The key point of your posts Major is that Barnes is widely loved by UT fans. It's funny to hear an Aggie blast him for comments Barnes made about his own fans, when those who were the focus of the comments didn't care. We were discussing Gillespie the other night and whether or not he would move on. I really think his career will at A&M will mirror Barnes at UT. While they are both football schools, they certainly have the money to devote to the basketball programs. If they continue to win, they'll continue to get the money. They're in a major conference and in a state with some good basketball talent. I can really only think of a few jobs in college basketball that would be worth leaving A&M or Texas for. Off the top of my head-UNC, Duke, Maryland, UConn, Syracuse, Indiana, and UCLA. Maybe Michigan. I predict Gillespie will be the Aggie coach for a long time.
Well, I guess I was over the top with the fired suggestion, but it was still a bad move imo (fired was my third suggestion for effect, but the fine comment is still on point imo). Props to UT and Barnes if they've gotten better support and a ticket exchange program over the years. That memory just sticks in my head though. It was a Finals Saturday. What type of crowd is a team supposed to expect on a Finals day? Was Barnes even aware that Finals was being held that day? Question: does this mean most of the crowd at UT is usually non students? I did not realize attendance was an ongoing problem for I just remember that one incident years ago.
Yep...I believe you can put your tickets up for sale on the UT website if you cannot make the game. Kim- I believed it was more directed to the season ticket holders, which case in point, I think it was okay for him to complain. It never looks good to have empty seats in your stadium, especially when you're recruiting against Duke/N.C./UConn/etc...
Definitely agree with this especially since he already turned down an interview with Indiana last season. I've heard Kentucky is going to go after him this summer. If he didn't have roots in Texas, I think he'd go for the historically elite program, but because of those roots I don't know why he'd really want to leave. I think that ticket exchange program is very good and wich they'd implement that at A&M. Those weekday games are awfully tough for the fans in Houston/Dallas to make that have season tickets.
I hope you're right. Also, I agree on your take on the two Texas schools. They are football schools, but if they both can keep up their winning ways, they are winning back / making new fans. More $$$$ from alumni etc, why should the schools be able to compete with the big bball schools for coaches etc. I'm loving where TAMU is right now, they are having a very fun to watch season. I really hope Gillespie stays in CS. Gives me something to cheer about with the Rockets until Baseball and football start up again. (not saying I don't love the Rockets....just I miss having more than 1 sport...)
The problem UT had was all the seats closest to the floor were non-student seats. Students primarily got upper-deck seats and upper-level seats in the lower-deck. So when non-students didn't show up, the atmosphere was terrible - and that happened a lot. So Barnes did two things: One, he got the O-Zone started, which is kind of like the Rocket's Rowdies or whatever. Reward crazy fans by putting them behind the basket. Then, if people can't make the game, sell the tickets so those lower-bowl seats are filled more. It was a legitimate problem, and the changes have really helped build a better atmosphere at the games. As RM95 mentioned, the railing was not on students (I don't believe - I don't think he's ever complained publicly about student support), so the finals week aspect wasn't really relevant.
Its that mentality that admittedly makes me dislike the guy. He constantly makes statements that leave a bad taste in my mouth. Rather than praising the Aggies new found success outright he instead credited it to a solid recruiting class that had nothing to do with Gillespie, and the faculty's new found emphasis on basketball. He also downplayed the the fan attendance and crowd noise. What he said is true but the way he expressed himself and the way he handled the situation are aggravating. I can totally see why some UT guys might like it, he does speak his mind. But he sure as hell pisses off a lot of people in the process. Also, Texas gets the best recruits in the Big 12 south on a consistent basis. Yall should be in national championships not elite 8's. I guess if you are satisfied with 9-12 loss seasons thats on you, but there are a lot of UT supporters that want improvement. So dont act like I am some crazy Agg coming out of nowhere. PS: I am not bashing Texas. Just not fond of the coach.
What quote are you talking about? ?? In the last 4 years, they've had only one season with 9 losses, and that was when they lost their two best players (injury and grades). Otherwise, they've had 6 or 7 for the most part. This year, they probably will again, but that's what happens when you have almost exclusively freshmen and sophomores. That will always be the case. You have people bashing JVG right now, even though the Rockets are amongst the best teams in the league. There aren't many UT fans that are disappointed with the last 5 years. Building a program takes time, and the program has definitely been on an upward path since Barnes got here, and its the first time in UT history that its had consistent success.
Who exactly did he piss off? Sounds like the only ones that are aggravated about this is 2 Aggies. Doesn't seem like any other Aggies in this thread really cares nor do any of the Longhorns (including myself). The guy spoke his mind about the truth. The attendance and crowd noise at the games were pretty bad, I can speak out of personal experience. The athletics department probably didn't care too much because tickets were being sold. But as a recruiter and a guy who really wants to win BIG, sometimes you have to be stern. And it got results, as Rocketmanjosh posted, A&M and most other schools could probably use the ticket exchange as well. You say you don't want to act like some crazy Agg coming out of nowhere, but that's what you sound like. Satisfied w/ 9-12 loss seasons? Thanks for pulling out numbers out of thin air. That's like asking if you are satsified w/ 10 loss seasons based on Gillispie's first year. Here's a little more info if you want it Ziggy... "In the last five seasons, Barnes has moved the Texas program into one of the nation's elite. Texas is one of six programs (joining Arizona, Connecticut, Kansas, Kentucky and Michigan State) to reach the "Elite Eight" of the NCAA Tournament in two of the last four seasons. UT also is one of just three schools (joining Connecticut and Duke) to reach the "Sweet 16" of the NCAA Tournament in four of the last five seasons. Included in this stretch was a trip to the 2003 Final Four, marking the third time in school history and first since 1947 (a span of 56 years) that UT had advanced to the Final Four." BTW, just because you get the best recruits in the Big 12 south, you automatically should be in National Championship games? Not sure if you know this, but you play teams from other conferences in the tournament, other teams that might have better recruiting classes than the Big 12 and play much harder schedules than us. If recruiting classes are the case, then OKState should be winning Championships left and right. Getting to a National Championship game is hard, a lot harder than just getting the Top recruiting class in the Big 12 South. Like I posted earlier, you should at least wait and see how Gillespie does in the tourney before bashing other coaches. You also shouldn't be talking down about the Elite 8 when you haven't been that far yourselves.
Your school has had count them TWO decent years in hoops in a row and there is no guarantee you get to the sweet 16 or final four this year. We are on a longer run of success. You do not have a good grasp on how tough it is to win a NT in this day and age of college ball. Barnes is better right now than Gillespie. Come back to me in 6-7 years and we will see if gillespie have the runs to sweet 16/final four/elite 8 appearances that barnes has now. Keep in mind to this point he just started the last few years pulling in these recruiting classes. I mean, Royal Ivey, Brandon Mouton, James Thomas, etc were not big time recruits. TJ Ford was, and Buckman was, but it was not like we were loaded with great athletes. PJ Tucker was a 3 star, the list goes on. And we lost TJ to the pros after only two years(another thing you have yet to experience). Before two years ago when we landed another stud in Aldridge, the recruiting classes had been solid but not oh my gosh worthy. Also consider our problem the last couple years is gibson was a combo guard not a point. And i'd say 6-3 in the big 12, 16-8 overall is pretty solid when you look at our non conf schedule and the fact this is arguably the youngest team in NCAA history, with no real banger down low. We lost all 5 of our starters to graduation/draft and are still having a strong season. We now have had 4 early entrees in the last few years(Ford, Gibson, Miles, Aldridge). It will be 5 as soon as Durant leaves. And Durant is a huge step for this program. His success and Tucker's will make us that much more appealing to out of state top talent. Imagine if gibson and tucker who both wound up 2nd round picks stayed in school this year. We would be one of the favorites to win the whole thing. Rick Barnes is one of the top 10-20 coaches in all of college basketball, end of story.
Antoine Wright was an early entry lottery pick to the NBA 2 years ago or last years team would have been MUCH better.
One. Count them one early entry. You did not have law or jones bolt. And wright was a JUNIOR. We lost sophomores in gibson and aldridge and ford. A high schooler in Miles. Durant probably as a freshman. You are lucky nowadays if you get a junior year out of good/great players. The fact remains you have not experienced the level of success nor the players bolting early making it hard to build a team that sticks together problem like we have. Until you have, you have no idea how remarkable it is to have a stretch of success like Barnes has in the tournament. And that's not even counting the chaotic nature of the tournament. And furthermore, I'd say the same thing if it was another school in this position. It just makes me laugh that somebody questions Rick Barnes's coaching, and that a coach who has a 2-2 record against barnes but not his tourney success is being proclaimed as better.
First of all .. I never said A&M had more early entry losses than texas .. I was just disproving you saying A&M didn't deal with any early entries. Secondly, Gillispie is 3-3 against Barnes. Thirdly, I never said a bad thing about Barnes coaching ability
1) The original reply was directed at Ziggy, who was saying we have shoddy coaching. 2) Same difference. I was only thinking of the 2-1 texas edge last year and 1-0 you guys this year. I didn't remember any other meetings. 3) While I did forget about wright, it's a lot different worrying about losing a kid as a freshman or sophomore. And aldridge if he doesn't get hurt likely leaves as a freshman. I mean, the better the player you sign, the earlier he bolts to the draft. Florida is the exception to the rule right now. I mean we dealt with gibson possibly bolting as a frosh too. That makes things very very difficult. And again, you didn't lose either jones or law early after their success last year so you have stayed relatively intact team wise. If you keep having success, you'll see the draft start plucking away at your program as well. It's the reason so many mid majors are making deeper NCAA runs as well.
I agree with the sentiment of what you are saying. This does bring up a bigger question though. Would you prefer your team (Texas for you, A&M for me) recruit the 5 star guys or go harder after the 3 and 4 star guys that will probably stick around for 3-4 years? To me, I would personally stay away from the Durant type player who is going to be 1 and done unless I had a veteran team led by Juniors and Seniors. I really think Durant leaving is going to set Texas back another year next year when these guys really have to learn to play together again because he is such a big part of the team now. While good for recruiting and publicity, I'm not sure a one and done Durant with an all Freshman team is helping Texas to get to its ultimate goal (a national championship). Now if they believe they can somehow get him to stick around next season, then they are in real good shape.
OMG is anyone watching the aggie game right now?! Did you sese that guy yelling at the ref?! ROFL> That's something that'll be on the internet soon. Couldn't tell, but looked like he had stubs for arms. I know it's not right to laught at other's misfortunes...but that looked hilarious! ROFL.
I can see your point but I think its good overall. Short term you are right, but long term it can be a huge benefit. If Durant goes on to the NBA and is a complete stud, Texas will be mentioned over and over, that can only help. Combine that with what Barnes been doing over the years and it just moves Texas up a notch.
I think it's a mix where it just all has to come together. I think if Tucker and Gibson had stayed, or had Durant been on last year's team, those would have been final four caliber teams. Durant was just timed badly, I think. The same with Carmelo - he was only there for a year, but it rejuvenated the Syracuse program, and it was in a year where they had some good veteran talent around them. I wish the NBA would make the rule 2 years or no years. 1 year just seems to be a waste.
