MBB at Omaha

[BelgradeBobcat]

This will fly a little bit under the radar today

[RickRund]

Down by 14 at the half... 46-32.

[msu_agfan]

89-65 we lose. That's a bad one. Didn't get to listen to this one, so have no idea of how the game went, except poorly.

[Ilikecats]

Can only go up! Got to believe that Fish is going to figure this out by conference play. Have to admit the future looks bleak.

[BelgradeBobcat]

This team lost at home NAU. I figured it would be at least somewhat competitive.
The only thing to root for this season is Tyler getting all time scoring record-and few others. Too bad we couldn't put a team around him. Fish has really blown it.

[rosco_cat]

As always, easy to put the blame for a loss on Fish, but Omaha shooting way better and playing better defense the entire game. Weak inside is going to be a problem all season. 6'11" means nothing if you can't defend or score.

[Catlady]

It’s a cruel business, but it’s Fish’s team. He’s responsible for the wins and losses. That’s part of being the head coach. I know he’s giving his all to make this team better, but the administration is going to need to see improvement.

[mslacat]

Can only go up! Got to believe that Fish is going to figure this out by conference play. Have to admit the future looks bleak.

Take the word "Believe" out and put in the word "Hope" and I could go along with you!

[phantom]

Omaha really shot the ball well and played very well. They’ve played better the last two times out, losing to Colorado by 4 and blowing out Bethune-Cookman.
Bright spot of the day was Harry getting it going and showing his old form. Tyler played well. Outside of that, Sam was the next best player. Sam is obviously the shortest player the Cats play in the post and the basketball experts here won’t agree, but Sam is the best post player on the roster. Yes, he lacks height but is simply more effective defending the post, blocking out and is a better screener than the other 3 that played there today ... “but they have height”!!! Sam looked to shoot the ball more today and personally, I’d like to see him be more aggressive offensively, be it at the 4 or 5. Defensively, the Bobcats didn’t communicate well and didn’t rotate in the zone. Several guys looked lost.

[Anacomando]

It’s a cruel business, but it’s Fish’s team. He’s responsible for the wins and losses. That’s part of being the head coach. I know he’s giving his all to make this team better, but the administration is going to need to see improvement.

Playing only 3 games at home to maybe 11 road games by New Year's does not help. The schedule is very poor. That is not a recipe for success. If Fish does flop in conference play then he needs to be shown the door. I would agree at that point. I think he will be out in March. The team has never had strong inside players or rebounders.

[bobcat99]

As always, easy to put the blame for a loss on Fish, but Omaha shooting way better and playing better defense the entire game. Weak inside is going to be a problem all season. 6'11" means nothing if you can't defend or score.

He recruits the players. He builds the team.

If the players aren’t good, then he needs to bring in better ones.

I hope we get an actual coach someday. No reason we can’t be a good program again.

[standup]

99, just curious. Have you ever done anything to help the program improve?

[rosco_cat]

99, just curious. Have you ever done anything to help the program improve?

Good question

[mslacat]

99, just curious. Have you ever done anything to help the program improve?

Like what would you suggest?

[HelenaCat]

99, just curious. Have you ever done anything to help the program improve?

Like what would you suggest?

Yes, in all fairness to 99, it is not his job to improve the program. It is the coaches’ job to do that.

[mslacatfan]

99, just curious. Have you ever done anything to help the program improve?

Like what would you suggest?

Hahahahaha

That was my thought as well? What the hell is he supposed to do to help improve the basketball program? Ha.

[ilovethecats]

Just baffling we continue accepting how bad this program has become. We are currently 340th out of 353 teams! There are LITERALLY only 13 teams in the entire nation worse than us. That’s disgusting.

I love the support football gets. I love striving to be better. Firing winning coaches cause you demand better. But I’d love to see just a hint of accountability with our hoops too. Easily the worst I have ever seen this program. Kids deserve better. Fans deserve better.

[phantom]

The interesting thing about this discussion being in this thread is that Omaha has improved the last few years because they chose stability of a head coach, stuck with him and with a new facility in place, they are an improved program. That’s not lobbying for Montana State to stay the course, just a reality. For most athletic directors, making a change is the right course, especially when you didn’t hire the coach in place.

[mslacat]

The interesting thing about this discussion being in this thread is that Omaha has improved the last few years because they chose stability of a head coach, stuck with him and with a new facility in place, they are an improved program. That’s not lobbying for Montana State to stay the course, just a reality. For most athletic directors, making a change is the right course, especially when you didn’t hire the coach in place.

I am going to try to be fair about this as possible
This was the attitude of the athletic department and a lot of fan/boosters during the Huse years. The problem is a lot of fans/booster now feel burned, me included, by dragging out the the long mediocre seasons and futility for the most part in the Big Sky Conference Tournament games. This is not good news for Fish. From just looking at the wins/losses the team seemed to have plateaued out and now seems to be moving backward, despite having a player who could be an NBA caliber talent (we can debate this if needed at another time). Fish's 2nd contract is up at the end of the season. In my opinion, he is going to have to make hay the rest of the season and create an atmosphere of optimism about the program if he hopes to get a new contract. As fans we will have this year to look at and then project forward, but with-out Tyler Hall, and there are not Isaac Bonton or Jared Martin sitting in the wings help Frey move the team forward. It is going to be tough, and maybe unfair (debatable) but the fans/boosters don't have the patience to wait for Fish like they did Huse!

[phantom]

The interesting thing about this discussion being in this thread is that Omaha has improved the last few years because they chose stability of a head coach, stuck with him and with a new facility in place, they are an improved program. That’s not lobbying for Montana State to stay the course, just a reality. For most athletic directors, making a change is the right course, especially when you didn’t hire the coach in place.

I am going to try to be fair about this as possible
This was the attitude of the athletic department and a lot of fan/boosters during the Huse years. The problem is a lot of fans/booster now feel burned, me included, by dragging out the the long mediocre seasons and futility for the most part in the Big Sky Conference Tournament games. This is not good news for Fish. From just looking at the wins/losses the team seemed to have plateaued out and now seems to be moving backward, despite having a player who could be an NBA caliber talent (we can debate this if needed at another time). Fish's 2nd contract is up at the end of the season. In my opinion, he is going to have to make hay the rest of the season and create an atmosphere of optimism about the program if he hopes to get a new contract. As fans we will have this year to look at and then project forward, but with-out Tyler Hall, and there are not Isaac Bonton or Jared Martin sitting in the wings help Frey move the team forward. It is going to be tough, and maybe unfair (debatable) but the fans/boosters don't have the patience to wait for Fish like they did Huse!

From the schedule they've had, realistically, I'm not sure what people expected the record to be at this point. The schedule has been brutal. Utah State is very good. By the numbers, Colorado State is the weakest (RPI) team the Bobcats have played and that was on the road. However, I understand frustration. Honestly, short of going on about a 10 game winning streak, will anyone change their opinion? I highly doubt it. It's part of the business and I get that. I'm going to continue to cheer for Tyler and hope for the best for this group.