OOC check in - nothing has changed

[*23*]

Yep its hard to figure out what really goes on with the Triumvirate? Are they really as dumb as they sound? Or are they evil geniuses just rolling out more propaganda and smokescreen? Do they think us "fake fans" are that dumb ti believe it? Or is the audience the "real fans". God I wish moon would have taken that BC job in 2012. He would be back at Beaver College now and we wouldn't be having these conversations for the 14th year in a row.

 

[MrTbone]

Fair. But they did run that Lunardi consultant scam.

That was clever for sure. Maybe predated Hardt?

 

[Spider B]

As crazy as it sounds, I think the administration is fine with the results. Its hard to win at a small school like UR with academics, scheduling, NIL, ect. CM has a winning record this year and was extremely excited with how the team performed in both losses to VCU. Plus we have a quad 1 win at Belmont. Its incredibly short sighted and pathetic to be proud of the results the past 15 years, but i think the administration is.

And if UR is happy with the results, why do we waste money on facilities, a high salary coach, charter flights, ect? It is a terrible return on investment. Seems you could get similar and even better results spending a lot less.

 

[Gkiller]

That was clever for sure. Maybe predated Hardt?

No, Hardt was the one who announced the Lunardi scam.

 

[brooklyn brownstone]

Was not expecting this thread dredged up. Apparently I decided to stick around after popping my head above sand.

So two OOC seasons led us close to .550, and a 3-2 finish will have the overall season right in line with historical expectations and results as well.

All is well. We're leafy!

*ps - the Lunardi scheduling consultant scam was an incredible job by all involved. Stay Philly.

 

[SpiderTrue]

Fine, don't compare them if you don't want to. I still think it shows that we care about "competing" with the best programs we possibly can in other sports and don't make excuses -- we just find a way to make it happen.

But let's compare our OOC men's basketball schedule to those of other A10 teams this year...

This year, Dayton played Cincinnati, Marquette, Georgetown, UVA and BYU.
This year, vcu played Utah State, NC State, San Francisco, Vandy, Virginia Tech and New Mexico.
This year, Duquesne played Villanova, Boise State and Nevada.
This year, St. Joseph's played Virginia Tech, UNLV, and Syracuse, in addition to Big 5 mates Temple and Penn.
This year, Davidson played Boston College, Utah State, Temple, Kansas and Washington State.
This year, GW played South Florida and Florida.
This year, Rhode Island played Tulsa, Yale, Temple and Providence.
This year, LaSalle played Penn State and Michigan, in addition to its Big 5 games.
This year, Loyola played Wichita State, Colorado State, North Texas, Northern Iowa, SJ State, Central Michigan, Princeton, San Francisco and Santa Clara.

Tell me again how hard it is to schedule decent OOC teams.

I won't pretend to know what turn of events lead to each of those games being scheduled though I do know a good percentage of them came as a result of MTE participation which that is a whole other conversation and set of obstacles that a program such as ours is forced to navigate. But look at the teams you mentioned, none of them are even in the at-large conversation right now. Those big-name matchups didn’t translate into resumé strength as the season has worn on. Meanwhile, the one team in the conference that is firmly in the at-large mix also had a pretty light non-conference slate. That suggests that some coaching staffs have identified there’s more than one way to skin this cat.

High-profile games look great on paper and especially on message boards, but they don’t help much if you lose them or limp into conference play all banged up. If the goal is March as I read so often here, and not bragging rights in December, maybe a controlled non-conference schedule isn’t the albatross it’s made out to be after all and we just need more time to get the pieces in place to take advantage of it.

 

[Eight Legger]

That's a different question entirely. Mooney would have us believe that we can't schedule games like the ones I listed. But that list proves that not only can we -- teams in our league have done it this year! It's just another gaslighting attempt from him to explain this pitiful performance the last two years and one NCAA berth in the last 14 years.

 

[RichmondNative]

But look at the teams you mentioned, none of them are even in the at-large conversation right now. Those big-name matchups didn’t translate into resumé strength as the season has worn on. Meanwhile, the one team in the conference that is firmly in the at-large mix also had a pretty light non-conference slate. That suggests that some coaching staffs have identified there’s more than one way to skin this cat.

Always more than one way to win. However, having the second weakest OOC schedule in the A10 with the weakest one belonging to a team that doesn’t prioritize sports has to say something. As far as not having other A10 teams in the at-large conversation goes, that is because the conference is WEAK and is a 1-2 bid league. The A10 isn’t the same conference it was when UR joined YET there are those that was stuck in the past. So you have a Men’s team with a horrendous schedule and an inability to compete in a rather weak mid-major conference even with significant investments in facilities and apparently healthy NIL budget that is at “the midpoint” of the conference if the public statements are to be believed.

In terms of NIL and revenue sharing, the last group I believe is a bunch of agents who take a percentage. Someone has to know what is real and what is make-believe but even in the most preposterous case the amounts bantered about can’t be sustainable as in the end there is only one NCAA champion and so most donors are funding a loser. It has to come to the mean at some point. What that equates to in terms of a real “salary” I don’t know but I can guarantee that mid-major money is not the same as P4. Spend as much money as you want though, it sure worked out for Kansas St.

What I see is a program without vision and without a plan. We have coach with a 21 year tenure who is looking for a Delorean so he can go back to the way it was as he isn’t equipped to deal with the new world of college basketball. There is no stability in chaotic times and hoping for the best and wait until next year are platitudes. What we are looking for is a real strategy and actual goals as steps to success. We can see such things for Women’s basketball and Men’s lacrosse so why can’t there be the same for Men’s basketball?

 

[ur2K]

Struggle, challenge, obstacles - just a bunch of loser talk.

 

[*23*]

That's a different question entirely. Mooney would have us believe that we can't schedule games like the ones I listed. But that list proves that not only can we -- teams in our league have done it this year! It's just another gaslighting attempt from him to explain this pitiful performance the last two years and one NCAA berth in the last 14 years.

Right, Mooney didn't say it was a strategic decision, he lied or was inept.

Again, Mooney supporters like true can spin it how they want. I want a coach, like a Beilein, a Dutcher, a Tarrant that want to play the best and want it raise the level of their team up to win against those teams. It's not something you can turn off and on. Unfortunately seems to be turned off for us.

 

[Arachnid]

I won't pretend to know what turn of events lead to each of those games being scheduled though I do know a good percentage of them came as a result of MTE participation which that is a whole other conversation and set of obstacles that a program such as ours is forced to navigate. But look at the teams you mentioned, none of them are even in the at-large conversation right now. Those big-name matchups didn’t translate into resumé strength as the season has worn on. Meanwhile, the one team in the conference that is firmly in the at-large mix also had a pretty light non-conference slate. That suggests that some coaching staffs have identified there’s more than one way to skin this cat.

High-profile games look great on paper and especially on message boards, but they don’t help much if you lose them or limp into conference play all banged up. If the goal is March as I read so often here, and not bragging rights in December, maybe a controlled non-conference schedule isn’t the albatross it’s made out to be after all and we just need more time to get the pieces in place to take advantage of it.

A weak ooc schedule doesn’t help the team nor elevate the league for more bids as we found out by winning the A10 two years ago. The goal is always March.

 

[PhillySpider]

What I see is a program without vision and without a plan. We have coach with a 21 year tenure who is looking for a Delorean so he can go back to the way it was as he isn’t equipped to deal with the new world of college basketball. There is no stability in chaotic times and hoping for the best and wait until next year are platitudes. What we are looking for is a real strategy and actual goals as steps to success. We can see such things for Women’s basketball and Men’s lacrosse so why can’t there be the same for Men’s basketball?

Bingo!

NIL makes it hard. Scheduling is hard. Blah blah. Crying about how we are the poor little shrimpy kid when it comes to NIL is the biggest crock ever. You know, if you had more success as one of the highest paid coaches at your level for the last 20 years, you'd be able to raise more NIL now! And if you achieved even at your NIL "level" instead of woefully below it, you'd be able to raise more now! Mooney acts like he isn't the person most to blame for our NIL "plight". But he is!

Yeah - - the game changes (on and off the court). What they (Moon, Hardt, admin) are REALLY saying is its hard to do it the way we want to do it (which is the way we did it before) and we don't have a plan or even a desire to change. So much so that we refuse to change and instead just want to talk about how freaking hard it is today to do it the way we'd maybe prefer. You know - - some teams (hello e.g. SLU) saw the changes as an opportunity to do it differently AND BETTER. Not UR Men's basketball - - we see it as an impossible mountain to climb and instead of working to figure it out, we work to manage the expectations lower and be sure our "plan" includes a full on marketing campaign making sure we get it out there how hard it is and all the "disadvantages" we would have to overcome. We are at no more disadvantage than any non-Power 5 school and are (or should be) in a better spot than the vast, vast majority of them. No one on here is asking us to be Duke, but there is absolutely no legit reason we shouldn't be in the Top 10% (which probably means top half of A-10) of all non P5 schools. Consistently! And it is unfathomable that we instead are wallowing at the bottom of our conference WHILE SIMALTANEOUSLY JUSTIFYING why that is OK!!

I am actually off ragging on Mooney because its become crystal clear, he simply isn't able to hold himself accountable for the mess he has created here and is only capable of doing it his way - - results be what they may! Hardt (and to the extent he has had a hand in this - PQ) are responsible and are my new whipping boys. This is exactly what an AD is supposed to do in interacting with his coaches - - make sure they are the right people for the job - - Mooney has basically admitted that he isn't and he certainly has displayed that he isn't, but Hardt instead of getting a guy who is ready to to be the guy IN THIS ERA, instead seems to join the chorus of ITS TOO FREAKING HARD. He needs to go! Period. The coach will no doubt follow when we get a new man in charge but as all on here have said, Mooney isn't going anywhere with this group in charge, so this group at the Top needs to go!

 

[MrTbone]

No, Hardt was the one who announced the Lunardi scam.

That’s a sad commentary that it feels far longer ago to me than Hardt’s arrival.

 

[*23*]

I have said similar. I have zero confidence in Hardt and PQ to pick a new coach. Yes, Russell a good hire, but i chalk that up to some luck that he brought him from his old school.

Completely agree that Hardt and PQ are enabling Mooney.

 

[MrTbone]

I’d love to know what the DMZ line is that UR just won’t go past. 5 straight losing seasons? Fewer than 2,000 season ticket holders?

There has to be some point at which the university says enough. I have no clue what that is though. Clearly it’s not 55% and 3 in 21.

 

[Spiderp31]

I’d love to know what the DMZ line is that UR just won’t go past. 5 straight losing seasons? Fewer than 2,000 season ticket holders?

There has to be some point at which the university says enough. I have no clue what that is though. Clearly it’s not 55% and 3 in 21.

Maybe when we sell tickets for 5 dollars. When stubhub can’t sell your tickets for more than 5 dollars I guess we reached the goal.

 

[Spiderguy]

I’d love to know what the DMZ line is that UR just won’t go past. 5 straight losing seasons? Fewer than 2,000 season ticket holders?

There has to be some point at which the university says enough. I have no clue what that is though. Clearly it’s not 55% and 3 in 21.

Never say never. When you think there’s a bottom, remember there’s more to go. 3 in 21 looks a lot better than the eventual 3 in 24. Then another extension.

 

[MrTbone]

Maybe when we sell tickets for 5 dollars. When stubhub can’t sell your tickets for more than 5 dollars I guess we reached the goal.

Oh it’s not that. We have happily done $5 tickets for extended periods in prior seasons.

Perhaps if you mean season tickets. Yeah, that would be a reason for concern, but I think they’d take the reduction in ticket holders first before they slash season ticket prices.

 

[Spider17]

I’d love to know what the DMZ line is that UR just won’t go past. 5 straight losing seasons? Fewer than 2,000 season ticket holders?

There has to be some point at which the university says enough. I have no clue what that is though. Clearly it’s not 55% and 3 in 21.

I thought about this too and the answer is that I don’t think there is a line. It’s been real eye opening to all of us that in moments of adversity… moments where we could use leadership from our coach or athletic director to instill accountability and an impetus of change and what have we heard to inspire us? It’s only been excuses.

You mentioned 5 losing seasons. We’ve had 3 really disappointing seasons in the past 4 years and all we’re hearing is how hard it is to win with a $2 million roster.

You mentioned fewer than 2,000 fans. Well, we’ve been declining in attendance for the past 4 years straight. We’ll never reach below 2,000 because we would rather inflate the numbers than showcase the reality or the university will just “get new fans”.

You mentioned a 55% win percentage. What’s our response to not winning enough? It wasn’t fix our recruiting or offensive/defensive flaws, it was lowering the bar of competition of who we play in non-conference. Then talk about how hard it is to schedule while turning down teams like JMU. We just lost 7 of the last 8 against VCU and Mooney is answering questions about scheduling for the 100th time.

You mentioned 3 NCAAs in 21 years. Now that I think of it, has Hardt or Mooney ever publicly stated that the expectation is to make the NCAA tournament? It’s always a vague competing in the A10 whatever that means. I’m sure that internally they have those goals, but why not state it publicly. It’s clear now so they won’t have to answer to or have accountability if those goals are meant. I’m not asking for Mooney to have post game press conferences like Tang, but some energy, passion, and appearance that he’s at least pretending to be bothered by what’s going on would be nice.

So no, there is no line that can be crossed. In my 13 years following this program, I have never felt this deflated.

 

[MrTbone]

I thought about this too and the answer is that I don’t think there is a line. It’s been real eye opening to all of us that in moments of adversity… moments where we could use leadership from our coach or athletic director to instill accountability and an impetus of change and what have we heard to inspire us? It’s only been excuses.

You mentioned 5 losing seasons. We’ve had 3 really disappointing seasons in the past 4 years and all we’re hearing is how hard it is to win with a $2 million roster.

You mentioned fewer than 2,000 fans. Well, we’ve been declining in attendance for the past 4 years straight. We’ll never reach below 2,000 because we would rather inflate the numbers than showcase the reality or the university will just “get new fans”.

You mentioned a 55% win percentage. What’s our response to not winning enough? It wasn’t fix our recruiting or offensive/defensive flaws, it was lowering the bar of competition of who we play in non-conference. Then talk about how hard it is to schedule while turning down teams like JMU.

You mentioned 3 NCAAs in 21 years. Now that I think of it, has Hardt or Mooney ever publicly stated that the expectation is to make the NCAA tournament? It’s always a vague competing in the A10 whatever that means. I’m sure that internally they have those goals, but why not state it publicly. It’s clear now because they won’t have to answer to or have accountability if those goals are meant. I’m not asking for Mooney to have post game press conferences like Tang, but some energy, passion, and appearance that he’s at least pretending to be bothered by what’s going on would be nice.

So no, there is no line that can be crossed. In my 13 years following this program, I have never felt this deflated.

There’s always a line, I’m just wondering how bad it has to get.