I would say my point still stands that, he doesn't have long to right the ship. If things don't get markedly better next year, he'll be out. But, now I have to wonder what kind of record would be good enough? 4th in the MAC? Top 100 ranking in the various ratings? Beating Miami 2X?
Go Bobcats!
I think he needs to win 20 or more games, make it to MAC semis, and not get swept by top conference rivals. That’s actual improvement.
That's a low, rational bar. If he cannot improve in those three areas, I have no issues with letting him go. I listed it somewhere around here, but Boals record vs everyone else is like 70%. The glaring weakness is getting hammered consistently by Toledo and Akron. That's a tough hurdle.
The MAC is super stable at the top. Tod. Rob. Groce. Boals. All these teams have had recent success. Is that stability and continuity in a program or luck?
Does Lars see stability as a strength? Or does he want to put his own prints on the basketball program? These guys are always looking for immediate success to line up their next job, so who really knows?
Sometimes it's not about the record, but the direction of the program and the belief in the person. If Boals is our guy, we ride through the lows, because we believe in him, we believe the highs are coming. What does Lars believe? I'm not sure that 20 wins alone will save him, but maybe he believes in Boals.
I'm unsure if that bar is too low or not, but it's improvement upon the previous 3 seasons. To your point -- AD's are just as ambitious as coaches. Lars might want to make his own hire to ascend him to a larger job as well sooner than later.
Another poster on here states Boals' contract actually runs through 27, not just 26. Is anyone able to confirm?
I think I'm more surpsied we didn't see a staff shakeup this offseason. Boals has the final say, but he gets a lot of his notes from assistants on the recruiting side of things. A losing season across all levels of sports, usually results in someone as a fall guy. Pressure is on for all involved.
I also heard 27 (from someone no longer with the program), but so many people said 26 I assumed maybe it was a team option (aren’t they all).
I’m not all that surprised by the lack of coaching shuffle, by Boals himself at least, but I truly think he views this season as quicksand, an anomaly, and makes me think he wasn’t given any sort of ultimatum as far as next season goes.
Lee - Joined Boals in 2020 from Hargrave.
Barlow - Joined Boals in 2020 from Toledo.
Lamar - On Boals first staff at Stony Brook. Been with him ever since.
Jake - Started with Boals at Stony Brook, moved with Boals to OU.
Crawford - was a team manager under Boals as a student.
Think there is a lot of loyalty in this group. For better or worse.