Every one of us at some point in our careers has either been approached about or taken a job that on paper was a total fixer-upper situ. The desirability is there’s only one way it can go it hasn’t been going. And that’s up. I think he’s taken a bet on his own talent. He will be a hero and highly in demand after he turns it around at MU. And I have zero doubts he won’t turn it around. He is a sharp, sharp coach with a great supporting staff.
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It is one thing to have a brother in the MAC, but quite another to know exactly what the issues were internally. And that is where I think he might be frustrated. I am sure he knew the returning talent was far from ideal. And that he would need to roster purge, as we saw happen. But I doubt John Groce knew the internal workings of the AD office or the Miami Board of Trustees re athletic priorities or lack thereof.
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I believe he fully knew the situation. He knew the cupboard was bare. He knew about the fan support. After all, his brother coached against Miami a couple games a year. He also knew about the tradition and potential at Miami. The job is also perfect for him in that he did not have to move, relocate his family or move his grandchildren away from their grandparents. There was not a better situation for Travis anywhere in college basketball. Glad to have him.
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Travis seems like the kind of guy who would know exactly what he’s getting into, especially when it’s 45 minutes from home. Maybe he’s blowing smoke, but he has been very positive about recruiting to date. On several occasions he has mentioned “awakening a sleeping giant”.
He knows what will bring fans in and he has plenty to do in that regard.
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Our scouting report didn’t pan out.
Won’t be the first time this year. His team is not built quite right to win consistently but it soon will be.
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Steele was Director of Basketball Ops under Sean Miller at XU, so he obviously knows Miller well. Remember what Miller told James Whitford back during that coaching search debacle. I’m sure Steele got input from Miller (among many others) about Miami and was very informed about the situation he was getting into.
Didnt Sean Miller just replace Steele at Xavier?
Yes
Sort of a non-sequitor, but all this Oxford parking talk reminded me of it… Many years ago now, I remember pulling up to a stop sign somewhere in the middle of campus, probably Spring Street because there was a downhill grade. The traffic was moderate, and it was sometime in the afternoon. Anyway, I came to a complete stop and then began to initiate my right turn. Then this middle-aged woman with glasses came barreling down the road in the curb to my right. On her bicycle. Oh, shit, I thought, and I stopped my turn as she careened around me and through the intersection while screaming obscenities at me. Another car honked at her as she rode through. I came close to going after her so that I could scream back at her that just because she was on a bike doesn’t make her exempt from obeying stop signs, but I thought better of it and went on my way.
A year or two later, I saw her again while I was delivering campus mail. She was a professor in the anthropology department if I recall. Wild woman.
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You better watch out or someone is going to accuse you of threadjacking!
She had tenure and felt she could whatever they heck she wanted to …seems rather common on today’s campuses.
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Right you are.
Jive, you questioned a couple of times my comment that the honeymoon was over. I think the comments by Shooter ( parent of a player recruited by the previous staff?) were directed at some posters for the analysis of what was happening in our program, in particular having 16 guys on scholarship for next season ( something new to Miami) and he was very critical of our coach for that situation and also what I heard a bunch of fans complaining about, language and anger from the coach. That is an example of the fallout from that game. It is what it is, and those are just few issues that a coach can avoid by saving that tough talk for the locker room or practice.
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And something that will stop being new to Miami and other schools because of the transfer portal. And not unexpected after a new coach has a chance to evaluate the players in practice.
Has nobody watched Travis Steele coach a game? And most coaches. I mean, most fan bases don’t treat their basketball arena like they’re watching Wimbledon, so they can’t hear what the coaches are saying during timeouts anyway. If someone wants to clutch pearls at an f-bomb, college athletics are one of the last places you should be.
Now do I think some of the players were even worse than he thought? Yes. But there’s no expectation to do anything for a couple of years anyway.
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I assume anger and language by the coach refers to the one instance in the Indiana State game when the team couldn’t have looked worse and Millett couldn’t have been quieter (not easy). I chuckled because I’m sure Steele isn’t used to an arena being so quiet while he’s yelling at his players. At the time, his patience was exhausted and the team looked shell shocked.
But hey, if the blue hairs are offended by that, they can lobby for Jack Owens to be rehired.
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Yes, some were offended. Donors and season ticket holders. Plus a players parent who expressed disgust.
Perhaps that was the parent who angrily visited our board.
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I guess none of these people have stepped foot in a high school lately.
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I think you’re onto something here. I’m guessing that parent and his son are planning to leave Miami fairly soon. Attitudes like his father has can poison a team and detract from the rebuild. If his son shares them, it’s probably best for all for them to move on so they can “dis” Miami from a distance rather than from inside.
I once had issues with the way one of my son’s college coaches was handling playing time - jerking certain kids around because they pledged a fraternity. But I didn’t go public and air out my concerns. I let my kid and his teammates sort it out on their own.
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