AtlantaTiger

You would think that, from time to time, programs like Rutgers, Seton Hall, Boston College, VA Tech, Pitt might throw us a bone and come to Towson......solid programs but hardly heavyweight, blue-bloods. Makes you wonder how well connected and respected Tim Leonard and Pat Skerry are in their professions........or how hard they try.

While I've never been to Phog, Cameron or Palestra, I have been to several games at Hinkle. That place is very hard to beat in terms of atmosphere. It's as close to a time machine as you can get.....right back to 1955. It's a must-see place for die-hard hoops fans.

How come the Greene Turtle didn't make it in Towson?? I'm long removed from the local scene in Towson but would have never guessed GT would close.

That's truly the bigger problem. Culture, or lack thereof. Towson has NEVER been able to establish a true sports culture or identity. TU sports are largely an afterthought for most TU students and alumni. We haven't won enough in our history nor produced enough notable professional athletes to make people care about our sports teams. We lack tradition and brand power. If I had a nickle for every time I've had to explain where Towson is to people here in Atlanta. To your point about the school's president, when the highest levels of the institution's leadership are apathetic or indifferent about athletics, it's a recipe for mediocrity. In my humble (and rose-colored) opinion, Towson should be the type of program that is a legitimate contender for National Championships in men's lacrosse every 3-4 years, a playoff team in football every 1-2 years, and be in serious contention for an NCAA Tourney spot (CAA Championship game) in men's hoops every 2-3 years. However, we lack the funds, the talent and the leadership to do it. What incentive does Tim Leonard have to make any changes to the coaching when there's ZERO pressure to do so and the bar for success is so seemingly low?

Had to do a little homework on our last appearance in the NCAA tourney in 1991. Guess I had forgotten that we played Ohio State. If there’s anything in the way of a silver lining, “Towson State” definitely had the best showing of all the 16 seeds that tournament, giving #1 OSU all it could handle and losing by the smallest margin (11 pts). Please, please, please, let this be the year we get back there. Go Tigers!

Looking forward to seeing what Jason a.k.a. "Boy Wonder", a.k.a. "Boy Band" a.k.a. "Robin" Gibson does in this tournament.

That's kind of my point, Chris. The roster changes every year, assistant coaches come & go and yet Towson hasn't been able to get over the hump in the CAA tournament. The one constant: Pat Skerry. Regular season winning streaks are nice......however, at this mid-major level, in this conference the ONLY winning streak that matters is the one you need to get on in the conference tournament. At this point in the Skerry era, I could not care less about winning 19 regular season games if there isn't a meaningful post-season payoff in the form of the NCAA Tournament.....NOT the CBI, CTI, CVS, CNN, etc. This is all on Pat......let's hope, to your point, HE has learned how to make better adjustments when the stakes are at there highest.

"Bet with your head, not your heart." That's the first lesson of wagering. I desperately want Towson to get to the Big Dance. I WANT to believe that they can do it this year. My *heart* tells me that they are capable. However, my *head* tells me to look at our track record in the CAA tourney. Nothing in our CAA tourney history says that we're able to reel off three straight wins. I just hope everyone here has realistic expectations for what might happen in D.C. If Skerry finds a way to pull this off, I will send him a bouquet of flowers with an apology letter and a bottle of his favorite spirit. (Does he drink? If so, anyone know what he likes?) GO TIGERS!!

Couldn't agree more. I know it's not an apples-to-apples comparison, but living here in Atlanta the last 10 years, this Skerry situation reminds me a lot of the Georgia Tech and Paul Johnson situation. A large faction of GT fans became somewhat content, or maybe convinced, that PJ was as good of a coach as they could ever get. GT was bowl eligible most of his seasons and had their fair share of upsets against "elite" schools....by most measures, PJ was a very successful coach. Lots of people saying "who would we get that would be better than PJ"? However, there was persistent feeling among other GT fans that the program could/should achieve MORE. Dump their archaic offense, recruit better athletes, aggressively market the program. Along comes Geoff Collins from Temple. Granted, his first season was rough playing with most of PJs kids, but the excitement around GT football in this city is through the roof. He put together a top 25 recruiting class. They will be a force in the ACC in the next 2-3 years. Towson basketball could/should accomplish a lot more than they have in the Skerry era, and there's someone out there who can do it. Go Tigers!!

You are definitely NOT wrong. Let's see what happens in D.C. next week. I PRAY Skerry makes me eat crow.

An encouraging win for sure. Credit to the entire team and the staff. *Must* find a way to get the job done in D.C.

Yes, yes and more yes. While I sincerely appreciate some of the real in-depth game-by-game analysis that is discussed here, I do think there's a bit of wishful (delusional?) thinking that happens here as well. The BIG picture reality is this: History tells us that Pat Skerry teams are NOT built to win big games. Pat Skerry is not a very good, maybe not even a mediocre, recruiter of talent. Pat Skerry's coaching style has NOT translated to winning big games. Pat Skerry has NOT proven to be a great developer of talent.....does he "coach up" his guys and get them to outperform or overachieve their given abilities? Is he an innovative tactician or strategist? I know we all desperately want our Towson Tigers to get to the Big Dance. I believe some of us are also trying to convince ourselves that Pat Skerry can do it. The sample size is big enough at this point in time to know what we have in PS. He's a first class man of the highest integrity. He deserves nothing but happiness and blessings in his life. But he's never going to deliver a team that consistently and realistically challenges for a CAA Championship. Who among us HONESTLY believes that this team has it in them to run the table in the CAA tournament? I understand the nightmare contract and the futility of hoping for some kind of change. Tim Leonard needs to be on the hot seat, if he isn't already.

This was a great regular season win. However, I'm waiting for a Pat Skerry-led team to do something that they haven't done before, before I start throwing bouquets. Has this team done something that we haven't seen in the previous 8 years? It should be NCAA Tourney or Bust, for Skerry.

Great win, credit to all the players and coaching staff.

I'm inclined to believe this streak is a bit of "fool's gold". It's always great to win and I give the guys credit for finding ways to pull out the W's. However, we could win out the rest of the year, go 22-9 on the regular season and wind up laying an egg in the CAA Tournament and be left with NOTHING to show for a respectable season...….yet again. I don't trust Skerry coached teams. Until he proves otherwise, I don't think Skerry knows how to win when it really matters. Please, please, please, make me eat crow, Pat.

As dreadful as this season has been and as much as I rail against Pat Skerry, my 5yr old daughter and I will be in front of the TV tonight, in our Towson basketball jerseys, cheering on the Tigers.

What's also very disheartening is that even if by some miracle Skerry was fired tomorrow, I don't have any faith at all that Tim is qualified or competent enough to find a quality men's basketball coach. His ability to assess and evaluate coaching talent must be called into question. How deep is his network of coaching connections? What would prospective coaches think of HIM as possibly being their boss? Is he respected in the coaching world? Ultimately, new athletic department leadership will be needed.

Please, please, please, can someone get an on-the-record comment from Tim Leonard regarding the state of TU Men's Basketball? I have no doubt he would give some kind of fluff, throw-away answer but I just would love to hear him try to defend Pat Skerry. I'm guessing he's behind closed doors and not available for comment? This program is Tim Leonard's problem. The guy strikes me as being more of a high school qualified AD than a D-1 college AD.

My prediction: Towson loses by 14+ and Skerry gives the same rehashed post-game comments. And Tim Leonard still wholeheartedly endorses this coaching regime.

Could not agree more with the majority of the comments on this topic. I gave up on Skerry about 2 years ago. He is what he is as a coach......he's not going to improve anymore as a recruiter or as a player-developer. I'm done critiquing his shortcomings, as they are many. I am, however, going to start turning my attention to our Athletic Director. Tim Leonard strikes me as an absentee AD who has fallen asleep at the wheel. I would love to hear/see/read an interview with Tim Leonard where he addresses the current state of TU athletics. I would love to hear him answer specific questions regarding the direction of the men's basketball team and football team. I would love to know how he personally defines "success" for these programs and what he considers his responsibility in achieving that success. I have never met the guy. He may be the nicest guy of the highest integrity, which is fantastic......however, I get the impression that the guy is far too comfortable with mediocrity and the status quo. Kinda feel like he's very content putting his feet up on his desk and collecting a nice paycheck while just watching the teams spin their wheels. "Ambitious", "hungry", "relentless" are NOT words I would use to describe Tim Leonard. For those of you who do know him, please tell me if I am way off base with my observations and instincts.

That. Is. AWESOME! Worth a trip up from Atlanta to see that.

I have to be honest, I don't think Skerry is CAPABLE of recruiting better scorers. I'm beginning to to believe that he's settling for whatever he can get in terms of recruits ("Beggars can't be choosers"). The truly unfortunate part is that he doesn't appear capable of developing the players he is able to land, nor does he put them in a great position to win with his X's & O's.

How fragile a team must Towson be that a few less hours of sleep or one less shoot-around amounts to a 38 point performance? Johns Hopkins could probably find a way to score 38. We don't need any apologists for this program or this head coach. This is most likely a 12 or 13 win Towson team in 2019/2020. Enough is enough. Skerry is a classy guy and an outstanding individual with regard to his philanthropic efforts.....too bad he is a subpar D1 head basketball coach.

These are 18-22 year old young adults....they're very physically resilient. Travel hiccups are not an excuse. To blame this performance on travel related issues is to let Pat Skerry off the hook, yet again. In a day & age when mid-majors across the country are taking down historic, blue-blood programs, to make a petty excuse as to why our Towson Tigers struggled against Vermont is pathetic. Vermont is a strong team, but they're hardly unbeatable. This Towson program will continue to wallow in mediocrity so long as Skerry is at the helm. He is a poor recruiter and a poor schematic coach. Provide as many alibies for him as you'd like......mentally strong, well-coached teams don't wilt due to travel complications. This program is ridiculous. Fire Skerry and fire Leonard.

Jacksonville University just announced that they are dissolving their football program. Wonder if there's any talent that can be picked up from that roster? Haven't looked to see if there are any kids with Maryland ties on that team......maybe some decent sized OL?