They quit today.....

[RundaPower 153]

I am a Skerry fan.  His approach of strong Defense and Rebounding mirror mine. however, he has not established an offensive identity with his teams. I fear that the players lack the fundamentals and discipline to execute a set offense consistently.  Yes, the last 51 games have been bad basketball.

Edited March 4, 2019 by RundaPower

[TuTigers2012 1,069]

21 hours ago, Tiger93 said:

I agree with you if you are talking about what has happened the last year and a half.

However, I would argue with you that up until conference season started last year (17-18) we were not accepting mediocrity. From the 2012-13 season to the 2016-17 season Skerry led the Tigers to a 53-35 record in CAA Play. That was the best record of any of the teams in the CAA during that five-year stretch. Here is the list during that stretch:

Towson 55-35 (.611), William & Mary 50-38 (.568), Northeastern 50-38 (.568), UNC-W 49-39 (.557), James Madison 47-41 (.534), Delaware 43-45 (.489), Hofstra 40-48 (.455), College of Charleston (joined league in 13-14) - 31-39 (.443), Drexel 32-56 (.363). 

I would say is unfair to count Skerry's first year in any of this since Pat Kennedy left the worst mess of a program I can imagine. Last year, Towson started 11-1 so that was not mediocre.

The base of all of your complaints lies in three areas, and I would not disagree with any of them. The last year and a half has been a mess (true). Postseason futility, Skerry I believe is 2-6 in the CAA Tourney (true). The last part is somewhat subjective, but I tend to agree that Skerry's style of play is not my favorite to watch and might not be a good recipe for one-and-done tournament format games or success of modern-day recruits (true).

My overall point is I am very frustrated with the last 51 games of Towson basketball (17-34, that is not mediocre that is bad), but I don't believe you are giving Skerry enough credit for what he has done in conference play for the bulk of his tenure. There is definitely validity in the criticisms, but I don't think it is fair to say we are accepting mediocrity by keeping Skerry for one more year. I will definitely agree that I don't like the direction we are going in right now. Just two different ways to look at this I guess.  

Points taken.  The CAA record was good. Again, this isnt the ODU, Mason, VCU CAA. But if you (and you should) take out his first year, you can also take out the years with Benimon, a 2 time POTY and once in 20 year player at a school like us, Pat's record is 73-81 and 41-49 in the CAA (regular season games).  Even before this year, its mediocre.

[Chris Datres 423]

3 hours ago, TuTigers2012 said:

Points taken.  The CAA record was good. Again, this isnt the ODU, Mason, VCU CAA. But if you (and you should) take out his first year, you can also take out the years with Benimon, a 2 time POTY and once in 20 year player at a school like us, Pat's record is 73-81 and 41-49 in the CAA (regular season games).  Even before this year, its mediocre.

Should we also take out the other winning years so it fits your agenda better?

[TuTigers2012 1,069]

16 minutes ago, Chris Datres said:

Should we also take out the other winning years so it fits your agenda better?

Agenda or facts?  Add in 17 and 25 wins with the benimon teams then 115-105.   Still mediocre no matter what excuses you use to back Pat “one more year, let’s see about the next one, tough luck, touch travel, we are in these games, guys didn’t qualify, transfers...” yawn

I full expect a very weak non conference schedule in 2019 (skerry special) and around 500 for the season. Some of the old timers here will be setting their pants and Tim will probably give another 2-3 years. 

Rinse wash and repeat.  Excuses only go so far. 

[TSU88 1,073]

You can’t just blithely wipe away the 26-8 conference record during Benimon’s 2 years here. Unfortunately, because of the mess PK left behind, we weren’t eligible for the conference tournament in the 2012-13 season, which might have been our best chance to go dancing. The next season, we could only manage 1 W in the conference tournament, even with Benimon, & the tournament being played in Baltimore.

But, Tigers2012 has a point; in the 5 post-Benimon seasons, our conference record is 41-49, which comes out to an average of 8-10 per season. 5 years is not a small sample size, but rather suggests a pattern.

[Tiger93 299]

14 hours ago, TSU88 said:

You can’t just blithely wipe away the 26-8 conference record during Benimon’s 2 years here. Unfortunately, because of the mess PK left behind, we weren’t eligible for the conference tournament in the 2012-13 season, which might have been our best chance to go dancing. The next season, we could only manage 1 W in the conference tournament, even with Benimon, & the tournament being played in Baltimore.

But, Tigers2012 has a point; in the 5 post-Benimon seasons, our conference record is 41-49, which comes out to an average of 8-10 per season. 5 years is not a small sample size, but rather suggests a pattern.

TSU88, you make it sound like we are not taking those years into account. That 41-49 record is mostly because of the 14-22 record the past two years. These past two years are mostly what I am (and I think others) concerned about and I have pointed that out multiple times in my posts pretty clearly.

It is why I think next year we need to take a long, hard look at what direction we are heading as a program. I would hope you would be fair enough to point out that Towson was 11-7 in conference play in both 15-16 and 16-17 without Benimon as well. I won't bring up the 20 wins in those two years, because I do agree somewhat on the softer pre-conference schedule. All I am saying is you at least need to bring some balance into this argument. Skerry has led Towson to four pretty good seasons. The trend is going the wrong way in the last two years.

We can all have our opinions about where the program is going and what we like and don't like about Skerry, but please make sure to present a balanced account of what has been a pretty solid coaching tenure. 

[sr16 158]

 I think we all agree Skerry has been a GOOD thing for Towson. Fans are just ready for the next phase of development in the program. From the middle, average team we are at now. Will we catapult over the next few years? Or plateau? or regress back into old Towson ball.

[TSU88 1,073]

Just summing up my own views: Skerry deserves credit for a number of things, such as rescuing the program from the PK abyss; having a number of successful regular seasons; graduating players; and having players engage in community service.

OTOH, I believe Skerry deserves scrutiny for the following reasons: inability to win in conference tournament play; inability to win the regular season conference title (with the NIT bid that goes with winning the regular season title); an unwillingness and/or inability to adapt his style by bringing in kids who have better offensive skill sets; & a trend (last 5 years) where the average conference record is 8-10.

I have repeatedly stated that this year was doomed before it ever began, by virtue of the ZM & Gorham transfers, COMBINED with the failure to backfill those vacancies with skilled offensive players (instead of the likes of Dottin, Betrand, Sanders, Howard & the kid from Turkey). I am taking a wait & see approach, given that we still have at least 2 open scholarships to fill.

Do I believe this coach has plateaued here? Yes I do. Do I think we’re trending in the right direction? No, I don’t. Could that all turn around next season? Of course it could. Is PS going anywhere anytime soon? With the contract extension he got, almost certainly not. So, I hope for the best & expect the worst.