pudgejeff wrote:What has Few done exactly to deserve to be the coach here?...Please tell me
Well besides taking Gonzaga to 10 straight tourney appearences & 4 sweet 16's with much less talent than Ernie Kent... nothing.
He's an Oregon native so he seems to be a fan fave but I agree with duckgrad99. We need to find a young up & coming guy who will take this program to the next level. Kinda like what Chip's doing with the football program. We have nothing holding us back with the new arena coming up. No more excuses.
I beg to differ. Sure that conference isn't a powerhouse by any means, but every year they play top competition in their non-conference schedule and they have won many of those games, and been extremely competitive in the losses. Take the game against MSU this year. They were up most of the game, and this is not supposed to be one of the great Gonzaga teams from years past, though they will still likely win the WCC and have a solid year.
duckgrad99 wrote:I think the fact that these threads get so few posts just shows how much people care about the basketball team. Let's see if we can even beat the 4 cupcakes after St Mary's. Kent should have been gone years ago, and at the very least after last season.
If Kent stays, things will continue like they are and the basketball team won't receive much support and they will be playing in a $250 million dollar scrimmage facility as they won't be able to fill seats.
droop10 wrote:I beg to differ. Sure that conference isn't a powerhouse by any means, but every year they play top competition in their non-conference schedule and they have won many of those games, and been extremely competitive in the losses. Take the game against MSU this year. They were up most of the game, and this is not supposed to be one of the great Gonzaga teams from years past, though they will still likely win the WCC and have a solid year.
They are similar coaches that play a similar style of basketball. They both rely to much on the 3pt shot and neither teach team defense.
Looking back at Mark Few's record I could only find 2 wins against a top 10 team..... and he has never beaten a ranked team in the NCAA Tourney... He has taken his team to the tourney 10 times, but has never reached the elite 8......
But putting it in perspective look at the school he's coaching at. How often do mid-majors reach the elite 8? Even that team with Adam Morrison that had Final 4 potential lost to a great UCLA team that was in the Final 4 and possibly the championship game that year (too lazy to look that up..can't remember how far they went that year). Plus you have to take into account that many of these nonconference games he has to play at these powerhouses schools, because not many of them will come to Gonzaga. Home court advantage is big in college basketball. I think the guy could make a real difference at Oregon. He has coached up big men like Turiaf, Heytvelt, amongst others, which has been the one thing that Oregon has never been successful with. Personally, I think he would absolutely be an upgrade at this time. He's probably the best option that Oregon would have a legitimate shot at bringing in.
Unfortunately, I think Kent's job might be saved this season. This is one year where the pac-10 looks to be awful, so Oregon will some games by default to make them look like a better team than they really are. If this team fails to improve and doesn't make the tourny, I will have a real hard time supporting the program if they decide to keep Kent. It's one thing to lose, but this team shouldn't get demolished as much as they have over the last few years. If he such a great recruiter, where are the results? The football program always seems to do more with some lesser talent, and the basketball program seems to do less with better talent. Honestly, the program is a mess. Guys have gotten injured, players are being forced out of the program, good talent is going to waste, players are regressing, adjustments aren't being made, etc. Since 2003, the Ducks have only had one good season. Kent should be one of the top coaches on the hot seat right now.
duckgrad99 wrote:Unfortunately, I think Kent's job might be saved this season. This is one year where the pac-10 looks to be awful, so Oregon will some games by default to make them look like a better team than they really are. If this team fails to improve and doesn't make the tourny, I will have a real hard time supporting the program if they decide to keep Kent. It's one thing to lose, but this team shouldn't get demolished as much as they have over the last few years. If he such a great recruiter, where are the results? The football program always seems to do more with some lesser talent, and the basketball program seems to do less with better talent. Honestly, the program is a mess. Guys have gotten injured, players are being forced out of the program, good talent is going to waste, players are regressing, adjustments aren't being made, etc. Since 2003, the Ducks have only had one good season. Kent should be one of the top coaches on the hot seat right now.
Great post, agree 100%. If Kent is around next year then you can forget about me supporting this program. This is the year to fire him, if they can't grow a pair & do it this year then they never will. Its sad to see the bball program come to this but it has. Like you said, this whole program is just a mess. Players & assisstant coaches being forced out and very talented players REGRESSING each year... I thought we needed to make a change years ago & now I'm on the verge of just ditching the whole thing. At least we have baseball now.
It's not like I expect pac-10 championships, tournament every year or elite 8's all the time. That would be ridiculous. I do expect though that the team can consistently beat much weaker opponents, learn from mistakes, develop a consistent inside game and just look like a "real" team out there. I mean with guys like Dunigan, Crittle, Catron, etc, we should be pounding the ball inside. Alright, I'm done ranting for now. Back to the Rose Bowl talk.
droop10 wrote:But putting it in perspective look at the school he's coaching at. How often do mid-majors reach the elite 8? Even that team with Adam Morrison that had Final 4 potential lost to a great UCLA team that was in the Final 4 and possibly the championship game that year (too lazy to look that up..can't remember how far they went that year). Plus you have to take into account that many of these nonconference games he has to play at these powerhouses schools, because not many of them will come to Gonzaga. Home court advantage is big in college basketball. I think the guy could make a real difference at Oregon. He has coached up big men like Turiaf, Heytvelt, amongst others, which has been the one thing that Oregon has never been successful with. Personally, I think he would absolutely be an upgrade at this time. He's probably the best option that Oregon would have a legitimate shot at bringing in.
That team with Adam Morrison choked away that game. There has been a few mid majors in the elite 8. Isn't Memphis a mid major team?
When I looked at their schedule almost all of there games against top opponents were on neutral sites with a few at home against the Washington schools.
I would like to get an east-coast defensive minded coach. I would even be willing to give coach Dunlop a shot at it. What about World Wide Wess? does he have any coaching ambitions? 90% of college basketball success comes from recruiting.
moduck wrote:I am going to he Mizzou game. Is there anyone else on the board going to the game? Mizzou might pay my bills, but you can guarantee that I will be wearing green and yellow.
Go Ducks!
Sorry you had to sit through that game. I would love to hear your thoughts since you were there.
It was typical Kent style ball. No real offense when a team can play tough defense. Mizzou just pressured them, as they do to all teams, and Oregon just could not get shots. Same story that has haunted Ducks basketball since Kent has been here. Lots of talent, no half-court team oriented offense. They could not get good shots, all one-on-one plays, and Mizzou made them look really really bad.
Mizzou is a solid team, I would expect them to make the tournament and be a 8-9 seed this year. They play tough defense and plays the type of ball that really gives Kent style teams fits. I was expecting a 15 point loss for the Ducks, but did not expect that bad of a game from them.
Kent needs to start winning fast or be out. Which I hope he is out. The only hope is that we can get a new coach that will put some new energy into the program! and get some people into the seats at the Knight Arena.
