Looks like Slocum will be back!

[Wick250]

Here is a quote from Slocum in today's Vindicator: "The basketball future is really bright for us."  His reasoning is that he played so many freshmen and sophomores.  Guess what.  Freshmen and sophomores who play no defense whatsoever grow up to be juniors and seniors who play no defense whatsoever.

Who is responsible for this travesty?  I am, and some of you are responsible too.  Each year, I dutifully renew my season tickets, although I have attended only a handful of men's games in the last two seasons.  No more.  If the rumors about Slocum's return are true, I will continue to go to the women's games, but I will not spend a nickel on men's basketball until the university proves to me that they actually care.

[Penguin Nation]

Eric Wolford was fired the Monday after his last game.  Let's see what tomorrow brings....and hope the only sane decision is made.

[Penguin Nation]

Vindy article regarding Slocum's contract renewal.....5 years ago.

http://www.vindy.com/news/2011/mar/02/like-it-or-not-slocum-will-return/?print

Some interesting excerpts:

"Despite a 20-loss season, Slocum will be retained for the final year of his contract by the university.  After finishing last for the fifth time in 10 seasons in the Horizon League..."

"Since joining the Horizon League in 2001-02, the Penguins have averaged four conference wins each year and eight wins overall."

"...he’s also failed to produce even one winning season and, over the past two winters, has won a combined four league games."

"He makes no effort to build relationships with fans or boosters — something Robic, as prickly as he was, at least tried to do — and he’s even worse with the media. He’s particularly bad after losses, where his press conferences often last less than 90 seconds and he sneers at questions he doesn’t like.

He’s also struggled to keep players. Six have left in the last 12 months, with another, Devonte Maymon, likely to leave after this season. If you make the argument that most of them needed to go — something I’ve heard — well, who recruited them in the first place?"

"More surprising, there doesn’t seem to be any outrage from fans, boosters or school officials about the sad state of the basketball program.

Until enough people speak up and the school decides to make a strong financial commitment to fielding a competitive basketball team, the Penguins will continue to pay rent in the Horizon League’s basement."

***

There is a saying, "What you tolerate is what will continue." So very true.

[YGUINSNO1]

Get rid of him now!   Be sorry if they keep him...

[ytownchief22]

If they bring him back, I will be very upset. Haven't been to a mens game in 2 years. That will continue if he's kept.

[Dmorton]

Funny, he talks about how good we will be in the future because of all the freshmen and sophomores he's be playing.  Hell, he should have been doing that all along years ago instead of always playing a rotation of 6 or 7 juniors and seniors.  No wonder half the team transfers every season!  How many of the core players will depart this year?

[YSUFANSINCE1990]

It's official, Slocum to return for another season.  Hard to believe, but true.   

[ytownchief22]

And the downfall of YSU Men's Basketball continues.... If it can get any worse.

[YsuPride]

Unbelievable is all I can say.  No fans no money but let's keep Slocum.  Good luck with that.  Mayne 12th year is the charm.  NOT

[Wick250]

If you are interested in facts rather than opinion, continue to read this post.  I received some interesting information from a former poster who is the best researcher that this board had ever seen.  He crunched the data about those coaches who had never been to the NCAA tournament and also data about DI coaches with longer tenures at their schools than Slocum.  As of last week, there were just three other coaches who had been around longer than Slocum, still employed, and who had never made the big tournament.  Today that number has diminished to one, as Yale finally got in the big show and Drexel fired their coach.  The guy at William and Mary has won just 40% of his games, but he has just posted three straight winning seasons in his conference.  More importantly, he had led his team to the finals of his conference tournament FOUR times.  So Slocum stands alone, indicted by the evidence for a terrible record and the absence of any team accomplishments.  The worst long-tenured coach in Division I basketball.

Want more facts?  We all know about the poor record but have you ever really examined it?  Here is the conference record for Slocum over his eleven seasons as posted on the YSU website.

4-12
7-9
5-13
7-11
2-16
2-16
10-8
7-9
6-10
2-14
6-12

Is it any wonder why interest in YSU men's basketball is now about equivalent to that high school-age hockey that they play in the Covelli Center.

[ytownchief22]

More Slocum apologists.


http://www.vindy.com/news/2016/mar/08/ysu-cant-part-with-slocum-just-yet/?newswatch

[YSUFANSINCE1990]

WICK250 great stuff.   The column in the Vindicator today is a joke.   Whether you liked Joe Scalzo or not, he would have come after the YSU administration for keeping Slocum.

 

[Penguin Nation]

Very interesting info from Wick.  As Wick said:   

"So Slocum stands alone, indicted by the evidence for a terrible record and the absence of any team accomplishments.  The worst long-tenured coach in Division I basketball."

Wilaj should question why YSU is such an outlier, and treat this like the scandal it is, instead of enabling and cheerleading.  Wick has more insightful info in a few sentences then I've ever read in the Vindy. 

Slocum's upcoming years at YSU will be like his last 11, and to think otherwise (like Wilaj does) is magical thinking.  Maybe someday we'll be good enough to again make it to the CIT.  Maybe in the next 11 years we'll have one more (barely) winning conference record.  Maybe.  Anything more would be out of character for Slocum.

YSU has just declared they're content with an 0.297 conference winning %, and wish to remain that way.

A final thought....athletics are optional for a University. If the $1.3M annual expenditure for YSU MBB has a low ROI, than why continue it?  Why not spend it on something that actually benefits the University, rather than something that embarrasses it? Or if we insist on having MBB, then if our commitment to MBB is more suited to D2, then why aren't we D2?  We remain in the HL because we do well in a few (non-revenue generating) Olympic sports?  It's as if they are playing with Monopoly money, and outcomes don't matter.

[IAA Fan]

WICK250 great stuff.   The column in the Vindicator today is a joke.   Whether you liked Joe Scalzo or not, he would have come after the YSU administration for keeping Slocum.

 

Do not agree. Wilaj is much more of a YSU antagonist than Scalzo ever was.

[Dmorton]

Yes!  the team may be better next season,  but we need to realize the season does not end with onset of January and February.  When has coach had a winning record the second half of the season?   Huh!  I thought so!!!!