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Post by bbg95 on May 20, 2022 15:05:57 GMT -5
Nothing said the dead horse, yet the beatings continued..... Well, it's not really a dead horse when he hasn't been fired yet.
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Post by n00b on May 20, 2022 15:12:28 GMT -5
Maybe he had another offer or was talking to other schools at the time and IU offered him this to get him on board? I believe IU truly believed they were bringing the next big name in coaching and that he will turn IU to a powerhouse. So for them giving him whatever gets him to Bloomington was all that matters at the time……the hype around the program when he first arrived was unreal and locally, people were sold on the “New IU” he was building and his results in the first season further added to the hype as everyone thought they’ll only keep getting better from there. I guess so. I don't know. His record at Maryland was really nothing to write home about. If I remember correctly, VolleyTalk was convinced he had Maryland on the way to being very good.
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Post by PostPrime on May 20, 2022 15:29:40 GMT -5
World has many kool-aid drinkers, bandwagoneers, or a mob mentality. None are based on reality.
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Steve Aird
May 20, 2022 17:36:24 GMT -5
via mobile
Post by gibbyb1 on May 20, 2022 17:36:24 GMT -5
I guess so. I don't know. His record at Maryland was really nothing to write home about. If I remember correctly, VolleyTalk was convinced he had Maryland on the way to being very good. In defense of that criticism, when he took that job they were getting recruits way beyond what they had been in recent years, there was a tremendous amount of enthusiasm around the program based on Steve’s skills to promote and self promote. It was not baseless to think they were on the move, as we’ve seen however at some point you have to back up the talk and you have to keep and develop the good recruits you are signing. As I said, there were plenty of reasons to be enthusiasm about where the Maryland program was heading, that however dried up fairly quickly. That pattern followed at IU.
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Post by hammer on May 20, 2022 18:02:25 GMT -5
If I remember correctly, VolleyTalk was convinced he had Maryland on the way to being very good. In defense of that criticism, when he took that job they were getting recruits way beyond what they had been in recent years, there was a tremendous amount of enthusiasm around the program based on Steve’s skills to promote and self promote. It was not baseless to think they were on the move, as we’ve seen however at some point you have to back up the talk and you have to keep and develop the good recruits you are signing. As I said, there were plenty of reasons to be enthusiasm about where the Maryland program was heading, that however dried up fairly quickly. That pattern followed at IU. I'll admit I was semi-convinced out of the gate at Maryland. I was just waiting for enough time to pass to enter "convinced" mode. Steve just never got IU over the hump.
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trojansc
Legend
All-VolleyTalk 1st Team (2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017), All-VolleyTalk 2nd Team (2016), 2021, 2019 Fantasy League Champion, 2020 Fantasy League Runner Up, 2022 2nd Runner Up
Posts: 28,135
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Post by trojansc on May 20, 2022 18:14:48 GMT -5
I guess so. I don't know. His record at Maryland was really nothing to write home about. If I remember correctly, VolleyTalk was convinced he had Maryland on the way to being very good. I remember when I had my melt-down about High Point getting in over Maryland (and North Texas). Anyway, there was this gem from Shondell: How wrong Dave was.
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Post by bbg95 on May 20, 2022 18:24:31 GMT -5
If I remember correctly, VolleyTalk was convinced he had Maryland on the way to being very good. I remember when I had my melt-down about High Point getting in over Maryland (and North Texas). Anyway, there was this gem from Shondell: How wrong Dave was. Is it just me, or is Maryland a bit better now than they were under Aird? In Aird's four years, they finished 13th, 12th, 12th, and 10th. Under Hughes, they've finished 8th, t-10th, 11th (Covid year) and 9th. They're still not great, but the second set of finishes is better than the first. I think there's potential for Maryland or Virginia or someone in the DC area to become a good program, as there is quite a bit of talent in that area.
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Post by gibbyb1 on May 20, 2022 20:11:49 GMT -5
If I remember correctly, VolleyTalk was convinced he had Maryland on the way to being very good. I remember when I had my melt-down about High Point getting in over Maryland (and North Texas). Anyway, there was this gem from Shondell: How wrong Dave was. Dave was being a human being responded to another father being a human being, I struggle to see any fault
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trojansc
Legend
All-VolleyTalk 1st Team (2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017), All-VolleyTalk 2nd Team (2016), 2021, 2019 Fantasy League Champion, 2020 Fantasy League Runner Up, 2022 2nd Runner Up
Posts: 28,135
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Post by trojansc on May 20, 2022 20:14:32 GMT -5
Dave was being a human being responded to another father being a human being, I struggle to see any fault Talk about missing the point. He said Aird would be in the tournament very soon. That's just factually not been the case. Also, I think it was a a little self-fulfilling and a tacky shot at RPI/Selection committee after Shondell was mad that he didn't get a tournament bid back in 2014. But really, it was his own fault. He had a terrible non-conference schedule, along with a terrible loss to Saint Louis. I can probably find his tweets from back then.
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trojansc
Legend
All-VolleyTalk 1st Team (2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017), All-VolleyTalk 2nd Team (2016), 2021, 2019 Fantasy League Champion, 2020 Fantasy League Runner Up, 2022 2nd Runner Up
Posts: 28,135
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Post by trojansc on May 20, 2022 22:24:35 GMT -5
I've watched the MAC closely for years now. Ball State has been the upper echelon of the MAC West every year, but 2021 was the first Tournament Championship. They've won the MAC West 2017-19 and 2021. You are absolutely right that 2021 was the best season. BUT this is a program that has won 20+ games in three of the last four years. Unless something goes terribly wrong, they will win the MAC again. That's a little bold (to say it needs to go terribly wrong). You think they're THAT big of a favorite over Bowling Green?
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Post by jackson5vb on May 20, 2022 23:40:13 GMT -5
I remember when I had my melt-down about High Point getting in over Maryland (and North Texas). Anyway, there was this gem from Shondell: How wrong Dave was. Is it just me, or is Maryland a bit better now than they were under Aird? In Aird's four years, they finished 13th, 12th, 12th, and 10th. Under Hughes, they've finished 8th, t-10th, 11th (Covid year) and 9th. They're still not great, but the second set of finishes is better than the first. I think there's potential for Maryland or Virginia or someone in the DC area to become a good program, as there is quite a bit of talent in that area. Hughes has been much better than Aird, at least when looking at results. But Aird will say that Hughes benefited from the foundation Aird laid. However, Hughes has stayed scandal free.
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Post by vbcoltrane on May 21, 2022 9:54:11 GMT -5
It was sort of a perfect storm for mid-1990s Nebraska of having a legendary coach and some advantages (e.g. with steroids) that they doesn't have anymore. You can't look at the rosters of those 1990s teams and claim Nebraska had some unique advantage with PEDs. Every team was jacked back then. It wasn't the roids. I thought the unique advantage was the partial qualifier situation and other academic intracacies? Of course it's not like other schools weren't doing things, but I thought there was something unique about Nebraska and/or the Big 8/12's take on it.
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Post by thevoiceofreason on May 21, 2022 10:01:22 GMT -5
Unless something goes terribly wrong, they will win the MAC again. That's a little bold (to say it needs to go terribly wrong). You think they're THAT big of a favorite over Bowling Green? I personally don't. In fact, I may say that BG is the overall league favorite. As long as they're still doing East/West divisions I'd be comfortable saying Ball State would be that big of favorites over the likes of NIU/CMU/EMU/TOL/WMU. But for the overall of the league I think its a two-horse race between the Falcons and Cardinals. I'm withholding all definitive predictions until the schools release their 2022 rosters.
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Post by bbg95 on May 21, 2022 10:11:43 GMT -5
You can't look at the rosters of those 1990s teams and claim Nebraska had some unique advantage with PEDs. Every team was jacked back then. It wasn't the roids. I thought the unique advantage was the partial qualifier situation and other academic intracacies? Of course it's not like other schools weren't doing things, but I thought there was something unique about Nebraska and/or the Big 8/12's take on it. Yes, that was also part of it. As I said, Nebraska had some advantages that they no longer have, in addition to their Hall of Fame coach.
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Post by greenpier on May 21, 2022 11:43:25 GMT -5
Seems to me that the athletic administration is afraid of coach Aird and are enabling him
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