I know they are both tall dudes with great physical talents who make millions in sports LOL.
But I have been listening to NBA radio today on a 5-hour road trip and the attitude Phiily fans have about Simmons is eerily similar to that which most Ole Miss fans have about Mike.
Mike is a good regular season coach, but to most fans, the season only serves to fix the seedlings for the NCAA tournament. Similarly, Ben is a 3-time All-Star and has performed well in the regular season. But both are historically bad when it matters in the play-offs vastly underperforming expectations.
If you have watched the Sixers in the play-offs, you know what I am talking about, Simmons seemingly cannot play under pressure and shrinks from the challenge, so much so that most commentators are questioning today how Philly can bring him back, even though they owe him Millions.
Similarly, with a trip to Omaha on the line, Mike’s teams are 1-8. They have crashed every time they have been a National seed, they have lost three home regionals and they are 0 for 7 in road regionals. They are also the only program in the country to have hosted at least three Supers and never won one. If they had simply played up to their seedings, Mike’s teams would have made Omaha four more times. In all, they are over 20 games under where they should be if they had just beat the teams the NCAA seeded them to beat.
The disillusion with Simmons in Philly really reminds me of the Ole Miss fans with Mike. Yes, Simmons is an All-Star, but he just can‘t do it when it matters. Similarly, Mike is a decent coach, but the vast majority of Rebel Nation no longer believes Mike can reach the levels we all expect at Ole Miss based on our investment in the sport.
I think even Bianco’s staunchest supporters hoped that LSU would take him. When they didn’t after his public interview, I thought we would then fire him as the disillusionment has gone too far. In not doing so, we look like a second-tier program who is not committed to winning.
I am not a Sixers fan, but they face a similar dilemma. Do they trade a former #1 pick for a bag of chips because the culture is too poisoned and the fanbase wants to see a commitment to winning? We obviously did not, it will be interesting to see what Philly does. My guess is that they are not Ole Miss and Simmons will not be a Sixer next year, I just don’t think pro teams can ignore the fans like Ole Miss does.
But I have been listening to NBA radio today on a 5-hour road trip and the attitude Phiily fans have about Simmons is eerily similar to that which most Ole Miss fans have about Mike.
Mike is a good regular season coach, but to most fans, the season only serves to fix the seedlings for the NCAA tournament. Similarly, Ben is a 3-time All-Star and has performed well in the regular season. But both are historically bad when it matters in the play-offs vastly underperforming expectations.
If you have watched the Sixers in the play-offs, you know what I am talking about, Simmons seemingly cannot play under pressure and shrinks from the challenge, so much so that most commentators are questioning today how Philly can bring him back, even though they owe him Millions.
Similarly, with a trip to Omaha on the line, Mike’s teams are 1-8. They have crashed every time they have been a National seed, they have lost three home regionals and they are 0 for 7 in road regionals. They are also the only program in the country to have hosted at least three Supers and never won one. If they had simply played up to their seedings, Mike’s teams would have made Omaha four more times. In all, they are over 20 games under where they should be if they had just beat the teams the NCAA seeded them to beat.
The disillusion with Simmons in Philly really reminds me of the Ole Miss fans with Mike. Yes, Simmons is an All-Star, but he just can‘t do it when it matters. Similarly, Mike is a decent coach, but the vast majority of Rebel Nation no longer believes Mike can reach the levels we all expect at Ole Miss based on our investment in the sport.
I think even Bianco’s staunchest supporters hoped that LSU would take him. When they didn’t after his public interview, I thought we would then fire him as the disillusionment has gone too far. In not doing so, we look like a second-tier program who is not committed to winning.
I am not a Sixers fan, but they face a similar dilemma. Do they trade a former #1 pick for a bag of chips because the culture is too poisoned and the fanbase wants to see a commitment to winning? We obviously did not, it will be interesting to see what Philly does. My guess is that they are not Ole Miss and Simmons will not be a Sixer next year, I just don’t think pro teams can ignore the fans like Ole Miss does.
