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Just wondering what everyone thinks about him being back next year. I feel there is no way he is re-signed, but you never know.

How many games must he win to have a chance in coming back? Does he have to win the MAC? Do you think Christopher will take into account his entrie body of work when making his decision, or does he just use this season. The team is playing well this year so far so maybe this will be what he bases his choice on.

Ok, enough rambling, interested to see what you think. Anything short of a MAC title and I think they will part ways.

I have been thinking about this, too, and I think things are still up in the air. I do think that if things continue the way they have started this year, it would be wrong to not give Dakich a one-year extension to see if things truly have been turned around. It really seems to me that a lot of his problem over the past few years has been a handful of players who have harbored resentment towards him, and now that those players are gone, we are seeing a team that is buying into his coaching and is playing as a team. And, as someone else mentioned in another thread, it seems pretty clear from his public statements this year that Dakich is feeling a lot more relaxed and comfortable with his unit.

I honestly did not expect anything like the kind of play we have seen this year. Sure, we've been playing mostly Sun Belt teams, but we are winning the close games, and we just won one rather convincingly, which tells me that there is some definate progression with this team. If they continue to play like this and put up a record substantially over .500, even if they don't win a title, it would be a crime for Dakich not to be back next year. That is an unpopular opinion, I know, but that is my assessment.

The fact that there aren't any players left from the "almost WVU" era speaks volumes. I also think that obviously since Gregg Brandon is still employed, and Christopher has cited the 2003-2004 seasons as a main reason why, that Dakich will be evaluated on his whole body of work.

The MAC seems to be down a bit this year, so it might be perfect timing for Dan to rise up and have an impressive season. I still think we'll go around .500 in the MAC, and maybe make a small run in Cleveland. Is that enough for Dan to keep his job? I'm not sure. If he does better, and wins a MACC, there's no way he doesn't get extended.

I love Dakich as a coach and as a guy, and I think he did a lot for the program before the ill-fated WVU debacle. I'm not sure he's the right guy to help us take the next step to the NCAA tournament. I'm still on the fence.

I also feel that BG should not give any longer than 3 year contracts to coaches. My reasoning is Dakich and Brandon. The justification for giving these large contracts is to keep larger schools from poaching our coaches. Well, if a BCS school wants Brandon in year 1 of a 100 year contract then they will pay whatever the buyout is. All long term contracts do is keep a coach here longer than they should be. We should hope that in these two programs that we have a coach no longer than 3 years anyway. This means we have a successful team and are winning championships. All a five year contract does is keep an underachieving coach here TOO long.

I wish the mens team success this year, but anything short of MAC title and they must go a different direction. It is possible some players may be sticking around becasue they know the coach may not be here in another year.

Jacobs4Heisman wrote:The fact that there aren't any players left from the "almost WVU" era speaks volumes. I also think that obviously since Gregg Brandon is still employed, and Christopher has cited the 2003-2004 seasons as a main reason why, that Dakich will be evaluated on his whole body of work.

The MAC seems to be down a bit this year, so it might be perfect timing for Dan to rise up and have an impressive season. I still think we'll go around .500 in the MAC, and maybe make a small run in Cleveland. Is that enough for Dan to keep his job? I'm not sure. If he does better, and wins a MACC, there's no way he doesn't get extended.

I love Dakich as a coach and as a guy, and I think he did a lot for the program before the ill-fated WVU debacle. I'm not sure he's the right guy to help us take the next step to the NCAA tournament. I'm still on the fence.

The only issue I see is that Samarco is our centerpiece and our only consistent offensive threat. He will be gone next year. It will be tough to win if someone does not step up and show scoring ability. dakich might be a solid coach, but next year may yet again be a season of less ups then downs. I would let Dakich go, have Lamonta take over the team and move forward. BEst case scenario is Dakich gets another offer.

I love it when you guys bring up how much Coach Dakich likes this team and he loves how much they work, etc...... The same things are said every single year at the beginning of the season but at the end of the year its always the same story. I will give you a few examples from the past 3 years.

2005-06- October 14th, 2005
"What I have seen is a team that works really hard."
"When we do things one day, we pick them up the next."
- After beating Virginia Tech
""Our kids are not normal people. They always have fight."
- We finished last year with 8 straight losses

2004-05- December 28th, 2004
" We have guys who want to win more than eat."
"I have liked what our three seniors have done to set this team up to be successful."
- We finished this year 4-4

2003-04- Right at the beginning of the season
" We have not had to coahc pace of play, meaning we have guys just going after it."
"This makes coaching enjoyable."

- We finished the year 4-4

It is the same story every single year with DD at the helm and the percentages tell us that it is not going to be any different this year. It will most likely lean towards last year's record at the end of the year than the other two. The reason I say this is the talent level on this team is not up to the level of the talen level of the '05 and '04 teams.

IKeepItReal wrote:I love it when you guys bring up how much Coach Dakich likes this team and he loves how much they work, etc...... The same things are said every single year at the beginning of the season but at the end of the year its always the same story. I will give you a few examples from the past 3 years.

2005-06- October 14th, 2005
"What I have seen is a team that works really hard."
"When we do things one day, we pick them up the next."
- After beating Virginia Tech
""Our kids are not normal people. They always have fight."
- We finished last year with 8 straight losses

2004-05- December 28th, 2004
" We have guys who want to win more than eat."
"I have liked what our three seniors have done to set this team up to be successful."
- We finished this year 4-4

2003-04- Right at the beginning of the season
" We have not had to coahc pace of play, meaning we have guys just going after it."
"This makes coaching enjoyable."

- We finished the year 4-4

It is the same story every single year with DD at the helm and the percentages tell us that it is not going to be any different this year. It will most likely lean towards last year's record at the end of the year than the other two. The reason I say this is the talent level on this team is not up to the level of the talen level of the '05 and '04 teams.

I completely disagree with your statement about this team not being up to the talent level of the '05 and '04 teams. We far and way more Athletic than the teams over the past couple years. Martin Samarco is 1st in the MAC in scoring right now with 23.3 ppg, and 3rd in Steals. Ryne Hamblet is leading the conference in Assists (exactly what you want out of your point guard), 3rd in Defensive boards and has also shown he can score over the last 2 games. Marshall, even though he got injured, has shown incredible Post Moves and the ability to score consistently in double digits. I would venture to say that this team has as much talent and potential as our teams from the last couple years.

Just as much talent, and skads more potential. Mainly because of a warm body at the point, and developing posts.

Not to mention, Dusan is improving right before our eyes, and after we get Nate Miller in a couple games we add another athletic body that hustles and can score the basketball. And that's "Keepin it Real"

KIR is also forgetting that those more athletic players of late, were a giant thorn in the side of everyone they played with. Furthermore, if you're calling John Floyd one of those more athletic players, then you're keeping it real in a reality very seperate from the one we're all in.

My opinion of a coach is based on his year to year improvement. Now for the last couple years there has been no improvement. That is a hard strike against the man, it also means he has nowhere to go but up this year. If this team finishes in the top three, and contends in the M.A.C. tourney, then he should be given a one year extension to show he deserves to stay and keep his job. If he does well again after that one year, then give him a three year. If we finish bottom of the barrel again, then its bye bye DD, but I would really hate to see that happen.

I think Dan is gone this year no matter what, but that's just my opinion.

I'm still not sure.

I was a Dan Dakich Lover at one point. The guy is many of the things I'd love to see in Gregg Brandon. Our schemes are not up to par, and I wish he wouldn't whine to the officials so much, but I love how he gets our kids to play with so much heart. Heck, I was actually pointed to this site by people on the WVU board when Dan was in his extended visit to Morgantown.

Still, I cannot help but wonder if he has any shot of turning around the program. Sure this one season may be better, but after what we've had the last few years do we really want to give the guy an extension based on this one season? I doubt that, you must look back at the previous seasons and try to determine which direction this team is headed.

With the addition of Lamonta we have definitely started bringing in more legit athletes, and that's a great start, but Dan's always had a soft spot for the unathletic hard playing kids. That's all well and good, but you cannot build a team of those and expect to compete. Is he willing to continue bringing in better athletes to keep us competitive in the league?

Most importantly, has something changed that will allow us to actually keep our players? The biggest problem with this program has been keeping talent here. I do believe a lot of that was a select few players that hated the coach creating an atmosphere that others didn't want to be a part of. Dakich is a hardnosed coach, and no doubt he's tough to play for, but there were a lot of kids that didn't transfer before that Morgantown visit...then there were a lot of kids that did transfer after...what happened? Is it possible that the huge purges we've had over the past 2-3 years have finally erased that culture that was created with his departure, and he's now got a clean slate? If so, can he win the way he did before his departure?


I like Dan Dakich. I think he's overall a pretty good guy. I love his intensity, and I enjoy hearing him talk. I don't like his offensive schemes, and I don't like how we always foul so much. Most of all though, I want to win. It is up to Christopher to determine if enough changes have been made to believe that he can turn this ship around. I have always said that I thought Dan Dakich was a good coach, but I didn't think he could win in BG anymore. Is it possible that he really has regained control and can win again? I hope so, but I'm not convinced. It's not my job to make the decision, and I'm glad of that...my gut though says he's gone.

I agree with a lot of what you posted there hammb. I am wondering if we shouldn't ride Dan out and along much like NIU rode Novak. Now Joe isn't exactly the Woody Hayes of the MAC, but he is a consistent face of the program.

Could Dan be our Joe Novak? He likes it here. He can and has won here, leading me to the logical thought that he can and could win here again. He is entertaining and a known face to the program, and is funny to listen to/be around. When he keeps players here they graduate.

Just some thoughts in response to that last post.

I like Dan Dakich. Sooner or later, our basketball program will turn around. I hope he is the one to do it, but he just isn't going to have forever to do it.

I pretty much agree with Dayons Den (I started to put DD, but thought that be rather confusing). I think Dan has proven he can win here, and had it not been for that momentary lapse in judgement (WVU) I don't feel this conversation would even be happening, because we would have been winning rather consistently in the meantime. I think that move hurt recruiting more than we know and that we probably had to take some chances on some kids that we wouldn't normally have done, to get back to "even", and we are just now, working thru that lapse. Sure, we recruited some good players in that time period, but I think we might ALL agree that some were not a good fit for this particular program and coaching staff, but we didn't have a lot of choices, so we had to take a chance. I honestly think we are back to recruiting not only good players, but those that fit the system and the personality of the coaches.
I personally think Dan is a super guy, and is a great fit for this program, and am rather sure we are back on a consistent winning track for some time to come. I certainly hope he is around for a long, long time.

You guys are unbeleivable. Yea you are right this team has more talent than the '04 team. Ron Lewis is no good, Hamblett is a much better player. If you think that then you need to take a relaity check. Lets take a look at the '04 team.
Netter- All-Mac 2 years
all of you say what an idiot he was and all that but lets be honest he had loads more talent than any big guy we have now

Lewis- do not even have to explain his credientials.
he scores 30 at UNC. just a bit different than scoring 30 at home vs Arkansas State

Reimold- leading scorer of the MAC his senior year
Almanson- 1st team All-Mac as a senior
Montgomery- Averages 15 a game at IUPUI
Wright- led the league in steals that year and was up there in assists

That team has so much more talent than this year's team it is not even close. No way you can argue that.

I think most of you would say that the '05 team had the least amount of talent out of any team that has been here the last 5 years but they have had the best record. Face it you guys have no ability to judge talent whatsoever and the only reason we have a winning record is because DD scheduled this way to try and save his job. The guys we have now are everyone else's afterthoughts because we struggle to find guys to fill a roster due to transfers.