A Sea Of Red

So Liberty basketball needs a coach, I can only fill disappointed on how the program has changed the last 10 years. As I look at this year's NCAA brackets I look at certain teams and compare them to what LU could have been.... Winthrop, Davidson, Belmont, Oral Roberts, and even some schools that didn't make it but lost in their tournament final, Northwestern St, Vermont, or Siena.

Liberty was one of those programs in the mid-90's... winning in '94, runner-up in '96, a disappointing finish in '97, but still 23-9 record. Take Belmont, head coach Rick Byrd has been head coach since 1986, is highly successful and well respected. Oral Roberts, Scott Sutton head coach for 12 years, taking team to tourney numerous times. Obvious GM and Winthrop have been ultra succesful, but one must think if Meyer would have stayed and Ron Bradley wouldn't have left Radford it wouldn't been so easy for Winthrop. Davidson and Bob McKillop is what Liberty should try to immulate, he doesn't win the SoCon every year but his team are always at the top and he is well respected, even when he fails to win the tourney his school doesn't turn their back on him.

So my point being this, LU had a good young coach, Jeff Meyer, who wasn't flashy or a big image guy, but got the job done in the transition years and brought Liberty to the team everyone wanted to beat in the Big South. Then Borek and a certain AD who had no business making big decisions pull the plug, and therefore the present is what we have, a team of players with no coach and program with no direction, no former alums around, no family atmosphere, and a student body that shows medium interest. And if you guys don't believe what I am saying, look at Radford and how they ran off Bradley and now where their program is, no fans, not competitive, and looking for a coach.

Liberty doesn't need a quick fix, Liberty needs consistency.

you post is depressing.

ditto



(big sigh)

Killn'emsoftly wrote:winning in '94, runner-up in '96

sounds like RD's first 2 years here...let's not act like this thing got run into the ground...theres no major overhaul needed here...just a few missing pieces...we have a very very good team...theres no denying that


it doesnt help that we'll be losing that 7 footer...boy I hope he's a DI flop...is that wrong?

Hold My Own wrote: sounds like RD's first 3 years here...let's not act like this thing got run into the ground...theres no major overhaul needed here...just a few missing pieces...we have a very very good team...theres no denying that


it doesnt help that we'll be losing that 7 footer...boy I hope he's a DI flop...is that wrong?

no chance anyone still on staff could retain him? don't quite get that one, but... whatever

PAmedic wrote:no chance anyone still on staff could retain him? don't quite get that one, but... whatever

Thats RD's kid...I'm sure RD's keepin that for some bargaining power with a few schools....but from what I'm hearing it's 99.9% he's gone

Might be a chance - but the guy that was the pipeline didn't have his contract renewed.

HMO,

RD's first 3 years you were probably 2 0r 3 years old that was '89 - '91... your missing the point, just think of about 2 0r 3 championships in last 10 years instead of just 1... yeah there is nice players at LU now, but transfers don't last long and 2 of them are seniors coming up... CONSISTENCY, good kids that stay in the program equal wins on a consistent basis, quick fixing has gotten LU no winning seasons in the last 10 years.

seems to be a little of both...I know that answer sucks but really...he was introduced to RD but once that happened it seems that RD took over from there...let's not count out what O has done or will do from here on out

Hold My Own wrote:seems to be a little of both...I know that answer sucks but really...he was introduced to RD but once that happened it seems that RD took over from there...let's not count out what O has done or will do from here on out

ha, sorry I deleted my post while you were typing because I thought you had already answered it.

Killn'emsoftly wrote:HMO,

RD's first 3 years you were probably 2 0r 3 years old that was '89 - '91... your missing the point, just think of about 2 0r 3 championships in last 10 years instead of just 1... yeah there is nice players at LU now, but transfers don't last long and 2 of them are seniors coming up... CONSISTENCY, good kids that stay in the program equal wins on a consistent basis, quick fixing has gotten LU no winning seasons in the last 10 years.

Not worth answering, your brining up RD in 89-91???

I agree with a lot of what you said but that first line just simply threw me for a loop. Yes our graduation rate sucks but please dont make it sound like everything was all peaches and cream while JM was here...if the decision to not renew RD's contract came down to more than just win's and losses then JM would be in a world of hurt as well. and with the amount of character JB has I dont think he'd over look any of it with a few simple wins with JM

oh boy.

(backing out... slowly..... closing door quietly behind me...)

HMO --

It's obvious you don't perfer JM, and your opinion has been influenced by certain adults who didn't like him either... None of my comments dogged RD. RD had a lot to do with JM's success, but also RD was on staff when JM supposedly had failures... Liberty had a good thing with RD recruiting and JM coaching, they couldn't co-exist. I didn't say not to bring in juco's, '94 team had 2 great ones in D. Williams and Jason Dixon... one hit wonders only get you so far in building a program.

Bottom line is Liberty had a good thing going like the programs I mentioned above.

Killn'emsoftly wrote:HMO --

It's obvious you don't perfer JM, and your opinion has been influenced by certain adults who didn't like him either... None of my comments dogged RD. RD had a lot to do with JM's success, but also RD was on staff when JM supposedly had failures... Liberty had a good thing with RD recruiting and JM coaching, they couldn't co-exist. I didn't say not to bring in juco's, '94 team had 2 great ones in D. Williams and Jason Dixon... one hit wonders only get you so far in building a program.

Bottom line is Liberty had a good thing going like the programs I mentioned above.

It has nothing to do with perfering one over the other...bottom line is facts...you know what went on back then!!! Details dont need to be shared...all I'm saying is if JB is serious about this off the court thing (which I believe he is) then JM's off the court things wouldnt have been over looked as well....u know what went on!


I dont think you understand that I am agreeing with you...there were some good teams back then...but you seem like some of the others on this board...it's not about the wins and losses remember! naming great players doesnt do any good with the other argument.

I wouldn't rank Jeff Meyer or Ron Bradley anywhere near the level of a Greg Marshall at Winthrop, or Scott Sutton or Bill Self at ORU. I wouldn't even mention those two in the same sentence with McKillop at Davidson. The only one that I see there that can be mentoned alongside Meyer and Bradley would be Rick Byrd at Belmont, and even he would probally be insulted by the comparison.

Let's hope and pray that LU's better days are ahead of us and that it all begins with our soon to be announced new head coach

paradox wrote:I wouldn't rank Jeff Meyer or Ron Bradley anywhere near the level of a Greg Marshall at Winthrop, or Scott Sutton or Bill Self at ORU. I wouldn't even mention those two in the same sentence with McKillop at Davidson. The only one that I see there that can be mentoned alongside Meyer and Bradley would be Rick Byrd at Belmont, and even he would probally be insulted by the comparison.

Let's hope and pray that LU's better days are ahead of us and that it all begins with our soon to be announced new head coach

Bill Self is at Kansas not ORU. Scott sutton is at ORU.

FYI: Bill Self took over a decrepant 5-22 ORU program back in the early 90's and started the process upward. By his forth season, he had a twenty win season and led ORU into the NIT.

paradox wrote:FYI: Bill Self took over a decrepant 5-22 ORU program back in the early 90's and started the process upward. By his forth season, he had a twenty win season and led ORU into the NIT.

i guess you are stuck in the past. thanks for that piece if tidbit.

No, it's not about the past. Read the thread through and then you'll understand what we've saying. Self is responsible for laying the foundation and building that program. I mentioned Sutton as well--both great coaches by the way, and far better than Meyer and Bradley

The seven footer did sign a LOI didn't he? Doesn't that mean that we have to give him a release or he has to play at a lower level? Just wondering.

He can just go to a JUCO if he wants to come to the States right now or he can stay in Nigeria. I highly doubt we'd hold him to his scholarship under the circumstances. It'd be nice if our new head coach hired DO in order to keep the letter active. But who knows?

"For of all sad words of tongue or pen, the saddest are these; "it might have been"".

John Greenlief Whittier

I don't know that it's something I want to dwell on, but I think some people have wrongly minimized JM's accomplishments at LU. If my math is correct, he would be entering his 27th year as coach if he were still here (he was 26 when he started). Probably safe to say he would be over 400 wins by now, which would put him right up there with the most of active coaches at one school. RD would have been long gone to a head coaching gig elsewhere, and SCAR would probably be associate head coach and chief recruiter.

Moving on to reality; I agree with HMO that there is talent in place right now to compete for a championship next year, and with the right coach, for many years to come. I personally hope they hire someone really young. The more I look at Pelphrey's resume, the more I like it. he's played and coached under some of the best, has a winning record as a head coach and has taken his last 2 teams to the post season.

it is sad and in my opinion we will take a step back now again. oldflame is right dunton had the pieces in place to move us to another level and he was not given the support by jb. so after the most successful five year period in conference instead of staying with consistency and improving areas as an effective administrator we politic to get our own man. we will see how it plays out. i don't think that the bsc coaches fear some assistant from a mid or high level, it is players that ultimately get it done. look where frank beamer was after five years on the ropes.

I think Little Texas said it best...

I try not to think about what might have been
Because that was then, and we have taken different roads
We can't go back again, there's no use giving in
And there's no way to know...what might have been

lureal wrote:it is sad and in my opinion we will take a step back now again. oldflame is right dunton had the pieces in place to move us to another level and he was not given the support by jb. so after the most successful five year period in conference instead of staying with consistency and improving areas as an effective administrator we politic to get our own man. we will see how it plays out. i don't think that the bsc coaches fear some assistant from a mid or high level, it is players that ultimately get it done. look where frank beamer was after five years on the ropes.

wow...you don't even attempt to be neutral on this...you just do not like JB do you???

I love RD...I really do...I think he is a good guy, and actually a solid coach...but not a solid D1 coach...big difference....but we can talk about this all day long....it doesn't really matter...

There are people on the RD loving side that think he could do no wrong...then on the other side hate RD and wanted him out no matter what...both sides are off base I believe and refuse to take any middle ground....

the past is the past...it can not be changed...JB so far has made sound choices...so before we judge this move, lets see what happens....because until next season actually starts we won't truely know how good of a decision JB truely has made.....its just a waiting game now