No, that is not true. His teams have been talented, but they have all collapsed spectacularly. Don't try to rewrite history because we've had a couple of good games. I'm happy with the way we've looked, but that doesn't mean the past five and a half years didn't happen.
Willard's Fire
- Thread starter Piratz
- Start date
Agree!
Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me.
One game at a time. And as long as we play like WSU/MU I will be very entertained and excited throughout the season.
One game at a time.
Good for him so far. We have to take a cautious viewpoint though or we'll all be disappointed again.
I also believe there has been addition by subtraction. Without naming people this team has shed a couple of soft "ingame" players from the last few seasons. There is so much more consistency in the effort level of this group.
I also believe there has been addition by subtraction. Without naming people this team has shed a couple of soft "ingame" players from the last few seasons. There is so much more consistency in the effort level of this group.
I agree one game at a time. So far the results have been extremely positive. You can't start peter puffering after the 1st BE game. It is a young group, so far we have seen improvement game to game. Hopefully they continue to improve, play with the same grit and tenacity each game. Extremely encouraging and how can you not root for these kids!
I was responding to the post that said that we've had 3 or 4 years where we looked good at the start of the Big East season. I look at the start as being beyond just two games. We had an up and down start last year before the collapse. Last night was a great win, just like how there were great wins over Providence, St. John's, and Villanova over the past few years in early Big East games. Look beyond those three games and the start to the conference season has not been good.
Hopefully this year is different.
I was one of the first to decide to do this, right around the end of the first day of the BET, last year. I'm sure you were eager to renew, right after that.
It certainly looks like the message has been received, too. Willard is coaching like a man desperate to save his job.
Last year's team's big weakness was rebounding. Opposing teams got two and three offensive rebounds and just wore out our frontline of Angel Delgado. This year there is help up front w Ish and Mike, plus the guards are good rebounders. It's a City thing. It just might be less Willard and more having the horses. But he gets the credit, regardless.
Anybody in any line of work would be on the hot seat in year 6 without any expected results. That might have 100 times more to do with it than 50 guys on the internet threatening not to renew. If anything the school called your bluff, kept him, and people still renewed. How can you say the message was received, when 95% of the people who said they wouldn't renew later said they did? I renewed after how many other disastrous seasons, don't lump me in the group of people who wasn't looking forward to renewing.
Yeah, Pat Lyons called my bluff. Where did you get the 95% figure from? I've bought tickets and gone to games, they're just not getting my mandated donation to athletics. Thus, I didn't renew. Looks like a lot less fannies in the seats from last year; didn't even fill the WSU game. A couple of the other non-conference games were in the 2,000 range. I'd say message received.
If they continue winning, and I hope they do, I'm sure walkups will start to pick up, but it's obvious to anyone with eyes that there are a lot less season ticket holders than in the past couple of years.
It's good to be even having this discussion after what's gone on here. KW's teams have followed a really bad pattern of collapsing and I've posted a billion times on how I believe it's because we haven't had proper leadership regardless of the type of players and how the team plays. We've had senior-laden teams, good shooting teams, athletic teams, slow-pace teams, up-tempo teams, nothing changes.
But through 13 games this year, I see different leadership and I'm hoping that will prove out to buck the trend of what we've seen. I see a guy stepping up his game and taking control of his program. Maybe he got shook by what's gone on too. I see a head coach so far, not an assistant coach. Long way to go to exorcise the negativity here, but a terrific start, beyond what I was thinking.
It's been 10 years since our last winning conference season and NCAA Tournament appearance. Ten freaking years! The past five have been our worst stretch in 30 years. My God. Remarkable anyone stuck around with such sustained ineptitude.
But through 13 games this year, I see different leadership and I'm hoping that will prove out to buck the trend of what we've seen. I see a guy stepping up his game and taking control of his program. Maybe he got shook by what's gone on too. I see a head coach so far, not an assistant coach. Long way to go to exorcise the negativity here, but a terrific start, beyond what I was thinking.
It's been 10 years since our last winning conference season and NCAA Tournament appearance. Ten freaking years! The past five have been our worst stretch in 30 years. My God. Remarkable anyone stuck around with such sustained ineptitude.
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I polled everyone. Had my people make calls, did some statistical analysis and it came out to 94.7, so I rounded up. There was a thread about renewing and most everyone who said they weren't going to renew, said they did. I'm going to guess we lost around 200-300 season ticket holders this year based on the low attendance number for last year and this year. How many of that was to make a statement to the administration is unknown, but there are a lot of reasons not to renew not just that.
I would bet it is more than that, but there's no way of telling, particularly since the third party marketing company claimed that sales were up. Agree with your last sentence, I love and support Seton Hall, so in my case, I was voting with my wallet.
I think there was some pretty good intel that the season ticket holders had nearly been cut in half over this 10-year period despite our general average game attendance being pretty volatile within individual year-to-year reviews depending on if we were in contention in any given season.
For instance, in one year we were in NCAA contention until late (2011-12), and then the next year 3-15 in the BE.
For instance, in one year we were in NCAA contention until late (2011-12), and then the next year 3-15 in the BE.
We should only use facts, and the fact is sales stayed the same/went up a tad.
Right from the horses mouth.
Looking forward to Willard cooking up the crow himself and bringing it to you! I also am not going to buy into the idea that Coach is totally reformed based on a short sample of the season, especially given his demonstrated past ability to lose control of a team during a LONG season. But while we can have a well-deserved sense of skepticism, that should not keep us from having an unrestrained sense of optimism at the same time! Something really does seem to have changed in the man and his ability to relate to his team. He is acting like their coach, they are treating him like one, and the results seem to speak volumes. Long may it last, and please start thinking of how you'd like that crow prepared in March. Go Pirates!!!
SH is playing well and let's enjoy that ride as long as it lasts. It's an 18 conference game season and we've played one, a very good road win against a team that was generally favored over us. The judgement on whether we've turned the corner or not will be based on how well we do in the next 17 conference games and what our final record is. Let's not go overboard when we win a game or lose a game this early in the season.
I am not sure anything really changed. Willard has always had one problem - an inability to control the locker room. Talking about the weave, or his postgame comments or unimaginative inbounds plays helped to pass the time but were not the real problem. The teams from prior years collapsed because as locker room issues festered Willard was unable to control the situation. As long as this team can police itself, I expect we will do very well. Last night was a thoroughly enjoyable game to watch and I look forward to a beat down of DePaul on Saturday. They have played a prominent role in collapses in two different seasons and I for one want some pay back. Go Pirates!
He's had some teams that have had talent and underachieved, too. If he was totally incompetent, there'd be nothing built to collapse from with these. The Pope/Theodore team, the Gibbs/Teague/Edwin team, and last year.
This is why I'm encouraged thus far. It's all about the locker room and while policing itself is one thing, leadership is another. From leadership you get generals in the locker room that can hold things together. Many can teach and coach, but not all can lead and keep players poised, motivated, and together. He's different this year. Looks like he has a grasp of these guys and is more intense. So far. Good for him. I'm sure he recognizes missteps from the past and maybe now it's all coming together.
Good signs in the WSU and Marquette games. From scrapping game plans to benching players, staying on them and getting good results as a team. They look more or organized with a singular focus. Very good signs.
I see the point, but we beat nova who played poorly. It was still a thrilling and incredible win. Sju win was also great.
Where I disagree is that those games were good efforts playing as we had been playing under willard. We had beat nova two times, we had good wins. But we were same old thing. The mq game was new. Like wsu was. It was gritty defense played by all five guys. I was on cloud nine when we beat nova. And I hoped we had turned the corner. But I am feeling now we have a roster and style of play than can succeed over the long haul. Even after those two wins last year, many of us were not happy with how willard was doling out the minutes.
I think remembering prior collapses is normal. It will never leave my mind. But I think the makeup of this team is different. I think this is far more talented, far more balanced, tougher, more athletic, more a team than a bunch of players than any prior willard team. I realize how I am setting myself up for a fall if we again collapse. But I am liking this team.
We start a 6'8 foreign born center, have a 3 who can lead us in scoring at any time, a pf who will board and defend all game and a pair of tough nyc guards. A comparison to prior great shu teams is vastly premature. But I have entered this new year with great optimism, even more than my normal glass half full pov.
The team has more balance now, but when it comes to those Villanova and St. John's games last year, I remember lockdown defense as much as big shots. Teams don't win games like that against stronger teams without bringing it on both ends of the court.
I'm also not comfortable lumping the skill sets of Ginbs and Sina together when we're working overtime to diminish them. Sina is better off elsewhere, as, I suspect, are we. But to ascribe his sub-Big East skills to Gibbs is inaccurate and unfair. He's been maligned enough as it is here without resorting to revisionist history to make him seem unworthy of this team.
I'm also not comfortable lumping the skill sets of Ginbs and Sina together when we're working overtime to diminish them. Sina is better off elsewhere, as, I suspect, are we. But to ascribe his sub-Big East skills to Gibbs is inaccurate and unfair. He's been maligned enough as it is here without resorting to revisionist history to make him seem unworthy of this team.
A nova player had a wide open jumper to win it at the buzzer. He missed. We played good d, but I didn't leave thinking the d was good enough to carry us. Now I do.
Gibbs is terrifically talented. I had hoped he would stay if the sophs would stay. Now I think it is clear we are better without him. I know I may be jumping the gun in my optimism.
And if the stories of meddling are true, good riddance.
Gibbs is gone, he quit on my team. I really don't care about him anymore. I hope he has a good life but I won't tune in Uconn to see him succeed or fail. Sina's minutes pushed back the development of three key players. Hope Kevin learned a lesson.
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I agree. I find it refreshing to see a post that talks about Willard's fire vs. Willard should be fired. lol
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