Evansville at Missouri State

[CaseyGarrisonforPrez]

Heck of a win. Now we are back in a tie for 5th place again; this turnaround has been a real revelation for Paul Lusk and his coaching ability. Back in December I didn't just want he fired, I wanted him to be completely ostracized. I wanted him to go begging back to Matt Painter's bench in West Lafayette.

Now he has really turned things around. Don't get me wrong 5-6 is still an awful conference record, it is nowhere near the standard at MSU but we looked like an 0-18 team for large stretches of our non-conference play. I am not completely sold on Paul Lusk yet, but I need to state emphatically how wrong I was 60 days ago. Gutty win for the Bears. This team's effort makes me darn proud to wear maroon.

Naw. Same coach. Same team. Same games. Fans typically overreact early in the season. He is doing nothing different. Coaches get too much blame for early season losses and they get too much credit for later season wins. Teams gel over time and the coach does influence that. The bad news is too many fans are so focused on the W or the L and cannot watch how the team is developing.

Good win.

I respect your opinion here but I don't think anybody overreacted. At one point in the season we were arguably the worst team in all of D1 basketball. I was wrong in that Lusk has been able to take us out of the mess. I did not believe he could do that. I don't take back any of the observations I made in the first two months of the season because we were that bad. Those criticisms were as valid as the slaps on the back we are giving our boys now. This is a results oriented business not some mystical world of development that only coaches are privvy to. My two cents.

[Ace Dad]

Heck of a win. Now we are back in a tie for 5th place again; this turnaround has been a real revelation for Paul Lusk and his coaching ability. Back in December I didn't just want he fired, I wanted him to be completely ostracized. I wanted him to go begging back to Matt Painter's bench in West Lafayette.

Now he has really turned things around. Don't get me wrong 5-6 is still an awful conference record, it is nowhere near the standard at MSU but we looked like an 0-18 team for large stretches of our non-conference play. I am not completely sold on Paul Lusk yet, but I need to state emphatically how wrong I was 60 days ago. Gutty win for the Bears. This team's effort makes me darn proud to wear maroon.

Naw. Same coach. Same team. Same games. Fans typically overreact early in the season. He is doing nothing different. Coaches get too much blame for early season losses and they get too much credit for later season wins. Teams gel over time and the coach does influence that. The bad news is too many fans are so focused on the W or the L and cannot watch how the team is developing.

Good win.

I respect your opinion here but I don't think anybody overreacted. At one point in the season we were arguably the worst team in all of D1 basketball. I was wrong in that Lusk has been able to take us out of the mess. I did not believe he could do that. I don't take back any of the observations I made in the first two months of the season because we were that bad. Those criticisms were as valid as the slaps on the back we are giving our boys now. This is a results oriented business not some mystical world of development that only coaches are privvy to. My two cents.

Casey, people with gray hair, pot bellies, and grandbabies have learned that first observations and early reports are typically wrong. A basketball team cannot be judged in November or December. You have to wait until all the pieces are in place and the team has jelled to start making critical assessments.

This results oriented "business" you refer to is also heavily dependent on people getting to know how each other, playing style, and adapting to adjustments.

Your two cents are valid and I understand. I do not want to play you in St Louis because karma is on your side, especially after last year.