Poll: Keeping Muller

[Adunk33]

Yep. Also made some weird comments about not liking everyone on the team. Think he was joking but it came across awful.

Ludeke: "Well, you've talked about how you like all of the guys on your team..."
Muller: "I didn't say all of them, Dick, I'm just kidding." Laughs, "Do you like all your kids? I'm just kidding."
Ludeke laughing: "I only have two to like, and I actually love them."
Muller laughing: "I'm just joking. I didn't say do you love them, I said do you like them?" laughs again.
Ludeke: "Well, that is a different question..."
Muller laughing, "Obviously, I'm just kidding. We have a great group."

Pretty odd exchange where Ludeke understood what was said and tried to navigate away from it, and Muller quipped back with the whole ,"I didn't say do you love them...."

I do think his intent was messing around as in previous coach's shows, as Dick alluded to, he goes out of his way to say how much he loves his players.

Also, he was asked if this was the year a Thursday night team wins it all. He basically said the top four are too good, so several upsets would have to happen for that to be a reality and that Thursday night teams tend to run out of gas. Not sure he thought in the moment that his team will be one of those 4. He's been asked this in past years and answered similarly, but that was when he was fielding a top 4/5 team.

When asked what he would say to the players and fans to encourage them in the final month of the season, "To the fans, I'd say we have a young team. That still is competing. Certainly still trying to figure out how to win close games right now that has lost some confidence and the fans make a huge difference at home. As I said after the last game, I'm so disappointed we couldn't give that great crowd a win, but that doesn't mean Wednesday fans won't make a huge difference for our team. I think we have really good basketball still left to play. Guys are getting better. Liam's getting better, Ryan's getting better. We have to get some of our other guys who have played extremely well throughout the year to get back in a better grove. Because the guys who have filled the minutes of Sy are doing well. Getting healthy would be nice, but I think we've got good basketball left to play."

Muller bingo in that last response.

 

[cubird]

Know it is not an excuse, but the team is young. Illinois top players are 22, 23, 23, 24. Loyola and Drake have how several super seniors? Dan's downfall really showed when he missed on a couple recruits and then the lost of 2 core guys to career ending injuries. Wonder if COVID had not hit..if he would of changed his coaching staff up a year earlier.

 

[gobirds85]

Ludeke: "Well, you've talked about how you like all of the guys on your team..."
Muller: "I didn't say all of them, Dick, I'm just kidding." Laughs, "Do you like all your kids? I'm just kidding."
Ludeke laughing: "I only have two to like, and I actually love them."
Muller laughing: "I'm just joking. I didn't say do you love them, I said do you like them?" laughs again.
Ludeke: "Well, that is a different question..."
Muller laughing, "Obviously, I'm just kidding. We have a great group."

Pretty odd exchange where Ludeke understood what was said and tried to navigate away from it, and Muller quipped back with the whole ,"I didn't say do you love them...."

I do think his intent was messing around as in previous coach's shows, as Dick alluded to, he goes out of his way to say how much he loves his players.

Also, he was asked if this was the year a Thursday night team wins it all. He basically said the top four are too good, so several upsets would have to happen for that to be a reality and that Thursday night teams tend to run out of gas. Not sure he thought in the moment that his team will be one of those 4. He's been asked this in past years and answered similarly, but that was when he was fielding a top 4/5 team.

When asked what he would say to the players and fans to encourage them in the final month of the season, "To the fans, I'd say we have a young team. That still is competing. Certainly still trying to figure out how to win close games right now that has lost some confidence and the fans make a huge difference at home. As I said after the last game, I'm so disappointed we couldn't give that great crowd a win, but that doesn't mean Wednesday fans won't make a huge difference for our team. I think we have really good basketball still left to play. Guys are getting better. Liam's getting better, Ryan's getting better. We have to get some of our other guys who have played extremely well throughout the year to get back in a better grove. Because the guys who have filled the minutes of Sy are doing well. Getting healthy would be nice, but I think we've got good basketball left to play."

Muller bingo in that last response.

I keep picturing Dan as Will Farrell going back and forth with Dick Pepperfield, the voice of the Flint Tropics. The problem is that I find Farrell more believable.

 

[Adunk33]

Know it is not an excuse, but the team is young. Illinois top players are 22, 23, 23, 24. Loyola and Drake have how several super seniors? Dan's downfall really showed when he missed on a couple recruits and then the lost of 2 core guys to career ending injuries. Wonder if COVID had not hit..if he would of changed his coaching staff up a year earlier.

Relative to other teams with super seniors, yes, the Birds are young. But, the top 8 (pre Sy injury) was a senior, a RS junior, four juniors, a RS soph and a true soph. Even when Sy went down, we see more minutes from Ryan and Liam and have really been rotating 7 with Abdou (junior) getting spot minutes. Obviously, you can consider "young" as "inexperience together/at this level." But the fact is, they've been playing together since June, with Tone coming in the fall. I gotta think they've been playing pick up at the very least 5 times a week since then. They've played a lot of basketball together.

 

[RedbirdSoxFan]

Relative to other teams with super seniors, yes, the Birds are young. But, the top 8 (pre Sy injury) was a senior, a RS junior, four juniors, a RS soph and a true soph. Even when Sy went down, we see more minutes from Ryan and Liam and have really been rotating 7 with Abdou (junior) getting spot minutes. Obviously, you can consider "young" as "inexperience together/at this level." But the fact is, they've been playing together since June, with Tone coming in the fall. I gotta think they've been playing pick up at the very least 5 times a week since then. They've played a lot of basketball together.

How much D1 playing experience for:
Sy Chapman (Out for season)
Kendall Lewis
Antonio Reeves
Josiah Strong
Mark Freeman
Howard Fleming Jr
Liam McChesney
Ryan Schmitt

Compare to top 4 in Valley:
Loyola
Drake
Missouri State
Northern Iowa

Will the transfer rule be the same for 2022-23 as 2021-22 or will those transferring have to sit out a year like pre-Covid? Of course those 2022-23 super-seniors will be allowed to transfer just as grad-transfers I’m guessing.

 

[Birdfriend72]

The problem is Dan has been using the "young" card for the past 5 years.

 

[Redbird222]

I listen to the post games shows (not coaches' show) and he has not played the young card. I believe this is the first time this season he has said that. I think we have less experience than the top four teams in the Valley, but I would not call us a young team per se.

 

[Matt Hein Fan]

Wow- bag of trash! We get ripped for saying Hein wasn’t D1 material but the kool aid crew can call the kids trash! Go figure! You need to get your eyes checked because most of those players were better than Mullers 2/1 deal! I didn’t see Ndaiye or Hein playing at Indiana, Purdue or Illinois!

Matt Hein was an excellent player and representative for the university.

 

[Birdfriend72]

Matt Hein was an excellent player and representative for the university.

Too bad he averaged more turnovers than points.

 

[dpdoughbird06]

Ludeke: "Well, you've talked about how you like all of the guys on your team..."
Muller: "I didn't say all of them, Dick, I'm just kidding." Laughs, "Do you like all your kids? I'm just kidding."
Ludeke laughing: "I only have two to like, and I actually love them."
Muller laughing: "I'm just joking. I didn't say do you love them, I said do you like them?" laughs again.
Ludeke: "Well, that is a different question..."
Muller laughing, "Obviously, I'm just kidding. We have a great group."

Pretty odd exchange where Ludeke understood what was said and tried to navigate away from it, and Muller quipped back with the whole ,"I didn't say do you love them...."

I do think his intent was messing around as in previous coach's shows, as Dick alluded to, he goes out of his way to say how much he loves his players.

Also, he was asked if this was the year a Thursday night team wins it all. He basically said the top four are too good, so several upsets would have to happen for that to be a reality and that Thursday night teams tend to run out of gas. Not sure he thought in the moment that his team will be one of those 4. He's been asked this in past years and answered similarly, but that was when he was fielding a top 4/5 team.

When asked what he would say to the players and fans to encourage them in the final month of the season, "To the fans, I'd say we have a young team. That still is competing. Certainly still trying to figure out how to win close games right now that has lost some confidence and the fans make a huge difference at home. As I said after the last game, I'm so disappointed we couldn't give that great crowd a win, but that doesn't mean Wednesday fans won't make a huge difference for our team. I think we have really good basketball still left to play. Guys are getting better. Liam's getting better, Ryan's getting better. We have to get some of our other guys who have played extremely well throughout the year to get back in a better grove. Because the guys who have filled the minutes of Sy are doing well. Getting healthy would be nice, but I think we've got good basketball left to play."

Muller bingo in that last response.

Jank Bingo was fun, too. “Golly gee.” “Bell cow.” “What a quality team that was that just beat us.”

 

[BirdGrad2011]

I’ve been banging this drum for a while…

 

[cubird]

Matt did have his career game in 2017 in an OT win on the road at Ole Miss. 3 staters fouled out and 2 more finished with 4. Birds don’t win without Matt’s 26 minutes and 7 points. Big minutes in OT.

 

[Redbird222]

I have mentioned a lot of these names in prior posts. I added Malagi. Beard's teams play defense and he has recruiting ties to Texas which I think would be interesting. Add someone with connection Illinois/midwest and we could have something.

Jerrance Howard - assistant coach and lead recruiter Kansas and now Texas. Peoria native and played at U of I

Bob Richey - head coach at Furman. He was under Niko Medved at Furman. He has coached at Furman for 5 years and won over 70% of games. Beat Loyola at Loyola in 2018 year after final four. Has not made NCAA tournament though.

Ulric Maligi - assistant coach with Beard in Texas Tech and Texas. Worked under Larry Brown at SMU

Robert Powell Jr - assistant coach Gonzaga and for Valpo under Drew. Illinois connections and father ex ISU great.

Brain Michaelson - assistant coach with Gonzaga since 2013 and held other basketball roles there since 2008. He is young at 40

Dennis Gates Cleveland St - turned around a program in shambles. Made the tournament in second year. Worked under Leonard Hamilton. He was an assistant coach at NIU and graduated from Whitney Young High School in Chicago.

Dean Oliver - assistant coach at Wiscosin and of course ISU. I think losing him and Yak was the start of the coaching staff getting much weaker. He worked with our guards and I thought he did well.

 

[Adunk33]

Matt did have his career game in 2017 in an OT win on the road at Ole Miss. 3 staters fouled out and 2 more finished with 4. Birds don’t win without Matt’s 26 minutes and 7 points. Big minutes in OT.

Ugly, ugly OT with the strangest line up they put out all season. Evans, Williams, Hein, Gassman, and Tinsley.

 

[Birdfriend72]

Matt did have his career game in 2017 in an OT win on the road at Ole Miss. 3 staters fouled out and 2 more finished with 4. Birds don’t win without Matt’s 26 minutes and 7 points. Big minutes in OT.

Everyone has a career game...according to those standards. I think that's why we are where we are. Everyone is happy with 7 points in a game...Jayden Johnson had 9 against Evansville. That doesn't make him a starter. Matt averaged like 2.7 points and 1 turnover per game. Many games he had more turnovers than points. He was getting some pretty hefty minutes at times throughout the season, and not just because three players fouled out. They define that as a key contributor. I know you will say his defense was good. I disagree- I found him chasing his assignment a lot. I'm not saying he was "trash" as someone said about others. I just don't see him as a D1 player and if you have Ndaiye not producing- that's two on scholarship that you are getting very little in return from. Pretty soon your margin of error is 0. Of course Muller had to make one of those scholarships look decent. No one isn't saying he wasn't a good kid...and a good representative for the university. But, this is a business as someone said.

 

[Adunk33]

Brennan needs to cut the end of this Indiana State game as the straw that broke the camel’s back. Awful.

 

[Scipio]

Every game that goes by it becomes clearer that we require a coaching change. At this point I don’t know how any an continue to defend Muller. He should be fired this afternoon.

 

[Birdfriend72]

Every game that goes by it becomes clearer that we require a coaching change. At this point I don’t know how any an continue to defend Muller. He should be fired this afternoon.

I’m trying to figure out how someone from the Pantagraph hasn’t written about it. They aren’t owned by ISU. It seems like they love to just stroke his ego.

 

[The Beak]

Every game that goes by it becomes clearer that we require a coaching change. At this point I don’t know how any an continue to defend Muller. He should be fired this afternoon.

Like ... nobody is defending Muller. Nor have they been outside of one poster.

 

[jamminjamarsmiley]

I’m trying to figure out how someone from the Pantagraph hasn’t written about it. They aren’t owned by ISU. It seems like they love to just stroke his ego.

I would expect Randy Kindred will have an article at seasons end. Would be surprised if not considering he bashed ISU for its Covid verbiage.