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Dirk X West

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Everything posted by Dirk X West

  1. 5-0 Tech, off a dropped fly ball
  2. Is this a tribute to Kobe?
  3. Are these projections not an attempt to guess what the committee will do based their tendencies from recent seasons?
  4. Not that we need any more anecdotal evidence to drive this point home, but I worked as a host at a Red Lobster in Lubbock one summer when I was an undergrad, and yes, the post church Sunday crowd were consistently the worst people I ever dealt with at that job, or any other service job I ever held (and I held many by the time I finished grad school in my early 30s): most rude and unpleasant, most disrespectful of the waitstaff (including often demanding which table they wanted to sit at), worst tippers.
  5. So, Kluber signed with Texas, couldn't make it through one inning of his first start before taking a season ending injury, signed with another team in the offseason and then no-hit Texas the first time he faced them? That's Rangers AF.
  6. It happened at an apartment complex near the Arboretum.
  7. Beard has recruited multiple 4 star players over the last two years, so, in other words, much better talent from a recruiting standpoint than Tech has ever had in the past and, more importantly, much better talent (again, on paper) than he had on the teams that went to the Elite 8 and the Final Four. Keeping that in mind, is there any chance Tech's record over the last two seasons might have something to do with Beard and his staff and how they've coached up these players and not just stand as a manifestation of the real or perceived inadequacies of Tech as an institution, and/or Lubbock as a city?
  8. That's quite an understatement. I would say he burned Tech basketball to the fucking ground...and then proceeded to burn Lamar basketball to the ground after Tech finally worked up the nerve to fire Bob's boy.
  9. He better not stick us with fucking Sean Sutton. Then I'll really be mad.
  10. I'm not dying on it. I'm just saying that that one tweet is hardly incontrovertible evidence.
  11. Nope. Do you find them to be right more or less often when you want them to be right?
  12. Is it getting smaller season by season? When he signed the contract, the word was $6 million if he went to a Big 12 school.
  13. A coaching carousel that started earlier than usual with preseason openings at Wichita State and Penn State and midseason firings at Boston College and Fordham hasn't slowed down since the season ended. In fact, the notion that a pandemic-impacted season would provide a lifeline to coaches on the hot seat has been thoroughly debunked. Seven notable jobs have already been filled: Wichita State promoted interim head coach Isaac Brown; Penn State hired Purdue assistant Micah Shrewsberry; Boston College landed Charleston's Earl Grant; New Mexico picked up recently fired Minnesota head coach Richard Pitino; Iowa State snagged UNLV's T.J. Otzelberger; the Runnin' Rebels quickly promoted assistant coach Kevin Kruger to take Otzelberger's spot. The latest job to fill was Minnesota hiring Xavier assistant coach Ben Johnson. There were a number of head coaches linked to the job, but the Golden Gophers wanted someone well-connected in the state. What it means, though, is the likes of Dennis Gates, Craig Smith and other top mid-major candidates are still available. But there are still four power-conference jobs open ... and perhaps more to come. Here are the biggest questions right now on the coaching carousel: 1. What is Indiana going to do? After days of speculation, Brad Stevens on Friday finally put an end to the rumors he was considering leaving the Boston Celtics to take over at Indiana. Regardless of whether he ever entertained the idea, that ship has sailed, so where does Indiana turn next? The Hoosiers had been linked with former Michigan coach John Beilein, Texas Tech's Chris Beard, Baylor's Scott Drew and Arkansas' Eric Musselman in the early days of the search. But the strongest buzz coming out of the weekend centered around New York Knicks assistant coach and Indiana alum Mike Woodson and former Ohio State coach Thad Matta. Some are skeptical Matta would take the job, but it could also be the opportunity that lures him back into coaching. Woodson interviewed over the weekend, sources told ESPN. What about Porter Moser? The Loyola Chicago head coach just battered a Big Ten rival in Indiana's backyard and has a Final Four on his résumé. Beilein also remains involved, but there's a line of thinking that it would be done by now if he was the pick. There's some chatter that Indiana has seen what Juwan Howard has done at Michigan and been impressed, which could increase the chances for Woodson or fellow Hoosier alums Keith Smart and Calbert Cheaney. 2. Where's Porter Moser coaching next season? As we mentioned above, Moser beating Illinois in the second round on Sunday has increased his stock even more. He entered the postseason as arguably the hottest name on the coaching carousel, given his Final Four run in 2018 and Missouri Valley titles in three of the past four seasons. I think he holds the key to the carousel moving forward. If Indiana shows interest, Moser could theoretically take any job he wants. He's among the early favorites at Marquette -- it's likely there's mutual interest -- and he has also been connected to the DePaul job for a year. Moser could also wait and see if any other jobs open. Moser is a bit of a different candidate. He already makes more than $1 million per year at Loyola Chicago, he grew up just outside Chicago and he already turned down a hefty pay bump when St. John's was interested a couple years ago. Preferences that might be obvious for other candidates don't necessarily apply to him. I don't know if the carousel is going to stop spinning and wait for Moser to be finished with the NCAA tournament and then make a decision, but I'm not sure any of the big jobs move on until they know for sure Moser isn't interested. Indiana turning to Moser would be awfully interesting. 3. Is Shaka Smart staying at Texas? This question might have seemed absurd a week ago, after Texas beat Oklahoma State in the Big 12 tournament championship game. But the Longhorns then lost to 14-seed Abilene Christian in the first round of the NCAA tournament and suddenly Smart is once again feeling the heat. Smart just finished up his sixth season in Austin, where he has gone to three NCAA tournaments but has yet to win a tournament game since taking over the Longhorns. The pandemic -- and a strong finish to the season -- likely saved Smart's job last spring, but he now has only two years left on his contract and his $7 million buyout is a little more palatable than the eight figures it was a year ago. That said, he just won the Big 12 tournament and earned a 3-seed on Selection Sunday; it seems reactionary to fire him. Could Smart look to leave on his own before things get too hot? Marquette would make plenty of sense for the Wisconsin native -- he turned down the job back in 2014 when the Golden Eagles were looking to replace Buzz Williams. The school would have to reconcile his lack of an NCAA tournament win at Texas, given that the same failing was cited by an extremely vocal fan base as a primary frustration with ousted Steve Wojciechowski. DePaul could perhaps be an option for Smart if he decided to make a move, too. 4. What's the deal at Arizona? The situation in Tucson remains in something of a holding pattern. Sean Miller still has only one year left on his contract, and there has been no movement on a contract extension, sources told ESPN. In fact, there has seemingly been no change since the season ended. But neither side really wants to enter next season with a lame-duck coach. On Arizona's side, it would seriously hinder recruiting and make it far less attractive for any potential replacement. And from Miller's perspective, a year of constant questions and drama with no reward at the end of the season is probably not worth it. But the money left on his contract lends itself to something of a standoff. Arizona has stood by Miller throughout the FBI and NCAA investigations, and the school publicly releasing its Notice of Allegations from the NCAA didn't offer many new revelations. So if the boosters want Miller to stay and the Board of Regents is unlikely to approve an extension, where does that leave the situation? For everyone's sake, I hope we have answers soon. 5. What's the latest on the other big vacancies? We addressed Indiana above, so we'll start with Marquette. The two names linked right away to the vacancy were Moser and Beilein, and I'd imagine those two will be heavily involved. Former Marquette coach and current Georgia boss Tom Crean is interested but unlikely to have a real shot at the job. As mentioned, Smart could have some interest if he's looking to leave Texas. Other names linked in the past have included Bradley's Brian Wardle, while Cleveland State's Gates could be involved. DePaul's job has been open for a couple weeks, and it could have a decision soon. Sources told ESPN the university had more than 10 names on its interview list, including Detroit's Mike Davis, New York Knicks assistant Kenny Payne and Pacific's Damon Stoudamire. Payne and Moser have been the two names linked to this job for almost a year. Gates, given his Chicago ties, is involved and is perceived by some industry sources to be the favorite. This could also be a job for Power 5 coaches looking to entertain other opportunities, including Arizona State's Bobby Hurley or South Carolina's Frank Martin. Of the open Power 5 jobs, I think Utah could be the next to close. Utah Jazz assistant and Utah alum Alex Jensen has been considered the favorite since the job opened, and it could be his job to lose. If it's not Jensen, two other names connected to the job have been Utah State's Smith and New York Knicks assistant Johnnie Bryant, another Utah alum. Three other intriguing jobs to watch include Fordham, George Mason and Charleston. Fordham has sifted through more than a dozen names, but the Rams might be nearing a conclusion. The hot names right now include Villanova assistant Kyle Neptune, Siena's Carmen Maciariello, Bryant's Jared Grasso and Yale's James Jones. George Mason has a number of candidates on its list, including Tennessee assistant Kim English, Virginia assistant Jason Williford, Miami assistant Chris Caputo and Winthrop head coach Pat Kelsey, while Charleston is focusing on sitting head coaches for now. Interviews are expected to start this week for the Cougars. 6. Will anything else open? There's still some noise around a trio of notable jobs aside from Texas and Arizona. Frank Martin took South Carolina to the Final Four just five seasons ago, but he has been linked to a few vacancies and it wouldn't be shocking to see the two sides agree to part ways. Martin is owed around $6 million if the Gamecocks decide to make a change. Cincinnati has seen six players hit the transfer portal in recent days, leaving the Bearcats with just four scholarship players remaining for next season -- assuming seniors Keith Williams and Chris Vogt don't return. They also have zero players signed in the 2021 class, although forward Bryson Spell recently committed to the Bearcats, stemming the tide. But it's only Year 2 for John Brannen, and the school would reportedly owe him more than $5 million to fire him. South Florida has also seen itself in the news for negative reasons. The Bulls saw a number of players enter the transfer portal, and the school also announced it had placed an assistant coach on administrative leave pending a review -- though it has not confirmed what it is reviewing. Head coach Brian Gregory has struggled mightily the past two seasons and has only two years left on his deal.
  14. They did when Tech played them during the Big 12- SEC Challenge.
  15. ACU clearly blew their load on Saturday. I'm assuming yelling benchwarmer guy must still be hungover.
  16. Like Payton Manning on a Tennessee trainer.
  17. That thing that didn't matter from Jan 2017-Jan 2021 matters again.
  18. I work on campus at UT (in a non-faculty job) and was, not exactly compelled, but pressured to work half the week in my office starting last August by my supervisor, who really prefers working in the office and, not coincidentally, lives within walking distance of campus. Although a change in a routine (i.e, compared to working exclusively from home, as I did from March to early August last year) was nice at first, it's just totally pointless. I sit in my office and work on my laptop without seeing anyone face to face (we do zoom meetings even when most of us in my dept. are on campus, and most grad students and faculty are staying the hell away) just like I would at home, and the commute, while not nearly as bad as it would be due to decreased traffic, is such a waste of time and resources. It'll be interesting to see how much telecommuting will be allowed once the pandemic is over-ish, but I'm not optimistic, as there are supervisors like mine all over campus who have never liked their supervisees working at home and will use whatever power they have to prevent it. It's a shame, though, as my life has been so much better working from home. I sleep more and exercise more, as I have more time, and I have been every bit as productive working from home as I was before the pandemic started.
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