For whatever reason, we aren't rotating on defense like we did under Groce.  Whether that is the players or the coach, we'll find out over the next few years.  

At this point, I'd have to agree with you.  The guy has done nothing of note with a Sweet Sixteen team with all significant players returning.

Could not have said it better myself.  

With Boals we'd be worse. Inexperience would have lost us both Kent games and another couple of close MAC  games like Western. With Dustin, we would have won Bobby Morris, won at Belmont, beaten either Oklahoma or Memphis and probably lost a couple more MAC games (still would have lost to Akron, would have dropped a Kent game and fallen at Western). I think Dustin would have put his ego aside and concentrated his focus on this year's seniors and this year's team. JC seems to be letting the inmates run the asylum while waiting to coach "his" players next year. Starting lineup next year: Bean, Setty, Ndour, Wingfield and T.J.

IMO, the defensive breakdowns all start with the big man hedging way up top on screens.  It forces whoever's playing 2 or 3 to step underneath and guard two guys– both the one underneath and on the perimeter.  We've been burned time and again in that situation this year.

Honestly, I'm a little skeptical heading into Wednesday's game.  This time last year, sure our record was similar but we had thoroughly proven we were for real (Louisville, Northern Iowa, etc.).  Even in our loss at Akron last year we played well, we just fell victim to a game in which 50+ fouls were called.  This year, however, Akron just flat-out outplayed us. That's the first time with this group of guys that that's happened against them.  Everyone seems to be assuming that we'll win handily at home, but I'm not so sure.  Hope I'm wrong and that this group can rise up to the occasion, because they've sure as hell got it in em.

I think I didn't clarify the "inexperienced" part. I think the key to comparing Dustin and Boals is that I feel that Boals would have gone more "Christian" on us and tried to force his own style while letting the seniors just freelance. I think Dustin would have gone "Groce" on us and kept that system in place at least for a year with this group.

We're 11-1 in the MAC right now. John Groce never finished better than 11-5 in the conference. Lets take a step back from the ledge. 

im still waiting for JC to win a game he shouldnt.

memphis - no
OKLA - no
belmont - no
UMASS - no
Akron - no

Good thing we don't have to worry about Bracketbusters having us play during prime weekend drinking hours again, good grief.

My advice: Find a comfortable place to sleep and grab some aspirin and a Gatorade for the morning. Hopefully by then it will become apparent that our recent coaching hire isn't all that bad. At least we didn't pluck a guy from some obscure scrub school in Tennessee or whatever Fiami did. Akron. Wednesday. Game on.

Too early to get crazy re JC.  But the lack of performance in our few tough games is noticeable.

oophead--Really?  A good argument could be made that being worse than 11-1 in this very weak MAC year would be alarming.

Beside 'kron, haven't kents and WMU been our toughest MAC games?  Losses in any of those three would have been disappointing.  Yeah, that kent game last week was thrilling.  But we should have won it regulation by 4-8 points.

This isn't even the worst the MAC has been since Groce started. People are overplaying the MAC being weak angle. Remember when Groce lost to bad EMU and Toledo teams, and a crappy BG team? Apparently not.

I don't want to take away from the larger point that you were making, but I do want to quickly disagree with your statement that next year is a rebuilding year.  There is no reason we shouldn't compete with the top of the MAC next year.

After watching the game from behind the bench last night.... I have lots of things running through my head about the coach and the staff as a whole. 
I had coaches in high school who got more angry at things we did or didn't do than JC did last night. Honestly, he sat facing us at TOs so I could see his facial expressions. He was never MAD. He never got EXCITED. if your coach doesn't get mad or excited, how does a player? Well, I know when I played, getting my butt kicked was inspiration to KEEP TRYING. 
Has the team no respect for JC as a whole? Many of them would come by the sideline at coach and just shake a head and be like "I don't know..."
Who makes up the coaching staff? Are they listed somewhere? I was trying to figure out who one of the gentlemen was last night.
I ask again what I did on another post... does the staff do anything but pull out the TO chairs? 
I still love the team, but this season, after the run last year, has been hard to understand at times. We've only been able to go to two games, both here in TN. And both I walked away asking, what happened? 
Coach isn't inspiring. Players aren't playing inspired. There is a HUGE fire missing from the team we watched twice in Athens and twice in Nashville last year, compared to this year, yet it's the same exact faces, minus a coach. The team played like its hair was on fire last year. Not so much in the games I've personally been to, nor the ones on TV. 

This all said, and more in my jumbled thoughts not put here, Belmont has a pretty good coach, or at least he inspires his players. Memphis coach was inspirational. JC is the guy on the street thrown on a sideline.