I, for one, have been spoiled by the success the program has had for quite a while now. So seeing the wheels fall off this season has been difficult to stomach, and I do feel for the likes of Maurice and Bean playing in their senior seasons. I was hoping that they'd get bailed out by the three freshman getting significantly better as the season progressed, but that really wasn't a realistic expectation and, frankly, too much to expect from them.

I really don't think anyone's to blame for the disappointing record; it's the product of the fallout from the unexpected coaching change. Bean, Maurice and Tony Campbell were able to strive last season even without a distributing point guard because the opposition had to respect the three-point shooting prowess of Nick Kellogg and Travis Wilkins. This opened up passing and driving lines without a D.J. Cooper-type facilitator, hence that team got far more open looks than this season's team has been getting. Throw in Jon Smith's mid-range jumper and you had a squad that could play inside-out, or outside-in.

Some of the skill sets that those three guys brought to the table have not been replaced--it would be unrealistic to expect freshmen to play up to their capabilities--hence this team is having an extremely difficult time trying to score. It also makes things easier for the defense when the primarily three-point threat, Bean, often doesn't play off the ball. There's automatically push-up pressure on Bean when he's playing the point, and the defense can collapse when he drives because it doesn't fear kick-outs for three-point attempts.

Saul Phillips didn't create this situation. But it appears from the recruits coming in that he's determined to rectify it. So I don't believe blowing a cork is in order, but rather patience and let's see if Saul can get the type of players in that fits his system. I like the sound of the type of recruits he craves--long, athletic, shooters. They have some length and athleticism on this season's team, but the shooting, or the lack of it, has killed them.

Pretty good posts on this thread so far.

Yea, but Bean played very little point today. I thought Kent's defense was the best man-to-man I've seen this year, both on the perimeter and a hard doubling at times when we got the ball down low. However, we just missed OPEN looks, including how many gimmes? Has a team ever missed so many layups in a season? And free throws, ouch, don't get me started on the importance of freebies when trying to get back in a game.

Why does everyone say it's disappointing for Bean and Mo because of their senior years? What about Stevie Taylor? I feel the worst for him. He's the only one who has had to deal with three coaches in four years and he bleeds green and white. Not so much this year, but I can't blame having to go through three different systems in four years. How many D1 or any level players had to deal with that. Don't get me wrong, Bean and Mo have been very helpful in our somewhat success but don't leave Stevie out to dry. If I was him, I'd be pissed not starting as a senior. And before you all start saying just because your a senior doesn't give you the right....yada yada yada. He has proven himself to be a starter. He's not a DJ, but he's pretty good PG in my book and if you start him at PG, start Bean at SG so he can get open for the trifecta. Sorry, just tired of Stevie not getting the credit he deserves.

You're right about mentioning Stevie Taylor and the difficulties of having three coaches in four seasons. That's a lot of adjustments for a player to make as their systems all were different. It's been pretty apparent that Stevie has been a Bobcats through and through. As for you being miffed if you were in his sneakers over not starting: the team desperately needs a true lead guard so Bean can play off the ball. Why wouldn't Stevie be that guy if he could function to Saul's liking in that role? Steve is who he is. Seems the role he always has fit best is being the high energy, change-of-pace guy coming off the bench. Every team needs a guy like that.

Speaking of spoiled, I rewatched the Ohio-Georgetown game from 2010 last night. I remember earlier in the year people were trying to compare that team to this one but I can tell you there is none unless you really want there to be. Here are the main points people try to make:

1. High major starter transfers then struggles to fit in (Armon Bassett vs Bean Willis)

2. Young team struggles to find continuity in new coach's system.

I refuted this earlier but after watching the Georgetown game it really pointed out the stark differences in that team and this one.

First Bean can't hold Armon Bassett's jock. The only similarities are that they both transferred in from higher leagues and both can flat out shoot. The similarities end there. Armon had a score first mentality but he knew what he had before the ball got to him and if his decision broke down he knew where his teammates were. Armon Bassett was a high major talent. Bean Willis was just recruited as one.

Secondly, the 2010 team could see the floor and flat out pass. The amount of time the ball was in Tommy Freeman's hand made you think it was white hot. Tommy didn't get a ton of assists but D.J. and Armon should name their first borns after him because the big V that opened up because of the quick ball movement led to a lot of their scores or assists. And KvK and DeVaughn both moved the ball well as well. DeVaughn had more of a scorers mentality so he didn't always move it like Tommy and KvK but when he didn't have a clear scoring opportunity he really moved it along. KvK was the recipient of beautiful kickouts on 2 or 3 instances in that game.

Defensively the 2010 wasn't great (not compared to 2012) but they were a lot better than this team. As frustrating as this year's team is on offense they are worse on defense. Reading recently about Gavin Block taking charges has me excited because even if our guards got beat on the perimeter Tommy was there ready to take the charge. And taking charges isn't just about willingness. It's about anticipation which essentially is court vision.

Lastly, D.J. and Armon dribbled with a purpose. They both did a great job of moving the defense to improve passing angles. Sadly we are down to one player, Treg Setty, who moves the ball quickly. Ryan Taylor was doing it earlier in the year but he appears to have fallen to our team mentality trap and is making a lot of one-on-one moves now. I'm praying that a new cast of characters next year can completely change the team mentality back to where it was before this year.

Agree also. Per "as advertised" and Simmons..... "But wait - There's more!"

Yeah a good sixth man who's energetic like Stevie is great to have when you got five great starters but this team doesn't have that. I love Stevie's game and no one was more worried about him being out of control than me when he first arrived. But I believe he has taken ahold of that and is in better control. Plus he's won a couple games for us hitting the last second shot. Am I the only one who wants Stevie to start with Bean at SG with R Taylor at the wing and NDour and Big Tone down low? What would hurt to at least try it. Nothing else worked so far. Plus this isn't the team to get down early and fight back. The past few games the second halves have, excuse me, but sucked!!! I may be wrong but usually when it comes to basketball I'm not.

Pertaining to Stevie Taylor's game, after two seasons it was pretty apparent that he wouldn't be a penetrate and dish, high-volume assist point guard. And he hasn't developed his shot to the point to where he became a double-digits scorer. That's why I've considered the strength of his game being his energy at both ends, which translates into a few good scoring games, a few good games feeding others, some steals, scores off the break, providing valuable minutes off the bench. I had hopes that he would develop into our version of Bowling Green's Jordon Crawford, who was a five-foot-six pest, and I use that word endearingly. From what I could gather watching games on my laptop, Jordon liked to talk a lot of the court. And, yeah, he seemed out of control at times, but that still translated into 15 points and four dishes his senior season. This is not to disparage Stevie by any means. I'm just saying he is who is he and he's provided for Ohio what he could.

This is very true. Yesterday he hustled so hard every time he was in the game. I applauded loudly every time he was taken out of the game, and when he made a hustle play. He had a number of baskets and had steals in the second half that with a different supporting cast could have fueled a winning rally. He's all OHIO all the time. He's my favorite player on this year's team because of his attitude, hustle and never-give-up attitude. He's a true, blue Bobcat.

I'll absolutely give him that. He's why I marked Senior Day as a "can't miss" on the calendar. No offense to Mo or Bean, but Stevie's been part of a number of great team moments over four years.