Redbirds @ Loyola-Chicago 12/27 3:00 PM FSMW/NBCSCH

[jamminjamarsmiley]

He first of all was on the same page with his point guard. There were inside touches, post-ups, kicks out for shots, players that knew when to drive when things opened up. The ball movement was good, not to mention being a good transition offense team. He taught the players how to play together. Players talked and knew what they were expected to do.

So, the type of offense we see from Loyola, Bradley, SIU etc.... recruiting undisciplined players and plugging them into an undisciplined system is a trainwreck. Dan’s crap assistants can’t bail him out like they did early in his career. There’s no Ford, yak, ward etc on the bench anymore. We have sleepy Reese, the belcher and offensive guru Jones. Not sure what value any of these clowns provide except to be yes men to Dan

 

[RedbirdSoxFan]

So raise your hand if you thought that Illinois State was going to have an impressive game under these circumstances:
1) Illinois State last played a game on December 15th against Chicago St. that same day Loyola was playing Wisconsin. Loyola had played 2 games after that (Richmond 12/18, St Francis 12/22).
2) Illinois State is playing the #1 team in the MVC being lead by four seniors (all who could be All-MVC)

I expected the game to be a blowout. But I was encouraged by the play of DJ Horne & Dedric Boyd. I think that Mahorcic just had a bad day shooting, but looking forward to him having a better game on Monday. I also think Strong will have a much better showing on Monday. Fleming got his first taste of MVC action and did some good things against a very talented Loyola team, just needs to cut down on the turnovers. I’m still a little unsure about what Sissoko is going to give us. I think we will learn a little more about Reeves and Washington on Monday.

 

[TBS_20]

We suck. Doesnt matter what the circumstances were. And. we'll duck next year, too. Good roster being wasted by horrendous coaching. Note the good years of Muller's tenure was mostly due to Yaklich being here.

 

[StLRedbird]

It really pains me to see Muller's coaching career end this way, but he must go. Real harm is being done to the program. He must be insane according to that one definition of it. ISU football begins Feb 20th.

 

[Birdswin]

Total Embarrassment in every way. A severe lack of hustle, effort, no toughness, and a look of bewilderment at times. Just a total lack of discipline in all phrases of the game. A Coaching staff that looked like a bunch of clowns - just embarrassing. What is just as bad - the team played and looked like a bunch of clowns. There is clearly no leadership from the coaching staff. I have watched several games of teams like SIU, Bradley, and Loyola - the difference in the caliber of player is stark. Just in how they carry and present themselves is huge difference - let alone how they play. AD Brennan starts on January 15 - Muller and staff needs to be gone as soon as possible.

 

[91Bird]

Today's game will be interesting. I anticipated ISU losing by more points in the second game of these back to backs due to the other teams having a coaching staff capable of making adjustments but it's hard to imagine them losing by more points today. A big part of that is Porter trying to get his team to believe that they have to do more than just show up to beat us. I'm hopeful we only lose by 20 today.

 

[FriscoBird90]

To the young men currently wearing the ISU uniform: We want you to succeed on and off the court. Any criticism comes from a place of genuine concern for the health and success of the program, not from a place of general negativity toward you or the university we love.

To the athletic administration: If memory serves correctly, last year was supposedly an "evaluation year" for the program. So...what were the findings of the evaluation?

If there is not an apparent trend line of improvement during this season in terms of player development and program competitiveness, the time will have come for new leadership. This seemingly never ending "wait 'til next year" attitude doesn't cut it; waiting 22+ years at what used to be considered a "basketball school" is more than long enough.

 

[ricohill]

The coaching we see from Dan Muller is the same we’ve seen from the start. The only difference is talent.

Dan early on was just as bad and that cost us from having multiple 20 win seasons and NCAA Tournament bids. Now that the talent has dropped off, he’s the same coach and it has sunk us to the bottom.

I think these players seem like good kids, but the roster isn’t ever going to be good enough to win. We look like a clone of Indiana State where if all the guys stay together for 4 years you can get a 5 or 6 seed when they are seniors.

The entire situation is a mess.

 

[Redbird222]

I didn't see the game yesterday so I won't comment about it. In 2017 we were 28 - 7 and 17-1 in the conference. We were last 4 out in NCAA. We should have been able build off of that but we haven't.

Yak and Oliver left and they may have been the ones that contributed to our defensive success. Muller was a bone scholar and I find it hard to phantom that if they brought something to the table defensively that he couldn't pick that up and incorporate it afterwards in an ongoing scheme.

To me it comes down to recruiting and his ability and staff's ability to communicate/motivate. There are a lot of smart folks in the world that cannot teach or motivate others. My guess is this is his biggest weakness and he needs assistant coaches on his staff that are strong in this area.

 

[TBS_20]

i get the feeling well have like 8 transfers in the spring since they dont have to sit out a year.

 

[ricohill]

So raise your hand if you thought that Illinois State was going to have an impressive game under these circumstances:
1) Illinois State last played a game on December 15th against Chicago St. that same day Loyola was playing Wisconsin. Loyola had played 2 games after that (Richmond 12/18, St Francis 12/22).
2) Illinois State is playing the #1 team in the MVC being lead by four seniors (all who could be All-MVC)

I expected the game to be a blowout. But I was encouraged by the play of DJ Horne & Dedric Boyd. I think that Mahorcic just had a bad day shooting, but looking forward to him having a better game on Monday. I also think Strong will have a much better showing on Monday. Fleming got his first taste of MVC action and did some good things against a very talented Loyola team, just needs to cut down on the turnovers. I’m still a little unsure about what Sissoko is going to give us. I think we will learn a little more about Reeves and Washington on Monday.

My question is why didn’t we play between December 15th and yesterday? Dan said he wanted his players to be with their families for the holiday, yet they were back on campus December 21st. So they didn’t spend Christmas with their families. Plus, the players from outside the US couldn’t go home.

The reasoning seems more like an excuse not to lose more non conference games. This season is going to count whether Dan wants it to or not. Why didn’t he play someone (there were a ton of teams to play during that time period) to have the team ready for yesterday? How is that not a fireable offense when you don’t have your team prepared for league play?

I’ve always felt that coaching is more of a hobby than a passion for Dan. It was ok when he had assistants to do the work for him, but now when all that’s left are assistants that were one step away from being fired elsewhere or can’t get hired you have a problem.

Look at the bench, there is no coaching going on and no teaching. Does this remotely look like a team that’s prepared to play? What in the world is our identity on either side of the ball? Paris Lee and Tony Wills aren’t coming back so he can sit in a 2-3 zone like 2017.

 

[V Boy]

I think one of Mullers biggest weaknesses is that he still values starting the players who practice well/hard.....like his team is in 4th grade or something.

He just needs to play the best players.

iSUs starters should be

Strong
Horne
Boyd
Mahorcic
Fleming

get the ball into Dusan and spread the floor. Run high ball screens with Fleming. Those are ISUs two plays.

the guards have to rebound. Run when you can.

the other guys can earn their minutes.

 

[stats]

It seems Dan brings in 10 new players every year and tells them all they have an opportunity to start. He lets them compete in practice, then he decides who starts. Having them learn how to play together is secondary. Not to mention, it is almost impossible to be cohesive if different players are constantly being shuffled in and out at different positions (based on their effort or toughness at practice).

 

[CaliRdBrd]

So raise your hand if you thought that Illinois State was going to have an impressive game under these circumstances:
1) Illinois State last played a game on December 15th against Chicago St. that same day Loyola was playing Wisconsin. Loyola had played 2 games after that (Richmond 12/18, St Francis 12/22).
2) Illinois State is playing the #1 team in the MVC being lead by four seniors (all who could be All-MVC)

I expected the game to be a blowout. But I was encouraged by the play of DJ Horne & Dedric Boyd. I think that Mahorcic just had a bad day shooting, but looking forward to him having a better game on Monday. I also think Strong will have a much better showing on Monday. Fleming got his first taste of MVC action and did some good things against a very talented Loyola team, just needs to cut down on the turnovers. I’m still a little unsure about what Sissoko is going to give us. I think we will learn a little more about Reeves and Washington on Monday.

And here we go with the excuses (again)...

 

[Redbirdwarrior]

Christ Almighty that was a tough watch. I caught the game replay at 10 last night and... oof. Our guards are all potentially all MVC level players, Horne and Boyd are big time players. But with Fisher opting out and Rey transferring, this might be the weakest collection of post players I've seen at ISU since that year all of our bigs got hurt and we were playing 4 guards and a small forward in the paint for like 5 games. I'd be surprised if they didn't just feed Krutwig every single time down the floor tonight. We couldnt stop him if our guys had cattleprods.

 

[DoubleDeuce]

Really interested how both teams react today. College basketball can be a crazy game...results like yesterday will certainly have an impact on these kids mental state.

 

[ISU86]

And here we go with the excuses (again)...

and the bashing as well, like clockwork.

Nothing new to read here people, move along with your day.

 

[HailISNU]

Muller won’t quit. No one making $600k is going to just quit.

Spurrier has walked away from a lot more twice now

 

[gobirds85]

Spurrier has walked away from a lot more twice now

In both cases, what was Spurrier walking into? If Dan were to walk, and we know that is not going to happen, what options does he have that pay around $600k?

 

[jamminjamarsmiley]

In both cases, what was Spurrier walking into? If Dan were to walk, and we know that is not going to happen, what options does he have that pay around $600k?

Dan has effectively destroyed any prospects he has in the head coaching market. He might be able to land an assistant gig somewhere, but I doubt he wants to go back to doing the grunt work. I don’t see much fire or passion in Dan anymore. I think he’s more than happy collecting his check and sending Larry Lyons a Valentine’s Day bouquet for allowing him to rob the university for all this cash.