LaVall’s Last Season

What about good looking. . .

 

I think Val misses Jeff Meyer on his staff.

 

I think Meyer was a steadying hand. I know a lot of people gave him crap for being old, but (without having any stats or facts to back it up) I think there is a definite influence on the bench that is missing right now. More fundamentals than anything else.


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Care to elaborate?

 

Love the blowhard comment.

Right or wrong for Buter, Matta, or LaVall, this was 100% in play. Didn't work out and maybe it shouldn't have. Bottom line....this is where we are now, move on from LaVall or move forward with LaVall.

 

In my Bruce Buffer voice “IT’S TIME!” We need a succession plan in place right when this season ends. Start the coaching search now.

I’m convinced these bad losses to rivals and in-state teams is killing recruiting. Our young guys are probably going to transfer next year too.

I’d rather see a complete rebuild next season, then another season with a team coached by Jordan. The guy hasn’t established an offense in his tenure. Butler has lost its basketball identity as a hard-nosed team.

Other teams aren’t worried about playing in Hinkle anymore. The stands are as empty as they have ever been (outside covid restricted games). BC has to be seeing this too. Hopefully he doesn’t stick by “his guy” for one more year, just to save money.

 

Almost forgot…hearing the “Let’s go X” chants thru my TV last night (multiple times throughout the game) disgusted me. Our alumni and fans are so fed up, there wasn’t even an attempt to drowned the X fans out.

“IT’S TIME”

 

That’s because the entire fanbase is apathetic at this point. The program is in such bad shape that’s where we are, not mad, but disinterested. It’s a disaster that Barry, Danko, and the board have created by going cheap. Won’t be corrected until they operate with a different mindset.


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You probably mean "uninterested".

 

This is getting to the point. The problem is systemic , not just with the coaching staff. Is it a ****ty staff? Of course, but the biggest problem relating to anything for the future is the people in charge that truly believe 'staying in the family' of a ****ty Big East program is a strategy for not being a ****ty Big East program and Butler doesn't need to pay high major salaries because its in Indianapolis -- totally ignoring the fact that teams from Cincinnati, Milwaukee, and Omaha are in THE SAME LEAGUE and do.

It needs to be absolutely gutted and does anyone think that's going to happen?

No, neither do I, which is why Butler has no future that looks much different to what they were in the 70s and 80s.

 

At some point I fear the league will say adios to the school. We don't bring Chicago, New York or DC audiences for TV. If the program continues to descend....what merit/value do we provide for the BE. We used to be a novel program with brilliant coaching and a legacy arena. Now.....not so much!

 

Assuming that all this is true and you somehow saw all this coming a mile away, perhaps you can elaborate something for us - Why do you still care? What brings you back to this board every year? If I knew ahead of time that the program was gonna implode on itself and bring its own demise, I would’ve cut my losses and stopped investing interest in it a LONG time ago, but you seem to come back just to spout doom and gloom on a semi regular basis - You seem to take joy in this.

I’m not asking you why you’re not a fan, we can say there are a multitude of reasons not to be one right now, but Butler has gone through plenty of highs and lows throughout the last 20 years, and somehow they’ve managed to not fall into obscurity as far as media perception goes.

If you knew it was all gonna amount to nothing, then why put yourself through it? Life’s too short, so why come on here if all you want to do is remind people it’s not worth hoping anymore? I’m trying to understand, what still makes it worth it?

 

I’m going to assume you are fairly young? Perhaps college?

Yes, I was saying all of this was inevitable for most of a decade if we didn’t leverage what we had at the time. Any of the older posters could tell you that.

but that’s not the point at all, I couldn’t care less about being right. I wish it weren’t the case.

From the board on down, Butler doesn’t have the people in place to be a program in the A10 much less the Big East. It’s very much still a MCC school. It ultimately doesn’t matter now, they’re WAY too late. They’re in the death spiral now, where attendance/funding go away and that in turn further hurts product…and round and round.

Butler basketball is no less hopeless than DePaul at this point. And Depaul, at least, is trying to throw some dollars at it

 

Sure, I get all that; but like you said, that’s not the point at all. Let me be more specific, because I’m not trying to be disrespectful.

Why do you continue to follow them? What’s the last good thing you saw Butler do in your eyes? Because if it’s a dumpster fire now, then I would think you would just move on at this point, but you still come and preach the same pessimism as you’ve done for the last decade. Perhaps it’s true - We *are* stupid for thinking Butler could sustain themselves the way they have in the past, but you seem to be a glutton for misery just like the rest of us here. Surely this can’t still be fun for you anymore, so why keep following them?

 

Title called it early. Give the guy his due albeit a bit of a broken record. I don't think the facilities are the problem though. Bolt recruited with these same facilities. Bolt assembled a proven staff and made it better over time. That's what LJ has not done.

When Buzz left Marquette, they hired one of the top free agents available (Wojo). After Wojo eventually drove the program into the ground, they again hired one of the top free agents available (Shaka). They know selling tickets is important.

 

I wonder if we would have kept one of Bolt's guys if things would have been different. And if they could have built a strong bench present like he did.

You think about the assistants we've had over the years-Shrews, TJ, Schrage, Michael Lewis...those stand out but there are plenty more...and what's over there now.

 

Shane Davis

Title will never answer your questions. Better to ignore him altogether.

 

Why do you keep calling him Bolt? He gave the program every chance to pony up the money and they didn’t. He only left for a top 5 job after taking us to the sweet 16 and clearly cares about the program. And look and what we’ve done since. As you said, we went cheap. It’s not his fault, it’s the administration.

 

If we would have actually paid to keep Holtmann, we’d be a top 20 program consistently. Maybe better. He gave Barry every chance. And this is the result of us being cheap.

 

Yeah, I’m sure you’re right, I just figured I try once. I wish him the best anyway.