Muller Spills Tea

[BEARZ77]

Maybe it's just me, but I don't get all the angst and hubbub over this game and Mullers actions. No one likes to admit this, but Belmont has been the better program for a number of years, and they were playing at home. ISU looked good offensively but simply got beat by the better team on that teams home court. Yeah the defensive effort needs to be much more focused and intense, and Muller realizing that , thought he'd grab his teams attention right now instead of risking additional similar efforts. He just endured a summer full of MY being , well MY, and probably I imagine had been pretty clear with him about if he was gonna support him what he expected both on and off the court.

That said, I think Muller as another poster noted, is in that uncomfortable spot where he has allowed a too loose atmosphere around his program expecting that his players would be more mature and translate that freedom to loyalty and responsible action, and it's just not happening, at least with part of the team. Personally, I've always thought MY was a cancer , who while supremely talented , was in the long run more a problem than an asset, and that there was sufficient talent @ ISU to build around and contend w/o his circus distractions. JMO

[Adunk33]

Maybe it's just me, but I don't get all the angst and hubbub over this game and Mullers actions. No one likes to admit this, but Belmont has been the better program for a number of years, and they were playing at home. ISU looked good offensively but simply got beat by the better team on that teams home court. Yeah the defensive effort needs to be much more focused and intense, and Muller realizing that , thought he'd grab his teams attention right now instead of risking additional similar efforts. He just endured a summer full of MY being , well MY, and probably I imagine had been pretty clear with him about if he was gonna support him what he expected both on and off the court.

That said, I think Muller as another poster noted, is in that uncomfortable spot where he has allowed a too loose atmosphere around his program expecting that his players would be more mature and translate that freedom to loyalty and responsible action, and it's just not happening, at least with part of the team. Personally, I've always thought MY was a cancer , who while supremely talented , was in the long run more a problem than an asset, and that there was sufficient talent @ ISU to build around and contend w/o his circus distractions. JMO

This is a good post, overall. Many Redbird fans agree that MY is a cancer. I won't quite put him in that category, because the standard for "a team-cancer" has been set with a high precedent. You might remember a few years back, ILST had a player named Zach Lofton. He was a sophomore Juco transfer guard who was highly rated but had.... baggage. Anytime Lofton was on the court and didn't touch the ball on an offensive possession he would drop his head and pout. When he got taken out, same thing. The effected the rest of the team's play when he was on the court. They were timid to give him the ball or would drop their heads with him. Comparatively, Milik was benched a few times last season and twice this season. The team hasn't seemed to fall off much, if at all without him, as far as attitude and effort is concerned. Last year's team seemed to play with consistent effort whether he is on the court or not. I'm not sure "cancer" is the word I would use, but he is something.

I do think this team CAN win without MY. I think it would be a lot easier TO win with MY giving effort. Muller has stuck with him this long, I don't see major changes being made, outside of tougher defensive practices. The team has gone to 2-a-days. One at 7:15 a.m. and the other in the afternoon. The 7:15 practice is strictly defense. The morning "walk-through" today was likely more of a practice than a walk-through.

[Birdfan2018]

Muller reminds me of the parent, who never disciplines their kid, tries to be their best friend instead, and then can't understand why they don't take them seriously when the stuff hits the fan.

Losing to Belmont down there, especially early in the season shouldn't be cause for alarm, but the comments in the paper are. From the outside, it seems he has lost control of Yarbrough if not the team. If Muller wants to be taken seriously, and keep control of the rest of the team, it seems his best course of action would be to kick Yarbrough off. There is still plenty of talent left to compete this year, and it would send a clear message that it is now time to straighten up to everyone else. The kid has had plenty of second chances. It appears to be toxic now, and crying to the paper that he is uncoachable isn't going to fix anything,

If Muller wants to be taken as a coach, he needs to act like one.

I do not agree with your opening statement.
I can give examples:
Johnny Hill against Bradley got a technical for saying something to a ref. Illinois State was up about 10 points when this happened. The player that Hill was guarding went off after he was taken out and Muller refused to put him back in to shut him down. Bradley came back to win the game. Hill was a much better player after that incident, and did not receive another technical foul the rest of the season.
Tyler Brown was pulled from a game by Muller early in the conference schedule, and suspended for the game after that. As in the Bradley game, Missouri State came back to win the game. Tyler brown went on to average close to 20 points/game after that.
Deonte Hawkins was sent home from the Redbirds trip to Spain his senior year for his behavior. He ended up having a pretty good season.
Muller benched Paris Lee his senior year because he was not happy with his effort on the court. PLee went on to win the Larry Bird Most Valuable Player Award AND the Defensive Player of the Year Award.
Coach Muller is not afraid to punish his players, bench them, or call them out, which is evident by his past history. Some players like Zach Lofton & Milik Yarbrough just never get it. Both have NBA talent. But Milik needs to get his head on straight, Illinois State basketball (and the MVC) need it, and his future depends on it.

[Redbirdgrad]

Great post birdfan. Most forget or refuse to see when HCDM uses discipline correctly.

[BirdsEyeView]

Sorry I don't pick the guy who has 3/4 turnovers every game over the guy inside who doesn't turn it over a much and can score just as much. Fayne is more consitant. My does have the ability to just take over a game but we see that what 2/3 times per year. Not enough. I take Fayne all day.

2 to 3 times per year? The dude averaged 16+ppg 6+rbs/game and close to 5 assists per game last year. Besides the turnovers the dude flat out balls most nights. I understand if you want to knock him for his attitude, off the court troubles, or leadership abilities but to keep minimizing what he can do on the court is just wrong and a lazy take.

Jsn - without Milik last night, we lose to Chicago State.

What's your opinion now about his value? Or does it change with the wind?

[Jsnhbe1Birds]

I'd still choose fayne 100 times out of 100.

And winning by 4 over a team who has been outscored by an average of 40 points per game (including a shitty central Michigan team being by 40) is more notable than milik being a force last night.

Aka. This team sucks ball.

[BradleyFan71]

I'd still choose fayne 100 times out of 100.

And winning by 4 over a team who has been outscored by an average of 40 points per game (including a shitty central Michigan team being by 40) is more notable than milik being a force last night.

Aka. This team sucks ball.

I agree. You could say ISU doesn't win that game without a number of different players. J

ust the fact they needed one of the best players in the conference to go off for 25 and 9 to beat Chicago State says an awful lot about this year's Redbirds.

[Redbirdgrad]

Still waiting for that friendly wager.

[BirdsEyeView]

I'd still choose fayne 100 times out of 100.

And winning by 4 over a team who has been outscored by an average of 40 points per game (including a shitty central Michigan team being by 40) is more notable than milik being a force last night.

Aka. This team sucks ball.

I agree. You could say ISU doesn't win that game without a number of different players. J

ust the fact they needed one of the best players in the conference to go off for 25 and 9 to beat Chicago State says an awful lot about this year's Redbirds.

JSN - you said, we would be a better team and can still win the conference without Milik. We could not even beat crappy Chicago State without Milik. So, would we win the conference without him or would we go winless in conference without him?

You over-reacted to his importance on this team (nothing related to Fayne) after Belmont. We are 1-2 with the ugliest loss in recent memory if he sits that game out Tuesday.

[Jsnhbe1Birds]

Doesn't matter. They won't even make nit with him.