The Future of Umass Basketball

Anything and everything that is UMass Minutemen Basketball.
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eldonabe
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The Future of Umass Basketball

Post by eldonabe » Tue Mar 09, 2021 8:57 am

The divide between the have's and have nots is growing by the day - and this very odd year has only accelerated this. The next 4-6 months will likely determine the fate of Basketball for the next decade.

This program has suffered greatly since Cal left. There have been a few bright moments, but none have been sustained. Poor decision after poor decision on many levels has crippled Umass. You can call them a victim of circumstance, but the bottom line is that they have only fortified self fulfilling prophecies on themselves. Adding to this cycle of mediocrity (and that may be a kind adjective) is a very unrealistic piling on of expectations from a very fickle fan base, and a very disengaged student body. There are diehards, but they represent a very finite number of people.

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IMO McCall has (finally) assembled a very competent and competitive D1 roster. (As I believe Niles pointed out) There should be a record number of transfers this off season and I believe more and more that this does not fare well for Umass. This school and this program NEEDS a win desperately to stop the death by 1,000 paper cuts it has been living through for 20+ years.

IMO - This past season was the first time I have truly seen a roster with the potential to do great things. They are young, they obviously need physical maturity, but as a pure "basketball team" this is the best roster this team has had since 1988. Chaz was an all time great player and there were some other really solid players with him, but that was still a deeply flawed "team" that was exposed as such when it mattered. The sum was substantially lesser that the total of all its parts.

Today's basketball landscape is beyond difficult to operate in. Landing a good/great recruit is only about 20% of the battle now. Keeping them is the name of the game now. Next year represents the first legitimate Umass has had in 20 years to compete for a conference title, it is the first legitimate shot at a 20 win season, it is the first time they have a chance to get this program on legitimate and solid footing. They can sustain a loss of a player or two, every team deals with that. That said - This team has a core of 7 or so players that absolutely must stay in order to give Umass a shot at finally getting over that hump.

I really don't know what is going in behind closed doors, I read all the rumors here and I ignore 99% of them. Even the Rothstein's of the world are speculating by and large. I would be lying if I said reports from these people do not worry me, but a lot of this is nothing more than throwing shit on the wall to see if it will stick. I used to personally know and hang out with a lot of people on the "inside" back in the Cal and Bru years and 75% of what I heard from the inside was not true either.


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I am rambling - I know - but I am very very concerned with the next few months. I loved watching Umass growing up and have spent 100's and 100's of hours at games since the late 70's. It has been very hard to watch since the Steve Lappas years, and if this offseason includes defections of any of those key players, this will likely be the final blow to this program as a "player" in big boy basketball.

Floyd
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Re: The Future of Umass Basketball

Post by Floyd » Tue Mar 09, 2021 9:21 am

I agree eldon, the movement is hurting the smaller programs, but kids can come in just as easily as move out. In my opinion, having a coach and staff that want to be at UMass longterm is more important than players who want to ( although thats important too). Finding the guy that can get the most out of his guys and put together a cohesive team of players is key. I agree this group has lots of good parts, all seem like good kids, seem to like each other, and are willing to work. We're like right there, ready to make that jump and be fighting for the top of the A10 with a couple additions. But this freedom to jump around complicates everything, so its a tough thing to keep things intact unless that closeness of staff & players to the program is there. We'll find out if it is fairly soon
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Re: The Future of Umass Basketball

Post by Kelz626 » Tue Mar 09, 2021 10:02 am

Much like every end of the season I think it’s a fluid situation and everything is up in the air with everyone evaluating where they are at and what’s best for them. Add to that that it was an emotionally difficult season with multiple pauses and the season not ending on a high note, getting routed in 3 of the final 4 games, and I think it makes it that more questionable when guys are evaluating their situation. As of today, based on Twitter and inside sources, a majority of guys looking to transfer elsewhere is very real. That in no way means it will happen, cooler heads could prevail and everyone could look at this situation and realize the potential this team has, but also I don’t think it’s right to dismiss these rumors just because ppl don’t want them to be real. The facts remain that McCall has lost multiple locker rooms from Chattanooga, to DK players (not entirely his fault) to the group with the transfers and that is a pattern and could be repeating itself.

I could be off base but Bamford strikes me as someone who thinks everything he does is the greatest thing ever and to move on from McCall would be admitting that he’s not always right. The fact that McCall will be back without assurances of the roster is alarming. Could McCall being back be contingent upon the roster returning? It’s possible. This team and athletic department are at a crossroads and it’s getting to the breaking point. If McCall doesn’t deliver this year and Bell in the next 2 then I think the entire department needs an overhaul

eldonabe
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Re: The Future of Umass Basketball

Post by eldonabe » Tue Mar 09, 2021 11:18 am

Kelz626 wrote: Tue Mar 09, 2021 10:02 am I could be off base but Bamford strikes me as someone who thinks everything he does is the greatest thing ever and to move on from McCall would be admitting that he’s not always right. The fact that McCall will be back without assurances of the roster is alarming. Could McCall being back be contingent upon the roster returning? It’s possible. This team and athletic department are at a crossroads and it’s getting to the breaking point. If McCall doesn’t deliver this year and Bell in the next 2 then I think the entire department needs an overhaul
I hate to say it but you are right. To steal the new catchphrase - Umass Athletics may need to be "Reimagined".

Starting with defining what Umass wants to be in the athletic landscape.... Do they want to be a legitimate D1 Athletics Program - for real? They have "said" it for years. But can anyone with a straight face say that Umass has acted in that way on all fronts? How many times have they applied lipstick to a pig - Football especially? They have a good set up for basketball in terms of facilities. They pay a lot of money in Salary, but that is only relative to themselves. Are they willing to REALLY pay someone of quality to come here and build this thing? That includes coaches, facilities, administrators, operating budgets for recruiting, and retention......

IMO UMass pretends to be big time. They talk the talk, but do not walk the walk. We all know that this comes down to money. The adage "you need to spend money to make money" rings very true. The money they have spent on football thus far has yielded little to nothing. Umass needs to get in or get out - they are simply splitting their ass sitting on the fence. Basketball as well, I like MM and I think he is not given enough credit considering what he has had to work with, but if Umass truly wants to get back on the basketball map, they need to get out the checkbook and attract a proven program builder. They have tried all the other avenues and all we have watched is mediocrity on a hamster-wheel.

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Re: The Future of Umass Basketball

Post by Roadtrip » Tue Mar 09, 2021 1:09 pm

"Mediocrity on a hamster wheel." Did Pluto TV add another channel?

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