Excitement Level for Basketball

[WSUfan1]

I do not know about the rest of you guys, but I have hit an all-time low, a far as my excitement for WSU basketball goes. My levels have dropped significantly in the past couple seasons or so. These are some of the reasons that I feel this way:

-The predictability of the program
-The job security that Rahe has
- Pathetic Home/Away schedule
-ReNO
-Lack of competitiveness/wins against in-state schools
- A stubborn coach
- a great football season

Our RPI is atrocious. We are in the bottom 1/3 of all D1 basketball, while SUU is at 38. :wtf:

Rahe gets paid waaay too much money. Our offense and defense is so predictable, and Rahe wont change.

I truly am not excited for conference play, and that says something. I do no see us finishing above 6th place. The lack of exciting OOC games has carried over for this fan. The OOC should be used to get the fanbase excited for conference games, but Rahe gets to put together his schedule, and tip-toe around having to play named schools. This team is not prepared for conference play, and we are going to get worked many times in conf. play.

The stability of the program is the issue. I know that that is normally a good thing, but after 12 years, I can not support coach Rahe. The product is not fun to watch, to predictable, pathetic home schedule, coach talk, inability to win big games, cant break a full-court press, etc. etc. etc.

 

[WSUProf]

Here is the primary reasons why I am excited for the rest of this season and next -- Harding. This kid is a highlight reel.
I also think that this year's team may end up surprising us. If Chapman can get back quickly there are 6 players who can all do at least one thing real well. Together they can compete for the Big Sky crown.
Braxton can score down low and has developed a nice 15 foot jump shot.
Chapman can be an offensive threat from the 3 point line to the basket.
Kozack has become a very good rebounder.
Richardson has finally become the 3 point shooter we've been waiting for him to become.
Baker is the best passer on the team and can score when needed.
And of course, Harding. He can get 30 a night.
All that is needed is for one or two more players to develop over the next few weeks.

 

[Junctioncat]

I think we will lose some games in conference for sure, but we really do have the potential to win the conference tournament. We are more talented than ever, but we are young and inexperienced.

This is a building year, but not a hopeless one.

Football was fun, and I am also less exited for bball, but we had an historic year football wise. Still love coach Rahe, but we don't have to agree.

 

[oldrunner]

Here is the primary reasons why I am excited for the rest of this season and next -- Harding. This kid is a highlight reel.
I also think that this year's team may end up surprising us. If Chapman can get back quickly there are 6 players who can all do at least one thing real well. Together they can compete for the Big Sky crown.
Braxton can score down low and has developed a nice 15 foot jump shot.
Chapman can be an offensive threat from the 3 point line to the basket.
Kozack has become a very good rebounder.
Richardson has finally become the 3 point shooter we've been waiting for him to become.
Baker is the best passer on the team and can score when needed.
And of course, Harding. He can get 30 a night.
All that is needed is for one or two more players to develop over the next few weeks.

:+1:

 

[SWeberCat02]

Our RPI is atrocious. We are in the bottom 1/3 of all D1 basketball, while SUU is at 38. :wtf:

38 was SUU's RPI Strength of Schedule ranking following OOC play. I posted SOS rankings to show the strength of each team's OOC schedule. SUU's RPI ranking is actually 145. It dropped 55 places after they lost to Montana St. Weber is currently ranked 252. PSU leads the conference at 44.

But I get what you're saying. I've only been to the Pepperdine game this season, and only because someone gave me tickets. I've watched a little more online. I was really shocked with the size and energy of the crowd. Neither was close to what they were just a few years ago. Seems that interest in Weber basketball, and college basketball in general, isn't nearly what it used to be. The attendance at the Beehive Classic was much worse than the schools and organizers were hoping for.

 

[oldrunner]

Everyone gets an opinion, but you can't say, in one breath, that you weren't there, and in the next breath give a first hand evaluation. You have been to one game and claim to be a fan and an expert???? :wtf:

 

[Webergrad02]

Jerry needs to be careful about the level of apathy among alumni and the fan base. About a year ago he was touting that the home schedule was shaping up to be one of the best ever and we were going to do things that we had never done before. Pepperdine turned out to be a dog and AKPB was like paying $80,000 for a non D1 game. The killer has been the 3 non D1 games. I have heard that sponsors are not happy with the home attendance so far. That probably led to the Brett Hein softball fest story last week about the schedule. The biggest downer for me was that we didn't play against a Pac 12 school on the road. After our UVU debacle I might be glad we didn't.

I have not given up hope though. Moving the students has been a great move and it looked good for USU. Hopefully we will see strong student sections for the coming conference games. I am worried about team chemistry. It is what it is, but come January a team should look like they know how to play together. Harding is a legit star and will likely be our next NBA player. We have the talent to be the best team in the conference but some of the intangibles that make teams great have been missing so far.

I love Weber State and always will. I just want to see a hungry coach that doesn't give excuses. I want to see an AD that holds people accountable. I want to see honest journalism that doesn't look to be bought and paid for by the school. Besides Sac State, I think I would take any other team in the conferences OOC schedule against ours.

 

[Webergrad02]

Everyone gets an opinion, but you can't say, in one breath, that you weren't there, and in the next breath give a first hand evaluation. You have been to one game and claim to be a fan and an expert???? :wtf:

I have watched you do the same thing. We were talking about what went down at meeting with Jerry and Foolerton two years ago. When someone called you out for not being there you said you were at Pub run instead. But somehow had the inside scoop.

 

[SWeberCat02]

Everyone gets an opinion, but you can't say, in one breath, that you weren't there, and in the next breath give a first hand evaluation. You have been to one game and claim to be a fan and an expert???? :wtf:

What the hell is your deal? Where did I claim to be an expert, or even a fan? I'm no expert and hardly a fan anymore. I gave my opinion about the crowds I have seen, both in person and online, and my opinion is simply that the crowds aren't what they used to be. I don't have to attend every game to see this. And I think it's pretty obvious to anyone that doesn't have their head in the sand.

 

[oldrunner]

Everyone gets an opinion, but you can't say, in one breath, that you weren't there, and in the next breath give a first hand evaluation. You have been to one game and claim to be a fan and an expert???? :wtf:

I have watched you do the same thing. We were talking about what went down at meeting with Jerry and Foolerton two years ago. When someone called you out for not being there you said you were at Pub run instead. But somehow had the inside scoop.

I don't remember that, but I'll take your word for it. If I said that I had 'inside' information on a subject, then I was telling the truth. However, I have stopped giving out any of that information due to all the heat I got for it. So, you just get 'coach speak' out of me now. I think this is why 'coach speak' is so prevalent. You get what you ask for, whether that is what you thought you asked for or not.

 

[SWWeatherCat]

I do not know about the rest of you guys, but I have hit an all-time low, a far as my excitement for WSU basketball goes. My levels have dropped significantly in the past couple seasons or so. These are some of the reasons that I feel this way:

-The predictability of the program
-The job security that Rahe has
- Pathetic Home/Away schedule
-ReNO
-Lack of competitiveness/wins against in-state schools
- A stubborn coach
- a great football season

Our RPI is atrocious. We are in the bottom 1/3 of all D1 basketball, while SUU is at 38. :wtf:

Rahe gets paid waaay too much money. Our offense and defense is so predictable, and Rahe wont change.
...

I pretty much agree, although I don't care much about Rahe's salary or length of contract as long as he's held accountable for his performance and ability to sustain an exciting and successful program, which I don't believe he is doing as well as he should be with the program's history and resources. All your other points and excitement level match mine and unfortunately the historic football season broke the thread holding my basketball excitement.

Harding it a true talent and fun to watch. A family member with a personal tie to Chapman adds to my interest in following him, not to mention he's a great, local talent. Richardson's 3PT shooting is exciting but somewhat inconsistent and his defensive ability or effort is lacking. Despite this, whereas I've always looked for anyway possible to get the the DEC for games, now its easy for any number of things to take precedents on game night. In no particular order, the following are the biggest culprits for my decline in interest and excitement after 40+ years:
- Uninteresting, if not pathetic schedule, especially at home
- reNO
- Lack of competitiveness/wins against in-state schools
- Rahe's lack of competitiveness or concern for OOC/in-state.
- Rahe's inability to have his player comfortable and ready to compete at a high level before Jan.

Compare Coach Hill to Coach Rahe when they are interviewed or quoted, it paints quite a contrasting picture in personality, confidence, and excitement. Maybe my excitement level reflects that of who is leading the program?

 

[oldrunner]

I understand all of your concerns and I hope that our AD is paying attention.

I truly hope that the scheduling issues can be solved. I believe it will take an effort on our part and an effort on the NCAA's part.

As far as the other concerns go, I do think that our coaches are making changes in our approach to the game. It may not always be apparent to most fans, but our O's and D's have changed every year. Yes, we probably need to have more zones and presses, and in that way our coaches seem to be less flexible.

Unlike UVU, we don't have any convicted felons on our team. All of our guys are good students and citizens. There isn't a turd in the bunch.

I do hope that most of these issues can be improved on and that some of you long time fans will see your way back to the Dee.

Here's hoping for a more positive 2018. :clap: :clap:

 

[n.ogdencat]

Good conversation happening here. There are definite pros and cons with Coach and his program. And there isn't much that I can't add to what has already been said. Personally, I really like Randy. He isn't anything flashy. What you see is what you get and, at the Big Sky level, he's a highly successful coach. Heavens, he is an outstanding coach. We all know there are issues with the schedule, and frankly that's probably not going to change too much. I believe coaches schedule games according to the players they have. This team needed a couple of meat ball games to help them. Even with those games, this team will have to claw and scratch for every crumb of success it'll have this season. Needless to say, they aren't very good and it could end up being a long season. Yet, I do believe that the Cats will play hard every game and compete. Under Randy that's what they have done.

Final thought, it isn't up to the coach to market his program and sell seats. That's the ADs job (to generate revenue and grow a budget) and if that's not happening, that's on Jerry. Nobody else...

 

[Junctioncat]

Our RPI is atrocious. We are in the bottom 1/3 of all D1 basketball, while SUU is at 38. :wtf:

38 was SUU's RPI Strength of Schedule ranking following OOC play. I posted SOS rankings to show the strength of each team's OOC schedule. SUU's RPI ranking is actually 145. It dropped 55 places after they lost to Montana St. Weber is currently ranked 252. PSU leads the conference at 44.

But I get what you're saying. I've only been to the Pepperdine game this season, and only because someone gave me tickets. I've watched a little more online. I was really shocked with the size and energy of the crowd. Neither was close to what they were just a few years ago. Seems that interest in Weber basketball, and college basketball in general, isn't nearly what it used to be. The attendance at the Beehive Classic was much worse than the schools and organizers were hoping for.

The tickets to the beehive classic were too much money.

 

[Junctioncat]

Good conversation happening here. There are definite pros and cons with Coach and his program. And there isn't much that I can't add to what has already been said. Personally, I really like Randy. He isn't anything flashy. What you see is what you get and, at the Big Sky level, he's a highly successful coach. Heavens, he is an outstanding coach. We all know there are issues with the schedule, and frankly that's probably not going to change too much. I believe coaches schedule games according to the players they have. This team needed a couple of meat ball games to help them. Even with those games, this team will have to claw and scratch for every crumb of success it'll have this season. Needless to say, they aren't very good and it could end up being a long season. Yet, I do believe that the Cats will play hard every game and compete. Under Randy that's what they have done.

Final thought, it isn't up to the coach to market his program and sell seats. That's the ADs job (to generate revenue and grow a budget) and if that's not happening, that's on Jerry. Nobody else...

We have a high character program. With all the corruption in college bball, this is a plus. When we win, all these other problems are overlooked. The problem this year is that we are not the frontrunners/favorites. Winning would go a long way to paper over these mostly agreed problems. Good conversation.

 

[SWWeatherCat]

Good conversation happening here. There are definite pros and cons with Coach and his program. And there isn't much that I can't add to what has already been said. Personally, I really like Randy. He isn't anything flashy. What you see is what you get and, at the Big Sky level, he's a highly successful coach. Heavens, he is an outstanding coach. We all know there are issues with the schedule, and frankly that's probably not going to change too much. I believe coaches schedule games according to the players they have. This team needed a couple of meat ball games to help them. Even with those games, this team will have to claw and scratch for every crumb of success it'll have this season. Needless to say, they aren't very good and it could end up being a long season. Yet, I do believe that the Cats will play hard every game and compete. Under Randy that's what they have done.

Final thought, it isn't up to the coach to market his program and sell seats. That's the ADs job (to generate revenue and grow a budget) and if that's not happening, that's on Jerry. Nobody else...

We have a high character program. With all the corruption in college bball, this is a plus. When we win, all these other problems are overlooked. The problem this year is that we are not the frontrunners/favorites. Winning would go a long way to paper over these mostly agreed problems. Good conversation.

Not true-- not for me, anyway. I've sat through many a season where Weber was not a favorite or even very good; that doesn't affect my interest or excitement for the sport or program. This is on-going, consecutive years of a product becoming less and less attractive/exciting for the reasons stated.

 

[UtahPirate]

Rahe gets paid waaay too much money. Our offense and defense is so predictable, and Rahe wont change.

I'm with WSUProf as Harding is so dang fun to watch. As my son said to me after one game, that kid is a professional scorer.

But the quote above needs a little reality check. There is a crybaby coach who seems to be an emotional 14-year old at the university just south of us. Under his guidance he has managed to cancel all in-state legacy games, disaffected the true fan (read older) base as they can't stomach his preseason schedule (which is as bad as ours -- but without the real difficulties we face -- and somehow add to his teams RPI???? -- the dumbest stat in all of sport), whose university's attendance numbers (fake news) are in reality probably less than ours, whose Johnny come-lately fanbase hardly know their university plays basketball -- and are typically bored with his junior high antics so they stay away in droves -- and who pulls down a cool $2.8 million. You can throw out some PAC reasoning as I shrug my shoulders since there are only a couple of conference programs that draw any real fan interest when you closely look at them. I just want you to know what overpaid really looks like ...

 

[WILDCAT]

It's Weber State hoops, what other reason do I need to get excited about it?

Are my expectations high? Not really.
Are we the favorites? No.

But that will make winning the Big Sky that much more enjoyable.

 

[oldrunner]

Our offense and defense is so predictable, and Rahe wont change.

Our offense was different last year than it was the previous year and this years is a completely new offense. The flash cards are gone and the new offense was put in to take advantage of the new players entering the program. While I agree that we sometimes stick with our man D too long, new defenses have been installed. One thing that I think most fans miss is that there are many ways to play man to man defense. Our man D is changed to counter what the other team is trying to do.

I guess what I am saying is that statement is totally off base with reality. :wall:

 

[WSUfan1]

Rahe gets paid waaay too much money. Our offense and defense is so predictable, and Rahe wont change.

I'm with WSUProf as Harding is so dang fun to watch. As my son said to me after one game, that kid is a professional scorer.

But the quote above needs a little reality check. There is a crybaby coach who seems to be an emotional 14-year old at the university just south of us. Under his guidance he has managed to cancel all in-state legacy games, disaffected the true fan (read older) base as they can't stomach his preseason schedule (which is as bad as ours -- but without the real difficulties we face -- and somehow add to his teams RPI???? -- the dumbest stat in all of sport), whose university's attendance numbers (fake news) are in reality probably less than ours, whose Johnny come-lately fanbase hardly know their university plays basketball -- and are typically bored with his junior high antics so they stay away in droves -- and who pulls down a cool $2.8 million. You can throw out some PAC reasoning as I shrug my shoulders since there are only a couple of conference programs that draw any real fan interest when you closely look at them. I just want you to know what overpaid really looks like ...

Nope... He gets paid nearly 3x the amount as the next HC in the BSC. Thats the definition of being overpaid. We are not comparing salaries to PAC-12 coaches. Rahe is the definition of being overpaid.