just a fair weather fan like so many other babies on this board.

Ha. Graduated in ‘90. Been a fan for longer than some, not as long as others.
You should be ashamed for being so accepting of mediocrity.
That said, we all have the same goals (at least I used to think so) of post season succces...and I’m not talking CBI.

That said, Happy Thanksgiving.

TP sits at home listening on the radio! That’s why he doesn’t care! It’s easy to have less interest when you don’t have much at stake!

 

[bombay]

The hysteria 6 games into the season here has truly been amazing. If we win, it’s not by enough. If we lose the sky is falling so let’s fire the coach. Few, if any, of us are close enough to the team to make grand pronouncements about how he’s lost the team yada et al. Nor am
I !! What I DO KNOW is Dan is a really intelligent man, who was a great player and interned under a really good coach. 6 games don’t prove much. And finally all the naysayers about how he dealt with Milik the proof is in the pudding the last four games. Enjoy your turkey today!

Similar to the overreaction early in the '16-'17 season. And that team won 27 games.

And accomplished what in the post season?

Yeah, they really screwed by the little committee, didn't they?

P5 hangs onto every dime and will shaft schools (mid-majors) if they feel they can get away with it without too much turmoil. Gotta make room for 14-15 alabama.

 

[cpacmel]

TP sits at home listening on the radio! That’s why he doesn’t care! It’s easy to have less interest when you don’t have much at stake!

Dude don’t! Just don’t!

Tpguy has invested more to this board and ISU athletics over the years than you will ever know.

You’ve been here like 12 days and have over 100 posts. Not a single one positive either. Not even a neutral one.

 

[SgtHulka]

TP sits at home listening on the radio! That’s why he doesn’t care! It’s easy to have less interest when you don’t have much at stake!

Dude don’t! Just don’t!

Tpguy has invested more to this board and ISU athletics over the years than you will ever know.

You’ve been here like 12 days and have over 100 posts. Not a single one positive either. Not even a neutral one.

:text-+1:

TP has done more for ISU and students than most of these guys will ever dream of. he used to drive 2 hours to every home game for decades when he was able. 72, piss off and go eat some more turkey

 

[bb fan]

You have no clue, gobirds72, No clue at all about Tpguy. No have no idea this guy's devotion to our program. Sheesh.

 

[TIMMY]

Gobirds72 you lost all credibility with that one. And the way you phrase things.... Doesn't sound very athletic to me.

 

[Brick]

You call 27 wins and coach of the year mediocre? We did what we could and got screwed by the committee!!! Dan has stepped up the schedule to hopefully give us a better chance at NCAA. sometimes things are just out of your control. Like TP I have been around for seemingly forever. He’s earned the right to his opinion without being called out!

 

[Bird Friend]

TP sits at home listening on the radio! That’s why he doesn’t care! It’s easy to have less interest when you don’t have much at stake!

Dude don’t! Just don’t!

Tpguy has invested more to this board and ISU athletics over the years than you will ever know.

You’ve been here like 12 days and have over 100 posts. Not a single one positive either. Not even a neutral one.

:text-+1:

 

[bb fan]

What Brick posted.

 

[gobirds72]

TP sits at home listening on the radio! That’s why he doesn’t care! It’s easy to have less interest when you don’t have much at stake!

Dude don’t! Just don’t!

Tpguy has invested more to this board and ISU athletics over the years than you will ever know.

You’ve been here like 12 days and have over 100 posts. Not a single one positive either. Not even a neutral one.

We won...that was positive! I have higher expectations of this program than many! When we start playing like a top 68 team I will get excited!

 

[stats]

You call 27 wins and coach of the year mediocre? We did what we could and got screwed by the committee!!! Dan has stepped up the schedule to hopefully give us a better chance at NCAA. sometimes things are just out of your control.

I know strength of schedule was huge in the 90's. I'm not as convinced as most people how much stepping up the schedule helps the chances of us getting in the tournament. What if we actually had an easier schedule that year and we were 30 and 3 or even 31 and 2? would the NCAA have still let us out?

 

[SgtHulka]

TP sits at home listening on the radio! That’s why he doesn’t care! It’s easy to have less interest when you don’t have much at stake!

Dude don’t! Just don’t!

Tpguy has invested more to this board and ISU athletics over the years than you will ever know.

You’ve been here like 12 days and have over 100 posts. Not a single one positive either. Not even a neutral one.

We won...that was positive! I have higher expectations of this program than many! When we start playing like a top 68 team I will get excited!

Just because you run your mouth louder on the internet, it doesnt make your expectations any higher.

 

[Jsnhbe1Birds]

Dude don’t! Just don’t!

Tpguy has invested more to this board and ISU athletics over the years than you will ever know.

You’ve been here like 12 days and have over 100 posts. Not a single one positive either. Not even a neutral one.

We won...that was positive! I have higher expectations of this program than many! When we start playing like a top 68 team I will get excited!

Just because you run your mouth louder on the internet, it doesnt make your expectations any higher.

You run your mouth loud to he just has a different opinion. Now its louder if it differs? That's just a disagreement.