A 21-loss season
- Thread starter Eight Legger
- Start date
Umm that was me again. u r allowed to attribute to me, glad to own it. I've said this b4....I'd love to see that confidence & high expectations more often...but not in a self serving press release solely to justify an extension & when it's flatly disengenous. on 1 level to say that when u r .500 or below 40% of your seasons, 4 20 loss seasons, 1 ncaa in 14 years, 9-27 vs your rival....it takes brass balls. But we literally never talk, act, or expect to truly be 1 of the top bball programs in nation any other time! that's when we bust it out during extension time? all the other times we say it's hard because our campus is leafy.
This is has nothing to do with Wes for me i don't care about Wes Miller. But yes I hold it against Mooney. Guilty. why? because it is reasonable to expect - even ONCE in 20 YEARS - to acknowledge Moon's vcu performance & record is unacceptable & that we have to do better etc etc. From Moon. 9 and freakin 27 with 19 double digit losses! But heck I'd even take big hat no cattle AD hardt, philly bob, PQ, asst coaches, Hallock, anyone closely associated w the program saying something. Ungerer might...he actually knew how to beat VCU...but if he goes contrarian...then philly bob tells him he has a face for radio!
honestly I don't think Mooneyites know how bad it is OR they don't care OR they think he's doing well vs VCU....it's sad they think it's fine and dandy. Like a hard candy Christmas. Speak up. ONCE. But these same ppl r the ones who when the Eagles underachieve some season they r the first to bring up. I've heard it. Or idk..how about FIRE BENNETT.
Because it is a public job. He not only has to speak to guys in the locker room, but the fanbase, season ticket holder, the media, the greater UR community.
Right, he's the face of not only the program but the athletic department at this point, and damn near close to being the main public face for the university itself. He’s also one of the highest paid employees of the university. Those roles come with additional expectations.
Cmon now fellas, he's just a Lil ol bitty ball coach. 20 win season, 20 loss season. Damed if he do. Dawned if he don't. Poor program, top program in the country... shooooooot Lil ol chris.
Mooney says we are one of the top programs in the country? He really said that? If so, he’s a liar. Add that to the little ol’ leafy Richmond fans that still post on this board. You all know who you are
8legs1dream
Graduate Assistant
Or he's totally delusional. Or that's the way he remembered it when he first got here.
"Together, we've been able to keep Richmond as one of the top basketball programs in the nation "
Mooney Signs Extension with Spiders - University of Richmond Athletics
RICHMOND, Va. — Richmond Athletics and men's basketball head coach Chris Mooney have agreed to a contract extension, Vice President and Director of Athletics...
Good point about the naming convention. Keeping up with the Joneses is a sorry reason especially for UR whose primary goal is to “compete” and winning is an afterthought.
Good luck to UR in its search for “new fans” and new revenue sources.
I was saying this in my head using the voice of Charlie in Sunny in Philadelphia playing the "wild card".
Is there anything that he could possibly say that would change your perception of him as a coach? In other words, if Mooney came out and pulled a Wes Miller saying that he needs to do better, it’s all on him as a coach, etc. that you both or others who want Mooney fired yesterday, would reconsider your position and say “you know what. The guy owned up to it. Let’s give him another chance” I doubt it so what would those comments achieve?
I don’t think Mooney, Hardt, PQ, Mooneyites, etc. are delusional in pretending that this was not a terrible year. I would much rather have Hardt/Mooney talk behind the scenes where they can be direct in saying what needs to change whether that’s getting better players, change the basketball scheme, focus on rebounding, etc, and then us as fans seeing the results of those changes next year rather than hearing the obvious, which is that we sucked and the reasons we sucked ultimately fell on the coach.
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His record speaks for itself. Why would I need more words?
He could consistently provide a strong message that we intend to be a top program and he is intent on leading us there. But I get your point too, anything he says now would be looked on as hollow words since he has never done so and had infrequent success.
Yes, we’re in agreement which is the record is what ultimately matters and should speak for itself. The difference is how our administration vs. other fans interpret that record and the leeway the administration gives Mooney to improve said record. Discussing whether Mooney’s record is acceptable or not is a separate issue, and giving some canned response about “how I need to do better” isn’t as important as the results itself.
That too. Mooney can make a comment about how this year was utterly unacceptable and he will work tirelessly to lead us to becoming a nationally ranked program, and the response here will not be in adulation of Mooney for owning up to that, but rather comments here will just say it’s Mooney trying to BS fans and administration to give him more time as a coach, he has a 9-27 record against VCU and no words he says will change that fact, etc. Like I said, for Mooney it’s a “damned if you do and damned if you don’t” situation. Same thing with Hardt. I don’t care what he writes in the emails to fans that most people don’t read anyway, as long as behind the scenes he’s direct, honest, and straight to the point with Mooney that changes need to be made (whatever they may be) to rectify what happened this year.
Yeah agreed not now it’s been 20 damn years. But if he said something in the past…yeah it would have helped my perception of him. 100%. And if he admitted right now he was the worst rivalry coach of ALL time? Gain some respect. Admit it Moon admit GKiller’s Interns are right!
Also lol at spiderstudent17 thinking Moon is held accountable behind the scenes. What.
It’s only damned if you do because he hasn’t “done” in 20 years. Some of us just would like to see a pulse from the man. Maybe he’s beside himself every day about how godawful this team is, but it sure doesn’t seem that way.
He has shown passion in games this year that even led to technical fouls. I think we are all well aware how bad this team is, and if Mooney recognizes how awful this team is, its better to keep it to himself because publicly putting the team on blast isn't a good look either.
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Of course there will be accountability. Who else is to blame? It very clearly falls on the coach. Now, Mooney isn't going to have to worry about losing his job this year or likely even next year and I am sure Hardt and Mooney will collectively work together on how to improve this season in a collegial manner, but there isn't any confusion on who this poor season falls on... which is Mooney. And the real pressure isn't going to just come from the administration, it's also going to come from other big time donors who are donating to the NIL and seeing this poor performance. May not be Queally level of donors, but if 4-5 big time donors have an issue, it will be heard. This will also be magnified with the fact the school is now paying our men's basketball for players that is going to be directly linked to our performance. When money is involved to this extent with NIL/house settlement, accountability will be demanded by the individuals who feel their money is being poured down the drain.
If I was a big time NIL donor and giving the minimum $20K a year or whatever it is to be recognized by the NIL collective, and I received a call asking me to donate again next year, you better believe I am going to want to know what will be done differently and the reasons why I should continue to give. And if after several consecutive years I see no improvement, I will want to see someone held accountable like the coach being fired, before I consider donating again.
Perhaps this would work - " I love the University of Richmond. Honored to have led this storied program for 20 years. Have given it my best, but I am resigning to spend more time with my family."
As I said earlier here, I don’t want to see the emotion in games, I want to see it other times. Getting belligerent during a game does no one any good. Sending a message after the game? Sign me up for that.
I don’t care much for the hothead speeches, nor do I feel much for platitudes about accountability.
But you’re kind of asserting that there isn’t a middle ground between this and what we experience week in and week out with CM. He’s pretty vapid about his view on the program, and seems unable to muster much in the way of critical thought about where his guys and he is struggling.
Sometimes people want to hear that someone knows they aren’t getting the job done, clearly acknowledge what’s wrong, and are acting to correct it. That’s not really something CM does and he understandably should get harpooned over it at times.
Hell, Roussell takes more ownership in postgames for needing to do better at this or that on the coaching side, and his team is 26–5.
8legs1dream
Graduate Assistant
let's see how student spins this.
I will say, I have not paid as much attention as I should to our womens hoop team. They are having a super year and excited for the post season.
I do remember in the early years listening to some of Roussell's interviews and thought he sounds like he knows what he is talking about, is very well spoken and inspires a lot of confidence. Yet he was around .500 first three years. Well, he has shown to be the top coach in the A10 and just keeps improving. Night and day listening to him and Mooney. Night and day.
It's funny how these moon defenders just keep saying words don't matter. Yet with Roussell you could tell he had a plan, he was adapting, and working on problem areas, and just really motivated to have a top program via his words. With mooney you don't get that, and he doesn't have a top program, only one that thrives when he can land the top PG in the conference. So I do think his words matter, because they reveal what he is thinking and his mindset. Or maybe like 97 said, he just puts on the dumb uniterested face for the media (why who the heck knows
?) and is a motivated fireball in practice and team meetings. Right.
I do remember in the early years listening to some of Roussell's interviews and thought he sounds like he knows what he is talking about, is very well spoken and inspires a lot of confidence. Yet he was around .500 first three years. Well, he has shown to be the top coach in the A10 and just keeps improving. Night and day listening to him and Mooney. Night and day.
It's funny how these moon defenders just keep saying words don't matter. Yet with Roussell you could tell he had a plan, he was adapting, and working on problem areas, and just really motivated to have a top program via his words. With mooney you don't get that, and he doesn't have a top program, only one that thrives when he can land the top PG in the conference. So I do think his words matter, because they reveal what he is thinking and his mindset. Or maybe like 97 said, he just puts on the dumb uniterested face for the media (why who the heck knows
?) and is a motivated fireball in practice and team meetings. Right.
I never stated that a coach showing passion and self accountability post game is a bad thing and never should be done. What I am saying is that a coach, like Mooney, who does not do that should not be considered a bad thing either. The results speak for themselves and it’s obvious to everyone that our results are not good this year. So my desire is for Mooney/Hardt to sit down and focus on what needs to change for next year to rectify what happened.
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Yes you don’t have to look very far to find an example of someone who is invested and someone who is just checking the box. Mooney obviously doesn’t want to do any interviews, but it is part of the job so he has his standard boiler plate content that he uses for every occasion.
Is this of ultimate importance? No, but it is yet another missed opportunity to have outside interest in the program. Another white flag as the Broad St boys take all the attention.
A Coach can show emotion without being a firey hothead.
And yes, I did think a bit of a lazy hire at time by Hardt, but give him full credit for making a super hire here with Roussell. And that is the profile I kind of like, coach at lower conference that showed improvement and then dominated the conference by the end, finishing first in Patriot League 3 out 4 of his last years, other year finished 2nd. But again, my criteria for judging Hardt is 95% mens basketball.
Agree, Hardt needs to be the one to lay down the law. But again, I see a very real correlation between excellent coaches and the public speaking and image they portray and how that resonates with the team, fan base etc. I'm sure you will try to show opposite examples but all the one's I pay attention to it does matter. Hell, Tarrant was such a straight shooter it was so refreshing. People like those on this board could call his show and ask him a question - and he would answer. Unlike Moon regime you have to be one of a handful of vetted softball participants to get thru. I know, I tried years ago, and never got through - 99% sure b/c they did not know who I was and what I might ask. Just a scared regime, that inspires little faith.
Been thinking about Hardt and his hires. He hired Roussell, replacing Shafer who had run that program into perpetual mediocrity. That was a home run hire. He hired Aoki, replacing Woodson who had run that program into perpetual mediocrity. Baseball team is off too its best start in forever.
So, maybe Hardt isn't actually too bad at hiring coaches. What he is bad at though is recognizing far too late that you have a coach who is not able to get the program elevated consistently to where it needs to be. Maybe Queally ties his hands with Mooney, that we don't know.
But all either need to do is to look at our where our Women's Basketball program is now (and the prospects for the baseball program) when new blood is infused into the system and the answer is obvious. Why they refuse to do this with Mooney is mind blowing. They have to know deep down when they rest their head on their pillows that Mooney isn't going to ever get us where Roussell has taken the women's program.
Great! You're not there yet. Just say that instead of rambling. Most of the rest of us are. He needs to be fired!
I made a similar comment to this a few weeks ago. I think Hardt has done a fantastic job with who he has hired and if he is tasked to hire the men’s basketball coach, will also do a great job. However, I think with men’s basketball there are other external pressure factors likely both Queally and the administration not wanting to pay the buyout, that has restricted Hardt. I wouldn’t even be surprised if the contract extension Mooney got last year stemmed from external pressures too.
Lol, if I hear we need to shoot better as his post game analysis after a loss one more time. That is something I expected to hear from my kids YMCA rec league coach after a loss. I expect a D-1 coach to have much more insightful remarks after repeated losses.
I will say this about the buyout. If you can't afford the buyout on a D-1 coaches contract that you shouldn't be signing them to the contract in the first place. This is a high deliverable type of environment and so any contract that you sign, you need to have the ability to pay it off, if you need to to get out of it. Every other major D-1 school is not afraid to eat some contract dollars if their coach is not meeting expectations, it is just part of the business.
Not sure if you’ve read my other rambling posts since last year, but that is my overarching point that the UR administration (which I’ll include other NIL donors mainly Queally) have felt Mooney has done well enough that he shouldn’t be fired. When I bring that up, the replies talk about our 1 NCAA in 14 years or 9-27 VCU record or 5, 20 loss seasons under Mooney. I respect that perspective too and think it has merit. While I personally think Mooney should have another year to prove himself with this NIL, I’m not going to lose sleep if he’s not our coach. My loyalty is to this university and not any coach/AD/president. So don’t take it up with me, I’m a nobody. Take it up with the BoT, Hardt, or other donors who carry the real weight in decision making.
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I agree. The 10 year contract was incredibly stupid from Miller. I even acknowledge that last years contract extension was not necessary either and Mooney could’ve been rewarded with financial bonuses. But when I say that, GKiller (happy I’m calling you out by name now?) says that I’m backtracking as if amending my position after discussing it, is a bad thing.
Yes, Roussell being from Bucknell helped Hardt know him, but I think his 74% winning percentage at Bucknell helped too.
