YSU MEN'S BASKETBALL/SLOCUM

[YSUFANSINCE1990]

  It is sad how little attention YSU Men's Basketball gets on this site.  Not that they deserve it.  I was stunned last year when the administration decided to keep Slocum.   I am not the biggest Strollo fan, but I do believe he wanted to make a change and that President Tressel made the call to keep Slocum.

 Prior to this season, Slocum said this team has great chemistry and they are going to surprise.  They are headed to another 20 loss season.  The last week and a half has been a disaster, including a double digit home loss to a bad Detroit team.

 A change needs to be made, how can anyone justify keeping Slocum?  His teams play no defense, among the worst in the nation.  This Morse kid is really, really, kid, and we are seeing no success.

 Hopefully Tressel will make the move and fire a coach whose record is an embarrassment.

[Wick250]

I have been a season ticket holder since I returned to Youngstown in 1982.  In recent years, I have bought those seats only because the price for the men's/women's package is virtually the same as buying tickets for the men only.  I attended three men's games last season and two this year.  I have no desire to watch a team that refuses....absolutely refuses....to attempt to play any defense.  Next year, if Slocum returns, I will forego season tickets and buy seats to the women's games individually.  That will be inconvenient but it will be a matter of principle.  I refuse to give one more nickel to men's basketball, unless there is a coaching change.

[OleYSUfan]

Your so right; it is sad!! But for many on this board, we have seen this for far too many years and I for one quit watching the men's basketball. There are some good players and some that hustle, but we continue to see them in the bottom half of the Horizon League. It's always next year, well my next years may not be many thus I follow football.   

[ucfpengbuck]

This team has a few really good players but as a whole it's not a good team as it record shows.  Morse is a gift  and Hartfield has a ton of upside.

If we change coaches does YSU basketball become better ?    Is it the coach only or the entire YSU culture for men's basketball?  Does the SID or anyone email students and promote basketball or start any promotion?

Winning cures all need for promotions and gimmicks.  Let's be honest with past coaches.  Clemons,Stroia,peters,and Robic all proceeded Slocum with sub 500 career records so it seem to be a crap shoot to dump Slocum for the next coach based on our past history.     

As a long time masochist fan of this program,I can only hope for the day we make the NCAA tourney.

[Dmorton]

So what if Hartfield has a lot upside.  He probably will be leaving the program soon along with a few others!  You know defections are coming at the end of the season!

[IAA Fan]

I basically feel the same as ucfpengbuck & not sure that a new coach is the answer, or at least the complete answer. Is this not Slocum's 1-year extension; or am I off by a year and he is under a new contract? All teams have defections and team playing sub-par have even more. I was listening to Kampe out of Oakland and he says that that (in terms of recruiting) a good offensive player can make a team in the lower mid-major conferences, but you need to have 2 on offense (and hopefully one on defense) in the top MM programs. It does not seem like much, but he says it is very difficult to do

[nova75]

5 winning seasons since 1985. Not like they have a rich history of success. Time to stop pretending to be D1 and drop down.

[ytownchief22]

Haven't been to a game in 2 years. Will not go until Slocum is gone.

[guinpen]

5 winning seasons since 1985. Not like they have a rich history of success. Time to stop pretending to be D1 and drop down.

Dropping simply is not an option, any time you change coaches it is a crap shoot, a 50/50 deal. Sorry to say but we have a 100 chance of staying the same without a change.

A couple of 20-25 win seasons would do wonders for the basketball culture at YSU

[penguinpower]

They need to update the seating and make the court like a try D1 think with no bleachers.  Also get them a state of the art gym.  Then get a new coach and they might have something.  But that costs money and I would rather it spent where is should be spent which is in football.

[YSUGO]

First of all due to NCAA regulations you can't drop down to Div 2 .  All sports have to be D 1 .  The program is so broken.  Hire a young go getter that the kids can relate too.  We need a JT type of hire like we did when we hired him.  Find a coach that has a pipeline to Europe or fundamentally sound HS and Juco programs.  Recruit Basketball players not just athletes.  Recruit players that are within a 200 mile radius to prevent the homesickness BS.   But first fire everything down there that's got to do with men's Bb.  I don't expect Butler here but I want effort and kids that want to be here.  It seems they aren't all in and play at times that they dont give a f***.  I want kids that hate losing. 

[Dmorton]

Agreed!  We need a coach that can recruit and KEEP the talent he recruits. We need depth at Center and the four position all the time.  6'4' and 6'2' recruits to play the three and sometimes four position doesn't cut it in this league.   I'm tired of Slocum saying every game I'm disappointed in our effort and defense.  Well! I thought they focused on defense all preseason what happened to that?

[YsuPride]

Just pure misery.    Last place.  Typical Slocum

[ysuguins4]

5 games left for Jerry.

[Penguin Nation]

We are tied for last place in the HL.  YSU MBB has finished 9th or 10th in the HL 5 of the 11 seasons Slocum has been HC.

I'm not overly optimistic about Slocum's replacement, because he will be selected by the same guy who was going to hire Dean Hood as FB HC.  Hood was fired by EKU and had a worse record than Wolford in the preceding seasons, in an inferior conference. In other words, the mastermind of ticketgate, the ticketgate cover-up, Hill, Martin, our FB OOC schedule, Heacock's contract extension, Slocum, and Slocum's multiple contract extensions.....may likely hire someone WORSE than Slocum.  He may even hire someone that results in a winless season.  Why not? He's done it before.

The Athletic Department needs to be fixed before MBB can be.