Boilin Over: Jim Boylen should resign or let go

Marshall Henderson announced yesterday that he will be the 5th player to leave the University of Utah basketball team. A basketball team that came off a 14-17 season and ended the season on skid marks worse than you'd find in a 4 year olds underpants. Carlon Brown, Jordan Cyphers (who?), Matt Read (who?), Chris Hines, and now Marshall Henderson have left the program. This has to raise the questions with the boosters of the program "what the hell is going on up on the hill?" To me the answer is quite simple, Jim Boylen has lost support from players and the fans.

Since Boylen has gotten to Utah, he hasn't brought in one recruit that is worthy to say "Hell I like this guy, let's ride him." Let's take a look at the team Boylen won the MWC Championship with last year.

Luke Nevill (Rick Majerus' last recruit)
Shaun Green (Ray Giacoletti recruit) - Note that Ray Giacoletti is a sack of feces
Tyler Kepkay (Ray Giacoletti recruit)
Carlon Brown (Ray Giacoletti recruit)
Lawerence Bohra (Rac Giacoletti recruit)
Not one of these players have been Jim Boylen's recruits and he's been here going on 4 years. Now, let's look at the players Boylen has recruited.

Marshall Henderson (Gone)
Jordan Cyphers (Gone)
Jay Watkins (Wish he was gone)
Chris Hines (Gone)
Matt Read (Gone)

So his recruiting class from last year has basically gone awol. Does anybody find this odd? I understand that the team went 14-17 last season with little experience and talent, but 5 guys? Even Rick Majerus never had 5 recruits leave a program in one year. The fact that 5 players less than two weeks after the season is over tells Boylen adios is just absurd.

Here's the problems I see with Boylen. Boylen has been here for 3 years and still hasn't managed to bring a recruit in that's worth a damn. All of the players he has brought in have been softies and pansies. With respect to that, Carlon Brown waasn't his recruit and the kid was as worthless as a screen door on a submarine. Adjustments. Boylen has been outcoached in almost every game this year. I had the opporutnity to watch Utah play at Weber State this year and Randy Rahe absolutely outcoached Boylen. Every adjustment Boylen made, Rahe was ready for him. The offense than turned into the Luca Drca show. If any of you had the opporutnity to watch Drca play, you than became an alcoholic. It was that bad. For someone that coached in the NBA and was an assistant under Tom Izzo, you think the man could make in game adjustments, and it's been disappointing. Watching Boylen's team is equal to watch a monkey do a math problem, confusing.
Excuses. I have never heard Jim Boylen take fault for his ineffective coaching. Here's the excuses we hear. "My team is getting better." "We're getting better." "I like my squad." "Ball didn't go in the hoop." "We're not tough enough." "We battled." Ok Boylen we get the picture, how about the excuse "I got my ass handed to me coaching wise," or "I was just outcoached, I didn't have my guys ready." All of the above excuses come back to coaching. Rick Majerus was the best at having his team prepared in all phazes of the game. Coming up with defensive schemes to stilfe opponents. The same Rick Majerus that said "Give me Brad Barton, Ted Hollist, Judd Lyon, and two girls and I'll win the state championship." The man knew how to coach, but his health ran him out of town.

If I'm a recruit and I'm being recruited by Utah, BYU, or any division 1 team in the country and Boylen sits in my living room recruiting me, won't I have questions. "Hey coach, I saw that 5 players left after this season, what's up with that." His answer would be "Well they didn't fit my system, or they didn't like my rules so I asked them to pursue another program." My answer to Boylen is thanks but don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out. How do you expect to recruit kids when 5 players just left your program and you haven't been able to give them a straight answer. This morning on 1280, John Lund asked Boylen straight up "what's the deal with all the players leaving?" His answer was "Didn't you read the press release." Ya Boylen I read the damn press release, your job as a coach is to tell me what the hell is going on with the program I'm paying money to come watch. You want me to come sit at the Huntsman Center to watch a terrible basketball team but when your intergiry or buttoms are pushed you back off like a pansy? No thanks my friend.

Thank you for the conference champhionship last year (with Giacoletti's, and Majerus' recruit) but it's time to take a hike Jim. You have clearly lost your coaching touch (what little you had.) You can't make in game adjustments, your outcoached in every aspect of the game, and you run off your recruits after one year. Thanks but no thanks, pack up the house and head back to East Lansing.