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BASKETBALL Let's get some basketball discussion going

Speaking of WBB. They've found someone to sit in Palmer's chair.

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Now THIS is something I can be positive about, not sure why they never went after him earlier. So happy to have him here, he is awesome at what he does and hope his role can grow from there. What a get!

FOOTBALL So the spread is currently Louisiana Tech -4.....

He’ll be 60 in December. Tommy West round 2. Young man’s game.

Exactly

Dude is clearly washed. I want a young guy that knows what it takes in a conference like ours. Brian Stewart's last few collegiate stops have been bad. There's a reason he's been at places for only 1 year recently. He doesn't have it anymore.

At his most recent college stop, at Maryland in 2021, his defense was horrendous allowing over 400 yards per/game and over 30 points per game.....

"Stewart served as Maryland’s defensive coordinator for the 2021 season. The Terrapins ranked 85th this past year in total defense, giving up 404.3 yards per game. They were 98th in scoring defense, surrendering 30.69 points per contest. Maryland head coach Mike Locksley made the decision to hire Steele as the new defensive coordinator in late January, with Stewart remaining on the defensive staff, but that did not last for long."

Dude sucks. Allowing numbers like that in the Big Ten is insane. I cannot believe Mason would bring him here. Bodie is a downgrade too. Mitch Stewart would have done a better job for us and his offensive style was more suited for what a school like MT needs and can win with. The only thing that has improved with Mason is high school recruiting, but that may not matter if they keep pulling duds from the portal.

Mason is over here learning on the job because he's never really coached at a G5 in the modern era. And we are suffering greatly for it....
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FOOTBALL So the spread is currently Louisiana Tech -4.....

There are no words to describe how bad our defense is. If we don't improve there is no reason for Mason to retain Stewart at the end of this season. We have a lack of talent problem along with an inexperienced defense coordinator.
That's the thing. Stewart was DC for Houston with Sumlin and their 13-1 season. Same for NFL with the Cowboys and their 13-3 year. I would think he knows what to do. But regardless of talent, proper attach angles can be taught. Proper positioning. Etc. The tackle may still be missed, but not for not having proper technique. Thr same thing keeps biting us.

FOOTBALL So the spread is currently Louisiana Tech -4.....

Yeah losing 2 projected starters right out of the gate really hinders that group. We do not have the depth and they are killing us because of it. We cannot cover in 1v1 and we’re not good enough up front to get pressure without blitzing. It’s a lose lose situation but even I didn’t expect the defense to be this bad. It’s by far the worst defensive team I can remember.
There are no words to describe how bad our defense is. If we don't improve there is no reason for Mason to retain Stewart at the end of this season. We have a lack of talent problem along with an inexperienced defense coordinator.
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FOOTBALL So the spread is currently Louisiana Tech -4.....

LT was the first game I was really disappointed. I really don't think any coach could have done much better against our early season slate - those programs are either very good (Duke, Memphis, Ole Miss) or way ahead of us (WKU). But the LT game, particularly the back 7 on defense, was just bad football.

I'm not of the opinion that you can just take any person with 2 arms and 2 legs and just "coach 'em up". There needs to be a minimum amount of skill/talent/measurables for a coach to work with, and I'm not sure we have that in the defensive back 7 particularly. I'm not saying the coaching staff is certainly maximizing what they have to work with, but they may not have a lot to work with to start.

G5 coaching changes are going to be rough. Like I said before, before the portal era, you could probably count on a few holdovers, but these days, they split instantly. It's going to make all year 1's harder. It's not hard to believe that a few of our outgoing portal guys would have made a few more plays Thursday particularly in the defensive backfield and DL.

At this point, all we can do is hope that roster help is on the way. No coach gets fired on year 1 of a major program rebuild and we can't afford it anyway. It does appear that we have a better recruiting class than normal, and I did like our portal adds before they all got hurt - 3 of 5 safety portal guys are hurt and not playing and it looks like all 3 of our portal Corner adds have been hurt and missed games (we need to see why this keeps happening - facilities?) - so if we are looking for a why instead of just complaining - i think we have something like 2 healthy of 8 portal defensive backs adds.

On to Kennesaw.
Yeah losing 2 projected starters right out of the gate really hinders that group. We do not have the depth and they are killing us because of it. We cannot cover in 1v1 and we’re not good enough up front to get pressure without blitzing. It’s a lose lose situation but even I didn’t expect the defense to be this bad. It’s by far the worst defensive team I can remember.

FOOTBALL So the spread is currently Louisiana Tech -4.....

Is it safe to say the honeymoon is over????


LT was the first game I was really disappointed. I really don't think any coach could have done much better against our early season slate - those programs are either very good (Duke, Memphis, Ole Miss) or way ahead of us (WKU). But the LT game, particularly the back 7 on defense, was just bad football.

I'm not of the opinion that you can just take any person with 2 arms and 2 legs and just "coach 'em up". There needs to be a minimum amount of skill/talent/measurables for a coach to work with, and I'm not sure we have that in the defensive back 7 particularly. I'm not saying the coaching staff is certainly maximizing what they have to work with, but they may not have a lot to work with to start.

G5 coaching changes are going to be rough. Like I said before, before the portal era, you could probably count on a few holdovers, but these days, they split instantly. It's going to make all year 1's harder. It's not hard to believe that a few of our outgoing portal guys would have made a few more plays Thursday particularly in the defensive backfield and DL.

At this point, all we can do is hope that roster help is on the way. No coach gets fired on year 1 of a major program rebuild and we can't afford it anyway. It does appear that we have a better recruiting class than normal, and I did like our portal adds before they all got hurt - 3 of 5 safety portal guys are hurt and not playing and it looks like all 3 of our portal Corner adds have been hurt and missed games (we need to see why this keeps happening - facilities?) - so if we are looking for a why instead of just complaining - i think we have something like 2 healthy of 8 portal defensive backs adds.

On to Kennesaw.

LADY RAIDER BB CUSA 24-25 Pre-season poll

Was just announced MT women's basketball will be going into its 50th anniversary this year. Since the inaugural 1975-76 season MT women's basketball has accumulated 1,028 victories.
If wondering what has this program averaged in victories annually over a 49 year history.
Easy enough. 1,028 ÷ 49 = right at 21 victories annually.
That is a phenomenal statistic! Guarantee that has to be one of the top 50 year averages for basketball victories in America. Knowing where our placement is over the last 50 years is not a calculation I have, but would love to see where the Middle Tennessee women rank. Would definitely gamble in the top 25 nationally.
Don't forget that Sue Gunther coached here in the 60s before WBB recognized by the NCAA. Middle Tennessee has been absurdly blessed with some great head coaches and were fortunate to be in a state that is a hotbed of WBB talent

LADY RAIDER BB CUSA 24-25 Pre-season poll

Was just announced MT women's basketball will be going into its 50th anniversary this year. Since the inaugural 1975-76 season MT women's basketball has accumulated 1,028 victories.
If wondering what has this program averaged in victories annually over a 49 year history.
Easy enough. 1,028 ÷ 49 = right at 21 victories annually.
That is a phenomenal statistic! Guarantee that has to be one of the top 50 year averages for basketball victories in America. Knowing where our placement is over the last 50 years is not a calculation I have, but would love to see where the Middle Tennessee women rank. Would definitely gamble in the top 25 nationally.
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FOOTBALL So the spread is currently Louisiana Tech -4.....

Honeymoon would have been over game one had Tenn. Tech. pulled out a victory and lost "Harvey" from the trophy case. Last second heroics preserved any semblance of a honeymoon period. At 0-2 in C-USA, with convincing losses to WKU and LA Tech, a cold dash of reality exists---Blue Raider Football is in for a prolonged rebuild. Might require 2-3 years, if plans take form. However, nothing suggests team is improving at the mid-season mark. That's a big concern in my eyes. Have to give Coach Mason credit for sparking community engagement and fund raising this spring/summer, but stakeholder pressure will mount if final record for 2024 is 2-10 or 3-9. Kennesaw looks like our best chance for our next win, but nothing is given based on what I've witnessed.

Focus should be on teaching and building skills so Blue Raiders do not defeat ourselves. Simply, we're deficient in nearly all phases of the game.
The point you make about seeing absolutely zero improvement during the last few games is the salient point. Instead of getting even a tiny bit better, especially defensively, we have regressed into utter embarrassment. I have never seen a defense in FBS this bad.

FOOTBALL So the spread is currently Louisiana Tech -4.....

Is it safe to say the honeymoon is over????

Perhaps hiring a failed Vandy coach that no one else wanted as a HC was not the right decision. No one could see this coming.**

I expected 4-8 or 5-7.

I did not expect to see the worst defense I’ve ever seen MT put on the field. I will be very curious who CDM does in the offseason. If CDM doesn’t make major staffing changes, then it is clear this was a completely failed hire with no chance of success.

FOOTBALL Middle Tennessee at Louisiana Tech Game Thread

Looking at this stats this morning. Holden Willis. Arguably our best weapon, especially with Omari Kelly needing aome of the sticky stuff lately.

In the 1st qtr he was thrown to 4 times with 4 receptions for 73yds and a TD.
Rest of game, 3 times with 1 catch for 6yds.

And it's been that way every game. You can't tell me he's been shut down every game amazingly after the first quarter.
There have been some games they don’t really target him until we go complete air raid in 4th qtr. So many wasted plays in wasted games just wasting a great player. Look at the targets and pass receptions from other top leading TEs. They use their best weapons and have triple the targets. This is absolutely insane!

FOOTBALL So the spread is currently Louisiana Tech -4.....

Is it safe to say the honeymoon is over????

Honeymoon would have been over game one had Tenn. Tech. pulled out a victory and lost "Harvey" from the trophy case. Last second heroics preserved any semblance of a honeymoon period. At 0-2 in C-USA, with convincing losses to WKU and LA Tech, a cold dash of reality exists---Blue Raider Football is in for a prolonged rebuild. Might require 2-3 years, if plans take form. However, nothing suggests team is improving at the mid-season mark. That's a big concern in my eyes. Have to give Coach Mason credit for sparking community engagement and fund raising this spring/summer, but stakeholder pressure will mount if final record for 2024 is 2-10 or 3-9. Kennesaw looks like our best chance for our next win, but nothing is given based on what I've witnessed.

Focus should be on teaching and building skills so Blue Raiders do not defeat ourselves. Simply, we're deficient in nearly all phases of the game.
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