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Get a grip

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  • Get a grip

    Folks ... time for a little perspective. Let's look at where our program was before Jake. We were nothing. Admittedly right now we can't hit the broad side of the barn from 20 feet. I am confident this will correct itself. But bigger picture ... the last 12 years we have made 4 tournaments and won 4 games. How many tourney wins does the rest of the Valley have? God forbid if we actually play on Thursday in St. Louis I will be there cheering on the Panthers. #itrustourstaff. As a fan character is defined by how you react when your team is struggling. Man up panthernation ...

  • #2
    Perspective, eh? A couple of things - first, although Greg McDermott is Satan incarnate on this board, the fact is he's the one who turned the program around, not Jake. Second, we are now back to playing the same non-competitive crap basketball UNI played in the Weaver era, which was the worst since we've been D-I. This is the third consecutive season of struggling in MVC play, and no one on the staff has a clue of what to do about it. If some of us seem unhappy, that's why.

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    • #3
      Pretty sure two years ago we won 11 conference games and last year we finished as the #3 seed ... define struggling please.

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      • #4
        Don't be stupid.

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        • #5
          McDermott got us back to back at large bids. Lets not revise history.

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          • #6
            I'm all for perspective. But things are not good right now... and really show no signs of improving with the recruiting struggles we've had (outside of AJ). I love Jake and I love our program, but I will not be content to settle for this pattern. We made the tournament two years ago after an early struggle and Matt Bohannon "taking one of the team" and having a very candid sit-down with Jake - which I've heard was really just a brutally honest conversation about why things weren't working and what needed to change. The ship was turned around after that, but I'd love to know what Bo said to coach that day - and what he'd say to him now if he could.
            "...the Northern Iowa men's basketball team reached the ultimate highs before hitting a devastating low. Unexpected success, followed by unimaginable failure. And they owned it -- all of it -- for the world to see. Like men. Like leaders. Like champions -- in a way no tournament bracket could ever define."

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            • #7
              The only perspective you need is that we have the highest paid coach and coaching staff in the conference, and we are in dead f'ing last in the Valley and are staring directly at two really brutal losing seasons in a row.

              What we were as a program in 2002 is utterly irrelevant.
              UNI FIGHT

              Originally posted by 9YRPLAN
              iowa sucks, fran sucks, their schedule sucks, iowa fans suck

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              • #8
                Originally posted by Born-a-Panther View Post
                I'm all for perspective. But things are not good right now... and really show no signs of improving with the recruiting struggles we've had (outside of AJ). I love Jake and I love our program, but I will not be content to settle for this pattern. We made the tournament two years ago after an early struggle and Matt Bohannon "taking one of the team" and having a very candid sit-down with Jake - which I've heard was really just a brutally honest conversation about why things weren't working and what needed to change. The ship was turned around after that, but I'd love to know what Bo said to coach that day - and what he'd say to him now if he could.
                Oh agreed. It's a disaster (for lack of a better word) and I have zero confidence in it improving and we've given him a lifetime contract. To clarify I am in no way suggesting he should be fired.

                I'm as upset as anyone at Mcdermott, just a pet peeve when people act he never did anything good here.

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                • #9
                  We have no leaders on this team. Bennett is not a leader, it's not his personality, and he doesn't really try to be something that he isn't, and I can respect that. Klint thinks he is a leader, but I think that it is pretty obvious that no one is following him. Ted and Hunter are not consistent enough contributors to have a leading role.

                  We still talk about players like Bo, Tut, Kwadzo, and O'Rear because yes they were great players for the program, but they were leaders of their teams, and they all did it their own way, and were able to back it up. Bo did it with a calming influence and great intelligence. Tut was full of passion that was contagious, Kwadzo was a prick who would put people in their place (what Klint tries to do), however Kwadzo had the game to back it up, and he actually knew where everybody was supposed to be. O'Rear was sort of that larger then life personality, but he knew how to show people that they were part of a team and not a bunch of individuals.

                  There have been others but these are the ones worth mentioning today.

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                  • #10
                    Originally posted by achrist70 View Post
                    We have no leaders on this team. Bennett is not a leader, it's not his personality, and he doesn't really try to be something that he isn't, and I can respect that. Klint thinks he is a leader, but I think that it is pretty obvious that no one is following him. Ted and Hunter are not consistent enough contributors to have a leading role.

                    We still talk about players like Bo, Tut, Kwadzo, and O'Rear because yes they were great players for the program, but they were leaders of their teams, and they all did it their own way, and were able to back it up. Bo did it with a calming influence and great intelligence. Tut was full of passion that was contagious, Kwadzo was a prick who would put people in their place (what Klint tries to do), however Kwadzo had the game to back it up, and he actually knew where everybody was supposed to be. O'Rear was sort of that larger then life personality, but he knew how to show people that they were part of a team and not a bunch of individuals.

                    There have been others but these are the ones worth mentioning today.
                    I agree with this sentiment. An interesting thing to try to think about is who are the young guys on the team who will be leaders in the coming years. I would feel a lot more comfortable with the program if I had a better sense of who that is going to be.

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                    • #11
                      Originally posted by achrist70 View Post
                      ... Klint thinks he is a leader, but I think that it is pretty obvious that no one is following him...
                      I've seen that happen in other teams and situations, where someone tries to lead but those being led decide they won't follow. It wouldn't surprise me to learn the coaches have told him he needs to be a leader, and he's trying the best he can. Leadership is funny thing - a lot of resources have gone into studying how to identify and develop successful leaders, but about all that can be said is some succeed and some fail, and there is no one path to either.

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                      • #12
                        It would be interesting to sit down with the Panther alumni still involved with the program - Crawford, Little and Jake Koch - over a few beers and hear their perspective on the situation.

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                        • #13
                          First, we need new blood on staff. It's pretty incestuous right now. Everyone is from the Jake/Pre-Revolution Mac tree and there is no thought about moving outside of that. The game is constantly changing and we need somebody that has seen the outside in the last 10 years.

                          Jake is exceptional on the bench and in putting game plans together. KG can be his right hand man doing that stuff and between those two they can pretty much lock down the state of Iowa in recruiting. We need to go out and get two other guys to get talent with strong connections to AAU programs and large metro high schools. I don't care if they can X and O their way out of a paper bag, they'd be here to get talent in the door.

                          I have zero problem playing slow. Look how good Virginia is but they also have brought big time talent to that system. As the rules continue to evolve and they continue to crack down contact away from the ball, our style of getting really tough but not necessarily the most talented kids isn't going to work. We've been the best program of the remaining teams in the league for over a decade and somehow, someway we have the lowest talent level. That's on Jake.

                          Look at the vast majority of the game last night. Our lineup was Canton, Il (Pop 14k), North Liberty, IA (60k with Iowa City), Peosta, IA (1300), Waverly, iA (9500) and Ashwaubenon, WI (16k, total metro of Green Bay is smaller than Waterloo/Cedar Falls). We've GOT to get into larger areas with bigger talent pools.
                          #MACtion

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                          • #14
                            Originally posted by BCPanther View Post
                            Look at the vast majority of the game last night. Our lineup was Canton, Il (Pop 14k), North Liberty, IA (60k with Iowa City), Peosta, IA (1300), Waverly, iA (9500) and Ashwaubenon, WI (16k, total metro of Green Bay is smaller than Waterloo/Cedar Falls). We've GOT to get into larger areas with bigger talent pools.
                            Growing up in large metropolitan areas is crucial to developing basketball talent?

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                            • #15
                              Originally posted by vbfan19 View Post
                              Growing up in large metropolitan areas is crucial to developing basketball talent?
                              Not your individual talent but a larger poplulation leads to the opportunity to play against better competition from a younger age which accelerates development.

                              How often, even in Iowa, could the 1A Champion beat the 4A Champion? Maybe 1 out of every 10 years, Maybe?

                              Heck, how often could the 3A Champion beat the 4A Champion? Wahlert has won several state titles in 3A after going 15-9 in the 4A league they play in.

                              I've got no issue with us taking small town Iowa kids if they show they are special but it seems to me like we give up on chasing higer end talent and 'settle' for Iowa kids.
                              #MACtion

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