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Post by Tom Servo on Mar 14, 2020 14:02:13 GMT -6
I heard Jevin is looking to do a recap of his final thoughts of the season and is looking to take questions from the fans. Look him up on Twitter if you have any and let him know.
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Post by acefan on Mar 14, 2020 14:32:49 GMT -6
Chad Lindskog just posted a story on the C&P website. This thread seems as good a place as any to post two very interesting points I took away from the story.
1. After the Todd Lickliter hire, Lady Aces Coach Matt Ruffing was given a contract extension. Obviously, if true, this was done very quietly and we can expect more of the same from the Lady Aces moving forward.
2. I have seen nothing published locally about Walter McCarty's wife and 2 daughters. Lindskog wrote that the wife and daughters were in the Bahamas with McCarty.
I thought these were two very interesting tidbits of information and I would love to hear the comments of others.
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Post by E-Villan on Mar 14, 2020 14:44:44 GMT -6
I just read that about Ruffing. If true, and I have absolutely no reason to doubt Chad, then I would have to take back any positive remarks I had for Spencer. Ruffing has been nothing short of an epic failure. The fact they were secretive about it shows they knew how horrible of a decision it was.
I have respect for Chad and the other media for leaving the wife and daughters out of it. In all fairness, we shouldn't hear anything about them in the media. This is Walter's cross to bear.
I would hope Chad asks Spencer about why Ruffing was extended?
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Post by acecard on Mar 14, 2020 20:49:17 GMT -6
I just read that about Ruffing. If true, and I have absolutely no reason to doubt Chad, then I would have to take back any positive remarks I had for Spencer. Ruffing has been nothing short of an epic failure. The fact they were secretive about it shows they knew how horrible of a decision it was. I have respect for Chad and the other media for leaving the wife and daughters out of it. In all fairness, we shouldn't hear anything about them in the media. This is Walter's cross to bear. I would hope Chad asks Spencer about why Ruffing was extended? Maybe they are trying to see of it's possible to have a winless season next year.
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Post by lawrencevgibson on Mar 14, 2020 21:32:36 GMT -6
It was a season to remember and forget. It also tested the loyalty of the fans. My opinion is things can only get better. It may be baby steps but it will get better.
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Post by ncace on Mar 15, 2020 9:59:36 GMT -6
The apparent news about Ruffing being extended is difficult to understand. This past season was not his first, but it should have been his last. Unless he has 4-5 REALLY good recruits that he's confident enough about to set a REALLY positive view of '20/21, there is ZERO reason to retain Ruffing, let alone give him more than one additional year.
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Post by E-Villan on Mar 15, 2020 10:53:02 GMT -6
The apparent news about Ruffing being extended is difficult to understand. This past season was not his first, but it should have been his last. Unless he has 4-5 REALLY good recruits that he's confident enough about to set a REALLY positive view of '20/21, there is ZERO reason to retain Ruffing, let alone give him more than one additional year. Completely agree. His record over the last 3 years is 10-79. It is completely unfathomable that this would be extended. As far as players, there appear to be some nice pieces, led by Freshman Abby Feit, who was chosen Freshman of the Year by the MVC. mvc-sports.com/news/2020/3/12/hoops-in-the-heartland-drakes-becca-hittner-claims-third-straight-jackie-stiles-mvc-player-of-the-year.aspxWhat is more concerning is this was kept hush-hush. Chad mentions that and also brings up the lack of communication coming from the administration. Spencer owes every single person who supports these programs an explanation. If a coach is hired or extended, then there should be enough reasons to release the reasoning. This is a real problem IMO. I have defended Spencer up to this point. It is absolutely essential that this university become one with the very community that supports it. There is a clear path to success for smaller, private colleges, but it has to include the support of its fans. McCarty was the first coach in recent memory to actually get out and work the community, students, etc. Forget what happened, there was a lot of things done right from when he was hired, especially in the first season. Lickliter must get out and speak to anyone and everyone, starting right now. He needs to be visible on and off campus, and build a rapport with the fans and community. Pres P. and Spencer need to as well. Not only do they need to be visible, they need to understand the fanbase is built all year long, and communication is absolutely essential. The fans deserve a little more love and respect than just when they are standing in front of the ticket window.
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Post by sect3purple on Mar 15, 2020 16:09:15 GMT -6
The apparent news about Ruffing being extended is difficult to understand. This past season was not his first, but it should have been his last. Unless he has 4-5 REALLY good recruits that he's confident enough about to set a REALLY positive view of '20/21, there is ZERO reason to retain Ruffing, let alone give him more than one additional year. Completely agree. His record over the last 3 years is 10-79. It is completely unfathomable that this would be extended. As far as players, there appear to be some nice pieces, led by Freshman Abby Feit, who was chosen Freshman of the Year by the MVC. mvc-sports.com/news/2020/3/12/hoops-in-the-heartland-drakes-becca-hittner-claims-third-straight-jackie-stiles-mvc-player-of-the-year.aspxWhat is more concerning is this was kept hush-hush. Chad mentions that and also brings up the lack of communication coming from the administration. Spencer owes every single person who supports these programs an explanation. If a coach is hired or extended, then there should be enough reasons to release the reasoning. This is a real problem IMO. I have defended Spencer up to this point. It is absolutely essential that this university become one with the very community that supports it. There is a clear path to success for smaller, private colleges, but it has to include the support of its fans. McCarty was the first coach in recent memory to actually get out and work the community, students, etc. Forget what happened, there was a lot of things done right from when he was hired, especially in the first season. Lickliter must get out and speak to anyone and everyone, starting right now. He needs to be visible on and off campus, and build a rapport with the fans and community. Pres P. and Spencer need to as well. Not only do they need to be visible, they need to understand the fanbase is built all year long, and communication is absolutely essential. The fans deserve a little more love and respect than just when they are standing in front of the ticket window. This lack of communication from the university is what bothers me more than anything. I realize much of the McCarty affair could not be publicly discussed, but the UE told the fans practically nothing about anything - about DW's injury, Henderson's and Newton's injuries, etc. You are so right that Lickliter, Spencer, and Pres P. have a vital role, and a responsibility, to reach out to the fans and to the community to rebuild connections and to personally include them in the rebuild of this basketball program. The fans deserve respect and inclusion...we stood by the team throughout this entire dismal conference season. If we are only thought of again when we are asked to buy season tickets, many fans will already be long gone. I do have a concern that Lickliter is not,by nature, a great PR person - he seems way too laid back and introverted to me. UE needs not only his coaching skills to revive the team. UE needs to hold on to the forward vision that it revealed two years ago. If it doesn't, then we have lost much more than a MVC season.
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Post by acescott on Mar 15, 2020 20:34:07 GMT -6
Agree with others that TL just isn't going to be the PR guy who goes out in the community and excites the fan base. Bring in a guy who has that energy and passion, name him associate Head coach, making it clear that he is intended to be hear for good. He's been mentioned, and he'd be my first and hopefully only interview- Marcus Wilson.
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Post by ibleedpurple on Mar 15, 2020 20:36:46 GMT -6
Regarding Questions For Devan: I think a question or topic should be discussed/researched/commented on would be FAN LOYALTY. I mean what other team loses as much as we have and still stayed the course? Will they show up next year? Why this year was so strong even during the losing streak? Was it out of support of the players many felt terrible for and rightly so? Was it from the glimmer of hope from the UK win that lead to the increase? Where did our attendance rank overall and compared to other programs that lost far more games than they won. Just what will the AD do to keep fans coming back next year and renewing their tickets. Gonna be a tougher sale than it was last year and year before after 11 years of Martyball.
At some point it would be good to know just what the plan is for all the players...are they coming back, retiring due to injury, pursuing a pro career (none are capable at this stage imho) or transferring? I am not even sure the coaches know for sure about everyone at this point as there is just too much going on.
Regarding The Lady Aces--Ruffing if extended must be able to black mail someone at UE to not only keep his job for one more year but actually get an extension. Unless the UE Admin from Prez P all the way down simply does not care about this program and is simply trying to keep costs down I can't understand not making a change here. Solid recruits or not, anyone can say they have solid recruits on paper but no one really knows how they will pan out, as we have seen in the men's program. The record speaks for itself.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 16, 2020 20:51:19 GMT -6
Word on the web is Calipari may give Iona a shot at UK next year. We ended up 290, Iona 221. Let's see how these two teams compare next year. (hot tip for Patino… word has it there's a possible assistant coach candidate scouting recruits on the Bahama beaches).
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Post by aceshigh on Mar 17, 2020 20:16:38 GMT -6
Not sure where this belongs but Bryce Drew was hired today at Grand Canyon University in Phoenix. He was named to replace Dan Majerle who was fired last week. GCU had converted to a D-1 program under Majerle.
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Post by Tom Servo on Mar 18, 2020 21:03:49 GMT -6
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Post by stennisrm72 on Mar 19, 2020 9:09:07 GMT -6
It's a good take on the season and there's plenty to be optimistic about going forward. Encourage everyone to give this a listen while we're all sitting at home with time on our hands.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 20, 2020 11:40:09 GMT -6
Another final thought; Looks like 0-18 UE finished #102 out of 354 in home attendance. Top 3rd all around, 2nd in the MVC only 500 behind #1 Bradley. Since we all have extra time on our hands, let's reflect. UE has an enrollment of 2500, yet averages more than double that number at each game. Let's look at IU. 16,300 attendance yet pulling from 43,000 students. If they had UE type support they would average 86,000 per game. #1 Syracuse is close to one-for-one. 22.8k vs 21.7k per game.
This is fun... Creighton is amazing. A private school with only 8900 enrolled but comes in forth at 17,314 average. And as a snapshot Sacramento State has over 25,000 students but can only get 750 to come to a game.
Now back to Rick Patino. Iona sucked this year and got a new coach, as we did on both counts. Both small private schools. Iona has an enrollment of 3500 and managed to get 1,500 to come to a game. This is going to be my "Coach Lickliter reference point". Where are we both at the end of non-conference, and end of season next year. Shoot, if anybody has any pull on scheduling, how about a match up first game of the season? Maybe Rick would want to try the team that put a smack-down on UK!
This ought to be enough to briefly distract from that other crap going on. I'm sure I'll have more final thoughts as time passes.
Any-one wanting to look, you can go to NCAA.org/stats/basketball-men/d1 Go to bottom to "extended", select "Divion 1" select "misc reports" select "attendance".
Be safe!
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