Steve Lutz is in his 2nd year. Full transparency, I go to EVERY home game, have for 4 decades, and will continue to do so no matter who the coach is.
So, I honestly don’t care who that coach is; all I care about is the health of the program.
In fact, I just talked to Joe Atkinson the other day in Coyle, and we immediately started talking about if he hadn’t gotten hurt, that team with Matt Clark, Lorenza, Leroy, and the like, was a Final 4 caliber team.
Instead, they lost to Princeton in the 1st round!
We discussed how Paul Hansen was a great man and a good coach, and how he would get CRUCIFIED by the keyboard warriors of the internet in today’s climate. And, almost 100%, unrightfully so!
Leonard Hamilton recruited well and energized the fan base. Then, with Eddie, well, the program went into space.
Since Eddie, nothing has worked. Not ANYTHING! And, full transparency again, no one has probably been harder on Coach Lutz this year than me, or OState Daily. But that doesn’t come from a place of “let’s fire” him. In fact, it’s the opposite. It comes from the same place of accountability that he holds his players to.
I expect more because I know both he and this program are both capable of it.
Tuesday was, IMO, 100% on him. It was the worst game he’s coached at OSU, and I’m still pissed about it. But, he’s a DAMN good coach. And, believe it or not, he knows how to coach both offense and defense.
And, he went for the quick fix through the transfer portal to create a bridge of NCAA tournament appearances long enough until he could build through the High School Ranks. Like he’s doing with next year’s class, and beyond!
Last year, we had a VERY well-coached team, but not enough offense, or overall talent for that matter. This year, he corrected that and got a lot of offense, but likely overcorrected, and now this team doesn’t play enough defense.
It’s like starting to drive off the road, realizing it, overcorrecting, and ending up in the ditch on the other side of the road.
It hasn’t worked! Not yet! Still Could this year!
Even if it doesn’t…It will suck, but it stays there. That’s it! Any talk of “hot seat” next year, or any hint of firing, is just crazy talk. Coach Lutz has finally reached the stage where he will start building and stop patching. Then, and only then, will OSU fans get to see the type of coach he actually is. When he builds a roster of players that he was able to build and not buy.
And, folks who are quick to want someone gone rarely think of the alternative. So, you want someone else…who? Be honest with yourselves, as much as I like Coach Lutz, he was down staff, because this job is NOT a good one right now.
On the contrary, instead of threatening to pull the rug at every tough turn, dig in more, show up more, support more, and give him and this program an even better chance. As we did with football, then see what happens from there.
OSU football is a passion right now. We continued to fill up Boone Pickens even through 2 of the sorriest years we thought we’d never see again. In turn, however, we got a terrific young coach, who experienced the awesomeness of Boone Pickens.
In basketball, GIA is empty, fans are judgmental, and they are in a “wait and see” mode before they dive in. No matter how “rightfully so” that may be, that being the case, it limits the program. So, being aggressive in the “fire the coach” is a MUCH larger losing proposition than football was ever going to be. Because, again, it’s not a good job, whereas OSU football absolutely is.
So, complain away! Bitch and moan all you want about whatever set didn’t work, or whatever game we just lost, but do so while still going to the games, and don’t do so with the intentions of “fire the coach”. Leave that on the porch, and don’t let it come in.
