Alumni Game is BARREN

[Jimmy Lemke]

http://i.imgur.com/onizZBw.jpg

Wow.

Link: 2017 Alumni Game story (http://mkepanthers.com/news/2017/2/4/mens-basketball-alumni-game-goes-down-to-final-buzzer.aspx)

Link: 2016 Alumni Game story (http://mkepanthers.com/news/2016/2/20/MBB_0220160802.aspx?path=mbball)

These are the rosters from the 2016 game. I've put asterisks next to anyone who was there today. Keep in mind these were just the players; plenty of guys like Adrian Tigert and Jason Frederick were there without playing last season.

GOLD SQUAD
Allan Hanson
Anthony Hill
Kalombo Kadima
*Justin Lettenberger
Mike Lewis
Jack Quinlevan
Marcus Skinner
James Wright
Jose Winston
John Quirk
Deion James
Ricky Franklin
*Ryan Haggerty

BLACK SQUAD
*Michael Bendall
Mark Briggs
Cyrus Caldwell
*Quinton Gustavson
Demetrius Harris
Pat McCabe
*Joah Tucker
*Christian Wolfe
*Mitch Roelke
Reggie Wheeler
Chris Hill
Ricky Franklin

Please, feel free to correct me so I can add asterisks to people because I can't recognize all the faces.

Joah got a post-game interview, which is cool.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UUDZt1oKJqw&feature=youtu.be

Gotta lean on him. He, Haggs, Q and Roelke may be the only people most fans will recognize; you know, besides one that threw Rob Jeter, Chad Boudreau, Duffy Conroy, Chris Hill, Allan Hanson and Sharif Chambliss under the bus.

[dylanrocks]

So what are you trying to say about Justin Lettenberger, Jimmy?

[DKelly28]

Just quickly glancing I can identify Kelvin Anderson, Craig Greene, Deon Edmonds, Mike Louis, John Quirk, Jack Quinlevan, Tim Cullen and George Barnes as being in the group though Craig is the only one it looks like that didn't play.

I was going to make the trek over for this if my work schedule had panned out but it did not unfortunately.

[BBF]

I was going to ask the rhetorical question whether the Chancellor or the AD care -- but then I realized that in all likelihood they wouldn't know or recognize any of the alumni players who chose not to support this slow-motion car crash if they were standing next to them in a stuck elevator.

This is what we have now. A proud program derailed by people who have no appreciation or concern for its history -- or, obviously, its future.

P.S. If the folks in the picture stayed for the game, you can fairly assume they accounted for 20% of the actual attendance.

[dylanrocks]

Fran, this is exactly how I felt when I learned that the new guard had issued Nos. 13 and 31 for this season: absolutely no understanding or appreciation for what came before them.

It's also sad to see No. 1 being worn by someone else when its previous wearer was the best to ever play his position at the school.

Jimmy, barren is the perfect word to describe the current state of the men's basketball program.

[MayorCK]

Perhaps there would have been people at the alumni game, had people actually known it was happening?? I had no idea until I got to the arena, and by then it was over.

[BBF]

Remember that sad old line from the Vietnam war? "We had to destroy the village in order to save it."

She apparently had a similar philosophy. She had to destroy the village...in order to destroy it!!!

But don't worry: it looks like after two or three lost seasons LJ might get us back to where RJ had us the last five (minus the Klotsche banishment year, which we had already put into the rear view mirror). Of course that's all assuming the drumbeat from the politicians and administrators looking at the sea of empty seats doesn't get even louder to drop us straight to D3.

And now that we have seen the rest of the teams in this dreadful league season is there ANYONE who could credibly argue that with Akeem, Austin, Jordy and the others this wouldn't have been our best chance to win the league and go to the tournament since 2006? THAT's what we traded in for a fight for 7th place and a best case scenario of a long painful climb out of the hole she put us in. Progress!

[Jimmy Lemke]

That's the most frustrating part of this whole thing. Switch out Bell, Harvey and Haas for Springs, Arians and Johnson, then add Clint Robinson playing starter's minutes, and the other JUCO big that Boudreau had lined up, and what the hell does this team look like?

Champions, that's what they'd look like. This shell of a team has done a decent job considering the mix of talent and experience. What if they had better talent and experience? There's maybe one team that would have been able to stand toe-to-toe with them. There's a reason the coaches kept pointing to 2016-17 when the APR ban hit. This was the year.

And guess what would happen at the end of the year if Braun wanted? She could have let Jeter move on and started over with her own choice. And no one would have rammed race or anything down her throat.

Every one of us would be happier. Even the people that hate Rob would still have seen him go, and in all likelihood he would have left on a high note.

Amanda Braun's plan for transition stunk from top to bottom. She had no idea what the hell she was doing, and she stomped on a lot of people in the process.

She needs to go. Like, right now.

[Jimmy Lemke]

That's the most frustrating part of this whole thing. Switch out Bell, Harvey and Haas for Springs, Arians and Johnson, then add Clint Robinson playing starter's minutes, and the other JUCO big that Boudreau had lined up, and what the hell does this team look like?

Champions, that's what they'd look like. This shell of a team has done a decent job considering the mix of talent and experience. What if they had better talent and experience? There's maybe one team that would have been able to stand toe-to-toe with them. There's a reason the coaches kept pointing to 2016-17 when the APR ban hit. This was the year.

And guess what would happen at the end of the year if Braun wanted? She could have let Jeter move on and started over with her own choice. And no one would have rammed race or anything down her throat.

Every one of us would be happier. Even the people that hate Rob would still have seen him go, and in all likelihood he would have left on a high note.

Amanda Braun's plan for transition stunk from top to bottom. She had no idea what the hell she was doing, and she stomped on a lot of people in the process.

She needs to go. Like, right now.

[dylanrocks]

Tough to top anything from the above posts, but I'll let all of you chew on this for the next 21 months or so:

There's no guarantee that the team will be any good three years into the rebuild, either.

[BBF]

Without any question I feel sorriest for Cody and Brock and Brett and the other guys who came back. They are working their butts off and representing the University with pride -- but it should have been so much more than that this year. For me as a fan I resent being alienated from a program I loved and supported in every way possible for many years. But as a fan, I can just stay away and hope that it's a program I can be proud of again some day. What choice did they have? Every player that realistically could leave, did.

At least they have learned an important life lesson: when people are promoted beyond the level of their competence, it's the people whose lives they affect or control or are responsible for that suffer. :mad:

[Skrapheap]

Tough to top anything from the above posts, but I'll let all of you chew on this for the next 21 months or so:

There's no guarantee that the team will be any good three years into the rebuild, either.

But, but...the folks on the other board are just SURE the team will be contending for a league title in two to three years. Where's your optimism, man?

[MayorCK]

But, but...the folks on the other board are just SURE the team will be contending for a league title in two to three years. Where's your optimism, man?

A lot of those same idiots buy that line of b.s. from the Bucks and Brewers, too. Not surprising.