Coaching Carousel 2023

[gmubrian]

I have refrained from posting much the last couple days because I may have been one of the people most angry at the way this situation was handled that lead to CKE leaving for PC. If you have any doubt about that, you can ask gmutom, mkaufman, masonfanatic, gmujim92 and others that I talked to privately, I was pretty salty. Why? I and my family dedicated a large portion of our time, effort and money to support the CKE era at Mason 100% for the last two years and we felt like our hearts had been ripped out. But, I wanted to get both sides of the story before finalizing my opinion and saying much in a public forum. I don't want to go into any details and start another blame session, though. I also wanted to decide where I go from here as it relates to my fandom based on what I found. This isn't inteneded to about me, but I wanted to give a little background for the next paragraph and to show that if I can come back from being so down on Mason as a program, hopefully those of you feeling similarly might as well.

I am over the anger now and ready to move forward supporting Mason fully. Why? Maybe I am naive, but I have been convinced that Mason has learned from this whole really bad situation, they are dedicated to resolving it in a positive manner with appropriate urgency, AND possibly most important, dedicated to resolving the systemic issues that contributed to it. I hope you will join me in moving forward, continuing to support Mason and giving them the opportunity to prove to you their new found commitment to making the program the best it can be.

I put this all in the coaching thread as I am convinced we will be happy with with the coach they pick and it will be done in a timely manner.

 

[masonhoops1984]

I have refrained from posting much the last couple days because I may have been one of the people most angry at the way this situation was handled that lead to CKE leaving for PC. If you have any doubt about that, you can ask gmutom, mkaufman, masonfanatic, gmujim92 and others that I talked to privately, I was pretty salty. Why? I and my family dedicated a large portion of our time, effort and money to support the CKE era at Mason 100% for the last two years and we felt like our hearts had been ripped out. But, I wanted to get both sides of the story before finalizing my opinion and saying much in a public forum. I don't want to go into any details and start another blame session, though. I also wanted to decide where I go from here as it relates to my fandom based on what I found. This isn't inteneded to about me, but I wanted to give a little background for the next paragraph and to show that if I can come back from being so down on Mason as a program, hopefully those of you feeling similarly might as well.

I am over the anger now and ready to move forward supporting Mason fully. Why? Maybe I am naive, but I have been convinced that Mason has learned from this whole really bad situation, they are dedicated to resolving it in a positive manner with appropriate urgency, AND possibly most important, dedicated to resolving the systemic issues that contributed to it. I hope you will join me in moving forward, continuing to support Mason and giving them the opportunity to prove to you their new found commitment to making the program the best it can be.

I put this all in the coaching thread as I am convinced we will be happy with with the coach they pick and it will be done in a timely manner.

Hope there’s real change. The simplest stuff they can’t ever seem to fix. I also hope they are very patient because this is the worst situation the program has seen in 25 years. No matter who the coach is, this is a 3/4 years rebuild. I know you all think these high school recruits will honor their commitment but why? Even polite is bolting. He didn’t get recruited by English… I’m not sure there’s one single kid you can count on coming back or honoring their commitment.

I think a realistic goal for the next coach is 8-10 wins year 1. Year 2, 10-15. Year 3, 15-18 year. 4, 18-22. Year 5, post season play. I truly think any higher expectations than that are going to just be a major let down. There’s light at the end of the tunnel but it’s not going to be easy and it’s not going to be quick. There’s no magic coach walking through that door that makes mason a post season team in the next 3 years and as long as the school realizes that and it keeps trending up that’s how they they need to approach this.

Along the way they need to realize and set realistic goals for the coach and school. Growing the fan base, fixing facilities. Showing the staff and program support. Having actual administrative staff in place to handle things. Game day Experience, community outreach, program growth. None of that should be on the coach. The school needs to handle that because at the end of the day coaches come and go.

If they were truly blindsided then they also need to hire someone who knows what the hell is going on in college hoops. There’s no way this was a complete shock to everyone out there. Someone knew something….

 

[Jake_J]

I have refrained from posting much the last couple days because I may have been one of the people most angry at the way this situation was handled that lead to CKE leaving for PC. If you have any doubt about that, you can ask gmutom, mkaufman, masonfanatic, gmujim92 and others that I talked to privately, I was pretty salty. Why? I and my family dedicated a large portion of our time, effort and money to support the CKE era at Mason 100% for the last two years and we felt like our hearts had been ripped out. But, I wanted to get both sides of the story before finalizing my opinion and saying much in a public forum. I don't want to go into any details and start another blame session, though. I also wanted to decide where I go from here as it relates to my fandom based on what I found. This isn't inteneded to about me, but I wanted to give a little background for the next paragraph and to show that if I can come back from being so down on Mason as a program, hopefully those of you feeling similarly might as well.

I am over the anger now and ready to move forward supporting Mason fully. Why? Maybe I am naive, but I have been convinced that Mason has learned from this whole really bad situation, they are dedicated to resolving it in a positive manner with appropriate urgency, AND possibly most important, dedicated to resolving the systemic issues that contributed to it. I hope you will join me in moving forward, continuing to support Mason and giving them the opportunity to prove to you their new found commitment to making the program the best it can be.

I put this all in the coaching thread as I am convinced we will be happy with with the coach they pick and it will be done in a timely manner.

I do think Mason’s response to this is going to be different. Time will tell if they fix the things that actually matter. I sat on sharing my conversation with KE where he vented about the “status quo” of leadership until the PC announcement, but once it was official I thought it was important to start holding Wash and others accountable. Mason PR called me hoping I’d tone it down, which was interesting because all I did was quote KE. What was most telling to me is if you dive into who interacted with my tweet there are a few student athletes who commented, liked, or shared it. It just confirmed to me that I’m not just a sad little fan complaining. The response by the university does feel different.

 

[MasonMojo]

View attachment 1711

yes leave a Utah State team that is absolutely rolling and in a better conference to come here for a full and total rebuild.

These are the "experts" speaking

 

[Dawgs99]

This whole doom and gloom about this job now being a 4-5 year rebuild is nonsense. We live in different times with the portal and NIL....teams/programs turn things around much faster than ever before. If we land CTS and soon, we will be able to re-recruit our committed players and our current roster along with dipping in the portal. I know CTS will bring in some talented dudes, perhaps even better than CKE. Look no further than what Keith Urgo was able to do in year 1 at Fordham. Miss me with the woe is me BS, hire the right dude and lets roll.

 

[Walter]

I am 99.9% sure it will be Tony.

Fans are upset. Fans want Tony. Administration wants fans happy and this bad news to go away quickly, so expect a quick hire. I predict Monday.

 

[Falco]

Dusty May is very intriguing….. still team Skinn though.

I wish we could get him, but mason would be a step down. FL Atlantic is moving to the AAC next year. I’ve been saying this for years, the formation of the AAC is the death of the A10.

 

[Falco]

I have refrained from posting much the last couple days because I may have been one of the people most angry at the way this situation was handled that lead to CKE leaving for PC. If you have any doubt about that, you can ask gmutom, mkaufman, masonfanatic, gmujim92 and others that I talked to privately, I was pretty salty. Why? I and my family dedicated a large portion of our time, effort and money to support the CKE era at Mason 100% for the last two years and we felt like our hearts had been ripped out. But, I wanted to get both sides of the story before finalizing my opinion and saying much in a public forum. I don't want to go into any details and start another blame session, though. I also wanted to decide where I go from here as it relates to my fandom based on what I found. This isn't inteneded to about me, but I wanted to give a little background for the next paragraph and to show that if I can come back from being so down on Mason as a program, hopefully those of you feeling similarly might as well.

I am over the anger now and ready to move forward supporting Mason fully. Why? Maybe I am naive, but I have been convinced that Mason has learned from this whole really bad situation, they are dedicated to resolving it in a positive manner with appropriate urgency, AND possibly most important, dedicated to resolving the systemic issues that contributed to it. I hope you will join me in moving forward, continuing to support Mason and giving them the opportunity to prove to you their new found commitment to making the program the best it can be.

I put this all in the coaching thread as I am convinced we will be happy with with the coach they pick and it will be done in a timely manner.

I never side with the administration, but what more did KE need? We have new lockers, a dedicated practice facility, a new film room. What else does mason need?

The atmosphere is lame but that will improve when the team starts winning.

 

[gmujim92]

I never side with the administration, but what more did KE need? We have new lockers, a dedicated practice facility, a new film room. What else does mason need?

The atmosphere is lame but that will improve when the team starts winning.

He asked for a little more $ for the assistant coaches

 

[Dawgs99]

Do we know what the assistants made?

 

[Leesburg Chankenstank III]

He needs more assistants and bells and whistles to coach and he successfull? That right there is a huge red flag. And making those demands after only two years? At least accomplish SOMETHING first.

He’ll be making excuses for his failures for years to come. There will always be a reason other than him for lackluster seasons

Good riddance to that moron. Tony can’t get here fast enough.

 

[Falco]

He asked for a little more $ for the assistant coaches

I know we should have shown some good faith and extend, but he didn’t prove anything lol. The players they brought in outside of transfers were so-so. Fernandez might be the exception.

KE and staff relied on DPs players lol.

 

[MasonSAE4]

He needs more assistants and bells and whistles to coach and he successfull? That right there is a huge red flag. And making those demands after only two years? At least accomplish SOMETHING first.

He’ll be making excuses for his failures for years to come. There will always be a reason other than him for lackluster seasons

Good riddance to that moron. Tony can’t get here fast enough.

Yeah...from an infrastructure standpoint he had all he needed. His problem was he swung for the fences in the portal and kept hitting doubles. I mostly like the guys he brought in but it says something when the best player on the roster is a diamond in the rough from the previous regime. It's sad because finding a player like Josh should've been what put us over the top to be competitive. Maybe the season turns out a lot different if Ticket stays healthy but idk.

 

[Jack Strop]

CKE was likely in a situation where he was saying why don't we do "this" or why don't we do "that" and here's what we should be doing. Then the AD staff sat back on their routines and watched CKE do all the work. CKE was leading by example, but the problem with that is no one wanted to change, no one wanted to improve, no one wanted to leave their comfort zone and grow (hence, adherence to a status quo).

Any leader, CKE included, knows that a leader can't do it all himself. The problem is that CKE did not possess the leverage to enact and enforce change upon those whom he had to rely upon for support, that's for an [... wait for it...] AD to do. Mason was, and is, devoid of an AD.

It's not difficult to recognize and understand the dynamics. It happens to those who work hard and possess a drive to achieve. If the support is not there then one either bails to save oneself or burns oneself out. CKE bailed. He left us and his players holding the bag of sh!t. The only saving grace is that maybe Mason, Dr. W, and the new AD are starkly aware of the problem and can seize the opportunity borne from this crisis to improve. It just sucks that we fans and the athletes have to suffer from the fallout. But we rebuild.

 

[gmujim92]

He needs more assistants and bells and whistles to coach and he successfull? That right there is a huge red flag. And making those demands after only two years? At least accomplish SOMETHING first.

He’ll be making excuses for his failures for years to come. There will always be a reason other than him for lackluster seasons

Good riddance to that moron. Tony can’t get here fast enough.

No offense but that attitude is a big reason why Mason is known for Masoning things up.

We can agree to disagree on a lot of things, but if you have decided that Kim is your guy — WHICH DR. WASHINGTON CLEARLY DID — and you know he’s on the radar for other jobs (which he was), you don’t drag your feet when asked for a ridiculously small amount of money to increase the salaries of his assistant coaches.

Whether he “deserved” to make such an ask is effing irrelevant. He had the leverage to do so, and failing to recognize that fact has us back in rebuilding mode after losing a coach our president really wanted to keep.

If you can’t see why that’s a problem, I don’t have time to explain it to you.

 

[EXpatriot13]

I never side with the administration, but what more did KE need? We have new lockers, a dedicated practice facility, a new film room. What else does mason need?

The atmosphere is lame but that will improve when the team starts winning.

I think you mean we have a dedicated practice court, not a dedicated basketball facility. It’s missing the necessary components that all modern facilities have: training, recovery/rehab spaces, offices for coaches and support staff, player lounge areas, etc.

Apparently there’s a secret project in the works that will satisfy the above.

 

[gmujim92]

I know we should show a good faith and extend, but he didn’t prove anything lol. The players they brought in outside of transfers were so-so. Fernandez might be the exception.

He had 2 years as a first-time head coach. JFC some of you people are dense.

 

[gmujim92]

I’ve already forgotten more basketball than you’ll ever know. Other than inspired poetry I’m not quite sure what you bring to the table

 

[gmujim92]

LOL I was hoping you’d at least make it rhyme

 

[MasonMojo]

LOL I was hoping you’d at least make it rhyme

"Your fate is set, a lifelong letdown yet.
Go sob in your gatherings, you miserable pet.
Your worth to the discussions is all in your mind,
None cares for your presence, the truth is unkind."