For the fans on the fence about Mack, what’s the bright side that you see with him? Style of play? Recruiting? Just help show us what we are missing. I’m definitely not a fan of his style of play!
UofL Left Out of NCAAT
- Thread starter shadow force
- Start date
It is both but it starts with the players they have to the right attitude. The best motivator was Pitino and he still had teams that came out flat. His best teams were full of fighters. Hell WKU went after Montrez because he was a genuine bad ass.
This group gets pushed around and doesn’t fight back besides Jones.
This group gets pushed around and doesn’t fight back besides Jones.
First off, good to see you posting on the forum. Been a while unless I'm mistaken.
What do you want to see happen in regards to Mack? Do you want him fired now and bring in someone new?
I don’t buy the NBA talk with any of the players currently. Johnson is reckless and wildly inconsistent. Jones is a really good college player with a great mid range game. His game doesn’t fit the current NBA. Withers has the best shot but he has to improve his handle. Williamson is a good athlete that can’t shoot the 3.
They just miss the tournament because they didn’t beat many good teams. You don’t miss with legit NBA players.
They just miss the tournament because they didn’t beat many good teams. You don’t miss with legit NBA players.
ichael Bush
@michaelbush29
If I’m #Louisville and I get asked to play cause I’m the stand by team. I’d have to respectfully decline.
7:05 PM · Mar 14, 2021·Twitter for iPhone
https://twitter.com/michaelbush29/status/1371236079383232516/retweets
@michaelbush29
If I’m #Louisville and I get asked to play cause I’m the stand by team. I’d have to respectfully decline.
7:05 PM · Mar 14, 2021·Twitter for iPhone
https://twitter.com/michaelbush29/status/1371236079383232516/retweets
Finding the right chemistry is also a coaching issue. From the beginning of the season, we were touted as having the best backcourt in the ACC if not in the country... Had nothing to do with Malik or Covid...
The Witchita choice is a slap from the NCAA based on the sword still hanging over the program. Not fair, but typical NCAA.
At least your kids were in the conversation. caliparis calamity crew has been out of the conversation for many weeks.
At least your kids were in the conversation. caliparis calamity crew has been out of the conversation for many weeks.
I don’t have anything personal against Mack, he seems like a good dude. I do however absolutely hate his style of play, boring as f*** to watch. If we have another non tournament year next year, then Mack should definitely be held accountable. We are Louisville basketball, we have expectations.
I have been around lurking, and even posting on occasion here.
Surprised at the response from so many UL fans, particularly those criticisms directed towards Chris Mack. Allow me to share some reality to this exchange; specifically when considering this season has no resemblance to anything remotely normal given the uncontrollable Covid epidemic, and the related protocols that were not necessarily followed universally.
Mack took over a program that was not only coming out of NCAA probation, but likely headed into further sanctions that actually qualify for the "death penalty"; while I do not see that happening, I did not see our missing this tournament either.
Despite these obstacles, this extremely young team is comprised of recruits that must have been exceedingly impressed with Mack, when knowing the likelihood of further NCAA sanctions is very real. Mack had nothing to do with the incredible bad luck with Aidan Igiehon being injured, as well as having mononucleosis, it was just the way it turned out. Losing Malik for the year cannot be overstated in terms of the affect on this team. If there was any single deficiency this roster had to overcome was lack of size and losing a 6'11 experienced center and a 6' 10", 240 lb backup would have made a huge difference in this team's performance. Expecting 6'5" David Johnson to guard Duke's 6'10" Hurt is an example of just how under-manned we were in terms of matchups.
Personally, one of the only encouraging things that I see right now about the UL basketball program is having Chris Mack as our head coach, and the young returning talent that he attracted to UL despite the obstacles that we still face that he had nothing to do with.
Mack took over a program that was not only coming out of NCAA probation, but likely headed into further sanctions that actually qualify for the "death penalty"; while I do not see that happening, I did not see our missing this tournament either.
Despite these obstacles, this extremely young team is comprised of recruits that must have been exceedingly impressed with Mack, when knowing the likelihood of further NCAA sanctions is very real. Mack had nothing to do with the incredible bad luck with Aidan Igiehon being injured, as well as having mononucleosis, it was just the way it turned out. Losing Malik for the year cannot be overstated in terms of the affect on this team. If there was any single deficiency this roster had to overcome was lack of size and losing a 6'11 experienced center and a 6' 10", 240 lb backup would have made a huge difference in this team's performance. Expecting 6'5" David Johnson to guard Duke's 6'10" Hurt is an example of just how under-manned we were in terms of matchups.
Personally, one of the only encouraging things that I see right now about the UL basketball program is having Chris Mack as our head coach, and the young returning talent that he attracted to UL despite the obstacles that we still face that he had nothing to do with.
I can't judge this year at all. All programs were going through the pandemic but the pandemic didn't affect all programs the same. The team was furious and fun before the first covid pause, and as they started to get their rhythm they were hit again by COVID again and hit harder for a longer break, almost a month! Came back, got smacked like Katina Powell after a BJ by UNC and then we lost Malik, had another nice win vs Duke and then VaTech gave ANOTHER weeklong pause, then our apparent kryptonite UVA.
I almost forgot so I'm editing to add: We started the year with 5 guys out on injury I think? With a young and and mostly entirely new team?
I'm not an excuses guy but all that stuff I mentioned happened. It's just a tough season to judge and I'm willing to throw it out and just say I enjoyed watching the games. Well, most of them, lol. As I do every year, I'm taking this Friday off to day drink all day and watch basketball and none of this is going to ruin that for me.
Mack Y1 overacheived by making the tournament. Mack Y2 saw the program at #1 for consecutive weeks for the first time ever, and then COVID hit and who knows (agree they weren't playing great when the stop happened, but we still won't ever know). That team had Final Four potential. This year i've already recapped. There's a lot to come in terms of sanctions etc but I think Mack was the right hire. The only one I'd maybe take over him is Eric Musselman (I advocated for Musselman back during the coach search).
I almost forgot so I'm editing to add: We started the year with 5 guys out on injury I think? With a young and and mostly entirely new team?
I'm not an excuses guy but all that stuff I mentioned happened. It's just a tough season to judge and I'm willing to throw it out and just say I enjoyed watching the games. Well, most of them, lol. As I do every year, I'm taking this Friday off to day drink all day and watch basketball and none of this is going to ruin that for me.
Mack Y1 overacheived by making the tournament. Mack Y2 saw the program at #1 for consecutive weeks for the first time ever, and then COVID hit and who knows (agree they weren't playing great when the stop happened, but we still won't ever know). That team had Final Four potential. This year i've already recapped. There's a lot to come in terms of sanctions etc but I think Mack was the right hire. The only one I'd maybe take over him is Eric Musselman (I advocated for Musselman back during the coach search).
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Would give this 10 likes if I could. Basketball fans and being fair and rational do not go together very well here.
For those in favor of terminating Mack next year or even the following year.....who would want to jump into this firepit with sanctions coming or still looming over the program?
If memory serves me right....Cards beat both GTech and VTech, beat UK to totally trash their will to win and ruin their season; and beat Duke 2 out of 3 times. To say they haven't beat anybody is silly.
Not the Cards fault that UK and Duke had untypical years by their standards. Just think....the Cards contributed to their demise bigly too!
The two lopsided losses are unexplainable and perplexing to me just as all this unpredictable COVID 19 mess that we all have had to endure is. I think we can all agree that COVID 19 sucks and it ain't over for the impact it will still have on this years tournament. Time will tell on that count.
As Yogi Berra would say "It ain't over, till it's over.!!!"
And it's deja vu all over again.
We shall see what we shall see.
It's been ages since I've posted on this forum. I posted from time to time on a UofL facebook page, and those people on there are some of the most pissy, miserable portion of the fanbase. Most of them are blaming Mack and wanting him gone. The truth is, the team just wasn't all that great this season, and the COVID layoffs didn't help.
Good to see you, Majestic. I remember you from the old days on the forum so to speak. I sometimes wonder what happened to some posters that used to be regulars. I'm sure life in general, time issues, hardships, etc have a lot to do with it.
LOL Derrick didn't have hunger. He had an appetite.
They got exposed when Williams went down plus Covid stopped AI’s development. That left them no quality center in the ACC. There are too many quality bigs in this league.
Then both backup guards go down. Now you have to slow down the pace. Plus you can’t use the bench to motivate or give
those guys a break. Add in the pauses and conditioning issues with limited depth you get the blowouts.
College basketball is changing rapidly. Depth is incredibly hard to develop because kids just leave. For many it is not about the team. It is about playing time win or lose did I get mine. That constant turnover is going to kill programs/seasons.
Then both backup guards go down. Now you have to slow down the pace. Plus you can’t use the bench to motivate or give
those guys a break. Add in the pauses and conditioning issues with limited depth you get the blowouts.
College basketball is changing rapidly. Depth is incredibly hard to develop because kids just leave. For many it is not about the team. It is about playing time win or lose did I get mine. That constant turnover is going to kill programs/seasons.
I hated Pitino's persona; couldn't stand to listen to him speak. I agree that his brand was fun to watch and his kids, even when outmatched, played "balls out". I'm going to give Mack a chance, given the circumstances he inherited, but the clock is definitely ticking.
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Say UofL gets a two year post season ban. It would be even more difficult and unfair to hire a new coach before that happens. I know some fan anger would then be directed at the new coach because recruiting would be instantly cut off at the knees and anyone on that current roster could leave too. And course a lot of losses would probably follow.
Just saying there is a high possibility that there are going to be at least a couple horrid seasons coming up in the near future from post season bans and getting a new coach right before or as those go into effect could be another disaster.
Just saying there is a high possibility that there are going to be at least a couple horrid seasons coming up in the near future from post season bans and getting a new coach right before or as those go into effect could be another disaster.
Isn’t this the same crap we have been dealing with for 3 years? This is why I was an advocate of retaining Padgett. For some reason, we all thought Mack was going to be able to recruit with all of these issues. Again, if we knew we were going to get sanctioned, why not under a former Card L1C4, probably at 1/4 of Mack’s salary and for me more importantly a continuation of Louisville basketball tradition. Yeah I was disappointed that he didn’t get us in the tournament but we did have some good wins. Also there might have been more continuity with players staying like Spaulding, Perry. With GT’s you can’t tell me that Trent Johnson didn’t have some contacts to get players plus DP is a big man’s coach. He would have at least coached our bigs more effectively, IMHO. I don’t think we would be in any worse shape and DP would have 2-3 years more experience.
I probably overreacted on Sunday. Not getting selected on the heels of that lethargic Duke game, that dope UK AD leading the selection committee, after everyone had the Cards "in," I was perturbed. But, if you take a deep breath and think about it, it was a challenging season. Significant injuries, Covid pauses, a new starting lineup, a tough schedule, it all adds up. Now, the Cards had a decent year despite all that, but apparently not good enough. I'll give Mack my support next season, but I do think the pressure to have a big 21/22 will be there.
If you look at the Cardinals wins & losses this year for the games they were able to play, it simply isn't very impressive. I'm not one of those "Called it! Told ya!" guys at all, but I'll be honest and say I kept scratching my head when the experts kept saying Louisville was in. They had an okay season with 3 really bad losses and the best win being Virginia Tech (whoopie). I'd argue that the Padgett year was more impressive than this one if you eliminate context and just look at pure wins & losses.
Losing Malik and Minlend to injury and Jay Scrubb making a very late decision to go pro turned what could’ve been a top 15-20 lineup into a bubble team.
What also sucks is that there won't be an NCAAT for the Cards next year, either, unless the case keeps getting drawn out.
I'll say this again, I can't put this season on Chris Mack. Now, is he a great coach? IDK but with the COVID pauses and injuries to 5 scholarship players, it was a perfect storm. No, we were not the only team to deal with COVID, but our breaks were 1 month a piece. That last break knocked us out in the middle of the stretch run when a team is supposed to hit their stride, instead we were starting from scratch.
MACK's pros-
-Strong recruiter. He's not a Cal or K, but after the FBI we know we'd have to stay away from guys like that. But, top to bottom we have talent all down the roster. I really want to see what his roster looks like when he finally has an entire roster of 4 year guys he recruited and in his system.
-Respect/Character. The coaching community loves coach Mack. The media thinks he's a top guy too. The players love him. He's just a nice guy too. This is a guy you want to lead a program and be a face.
-Cultural fit. He's from this region of the country. His wife is from here. He gets out fans well. From bringing Denny back into the spotlight, to the dunking Cardinal Bird returning, to trash talking and taking it to Cal/kensucky, Jack Harlow, the 4th street live event, utilizing social media, and just has that Louisville kind/approachable nature that this area is all about. He does "get it"
Mack cons-
-Adjustments. We come out so much and just look like we cannot make changes at half time. Once we get off of our game, we just keep doing the same thing. He cannot get the right sub rotations and he lacks the feel for who is hot and who is not.
-Closing games. We just fall flat at the end of games at times. The close games we've won, I feel like we've had 1-2 plays that always bail us out. For this and the adjustments, this issue stems from inconsistency at the point guard position. Cunningham in year one and then Perry and Kimble last year, but then transitioning to DJ and getting Carlik for this year. We're going to have a new one next year too. We got to find one that he can develop himself that knows the system. Had Carlik and DJ had a non covid year, it would have been better. Remember the Padgett year where it felt like we over-achieved, well remember they had Snider at point who was pretty experienced and knew the team.
-Cannot handle pressure from media, fans, etc. He gets mad when he's asked tough questions. You can tell that fan criticism gets in his head. Closing big games makes him nervous. I think he just needs to get over the hump, because he's pressing too hard to get something done, but it has not happened.
Mack has potential. I think the next 2 years will be telling. He has been the right guy for the post-Rick and FBI scandal. He kept the roster together and has recruited some good talent. Imagine if it would have been like what Crean walked into at Indiana, everyone leaving and having to start from scratch. Sometimes a guy like Mack is good if he can just keep the program stable, and if he keeps it good enough, then it won't be a wreck by the time another coach comes in to take over. Or, he gets it right and wins big.
MACK's pros-
-Strong recruiter. He's not a Cal or K, but after the FBI we know we'd have to stay away from guys like that. But, top to bottom we have talent all down the roster. I really want to see what his roster looks like when he finally has an entire roster of 4 year guys he recruited and in his system.
-Respect/Character. The coaching community loves coach Mack. The media thinks he's a top guy too. The players love him. He's just a nice guy too. This is a guy you want to lead a program and be a face.
-Cultural fit. He's from this region of the country. His wife is from here. He gets out fans well. From bringing Denny back into the spotlight, to the dunking Cardinal Bird returning, to trash talking and taking it to Cal/kensucky, Jack Harlow, the 4th street live event, utilizing social media, and just has that Louisville kind/approachable nature that this area is all about. He does "get it"
Mack cons-
-Adjustments. We come out so much and just look like we cannot make changes at half time. Once we get off of our game, we just keep doing the same thing. He cannot get the right sub rotations and he lacks the feel for who is hot and who is not.
-Closing games. We just fall flat at the end of games at times. The close games we've won, I feel like we've had 1-2 plays that always bail us out. For this and the adjustments, this issue stems from inconsistency at the point guard position. Cunningham in year one and then Perry and Kimble last year, but then transitioning to DJ and getting Carlik for this year. We're going to have a new one next year too. We got to find one that he can develop himself that knows the system. Had Carlik and DJ had a non covid year, it would have been better. Remember the Padgett year where it felt like we over-achieved, well remember they had Snider at point who was pretty experienced and knew the team.
-Cannot handle pressure from media, fans, etc. He gets mad when he's asked tough questions. You can tell that fan criticism gets in his head. Closing big games makes him nervous. I think he just needs to get over the hump, because he's pressing too hard to get something done, but it has not happened.
Mack has potential. I think the next 2 years will be telling. He has been the right guy for the post-Rick and FBI scandal. He kept the roster together and has recruited some good talent. Imagine if it would have been like what Crean walked into at Indiana, everyone leaving and having to start from scratch. Sometimes a guy like Mack is good if he can just keep the program stable, and if he keeps it good enough, then it won't be a wreck by the time another coach comes in to take over. Or, he gets it right and wins big.
Potential is a word you might use for a 30 year old not a 51 year old. I don’t care if he “gets in” by wearing a hoodie, gold chain and dances to rap music. I want him to figure out his “cons” as you mentioned. How are you going to see a full roster of guys he recruits if he can’t keep some of those guys from leaving? I know they weren’t good enough in the 1st place, right?
They’re freshmen and sophomores it will be interesting to read all these comments when these same players develop and go back and read these comments.
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