I'll start this by saying I'm 100% on the fence, teetering both ways. I think Saul has had a horrible run of luck, but I am also not happy with where we are right now. Results are results, but it's also not like we don't have or haven't had any talent brought in by this staff, either. Tony Campbell wasn't a Saul recruit, but did he not blossom under this staff? He brought in Jaaron who broke Cooper's single season assist record. Jordan Dartis, if he plays another year, likely will go down as the all time leader in made 3's at Ohio. Carter has been very good. Preston and BVP look very promising for freshmen. James Gollon was looking like a very solid player before getting hurt. Ryan Taylor, had he not transferred closer to home, would have been a star here (starred at Evansville and now is playing big minutes in the Big Ten). He brought in Kenny Kaminski. He transformed Mike Laster and Treg Setty into very good and beloved MAC players. But, results are results, and seasons like this certainly sting.

All that said, we tend to think of Saul's time at NDSU as being very good, but he had just one 20-win season in the first 5 years. In years 6 and 7, 24 wins and 26 wins (including the Oklahoma NCAA upset). He did make one other NCAA tourney in Year 2, that's the difference in the first 5 years there vs here. If we cut ties with him after 5 years, could we be making the move too soon and missing out on some good years? You can't say it's not possible.

I guess I'm in the position that I can accept whatever happens. If he gets another short deal, I can see why. There's young talent here that seems to have a lot of upside, and Buffalo is going to be coming back to the pack. There's no way they won't given the players (and potentially coach) they will lose after this year. Who else in the MAC truly scares you? BG? Given the year we have had, in 80 minutes vs BG this year, we were as good or better than them for 75% of those two games. One bad half at BG. I don't see the rest of the MAC (outside Buffalo currently) that feels light years ahead of us. On the other hand, it's not been a fun last two years and if it's decided to go in another direction, I won't have a problem with that, either. It's a results business, and the results haven't been there in the last two seasons. Fresh blood might breathe some fire into the program that hasn't felt present since Jaaron famously dribbled out the clock on his way to the Michigan pine.

Here's something to keep in mind when talking about the thin front line that Ohio is likely to have in the near future: it's not changing anytime soon no matter who the coach is.

Next year, Ohio is going to be thin up front unless some drastic change is made by bringing in a JUCO, grad transfer or some freshman who can play day one. It would need to be a Kevin Mickle type guy, but better.

However, I'm not overly upset about a starting lineup that looks like this:

1-Preston
2-Dartis
3-Kirk
4a-BVP
4b-Carter

The bench would need to get way better, and that includes Murrell and Cowart who have played well in spurts this year. But I'm not confident that this rotation will get Ohio any closer to the upper tier of the MAC. Simply, they need more UMPF (insert fist pump here).

Jimmy G's open scholarship, in my opinion, is the most important piece of this offseason. We gotta get some hard value out of it.