A Sea Of Red

We moved into Division I in 1988. Here are the worst teams during this time:

1990-91 5-23 (Before Big South) Jeff Meyer 2 non-DI wins
1998-99 4-23 (0-10) Mel Hankinson 2 non-DI wins
2001-02 5-25 (2-12) Mel Hankinson 2 non-DI wins
2005-06 7-23 (3-13) Randy Dunton 2 non-DI wins
2014-15 6-14 (0-7) Dale Layer 4 non-DI wins

On paper worst team ever was the 98-99 team, they lost to Augusta State or Frostburg State if I remember correctly.... but I actually believe that team would beat this team if they played, even though I consider Dale a better coach than Mel.

http://www.libertyflamesnation.com/rapi ... -winthrop/

In 1998-99, Liberty started conference play 0-9 under first year head coach Mel Hankinson. They went on to finish that season 4-23 overall and 1-11 in Big South play.

1998-99 4-23 (0-10) Mel Hankinson 2 non-DI wins

I don't think it makes a huge difference, given that that team is going to be the hardest for this year's team to.... beat? Which one is it?

It's 0-10. They played Elon and High Point that season but they were transitional teams and didn't actually count against the Big South record. Kind of like PC in football the year we lost to them. So, it goes in the record books as 0-10 against the Big South that season.

This team has underperformed that is for sure. I hate watching this team because they seem so unorganized on the court. They seem to have athletes and a few basketball players but we dont run an offense and the only thing I have seen them play on defense is a 2-3 zone. Even when they do play defense they dont seem to know how to rotate. It is just ugly and it truly makes me sad as a Liberty fan. I would go on record to say yes this is the worst team in history.

Is this team bad? you bet...worst ever?...having watched a lot of archive footage and in person games...I would say no.

While it's really hard to compare teams across the years, I vote that this year's team is indeed the worst ever. Due to the fact that resources and facilities far superior now, it's hard not to say the expectations should be much higher at this point in the history of the program.

Even those horrendous Mel teams had a couple of standout players in there like Carl Williams & Chris Caldwell with no support around them. Sort of like Larry Blair's senior year when we had the improbable upset of Winthrop.

Sly Fox wrote:Even those horrendous Mel teams had a couple of standout players in there like Carl Williams & Chris Caldwell with no support around them. Sort of like Larry Blair's junior year when we had the improbable upset of Winthrop.

FTFY

Sly Fox wrote:Even those horrendous Mel teams had a couple of standout players in there like Carl Williams & Chris Caldwell with no support around them. Sort of like Larry Blair's senior year when we had the improbable upset of Winthrop.

I think you meant Blair's Junior year. His senior year was with BJ Jenkins, Anthony Smith, Dwight Brewington... RD's last year.

Is this thread asking the question "Is this the least amount of talent we have had?" or "Is this the worst group of players to take the floor?" or "Is this the worst team from players to coaches and all parts involved?"

TheGovernor wrote:Is this thread asking the question "Is this the least amount of talent we have had?" or "Is this the worst group of players to take the floor?" or "Is this the worst team from players to coaches and all parts involved?"

All of the above and the answer is yes. :>(

The 98-99 team had no talent, no size, nothing. Mel was hired pretty late in the Spring due to the "committee" approach we took to that hire, and arrived to a very bare cupboard. He signed some guys who were basically warm bodies so he could put a team on the floor. It was a miracle they won 2 D1 games. They got absolutely blown out a lot, and they needed a tip in at the buzzer to beat one of their D2 opponents. This year's team has performed horribly, but they have size, and more athleticism and talent than that team. If we lose out and end up with only 2 D1 wins, I would say this year would be more disappointing, but that was still a worse team.

In the year 2015, it's hard to comprehend we have so little offensive talent . As someone posted a couple weeks ago, we have mostly role players . Need some D1 scorers .

ballcoach15 wrote:In the year 2015, it's hard to comprehend we have so little offensive talent . As someone posted a couple weeks ago, we have mostly role players . Need some D1 scorers .

We know...you mention that about every couple weeks

Anyway, as to the original topic, this team is bad...but I dont think its the worst ever (and I may be in the minority in saying that)

This might be the worst Liberty team, across all sports.

VAGolf wrote:This might be the worst Liberty team, across all sports.

Even 2005 football?

Yes, this is the worst men's bball team at Liberty...ever!

98-99 was worse talented team, but this year could see same results. Of course, that only makes it worse!

I don't think this is the worst team but it might be the most frustrating. There isn't a star but there is enough talent here to be a middle of the pack big south team. Which makes it so incredibly frustrating.

I know that I mentioned this elsewhere, but this team has talent, the problem is that its being mismanaged.

The talent is hurt. That's not an excuse. That's reality.

This question isn't, "Is this the least talented Liberty team ever?" This question is, "Is the the worst Liberty team ever?" That should extend beyond just talent. I think that not only includes talent but also coaching, living up to expectations, improvement, being watchable...etc. In that regard, I firmly believe this is the worst team I've ever seen at Liberty.

Its one thing to say the worst youve seen, but its asking the worst EVER. That crosses every team, even the ones you havent seen

Chris Lang wrote:The talent is hurt. That's not an excuse. That's reality.

That's a very good point, and one that might keep you on press row and in good graces, but what type of impact would Gielo and Retic make. On paper you'd think these 8-12 point games he'd make a big difference. But LU was down huge in some of those and rallied late when the other teams gave up.
I think losing Gielo has cost us maybe 2 or 3 games. I don't think losing Retic has cost us any

Retic has cost you big time because you have absolutely no one who can handle the ball. I don't think Liberty is any better than 2-6 or 3-5 with those two guys, but the Flames aren't all-time terrible, historically bad, either.

If you don't think the admin won't take those personnel losses under consideration when evaluating things at the end of the season, you're crazy. All I'm saying is to say there is no talent on the team is discounting the fact that there is some offensive talent, it's just hurt.