Where is the hype? Where is the excitement?

[muskieman]

You see the Reds in spring training being hyped by the team and local media, the Bengals the same, but this year the Muskies are like Church mice.
Granted, the coach that will not be named was always on social media and podcasts over the summer hyping a team which was touted to be one of the best, and it turned out to be a turd at times, TCU comes to mind.

I give Richard a pass as he settles into Cincinnati and brings his family to a new house and schools for the kids. I hoped, after this week as practices wrapped up, that we might get a state of the team report, but lips are sealed and the usual sources are as dry as a desert. Sure, there are the daily Instagram and I hear TikTok clips, but they reveal very little. I like the little interview, but they all sound about the same.

I fear fan apathy is setting in, and that is the death knell of programs. Also, NIL fatigue doesn't help, as we see the big schools spending millions that we can not spend on an ongoing basis.

I hope that Richard's silence will give us a better season than that other coach's hype talk.

Anyone care to give their two cents, or have they spent it all on NIL?

[X-man]

I went to Pitino's podcast at Sorrento's a few weeks back (with Joe and Byron), and I have a couple observations. First, the coach talked up his team's potential for defense (offense was not mentioned), and it appears that he recruited length and athleticism specifically for a team that presses and traps relentlessly (like St John's perhaps?). Second, he was not a schmoozer. He left as soon as the podcast was done. No chatting with the patrons. A friend of mine was at a golf outing with the coach, and he left there as soon as it was over. He may not be the type to push the publicity. Let's hope the team does the talking.

[murray87]

Like muskieman mentioned, it seems fan apathy has to be creeping in. Facing complete roster turnovers every off season is no fun.

[olsingledigit]

When MM hears nothing that is an ominous sign. I have my season ticket (43d season) and ready to go but I can feel some fatigue also. I don’t care if the coach is not very social. IMO Sean was very cold one on one, but we were all spoiled with Pete Gillen. It is the Ws that count. Let’s just hope for that. I will be 80 in October so not sure how many more seasons I can make the trek from Indy to the Cintas and back for each game.as Tom Hanks said in Volunteers, “I think I’ve put in the time.”

Go X. Beat all expectations.

[Kevin Reilly]

Well I believe it's all about the N.I. L. money and we don't seem to have enough to be a 20 twenty team anymore. Pitino is a young guy but he's not close to Miller in coaching ability or recruiting. The reason everything is quiet is because we lost a great coach and our whole team. We have had a great run for 30 years. It seems to most of us that the roster doesn't have much top 100 talent if any. Until they ( NCAA ) get a handle on the N.I.L money I don't think we can compete at a high level like we use to. The money and talent level is getting bigger not smaller. I don't see Pitino as a high end coach. I hope I am wrong but we will see. As a recruiter he has a long way to go. Heck I don't believe the guard Dent from New Mexico even considered following Pitino to Xavier. When Miller couldn't recruit any better than he did it showed me that it's all about the money. In a perfect world Pat Kelsey would have been the coach at Xavier. Mack screwed that up. If the recruiting experts know what they are talking about than our 10th place preseason prediction is probably right. With all this yearly roster turnover and money out there it's hard to even keep your good players. We really have had only one very good team in the last 8 years. ( The sweet 16 team). Steele was big mistake and he set us back a lot. Maybe this tall pressing team can make some noise but were all waiting to see. Miller would have stayed if we had the money to recruit. St. John's, Creighton, U Conn, Marquette , Villanova and even Georgetown are finding the money and getting the players so it can be done. We will see but everyone is wondering what is going on.

[muskieman]

I went to Pitino's podcast at Sorrento's a few weeks back (with Joe and Byron), and I have a couple observations. First, the coach talked up his team's potential for defense (offense was not mentioned), and it appears that he recruited length and athleticism specifically for a team that presses and traps relentlessly (like St John's perhaps?). Second, he was not a schmoozer. He left as soon as the podcast was done. No chatting with the patrons. A friend of mine was at a golf outing with the coach, and he left there as soon as it was over. He may not be the type to push the publicity. Let's hope the team does the talking.

It sounds like Matta was when he was at X. Matta never showed up for the coach's show on time and left when it was over. Matta was caught out in the parking lot, but when he came in, he claimed the lights made him late. We looked at each other and said SURE YOU WERE. I hope that, as Pitino is here longer, he becomes more fan-friendly, but more importantly, he wins!

[Jesseandrippers]

I think what is driving the less than enthusiastic sentiment is the uneasy feeling we all have that we haven't even bottomed out yet. This NIL situation and related lackluster high school recruitment will eventually lead us down the path to a few rough seasons - the likes of which we haven't seen in quite some time. I hope we can regain some spark soon and generate interest and donors, or apathy will set in and we will have a net loss in fans.

[drudy23]

I'm excited for November, but have no clue what to expect.

I also don't care if RP doesn't talk to people. Win games and make the tournament.

People need to start to get on board with a new identity. Most people aren't there yet. This team is going to look completely different (style and players) and you have to give it a chance.

[olsingledigit]

I'm excited for November, but have no clue what to expect.

I also don't care if RP doesn't talk to people. Win games and make the tournament.

People need to start to get on board with a new identity. Most people aren't there yet. This team is going to look completely different (style and players) and you have to give it a chance.

I agree. Get behind the team and give it a chance

[muskieman]

Well I believe it's all about the N.I. L. money and we don't seem to have enough to be a 20 twenty team anymore. Pitino is a young guy but he's not close to Miller in coaching ability or recruiting. The reason everything is quiet is because we lost a great coach and our whole team. We have had a great run for 30 years. It seems to most of us that the roster doesn't have much top 100 talent if any. Until they ( NCAA ) get a handle on the N.I.L money I don't think we can compete at a high level like we use to. The money and talent level is getting bigger not smaller. I don't see Pitino as a high end coach. I hope I am wrong but we will see. As a recruiter he has a long way to go. Heck I don't believe the guard Dent from New Mexico even considered following Pitino to Xavier. When Miller couldn't recruit any better than he did it showed me that it's all about the money. In a perfect world Pat Kelsey would have been the coach at Xavier. Mack screwed that up. If the recruiting experts know what they are talking about than our 10th place preseason prediction is probably right. With all this yearly roster turnover and money out there it's hard to even keep your good players. We really have had only one very good team in the last 8 years. ( The sweet 16 team). Steele was big mistake and he set us back a lot. Maybe this tall pressing team can make some noise but were all waiting to see. Miller would have stayed if we had the money to recruit. St. John's, Creighton, U Conn, Marquette , Villanova and even Georgetown are finding the money and getting the players so it can be done. We will see but everyone is wondering what is going on.

If X didn't have the players under Miller, then why did he take two of them to Texas?