I think your first assertion was not to far off. Looked at the list. It is a sad place Fiami had dropped to..... I know you have close ties to somne guys there and listening to them talk about having to bring recruit's on campus for FB games and never when basketball is playing is sad. My grammie went to Miami as did my HS Coach who played there Several local athletes (van leer, Huckeby etc Al) played and we still see socially or are related. Even though Fiami is down I have always felt they are not too​ far away from turning it around with the right hire. Pedon or Groce are 2 good guys that could turn up the heat pretty fast and engage a huge and esteemed alumni base. They may be one of the worst on the list right now but their upside is pretty good

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_NCAA_Division_I_i...

It's not "irrational hatred". It's the truth. This is one of the 50 worst D-One basketball jobs in the country RIGHT NOW. We have smart basketball fans on this board who have been to many Miami-OHIO game over the last 5 years. That program has completely eroded with zero fan support.

No doubt that I can't defend the way they've treated basketball for about 10 years. It's a moribund program today for sure, and the lack of fan support is a symptom. BUT the job has potential in a way that not a lot of MAC schools do. The university is financially stable, has a good academic reputation, historic success, and importantly an administration that's vowed to restore marquee programs. They've backed up those claims with huge investments in football that are starting to pay off, and they are saying that they're turning attention to hoops now. As seen with the football projects, Miami has deep-pocketed donors ready to step up.

Miami has sucked for a long time, and there are some notable downsides. The new coach has his work cut out for him, but I still don't think it's a terrible job. The right guy can succeed there.

Related to this, John Cooper's next stop:

https://hoopdirt.com/john-cooper-joins-oklahoma-state-bas... /

Interesting ...Staff is complete

Dissecting the backgrounds is interesting. Will be very fun to watch how this staff comes together and steps into recruiting roles.

http://www.miamiredhawks.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/coaches....

Damon Frierson is an interesting hire. Can't find any information on what he's been doing since his career in Europe ended. Loved his game. Former Indiana Mr. Basketball was a huge recruit. He along with Wally S@#!@#$#$# and Rob Mestas were the heart of what was arguably Miami's best team.

It would be difficult to come up with one better recruiting class among all MAC schools in the time I've been following the league (disqualifies some of Ohio's classes in the 1960s) than Miami's group of Wally, Frierson and Mestas. I believe Mestas was h.s. player of the year in Minnesota to go with Frierson's honor in Indiana. And Wally was one of league's best players ever.

Agreed. Mestas may be one of the most underrated and underappreciated players to have played in the MAC. Wally and Frierson got a lot of the publicity but Mestas really made that team go. His numbers never really jumped out at you but he was so smart with the ball.