Travis Ford is not a good coach

[GOSLU68]

This is a poor topic: 

[Matty Light]

1 hour ago, thatskablamo said:

Poor Doc Tom -oh what could have been with that 93 squad. Chris Street’s 14.5 ppg would have helped against Wake in the second round of the tournament. Rodney Rogers went off for 30 if memory serves me right. He had a rough 99 with some less-than-savory characters Joey Range, Duez Henderson, etc. Carver used to be a rockin’ place in the 90s.

In 8th grade I was arranging my ride to Carver for the next night's game against Northwestern or Penn State and after asking my friend what time we were leaving for Iowa City and he said the game got cancelled. I thought he was full of it when he told me my favorite player had died. I refused to believe him until he asked me to turn on my TV. Good lord, it was all true. I still am shocked Chris Street got killed by a snow plow

[Brighton]

4 hours ago, Matty Light said:

 

I say this because we could conceivably get a better Xs and Os coach but will likely suffer greatly in recruiting. I've witnessed a lot of mediocrity in my 25 years as a Billiken fan. But watching the local talent play is far more enjoyable than the squads we used to assemble. Be careful what you wish for.

And the teams without the locals had arguably the most successful run in program history. Got to top 10 in the AP Poll for the first time since the 50's. I don't care if the talent is local or not, give me someone that can coach them up.  Ford doesn't qualify.

[cgeldmacher]

On 2/28/2022 at 1:23 PM, BilliesBy40 said:

This is a really good post. I am curious though: what makes you think Ford’s ceiling is higher than what we have seen? You referenced his floor as being above middle of the pack in the A10 (seems pretty accurate), but everything we have seen to date says his ceiling is fairly close to the same level.

I say that his ceiling is higher, because Ford has never had a chance to showcase a fully intact team in a fully intact season.  Whether it is one of the Situations, to Covid, to Perkin's injury, it seem like he's never got the opportunity to put together the season that, I believe, could propel the program to the next level.  When you can recruit like Ford and motivate your players to play hard like Ford, I think that this is within his reach to get the program to a regular spot at the top of the A-10.  The next step after that is regular success in the tournament.

[Bonner89]

BUMP

This is his ceiling. He's gotta go.

[NoCoBillsFan]

1 minute ago, Bonner89 said:

BUMP

This is his ceiling. He's gotta go.

When’s the last time you posted after a win?

[slu72]

No doubt he’s a recruiter, but when they play teams like Davidson, UNI, St B’’s, et al and compare it to our style, the contrast is stark. Those teams are technically and systematically so much superior than us. We have to get to that level. 

[mrjoelabs]

3 hours ago, slu72 said:

No doubt he’s a recruiter, but when they play teams like Davidson, UNI, St B’’s, et al and compare it to our style, the contrast is stark. Those teams are technically and systematically so much superior than us. We have to get to that level. 

Because he has NO CLUE how to guard the 3. Jacobesen knew this so he had them shoot 500 of em

[Soderball]

On 2/28/2022 at 2:59 PM, Taj79 said:

Saying Ford can take this program further above where we want to be is one hell of a leap of faith.  I don’t think anyone is advocating bringing in anyone new at this point.  But time is running out.  Short of one four-game run a few years back, Ford has maintained his middle of the pack standing.  And that fact is further amplified by a steady decline in the A10 overall.  If you can’t win when it’s down how you going to win it otherwise?  

If you're not proposing someone new, what are you proposing?

These are weak sauce, noncommittal, and lame comments. Comments that in your mind protect you when we fire Ford, bring in Jim Crews Jr. Lose a ton of games and blow up, and have to start over for a second time. You'll say "I wasn't ready to fire Ford." Weak.

What I've seen is absolute nonsense about having a grown man, 24 years HC experience, "shake up his staff" or "have a heart to heart with Chris May." Ford has been a HC for a quarter century. He is the HC of SLUs flagship athletic program. May is not making 2 million dollars. He will pick the staff he wants or he will leave. That's the bottom line for a big time basketball HC.

Say what you mean and stop beating around the bush because you're afraid of looking silly. "Time is running out" what? What does that mean? Do you want Ford or not?

[NoCoBillsFan]

6 hours ago, Soderball said:

If you're not proposing someone new, what are you proposing?

These are weak sauce, noncommittal, and lame comments. Comments that in your mind protect you when we fire Ford, bring in Jim Crews Jr. Lose a ton of games and blow up, and have to start over for a second time. You'll say "I wasn't ready to fire Ford." Weak.

What I've seen is absolute nonsense about having a grown man, 24 years HC experience, "shake up his staff" or "have a heart to heart with Chris May." Ford has been a HC for a quarter century. He is the HC of SLUs flagship athletic program. May is not making 2 million dollars. He will pick the staff he wants or he will leave. That's the bottom line for a big time basketball HC.

Say what you mean and stop beating around the bush because you're afraid of looking silly. "Time is running out" what? What does that mean? Do you want Ford or not?

Come on, don’t you know that it’s much easier to say things like “fire Ford” without any kind of solution for who we should hire instead?

[brianstl]

8 hours ago, Soderball said:

If you're not proposing someone new, what are you proposing?

These are weak sauce, noncommittal, and lame comments. Comments that in your mind protect you when we fire Ford, bring in Jim Crews Jr. Lose a ton of games and blow up, and have to start over for a second time. You'll say "I wasn't ready to fire Ford." Weak.

What I've seen is absolute nonsense about having a grown man, 24 years HC experience, "shake up his staff" or "have a heart to heart with Chris May." Ford has been a HC for a quarter century. He is the HC of SLUs flagship athletic program. May is not making 2 million dollars. He will pick the staff he wants or he will leave. That's the bottom line for a big time basketball HC.

Say what you mean and stop beating around the bush because you're afraid of looking silly. "Time is running out" what? What does that mean? Do you want Ford or not?

Notre Dame did exactly what you said can't be done with Mike Brey after last season.  Mike Brey has been a head coach longer and has far more success than Travis Ford.  Brey was forced to fire two assistants and was told who the replacements could be.  Notre Dame returned to the NCAA tournament this season.  

Chris Mack was forced to do the same at Louisville.  That didn't work out as well.

The point is that it happens and to coaches that have a better record of success than Ford.

[NoCoBillsFan]

Remember, things could always be worse

[dlarry]

13 hours ago, slu72 said:

No doubt he’s a recruiter, but when they play teams like Davidson, UNI, St B’’s, et al and compare it to our style, the contrast is stark. Those teams are technically and systematically so much superior than us. We have to get to that level. 

Is he a good recruiter? 
Im beginning to question that. 
just doing a quick glance at rivals he didn’t beat out a lot of big time programs for these players.

 

Collins: Bradley, DePaul, Loyal Iowa, SPUMAC, Mo-state. 
Hargrove: Cleveland State and SPUMAC

Thatch: SPUMAC and Tulsa

Jimerson: Charlotte, K-State, Columbia, High Point and Cincy

Nesbitt: lost to Memphis 

Okoro: lost to Oregon 

He got the STL guys but that is while Mizzou has been a dumpster fire. Will he land those guys if Mizzou makes the right hire?

It’s more than just X’s and O’s. 
It’s either poor player development, poor player evaluation, or poor recruiting. 

I still consider myself a Ford guy but it’s getting harder and harder. 

 

[wgstl]

2 minutes ago, dlarry said:

Is he a good recruiter? 
Im beginning to question that. 
just doing a quick glance at rivals he didn’t beat out a lot of big time programs for these players.

 

At this level, yes Ford is a good recruiter. 

 

[BrettJollyComedyHour]

5 minutes ago, dlarry said:

Is he a good recruiter? 
Im beginning to question that. 
just doing a quick glance at rivals he didn’t beat out a lot of big time programs for these players.

 

Collins: Bradley, DePaul, Loyal Iowa, SPUMAC, Mo-state. 
Hargrove: Cleveland State and SPUMAC

Thatch: SPUMAC and Tulsa

Jimerson: Charlotte, K-State, Columbia, High Point and Cincy

Nesbitt: lost to Memphis 

Okoro: lost to Oregon 

He got the STL guys but that is while Mizzou has been a dumpster fire. Will he land those guys if Mizzou makes the right hire?

It’s more than just X’s and O’s. 
It’s either poor player development, poor player evaluation, or poor recruiting. 

I still consider myself a Ford guy but it’s getting harder and harder. 

 

Forgive my ignorance, but what is SPUMAC?

[Billikenbooster]

1 minute ago, BrettJollyComedyHour said:

Forgive my ignorance, but what is SPUMAC?

Scandal plagued university Missouri at Columbia

[dlarry]

1 minute ago, BrettJollyComedyHour said:

Forgive my ignorance, but what is SPUMAC?

Scandal Plagued University of Missouri at Columbia or Mizzou

[NoCoBillsFan]

5 minutes ago, dlarry said:

Is he a good recruiter? 
Im beginning to question that. 
just doing a quick glance at rivals he didn’t beat out a lot of big time programs for these players.

 

Collins: Bradley, DePaul, Loyal Iowa, SPUMAC, Mo-state. 
Hargrove: Cleveland State and SPUMAC

Thatch: SPUMAC and Tulsa

Jimerson: Charlotte, K-State, Columbia, High Point and Cincy

Nesbitt: lost to Memphis 

Okoro: lost to Oregon 

He got the STL guys but that is while Mizzou has been a dumpster fire. Will he land those guys if Mizzou makes the right hire?

It’s more than just X’s and O’s. 
It’s either poor player development, poor player evaluation, or poor recruiting. 

I still consider myself a Ford guy but it’s getting harder and harder. 

 

Recruiting is a lot more than just beating other schools out for guys. It’s also about finding the right transfers, finding guys that will buy into the program and fill holes. Javon Bess, Marten Linssen, and Deandre Jones all fit that mold. On the House That Rick Built (RIP) Tramaine Isabell said himself that Ford could “sell water to a whale” and that he was very close to committing to Pitt until Ford convinced him otherwise.
 

Recruiting is not an issue. Ford does great at this level.

[NoCoBillsFan]

2 minutes ago, dlarry said:

Scandal Plagued University of Missouri at Columbia or Mizzou

While we’re on this topic, can anyone explain where the SVU nickname came from when discussing Dayton?

[dlarry]

Just now, NoCoBillsFan said:

Recruiting is a lot more than just beating other schools out for guys. It’s also about finding the right transfers, finding guys that will buy into the program and fill holes. Javon Bess, Marten Linssen, and Deandre Jones all fit that mold. On the House That Rick Built (RIP) Tramaine Isabell said himself that Ford could “sell water to a whale” and that he was very close to committing to Pitt until Ford convinced him otherwise.
 

Recruiting is not an issue. Ford does great at this level.

Then he needs help with player evaluation and player development.

When I look at the roster that played this year I don’t see an NCAA tourney team.

[wgstl]

23 minutes ago, dlarry said:

Then he needs help with player evaluation and player development.

When I look at the roster that played this year I don’t see an NCAA tourney team.

I mean, sure.  Most teams who lose their best player, and then have a player like Linssen disappear after injury wont make it to march. Okoro played for the first time in a year and a half, and it showed early on. 

Nesbitt is a freshman, and Fred didn't get going till way later.  I think we had to much stock in them. 

Injuries are part of the game, sure.  If Perkins and Linssen don't get injured, are we 4 seed or 5 seed?

 

Also I could be wrong but isn't player development supposed to be a Corey Tate thing?

[wgstl]

8 minutes ago, NoCoBillsFan said:

While we’re on this topic, can anyone explain where the SVU nickname came from when discussing Dayton?

there's two, sweater vest U, because their fans love wearing sweater vests. And SVU like the crime show because they used to get in trouble with stuff a lot 

[Billikenbooster]

4 minutes ago, NoCoBillsFan said:

While we’re on this topic, can anyone explain where the SVU nickname came from when discussing Dayton?

Years ago their booster club gave out? gave away? a shxt load of the ugliest jackets/sweaters/vests. The stands were filled with them. Ever since we’ve called them Sweater Vest University 

[NoCoBillsFan]

6 minutes ago, dlarry said:

Then he needs help with player evaluation and player development.

When I look at the roster that played this year I don’t see an NCAA tourney team.

Take a couple days to let the disappointment of these last two games dissipate a bit, then look at the state of the team and program. 

[NoCoBillsFan]

1 minute ago, wgstl said:

there's two, sweater vest U, because their fans love wearing sweater vests. And SVU like the crime show because they used to get in trouble with stuff a lot 

 

1 minute ago, Billikenbooster said:

Years ago their booster club gave out? gave away? a shxt load of the ugliest jackets/sweaters/vests. The stands were filled with them. Ever since we’ve called them Sweater Vest University 

Thank you both