For those saying fire him even if he makes the tournament, what did you expect coming into this year? I felt the same way when Tubby was fired after losing in the round of 32. If the standard for him was sweet 16 or bust, I would have rathe fired him one year earlier because I didnt see him as likely going from NIT to sweet 16.
I have not voted on the thread because I hope the admin is more comprehensive in their assessment. What are the expectations from the AD on where the program is, where it is going and what is expected? Not quite sure I know the answer.
That stated, from what is visible to the public and are pure facts with no motivation one way or another:
1) We are mediocre this year overall
2) In the BigTen we are less than average (under .500)
3) Our current recruiting class is mostly unfilled
4) 247 has that class ranked 12 out of 14, largely due to 1 commitment
Opinions: In recent years, this is a program that has been plagued with depth issues and it is unfortunate to see this has a high probability of continuing. From afar, it looks like a lot more of the same based on what the pipeline indicates. If Pitino did not put out a likable vibe (not sure what he is like in person), it is likely there would be more people
demanding change, including me. There are three time measure to consider: history, now and future. The history under Pitino has been mediocre, now is mediocre, the future looks mediocre. The hope is, he is young and open-minded and an inflection point will occur, but it would be nice to see some demonstrable signs of improvement.
I would love to hear Pitino's assessment on where he is taking the program and where he thinks it currently stands. I wish him well, but the indicators are telling us it is going to take something extra-ordinary to be meaningfully better in the next couple years. I think we have some strong young guys, but a couple of strong "older guys" has not proven to be enough. Interesting for sure. Let's hope they finish strong and the demonstrable signs of improvement are clear for all.