Leatherneck Nation

I’m concerned with the direction of the program currently. 

4EverPurple&Gold wrote: Sun Jan 04, 2026 11:25 am I’m concerned with the direction of the program currently. 

 

I feel like this has just been the history of our men's basketball program in DI outside of a few short stretches of decent years here and there. 4 winning seasons in the last 25 years.

Most mid-majors coaches can no longer BUILD a program.  Thank you transfer portal for making that a reality.  Mid major coaches now have to basically GET LUCKY from one year to the next.  I was looking at the talent we had during Chad's very successful first year after Jeter left.  It was a unique blend to say the least.  The 2 big guys (Cisse and returning West) actually tied for team lead in assists with 78 each that year.  So essentially they made everyone around them better.  Usually the PG is the guy doing that like Masner did very well in Jeter's last year.  This year, we have a true freshman filling that role on a very steep learning curve.  Our bigs this year are very inconsistent from game to game.  Maybe injuries have something to do with it but something needs to change going forward.  Maybe just the attitudes.  If you are the coach telling the world on the postgame radio show that we are out-talented every game and have to play perfect basketball to win, that is a lot of pressure on the guys IMHO.

I also think that programs sort of feed (or starve) off of each other.  I.E., a bad year or two in one of your money maker programs will reflect on the others as well.  Why is that?  Ideally, you want to bring kids in for a visit when home attendance is great and there is a lot of energy in the stands.  It has been tough to do that of late.
 
 
 

I thought Molinari was a good hire he helped build the program and won a conference title.  He had won before at Bradley and N Illinois.                             I think our current AD who hired our current coach and got us put on probation and fined $25000 is a problem.  It is really important who you hire you can miss for 8 years.  JD was a good hire on the womens side.

Wiufan87 wrote: Sun Jan 04, 2026 7:23 pm I thought Molinari was a good hire he helped build the program and won a conference title.  He had won before at Bradley and N Illinois.                             I think our current AD who hired our current coach and got us put on probation and fined $25000 is a problem.  It is really important who you hire you can miss for 8 years.  JD was a good hire on the womens side.


 

Molinari was a good coach but also struggled during some seasons for us.  He did get his players to be "all in" to his system which was a slow grind out each possession to get a good shot system.  Low scoring games and we stayed close in most of them to the end against teams which were far superior with talent.  I remember one thing Jim said on his post game radio interviews and it has stuck in my mind - "we dont have a lot of guys who can create their own shot".  I think that is a lot of the problem with the current team.  That is the big difference between a D1 player and players at lower levels IMO.  A D1 player must be able to consistently beat a close defender off the dribble or with a jumper to at least get off a shot which has a good chance to fall.  Masner was as good at that as we have seen in a long time.  There are good shooters from deep at all levels of basketball.  We have a couple or three on this team who can do that pretty well on a given night.  How to get the bigs their points on a consistent basis seems to be the major problem.
 
 

this team seems to be at its best in transition turning teams over and getting layups yet chad seems to want to play slow if your gonna play slow you need to be good on the defensive end which we are not.

leatherneckcountry wrote: Mon Jan 05, 2026 1:29 am this team seems to be at its best in transition turning teams over and getting layups yet chad seems to want to play slow if your gonna play slow you need to be good on the defensive end which we are not.



 

I know he has tried mixing up both zone and man defenses this season  Maybe we can learn the Moliinari's Pack Line in short order.  Did Billy Wright ever deviate from that defense in his entire tenure?  I dont think so but I might be wrong.  

Thinking back over the last 20 or so years I have been paying attention, our successful years really boiled down to having very strong guard play on both offense and defense with guys like Ceola Clark and Trenton Massner.  They had a certain amount of leadership as well.  Can a player become a leader if he is only around for a year?  Probably not too likely.
 

My frustration is we joined an easier conference, and thought this would be our ticket to NCAA Tournament and we are trending the wrong way.

Let’s face it, the Summit League schools had grown and have better resources than us. 

Maybe I’m overacting because I look on women’s side they struggled for past few seasons, but now JD has them in a very strong position.

I’m afraid a couple more losses in league play and guys will already start to think about where they are playing next season.

 
 

4EverPurple&Gold wrote: Mon Jan 05, 2026 7:30 pm My frustration is we joined an easier conference, and thought this would be our ticket to NCAA Tournament and we are trending the wrong way.

Let’s face it, the Summit League schools had grown and have better resources than us. 

Maybe I’m overacting because I look on women’s side they struggled for past few seasons, but now JD has them in a very strong position.

I’m afraid a couple more losses in league play and guys will already start to think about where they are playing next season.

 
 

 

Agree. 

I asked in another thread. Name a Bubb decision that has benefited the athletic programs at WIU. 

vatusay wrote: Wed Jan 07, 2026 2:44 pm

4EverPurple&Gold wrote: Mon Jan 05, 2026 7:30 pm My frustration is we joined an easier conference, and thought this would be our ticket to NCAA Tournament and we are trending the wrong way.

Let’s face it, the Summit League schools had grown and have better resources than us. 

Maybe I’m overacting because I look on women’s side they struggled for past few seasons, but now JD has them in a very strong position.

I’m afraid a couple more losses in league play and guys will already start to think about where they are playing next season.

 
 


 

Agree. 

I asked in another thread. Name a Bubb decision that has benefited the athletic programs at WIU. 

 

been an avalanche of systematic failure since Tanney left