You can stop all the "We want Brad Huse to go" threads

[BelgradeBobcat]

I s'pose its because he was very decisive in dealing with the problems even to the detriment of the team's results. He booted Tre Johnson and Jamie Stewart. Budinich lost his scholarship. He suspended Biglow for a long time. He's been pretty no-nonsense when dealing with nonsense. No suspending a kid until the 4 minute timeout or some other slap on the wrist.

[Potomac Griz]

Wow....my condolences..

Just was curious how the attendance numbers have looked for you guys the past few years, so I looked 'em up.

The year before last season was the first year since 1978 that you drew less than 3000 fans per game, drawing 2922 per game, down from 3228 the previous year.

Last season (the one that just finished) you drew 2523 per game it looks like...

1978... that's a long time ago. That season (I'm not sure wtf happened) you only drew 1708 per game. The year after that though you drew 4808 per game, so I'm not sure if there was some stadium construction going on in 1978 that caused the low attendance (like what happened when the Griz played in Sentinel HS Gym).

Anyway, just thought I'd drop those stats here for a little ammo if you want to fire that off to your AD who decided that Huse is worth a 2 year extension.. Everything was taken from the NCAA site Here, except for this years attendance, which was taken from ESPN.

Can you believe at one time the Griz and the Cats were consistently in the top 100 for attendance? Sometimes even flirting with the top 50? Right up there with teams like Nevada, Colorado State, and even Florida and Pittsburgh at on point.

[BelgradeBobcat]

Wow....my condolences..

Just was curious how the attendance numbers have looked for you guys the past few years, so I looked 'em up.

The year before last season was the first year since 1978 that you drew less than 3000 fans per game, drawing 2922 per game, down from 3228 the previous year.

Last season (the one that just finished) you drew 2523 per game it looks like...

1978... that's a long time ago. That season (I'm not sure wtf happened) you only drew 1708 per game. The year after that though you drew 4808 per game, so I'm not sure if there was some stadium construction going on in 1978 that caused the low attendance (like what happened when the Griz played in Sentinel HS Gym).

Anyway, just thought I'd drop those stats here for a little ammo if you want to fire that off to your AD who decided that Huse is worth a 2 year extension.. Everything was taken from the NCAA site Here, except for this years attendance, which was taken from ESPN.

Can you believe at one time the Griz and the Cats were consistently in the top 100 for attendance? Sometimes even flirting with the top 50? Right up there with teams like Nevada, Colorado State, and even Florida and Pittsburgh at on point.

Really interesting stuff. Thanks for posting. I think 1978 was Rich Juarez's last season. I was a kid back then, but I remember the Bobcats being really horrible during his tenure-even worse than they've been under Huse. 1978-1979 was Bruce Haroldson's first season. He breathed some life into the program and brought in an exciting player named Arnold McDowell. I believe Finberg and Durham were also on that team. It was an exciting time after many years of being terrible. If I remember right that team didn't lose many, if any, at home...but they couldn't beat anybody on the road. Maybe some of the older timers on here could fill in some details.

[LongTimeCatFan]

Cool, two more years I don't have to spend any money on men's BB.

[John K]

Wow....my condolences..

Just was curious how the attendance numbers have looked for you guys the past few years, so I looked 'em up.

The year before last season was the first year since 1978 that you drew less than 3000 fans per game, drawing 2922 per game, down from 3228 the previous year.

Last season (the one that just finished) you drew 2523 per game it looks like...

1978... that's a long time ago. That season (I'm not sure wtf happened) you only drew 1708 per game. The year after that though you drew 4808 per game, so I'm not sure if there was some stadium construction going on in 1978 that caused the low attendance (like what happened when the Griz played in Sentinel HS Gym).

Anyway, just thought I'd drop those stats here for a little ammo if you want to fire that off to your AD who decided that Huse is worth a 2 year extension.. Everything was taken from the NCAA site Here, except for this years attendance, which was taken from ESPN.

Can you believe at one time the Griz and the Cats were consistently in the top 100 for attendance? Sometimes even flirting with the top 50? Right up there with teams like Nevada, Colorado State, and even Florida and Pittsburgh at on point.

Really interesting stuff. Thanks for posting. I think 1978 was Rich Juarez's last season. I was a kid back then, but I remember the Bobcats being really horrible during his tenure-even worse than they've been under Huse. 1978-1979 was Bruce Haroldson's first season. He breathed some life into the program and brought in an exciting player named Arnold McDowell. I believe Finberg and Durham were also on that team. It was an exciting time after many years of being terrible. If I remember right that team didn't lose many, if any, at home...but they couldn't beat anybody on the road. Maybe some of the older timers on here could fill in some details.

I hate to admit to being an "old timer" but...

Your memory is pretty much spot on regarding that era of MSU hoops. I was a freshman at MSU in 1977-78, and that was the final season under Juarez. If not for Craig Finberg lighting it up (I believe he was among the top 10 in the nation in scoring that season), most of the students wouldn't even have known we had a basketball team...nobody went to the games.

And then Haroldson came along and was sort of like the Mike Kramer of MBB. He not only produced better results on the floor, but even more importantly he reinvigorated the fan base. Guys like McDowell and John Macklin were very athletic and fun players to watch, Finberg, Durham, and Harry Heineken were great shooters, and Doug Hashley was a beast inside. His teams played an exciting style of ball, and they also had sort of a razzle dazzle pre-game warmup routine that was worth the price of admission all by itself.

MSU set a record for largest attendance increase in the 1978-79 season (not sure if it was the largest increase just for that season, or possibly the largest increase in NCAA history), which almost tripled from the previous season. And the thing is, they weren't even all that good in 1978-79. They went 6-8 in conference, finishing in 5th place, and didn't make the tourney since only the top 4 made it back then. The next two seasons MSU was good, but certainly not great, making the tourney but losing in the semi-finals both years. However they were improved from the previous years under Juarez, and that combined with a Kramer-esque coach who understood how to breath enthusiasm back into the fanbase, resulted in a rebirth of Bobcat hoops that lasted for many years. That's the real takeaway from the Haroldson era...that we don't have to become Gonzaga, or even UM or WSU, in order for the program to become relevant again. We just need to find a charismatic new coach, who can produce even modest improvement on the court, but who also has the ancillary skills required for rebuilding excitement among the fans, and getting money out of the pockets of boosters. I know that's easier said than done, but I also know that it's not impossible.

The other important point is that the turnaround that started under Haroldson lasted for many years, despite MSU not usually being at, or even near, the top of the conference most seasons. Positive momentum can be just as difficult to stop as negative momentum. But I feel like we're currently teetering dangerously close to the edge of the cliff again, and could easily become just as irrelevant as we were during the Juarez era. The attendance numbers cited by Potomac Griz really illustrate that. I knew our attendance had been declining in recent years, but I never would have guessed that last season was the worst in 35 years, since the pre-Haroldson days. That's really pretty alarming.

In looking at the attendance numbers, our mediocre on-court results, and the perennial turnover in personnel, how can anyone judge Huse's tenure as a success, and how can Fields possibly justify rewarding him with a new 2-year contract?

[homeytennis]

Huse has next season to prove himself or he is gone. Yeah there is one more year left on his deal, but if he doesn't have it turned around he's gone.

[John K]

Huse has next season to prove himself or he is gone. Yeah there is one more year left on his deal, but if he doesn't have it turned around he's gone.

I respectfully disagree. Fields wouldn't have given him a 2-year deal, if there was even the remotest possibility that he would consider cutting him lose after just one more season, no matter how badly the team performs next year. I don't think many MSU fans, including myself, are very happy about that fact, but I'm afraid that is the reality of the situation. Two more years under Huse, and the attendance may decline all the way down to the "Juarez line".

[homeytennis]

The AD needed to do something regarding the contract. If he left him with just one year, Huse would be savaged on the recruiting trail. Other coaches would say "You don't want to go there, he's only got a year left on his deal." With another year added that argument goes away. The only coach I have ever heard of that had a good year with one year left on his contract was June Jones at Hawaii and he kicked it and got a sweet deal out of it at SMU. I say that if there is significant progress next year, the help wanted sign is out and Huse is gone.

[mslacat]

The AD needed to do something regarding the contract. If he left him with just one year, Huse would be savaged on the recruiting trail. Other coaches would say "You don't want to go there, he's only got a year left on his deal." With another year added that argument goes away. The only coach I have ever heard of that had a good year with one year left on his contract was June Jones at Hawaii and he kicked it and got a sweet deal out of it at SMU. I say that if there is significant progress next year, the help wanted sign is out and Huse is gone.

My opinion BUT I would be SHOCKED if field EVER fired a coach with years left on his/her contract unless it was a NCAA violation/Human resource issue (like a coach decided to date a team member). Fields is cheap and will not pay for two coaches (fired and new hired) at the same time. Huse is here for two years..... Unless

[Hawks86]

Just wondering ?

We know that there is some variations of the end of year talk between players and coaches(at least in football there is) but is there similar meetings between players and the AD ?

[John K]

The AD needed to do something regarding the contract. If he left him with just one year, Huse would be savaged on the recruiting trail. Other coaches would say "You don't want to go there, he's only got a year left on his deal." With another year added that argument goes away. The only coach I have ever heard of that had a good year with one year left on his contract was June Jones at Hawaii and he kicked it and got a sweet deal out of it at SMU. I say that if there is significant progress next year, the help wanted sign is out and Huse is gone.

My opinion BUT I would be SHOCKED if field EVER fired a coach with years left on his/her contract unless it was a NCAA violation/Human resource issue (like a coach decided to date a team member). Fields is cheap and will not pay for two coaches (fired and new hired) at the same time. Huse is here for two years..... Unless

You beat me to it, but I was going to say pretty much exactly the same thing. Fields wouldn't have signed Huse for two years, if he didn't fully intend to honor the full term of the contract. Even if we finished dead last in the BSC next season, Huse will be back for the second year, barring something completely unforeseen happening, such as the examples you cited. My prediction...two more years of essentially the same results on the court, with the average attendance possibly falling below 2,000 by the end of the second year of Huse's contract extension.

[bob12]

One winning season in 7 is pretty good.

You must be a Pittsburgh Pirates fan!

You leave my Pirates out of this!

They're my Pirates too, and I can admit that they suck.

They'd be better if they used their good players more and stopped using their awful players, but they'd still suck. They would just suck less.

Just hoping for a winning season at this point (be fine with 82-80 and no playoffs). I like that for once they didn't trade their top talent for more prospects. Hopefully McCutchen sticks around for awhile.

Hey BnBnG, how 'bout them Pirates?!

[AlphaGriz1]

Huse is still the coach? I thought you guys wanted him gone last year.

[allcat]

Huse is still the coach? I thought you guys wanted him gone last year.

It's like a vote in Russia or Iran, they don't count the ones they don't like.

[LongTimeCatFan]

Huse is still the coach? I thought you guys wanted him gone last year.

It's like a vote in Russia or Iran, they don't count the ones they don't like.

Better include the US in that group too. Somehow Obummer got reelected.

[BLACKnBLUEnGOLD]

One winning season in 7 is pretty good.

You must be a Pittsburgh Pirates fan!

You leave my Pirates out of this!

They're my Pirates too, and I can admit that they suck.

They'd be better if they used their good players more and stopped using their awful players, but they'd still suck. They would just suck less.

Just hoping for a winning season at this point (be fine with 82-80 and no playoffs). I like that for once they didn't trade their top talent for more prospects. Hopefully McCutchen sticks around for awhile.

Hey BnBnG, how 'bout them Pirates?!

I'll believe in them when they win a World Series, and not before. For the past 21 years, they've gone in the tank the second I got optimistic. Fool me 21 times...optimism is bad ****** luck.

Huse is still the coach? I thought you guys wanted him gone last year.

It's like a vote in Russia or Iran, they don't count the ones they don't like.

Better include the US in that group too. Somehow Obummer got reelected.

Would you be happier if Huse was the President and Obama was the basketball coach?


FWIW, I think Obama might make a decent basketball coach. Huse, on the other hand, would not make a very good President. He'd yell at the Navy SEALS too much and bench a general every time a terrorist got away.

[LongTimeCatFan]

One winning season in 7 is pretty good.

You must be a Pittsburgh Pirates fan!

You leave my Pirates out of this!

They're my Pirates too, and I can admit that they suck.

They'd be better if they used their good players more and stopped using their awful players, but they'd still suck. They would just suck less.

Just hoping for a winning season at this point (be fine with 82-80 and no playoffs). I like that for once they didn't trade their top talent for more prospects. Hopefully McCutchen sticks around for awhile.

Hey BnBnG, how 'bout them Pirates?!

I'll believe in them when they win a World Series, and not before. For the past 21 years, they've gone in the tank the second I got optimistic. Fool me 21 times...optimism is bad ****** luck.

Huse is still the coach? I thought you guys wanted him gone last year.

It's like a vote in Russia or Iran, they don't count the ones they don't like.

Better include the US in that group too. Somehow Obummer got reelected.

Would you be happier if Huse was the President and Obama was the basketball coach?


FWIW, I think Obama might make a decent basketball coach. Huse, on the other hand, would not make a very good President. He'd yell at the Navy SEALS too much and bench a general every time a terrorist got away.

Obummer can't lead himself out of a brown paper sack. What makes you think he could coach a ball team? Hell, he can't even hit an uncontested jump shot.

Spot on with Huse.

[BLACKnBLUEnGOLD]

One winning season in 7 is pretty good.

You must be a Pittsburgh Pirates fan!

You leave my Pirates out of this!

They're my Pirates too, and I can admit that they suck.

They'd be better if they used their good players more and stopped using their awful players, but they'd still suck. They would just suck less.

Just hoping for a winning season at this point (be fine with 82-80 and no playoffs). I like that for once they didn't trade their top talent for more prospects. Hopefully McCutchen sticks around for awhile.

Hey BnBnG, how 'bout them Pirates?!

I'll believe in them when they win a World Series, and not before. For the past 21 years, they've gone in the tank the second I got optimistic. Fool me 21 times...optimism is bad ****** luck.

Huse is still the coach? I thought you guys wanted him gone last year.

It's like a vote in Russia or Iran, they don't count the ones they don't like.

Better include the US in that group too. Somehow Obummer got reelected.

Would you be happier if Huse was the President and Obama was the basketball coach?


FWIW, I think Obama might make a decent basketball coach. Huse, on the other hand, would not make a very good President. He'd yell at the Navy SEALS too much and bench a general every time a terrorist got away.

Obummer can't lead himself out of a brown paper sack. What makes you think he could coach a ball team? Hell, he can't even hit an uncontested jump shot.

Spot on with Huse.

He somehow managed to persuade more people to come out and vote for him than the other guy did. So he inspired some sort of action, which is leadership.

Or at least it's closer to leadership than inspiring players not to show up in a first round playoff game.

[LongTimeCatFan]

One winning season in 7 is pretty good.

You must be a Pittsburgh Pirates fan!

You leave my Pirates out of this!

They're my Pirates too, and I can admit that they suck.

They'd be better if they used their good players more and stopped using their awful players, but they'd still suck. They would just suck less.

Just hoping for a winning season at this point (be fine with 82-80 and no playoffs). I like that for once they didn't trade their top talent for more prospects. Hopefully McCutchen sticks around for awhile.

Hey BnBnG, how 'bout them Pirates?!

I'll believe in them when they win a World Series, and not before. For the past 21 years, they've gone in the tank the second I got optimistic. Fool me 21 times...optimism is bad ****** luck.

Huse is still the coach? I thought you guys wanted him gone last year.

It's like a vote in Russia or Iran, they don't count the ones they don't like.

Better include the US in that group too. Somehow Obummer got reelected.

Would you be happier if Huse was the President and Obama was the basketball coach?


FWIW, I think Obama might make a decent basketball coach. Huse, on the other hand, would not make a very good President. He'd yell at the Navy SEALS too much and bench a general every time a terrorist got away.

Obummer can't lead himself out of a brown paper sack. What makes you think he could coach a ball team? Hell, he can't even hit an uncontested jump shot.

Spot on with Huse.

He somehow managed to persuade more people to come out and vote for him than the other guy did. So he inspired some sort of action, which is leadership.

Or at least it's closer to leadership than inspiring players not to show up in a first round playoff game.

That's debatable considering the rampant voter fraud where we have election officials casting an absentee ballot, then an Election Day ballot, then casting ballots for voters that didn't show up to vote.

[BLACKnBLUEnGOLD]

Dude, it was a landslide. You're talking (without citing a source) about a tiny percentage of the population (election officials) tripling their vote, and assuming that all election officials favor Obama. I'm not head over heels in love with the guy, either, but America clearly asked for him.

I'm also not posting in the politics forum, and thus wondering: why are we talking about Obama?