What Am I Missing?

[Pistol Pete 1]

We received a commitment letter from Joel Ntwanbe yesterday and not a peep anywhere. He was blowing up in recruiting circles and being recruited by Cincinnati and Louisville as well as others and his signing is being treated like the plague here. Had he already given us a verbal? If so I hadn't read about it.

I for one am extremely excited to see this guy in a UNLV uniform. Small ball with him at the 5 or go big with Diong at the 5, Joel at the 4 and Juice at the 3.

Or has total apathy set in that no matter who we bring in, no matter how many games we win we just hate MM so much that we will just be haters until he is gone.

 

[BornRebelRed]

It is what this site was intended to be. Talks about recruiting and recruits. It was my impression he committed about two weeks ago, then signed yesterday. I also believe Menzies is lining up a strong class for next year. This year we are set with maybe one more guy coming in. But you are right, this site has gone downhill bigtime the last couple years. We all expect more.

 

[JTthe2nd]

Apathy not hatred of MM. We've had 4 and 5 star players before and it's done little to make the team a solid, viable NCAA tournament-worthy team or even a threat to win the MWC. I could ring off a couple dozen players since the Bayno days with more hype and gaudier ratings than Ntwanbe who failed to do more than get us a 3rd or 4th place finish and an NCAA first round blowout(and those were the good years).

Not saying Ntwanbe is or isn't going to a good player for us but it's hard to get real excited listening to the same broken record.

 

[Pistol Pete 1]

Apathy is a word I have been seeing and hearing lately regarding Rebel Men’s Basketball and apathy is a word that is not synonymous with the word fan. Here is a definition I found of the word fan in the dictionary. “Fan is generally–and very likely correctly–believed to be a shortened form of fanatic. Traced back to the Latin word fanum, meaning SANCTUARY”. I would suggest that to many on this site Rebel Basketball is anything but a sanctuary.

I am for one am still a fan, a fanatic and Rebel Basketball is still a place I go to find sanctuary and escape from the cares of the world but many here are no longer fans but have just become critics.

 

[BornRebelRed]

This is just what you are talking about Pistol. No responses. It used to be funner. Still can. Cmon people lets talk about the Rebs. Not the administration or anything . Just the Rebs. I admit, right now I’m not as high on Coach Menzies as I once was. But I do believe he can recruit. I think all the players he gets are pretty good. And I believe we are going to get even better players in the near future. We can be good again. So hop on the UNLV train. It doesn’t have to be the Menzies train. But, I think I feel the engine starting to roll down the tracks.
And I will be rolling with them. Just as I have, oh these many long years...

 

[Rebel1986]

I tend to agree with what a lot of people have said. Year after year we have had anywhere from good to great recruiting with poor results. In order to turn things around, the team will need to come out on fire and play there hearts out. This last season looked really good and as the season played out the team slowly disappeared.

It is going to take as big a jump from year 2 to year 3 as they had from year 1 to year 2 to stir up the fan support.

 

[JTthe2nd]

It's going to take time to get continuity in the program. Players have to stay and develop and gain experience. Then when we've got some kind of consistency going we can integrate new players in more easily and effectively but we have to be patient. Hopefully MM can get the team we have now to perform well enough to give fans hope sooner rather than later. One thing we have to do is defend the home court and turn it into something to be feared again. Nothing worse than going to a home game and watching your team sleep walk it's way to a loss. That's become way too common lately.

 

[j. spilotro]

It's going to take time to get continuity in the program. Players have to stay and develop and gain experience. Then when we've got some kind of consistency going we can integrate new players in more easily and effectively but we have to be patient. Hopefully MM can get the team we have now to perform well enough to give fans hope sooner rather than later. One thing we have to do is defend the home court and turn it into something to be feared again. Nothing worse than going to a home game and watching your team sleep walk it's way to a loss. That's become way too common lately.

Defending at home starts with not dropping 17 or 18 games within the city limits the past two years. I don’t think UNLV has ever had that bad of a stretch.

 

[dcut03]

It has been completely unfair, but it is what it is.

A huge portion of the fanbase just doesn't like Menzies, never did, and many never gave him a chance.

I get why, his hiring was a merciful end to the worst offseason that was. He had been turned down twice before and seemingly took the job when no one else would.

Most fans just disappeared because of what happened to the program and the fact that we ended up with a reject.

Some no matter what happens, people have a bad taste in their mouth with Menzies.

The first 2 years have not been good. Can't expect much season 1, he had some talent year 2 but could not maximize potential with that roster.

There have been good things. His recruiting has been good. He is picking up 3 and 4 star talent that look like they will stick around for 3-4 years. He landed 1 5 star and is has been recruiting others gaining at least some interest.

He has been able to run a good offense that runs and scores efficiently. Great team shooting percentages with high FTAs.

Not going over the bad, that's not the point. We all know what that is.

Will Menzies get us to a place we all realistically want to be? Too early to tell. But at the very least, he is recruiting talented , likable guys that look like they will stick around. Guys that have a good chance of staying, even if Menzies gets canned in the next 2-3 years.

Long term potential is pretty good, at the very least we are digging out of the hole we were 2 years ago, and should be well set up in the next few years whoever the coach will be.

Next season likely won't shock the world. But watching the development of these players is where the draw will be.

 

[Rebel1986]

I don't think most of the fan base have a problem with Menzies, I think it is what happened before he took over that caused most of the damage in regards to attendance.

 

[j. spilotro]

I don't think most of the fan base have a problem with Menzies, I think it is what happened before he took over that caused most of the damage in regards to attendance.

Crapping the bed nationally for a several week period wasn’t a great look. It soured a lot of people because it just showed how small time UNLV is. I do think that broke people more than the last two seasons have. The only thing that could have saved UNLV at that time was to justify the crapping of the bed with a home run hire. They didn’t. People bailed.

 

[TimothyC3]

What's the solution? There is no $$$$? At least for now, with the way Jessup was handled, all the mega donors have stepped away. Heck, UNLV doesn't even have a University President! I wonder how the new AD feels about that? If I were her I would bail at the first chance! Even if it is just a lateral move. Further, if I were Menzies and able to turn it around and win 24-26 games next year, I would immediately look for another job and bail too.

 

[j. spilotro]

What's the solution? There is no $$$$? At least for now, with the way Jessup was handled, all the mega donors have stepped away. Heck, UNLV doesn't even have a University President! I wonder how the new AD feels about that? If I were her I would bail at the first chance! Even if it is just a lateral move. Further, if I were Menzies and able to turn it around and win 24-26 games next year, I would immediately look for another job and bail too.

I’m not going to disagree.

 

[dcut03]

What's the solution? There is no $$$$? At least for now, with the way Jessup was handled, all the mega donors have stepped away. Heck, UNLV doesn't even have a University President! I wonder how the new AD feels about that? If I were her I would bail at the first chance! Even if it is just a lateral move. Further, if I were Menzies and able to turn it around and win 24-26 games next year, I would immediately look for another job and bail too.

I don't disagree either, but to play devil's advocate.

Both DRF and Menzies are in similar situations. Both came while UNLV was in it's roughest spot in history. At least basketball for sure.

They will be linked to improving the program from when they came. It's no lose. It's more difficult for Menzies since he has to deal with probably more heat.

If Menzies gets fired, especially in the next 2 years, it won't hurt him much. He can point to digging the program out off the doldrums and blame stupid UNLV for firing him too early (which would be true).

DRF gets credit as well. If it doesn't work out, well it is an extremely tough job to begin with. If the football team makes a bowl, if the basketball team improves.

Really the worst thing for her would be to fire Menzies or Sanchez without a homerun replacement. Even with a good replacement in the bag, they would have to jump the program up immediately.

 

[Rebel1986]

Jessup didn't bring shit to UNLV. 95% of the donations came prior to him, all of the donations he brought have already cancelled. He is why I stopped donating to UNLV.

 

[TimothyC3]

Jessup didn't bring shit to UNLV. 95% of the donations came prior to him, all of the donations he brought have already cancelled. He is why I stopped donating to UNLV.

For the medical school. https://m.lasvegassun.com/news/2018/mar/14/concern-regents-leadership-unlv-med-school-funding/

 

[Rebel1986]

I don't need to look to see that he did get most of the medical school funding, but almost all of those donations have already cancelled.

 

[dcut03]

Jessup didn't bring shit to UNLV. 95% of the donations came prior to him, all of the donations he brought have already cancelled. He is why I stopped donating to UNLV.

Just curious, why did you stop donating because of Jessup?

Was it the basketball search? The mispronunciation of Bird's name? Or other reasons?

 

[j. spilotro]

I don't need to look to see that he did get most of the medical school funding, but almost all of those donations have already cancelled.

I don’t know enough about he dude especially on th academic side. Yeah, he did what a president is supposed to do. He secured some funds.

I’m regards to athletics, he was a buffoon. There were some political stances he made that I wasn’t a fan of either. Overall, pretty much like anything else, you hear good and bad.

But he had no urgency with athletics. It was ... just field a team and that’s good enough.... here’s a little cash to run your programs... want more? No.

So I don’t care that he’s gone.

If he’s the only person in the world who could secure funds for the medical school then maybe it’s a bad move. But considering it’s a primary job of the position, I’d hope we can get somebody in here that can do their job. Just like most people agree that a recruiting class shouldn’t save a coaches job, should some promised dollars enable a president to keep his job? Can’t be held hostage by those things, I think most would say.

I don’t think Messup losing his job is going to cause UNLV to crumble.

 

[TimothyC3]

I don’t know enough about he dude especially on th academic side. Yeah, he did what a president is supposed to do. He secured some funds.

I’m regards to athletics, he was a buffoon. There were some political stances he made that I wasn’t a fan of either. Overall, pretty much like anything else, you hear good and bad.

But he had no urgency with athletics. It was ... just field a team and that’s good enough.... here’s a little cash to run your programs... want more? No.

So I don’t care that he’s gone.

If he’s the only person in the world who could secure funds for the medical school then maybe it’s a bad move. But considering it’s a primary job of the position, I’d hope we can get somebody in here that can do their job. Just like most people agree that a recruiting class shouldn’t save a coaches job, should some promised dollars enable a president to keep his job? Can’t be held hostage by those things, I think most would say.

I don’t think Messup losing his job is going to cause UNLV to crumble.

No sense of urgency with athletics? Maybe if Jessup didn't upset the BOR in a tense public hearing seeking a $15 mill loan to complete the football practice facility in an attempt to move UNLV football forward and table the practice facility project for 5 years because of the lack of funding he would still be the UNLV President....like Harter, Maxim and all the Harvard of the West types before him would have done! Source: https://lasvegassun.com/news/2017/sep/07/funding-plan-for-unlv-football-facility-approved/

 

[j. spilotro]

No sense of urgency with athletics? Maybe if Jessup didn't upset the BOR in a tense public hearing seeking a $15 mill loan to complete the football practice facility in an attempt to move UNLV football forward and table the practice facility project for 5 years because of the lack of funding he would still be the UNLV President....like Harter, Maxim and all the Harvard of the West types before him would have done! Source: https://lasvegassun.com/news/2017/sep/07/funding-plan-for-unlv-football-facility-approved/

He was more concerned with changing the name of the Rebels so he could soothe the screams of four students.

He was a do nothing with sports. He didn’t care as long as sports didn’t get bad pub. Just put something on the field. Talk with those that worked directly with him. He didn’t hate sports, they were just an existing entity that he dealt with as little as possible.

Funny, the thing he didn’t want - bad sports pub - was spearheaded by him and her.

We will see if the med school stops or if the school closes down. Two sets of (replaceable) money wanted him, a lot of people wanted him gone including BOR (not that that is a reason since they have their own issues). Nobody in athletics fought on his behalf. Not a soul.

 

[TimothyC3]

He was more concerned with changing the name of the Rebels so he could soothe the screams of four students.

He was a do nothing with sports. He didn’t care as long as sports didn’t get bad pub. Just put something on the field. Talk with those that worked directly with him. He didn’t hate sports, they were just an existing entity that he dealt with as little as possible.

Funny, the thing he didn’t want - bad sports pub - was spearheaded by him and her.

We will see if the med school stops or if the school closes down. Two sets of (replaceable) money wanted him, a lot of people wanted him gone including BOR (not that that is a reason since they have their own issues). Nobody in athletics fought on his behalf. Not a soul.

Didn't you read the Sun article? If so, why did he go to bat for the football practice facility? Name one UNLV President over the last 30 years that would have done the same?

 

[TimothyC3]

He was more concerned with changing the name of the Rebels so he could soothe the screams of four students.

He was a do nothing with sports. He didn’t care as long as sports didn’t get bad pub. Just put something on the field. Talk with those that worked directly with him. He didn’t hate sports, they were just an existing entity that he dealt with as little as possible.

Funny, the thing he didn’t want - bad sports pub - was spearheaded by him and her.

We will see if the med school stops or if the school closes down. Two sets of (replaceable) money wanted him, a lot of people wanted him gone including BOR (not that that is a reason since they have their own issues). Nobody in athletics fought on his behalf. Not a soul.

One other comment. I counted approximately $77+ mill in mega donor money and there could be more on hold because of Jessup's resignation. Will they come back? Maybe. But you can bet they will have input on who is hired as the new UNLV President. Also, let's not overlook the choice of the UNLV faculty just four years ago, Carol Harter,... "she was the favorite among UNLV faculty to serve as interim president after outgoing UNLV President Neal Smatresk announced his intention to move to the University of North Texas."

Source:http://www.unlvfreepress.com/community-to-honor-retiring-harter-at-may-reception/

 

[j. spilotro]

Didn't you read the Sun article? If so, why did he go to bat for the football practice facility? Name one UNLV President over the last 30 years that would have done the same?

Name one president over the last 30 years that publicly butchered a coaching search and mangled the coaches name at a press conference and had a hand in the hemorrhaging of athletic money by way of huge losses?

Why did nobody go to bat for him aside from two donors? And were those donors investing in him or the school? Is their money following him to his new school?

I’m just saying that this doesn’t necessarily have to be the big deal some are making it out to be. I don’t remember any outrage when other presidents left and UNLV survived. Actually, not much outrage with his outsting either.

Give the new president a chance. If they can’t find a president to recoup those funds or find new funds, then there was a failure with that search because that’s a big part of the job. It’s not like Lenny was the Jerry Tarkanian of presidents here.

 

[TimothyC3]

Name one president over the last 30 years that publicly butchered a coaching search and mangled the coaches name at a press conference and had a hand in the hemorrhaging of athletic money by way of huge losses?

Why did nobody go to bat for him aside from two donors? And were those donors investing in him or the school? Is their money following him to his new school?

I’m just saying that this doesn’t necessarily have to be the big deal some are making it out to be. I don’t remember any outrage when other presidents left and UNLV survived. Actually, not much outrage with his outsting either.

Give the new president a chance. If they can’t find a president to recoup those funds or find new funds, then there was a failure with that search because that’s a big part of the job. It’s not like Lenny was the Jerry Tarkanian of presidents here.

I was more John Valery White than Jessup. But like you mentioned, I gave him a chance like all the past Presidents and Coaches. Also, remember the coaching search was conducted by TKM and that wasn't Jessup's hire. The issue as I see it is this. Lenny was benign as far as athletics was concerned. Not pro. But not anti athletics. Based on history I have little confidence that will improve with the new hire and anticipate the Mega donors will have great input.

 

[dcut03]

I don't what he said around the office, but his actions state otherwise.

I know it is the UNLV's president's job to raise funds, but can you think of any other prez that raised 77 mil +? that's probably more than the past 4 combined.

The Med school is a big deal. It's huge for tier 1, which is huge for P5 inclusion.

He got a reputable firm to headhunter firm for the new AD, which was nationally thought to be a good hire.

To me, people don't like Jessup for a few reasons:

1: He said "Bird"

2: The new logo

3: He didn't completely fire TKM

4... am I missing something?

In reality the athletic department had more significant improvements in terms of resources/infrastructure under him than perhaps under any other president.

- Fought for UNLV for the stadium, getting a big time firm to represent our interests, giving us a fair deal in the use off the facility.

- Secured loans to start the construction of the practice facility, an unpopular move with academic types.

-getting us closer to tier 1 with unprecedented fund raising for the med school

-return of funds from the use of the T&M and Sam Boyd Stadium to the athletic dept.

There was bad, there was good. Losing him can be pretty significant. It is a huge uphill battle for his replacement to even get back those funds. It's not impossible, but given our administrative history, it is hard to get too happy about his departure

 

[Rebel1986]

you are missing a lot.

 

[dcut03]

you are missing a lot.

thanks for the clarification

You sound like digit

 

[Rebel1986]

I have clarified in the past, not going through it again on here. Let me just say the guy is a bigoted piece of crap and leave it at that.

 

[ImmaRebel]

The guy CHOSE to leave because the 3 year review he asked for in advance wasn't 100% positive and some no name local paper reported rumors about it.

So he puts out a memo to everyone about him looking for work elsewhere.... Pretty much the equivalent to whining on Twitter about things that should have been private.

No one fired him. He left. Good riddance and if you think otherwise fine but don't act like he was forced out against his will.

 

[j. spilotro]

The guy CHOSE to leave because the 3 year review he asked for in advance wasn't 100% positive and some no name local paper reported rumors about it.

So he puts out a memo to everyone about him looking for work elsewhere.... Pretty much the equivalent to whining on Twitter about things that should have been private.

No one fired him. He left. Good riddance and if you think otherwise fine but don't act like he was forced out against his will.

Thank you.