Bet we would have had an acceptable record this year if the conference had been down again. History is on my side.
Penn State basketball
- Thread starter searay26
- Start date
This team has started to play more to its potential. They had a 10+ game losing streak. Maybe they're capable of a 10 game winning streak. If they get to .500, they'll be in the dance.
Unlikely as it may be, it's a lot more to hope for than what we had a month ago. It'd be a heck of a season if they could pull that off. Win in Madison, and anything is possible.
I like this team right now. They're frustrating to watch, but fun at the same time. And I like the kids. They can beat just about anybody if Watkins stays out of foul trouble and the freshmen shoot well.
If we win this game and take care of business against Illini and Rutgers, things could get really interesting.
In all likelihood our record would keep us out, but we might enter the bubble conversation. Depending on how things shake out elsewhere, maybe they would put us in one of the play-in games. Hard to believe this is even possible after the start we had
In all likelihood our record would keep us out, but we might enter the bubble conversation. Depending on how things shake out elsewhere, maybe they would put us in one of the play-in games. Hard to believe this is even possible after the start we had
Not happening. Only way to dance is to win the B1G tournament.
Trust me, the conversations will start if we win today. We played the hardest schedule of anyone in the B1G and our SOS is around #5 in the nation. If we win this it would add to wins over VT, Michigan, Maryland. If we win out it will be wins in 8 of our last 10 games. It is not unheard of to put a .500 team into the dance with that kind of resume
Last 10 games is meaningless, every game counts the same. And of course it would be unheard of to put a .500 team in the tourney. Worst record was Georgia in 2001 at 16-14, but their resume was a whole lot better than what we’d have.
Florida State once went to the NCAA tournament with a 6-10 conference record. I think the PSU team that went to the sweet 16 was 7-9 in conference play.
That PSU team was 19-11 overall with an RPI of 24. Our overall record this year is what keeps us well off the bubble.
Probably, yes. But our NET rating is currently #50. If we win today (iffy) and our last 2, we could be up in the low 40s. Win a game or two in the BTT and we are in the 30s. Then we are definitely in the bubble talk at that point.
They don't really care about overall record, TBH. They are perfectly happy to pass on teams with 20 wins and bad schedules; they do it all the time.
That 2001 team didn't get in because they were 19-11. It was their SOS and the wins over top 10 teams.
Villanova 1991 also went in at 16-14, but, again, had a much better resume than PSU would present.
Not everything in basketball is coachable. That was Pat Chambers’ best idea coming out of a timeout? He is terrible. Under pressure. When it counts. He doesn’t have it. Might be a good recruiter. Might be a good assistant coach. He isn’t a DI head coach.
That was awful. Also the possession after it was awful. Both were mistakes by Bolton, who played well otherwise. Under pressure he tends to lock down and try to do it all himself.
If Pat wins one or both of the last two, he is coming back. If he loses both, I think the talk about firing him will pick up again.
Results of 1-2 games should have little bearing on his future. Things like recruiting and transfers is really what should matter over the next month.
Chambers is coming back even if he goes 0 for the next three games. Has nothing to do with the future of PSU basketball. Season hasn't been that big of a disaster for Barbour to fire him with three years remaining on his contract.
Agreed. Although, if there is a mass exodus next year is horrible either way. You could let Pat own it and start over in 2020.
No the results of the last 2-3 games don't matter as to whether Chambers come back. Neither will recruiting and transfers, unless, of course, most of the current PSU squad transfers out.
If we have to hit the reset button next year, it won’t be with Pat. Just not enough recruiting momentum to get through that.
I would agree with that. Same would hold true if he loses it during the remaining games. I'm assuming business as usual. In that case, he's back, win or lose.
On a more optimistic note, if Watkins, Stevens, Bolton, and Dread are all returning, the team should be pretty decent.
My prediction is that all of them will return. If Pat gets off to a super slow start once again, then there is no choice but to part ways. He's like a cat that has already had 27 lives.
Basically agree. If, come mid-March, we hear that Lamar and Mike are moving on, Jones is leaving to see more PT, and Bolton wants to be closer to home, then that's probably all she wrote. Someone has to leave to get us down to our numbers, but if it's someone like Daniil, then it's business as usual for another run at it.
Regardless, I'd look for additional support this offseason, if for nothing other than optics. Upgrade Ferry with someone higher profile, announce some type of investment elsewhere in the program, etc.
If that happens, then next year's team is led by John Harrar with nobody supporting him. It could be a zero win season.
ADs don't like being embarrassed. So what embarrasses Barbour more than firing a coach who she just extended for three years:
a. going 12-20? Nah, this is PSU basketball.
b. a mass exodus from the team? That'll do it.
c. coach behaving very badly in front of an audience? That'll do it, too.
Not expecting b or c to happen, so Pat's back.
If we could have the Mike Watkins of the past few years back, then I agree. Today, he played 16 minutes with 6 points, 1 rebound, and 1 block, as we took a top 20 team to the wire on the road. He's just not there right now.
Really depends on the definition of "mass exodus". I wouldn't be floored or anything if Watkins, Stevens, and Jones decided to move along.
Keeping guys in the program has been an issue since day 1 for Pat. He recruits at a good enough level that we should have some depth, but every March, we take a step back. And that's ok if we're filling the holes in the grad transfer (or even general transfer) market, but we're not.
Since Pat has been here, the following scholarship players haven't completed the eligibility at PSU...
Jermaine Marshall
Jon Graham
Trey Lewis
Matt Glover
John Johnson
Allen Roberts
Graham Woodward
Geno Thorpe
Payton Banks
Isaiah Washington
Tony Carr
Terrence Samuel
Naz Bostick
Satchel Pierce
I think we need them both...we need Stevens scoring and without it, we’d be in bad shape. We need Watkins presence underneath and with out it, we’d be relying on Harrar and be in bad shape.
Honestly, a lot of the success the past few weeks has been our willingness to go small with Lamar at the 5. It's created matchup problems for several of our opponents (and I've been a proponent of it going back to the MSU game at the Palestra a few years ago).
True. But it was an issue with the previous coach as well. Go back and look at the PSU roster on the day DeChellis was hired in 2003, and the roster in his first two seasons, then count how many left PSU by 2006.
So is it Pat or is that just the way things go in this sport?
Ya....show some sense and leadership ability already.... Pull the trigger. Lol
Stevens is likely to leave to play professionally, probably in Europe. Watkins doesn’t really have much of an impact as he plays too soft for a big man. We don’t have another scorer like Stevens and will miss his points just as we missed Carr this season.
