Evansville is looking for a few good men ....

[JohnU]

Coaching turnover is murder, apparently.
The Evansville program is in sad shape with Marty Simmons ousted after 11 years.
The team had a suck roster to start with and 8 players have asked for options to transfer.
Two other recruits are pulling back.
This is NOT a job for a coach who wants to become the next superstar in a 3-piece suit.
Word is that Calbert Cheaney is the front-runner for the job but he's also reportedly asking for a pretty big paycheck without a lot of experience other than local name recognition.
So if you know anybody who can play basketball and has eligibility left, you can ask them to contact the AD, the guy's name is Spencer. Not all the women at U of E are ugly.

 

[BamaDude]

Sounds like the Purple Aces have fallen on bad times. Are things this bad in any of their other sports?

 

[JohnU]

Sounds like the Purple Aces have fallen on bad times. Are things this bad in any of their other sports?

Women's BB is a disaster (3-27) though the men's soccer and baseball teams are reasonably competitive.
I don't know much about the minor sports, as if anybody else does either.
Latest on the men's BB has shifted focus to Walter McCarty as the heir to the post, not Cheaney.
A couple of other names have surfaced.
Basketball is a couple of years removed from a good team, but that's not the same thing as a good program having a bad year. This has been pretty mediocre for quite awhile.

 

[CycleandJazz]

Low times for a program with a proud tradition. I say bring back the short-sleeve jerseys.

 

[ericd7633]

2015-2016 was their best chance to make the dance. Got beat at the buzzer by UNI in the Valley final. It's been downhill since then. I've seen reports of Walter McCartney but I don't know if that'd be a good hire or not.

 

[JohnU]

I think they should be all right with a couple of fair recruiting classes.
That's not gonna happen this year even though the players they lost to graduation are pretty marginal.

 

[ericd7633]

I think they should be all right with a couple of fair recruiting classes.
That's not gonna happen this year even though the players they lost to graduation are pretty marginal.

They could also be in the mix for "down" transfers. An average player in a P5 league looking for more playing time. Whether that be a grad transfer or your traditional transfer.

 

[JohnU]

They could also be in the mix for "down" transfers. An average player in a P5 league looking for more playing time. Whether that be a grad transfer or your traditional transfer.

I think the middies are all looking for that. Evansville could be a "Gonzaga" type program if they put some effort into it. I doubt they will.

 

[JohnU]

Walt McCarty is confirmed as the new coach.
He's an Evansville guy, played for Pitino at Louisville, national title, assistant with the Celtics.
Has a nice pedigree and is a local favorite.
I think a couple of names I hear mentioned as assistants make the recruiting window a little cleaner.

 

[CycleandJazz]

Walt McCarty is confirmed as the new coach.
He's an Evansville guy, played for Pitino at Louisville, national title, assistant with the Celtics.
Has a nice pedigree and is a local favorite.
I think a couple of names I hear mentioned as assistants make the recruiting window a little cleaner.

McCarty played at Kentucky.

 

[JohnU]

McCarty played at Kentucky.

Yes, that is correct. I didn't edit my comment. Was on the 96 NCAA team.
Thanks, I knew better.

 

[NolePride]

Low times for a program with a proud tradition. I say bring back the short-sleeve jerseys.

I was thinking the same thing.

There weren't many like that, it made them a bit original.

Seattle wore them when Elgin Baylor was there. Providence wore them. New Mexico St
wore them. A couple of others wore them also, but I've drawn a blank.

 

[JohnU]

I was thinking the same thing.

There weren't many like that, it made them a bit original.

Seattle wore them when Elgin Baylor was there. Providence wore them. New Mexico St
wore them. A couple of others wore them also, but I've drawn a blank.

Sleeves were a little more common in the 40s. I recall seeing Holy Cross with Cousy and they wore sleeves.
They got to be popular in Indiana in the late 50s for high school teams, maybe because of the Aces.
Some NBA teams are doing it now as an alt jersey.

 

[NolePride]

Sleeves were a little more common in the 40s. I recall seeing Holy Cross with Cousy and they wore sleeves.
They got to be popular in Indiana in the late 50s for high school teams, maybe because of the Aces.
Some NBA teams are doing it now as an alt jersey.

View attachment 176353

In high school we played against a Christian school that not only wore sleeves but they played
in basketball warm-up pants. They wouldn't let them wear shorts.

 

[DJ Fieri]

McCarty played at Kentucky.

Yep.

 

[DJ Fieri]

They went 25-9 in 2015-2016.....yikes.

Evansville acted pretty quickly.

 

[JohnU]

McCarty's job now is to get a couple of players to stick around, though Ryan Taylor, the scoring leader, is a grad student with a year of eligibility left so he's probably gone anyway.

 

[C0|db|00ded]

The Purple Pimps have been on life support for a long time. If they ever want to turn things around they are going to have to deepen their pockets. Evansville's athletic budget at $10.5M (2014) was the lowest in the MoValley.


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