Been thinking about this a bit lately.
Menzies wasn't my first, my second, my third, my fourth choice... he was way down on any personal preference list. But once it fell from the top few of that list my stance was that it really doesn't matter who at this point, let's see what they can do. I guess there was a line to my own confidence and once that was crossed, I decided the best way for me is to step back and watch, be a fan and hope for the best in spite of my level of confidence. My level of confidence, your level of confidence, the confidence of any boosters, administrators, coaches around the country.... it simply does not matter and it's going to be one of the most unreliable predictors of success. I read people here who are SURE of failure because he hasn't beaten a ranked team or won an NCAA tournament game or because recruiting so far doesn't have enough star power.... And I read people here who are SURE of success because of the way he sounds in an interview or because he performed at the top of the WAC or because he's this or that... it kinda makes me laugh because none of us know yet we state things as fact.
I'll be the first to admit, I wasn't overjoyed with Beard. There were some things about him that I was eager to see in action. I wanted to see the firmness, the no nonsense, the my way or highway philosophy in action. Quite honestly, I don't think that way would work really well at UNLV, but if it did, it would be very interesting. After he was hired, I heard a few things I liked, some things I didn't like AT ALL and he obviously created a little of mayhem in his brief time here and it left Menzies even more shorthanded. Whether Beard was successful or not, he wasn't going to be here a long time. In my opinion, his set ways were going to get him canned rather quickly or his success would have sent him elsewhere. UNLV was very temporary for Beard. I don't like that - not for a guy that doesn't have much of a history. If Pitino were going to come here for two or three years and retire, I could live with that because you have a track record. Even though there are some nasty systemic flaws, I think UNLV is a destination job - not a stepping stone.
And that's one of a number of reasons why I prefer Menzies to Beard. I think if Menzies can maneuver the treacherous waters at UNLV, he's a long time coach here. Conversely, I think if he doesn't find some significant growth between years one and three, he's going to (wrongfully) be chased out of here by an AD who didn't hire him, temperamental boosters and a segment of fans that look at only final scores. I really don't know if Beard could recruit, but I know Menzies can recruit quality. Functional recruiting, I don't know... by that I mean the convergence of talent with personalities to construct a good roster. Only time will tell.
To me, Beard ALWAYS felt like a complete outsider. I know a bunch of our fans bought in early with him, but something about him didn't add up. And those tall tales... ugh, they rubbed me the wrong way horribly. If the first thing you are going to spout to the fans is calculated lies... bad, bad first impression. Conversely, I feel Menzies is a pretty normal everyday Joe. Which I'm more comfortable with personally, but it's like confidence level... personality type isn't going to be a strong predictor of success, either.
I've attempted to be pragmatic with my approach and it's left me feeling very, very little excitement about the immediate future. Seriously, regardless of the way this class rounds out, it feels like there are some serious ass whippings around the bend - the type we haven't seen since USC, Mizzou, and Utah over a decade ago. I'm kind of expecting a year like Bayno's first, to be honest. A year with some really humbling defeats on national TV and one in which you don't make any conference noise. You're one of the teams the opposition wants to play. If that's what is going to happen, it's going to be tough for a lot of fans. The goal is to improve year after year, but that doesn't make dealing with a very poor year much easier. And I think something like that would put Menzies in a very difficult spot moving forward. Not many things are more rare than patience in Las Vegas. And the last thing I want to see is yet ANOTHER short cycle reset. Those resets seem to lead to backwards steps.
As you know, I've followed this program pretty closely over the past three and a half decades. I swear, with each and every coach we've had, I would have so much more confidence if the level above them were strong. I really don't know how much UNLV can do or REALLY even wants to do (it's easy to say, it's another thing to put in the effort) if strong, capable people aren't leading the charge at the administrative level.
Menzies wasn't my first, my second, my third, my fourth choice... he was way down on any personal preference list. But once it fell from the top few of that list my stance was that it really doesn't matter who at this point, let's see what they can do. I guess there was a line to my own confidence and once that was crossed, I decided the best way for me is to step back and watch, be a fan and hope for the best in spite of my level of confidence. My level of confidence, your level of confidence, the confidence of any boosters, administrators, coaches around the country.... it simply does not matter and it's going to be one of the most unreliable predictors of success. I read people here who are SURE of failure because he hasn't beaten a ranked team or won an NCAA tournament game or because recruiting so far doesn't have enough star power.... And I read people here who are SURE of success because of the way he sounds in an interview or because he performed at the top of the WAC or because he's this or that... it kinda makes me laugh because none of us know yet we state things as fact.
I'll be the first to admit, I wasn't overjoyed with Beard. There were some things about him that I was eager to see in action. I wanted to see the firmness, the no nonsense, the my way or highway philosophy in action. Quite honestly, I don't think that way would work really well at UNLV, but if it did, it would be very interesting. After he was hired, I heard a few things I liked, some things I didn't like AT ALL and he obviously created a little of mayhem in his brief time here and it left Menzies even more shorthanded. Whether Beard was successful or not, he wasn't going to be here a long time. In my opinion, his set ways were going to get him canned rather quickly or his success would have sent him elsewhere. UNLV was very temporary for Beard. I don't like that - not for a guy that doesn't have much of a history. If Pitino were going to come here for two or three years and retire, I could live with that because you have a track record. Even though there are some nasty systemic flaws, I think UNLV is a destination job - not a stepping stone.
And that's one of a number of reasons why I prefer Menzies to Beard. I think if Menzies can maneuver the treacherous waters at UNLV, he's a long time coach here. Conversely, I think if he doesn't find some significant growth between years one and three, he's going to (wrongfully) be chased out of here by an AD who didn't hire him, temperamental boosters and a segment of fans that look at only final scores. I really don't know if Beard could recruit, but I know Menzies can recruit quality. Functional recruiting, I don't know... by that I mean the convergence of talent with personalities to construct a good roster. Only time will tell.
To me, Beard ALWAYS felt like a complete outsider. I know a bunch of our fans bought in early with him, but something about him didn't add up. And those tall tales... ugh, they rubbed me the wrong way horribly. If the first thing you are going to spout to the fans is calculated lies... bad, bad first impression. Conversely, I feel Menzies is a pretty normal everyday Joe. Which I'm more comfortable with personally, but it's like confidence level... personality type isn't going to be a strong predictor of success, either.
I've attempted to be pragmatic with my approach and it's left me feeling very, very little excitement about the immediate future. Seriously, regardless of the way this class rounds out, it feels like there are some serious ass whippings around the bend - the type we haven't seen since USC, Mizzou, and Utah over a decade ago. I'm kind of expecting a year like Bayno's first, to be honest. A year with some really humbling defeats on national TV and one in which you don't make any conference noise. You're one of the teams the opposition wants to play. If that's what is going to happen, it's going to be tough for a lot of fans. The goal is to improve year after year, but that doesn't make dealing with a very poor year much easier. And I think something like that would put Menzies in a very difficult spot moving forward. Not many things are more rare than patience in Las Vegas. And the last thing I want to see is yet ANOTHER short cycle reset. Those resets seem to lead to backwards steps.
As you know, I've followed this program pretty closely over the past three and a half decades. I swear, with each and every coach we've had, I would have so much more confidence if the level above them were strong. I really don't know how much UNLV can do or REALLY even wants to do (it's easy to say, it's another thing to put in the effort) if strong, capable people aren't leading the charge at the administrative level.
