Topic: How hot is D'Antoni's Seat?

[GreenWhite]

We are now well into the D'Antoni era. How hot should his seat be right now? He's had his players for some time. He has five guys starting that are in at least their third season with him. Right now, only one of them is playing their heart out whenever he is on the court and that is Darius George. Obinna is also playing well off the bench but should be starting. I am going to wait and see how the season plays out, but, if we don't make it to at least the NIT, then I will not be satisfied with coach and what he has accomplished. Before anybody says anything, I was done with Doc after 2016.

[Toro Toro Taxi]

I wouldnt even say lukewarm .

[coalherd]

All depends.  If the new President and BOG decide to go outside the "Program" and the "Good Ole Boy Network" and hires someone completely outside of the MU sphere as the New Athletic Director in 2022, his position continuation could be very tenuous.  Especially if this AD selection is someone who is basketball savvy and insists that the Herd basketball team competes yearly for Conference Championships and meaningful post season play!!  From a financial standpoint, that AD must realize that attendance has to grow in BOTH football and men's basketball for the sake of financial viability and stability of the WHOLE athletic department!  Half empty, low 4,000 or so crowds in the CAM are just not going to cut it, in a Coach's 8th year of his tenure!!

[RollingThunder80]

Definitely not hot.  Wins enough to leave on his own terms whenever that is.  With that being said I?m frustrated as heck the last couple years and so far this year.  Same crap different season

[banker]

For some reason he is immune from legitimate analysis.  Every year we look better than we ever have, everybody is bigger, faster, stronger and quicker.   Every year bad regular season losses are excused. Every year we are going to peak going into conference. Every year we are then going to peak in the cusa tourney. It?s happened once.

I was just as pumped as anyone to win a tournament game in the NCAA, but that shouldn?t be the basis for a life time commitment to complacency. What if John Elmore had never come to Marshall, on his own with no involvement by the coaching staff?

I will say he?s cheap so if we want to stay mediocre then just stay the course and spend the money in another area.  We aren?t embarrassing in basketball. Go 20-12 every year, lose in the 2nd round of the conference tournament.  Just don?t operate under the false hope that we have anything more than what we have or that he will magically make us consistently a NCAA team.

[whf]

I'd say his seat isn't hot, but it isn't ice cold either. 

What bothers me is that I don't really think has learned much about the college game, nor how to handle having a bunch of competitive players at once. Maybe he is just so patient for realizing that it doesn't matter if he wins 28 games, or 11 and the tourney crown, to make the NCAA. 

The best coaches who don't have the top 10 talent out coach opponents just like their players out play them.  DD doesn't really adjust to anything at the game's outset, he just goes his way.  Just like tonight, he should actually have taken a time out when they were up seven. 

So while not hot, I am not convinced that the decision makers aren't watching....  and I hope they are. I don't want him gone, but I do want him winning.  Look at tonight's lack of attendance, horrific for a mid-week game in the middle of November when there is nothing else really going on.

[MicDrass1]

He has the same problem with his roster each year.  He doesn?t not recruit ultra quick penetrating guards.  His team is never quick.  His guards can?t breakdown the defense and get inside.  Campbell has 3 or 4 guards quicker than our quickest guard. 

I saw my first 5 minutes of Herd b-ball tonight and the lack of quickness in the Herd guard play was glaring.  Camels vs snails

[Ovaltine Jenkins]

For some reason he is immune from legitimate analysis.  Every year we look better than we ever have, everybody is bigger, faster, stronger and quicker.   Every year bad regular season losses are excused. Every year we are going to peak going into conference. Every year we are then going to peak in the cusa tourney. It?s happened once.

I was just as pumped as anyone to win a tournament game in the NCAA, but that shouldn?t be the basis for a life time commitment to complacency. What if John Elmore had never come to Marshall, on his own with no involvement by the coaching staff?

I will say he?s cheap so if we want to stay mediocre then just stay the course and spend the money in another area.  We aren?t embarrassing in basketball. Go 20-12 every year, lose in the 2nd round of the conference tournament.  Just don?t operate under the false hope that we have anything more than what we have or that he will magically make us consistently a NCAA team.

This.  It's time.  It's not going to get any better folks.

[MarshallSteve]

Not sure how this could even be brought up as a topic. Danny is the best thing to happen to Marshall basketball in a long time. Danny loves Marshall and most everyone loves him. As far as I'm concerned, Danny can stay here as long as he wants. Love his style of play and passion for The Herd.

That Campbell team is decent. We should have won but got off to a cold start and they were good enough to beat us.

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

[coalherd]

Not sure how this could even be brought up as a topic. Danny is the best thing to happen to Marshall basketball in a long time. Danny loves Marshall and most everyone loves him. As far as I'm concerned, Danny can stay here as long as he wants. Love his style of play and passion for The Herd.

That Campbell team is decent. We should have won but got off to a cold start and they were good enough to beat us.

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

Depends on what your goals for the team are, MarshallSteve.  If Coach's "likeability" is the TOP priority well, then, heck yes, give Danny a "Contract for Life".  If it is to be competitive for Championships year in and year out, to be more recognized and respected on the National stage, be a Contender for a NCAA and/or NIT slot on at least a semi regular basis, instead of perhaps once ever decade or two, then perhaps the answer is different.  Danny claims he wants to build a "program" at Marshall and not just a team!  Jury is still out, IMO, just how closely he has come to his stated "goal" at this point in Season Number Eight!

[Herdiowa]

He has the same problem with his roster each year.  He doesn?t not recruit ultra quick penetrating guards.  His team is never quick.  His guards can?t breakdown the defense and get inside.  Campbell has 3 or 4 guards quicker than our quickest guard. 

I saw my first 5 minutes of Herd b-ball tonight and the lack of quickness in the Herd guard play was glaring.  Camels vs snails

Bingo.  His offense relies on guards to break down a defense to cause a scramble situation defensively.  You don?t need 5 guys that can shoot the 3 on the floor at the same time.  You need a penetrator, 3 shooters and a rebound hawk.

[herdfan129]

His seat shouldn't be hot and we shouldn't be demanding more until we start properly funding basketball.

Build a practice facility, play neutral site games against P5s, charter more than one flight per year....we start doing those things THEN, and only then, can we demand more out of our coach.

[muherdfan]

Sorry to say. Love Dantoni social wise but on floor, its called bad recruiting in what you do and want.  Or coach what you have....or haven't recruited. Either adapt to what to what you have. Or just simply recruit better. Tonight was prime example.  First half supposedly in Kinsey had 2 points in half. 10 in game on 5 of 14 shooting.  Go to guy has 20 plus points every night .  All on Dantoni.  Its time for a change because he cant recruit what he believes in,  2 of best players transferred out. Not because of Marshall but because of system. We have good players. But system he so calls it is a failure. May never see a Henderson, Taft, Elmore again as long as he is here.

[banker]

His seat shouldn't be hot and we shouldn't be demanding more until we start properly funding basketball.

Build a practice facility, play neutral site games against P5s, charter more than one flight per year....we start doing those things THEN, and only then, can we demand more out of our coach.

Who schedules games?  If we are t playing P5 in some of these neutral site tourneys there is only one person to blame. How does not chartering effect a team that has played at home to this point?  The practice facility is nothing but an excuse. You really think if we get one DD will magically get better?  If he doesn?t we spent $10MM or more to find out that he is what he is.

In the business world it is said you have to earn the right to grow. In other words, go show me that you are worth spending money on.

BTW, how is Campbell?s practice facility and how was their chartered flight into Huntington?

[coalherd]

His seat shouldn't be hot and we shouldn't be demanding more until we start properly funding basketball.

Build a practice facility, play neutral site games against P5s, charter more than one flight per year....we start doing those things THEN, and only then, can we demand more out of our coach.

Agree partially, 129.  Particularly about the practice facility/Gullickson "remake" or whatever they call it.  But with attendance falling off sharply from the 6,000 to 7,000 a game just about 3 seasons ago during the Burks-Elmore heydays, to just above 4,000 currently, where is the $$$$ coming from to fund some of those Bells, whistles, or, perhaps, "essentials"?  Loss like tonight at home to a Atlantic Sun team this early in the season with 4100 or so in the stands isn't going to start a run on the CAM ticket office anytime soon!  Think we'll have 4,000 for Jackson State on Sunday afternoon, competing against the NFL?  And we still have another NAIA school, Bluefield, coming to town later!   If there are so many fans out there who still believe Danny is doing such a super dooper job, then they should step up with their $$$$$$ which can fund more charter flights, if that's such a great problem!

[pdunn]

If he'd be any other coach since Dana Altman he would already be gone.  Because he is a legacy, he stays here with his no different results from the other five or so head coaches before him and his lazy assed "304" recruiting. 

It ain't workin, just like any other coach since Huckabay.

[Stripeshrt]

He'll b here till he doesnt want to b here IMO. This is what 80% of the time you get when you bring back former stars and ones who have ties to alums that have extremely deep pockets(MD). No gracious way to tell them Adios without endangering the pipelines.

[goherd24]

People need to realize some things about basketball.

1. We have the worst facilities in the conference.

2. We have the worst travel in the conference for our kids

3. We probably have the lowest support as a basketball program in the conference, see 1 & 2.

4. We play in a much more competitive league in basketball than football which is the lynch pin comparison. Cusa basketball doesn't get credit for it, but there are 4-5 top 100 teams in cusa we are competing with, this would be like having 4-5 top 40 football teams in cusa to beat for the title every year.

With our facilities and weaknesses, you can't except 30 win seasona here. It's never been done. We have been to the tournament once in the last 40 years basically. We have won one tournament game in ncaa history and won 1 post season tournament in the last 70 years, and won a conference title once in the last 40 years.

Why does Dan get some rope? Because he accomplished all of thise 1 in the last "x" years I mentioned and our only tournament win. He does this in spite of having advantages other schools have over us. 20 wins in basketball is like 8 wins in football. But if you take into account the competition difference, the funding and facility differences, its the equivalent of 10 win football seasons.

Danny is the best coach Marshall has had in my lifetime. We'll compete for another cusa title this season, as well, and thats a hell of an accomplishment in cusa for our basketball program.

Give us an updated/new arena to sell, a practice facility, bring our travel up for away games to match our peers, then we can talk about winning the title every year as our measuring stick.

[forphase1]

Not as hot as it should be IMO. 

[herd2win]

Not hot at all.  That is why we get the results we do.  He is retired he just hasn?t told you.  His sister is on our BOG.  He has no pressure to win.  Do any of you think he stresses about a loss?   We will be an 18-22 win team with no meaningful victories each year and may catch lightening band have a conference tournament run.

Groundhog Day each season.  It is what it is. 

[MUsince96]

Who schedules games?  If we are t playing P5 in some of these neutral site tourneys there is only one person to blame. How does not chartering effect a team that has played at home to this point?  The practice facility is nothing but an excuse. You really think if we get one DD will magically get better?  If he doesn?t we spent $10MM or more to find out that he is what he is.

In the business world it is said you have to earn the right to grow. In other words, go show me that you are worth spending money on.

BTW, how is Campbell?s practice facility and how was their chartered flight into Huntington?

Herdmeister or someone can confirm but I thought I remembered reading Hamrick wouldn?t sign off on the neutral site tournaments.

[herdtown]

omg......losing at home to the vaunted Camels is unacceptable.

[lexkyherdfan]

Seems like there are a lot of excuses being made for us losing to an A-Sun team that isn?t flying around the country in charters.  We haven?t left our building so not flying charter flights should matter in a game against Campbell.  What will be the excuses if we go to another ASUN team in a few weeks a couple hours away and get run out of the gym?   That could happen at EKU with how they play.  I will be there cheering on The Herd but their style of play could cause us problems. 

I would agree that we need practice facility but not having one shouldn?t be an excuse to lose at home to Campbell.  In year of 8 we shouldn?t be losing these types of home games. There are plenty of other teams at our level that don?t charter and have facilities yet find ways to win.  Other Morehead and EKU have been to the NCAA tournament more than us in the last 30 years.

I do think we need a practice facility and charter more flights but if we aren?t winning then fans won?t go therefore revenue drops.  Also football is raising over $1M to pay for things they need like new coaching positions. Basketball fans that are diehards should do the same thing for some things they need like charters.  It was fine before but money was taken from them under prior leadership.  We have to find a way to do things and win.  And it can be done?we have to stop with excuses and work towards solutions.  We got rid of the AD and have a new president coming in?what are the basketball fans and donors going to speak up and do to get more for the program?   

I do want to point out that I don?t want to see DD leave or get fired?I just want him to get things fixed.  It is no different that making excuses for dumb losses to MTSU or Charlotte in prior years.  Those things shouldn?t happen.

[lexkyherdfan]

Herdmeister or someone can confirm but I thought I remembered reading Hamrick wouldn?t sign off on the neutral site tournaments.

Kinda odd that the men couldn?t play any neutral events but the some. Are playing in one in Las Vegas this year. The women are playing Oakland and Akron in December out in Vegas.  Good for them in figuring out how to do that.

[Herdmeister]

Who schedules games?  If we are t playing P5 in some of these neutral site tourneys there is only one person to blame.

Agreed. The AD. Both the old AD and the present one have forbidden us playing in a neutral site tournament. They insist we play in an exempt event each year like this one. We get 3 home games vs Campbell, Jackson State and Louisiana and then a money game at Indiana. They want the MONEY, not the chance to grow the program with a quality win. Danny is already lobbying for a spot in the Myrtle Beach tournament next year.