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BASKETBALL Middle Tennessee (15-11, 8-7) vs #25 FAU (24-2, 14-1), CBSSN, 6PM, Thursday, February 16, 2023

Despite the criticism that's been posted on & off this year it's pretty obvious there is talent here. Not too many teams have shown the ability to knock off both UAB & FAU. Granted both were at home, but it's not like they had 8,500 rabid fans cheering them on either. Crazy thing about this team is the roster review. There's still only 1 senior on this team! If & it's a big If, what if Dish is the only player to depart this team at season end?
The one thing this team really needed was a true floor general to keep these guys under control. Would love to see McDevitt go into the portal & get a seasoned point guard used to running & keeping a team under control while having that good shooting touch for when a game's in doubt. As crazy as it may sound, I still think this team could be only 1 to 2 players from competing for a championship again next year. But as mentioned earlier coach really needs to buckle down for that quality guy.
 
WOW....Its not even that FAU shot bad (49 FG and 45 3P), just that we won the turnover battle.

Congratulations to the guys and CNM. Keep it rolling.
 
I think Porter has really stepped up his game as the season has gone on. I really like him. With Dish gone next year, would like another quality big man for depth too.
 
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Porter is really turning a page imo. We also really need a true shooter. I’d like to see us hit the portal to give us a true PG that can shoot the ball well. If we could stretch the floor we could be at least sweet sixteen good next year. Need someone that can shoot 40+% from three and 90+% on FT though.
 
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Since all our competitors are leaving the league next year , all we need is a pure shooter and a 6’8 bruiser inside To be the team to beat in cusa, anybody know where Tyler Millen was last night?
 
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Going back to the “shooter” argument. We already have 2 for next year. King is a shooter. Jalen… who is sitting… also a shooter. Curious if fussell stays, but Coleman Jones is a lock for the starting 5 man next year. He continues to get better.
 
Speaking of Jordan, I saw on his roster bio he was a freshman at St. Francis in 2017. Next year being the 2023-'24 session will be his 7th year in college. Similar to Dishman's situation. I would imagine he has more than enough hours to have completed a 4 year degree by now. With the extent of his injury concerns has anyone heard of his intent for next year? After back to back preseason blown ACL's I wasn't sure if he even has the desire to try another year, or what the medical staff's recommendation is going forward. Personally I would be surprised if his knee could take the wear & tear of another season. Unfortunately for Jordan he hasn't had the opportunity to make it to the 1st game for 2 consecutive years. If he does decide to go back home to start his life this would open another scholarship possibility.
 
After watching all the teams in our league play this year I think our league is as good as it has been in a long time. fAU, UAB, NT, and MT are all very solid teams that can play with anyone in the country. All Have a up and coming coaches and I wouldn’t swap ours for any of them. In this new era of college sports, I think the ability to relate with the players is as important as X’s and O’s. I think in this area, Nick shines.
 
Blueraider JT- Thats not Lee De Leon.. that’s coach Wes Long in the video.. y’all don’t even know the staff smdh 🤣
I don't keep up bro. I've been working for 40 days with no day off until yesterday. I haven't kept up with the staff or any of the admin in a long time. I just don't care all that much anymore to be honest. Still root for the team and the kids but beyond football, I'm checking scores and watching a little bit here and there when I'm not grinding for my business.

I'm glad he was out there with the students. We need that all the time.
 
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However, that was a fantastic win. I was against CNM for a long time. Last year and this season has proven me wrong. He is getting results now. This season has been a bit more frustrating but winning this game and FIU with the great comeback shows me a lot. He's connecting with them and if we play our best ball in March, we could make a nice run in the CUSA tourney and get postseason play again.
 
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However, that was a fantastic win. I was against CNM for a long time. Last year and this season has proven me wrong. He is getting results now. This season has been a bit more frustrating but winning this game and FIU with the great comeback shows me a lot. He's connecting with them and if we play our best ball in March, we could make a nice run in the CUSA tourney and get postseason play again.

I'm still against him still being here. His ability to acquire athletic talent has never been in question. It's his leadership, coaching - the x's and o's. There's no other explanation for being able to beat the best team in the conference and lose to the worst teams. If he loses at UTEP and there's a good chance he will (given this team's ability to act like they've never seen a basketball on the road), MT will have lost to five of the six worst teams in the league - all of which have below .500 records in conference. Could be 6-of-6 if they also manage to choke at home against Tech.

Now that he's withstood the pain of having to transition to a new program and flip the roster this is probably what we can expect. Around 16-20 wins every year. No titles. No NCAA tournaments with a CBI here and there. Maybe an NIT once in a while.
 
I'm still against him still being here. His ability to acquire athletic talent has never been in question. It's his leadership, coaching - the x's and o's. There's no other explanation for being able to beat the best team in the conference and lose to the worst teams. If he loses at UTEP and there's a good chance he will (given this team's ability to act like they've never seen a basketball on the road), MT will have lost to five of the six worst teams in the league - all of which have below .500 records in conference. Could be 6-of-6 if they also manage to choke at home against Tech.

Now that he's withstood the pain of having to transition to a new program and flip the roster this is probably what we can expect. Around 16-20 wins every year. No titles. No NCAA tournaments with a CBI here and there. Maybe an NIT once in a while.
As of right now with the extension, his contract expires next year. So he only has one more season under contract.

One would think with the way CM operates that if he makes a run this season in the conference tournament that CM will extend him. You can't recruit with a coach only having one year secured, for high school anyway.

If he hits over 20 wins this year I'm actually good with an extension...if.....there is a minimum standard set of 20 wins with higher standards of auto extensions than football. Two seasons under 20 wins and the contract buyout is reduced. Three and you are gone. Yearly extensions only for conference championships with the buyout remaning the same during those extensions. All else $$ bonuses.

Considering how Stock's is written though to favor him and not MT, I'm not holding my breath. It has been proven, not just a thought like in football, but proven that MBB can be ranked, win championships, and compete and win NCAA Tournament games. There is no reason to not maintain that.
 
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I can see both sides of the argument. In Kermit's last 5 seasons the men's teams averaged about 25 wins per year. Once accustomed to said record it really ups the goals on seasonal expectations. Have to admit I was of the group wanting Kermit's termination after his first 9 seasons of basically 17-15 annual records. I thought about the recent road losses in conjunction to a recent espn college radio broadcast. The speakers were talking about how it's more difficult to win on the road than ever before in college basketball. I think there's a lot of truth in that. I've made negative conclusions on McDevitt, but also willing to see what kind of recruits he can get next year. As said before I think he's only a couple players away from having a team that could compete for a championship in next year's version of CUSA. We gave Kermit basically 10 years to straighten things out, guess I can give Nick another year to see what next year's class looks like.
 
I can see both sides of the argument. In Kermit's last 5 seasons the men's teams averaged about 25 wins per year. Once accustomed to said record it really ups the goals on seasonal expectations. Have to admit I was of the group wanting Kermit's termination after his first 9 seasons of basically 17-15 annual records. I thought about the recent road losses in conjunction to a recent espn college radio broadcast. The speakers were talking about how it's more difficult to win on the road than ever before in college basketball. I think there's a lot of truth in that. I've made negative conclusions on McDevitt, but also willing to see what kind of recruits he can get next year. As said before I think he's only a couple players away from having a team that could compete for a championship in next year's version of CUSA. We gave Kermit basically 10 years to straighten things out, guess I can give Nick another year to see what next year's class looks like.

Well, Kermit is going to be available again after this year. You wanna bring him back? BTW, it was about 26 wins a year over seven years. The only asterisk being one 19-win season mixed in with five of 25 or more.

The problem for Nick is that Kermit raised the bar. He took over a program that truly was a dumpster fire from Randy Weil. Yeah, it took him a while to crack the code, but he showed what could be done here.

That's a tough act for Nick to follow for a program that hadn't shown it could go from one winning coach followed by another winning coach since the late 70's early 80's (which was before the three-point line came to be).

Also, with the portal coaches don't need rolling 5-6 year deals anymore. There's no reason for a coach to have more than three years on a contract at this point unless he's winning 25-30 games a year and going to the NCAA Tournament every year (and wants to stay for some reason instead of getting paid).
 
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He won 26 last year. If he wins out regular season and a couple in the Tourney, that's 22. That's gonna keep him here no matter what. That's gonna keep any coach employed in a mid major. It's like Stock. You win 2 bowl games back to back, you stayin. You ain't getting bounced from anywhere in G5 for that. Marshall bounced Doc but they aren't any better off for it.
 
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Well, Kermit is going to be available again after this year. You wanna bring him back? BTW, it was about 26 wins a year over seven years. The only asterisk being one 19-win season mixed in with five of 25 or more.

The problem for Nick is that Kermit raised the bar. He took over a program that truly was a dumpster fire from Randy Weil. Yeah, it took him a while to crack the code, but he showed what could be done here.

That's a tough act for Nick to follow for a program that hadn't shown it could go from one winning coach followed by another winning coach since the late 70's early 80's (which was before the three-point line came to be).

Also, with the portal coaches don't need rolling 5-6 year deals anymore. There's no reason for a coach to have more than three years on a contract at this point unless he's winning 25-30 games a year and going to the NCAA Tournament every year (and wants to stay for some reason instead of getting paid).
Agree with you on 5+ year contracts. Hate them. It has killed MT football fan attendance & interest. And not interested in having Kermit back. Now that he's in his 60's & used his success at MT to garner millions in earnings at Ole Miss he should comfortably accept retirement pretty soon. But if he wants a job close by he probably has no further to look than 100 miles to the north. If you think fans at MT want a new basketball coach just check out the WKU message board. An absolute total melt down up there.
 
Considering coaching possibilities. Gregg Marshall made Wichita State a household name 10 years ago taking them to the final 4. He followed that up with teams that had 30+ victory seasons. Of course he was paid over 7 million $ to leave due to player abuse.
How long till someone gives him a 2nd chance at redemption?
He may be one of the best available coaches available if one is willing to accept his past baggage. Can't see a power 5 going after him, but I could possibly see a G5 like Western consider him.
 
It's all luck of the draw with coaches. Doc was decent and Marshall canned him to get someone from the Saban tree. People here aren't fully happy. And now boards and all over socials people are clamoring for Huggs to leave WVU and speaking of baggage....hire Chris Beard.

Like JT said, he hits 20+ again we might as well keep McD for a few more years, meaning 2-3. See what happens.
 
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It's all luck of the draw with coaches. Doc was decent and Marshall canned him to get someone from the Saban tree. People here aren't fully happy. And now boards and all over socials people are clamoring for Huggs to leave WVU and speaking of baggage....hire Chris Beard.

Like JT said, he hits 20+ again we might as well keep McD for a few more years, meaning 2-3. See what happens.
Lot of talk about Beard ending up at Louisville
 
I don't think Kermit is done with MT. I think he takes Masarro's reigns.

As a casual fan of MT basketball, this year or next year has to be pay dirt for the program or its time to move on.
 
I don't think Kermit is done with MT. I think he takes Masarro's reigns.

As a casual fan of MT basketball, this year or next year has to be pay dirt for the program or its time to move on.
I could see KD doing that, but he is 63. CM is 61 I think. That to me puts that idea out the window. I honestly don't see CM going anywhere until BuildBlue is done or if the board doesn't renew McP after '26.

I agree time is now. That's why I'm good with a short extension with a low buyout. 2yrs would give him 7 total. Enough time. That is only if he finishes this year strong. Lose out and dump 1st round of tournament and I say forget the extension.

Unless there was some extension none of us know about.....
 
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