2/9 | Dayton | 4:00PM (CBSSN)

[Tom98]

The only positive to take from yesterday’s game was the spirit displayed by JV, the Ramettes and the cheer squad. (Full disclosure, my daughter is a Ramette.). It has to be difficult to keep your energy and spirit up when the team is getting drilled and the crowd is quiet. It has to be especially difficult late, when at least half the fans have left. I know I couldn’t do it. This group should be commended for continuing to perform at a high level , despite things going so wrong so quickly in the game.

I 100% agree here. The Ramettes and the cheer squad have been outstanding all year. I hope everybody continues to so appreciation for their efforts and the greT energy they bring the the RC

[RhowdyRam02]

Back when I played, if someone on the team tweeted something like that, we'd have said, "What the heck is a 'tweet'?"

This is good, we need more of this right now

[TruePoint]

Can someone please divulge what Preston posted? Didn't see it before it was deleted.

Basically Preston subtweeted the coach about putting freshmen in the game before him.

[Taylor Swift]

He might have been told to take it down...….

Oh I’m sure he was, just can’t believe it took like 5 hours.

Some of the replies I saw were pretty heated towards him. Glad he deleted it, but too many views and replies...

[reef]

Ok can someone at least summarize what Preston said ??

Sounds like he is pissed about playing time and bad mouthed Cox ??

[section(105)]

Ok can someone at least summarize what Preston said ??

Sounds like he is pissed about playing time and bad mouthed Cox ??

......my take away from the tweet was this; freshmen getting more PT than he, as a senior......and implied his PT is important to potentially getting a contract to play somewhere next year.......

[RhodysRelevant]

Ok can someone at least summarize what Preston said ??

Sounds like he is pissed about playing time and bad mouthed Cox ??

......my take away from the tweet was this; freshmen getting more PT than he, as a senior......and implied his PT is important to potentially getting a contract to play somewhere next year.......

I would sum it up the same way. Not sure what his complaint is, it seems to me he is getting more run this year than he did last year. shouldn't be a shock to him that he is not seeing the floor much. It isn't like he lost 25 mins a night and a starting position.

[rhodylaw]

My big question is which freshman does he thinks is taking his minutes undeservingly? Has to be Harris, the others are good and don’t play his position. He may have a point that he would be more ready than Harris who has not provided much. I would start him next game and tell him to back up the tweet or he is off the team!

[ramster]

He's going to take Harris' 14 minutes per game?

[steveystuds06]

[RhowdyRam02]

My big question is which freshman does he thinks is taking his minutes undeservingly? Has to be Harris, the others are good and don’t play his position. He may have a point that he would be more ready than Harris who has not provided much. I would start him next game and tell him to back up the tweet or he is off the team!

Is this a serious idea that you have?

[rambone 78]

No chance in hell that happens.

Maybe Preston should have played well enough when he did get the chance, to get more PT.

If there was a player that he could have subbed for, it would be a junior...CT...at the 3 or 4.

If I was one of the freshmen, I would have an issue with CT's and Fatts playing time!

[rambone 78]

One thing about Cox's comments post game.....he complained about the lack of effort on defense....all true, but it's like the boy who tried to plug one leak in the dike when there are several......we scored 48 points......at home....and on and on

This Preston thing is bad, but there are way more issues to deal with here.

[rhodylaw]

My big question is which freshman does he thinks is taking his minutes undeservingly? Has to be Harris, the others are good and don’t play his position. He may have a point that he would be more ready than Harris who has not provided much. I would start him next game and tell him to back up the tweet or he is off the team!

Is this a serious idea that you have?

Yes (sort of) - either you get a productive player, or proof that the coach was right to sit him.

[RhodyRam86]

My big question is which freshman does he thinks is taking his minutes undeservingly? Has to be Harris, the others are good and don’t play his position. He may have a point that he would be more ready than Harris who has not provided much. I would start him next game and tell him to back up the tweet or he is off the team!

Is this a serious idea that you have?

Yes (sort of) - either you get a productive player, or proof that the coach was right to sit him.

I don't need to give Preston a shot in the starting lineup to know he doesn't belong there. He isn't going to be that much better than Harris and probably not better at all. Harris is our future not Preston. Displaying Preston for a future pro career should not be a concern of our coaching staff.

[rhodylaw]

I think you are missing the point - it’s not about Preston the player, it’s about the player publicly questioning the coach. We all know he is not likely to be successful in the starting role, give him the chance and he will likely prove the coach right. Continue to bury him on the bench and the insurrection continues.

[RhowdyRam02]

My big question is which freshman does he thinks is taking his minutes undeservingly? Has to be Harris, the others are good and don’t play his position. He may have a point that he would be more ready than Harris who has not provided much. I would start him next game and tell him to back up the tweet or he is off the team!

Is this a serious idea that you have?

Yes (sort of) - either you get a productive player, or proof that the coach was right to sit him.

But in the meantime you get a guy that's just looking out for his to show he belongs. Aren't we having enough team issues already?

I understand why people are so upset about what Preston did, there's a bit of him going against our laundry there, but I can see why he's mad. I'm sure after the game and yesterday there was a lot of how bad they all were and he's probably thinking, "who's this 'we' you're talking about, you only let me play two minutes, I have nothing to do with what happened. If I'm part of the we, play me more." And it's not like Harris or Tate (18 and 16 minutes) did a ton with the minutes they received. Unfortunately for him, Cox was right to play them far more than Preston and it should only become more pronounced with the season all but over. Akele and Layssard saw the writing on the wall, Preston either didn't or because he came in late couldn't leave like they did.

[RhodyRam86]

I think you are missing the point - it’s not about Preston the player, it’s about the player publicly questioning the coach. We all know he is not likely to be successful in the starting role, give him the chance and he will likely prove the coach right. Continue to bury him on the bench and the insurrection continues.

these kids are not in grade school. they don't call the shots. you can't let the inmates run the asylum. if he wants to be a bad seed because he isn't starting, you don't give into him like a 5 year old. Kick him off the team.

[RhowdyRam02]

You either kick him off the team or you try to fix the situation with him here. But you don't have a tryout for him to stay on the team or not. That's just silly, reality TV type garbage

[rambone 78]

Man, Dan didn't make too many personnel mistakes while he was here, but not signing Toppin and adding Preston instead turned out to be an epic fail of the worst kind.

I knew there were academic issue with Obi, and Dan was looking for immediate help. As for ability, I though the staff liked Toppin but thought he might have been kind of a project due to his late start playing the game. They knew he was very athletic...but he's way more than that. He's a smart player.

Dayton has had a history of taking chances with players and boy did it pay off for them this time. They've now got a very good player who has the bonus of being a little older and also 3 more years of eligibility. He's going to be a force to be reckoned with for sure.

And you have to give big credit to Grant and his staff, for his rapid development which will likely continue.

Other than Martin and Tate to a certain extent, who has developed at all like him on our team?

The hits just keep on coming. If we had Toppin to pair with CL....we would have quite the inside game. Instead, we have a freshman JH who is still an unknown quantity.

[Billyboy78]

Martin also seems to have regressed. It's possible that he's hit a wall. But he certainly hasn't looked good recently.

[rambone 78]

Billyboy, other than Cyril, everyone on this team has either hit the wall, or been run over by a truck.

Let's see if having a week off to work on things will help...if we fall flat against Fordham and get crushed by VCU, we're done.

I'm lucky...I'm leaving for Florida later today and will only be watching the board and the scores until later next week.

[BlackDogRants]

One thing Cox said on the postgame show was that the lack of effort on defense is inexcusable. He said that it would be corrected and guaranteed that it won't happen next Saturday against Fordham and will never happen again. Hasn't he already said something like that before?

His post game comments have become scripted. "...thats on me..." Everything that went wrong he follows with "...thats on me". Save it pal - actions speak louder than words.

[rambone 78]

He's run out of excuses really. He talks about making changes, and then doesn't make any.

The same players get the minutes no matter what.....the offense is the same Fatts still runs the point more often than not...the defense is fundamentally unsound...effort is lacking.....

The one thing that's not on him is the outside shooting.....

[ramster]

I think you are missing the point - it’s not about Preston the player, it’s about the player publicly questioning the coach. We all know he is not likely to be successful in the starting role, give him the chance and he will likely prove the coach right. Continue to bury him on the bench and the insurrection continues.

these kids are not in grade school. they don't call the shots. you can't let the inmates run the asylum. if he wants to be a bad seed because he isn't starting, you don't give into him like a 5 year old. Kick him off the team.

Suppose Cox does as you suggest and Preston plays 30 minutes gets 20 points and 8 rebounds? Then what? Cox, or any HC, cannot go down that road. They can’t respond to an ill advised tweet by a player.

It was wrong for Preston to do what he did. Obviously having his twitter account removed says something to that effect.

Inmates cannot run the asylum.

[TruePoint]

I agree that you can’t let a player dictate what you do by throwing a public tantrum, but it would be good to avoid the “inmates running the asylum” phraseology. I know it is an old saying and that people do not mean it in a way that could be considered offensive, but recently there has been a bit of controversy in the sports world stemming from the use of the phrase (see: Bob McNair), so might be good to just come up with a slightly different way of getting the point across.

I do agree with the point, by the way.

[RhodyRam86]

I agree that you can’t let a player dictate what you do by throwing a public tantrum, but it would be good to avoid the “inmates running the asylum” phraseology. I know it is an old saying and that people do not mean it in a way that could be considered offensive, but recently there has been a bit of controversy in the sports world stemming from the use of the phrase (see: Bob McNair), so might be good to just come up with a slightly different way of getting the point across.

I do agree with the point, by the way.

I was the first to use that phrase here TP. Apologies if anyone found it offensive. Let me rephrase...The players should be influencing personnel and playing time decisions only by their work in practice and performance during games.

[ElmCityRhody]

why isnt RP kicked off the team yet ?

[TruePoint]

why isnt RP kicked off the team yet ?

Do you want them to have a public ceremony in which they humiliate the guy also? Whatever they decide to do, I wouldn’t expect a press release about it.

[TruePoint]

I agree that you can’t let a player dictate what you do by throwing a public tantrum, but it would be good to avoid the “inmates running the asylum” phraseology. I know it is an old saying and that people do not mean it in a way that could be considered offensive, but recently there has been a bit of controversy in the sports world stemming from the use of the phrase (see: Bob McNair), so might be good to just come up with a slightly different way of getting the point across.

I do agree with the point, by the way.

I was the first to use that phrase here TP. Apologies if anyone found it offensive. Let me rephrase...The players should be influencing personnel and playing time decisions only by their work in practice and performance during games.

No worries, I think everyone here understands it wasn’t meant in a bad way. Last thing I want, though, is for someone from the outside coming by here to check out what people are saying about the situation and latching onto that and making that into the issue.

[ElmCityRhody]

well, in a word yes

i expect a strong statement/ press release on this

i would expect a strong response and for coach cox to become a leader and kick RP off the team

we will see soon if he is up to the task

before we find out.. are you in the camp of kicking RP off the team ?

[hrstrat57]

[TruePoint]

well, in a word yes

i expect a strong statement/ press release on this

i would expect a strong response and for coach cox to become a leader and kick RP off the team

we will see soon if he is up to the task

before we find out.. are you in the camp of kicking RP off the team ?

Doing what you’re suggesting would show that Cox is temperamentally unfit to be the coach. The important thing is that the rest of the team gets the message to keep team business within the team, not to satisfy outside observers weirdly thirsting for public retribution. Punishing a player for taking team business public and violating the trust of the team by humiliating the player in public totally undermines your point and makes the rest of the team more likely to resent you and think they can’t trust you and that you don’t have their best interests at heart.

As far as what happens to Preston, my initial reaction was that he should be kicked off the team. I maybe still feel that way and wouldn’t have a huge problem if they decided that was the best way to deal with this. On the other hand, I’m not close to the situation and don’t have any context for what happened and I don’t know the players and the current mood of the team well enough to know if removing Preston from the team would be more or less effective than suspending him for a game or two for violating team rules. Depending on the specifics (which I will never know), I could be convinced either decision is correct. I will say that there has to be some discipline for what he said and how he said it.

[Billyboy78]

If I were Cox, I'd have two meetings, a one on one with Preston and another with the team, Preston included. He has to lay down the law. This team has to come together, not be divided. Anyone who does that latter will be disciplined severely.

[PeterRamTime]

Maybe Preston should just idk... be good enough to get playing time so he can get a check overseas....

[ElmCityRhody]

i'd already have him off the team. PERIOD.

[ATPTourFan]

Noted, ECR. We got that several posts ago.

[ace]

I don’t know what Ryan has been like this season off the court, but if this is an isolated incident, then no, I don’t kick him off the team. He made a stupid decision to post that. It was a moment of frustration, which is certainly relatable.

Prior to the season, Cox talked like Preston getting minutes would be the plan. As the season goes on, a coach needs to communicate to a guy what he needs to do to get his minutes and be consistent with the decision making. Maybe Ryan thinks he is doing that and doesn’t understand why he’s not playing. Maybe he’s not, and he’s delusional. Maybe he envisioned a situation like Andre Berry where he would be a contributor his last season and be able to play for money. I certainly don’t know. It’s a shame it went public, but I don’t think the sense of frustration around the team is necessarily a secret.

[Rhody83]

I don’t know what Ryan has been like this season off the court, but if this is an isolated incident, then no, I don’t kick him off the team. He made a stupid decision to post that. It was a moment of frustration, which is certainly relatable.

Prior to the season, Cox talked like Preston getting minutes would be the plan. As the season goes on, a coach needs to communicate to a guy what he needs to do to get his minutes and be consistent with the decision making. Maybe Ryan thinks he is doing that and doesn’t understand why he’s not playing. Maybe he’s not, and he’s delusional. Maybe he envisioned a situation like Andre Berry where he would be a contributor his last season and be able to play for money. I certainly don’t know. It’s a shame it went public, but I don’t think the sense of frustration around the team is necessarily a secret.

Ace, are you saying there is frustration around the team because of the performance/results or are you saying the players are frustrated with Coach Cox?

After the Mason game the players met and agreed it was on them. Fatts came out and said that they were responsible for the poor performance and needed to work harder. The next few games after that the defensive intensity was much better. That defensive intensity hasn’t been there for at least 3 1/2 of the recent games (UMass, 1/2 Duq, Davidson & Dayton).

[theblueram]

I don't think the tweet warrants getting kicked off the team. Maybe a game suspension. There have been numerous examples of these types of things across D1 and I can't think of one where the player was kicked off.

[Rhody83]

I don't think the tweet warrants getting kicked off the team. Maybe a game suspension. There have been numerous examples of these types of things across D1 and I can't think of one where the player was kicked off.

I agree unless he is not remorseful and will be a cancer on the team.

[ace]

I don’t know what Ryan has been like this season off the court, but if this is an isolated incident, then no, I don’t kick him off the team. He made a stupid decision to post that. It was a moment of frustration, which is certainly relatable.

Prior to the season, Cox talked like Preston getting minutes would be the plan. As the season goes on, a coach needs to communicate to a guy what he needs to do to get his minutes and be consistent with the decision making. Maybe Ryan thinks he is doing that and doesn’t understand why he’s not playing. Maybe he’s not, and he’s delusional. Maybe he envisioned a situation like Andre Berry where he would be a contributor his last season and be able to play for money. I certainly don’t know. It’s a shame it went public, but I don’t think the sense of frustration around the team is necessarily a secret.

Ace, are you saying there is frustration around the team because of the performance/results or are you saying the players are frustrated with Coach Cox?

The first one.

I’d imagine they’re still behind their coach.

[ace]

I don't think the tweet warrants getting kicked off the team. Maybe a game suspension. There have been numerous examples of these types of things across D1 and I can't think of one where the player was kicked off.

Kuran Iverson’s departure from Memphis ultimately involved social media, but I think that might have just been the final straw.

And for that, we are thankful!

[TruePoint]

I don’t know what Ryan has been like this season off the court, but if this is an isolated incident, then no, I don’t kick him off the team. He made a stupid decision to post that. It was a moment of frustration, which is certainly relatable.

Prior to the season, Cox talked like Preston getting minutes would be the plan. As the season goes on, a coach needs to communicate to a guy what he needs to do to get his minutes and be consistent with the decision making. Maybe Ryan thinks he is doing that and doesn’t understand why he’s not playing. Maybe he’s not, and he’s delusional. Maybe he envisioned a situation like Andre Berry where he would be a contributor his last season and be able to play for money. I certainly don’t know. It’s a shame it went public, but I don’t think the sense of frustration around the team is necessarily a secret.

Ace, are you saying there is frustration around the team because of the performance/results or are you saying the players are frustrated with Coach Cox?

The first one.

I’d imagine they’re still behind their coach.

But that’s the issue with what Ryan said, right? Beyond just violating the first rule of fight club, the frustration that Ryan expressed was not with what is going on with the team but rather what was going on with his situation individually. I expect the players to be frustrated right now, and even though I’m not sure how productive it is I’d think it was a little strange if they weren’t frustrated. If that results in bad body language or sniping at each other on the court, it is understandable even if it isn’t “good.” But if it results in guys going off the reservation then that is a problem.

[ElmCityRhody]

Noted, ECR. We got that several posts ago.

someone has a different opinion and this ?

I got everyone’s thoughts several posts ago as well

Whatever - all good

No reason to keep RP on team - none

Time to get control of a team that coach clearly has lost

[UCH21377]

Seems to me Preston did Cox a huge favor. Took all the focus off everyone else's poor efforts (except for Cyril).

[hrstrat57]

Noted, ECR. We got that several posts ago.

someone has a different opinion and this ?

I got everyone’s thoughts several posts ago as well

Whatever - all good

No reason to keep RP on team - none

Time to get control of a team that coach clearly has lost

Many of us repeat ourselves or say completely different things three weeks later.....

Rooting for a team with multiple disgusting performances can mess up u mind.

u OK ECR

[section(105)]

........I don’t think we really know anything at this point and maybe neva......whatever, it could remain totally handled in house, and maybe that is the way it should be......he will be in uniform or he won’t with little or no information provided......

[ElmCityRhody]

https://youtu.be/Ow_9MglZrhs

[Taylor Swift]

https://youtu.be/Ow_9MglZrhs

I can’t see a Frank Costanza reference without thinking of this gem