One last point I want to say about JOC’s recent article because it legitimately irked me lol, is that things written or said by other media like Bob Black or Matt Smith on broadcasts are different. They are hired by UR and of course will always have a positive spin on things. I expect that, but for JOC, he’s supposedly independent and shouldn’t be influenced by that. He’s probably going to retire soon, so now if anything should be the time to ask our admin the tough questions without worry of repercussions.
So my final plea and point to this for now is to JOC directly. John, if you read this forum and see this, I think I speak for all of us when I say we would love to get answers to the questions we all have — even if it means asking challenging ones. If Mooney and co don’t want to answers, that shouldn’t preclude you from writing about it anyway. For instance, when we got our abysmal schedule second year in a row, rather than writing about the same talking points that came from admin about how hard it is for mid majors to schedule, inquire why the majority of other A10 teams had a good schedule with P4 teams like Davidson. Maybe we’re wrong, look into the analytics about the SOS and NETs of teams played and see where UR stacks up. Journalism is about asking those hard questions and presenting the facts.
Write about the fact UR has had 3 NCAAs in 21 years. Is that acceptable? Write about our success the last few years and ask why we can’t reproduce this on a consistent basis like the women’s team can. It can point out the good and point out the bad. Mention the emphasis we had on rebounding and more aggression at the beginning of the season, but also ask why we deviated from that.
Ask what has changed this year as opposed to other years and why it was harder for the men’s team to schedule good games but not the women’s team. With NIL, do research and tell us how UR stacks up analytically with the rest of the A10 in terms of NIL, revenue, facility enhancements, etc before making vague statements about NIL. Look what else those programs do differently than we do. Look at recent performances we’ve had and ask why teams can stop our offense with a zone or why our defensive numbers are worse now than a long time under Mooney.
No one is staying this has to be harsh of the program or complimentary of the program. Things can be asked about in a respectful and honest way. What should be is objective, looking at the data, and asking critical questions that people want asked and that we all see ourselves. No one wants these random post about Mooney’s thoughts on gambling or how the university, which has supported him plenty over the years, can support him even more. At least not right now.
