Could we please fire Slocum now

[Lets_Talk]

I think Slocum will resign at the end of the season. He had the program going in a positive direction, but the bottom has fallen out. I do not see how this can be enjoyable at all for him. I know he loves coaching, but I do not see anyway a person with as much experience as Slocum, at age 63 and in his 10th year at YSU can have a desire to remain past this year.

It is not uncommon for coaches with his level of experience to retire around this age, and then resurface as a consultant or assistant someplace else. From his bio, he has a son whi lives in Erie and a daughter in Ytown. He also has 2 grandchildren. Between Geneva, Gannon and YSU, he has been in NE Ohio/Western Pa for at least 25 years. I do not think it is out of the question for him to go a D2 or D3 school and be an assistant. I know he has a strong connection with Geneva. HC Jeff Santarsiero was an assistant for Slocum at Geneva. He played for Sloucm at Nyack. I could see Slocum returning to Geneva, and possibly being assistant men's basketball coach and assistant AD.

I'm not sure where he and his wife live, but Geneva is close enough that depending on where they live, he could stay in their current house and coach at Geneva. He seems like a guy who loves basketball and coaching too much to leave the game. At the same time, how much frustration can a person take? And, while I think the issue of the budget get's blown out of proportion to a certain degree, their is no disputing that football is king at YSU, and will be for a long, long time. I'd say that alone has to get frustrating for a person that coached at schools where basketball was given the same or higher priority as football before taking the job at YSU.

I do NOT think he will be fired. Does anyone know when Slocum's contract expires? I know he was given an extension in 2011. My guess would be the extension was at most 5 years, though I could be wrong. Just going by what seems to be standard with contract extensions. They seem to typical be 3,4 or 5 years. If he has 1 or 2 years left on his contract, then I think he is back next season unless he decides to resign. If there is only 1 year left, then he may well be asked to resign, to avoid being a lame duck entering next season. Hard to see another extension being justified. Another possibility if only 1 year left, is he comes back, with an agreement made that the teams performance and direction of the program will be evaluated say next January. At that point, he either receives an extension, or announces he is resigning at the end of the year.

Slocum is a good guy. He runs a clean program. His teams have been competitive, and the program is vastly improved from the Robic era. I believe he deserves the option to resign whenever the time comes for Ron Strollo to decide to look for a new HC. The same way Coach "D" and Heacock were allowed to resign.

As for this years team, I cannot watch anymore. Tell me I'm not a "real fan". I do not care. The games are not worth watching. And, I wish I could say it's because of being in Vegas, and having UNLV games to watch. But6, their games start at 6-7 our time, while YSU games usually start at 4-5. And, UNLV is awful this year. 10-7/1-3, and one of the wins was against a non D1 team. They play at SDSU today, and then home against New Mexico. Will likely be 10-9/1-5 after those 3 games. HC is in his 4th year. Was on the team that won the NC in 1990. Was supposed to bring the running back to the Runnin Rebels. Get UNLV back to Tark like days. Not happening, and many people here hope this is his 4th and final year as HC.

[Spiderlegs]

My opinion is that the Slocum issue could end up being decided by butts in the seats. If WBB starts outdrawing MBB, which looks very likely, then Slocum is toast.

[ysufan0505]

Welp, ANOTHER loss for the men.... Still winless in the conference.... Sigh

[Penguin Nation]

What is the rationale for NOT getting a new MBB HC?  Would the new HC have a worse HL record than 0-6?  Are they afraid that we'd lose games to Thiel and Wilberforce?

[OleYSUfan]

Enough is enough!! Coach Slocum has to go. This team could lose every conference game. No wonder there is only 500 people at a home game. Either we get a new coach or drop men's basketball.

[YsuPride]

The team got out hustled for lose balls, rebounds, etc.  Sign of poor coaching and lack of fire in the players which comes from coaching.  Going into the locker room Slocum walked with his head down looking like a defeated man.  Players see that.  Then the press conference footage seen on the news he never looked up at the camera.   Sooooo obvious coaching change is needed.  After yesterday's performance no more games for me I cannot stomach the lack of effort.  I'll wait until we get a new coach next year.  Thank you Strollo!!

[Lets_Talk]

Penguin Nation,

I spoke with Ron Strollo about Slocum back in 2011 or early 2012. We talked about alot of things, one of them being men's basketball. He told me at that time, the Board of Trustees were happy with Slocum, and so was President Anderson. Ron understands the challenges of hiring a HC for men's basketball at YSU. He told me he did not want to make a change just for the sake of making a change. And, given that the Board was happy, President Anderson was happy, it was unlikely he would have any support from those above him with increasing the pay for both the HC and assistants(like was down in order to hire Wolford) for men's basketball.

If you recall, YSU finished 16-15 in 2011-12, and 10-8 in the HL. Not great, but not bad either.
In 2012-13, YSU finished 16-14 in the regular season/7-9 HL... In the HL Tournament, they beat Loyola, then lost to Wright State to make the record 17-15. YSU got an invite to the CBI, won the first game, then blew a huge lead and lost to Canisius in the 2nd round in OT.

Many will say the CBI is a garbage tournament, and YSU bought their way in. That might be true. It's also true that YSU would not have made the tournament if they had a losing record. And, it was the first post-season appearance for YSU Men's basketball at the D1 level.

Slocum was given an extension in 2011. I do not know the length of that extension. But, it is safe to say that entering this season, he had at least 2 years remaining on his contract. YSU does not have the money to buy out the final 2 or 3 years of a basketball coaches contract. And, given the teams records in 11-12 and 12-13, there was reason no reason for Strollo to even try and push for Slocum to be fired. Not given the situations on campus with the budget and funding for the ENTIRE University, the search for a University President, Provost, potential strikes looming with both the faculty and classified employees. And, there was also the issue of how to deal with the situation with the football program.

YSU is a hard sell when it comes to hiring a men's basketball HC. The likely pool of candidates is going to be D1 assistants who are 2nd or 3rd assistants, and have no D1 head coaching experience, and then HC's at D2, D3 and NAIA. In 99, YSU brought in Robic. He had the endorsement of John Calipari and Larry Brown among others. He was an assistant at UMASS, was young and seemed like a good prospect. Things did not turn out well. So, YSU went a different route. Hire a person with previous head coaching experience. Slocum was highly successful at NAIA, D3 and D2. Slocum had alot of success at Nyack, then Geneva and then he moved on to Gannon, a school with a rich tradition in basketball, and had success there.

Unless the HC pay and assistant pay is increased, I do not envision a slew of more qualified candidates than Slocum applying. Just pointing out a fact for people who think simply hiring a new HC is the answer. Let's see, since the Rice Era in the mid 80's, YSU has had Cleamons, Stroia, Peters, Robic and now Slocum. The most successful of that group have been Peters and Slocum. Bill Dailey was also an HC for a brief period in 1987, before dying of cancer. He never got to coach a game as HC.

The coaches mentioned above were hired by Malmisur (Cleamons, Stroia, Peters), Tressel(Robic) and Strollo(Slocum). That is 3 different AD's over a span almost 30 years.. 5 winning seasons in that time span:
Peters - 3
Slocum - 2 
Only 12 seasons with 10 or more wins from 85-86 to present. This includes the final 2 seasons with Rice, and then the coaches named above:
Stroia - 1
Peters - 4
Robic - 2
Slocum - 5 .... 1 more win this year, and this will make the 6th season of 10 or more wins for Slocum.

Winning percentages of HC's after Mike Rice:
Peters - 47.3%
Slocum - 39.1%
Robic - 33.9%
Stroia - 26.4"
Cleamons - 21.4%

Jerry Slocum may not be "the answer", but it is pretty obvious given the history of YSU men's basketball from 85-86 to present than he is far from being the problem. The same with everyone who wants to pin the blame on Strollo.

[gbs20]

Lets_Talk

Excellent post backed by data and history.  You will recall that the womens program was in even worse shape when Hill was fired. A coach was hired after declines of offers and lack of interest from viable candidates. Its not an exaggeration to say he was the 6th or 7th choice.  But lightning was caught in the bottle, the program was revived, he moved on to a deserved step up and the next hire was a top assistant from a high caliber program.  So it can be done.  The question is does YSU accept the status quo or make a change with no guarantees but hope.

[ysufan0505]

Lets_Talk

Excellent post backed by data and history.  You will recall that the womens program was in even worse shape when Hill was fired. A coach was hired after declines of offers and lack of interest from viable candidates. Its not an exaggeration to say he was the 6th or 7th choice.  But lightning was caught in the bottle, the program was revived, he moved on to a deserved step up and the next hire was a top assistant from a high caliber program.  So it can be done.  The question is does YSU accept the status quo or make a change with no guarantees but hope.

Great point. You just have to find that 1 young, hungry coach like Boldon or Barnes to come in and show what they've got.

[Penguin Nation]

Let's Talk--

In 10 years, Slocum's best HL finish was a tie for fourth in the 06-07 season.  In 10 seasons, he mustered one winning HL record.  And yes, in 10 seasons, we made a post-season tournament once.  In ten seasons, he's had two winning seasons, with the best record being 18-16.

Last year, a player punched another, and we lost our third leading scorer (our best 3 point range scorer) who transferred out of our program to a meager MAC school.

Admittedly, Jerry's record is not Martin-esque or Hill-esque.  I was at the win over Butler, and watched the win over Georgia.  Like Heacock, there are a few scattered shining moments.

Overall, however, the pattern has been an inability to compete in the HL.  If the issue is funding, then maybe YSU should consider a conference they can afford.  To say YSU competes in the Olympic sports but is subpar in the revenue sports is like me telling my boss,  "I lost all of my clients, but I cleaned the coffee pot.  It's cleaner than ever!"

Success begets success, and failure begets failure.  Part of the struggle for funding is the mediocrity, or even failure, of the revenue generating sports.  Our top revenue generating sport collapsed under the current AD, and our second revenue generating sport has kept a proven underachiever in as HC for now ten years.  This is AD malpractice.

0-6 in the HL is wholly unacceptable.  I would even consider terminating Slocum now mid-season.  As a fan and alumni who has attended MBB games since I was a child, I am reaching the point where  I care as little about MBB as the AD and BOT do....if that is even possible.  If they don't care, why should I?

[Lets_Talk]

PenguinNation, gbs20 and guinpen,

I understand the points you are making. YSU has not been good in the HL with Slocum. But, it has been a HUGE improvement from when Robic was HC.

I am not privy to all the in's and out's of the financial situation at YSU. But, from what I have seen, the only school that spends less than, or close to what YSU spends on men's basketball is GB. When it comes to women's basketball, YSU is much more comparable to the rest of the HL in coaching salary, recruiting budget and other costs.

All I'm trying to do is let people see the reality of how bad YSU has been in basketball at the D1 level. They had 3-4 wining seasons with Mike Rice. Were seconds away from winning the OVC Tournament in 1985, and playing in the NCAA Tournament.

With the current pay for the basketball coaches, I'm not sure the HL is a good fit for YSU in men's basketball in order to be competing for HL Titles. I think a much better fit would be the NEC. But, that conference is made up of all, or almost all private schools, with smaller enrollments and lower quality facilities than YSU. The HL is a good fit overall for YSU sports. It's the next best fit in terms of travel than the MAC, and a league in which YSU can compete in pretty much every sport offered. Money is not the answer to everything. Having said that, it's hard to attract coaches like Barnes or Boldon to the men's program with what YSU pays the HC and assistant's. I mean men's coaches who have comparable backgrounds to Barnes and Boldon, comparable age and ability to be highly competitive in the HL.

I'm also trying to get people to understand the issue is NOT Ron Strollo having a lack of interest in YSU being highly competitive in men's basketball. He is the AD, but he answers to the President and Board of Trustees when it comes to increasing pay, recruiting budget and all of the financial issues. He also has to get their approval on any coach he wants to hire.

This is from 2013. YSU is last in spending on men's basketball. GB is next to last. YSU ranks 255th in spending on men's basketball, while trying to compete in a conference that is often in the 10-12 range as far as strength of conference. GB is 243rd. The 7th place team is Oakland, at 186th. Detroit spends the most, followed by CSU and WSU:
 http://www.bbstate.com/info/teams-hoopsbudget/_/HL
Horizon League By Men's Basketball Expenses (2013)
Rk   MBB Expenses (2013)   Team   Nickname   Location   Arena   Coach   

127   $2,507,046     Detroit   Titans   Detroit, MI   Calihan Hall   Ray McCallum (since 2008)   
147   $2,189,220     Cleveland State   Vikings   Cleveland, OH   Wolstein Center   Gary Waters (since 2006)
155   $2,029,536     Wright State   Raiders   Dayton, OH   Ervin J. Nutter Center   Billy Donlon (since 2010)
160   $2,001,213     Valparaiso   Crusaders   Valparaiso, IN   Athletics-Recreation Center   Bryce Drew (since 2011)
165   $1,925,114     Milwaukee   Panthers   Milwaukee, WI   U.S. Cellular Arena   Rob Jeter (since 2005)   
172   $1,839,018     Illinois-Chicago   Flames   Chicago, IL   UIC Pavilion   Howard Moore (since 2010)   
186   $1,728,287     Oakland   Golden Grizzlies   Rochester Hills, MI   Athletics Center O'rena   Greg Kampe (since 1984)
243   $1,399,814     Green Bay   Phoenix   Green Bay, WI   Resch Center   Brian Wardle (since 2010)   
255   $1,323,788     Youngstown State   Penguins   Youngstown, OH   Beeghly Center   Jerry Slocum (since 2005)

Here is the women's HL expense info from 2013. YSU was still last, but the difference between YSU and Detroit(1st in spending) is only $500,000....On the men's side, that difference is $1.2 MILLION, and YSU is roughly $400,000 behind Oakland, which is 7th in the HL for men's basketball expenses. YSU's expenses in men's basketball are $500,000+ less that 6 of the 9 teams in the league. The women's program is within $200,000 - $300,000 of every program but Detroit, which spends $500,000 more, and spends the most in the HL.
http://www.wbbstate.com/info/teams-hoopsbudget/_/HL
Rk   WBB Expenses (2013)   Team   Nickname   Location   Arena   Coach   

149   $1,412,505     Detroit   Titans   Detroit, MI   Calihan Hall   Autumn Rademacher   Site,
177   $1,297,597     Milwaukee   Panthers   Milwaukee, WI   U.S. Cellular Arena   Kyle Rechlicz   
188   $1,276,416     Oakland   Golden Grizzlies   Rochester Hills, MI   Athletics & Recreation Center   Jeff Tungate
190   $1,266,695     Illinois-Chicago   Flames   Chicago, IL   UIC Pavillion   Regina Miller
194   $1,257,794     Green Bay   Phoenix   Green Bay, WI   Resch Center   Kevin Borseth
199   $1,250,023     Valparaiso   Crusaders   Valparaiso, IN   Athletics-Recreation Center   Tracey Dorow   
203   $1,233,505     Wright State   Raiders   Dayton, OH   Ervin J. Nutter Center   Michael Bradbury   
218   $1,189,702     Cleveland State   Vikings   Cleveland, OH   H. J. Goodman Arena    Kate Peterson Abiad   
262   $991,885     Youngstown State   Penguins   Youngstown, OH   Beechly Center   John Barnes

Based on the above info, the money spent on men's basketball at YSU would put the MEN'S PROGRAM somewhere in the 150-170 range among D1 WOMEN'S PROGRAMS for expenses.

[IAA Fan]

It is clear that some of you are never going to get it.

1. In no way shape or form do I want a short-timer (as coach) in basketball. Basketball team are harder to build. It is not finding some young aggressive guy. Any first-time HC is going to be aggressive.

2. You need to look at your competition. Teams listed in order of current record:

The Horizon League W/L% since The year we hired coach Slocum: 0.523 (I would also like to point out that the conference has a record of under 0.445 if you remove the one year of Pearl and Butler).

Everyone's overall W/L% (only years teams were in Horizon League):
WSU: 0.586
Valpo: 0.567 (Horizon Only)
UWGB: 0.563
UWM: 0.513
CSU: 0.477
UDM: 0.451
Oakland: 0.394 (Horizon Only)
UIC: 0.388
YSU: 0.362

I would also like to point out that Slocum's W/L over the past 3-season is 0.505, good for 4th-place (tie, so really 5th). When you look at the monies spent, the team you should be most impressed with is UWGB and no-one even knows they have a men's program. The team that should be shot is Wright State. Look at that poor performance with over $2mil spent.

The point over all of this is that he an average-to-above-average coach in winning. He is well-above average in other aspects ...graduation, recruiting and more.

He deserves credit & a chance to continue, or make his own decision as to when it is time to move on.

Furthermore, as to these tournament comments. Everyone want the NCAA. Well here are your stats since Slocum took over YSU:
Since Slocum took over 2006, there have been 5 Horizon League teams make the NCAA Tourney. Not a single one of these was selected because of record. All were because of winning the Conference tourney except once (Butler).  In fact 4-times the Horizon League regular-season champ was not selected to the NCAA. Butler was the only team to not win the conference tourney and be selected, but they did with the regular season conference crown that year. So YES, please keep buying your way into any tournament you can get.

6 times a Horizon team finished with less than 6 losses and were not selected to the NCAA. Why? because they failed to win the conference tournament.

So do you think I am willing to spend money that could go toward other sports? Why bother? Put it toward baseball.

Valpo:
10-11: 23-12 (Regular Season Champ, no invite to the NCAA)
11-12: 22-12 (Regular and Tourney champ. NCAA invite)

Green Bay:
13-14: 24-7 (regular Season Champ, no invite to NCAA)

Cleveland State:
08-09: 26-11 (Regular & Tourney Champs, NCAA Invite)
10-11: 27-9 (Regular Season Champs, No NCAA invite)



Wright State:
06-07: 23-10 (Regular and Tourney Champs, NCAA invite)

Detroit:
11-12: 22-14 (Tourney Champs, NCAA Invite)

Milwaukee Should we even count the Pearl years? Obviously they did not win the traditional way:
05-06: 22-9 (Regular and Tourney Champs. NCAA Invite)
10-11: 19-14 (Regular Season Champs, No NCAA Invite)
13-14: 21-14 (Tourney Champs, NCAA Invite)

[YsuPride]

I think I am going to puke from all of these lets keep Slocum backings.  Some of you need to wake the freak up

[ysufan0505]

HE STINKS AS A COACH!! Seriously, what don't you people understand? Do you even watch the games?

Last year, with arguably the greatest YSU men's basketball player in history in KP, Kam, a sharp shooter in Weber, Mr assist in DJ Cole, and Slocum's "crown jewel" in Bobby, they still went under .500 and imploded at the end of the year......

Take the YSU blinders off and realized that NO university in the nation would allow this mediocrity to go forward unless you are mentally unstable.

Strollo had 2 great signings in Boldon and Barnes.... So your telling me he can't find somebody like that for the men's program? The facilities have been upgraded, time to find a young guy who wants to make a name for himself as a HC. Get it done Ron!

[IAA Fan]

Really pride? Do you think that we would see significant performance with a new coach and even $2mil spent? Go ahead and let them try, but if you take any money away from football, there is going to be hell to pay.

Furthermore, do you not see that all of our other non-football sports have improved? This will all go away if we try to boost revenue for basketball and not touch football. Furthermore, did you not see what happened to our last women's coach? If Barnes continues to have this kind of a season it will happen to him this year as well. A viciously-stupid cycle of paying high $$ to short-term guys.