Ellis Speaks About Last Year's Staff
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Am sure there is 2 sides to a story water under the bridge but probably telling that Mack really didn't seem to have much to say at all last year. His cliche in his final day that he didn't win enough might have been partially true but obviously tons going on behind those scenes.
Speculating he pretty much quit without quitting the moment they suspended him. Just went through some motions counting down when to officially hit the road.
Leaves a dysfunctional team. Comes off extremely self-centered. Which off topic, makes me wonder why we care about kids looking out for only themselves allegedly, when the HC's appear real guilty of the same thing.
Speculating he pretty much quit without quitting the moment they suspended him. Just went through some motions counting down when to officially hit the road.
Leaves a dysfunctional team. Comes off extremely self-centered. Which off topic, makes me wonder why we care about kids looking out for only themselves allegedly, when the HC's appear real guilty of the same thing.
Sounds an awful lot like the stories we heard in the post Bobby Petrino days.
Ellis said the staff is still looking at Tyrese Hunter. He might not know who they’re actively going after but thought that was interesting
I try not to get into people's heads and hearts, but from what I've seen/read/heard I think Mack is probably a good person and a good (not elite) basketball coach. This job was too big for him, and I doubt he expected the cloud to be over the program for this long (did anyone?). It just wore him out. His last year it seemed like his staff was just carpet-bombing recruits and transfers with offers without establishing a relationship or knowing if they were a fit. Add on top of that his self-inflicted wounds from Dino, his father's terminal cancer, and Neeli Thiccabooty suspending him, and he came into the 2021-22 season as a mere shell of himself and just checked out.
No one is going to feel sorry for a millionaire, a guy who got $4M to quit a job he couldn't do, but I think the above is a fair representation of what occurred. He could have made the end a lot worse - and 3x as expensive, and we should be thankful for how it ended. I'm not suggesting a statue or a parade for the guy, just be glad both sides were able to move on.
One red flag for me was when in year 1 Mack said he wanted to be retired by age 60. Elite coaches are paid to be INSANE about their work and be 24/7/365 workaholics. When the brand new coach of Louisville was already talking about retirement - at a young age - in year 1, it made me wonder a bit. Still, I supported the guy until it was clearly falling apart.
Personally I still think Mack can coach .And that is based on what I saw him do at Xavier in which no one can dismiss. As stated in another post above. Their was just too much noise within the program inherited and self influcted to be functional. The end result and where we are headed now is the path this school was met to be on. Brighter days are ahead not looking back anytime soon.
I am surprised by the comments made by Ellis because I read early in the year when Louisville and Mack agreed to part ways his decision was because the players quit on him.
I always take what young adults say with a grain of salt. As they look and handle adversity total differently from a seasoned adult.
Good posting here …… let’s all agree on one thing; we are better off now without Mack, Tyra and “Thickabooty”. I love Morgantow’s nickname for Neeli. In hindsight, her decision to dismiss Tyra’s effort to protect Mack, and proceeding forward with the suspension of Mack was what led to the impending disaster that we all witnessed.
There was no putting it back together, and her departure showed a total lack of concern over the future of UL Basketball. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.
There was no putting it back together, and her departure showed a total lack of concern over the future of UL Basketball. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.
I said this about Mack's suspension before the season tanked. Now I didn't see 19 losses but I was sure we would not make the dance after seeing the team those first few games after Mack was back.
I never agreed or truly understood why Mack was suspended 6 games.
I never agreed or truly understood why Mack was suspended 6 games.
I agree. I think he is a very good coach, not elite, and it was going to be tough for anyone to succeed as we're going into YEAR 6 of the post-Pitino era and the hammer is still aiming to fall. It was just too much. Under normal circumstances, we would have been "alright" with some decent seasons and rankings, and occasionally a trip to the second weekend. Basically, Louisville would look like Cronin-era UC.
The fact that Kenny Payne is getting interest from any players worth anything under these conditions is a huge testament to him. He may even get the #1 player in the 2023 class - and it's actually looking very likely (after Milt's hire I can't imagine a scenario where he doesn't). I'm optimistic, onward & upward.
It's Thiccabooty, playa. Dat booty thicca than a bowl of oatmeal.
I agree that Mack is a better coach than what his last season here showed. I'll go ahead and say that him wanting to change his own style of play and getting rid of Murray and Dino was the beginning of his end.
Of course Dino wanting to blackmail Mack was another nail in that coffin. But it was clear that Mack had no clue how to coach this new fast paced style and didn't have the correct personnel either. The 6 game suspension, on top of other outside issues, was the final nail IMO. After that Mack was done.
Of course Dino wanting to blackmail Mack was another nail in that coffin. But it was clear that Mack had no clue how to coach this new fast paced style and didn't have the correct personnel either. The 6 game suspension, on top of other outside issues, was the final nail IMO. After that Mack was done.
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