A few important historical facts the fanbase needs right now (posted on Cats Pause by mbc82584 and I thought it necessary to post here too)

Three Exhibits:

COACH A:

-Has 3 coaching stops, here are his first two years at each school:

Year 1: 9-17
Year 2: 7-19

Year 1: 13-15
Year 2: 19-14

Year 1: 11-17
Year 2: 18-11

-In his THIRD SEASON, he improved at all three places, once reaching the NCAA tournament, once the Sweet 16, and once the FINAL GAME. Given two years of mediocrity, he was able to install his system, and win BIG, going to three consecutive final fours.


COACH B:
-This coach was in his first major coaching position, coming in for a team who had been to the final four just two years earlier, and replacing a coach who went to the NBA. Here are his first two seasons:

Year 1: 13-17
Year 2: 14-15

-In this THIRD SEASON, he was able to turn the corner and go 22-9, and finish in the Sweet Sixteen. He'd be in the final four just a year later.


COACH C:
-This coach was left with the cupboard ABSOLUTELY STACKED, returning many players from a team that had just lost in the NCAA NAT'L Championship game, and had the benefit of being led by a future hall-of-fame coach just before his arrival.

-In his first 3 seasons, he suffered losses to mid-major opponents in the FIRST ROUND of the NCAA tournament.

-Even with a healthy amount of talent, he went on losing streaks at the end of 2/3 seasons to sour the fanbase. He even broke a 31 game winning streak against Kansas State, losing to them (GASP) TWICE.

-Given time to install his system, however, and his team not only quit losing the games it shouldn't, but began winning almost all of them, culminating in the National Championship.



In case you're new to this college basketball thing, Coach A is Ben Howland (UCLA), Coach B is Billy Donovan (Florida), and Coach C is Bill Self (Kansas). All three coaches are final four caliber, top-notch coaches, and all three have histories of HUGE struggles while implementing their system.

These schools (especially Kansas/UCLA), likely had some SERIOUS griping fans after the first two years, some even wanting to get RID OF THE COACH. IF THEY HAD GOTTEN THEIR WAY, they would have NEVER ended up with the level of success those programs have achieved since.

In other words, if you are seriously bitching (in by best EBB voice) about Gillispie the SECOND GAME of just his SECOND YEAR, you need to get a grip and do a little HISTORICAL RESEARCH.