MARVIN MENZIES IS A JOKE!!!!

[j. spilotro]

I think the poor attendance had more to do with last season and the seasons under Rice. The team hasn’t won a game in the tournament since 2008. Expectations were so low coming into the season. And hockey could have distracted people from basketball.

If the team made the tournament last year, started the season ranked, and had that 11-2 start I doubt the attendance would have been what it was.

We went longer stretches than that with bad basketball and not winning an NCAA tournament game. And without any big wins. Agree that the hockey distraction hurt. And football will hurt it so much more. But the debacle of firing Rice midseason and the subsequent coaching "search", really, mad scramble for the last man standing - had as much to do with fans disappearing. Alot of already flimsy trust was shattered with that solitary move and I think it had more of an impact than the "not winning" or the Knights. Yet she's somehow still cashing paychecks from the Parkway.

Expectations the last two years have been absolutely ground level. Yet, somehow, both years we crapped the bed with a late season slide that the school has never seen/rarely seen. We underachieved with very low expectations. (Save me the we won 20 games when 14 of the wins were against teams that couldn't break .500).

So what's the answer to get fans back in the Mack? Win? Well, we were, at one point, 11-2, and aside from the Arizona game, nobody was showing. Play big boys? That'll pack the house, initially, but you have to win one now and again to give people faith... and what big boys are going to come into the Mack now that it's considered a "bad loss"? (Arizona was a contract game from several years prior).

I don't have the answer to getting fans back. I don't think you will for next season. The only way is to somehow make the NCAA tournament next season and then you might start to recoup some fans late in the season and then into next season. If you fluke it with a MWCT championship, you won't get fans. If you teeter near an at large, you'll get some fans starting to show late season.

The thing is - UNM will be much better. SDSU is trending up. I think Boise will drop a little bit. UNR will be loaded. If Gonzaga is in league next year instead of the following year.... so, UNLV will have to be MUCH better than last season. Could it happen? Sure, we can never tell how on floor leadership and overall team chemistry will pan out, we don't know how the newcomers will perform, we don't know how much improvement from the returnees.... so yeah, there's a chance we will be "better". But it's not logical, either. The game isn't played on paper, of course, otherwise we'd have two or more more S16's to our history.... but on paper, the Rebels are losing three starters, three significant starters (I'm counting McCoy as gone)....one at the most crucial position on the floor. Logic says, at best it will be similar to this season..... that's not written in stone of course, but I don't think that anybody has the warm and fuzzies heading into next year (not that they determine any outcomes).

 

[drmontehorne_a_yahoo.com]

I think the poor attendance had more to do with last season and the seasons under Rice. The team hasn’t won a game in the tournament since 2008. Expectations were so low coming into the season. And hockey could have distracted people from basketball.

If the team made the tournament last year, started the season ranked, and had that 11-2 start I doubt the attendance would have been what it was.

The "Tale of 2 Teams" this year did not help either. The up and down play was increadably frustrating for the fans...

 

[TimothyC3]

It appears to me that in season 2 with Menzies going 20-13 and 8-10 7th place in MWC raised UNLV back to the pre-dumpster fire level!

2015-2016 18-15 and 8-10 6th place in MWC
2014-2015 18-15 and 8-10 7th place in MWC

 

[Vegas007]

Another thing that can’t help is more time has passed since Tarkanian was coach, which has to make people more pessimistic about the program.

 

[j. spilotro]

It appears to me that in season 2 with Menzies going 20-13 and 8-10 7th place in MWC raised UNLV back to the pre-dumpster fire level!

2015-2016 18-15 and 8-10 6th place in MWC
2014-2015 18-15 and 8-10 7th place in MWC

Yeah. It was an amazing year. As the league gets weaker, we rise a little bit. Coach of the year.

Anything else need candycoating?

Games with less than 2K fans say the dumpster fire is still wildly burning.

Nobody is buying it. You saw about 500 fans at UNLV vs AFA. We saw less than 2k several times over the course of the season. Lows never encountered by this program. People are speaking.

 

[lvhiker]

Joe, UNLV is a better university because of Maxson. No doubt about that. Also, I don’t think I ever lunch with deacon or baepler.

 

[TimothyC3]

Yeah. It was an amazing year. As the league gets weaker, we rise a little bit. Coach of the year.

Anything else need candycoating?

Games with less than 2K fans say the dumpster fire is still wildly burning.

Nobody is buying it. You saw about 500 fans at UNLV vs AFA. We saw less than 2k several times over the course of the season. Lows never encountered by this program. People are speaking.

And Menzies is responsible for the mess he inherited? It's not like he walked into a situation with a veteran roster and a top 25 ranking!

 

[TimothyC3]

Self imposed Death PENALTY!

 

[ImmaRebel]

IMO this year our home schedule was bad. We played Arizona on a Saturday night and attendance was great (yet I did miss that game), but so many of our home games on Saturday were against the teams I didn't care to see, or on Wednesday nights at 8:00 pm.

I don't know about you guys but it gets harder to attend the weeknight games when you have kids. And I have two step-kids with me now, so if I am going to take them with me and let them stay up late on a school night it better be against a quality opponent.

 

[Vegas007]

We went longer stretches than that with bad basketball and not winning an NCAA tournament game. And without any big wins. Agree that the hockey distraction hurt. And football will hurt it so much more. But the debacle of firing Rice midseason and the subsequent coaching "search", really, mad scramble for the last man standing - had as much to do with fans disappearing. Alot of already flimsy trust was shattered with that solitary move and I think it had more of an impact than the "not winning" or the Knights. Yet she's somehow still cashing paychecks from the Parkway.

Expectations the last two years have been absolutely ground level. Yet, somehow, both years we crapped the bed with a late season slide that the school has never seen/rarely seen. We underachieved with very low expectations. (Save me the we won 20 games when 14 of the wins were against teams that couldn't break .500).

So what's the answer to get fans back in the Mack? Win? Well, we were, at one point, 11-2, and aside from the Arizona game, nobody was showing.

One reason the 11-2 record didn’t excite anyone is we’ve seen the team show promise in the nonconference part of the schedule over and over again, only to watch them collapse in conference play. This wasn’t even close to the most promising start the team has had recently and things still didn’t come together in the past.

A lot of fans will have a wait and see attitude when a team shows that same pattern over and over again.

Edit: Losing 2 overtime games didn’t help. We all knew a bunch of those wins were against cupcakes and when the team played a real team, we saw a couple of overtime losses in winnable games. So it wasn’t that promising of a start. The team was never even ranked in the top 25 at any point.

 

[TarkisGod]

Well I did say that he should get one more year, unless they have a home run hire lined up, which I know they can't afford. As I said, I've defended Menzies a lot and took some crap for it, I also said that as long as he improves year to year I'll support him. However, no one can deny the lack of excitement surrounding the program right now, its at an all time low. Menzies was almost universally unwanted, which has a lot to do with that, it also means that he will have to do more than any other UNLV coach to get the fans back. Winning usually cures these things, but Menzies will have to win a lot next year and get a lot of fans back because UNLV can't afford to have the Hustlin' Rebs out attendance the Runnin' Rebs.

One more season? That's it? Kind of a short window, don't you think? I believe he should, at the very least, be able to see one class from Freshman to graduation.

Laying the sagging attendance at MM's feet seems quite unfair. The program hit the skids, attendance-wise, long before he arrived. He did his best to put an exciting brand of basketball on the floor, and in a significant way, he succeeded.

But by not winning enough in year one, you're wanting to blame Marvin? The only way to turn around attendance figures and generate interest, is by making a deep run in March. That's going to take more than one 7-footer, and a good post player. Juiston and McCoy were frequently exciting to watch. But the damage has already been done.

Let's give the Coach a reasonable chance to build a program in the desert. He may surprise you.

Go Rebels!

 

[drmontehorne_a_yahoo.com]

One more season? That's it? Kind of a short window, don't you think? I believe he should, at the very least, be able to see one class from Freshman to graduation.

Laying the sagging attendance at MM's feet seems quite unfair. The program hit the skids, attendance-wise, long before he arrived. He did his best to put an exciting brand of basketball on the floor, and in a significant way, he succeeded.

But by not winning enough in year one, you're wanting to blame Marvin? The only way to turn around attendance figures and generate interest, is by making a deep run in March. That's going to take more than one 7-footer, and a good post player. Juiston and McCoy were frequently exciting to watch. But the damage has already been done.

Let's give the Coach a reasonable chance to build a program in the desert. He may surprise you.

Go Rebels!

OK then...5 more minutes and that's it....or he is so gone... LOL

 

[LuvMeSomeRebs]

One more season? That's it? Kind of a short window, don't you think? I believe he should, at the very least, be able to see one class from Freshman to graduation.

One more season if the Rebels don't improve next year, that's what I'm saying. This season the Rebels improved, but not really by much. They did improve in conference play by 4 wins, but 5 of those 8 wins were against CSU (who was without their best player), SJSU, and Air Force, aka, the bottom feeders. I denied it hard most of the year, but its conceivable that last years team would've won 15 or 16 games against this years schedule, which isn't good considering the leap in talent. That's why I say they didn't improve by much.

Look, I support Menzies, not as much as I did before the collapse at the end, but I still have his back. There are some things I've discovered over the last week or two that have given me pause, but as I've said from Menzies day 1, as long as his teams improve from year to year I'll continue to support him. As far as the one more year goes, that's not even necessarily what I want, its just what I can see happening considering the lack of excitement and poor attendance. If the Rebels don't at least make the NIT next year I can almost guarantee you he'll get fired.

 

[j. spilotro]

And Menzies is responsible for the mess he inherited? It's not like he walked into a situation with a veteran roster and a top 25 ranking!

He's done a poor job any way you slice it. He lost both teams halfway through the season.

 

[j. spilotro]

Self imposed Death PENALTY!

National Coach of the Year. Finished better than expected. The schedule was very tough, getting 20 wins was a huge testament to a job very well done.

I am not advocating a firing at all. I think it would be disastrous. But I'm not going to pretend like a good job or decent job has been done, regardless of any surrounding circumstances. Even with those anchors, it's been poor. On no planet do you go 5-16 in February and March in a weak league, or even a decent league, and say job well done.

 

[TimothyC3]

He's done a poor job any way you slice it. He lost both teams halfway through the season.

How did he lose last years team? Could it be because of the lack of talent in the back court shooting 27% from 3 that UNLV was the easiest team in the MWC to defend? Now if you want to say there is a recruiting failure or problem in that Menzies failed to bring in a shooter or two when he had time to do so I can see that.

 

[j. spilotro]

How did he lose last years team? Could it be because of the lack of talent in the back court shooting 27% from 3 that UNLV was the easiest team in the MWC to defend? Now if you want to say there is a recruiting failure or problem in that Menzies failed to bring in a shooter or two when he had time to do so I can see that.

I don't know. I don't care the talent level, when you set an all time record for the worst team in the history of UNLV basketball and you lose a UNLV record 9 straight games and you have multiple 20 point blowouts, 30 point blow outs and an all time worst 48 point blow out....

The team packed it in. Everyone saw it. They weren't good to begin with but the MWC isn't a league where many teams ever lose 9 straight. I guess SJSU did this season, in their 4 win overall season.... they still nosedived off a cliff. I know, I know, look at the mess he inherited, he did an admirable job considering... then donate the salary to charity since nothing was accomplished.

 

[TimothyC3]

I don't know. I don't care the talent level, when you set an all time record for the worst team in the history of UNLV basketball and you lose a UNLV record 9 straight games and you have multiple 20 point blowouts, 30 point blow outs and an all time worst 48 point blow out....

The team packed it in. Everyone saw it. They weren't good to begin with but the MWC isn't a league where many teams ever lose 9 straight. I guess SJSU did this season, in their 4 win overall season.... they still nosedived off a cliff. I know, I know, look at the mess he inherited, he did an admirable job considering... then donate the salary to charity since nothing was accomplished.

I don't buy the packed in argument or new narrative at all. Also, just because UNLV is on the jersey doesn't mean they should win against other teams in the MWC. If that's the case why did UNLV have back to back 8-10 records in the MWC before Menzies and with better talent?

 

[j. spilotro]

I don't buy the packed in argument or new narrative at all. Also, just because UNLV is on the jersey doesn't mean they should win against other teams in the MWC. If that's the case why did UNLV have back to back 8-10 records in the MWC before Menzies and with better talent?

That doesn’t make what is not being accomplished, or not accomplished, any better now, does it? At least we were able to actually beat teams that could actually dribble. Was it enough? No. But somehow, doing less now is some smashing success because of the almighty save all crutch.

In the end, it probably isn’t even going to come down to the lack of performance. The fans are speaking LOUDLY. They aren’t buying a morsel of this. They aren’t showing up at all! You know and I know, the actual bodies in the stands have NEVER been this low; well, maybe the Dula Center was like this, I’m not sure, I wasn’t alive. I’m sure the UNLV president was busy fighting the Beauregard mascot at the time attendance was so low. It’s embarrassing. Apathy has never dipped as low as it currently is.

Ah, the sweet post season, where passion is at its highest.

 

[F.A.Hayek]

I agree with Joe. And I don't get how multiple things cannot be true at the same time.

1. Menzies is doing a bad job.
2. Firing him would be a mistake.
3. Given multiple variables, including money, there is likely nobody we could hire to do a better job next year.

The arguments seem to be that because 2 and 3 are true, 1 can't be true too. Or that if people are arguing number 1, they must be ignoring the realities of 2 and 3. Not so.

Given the schedule, the talent, and the state of the conference, I just don't see how anyone can objectively say we did not under perform this year. We won a couple of games we maybe should have lost. But we lost more that we should have won. And that is just wins and losses. The margins of the defeats were often inexcusable was well.

That's all. Menzies should get another year. But he failed this year. And I don't think masking that failure is productive.

 

[j. spilotro]

I agree with Joe. And I don't get how multiple things cannot be true at the same time.

1. Menzies is doing a bad job.
2. Firing him would be a mistake.
3. Given multiple variables, including money, there is likely nobody we could hire to do a better job next year.

The arguments seem to be that because 2 and 3 are true, 1 can't be true too. Or that if people are arguing number 1, they must be ignoring the realities of 2 and 3. Not so.

Given the schedule, the talent, and the state of the conference, I just don't see how anyone can objectively say we did not under perform this year. We won a couple of games we maybe should have lost. But we lost more that we should have won. And that is just wins and losses. The margins of the defeats were often inexcusable was well.

That's all. Menzies should get another year. But he failed this year. And I don't think masking that failure is productive.

He deserves at least another year no matter what. Probably even a year after that. That’s in a perfect world.

But we have extraordinarily impatient fans (won’t change, we are at our bare minimum level and the largest percentage of them are demanding diehards).... the attendance that I speak of is a cash hemorrhage. So it’s not a perfect world.

If UNLV had the cash reserves and a home run hire; in other words, if we were power 5, I’d have no doubt, especially with an AD that didn’t make this hire, there’d have been announcement days ago; see Pittsburgh University.

But as far as we know, unless DRF has raised the cash needed, UNLV doesn’t have the means to make such a move. Not yet. But if you think they aren’t gearing up for it, then that tells me the dreams of DRF of leading a department in P5 just aren’t true.

The deck is stacked against Menzies. It would have been stacked against anyone that wasn’t on our A list, who we weren’t going to get anyway because the money wasn’t going to work. So it’s not so much Menzies thing. It was going to happen to any number of coaches, just as it has before.

All that aside; the basketball hasn’t been good. We’ve won 31 games and 23 of them have come against teams below .500... that’s beating nobody.

 

[TimothyC3]

That doesn’t make what is not being accomplished, or not accomplished, any better now, does it? At least we were able to actually beat teams that could actually dribble. Was it enough? No. But somehow, doing less now is some smashing success because of the almighty save all crutch.

In the end, it probably isn’t even going to come down to the lack of performance. The fans are speaking LOUDLY. They aren’t buying a morsel of this. They aren’t showing up at all! You know and I know, the actual bodies in the stands have NEVER been this low; well, maybe the Dula Center was like this, I’m not sure, I wasn’t alive. I’m sure the UNLV president was busy fighting the Beauregard mascot at the time attendance was so low. It’s embarrassing. Apathy has never dipped as low as it currently is.

Ah, the sweet post season, where passion is at its highest.

View embedded media

But remember, this wan't good enough because LK had peaked!

 

[j. spilotro]

But remember, this wan't good enough because LK had peaked!

View embedded media

Let's go back year by year ... let's just keep going back..... let's fortify the crutch... because that makes the present day results, somehow, actually pretty doggone impressive.

 

[TimothyC3]

Let's go back year by year ... let's just keep going back..... let's fortify the crutch... because that makes the present day, somehow, actually acceptable.

Joe, the current myriad of problems with UNLV basketball did not start with the hiring of Marvin Menzies. He did not create this mess! Also, you act like the 5 years prior to his hiring didn't happen! Well it did. The program was a dumpster fire and not of his making.

 

[j. spilotro]

Joe, the current myriad of problems with UNLV basketball did not start with the hiring of Marvin Menzies. He did not create this mess! Also, you act like the 5 years prior to his hiring didn't happen! Well it did. The program was a dumpster fire and not of his making.

I didn't say it was.

I'm saying regardless of any inherited situation, it's still been garbage. Cle Edwards could have given us the same results at 50K per year.

 

[1Tripoda]

I am glad you took care of that, Joe. So polite too...

 

[TarkisGod]

I agree with Joe.

I don’t...

If you’re insisting on assigning blame for the Rebels sad state of affairs, beside the obvious choices of T-KM and the ridiculous BofR, then you must point that accusatory finger at Dave Rice. Not that I’m necessarily recommending this as a productive exercise. But he’s the coach that oversaw the steady downward spiral from Lon Kruger to Marvin Menzies.

Burying MM after one season is grossly unfair. I’m not about to proclaim him the savior of the Rebels, but, by the same token, I’m also not prepared to declare his tenure a failure. The haste being displayed by many on this board, to already label Menzies as a bust, is astounding.

I certainly expected it from some of the jumpier contributors, but I wouldn't put Joe Spilotro in that category. Yet here he is, leading the charge. It’s very charitable to allow that firing Menzies after one season, would be a bad idea. But the reason it would be unwise, along with the continuity issues, is because it would be viewed by the coaching community, as extremely unfair to Marvin. And they’d be right.

C’mon guys, we gave Rice four-and-a-half years to tear us down. Can’t we give Menzies at least that long to try and dig us out of the hole we’re in?

Go Rebels!

 

[1Tripoda]

I think the poor attendance had more to do with last season and the seasons under Rice. The team hasn’t won a game in the tournament since 2008. Expectations were so low coming into the season. And hockey could have distracted people from basketball.

If the team made the tournament last year, started the season ranked, and had that 11-2 start I doubt the attendance would have been what it was.

You don't have to agree with him. Just be prepared to sit to no one next year in the Guicci row

 

[Vegas007]

Last time we hired our #1 choice which was Dave Rice. So we could go back in that direction again. And nobody will be in the stands so we can blame it on that coach too.

 

[Vegas007]

You don't have to agree with him. Just be prepared to sit to no one next year in the Guicci row

I actually agree with some of what he says. The 11-2 record was not impressive because of the strength of schedule. A good team should go 12-1 or 13-0 with that schedule. The team choked the game away in its 2 losses so that was really frustrating.

The only really exciting thing was the Utah game. But it was still just one game. For fans to start showing up, they need to see more than one game. Starting off conference play with a hot start would be something new that we aren’t used to seeing. We seem to lose our first conference game a lot.

Imagine if we started conference play with a 6-0 record, for example. That would be a bigger accomplishment than anything we’ve seen in forever.

 

[TimothyC3]

I don’t...

If you’re insisting on assigning blame for the Rebels sad state of affairs, beside the obvious choices of T-KM and the ridiculous BofR, then you must point that accusatory finger at Dave Rice. Not that I’m necessarily recommending this as a productive exercise. But he’s the coach that oversaw the steady downward spiral from Lon Kruger to Marvin Menzies.

Burying MM after one season is grossly unfair. I’m not about to proclaim him the savior of the Rebels, but, by the same token, I’m also not prepared to declare his tenure a failure. The haste being displayed by many on this board, to already label Menzies as a bust, is astounding.

I certainly expected it from some of the jumpier contributors, but I wouldn't put Joe Spilotro in that category. Yet here he is, leading the charge. It’s very charitable to allow that firing Menzies after one season, would be a bad idea. But the reason it would be unwise, along with the continuity issues, is because it would be viewed by the coaching community, as extremely unfair to Marvin. And they’d be right.

C’mon guys, we gave Rice four-and-a-half years to tear us down. Can’t we give Menzies at least that long to try and dig us out of the hole we’re in?

Go Rebels!

You points are valid and well thought out.

 

[j. spilotro]

I don’t...

If you’re insisting on assigning blame for the Rebels sad state of affairs, beside the obvious choices of T-KM and the ridiculous BofR, then you must point that accusatory finger at Dave Rice. Not that I’m necessarily recommending this as a productive exercise. But he’s the coach that oversaw the steady downward spiral from Lon Kruger to Marvin Menzies.

Burying MM after one season is grossly unfair. I’m not about to proclaim him the savior of the Rebels, but, by the same token, I’m also not prepared to declare his tenure a failure. The haste being displayed by many on this board, to already label Menzies as a bust, is astounding.

I certainly expected it from some of the jumpier contributors, but I wouldn't put Joe Spilotro in that category. Yet here he is, leading the charge. It’s very charitable to allow that firing Menzies after one season, would be a bad idea. But the reason it would be unwise, along with the continuity issues, is because it would be viewed by the coaching community, as extremely unfair to Marvin. And they’d be right.

C’mon guys, we gave Rice four-and-a-half years to tear us down. Can’t we give Menzies at least that long to try and dig us out of the hole we’re in?

Go Rebels!

Unless UNLV was going to hit on one of their top guys, it was going to be a disaster, regardless of the name. I’m not putting this on Menzies or advocating a firing. I’m merely pointing out that he has made nothing out of nothing, as most coaches at his level would do. I can’t look at the sliding results and puffed up schedule and be amped about anything. Even if we keep riding the crutch, there has been nothing of substance. There’s nothing to hang your hat on. There’s not a lot to look forward to if you look at evidence - all you can say is a mess was inherited, he had success at a small school in the past, maybe someday it will translate. If that’s enough to get your adrenaline pumping, more power to you. It doesn’t for me.

The crowd issue is very, very real and if you think people at UNLV aren’t VERY concerned, you are wrong. That’s cash for a program that has none. How do we fill the stadium next season? Just win? We were 11-2 and nobody showed up. If we play tough teams, will we win enough for people to show up? That may be the only way.... and winning against pretty good teams, you know, the type Rice was able to beat OOC, won’t be easy. So it’s a tough proposition.

I don’t think he should be fired though. That’s stupid. Not with the state UNLV is in. If UNLV had plenty of cash on hand, I’m sure they would, as Pitt just did after two years, as Memphis did after two years. But as far as I know, DRF hasn’t secured pledges for 10M or so. So it would be dumb.

But UNLV cannot keep hemorrhaging at the gate. Marketing can’t save that. There’s competition in town too and more coming ..... I think acting like he’s on firm ground is ignoring many of the surrounding factors, including that DRF didn’t hire him and she wants to escalate to a power 5 and the only way you do that is with a big move....

 

[LuvMeSomeRebs]

The Memphis and Pitt situations were both similar to UNLV's current situation in a way.

The excitement surrounding Memphis basketball was the lowest its been in a very long time and the low attendance was seriously hurting the university. They had near sellouts under Pastner, but averaged under 6k under Tubby. Tubby didn't do a horrible job, but the poor attendance was too much.

Kevin Stallings was almost unanimously unwanted among Pitt fans and was not hired by the current AD, so after having the worst season in Pitt history he was canned, but I don't think even a mediocre season would've saved him.

Those are 2 things you can say about the Rebels right now.

Again, I'm not saying Menzies should be fired, or that I want him to be fired, I don't, just thought it was interesting reading about those firings and seeing some similarities to where UNLV is now.

 

[Rebel1986]

The jury is out on Menzies. The season did suck, but it was a move in the right direction. Next season is without a doubt critical both to the program and to showing if Menzies is able to turn the program around.

 

[dcut03]

No one is saying that MM was coach of the year. They are using some sort of rational thought in their assessment of him thus far, how dare they!

A couple of things. I wouldn't go far to say that the teams that we fielded this year were as good as the 2 years before Menzies. But the conference is better now than it was then. So a similar conference record is comparable at least.

The attendance is concerning no question. But using a pic from the MWCT for a play in game at noon on a Wednesday after most of the fans have checked out on them isn't very accurate at all. Just saying. There is a problem going that is for sure.

A lot of things factor. So many people were turned away from striking out on all of our targets that they went away and stayed away. Some with their money, some kept seats but decided not to go to games. It will probably take a something big to bring back many of those fans.

Also We had several promising OOC's with Dave Rice that many fans are gunshy to get on board. Playing a tougher schedule would help, but many would need some post season success to come back.

Mensies tenure has not be great, not horrific either. Overall he is doing just about as what you should expect for any coach, given his sitation.

Plenty to be concerned about, I agree with all the concerns that luvmesomerebs has said.

But to say that there is nothing give hope is dumb.

CMM has recruited well. He's no Coach K or Sean Miller, but he's done well given what he walked in to. He is collecting a lot of 3-4 year players who have potential to be really college basketball players. We haven't had a really good college player in years.

We are running better than with Rice, we can get good shots, can get to the FT line, and generally shoot efficiently. We stagnated down the stretch, but when things are going well, some of the best team offense since our win against UNC.

So there are signs of hope, the whole package has been frustrating, nothing to get excited about.

I do wish we accepted a CBI bid. Even to empty crowds, hell accept going on the road. More playing time with our young core would have been beneficial.

 

[TarkisGod]

I do wish we accepted a CBI bid. Even to empty crowds, hell accept going on the road. More playing time with our young core would have been beneficial.

I like your post, in general. It’s reasonably thought-out. Neither “rah-rah”, nor “the world is coming to an end” either.

I really agree with that last part. I’m surprised to hear that Coach Menzies wasn’t in favor of playing in the CBI. Not only was it a chance for the players to get another opportunity to play together, in a live-game environment. But I would have thought that the Coach would like his players to experience what it’s like to play in a national single-elimination tournament atmosphere.

I know it’s only a third-rate tourney, that schools must pay a small amount to gain entry. But it still has advantages that can’t be duplicated in practice. Perhaps the tight-fisted school was unwilling to put up the fee, knowing that the opportunity to get it back from gate receipts was unlikely. At least, if the game took place at the Thomas&Mack. But maybe, if the Rebels advanced, they might generate some interest, and with it a spike in attendance.

We’ll never know now…

Go Rebels!

 

[j. spilotro]

Overall he is doing just about as what you should expect for any coach, given his sitation.

Any coach? Seriously?

If UNLV nails one of their top picks, we are in much better shape today. Now if you want to say he's done about as well as any coach that actually wanted the job, I'd agree, or any other coaches that were at the end of the list. I don't have a problem with that statement, but to pretend "any" coach, a coach such as Dixon, Cronin, Underwood, Bird (who I didn't want, I'd rather have Menzies) etc, etc, etc - wouldn't have fared far better.... now that's dumb. Of course, we will never know, but common sense says they'd have done more, especially not much less could have been accomplished by any coach.

We are scoring more, but we are defending far, far less. We are defending at a level never seen before at UNLV. That is a part of the game. A big part of it. I'm as much as an offense guy as defense, I don't buy the whole "defense wins championships" argument, I think you have to be pretty good offensively. But you have to be at least decent defensively and this was embarrassing. We didn't defend anywhere on the court.

As for the CBI, if a couple of guys don't want to play, I don't think you play the game. I think you leave it up to the team. Even if they wanted to play, I'd be inclined to not play in it. If you are SJSU and you happened to put together a season better than you expected, play in it as a reward for sticking together and overachieving. To award it when a team melts down, I just think it's a bad idea, it becomes a participation trophy and sets a bad example. And we already gave away 10 home games at 80K with no return on that investment with our home OOC. Can't just pony up the cost of a failed logo on a whim when you don't have the cash.

 

[Rebel_Luv]

Any coach? Seriously?

If UNLV nails one of their top picks, we are in much better shape today. Now if you want to say he's done about as well as any coach that actually wanted the job, I'd agree, or any other coaches that were at the end of the list. I don't have a problem with that statement, but to pretend "any" coach, a coach such as Dixon, Cronin, Underwood, Bird (who I didn't want, I'd rather have Menzies) etc, etc, etc - wouldn't have fared far better.... now that's dumb. Of course, we will never know, but common sense says they'd have done more, especially not much less could have been accomplished by any coach.

We are scoring more, but we are defending far, far less. We are defending at a level never seen before at UNLV. That is a part of the game. A big part of it. I'm as much as an offense guy as defense, I don't buy the whole "defense wins championships" argument, I think you have to be pretty good offensively. But you have to be at least decent defensively and this was embarrassing. We didn't defend anywhere on the court.

As for the CBI, if a couple of guys don't want to play, I don't think you play the game. I think you leave it up to the team. Even if they wanted to play, I'd be inclined to not play in it. If you are SJSU and you happened to put together a season better than you expected, play in it as a reward for sticking together and overachieving. To award it when a team melts down, I just think it's a bad idea, it becomes a participation trophy and sets a bad example. And we already gave away 10 home games at 80K with no return on that investment with our home OOC. Can't just pony up the cost of a failed logo on a whim when you don't have the cash.

There is at-least a dozen coaches that could of done a better job. Better coached teams would solve atlot of our issues. This team has no identity! NONE! Everyone looks lost or disinterested in playing any defense.and most of our offense was just talent and simple sets. Like clear outs leading to 1 on 1 basketball.

 

[MonsterJam]

There is at-least a dozen coaches that could of done a better job. Better coached teams would solve atlot of our issues. This team has no identity! NONE! Everyone looks lost or disinterested in playing any defense.and most of our offense was just talent and simple sets. Like clear outs leading to 1 on 1 basketball.

I don't necessarily disagree here, but the reality is that UNLV cant afford or attract the 12 better coaches.

I hope I'm wrong, but I think this is the new normal: UNLV being a middle of the pack mid-major that will never, ever return to the NCAAs on a regular basis.

I can see only one thing saving UNLV basketball. UNLV Football. High-level play in a new pro-stadium that brings in big crowds could potentially make UNLV attractive to P5 conferences. But that is an uphill battle.

 

[Rebel_Luv]

Any coach? Seriously?

If UNLV nails one of their top picks, we are in much better shape today. Now if you want to say he's done about as well as any coach that actually wanted the job, I'd agree, or any other coaches that were at the end of the list. I don't have a problem with that statement, but to pretend "any" coach, a coach such as Dixon, Cronin, Underwood, Bird (who I didn't want, I'd rather have Menzies) etc, etc, etc - wouldn't have fared far better.... now that's dumb. Of course, we will never know, but common sense says they'd have done more, especially not much less could have been accomplished by any coach.

We are scoring more, but we are defending far, far less. We are defending at a level never seen before at UNLV. That is a part of the game. A big part of it. I'm as much as an offense guy as defense, I don't buy the whole "defense wins championships" argument, I think you have to be pretty good offensively. But you have to be at least decent defensively and this was embarrassing. We didn't defend anywhere on the court.

As for the CBI, if a couple of guys don't want to play, I don't think you play the game. I think you leave it up to the team. Even if they wanted to play, I'd be inclined to not play in it. If you are SJSU and you happened to put together a season better than you expected, play in it as a reward for sticking together and overachieving. To award it when a team melts down, I just think it's a bad idea, it becomes a participation trophy and sets a bad example. And we already gave away 10 home games at 80K with no return on that investment with our home OOC. Can't just pony up the cost of a failed logo on a whim when you don't have the cash.

BTW this thread is going to be epic in th

I don't necessarily disagree here, but the reality is that UNLV cant afford or attract the 12 better coaches.

I hope I'm wrong, but I think this is the new normal: UNLV being a middle of the pack mid-major that will never, ever return to the NCAAs on a regular basis.

I can see only one thing saving UNLV basketball. UNLV Football. High-level play in a new pro-stadium that brings in big crowds could potentially make UNLV attractive to P5 conferences. But that is an uphill battle.

When i said atleast 12 i mean from a smaller school. Coaches that are well respected and have over achieved in their perspective school. Look at all these smaller schools in the tournament. Their teams run excellent sets on the offense and gritty defense! They just look the part. A well coached team/