Does JJ need to go to March Madness next season?

[greenminer]

I think so.

Even if Tony does not return, the expectations will still be there, correct?

My point is: regardless of the expectations, I think a lot of the momentum and excitement built the past two seasons could be undone/disappear if we fall short again.

...and maybe - unjustly or not - JJ gets labeled as the coach who can't get "over the hump".

Edited March 10, 2012 by greenminer

[CMJ]

Like...to save his job? No.

I think we should be the favorite in the West, but I am not even sure we're the overall favorite. WKU is just as young as we are, and they just beat us when it counted the most. We're probably co-favorites with them.

[greenminer]

His job is safe. Didn't mean to imply otherwise.

[Green P1]

I thought the Sunbelt Tournament was madness.

[untwillrise]

I feel JJ needs to win the sun belt regular season conference.

[CMJ]

His job is safe. Didn't mean to imply otherwise.

I guess I just come from the school that if a coach needs to do something, he's on the hot seat.

[Maduro]

We're probably co-favorites with them.

Co-favorites if ray natilli is officiating...

Favorites and defending our title if he is not.

Sorry to have to bring him up but i just finished watching him blow a call at the end of the NC vs NC State game. Im shocked that the acc has as much faith in him as the sun belt.

[Mean Green Scrappy]

I thought the Sunbelt Tournament was madness.

It is to me, I've almost died two years in a row now and ESPN has the video to prove it.

[Mean Green Scrappy]

Co-favorites if ray natilli is officiating...

Favorites and defending our title if he is not.

Sorry to have to bring him up but i just finished watching him blow a call at the end of the NC vs NC State game. Im shocked that the acc has as much faith in him as the sun belt.

That guy is on a list of mine... I just won't say what list it is...

[golfingomez]

I thought the Sunbelt Tournament was madness.

Naw man... You're thinking of Sparta

[Roadruner]

I guess I just come from the school that if a coach needs to do something, he's on the hot seat.

11 Years–2 appearances in the Big Dance-lost both by 20 points–Time for JJ to Make Changes

Hilltopper Head Coach Ray Harper has been on national championship teams at several levels in the NCAA

- took over the WKU program at mid season – team at 3-11 and ended by beating every major conference contender the Sunbelt

had in the tournament and is now going to the NCAA Big Dance.

To go to the next level we need to adopt the WKU Offensive Scheme and Defensive Scheme and Beat them next year with their own stuff

– what we are doing now does not seem to be working – lets try something that has beaten the best in our conference.

This is what WKU BASKETBALL has done– feel like it is worth copying!

3 NCAA Tournament wins since 2008 - 2008 and 2009 Sun Belt Conference Champions

Two NBA Draft picks in last four years (Courtney Lee, 1st round, 2008; Jeremy Evans, 2nd round, 2010)

42 conference championships, third most in NCAA history

40 seasons with 20+ wins, sixth-most in NCAA history

38 All-Americans

34 national post-season appearances

21 NCAA Tournament berths

14th in NCAA history in all-time wins (1,643)

8th in NCAA history in all-time winning percentage (.670)

7 "Sweet 16" appearances in NCAA tournament

NCAA Final Four in 1971

[wardly]

i think we need to get past "just happy to be in NCAA tourney"to "we need to get in higher than a 16 seed". someone else posted something to the effect that J.J.'s goal seems to be winning 20 games by loading up on non conference teams with low RPI's for 10 or more wins, go 9&7 in regulat season, and make a run in the Belt tourney.[correct me if i am wrong, but i think we have only won 1 Western Division Belt title during his tenure.]the problem with this is that even if we win the Belt tourney, our RPI is so low that we are a "play in" team fighting to be a 16 seed, or a 16 seed outright. the only way that i can see to improve our RPI is to make winning 20 games secondary by scheduling up, something J.J. seems reluctant to do.

[CMJ]

11 Years2 appearances in the Big Dance-lost both by 20 pointsTime for JJ to Make Changes

Just to clarify, the first time was by fifteen (73-58).

Hilltopper Head Coach Ray Harper has been on national championship teams at several levels in the NCAA

- took over the WKU program at mid season team at 3-11 and ended by beating every major conference contender the Sunbelt

had in the tournament and is now going to the NCAA Big Dance.

To go to the next level we need to adopt the WKU Offensive Scheme and Defensive Scheme and Beat them next year with their own stuff

what we are doing now does not seem to be working lets try something that has beaten the best in our conference.

This is what WKU BASKETBALL has done feel like it is worth copying!

3 NCAA Tournament wins since 2008 - 2008 and 2009 Sun Belt Conference Champions

Two NBA Draft picks in last four years (Courtney Lee, 1st round, 2008; Jeremy Evans, 2nd round, 2010)

42 conference championships, third most in NCAA history

40 seasons with 20+ wins, sixth-most in NCAA history

38 All-Americans

34 national post-season appearances

21 NCAA Tournament berths

14th in NCAA history in all-time wins (1,643)

8th in NCAA history in all-time winning percentage (.670)

7 "Sweet 16" appearances in NCAA tournament

NCAA Final Four in 1971

I don't think you'd ever find someone who respected WKU more than me. They are probably the school outside the Power leagues with the most tradition period.

Edited March 11, 2012 by CMJ

[MeanMag]

Somehow wku gets by us after we have a 13 point lead on them and everyone wants to model them? They went to the sweet 16 with some terrific 3 pt shooting, but that was 4 years ago. The past for them doesn't mean anything to me. They are still in the belt and still had to get by us. I don't want to model them, I want to beat them.

Our worst enemy when trying to "schedule up" is our own damn conference. To find winnable games in ooc we try to get tech (our worst loss this season for rpi) and lsu at home. We can't control how much better lsu got or how bad tech got. All we can do is beat them, and we didn't. If we had, then I could see complaining about the out of conference scheduling. We got into a tourney with loyola and Columbia. Played Texas, miss st, uta. All stout but we should be competitive and beat one of them if we are serious about improving SOS to include more teams like them. Nothing kills momentum and programs like losing. Against anyone. Sam Houston is normally better than they were this year and we struggled to beat them.

Look at western. They lost to iupui. You think their fans were upset about having iupui on the schedule, or that they couldn't beat iupui? They are dancing with a bunch of freshmen, and it should have been us, almost was. With a bunch of freshmen and new comers.

Having to play Jackson state, gambling, and st Gregory's didn't help, but what ultimately kept us from advancing where we are this year from where we were last year was losing to wku with an entirely different team than last year. It's not bad but it was a disappointment. And I don't want any 2 for 1s just to get big names in the pit. Because then you end up with a schedule like football has this year, when absolutely every commitment you have comes due in the same year.

The best way to get good teams to have to come to the pit on a regular basis is to change conferences. God bless, I hope that happens, I can't take anymore of ulm. Probably close to 10% of our rpi is just because we had to play them twice.

[greenminer]

11 Years–2 appearances in the Big Dance-lost both by 20 points–Time for JJ to Make Changes

Hilltopper Head Coach Ray Harper has been on national championship teams at several levels in the NCAA

- took over the WKU program at mid season – team at 3-11 and ended by beating every major conference contender the Sunbelt

had in the tournament and is now going to the NCAA Big Dance.

To go to the next level we need to adopt the WKU Offensive Scheme and Defensive Scheme and Beat them next year with their own stuff

– what we are doing now does not seem to be working – lets try something that has beaten the best in our conference.

This is what WKU BASKETBALL has done– feel like it is worth copying!

3 NCAA Tournament wins since 2008 - 2008 and 2009 Sun Belt Conference Champions

Two NBA Draft picks in last four years (Courtney Lee, 1st round, 2008; Jeremy Evans, 2nd round, 2010)

42 conference championships, third most in NCAA history

40 seasons with 20+ wins, sixth-most in NCAA history

38 All-Americans

34 national post-season appearances

21 NCAA Tournament berths

14th in NCAA history in all-time wins (1,643)

8th in NCAA history in all-time winning percentage (.670)

7 "Sweet 16" appearances in NCAA tournament

NCAA Final Four in 1971

I think every school outside the Big 6 would love that resume. Time for everyone to pony up and copy them.

[foutsrouts]

I think every school outside the Big 6 would love that resume. Time for everyone to pony up and copy them.

And a pretty hefty percentage inside the Big 6 as well.

[GrandGreen]

NT has an opportunity if everyone returns to be real special next year. Beating cream-puffs in the oc, going 10-6 in the Belt and winning the Belt tournament and losing in the first round in the NCAA based on NT history is a great season. But it is past time to take that next step, and actually be at least a top 50 team. Talents like Mitchell may never come to NT again unless the program rises to a point it is expected to get great recruits not a miracle. I can't see JJ ever having a better chance at NT to elevate the program.

Next year's team can be a cornerstone to build on. WKU and others will be much better than this year, frankly if JJ can't beat them with the squad he may have next year, than I see a bad trend developing. Look at WKU who won primarily because their freshmen came on at the end of the year, J. Williams and Jones IMO are as good as any of their freshmen and there is no one in the league as good as Mitchell. I find posts relative to NT being competitive with WKU, ULL next year as maybe realistic based on NT's performance the last two years, but I hope and think this team should aim a lot higher.

JJ has build the team up from the Trilli ashes, and got the program to a level it has not ever consistently been. He has been successful taking mostly under recruited players and getting them to play team ball and he has elevated the program to be one of the better Belt programs. He has taken the next step in recruiting last year, can he move the team up to match the talent he has assembled?

This post has been promoted to an article

[GreenEggs&Ham™]

I think every school outside the Big 6 would love that resume. Time for everyone to pony up and copy them.

Amen. Losing at BB in KY is unacceptable and not tolerated. Look at the The NCAA tourny this year. KY has 4 schools in it and one of them is a number 1 seed. UNT should just come to KY and copy the attitude more than anything else. UNT has the talent but we just never play with the same intenisty that I see up here. Kids play BB here like their damn lives depend on winning. A good comparison would be the way you guys view football in Texas.

[Mo Green]

Heck NO- If I see rv tear up again over jj I'll lose control of my bodily functions!

[GreenBat]

Heck NO- If I see rv tear up again over jj I'll lose control of my bodily functions!

Then I, and many others on this board, hope that you lose control of your bladder and bowels on a regular basis.

[The Fake Lonnie Finch]

I know so little about basketball that I'm happy with Johnny Jones. He wins season after season at a school where football coaches have complained that we have limited resources.

These were our basketball records for the years I was on campus:

1990-91: 17-13

1991-92: 15-14

1992-93: 5-21

That was when we were in the Pee Pants Conference (Southland). As long as Johnny is doing better than 12.33333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333 wins per season, he's doing better than when I was a student living in Denton.

And, that's good enough for me. He's got 180 wins in 11 years here, and has led us to two of the three NCAA Tournaments we've ever appeared in so...what are we bitching about again?

I'm still hip to JJ.

[Green Mean]

When you start winning the expectations start to increase. I love JJ dearly and hope he is a NT lifer but I think he's got to continue the progression of the program and that means he's got to virtually put this program as a shoe in for the big dance and be able to win some tournament games as far as the next level is concerned. We know he can recruit quality players now but it is time for the next level. At some point as great as 20 wins is...it's still in a conference that isn't perceived all that great and unless we win our conference we'll have no shot of getting into the big dance. It's time to elevate this program and get ranked as well get getting to the tournament and getting some wins and shocking the world.

[cwb]

Then I, and many others on this board, hope that you lose control of your bladder and bowels on a regular basis.

Thought the question was " Does JJ need to go?"

[The Fake Lonnie Finch]

When you start winning the expectations start to increase. I love JJ dearly and hope he is a NT lifer but I think he's got to continue the progression of the program and that means he's got to virtually put this program as a shoe in for the big dance and be able to win some tournament games as far as the next level is concerned. We know he can recruit quality players now but it is time for the next level. At some point as great as 20 wins is...it's still in a conference that isn't perceived all that great and unless we win our conference we'll have no shot of getting into the big dance. It's time to elevate this program and get ranked as well get getting to the tournament and getting some wins and shocking the world.

Again, not being a basketball aficionado, we fire him for winning or finishing runner-up in the Sun Belt four or five times in the last six seasons, then what?

-Do other college basketball coaches covet this job?

-What are the odds we get a proven head coach instead of just a "hot" assistant (SEE Wojcik fired from Tulsa today)?

-What does our money say we could do?

Being as ignorant as I am about our basketball program in total depth, I have to look at it just as a casual fan from my alma mater. From that perspective, it looks...what's the word...crazy to give up a bird in the hand to chase two in the bush. Although...I do know some people like to put their hands in the bush.

[UNT90]

Obviously, JJ doesn't need to be fired. He also won't get hired at a Big 6 conference without proving he can win in the NCAA tournament. Hopefully that happens next year.

I really wish this offense would be junked and we would run something with more motion next year. I think Tony is limited in this offense and his atheticism could be used to a much greater advantage with more movement on offense. Same for the taller of the 2 mid season academic casualties, to a lesser extent.

Yes, WKU won with a talented freshmen class that matured and gained valuable experience the last several months of conference play. Unfortunately, a major portion of our recruiting class did not take care of their business, so we are behind WKU in the maturation process (assuming we ever see those players on the court again, which is by no means a given) by a good year.

Throw in potential injuries, new academic casualties, and unknown potential for next year's freshmen, all for both schools, and there is no way to tell who goes dancing next year.