I am OK with Porter Moser being on his last year and letting him wait until the end of the year for a decision on whether he'll be back. To be very honest, I don't think I would have said so on February 1, but losing 7 of the last 9, including THREE TIMES to SIU and once to Evansville in that span, plus losing to Drake and letting them score 102 points to start the season....

On January 29 we were 16-7 overall, 6-3 in conference. And we finish 18-14 (16-14 against D1 teams) and 8-10 in conference play. I don't think we deserve any kind of postseason bid, and if I were AD, I probably wouldn't accept it. I'd save that money and put it into marketing to give next year's team a chance of winning every home game with a rowdy crowd. I'd let Porter Moser know that yes, we are going to wait to see what happens with the team and where they finish. I would let him know that fifth was a disappointment based on the talent we had and where we were at the midpoint of the season. I would let him know that losing so many games by razor thin margins-- important games, where the stakes were clear and very well known-- doesn't reflect well on a coach in his sixth season at a school. Nor does it look very good when a coach has failed to have a break even conference record after eight seasons at two different schools. I would be very nice, but give the unmistakable message that if you don't finish above .500 with the talent level returning next year, it's probably best to part ways.

Yes, I'm still angry about today's game.

One more thing about Porter's situation: if I were the AD, I'd take the lead in putting together next year's schedule. The situation could turn into another version of Whitesell's last year: starts the year off 7-0 (first time since 62-63), team falls apart in conference play, barely squeaks by with a winning record and basically throws his hands up in disbelief as to why he got fired at the end of the year. This year, we had zero quality wins, played 5 teams with 200+ RPI, 2 non D1 teams, and no teams under 100. That's 7 wins baked into the record this year. I agree with JCT that a winning record in conference play has to at least be a benchmark for extending him, but if this was the last year on Porter's contract, he would be arguing that it looks bad on LU to let go of an 18-14 head coach. I wouldn't saddle him with UNC, UCLA, Kentucky, Louisville, Kansas, & Duke, but I wouldn't let him skate with IU Northwest, Alcorn St., Eureka, Milwaukee, Oral Roberts, & Norfolk St. either.

Great post Lusuperfan. Coaches are masters at getting easy non con wins to bolster their record. Playing 2 non D1 games gives them easy wins without hurting their RPI. Those games hurt attendance, players don't like them, and they don't get you ready for conference play. You need a balanced schedule. Play a few low D1 teams, a few mid D1 teams, a few high mid major teams, and 2 road power 5 teams. Playing at UCLA or Syracuse will bring home a check and experience in a tough environment.

I think a good discussion on whether to retain Coach or not has to start by looking at all the resources the coach has available to him..And that is a lot of factors. Lets just take one example. Northwestern at home tied with Michigan with 7 seconds to play Michigan ball. The coach, Behien tries to call a play, cant , too noisey from the crowd noise...ends up with a one on one shot that ricochets out of bounds touched by a Michigan guy and a NW guy...who gets the ball that's right NW...took place right in the middle of the student section. 1.7 left and I am sure most people have seen it..... out of bounds play to win the game. Drawn up by an assistant coach with 16 years of NBA experience.MY point is NW did not just win that game cuz of Chris Collins but cuz of the many resource around him from marketing to assistant coaches.
As we look at this question of whether Coach should get an extension the question has to be is he doing the best he can with what he has? And is there anyone around who could do better with the overall resources we have and do we have the resources to get them? You can dream all you want about making a great creme brulee but if all you got is skim milk it aint gonna happen.

I think lack of resources is a fair point in some cases that apply to LU, even given some of the other teams in our conference and their resources (see Marshall and Jacobson's salaries compared to Moser's).

But losing 7 of the last 9 was not solely a resource thing though. In game coaching, preparation, recruiting & developing forwards, conditioning and how he plays his bench, how fowards are developed, non-conference scheduling/quality of wins (per realtimeRPI, we had 0 quality wins this season) are all areas PM can improve in that require very little, if any, resources except Moser having the ability to adapt. It would speak volumes about how he views the problem of 3 losses to SIU if his only solution is we need more money. It speaks even louder if his solution to the problem "We need more money" is say to load our schedule next year with cupcakes at home and non-D1 opponents.

I'm also not too keen on the Northwestern comparison. They've had a magical run that hasn't happened in school history, sure. A lot of the excitement there is based off of the novelty of a winning team. But Coach K and his retirement (whenever it comes) might be the only thing standing in the way of sustained success there and a return to the Big 10 basement.

Super...some good points..... However non-conference scheduling is related to cash......you need to guarantee some cash to get good teams to come in and with our attendance it will cost us money to get good teams to come in here and play. In the past Creighton and San Diego State were here not because we scheduled them but because of the Bracket Buster deal and the Mountain West/Valley agreement.
People talk about the lack of development of centers and forwards..yet I look at three incredibly undersized guys in Christian Thomas, Aundre Jackson and Montel James and say they over achieved. Julius basically is gone because he would not follow the development program. Donte Ingram has developed from a kid who did not even start on his high school team to a kid who is on the MVC 3rd team and can play the one through the 5 spots. Recruiting you have to have the cash to see these kids play time after time.....and money equals distance....you have to be at the AAU tournaments across the nation. And as far as that goes for a team that had 2 winning seasons out of 30 that he gets any quality players is a miracle. Assistant Coaches with experience demand money and they make a difference, Coach Seltzer indeed has some quality experience but beyond that you have got guys,( who I think are really good guys) who have very little experience and Coach is coaching them on how to coach.
You can certainly make an argument for any strategy and game decisions as on the Coach. And I am concerned with the fact that we have lost so many close games.
As for NU they will be here for the long run and I do not think Coach will skip out for Duke. The University has made a considerable commitment to athletics and have a premier athletic director in Jim Philips ( plus I like our guy, Steve Watson)

Why not go on the road and take the check? We had 13 non-con games last year; I think the way the Savannah tournament is setup, we'll have 13 non-conference games again for 17-18. We played 1 guarantee game (@ NC State) last year. Why not bump that number to 3 or maybe 4? Worst case scenario: you improve the competition you play against, you're able to test your team and get them ready for conference play, and you take home a check. Best case scenario: all of the above and you win. What message is the program sending when it cries poor, but then keeps a so-called luxury of guarantee home games versus grossly inferior teams on the schedule?

I think you can also make the argument that you'll create more energy around the program among non-diehard alums and non-diehard students by going on the road to play a big school than playing cupcakes at home. We would have more Loyola fans watching on TV or at least following the game if we played at Wisconsin or Michigan St. than at home vs. Eureka on a Monday night.

The NC State game was part of the P Jam. They are coming to Loyola this Nov/Dec. I don't think Loyoangkt a check at NC State.

NC State at home next year but a 75 k check for going year year three,

Just a pure gut feeling,
1. We will play in at least one more game,
2. Too much silence means
A, we are deciding on which offer,
B, the AD is appealing for special funds to have a HOME game,

Dr Rooney is more committed to athletics than we think, she closed the university at Christmas as a gesture to employees, unheard of,

Again I know nothing but everyone at the hotel this morning was tight lipped,