Greendylan

You're absolutely right, but then again did we often accuse our "lottery pick" of needing to give more last year when he had a different coach motivating him? What about when he was on Team USA? What about the NBA camps he attended? He is responsible for his effort, but it doesn't seem like this was necessarily a common theme until this coach and this season.

Question: If Benford lands another position as an assistant, would that salary be deducted from the buyout? I know that this would be the case if he were to be hired as a head coach, but does the same apply to all college coaching jobs? Also, is there a clause in his contract pertaining to extreme incompetence and lack of collegiality toward fellow conference coaches? Just kidding!

I actually do expect an announcement soon. RV has made some mistakes over the years, as have we all, but he is not a stupid man.

I also do not typically have the stomach for calling out specific parties and declaring that so and so should be fired. Furthermore, I tend to remain optimistic about Mean Green athletics even when times are lean. For example, in 2009 I truly believed our 2-6 football team, which had just scored 68 in a win against Western Kentucky and lost a number of close games, had a shot to win four in a row and go to a bowl game. In reality, we were blown out at home by Louisiana-Monroe in the very next game (the other three were also losses). Reflecting back, I feel silly because it’s obvious that we were a horrible team in the midst of a historically bad stretch of seasons. At the time, however, I found false optimism by believing that it mattered that three of our early season losses were by a combined 9 points. “See, we’re a lot better than we were in 2008, and 2007, and 2006, and 2005!” No, we weren’t. And, as we all know, we’re still trying desperately to dig out of that hole. I don’t want the same 8-(or more) year-long curse to engulf our basketball program. We have a team loaded with the type of talent that many coaches NEVER enjoy in their entire careers. The result: we have failed to a degree that defies description. I honestly can’t think of any examples of a team in any sport falling this far below expectations. Sure, we may not really have been a prospective top 25 team, but shouldn’t we perhaps be top 50-100? The reality of the situation is that we are one of the worst teams in the nation. Again, I don’t feel good about calling out individuals, but this head coach has proven himself, for whatever reason, to be completely incapable of leading this team. I genuinely feel that for each additional day he has with our players, our program is being set back further. For that reason, I think an immediate action is required. While it may seem absurdly reactionary to not even afford him the opportunity to finish his first year, his has been an unprecedented failure. At this point, I don’t even think it’s fair to Benford to make him ride this out to its dismal conclusion. I’m about to cancel my Mean Green Premium subscription because it just isn’t fun watching us be humiliated on a regular basis. Even with an NBA-destined phenom, the joy of watching Mean Green basketball has been beaten out of me. Win or lose, I’ll always support my Mean Green teams, and I’ll probably still listen to the games on the radio (at least until we start getting blown out), but I no longer see any purpose in watching this hopeful season go down pathetically in flames. I don’t blame anyone in the Athletic Department for this hire; Benford looked OK on paper. He wasn’t my first choice, but I thought he was a solid candidate, and I can see why the decision was made. I will, however, begin to question the direction of our athletic program as a whole if we either will not or cannot make an immediate change. If, as some have suggested, we are simply too poor to afford a buyout even if we know that our inaction will produce historically bad seasons for years to come (with numerous and perhaps irreparable long-term consequences), then we should probably cease to exist as an NCAA Division I member institution. I tend to think that the revenue can be found, if we want to find it badly enough.

Sadly, I think it's too late at this point. Even if we get back to full strength, we will have too low of a seed to have even a remote chance in Hot Springs.

How much more evidence do we really need that this offensive system cannot work . . . even against teams from the bottom half of the conference? The Mean Green humiliation tour continues.

Not in my wildest dreams could I imagine us scoring 86 points against them.

If we do not take immediate action and salvage something out of this season, here's what we should expect: 1. We will win about 9 games this season. 2. 2-3 of our top returning players will transfer at season's end. 3. Our recruiting will tank for years to come. 4. It will take between 3-8 years to have another winning season. 5. We will finish this season at or near the bottom of the Sun Belt and about 250 RPI spots worse than expected. 6. We will lose money over the course of the next several years vs. the cost of a buyout. All of this is assuming that we wait until the end of the season and then make a coaching change. If we DON'T even do it then . . . we will have a vastly less talented team next year than our current roughly 9 win team (give or take a game), and we can expect to win 4-6 games next season and effectively be one of the worst teams in the nation. I'm normally quite averse to fan "knee jerk" reactions that clamor for immediate firings after a few bad games, but this thing is beyond broken. I'm running out of comparisons in my mind. Todd Dodge (not to rag on the poor guy) accomplished far more with the level of talent he had at his disposal than our current basketball coach. Unprecedented failure necessitates an unprecedented response.

If they're still available, I'm interested!

Personally, I will continue to follow games (and attend a couple while I'm in town), but I know exactly how you feel. Furthermore, your attitude is probably right in tune with most of our fans/alumni/students. And . . . that is the very reason why we need to take immediate action to stop the bleeding. A $1.2 million buyout is cheap compared to the price we will pay over the next decade if our program has to undergo a lengthy rebuilding process.

Coaches, especially at the assistant level, switch programs for a cornucopia of reasons, so we shouldn't be quick to assume that the decision has anything to do with either stupidity or prestige/payroll. I have great respect for ASU's accomplishments over the last few years (in fact I drove out to Lafayette to cheer for them in the 2005 New Orleans Bowl), However, in the great scheme of things, I don't think either UNT or ASU fans need to be thumping chests when compared to one another. In terms of athletic expenditures and bowl victories, we're both equally dismal.

I hope people aren't confusing a loss of faith in the head coach with a lack of support for the team/players.

The players showed a lot of heart to come back on the road at a place where we've never been very successful. That being said, we are almost assuredly going to finish 2012 with a 5-9, 0-3 record (we will not beat MTSU). Considering the talent and potential of this year's team, is it time to recognize that our new coach has achieved an unprecedented failure?

I've been thinking the exact same thing. For the past couple weeks, I keep bracing myself to read that players (X,Y,Z) have left the team. If that doesn't happen during the season, then it seems quite probable at the end of the academic year. The looks on their faces during games are just exhibiting such a level of frustration that I haven't seen around here since the Dodge era. Of course...a signature non-conference win in front of your home crowd would be a great way to erase such concerns!

In my humble opinion, 3-0 does indeed "restore the faith." Heck, even 2-1 would seem like a massive turnaround, but I think it has to begin tonight in order to bolster player morale before the tough conference road games (a split would be perfectly respectable). However, given how this season has played out so far, 0-3 is WAY more likely than the reverse. Oh well, I guess we'll find out today if the staff is beginning to finally implement some kind of legitimate game plan.

81-52 Lehigh . . . before the season, just several weeks ago, I had this penciled in as a close win. Now I consider a win unfathomable.

If economic realities are really all that's preventing an immediate decision (or perhaps what will delay a change for the next few years), then maybe we need to consider the long term financial consequences of a failed season (or two or three or four). If average attendance drops precipitously for a season or maybe even for several seasons in a row and we miss out on NCAA tournament money, then can we afford NOT to make an immediate change? Don't get me wrong, I can't wait to see a few games when I'm in town this winter, but I think interest is already waning among many other alumni.

It's really sad to me because with each game I feel more and more like I'm witnessing the dismantling of something special that was built over the past six (in some ways longer) years. Unfortunately, we don't have the type of brand that can help us bounce back after a disappointing year. For us, we have to perpetually keep the momentum going because once it's gone, it's probably gone for many years to come (see football as an example). We were supposed to be a 25-50 RPI team, and right now we're over 200 spots lower than we should be. We may not have a perfect roster. We may not be injury free. We may not possess completely harmonious, symbiotic team chemistry. But we still have arguably the most celebrated roster in our history, and it's unlikely that we'll ever again be able to assemble this level of talent. So, unless something changes...the way we're playing right now is as good as it gets. I fear that we'll lose the next three games, which would put us at 5-9, 0-3 to end December. Right now I'm trying to figure out which team shows up against Lehigh: the one from the second half of the Jackson State game or today's Mean Green. If it's the former, we'll lose by 20; if it's the latter we might lose by as much as 40. If I'm wrong about the direction this team is headed, then I think this game will show it. However, if it goes as badly as I fear, then I think we really need to consider making an abrupt and difficult decision. There is still time to salvage this season and accomplish many of those dreams we all had a couple months ago, but that will clearly require a change in leadership. The other option is to throw our arms up in the air, accept a losing record this season, recognize that the next few years are similarly destined to end in sub-.500 records, and then finally admit that a poor hiring decision was made. At that point, with recruiting pipelines that have dried up, a dearth of prestige or regional respect, and utter irrelevance in the world of college basketball, we get the pleasure of rebuilding and enjoying several more losing seasons. I would prefer that we choose to start winning now...while we still can.

If you occasionally sign an immensely talented Zach Thomas-type player who is slightly shorter than the ideal prototype for his position, then you will be just fine. However, if undersized athletes become the rule rather than the exception in your recruiting philosophy, then your team will not stand a chance against those with true Division I athletes.

This is going to make our fourth loss in a row, and at this point I'm worried more about player morale than that of the fans. I would love to be wrong, but I can't envision this game to be anything but a disaster--possibly our worst of the season. A score of around 76-48 wouldn't surprise me at all.

Let me know if you end up in the Brooklyn area. I'm in Williamsburg!

True, SMU's run in the CIT last year did not translate into immediate success this season. However, there are other examples that we could consider. For instance, Ohio University appeared in the CIT last year, winning one game. This year they made the NCAAs by winning the MAC tournament. On the other hand, we could look at St. Peter's, which made the NCAA tournament last year as a 14 seed. If one is to judge the effects of their berth by their performance this year, then the big dance did nothing for them. They went 5-26 this season. I don't think this means that we should turn up our noses at the NCAA tournament the next time we have an opportunity to play there.

I would agree with this statement, and I do believe summer international play should be given consideration as well.

Exactly. It's hard for me to imagine that what's good (and affordable) for ULL and Rice isn't good for North Texas.

It seems to me that we should take any opportunity possible to grow our brand and show off our quality teams. We've had a streak of winning seasons over the last several years, but that could abruptly end at any point.