I don't want to remember the catastrophic loss at home to Virginia a few years ago (the one where it was statistically impossible to lose and yet we did), but this loss to Houston Baptist had many similarities: bizarre substitution patterns, massive defensive breakdowns, zero offensive game plan, and a creeping anxiety and fear emanating from the players and their body language.
We've seen it time and time again: last year to Notre Dame at home, at UNC, etc. Absolute collapses in the 2nd half or final 8 minutes of many, many games.
At the time of the Virginia loss, excuses were given: undermanned, players not long enough, Manning was just getting started, the 3 they hit at the end was a fluke, etc. But now its clear that a pattern has emerged. Repeatedly. When an organization gets stuck, the best course of action is to address the big picture issues and go against the grain of what has been attempted. As many here have stated, Coach Clawson and our football program has done just that this year to much success. That's called leadership.
I like Danny Manning. Its a tough business he's in. But in order to win, some hard decisions are going to have be made, many of which need to be internal and personal. So much of basketball is about mental toughness and confidence, and this isn't exclusive to the players. Its also the coach that has to exude those qualities. Great players are great listeners and are coachable. Great coaches should also be coachable as well.
Making jokes after our loss to Houston Baptist was not the best take, in my opinion. After such a reprehensible loss, a great coach would've been angry and willing to take the blame himself. I honestly would've preferred if he would have not had a press conference at all after that game.