It is unfortunate how few get lost in the moment and forget that this is a marathon and not a sprint. We all have eyes and should be able to see if there is any "there" there. DK did not have it - he looked lost on the sidelines and had poor game plans and even worse game management.JoleonLescottsHair wrote: ↑Mon Apr 19, 2021 7:33 pmI understand why Matthews would be disappointed and resist. He was excited about coming to UMass and didn’t want to wait a year. He is hopefully confident that he is ready. I so get that. It sucks to have to change plans when you were committed and I personally wish he was coming rather than another transfer. BUT for everyone who wants to use this as another knee jerk reason to bash McCall, I invite you to go blow yourself. BarcaLounger style.TheOFFSeason wrote: ↑Mon Apr 19, 2021 6:20 pm MM wanted Mathews to go to prep for a year before coming and he didn’t want to do that.
Let’s review: Season ends, Twitter and the Collegian tell us a massive exodus is on us...McCall sucks!
Matthews asks out of his scholarship...McCall is a disloyal douchebag who might have emotional intelligence problems.
I mean, c’mon. He took over a shitty situation and did a decent job his first season. Year 2 was a massive misfire and the team sucked. Put that on McCall and his failed transfer strategy. He has admitted as much. Year 3 he adds TB, Tre and the Woodstock strategy and the team starts to turn the corner. One shit call against URI and they finish .500 and advance in the A10. They finished strong and had all the typical makings of a team ready to make the next step. Year 4 is Covid year. A very youthful team plays 15 games total, finishes a over .500 and as close to the top of the league as they have finished in quite a while. They also show they can win without Tre and won a game in the A10 tournament. Great year, no. But 15 games. The season was not terrible by any stretch and could have very well been the logical next step in building the program back were it not for Covid. It is not crazy to think last years squad was an NIT team in most seasons.
Overall, have the last 3+ seasons been successful? No, definitely not. But hardly the train wreck his critics claim. When I get hit by a John Deere tractor tomorrow, and die, I will go to my grave convinced that if Matt McCall was from New England we would not be hearing half the shit we do about how aloof he is or how he screws over recruits and has no loyalty. Dude has not delivered a winning record (except last year’s abbreviated 8-7 result) but I believe he has demonstrated integrity, love for the university, and his approach comes from the right place. I think next year is and should be the final test, but Jesus the vultures in our midst.
In short, if tomorrow someone should happen to transfer out or change their mind about coming, I look forward to the next round of venom. If there is one thing consistent about this program it is that our fan base is entirely predictable.
MM is a true basketball guy - he knows a lot about the game, and has shown that it is in there. He has made his share of bad or questionable decisions, but he is a basketball guy and will do great things at some point. I never saw that in DK - he had one great player who was able to rise above most of inconsistent and incoherent game plans. When that team NEEDED DK to be a coach they regressed back to what we all knew they were - a virtual rudderless ship. Even with that Chaz was almost able to pull off a miracle.
I digress - This is about MM. He has his hands full next season for sure and maybe he will fail / maybe he will succeed. For too many here he has already failed, and that is a short sighted opinion.