This notion of being a basketball school is self proclaimed and a joke. Obviously we've had way more success in hoops, but a basketball school (even in its most down years) has more than three students in the student section for a league game. You may want to go to the commons and remind the kids we are a basketball school.
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--- SumnerCountyDore wrote:

Great post and research. My only problem is that there are more "football" schools on there than traditional badketbsll schools like we, until recently, liked to consider we are. I honestly believe we should consistently be the #2 basketball school in this league. We should be consistently flirting with league championships and NCAA tourneys should pretty much be a foregone conclusion in what is not a very good basketball league. I know it's a lot easier said than done, but FL has seemed to do exactly that.

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--- mathknapp wrote:

PeteFox wrote: 

When did Duke score 33 points in a game?  What about the other "programs that had to rebuild".
Any 33 priont games there?  Any 55% Free throw shooting?

Well let's see...

Alabama has made exactly 1 of the last 6 NCAA tournaments.
Arizona State has made 1 of the last 9.
Arkansas is 0 for the last 4.
Auburn is 0 for the las 9.
Boston College is 1 for the last 5 (with 2 losing records in that span)
Colorado is 2 for the last 15 (with 6 losing records including a 7-20 season).
Iowa is 0 for 6 with 3 losing records.
Iowa State is 1 for 7, and 2 for 11 since having a team that peaked at #6 in the polls and was a 2 seed in the NCAAs.
Though they will get off the schnide this year, Miami (FL) is 1 for the last 11, following a run of 4 tournaments in 5 years.
Ole Miss is 0 for 10 after a run of 5 tournaments in 6 years.
Mississippi State is 0 for the last 3 and in a downward spiral following several successful years.
Until last year NC State had followed 5 straight NCAA appearances with 5 straight seasons at home.
Northwestern is 0 for ... nah, too easy.
Oklahoma has missed 3 straight NCAAs with a losing record last year.
Since being ranked as high as #3 in the country in 2005, Oklahoma State has made just 2 of 7 NCAAs.
Oregon is 0 for 4.
Oregon State is 0 for the 21st century.
Providence has made 2 of 15 NCAAs since an elite 8 appearance...
St. John's has made 2 of 12 NCAAs since back to back top 10 seasons.
Texas Tech has made 1 of the last 7 NCAAs (and is in a nosedive) since a top 25 season.
In 2010 UCLA finished sub-.500 just 2 years off of a Final Four team, and have missed 2 of the last 3 NCAAs.
Wake Forest has made just 2 of 7 NCAAs since a 2005 season that saw them reach #1 in the nation.

These are all BCS-conference teams.  Some of them have never had great success.  All of them are trying to accomplish the same things we are.  Some of them have had multiple coach changes.  Some have let coaches stay and have a chance to build the program.  Many of the schools on this list have basketball histories comparable to (or better than) our 4 or 5 sweet 16s and one 50 year old elite 8.

Yes, almost all teams go in rebuilding mode.  You may say (or someone did) that we don't have to be Duke, but pretty much all programs other than a small handful (Duke, UNC, UK, Arizona, Kansas) go through down years and rebuilding cycles.  Often, these are long processes.  

If we hold to the status quo (make Stallings 'coach for life') I have confidence that we will be above .500 next year and an NCAA team in two years.  If we opted to shake things up and replace the coach ... I have no idea what to expect.  Maybe better.  Maybe the same.  Maybe worse.  Our next coach being a James Franklin-like grand slam hire is not likely (not to take anything away from DW, 'cause kudos for getting JF, but we got incredibly lucky that we found a coach that good, who was underappreciated by his former employer, and that we realized it before anyone else did).  

EVERYONE wants to be a perennial top 20 school and contend for championships regularly.  Almost NO ONE actually does this.  And firing coaches that have been generally successful is often a good way to label yourself as fickle, and a good way to turn your program into a graveyard.

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