pafan wrote:Let it be known that its not like Marty is universally loved in Evansville. On December 6, I had folks in my living room asking how long UE would stick with Marty. My answer was "indefinitely."
The program was in really sorry shape when UE let Steve Merfeld go, suffering from much the same malaise for which Lowery was let go. Symptoms included defections, poor graduation rate, negative press because of player actions off-campus, and on-court stinkage.
Now that UE has two .500 seasons in a row, my hope is that the recruiting message is changing from "we had success thirty years ago and fans still watch because of that" to "we can be consistently in the top 100 rpi if we fill our roster with players like you"
Some facts for reference:
- December 6 was the date of a 40-some point loss at North Carolina.
- UE hadn't earned two consecutive .500 seasons since 1998/99 and 1999/2000 (the last two years of a four-season streak)
If there are UE fans not happy with Marty, they are idiots. The guy does more with less than anyone in the conference (outside of maybe Jacobson at UNI). I think he is a great strategist.
Marty inherited a mess and has done a great job turning around a program that was an auto bid to the play in game every year.
Get a JUCO 5, move Sawvell to the four and UE would be in great shape to contend for a conference title next year.