If Sandy had added $3M+ per year in the past 5 years to the b-ball budget to hire a better staff, improve budgets and facilities, people would be having a shit fit that she was spending money on a program that has rarely won, was turning a profit as is, and at a time when football has needed more resources/upgrades and athletic department finances were tenuous. Imagine telling Franklin he can’t get more money for assistants because we had to dump that money into basketball. No matter what she does, she’ll be wrong in some people’s eyes.
I think she was right to give Pat more time. He was slowly improving the play and the recruiting. Personally I fell off the Pat bandwagon last year, but his run at the end of the year had me with one foot back in. I pulled that foot off back in January. I think we’ve seen the best he can do. But to do it right in replacing him would cost millions more per year. It’s not just the head coach salary (which is going to be at least $1.5M above Pat), but that coach will demand a higher pool for better assistants, and improvements in other budgetary areas and facilities. Any coach not in a position to demand that or go elsewhere probably isn’t the kind of coach that can make a difference, unless we get lucky.
I want a bigger investment in basketball. But I understand why it hadn’t been done yet, if you look at the finances. I want to see Sandy figure out a way to make it work. But it might entail cutting a number of sports, and I dint know that the university would allow her to do that. We’ll see what happens.
I'd have no problem if Barbour did what you outlined in your first sentence. I would also expect results.