2/9 mbb @ usm

[skilldawg]

We are tied for 8th, with 4 other teams. Given that we have already lost to 3 of the 4 craptastic teams we are tied with, the FU’s and Rice, if the season was over today.... we are 11 seed in Pod 3

[skilldawg]

Sharing a pod with Middle, UTEP and Charlotte

[HogDawg]

We are!!! Pod 3!!!

.....right where we belong.

[Dawg Fan]

The average final Sagarin Ranking for the Dogs between 2012 and 2015 with Mike White as head coach was 63 (and a rating 81.04). The average ranking for the last three years under Konkol, including the current year is 133 (and a ratingof 74.06). (I'll give both coaches a pass on their first year). So the average Mike White team would be a seven-point favorite over the average Konkol team. I don't think that fits anybody's definition of "Grow the standard of excellence".

Speaking of Mike White, Florida is not exactly setting the world on fire this year (4-6 in the SEC, 12-11 Overall).

[HogDawg]

For the love of God, can't we find somebody that knows how to coach men's basketball! This is not Kerry Rupp bad, but definitely sinking below Keith Richard!

My thoughts exactly. I'm tired of LA Tech always being a disappointment in mens basketball. Even the law of averages saw we should be good every once in a while.

[HogDawg]

Tech's last 17 conference road results (with KenPom ranking)
L at #155 Rice
L at #47 WKU
L at #105 Marshall
L at #45 Middle Tennessee
L at #109 UAB
W at #233 Florida Atlantic
L at #222 FIU
L at #240 UTEP
L at #174 UTSA
L at #206 Southern Miss
L at #124 North Texas
L at #221 Rice
L at #104 Old Dominion
L at #297 Charlotte
L at #168 Florida Atlantic
L at #230 FIU
L at #128 Southern Miss

1-16, and that includes six upset losses to absolutely terrible teams ranked 206+ that there is no excuse for Konkol to lose.

0-2 vs. good teams (Top 100)
0-8 vs. average teams (101-200)
1-6 vs. bad teams (201+)

That's a fire-able offense by itself.

[HogDawg]

The average final Sagarin Ranking for the Dogs between 2012 and 2015 with Mike White as head coach was 63 (and a rating 81.04). The average ranking for the last three years under Konkol, including the current year is 133 (and a ratingof 74.06). (I'll give both coaches a pass on their first year). So the average Mike White team would be a seven-point favorite over the average Konkol team. I don't think that fits anybody's definition of "Grow the standard of excellence".

...Somebody please tell me why this man (Konkol) is still allowed to coach our Bulldogs? He should have already been fired.

[Dawg06]

Konkol put together a basketball team devoid of shooters.

In C-USA play, Tech is shooting only 59.5% on free throws. That obviously ranks dead last in C-USA, and if you compared it to the rest of the NCAA's season statistics, that would rank #351 in the nation (3rd to last in the country).

Tech ranks #13 of 14 in C-USA with a 3-pointer percentage of 30.7% in conference play. That would rank T-#311 in the nation this season.

Tech's effective field goal percentage ranks #13 of 14 in C-USA at 46.4% in conference play. That would rank T-#322 in the nation this season.

I've mentioned it before, and it's really simple. This is the game of basketball, and you have to shoot the ball through the hoop to score points. This is Year 4 of Konkol with all his players, and his team is atrocious at this basic fundamental of the game: shooting.

[Blue Dawg]

its amazing to me that people can't see that Konkol is a bad coach, and he needs to hop on the next train through Ruston.

But then we wouldn't be little-ole-Tech

[Dwayne From Minden]

...Somebody please tell me why this man (Konkol) is still allowed to coach our Bulldogs? He should have already been fired.

It's getting to the point where this falls directly on the shoulders of Dr. Guice - the free hand he has given his AD to extend contracts to coaches (and I include Skip in this) has us hamstrung in the ability to be able to afford to make a move

[touchdown123]

Konkol put together a basketball team devoid of shooters.

In C-USA play, Tech is shooting only 59.5% on free throws. That obviously ranks dead last in C-USA, and if you compared it to the rest of the NCAA's season statistics, that would rank #351 in the nation (3rd to last in the country).

Tech ranks #13 of 14 in C-USA with a 3-pointer percentage of 30.7% in conference play. That would rank T-#311 in the nation this season.

Tech's effective field goal percentage ranks #13 of 14 in C-USA at 46.4% in conference play. That would rank T-#322 in the nation this season.

I've mentioned it before, and it's really simple. This is the game of basketball, and you have to shoot the ball through the hoop to score points. This is Year 4 of Konkol with all his players, and his team is atrocious at this basic fundamental of the game: shooting.

Agree. If you can't score, the margin of error is so low you will not overcome it throughout the course of the season. Konkol has no way to produce any offense. No points off turnovers, no down low scoring, no three point shooting. We basically just have DayDay who can score on the drive.

But but injuries - come on would that make a two game difference? We'd be 2-6 on the road? Pod 2? Is that acceptable?

Konkol took a good program and, with a few bad breaks, ran it into the ground. Key phrase: ran it into the ground.

[tenacious_dog]

Without Harding, Tougaloo, Prairie View, Mississippi Valley, Houston Baptist & Texas A&M Commerce at home, we likely wouldn't still have a winning record at this point. We knew we were going to be a short bench this year and figured these games would pad us. I'm convinced now that's why we ended up with these teams on our home schedule. There was the hope our short bench team would win some games we shouldn't. What we didn't count on/couldn't know was Christon & Jean being out so now we've lost games we shouldn't have.

Each game is a gut check from here on out starting with UTEP. If we can somehow hold it together we get to the tourney, but how can you feel good about your chances even knowing anything can happen? But a slip or two on a banana peel and we might not make the tourney. It's not over, but it's not pretty and it could get ugly fast.

Like I said, every game is a gut check from here on out.

[dawg80]

Any team that is that crappy at the FT line shouldn't expect to win too many games.

Now, as I recall, the great Russo-Malone teams of 83-85 weren't exactly awesome at the FT line either. Something like 67% as a team from the line for the season. Maybe a little higher or lower than that. But, they shot over 60% from the field! Of course "slam dunks" tend to be high-percentage shots! And they played awesome team defense, could rebound with the best of 'em, and other intangibles.

Konkol's bunch doesn't have any of the "but, they are great elsewhere" to lean on. For this team, FTs are killing it. Jack points that out every game...just wish he'd take that sock out of his mouth before he speaks.

[Dawg06]

It's getting to the point where this falls directly on the shoulders of Dr. Guice - the free hand he has given his AD to extend contracts to coaches (and I include Skip in this) has us hamstrung in the ability to be able to afford to make a move

Ding! Ding! Ding! And there is the real problem.

First, Guice gave McClelland a raise and 5-year contract extension through 2021. I've yet to hear a single good reason as to why our AD is under a contract like that, and there a numerous good reasons as to why he shouldn't be.

Then McClelland made 3 bad basketball hires (Summitt, Stoehrs, Konkol), two of which he gave unearned extensions after mediocre seasons early in their tenures and extended them to the point that we won't be able to afford their ridiculous buyouts for a long time. The other hire of Summitt went down as one of the worst hires in the history of sport and would've gotten most ADs fired. The last thing we need is for McClelland to make another basketball hire. Tommy has already struck out on the hardwood and shouldn't get another chance.

McClelland actually treated Skip very differently early on, maybe because Tommy didn't hire Skip. But Guice hired Skip on the cheap, and Tommy allowed Skip's contract to run until he had 1 year remaining before Tommy gave Skip a raise and extension. That was the right move IMO, but then in Skip's contract extension, McClelland added a 1-year automatic extension clause, which was triggered after this mediocre season to extend Skip through 2023. That likely means if Tech ever has to get rid of Skip, we'd owe him 3-years salary ($2.1 million). If Skip gets hired away, we get nothing. Not only that, McClelland turned Tech into a national embarrassment when right before last season Skip revealed that Tech was the only FBS school without a 10th assistant coach in order to force Tommy to allow Skip to make a hire.

[Blue Dawg]

Ding! Ding! Ding! And there is the real problem.

First, Guice gave McClelland a raise and 5-year contract extension through 2021. I've yet to hear a single good reason as to why our AD is under a contract like that, and there a numerous good reasons as to why he shouldn't be.

Then McClelland made 3 bad basketball hires (Summitt, Stoehrs, Konkol), two of which he gave unearned extensions after mediocre seasons early in their tenures and extended them to the point that we won't be able to afford their ridiculous buyouts for a long time. The other hire of Summitt went down as one of the worst hires in the history of sport and would've gotten most ADs fired. The last thing we need is for McClelland to make another basketball hire. Tommy has already struck out on the hardwood and shouldn't get another chance.

McClelland actually treated Skip very differently early on, maybe because Tommy didn't hire Skip. But Guice hired Skip on the cheap, and Tommy allowed Skip's contract to run until he had 1 year remaining before Tommy gave Skip a raise and extension. That was the right move IMO, but then in Skip's contract extension, McClelland added a 1-year automatic extension clause, which was triggered after this mediocre season to extend Skip through 2023. That likely means if Tech ever has to get rid of Skip, we'd owe him 3-years salary ($2.1 million). If Skip gets hired away, we get nothing. Not only that, McClelland turned Tech into a national embarrassment when right before last season Skip revealed that Tech was the only FBS school without a 10th assistant coach in order to force Tommy to allow Skip to make a hire.

What a shitshow. We're gonna be a smoking wreck but at least some people will be polishing brass on the Titanic.

Too many metaphors?