I guess to analogize it to football... it would be like a coach coming in with Stoops' players and going to the SEC Championship game in year one. That would be massive and historic and we'd all have this extremely high hope for the future. Year 2 he then slips back to like 7-5 despite returning a whole lot of the best players from the year prior. You don't worry too much, injuries derailed things, but a lot of those players graduate or go pro, so in year 4 they go like 3-9. Year 4 is canceled part of the way through, but it really looked like we were staring another 3-9 type season in the face, maybe even 2-10. Year 5 is an improvement and we go 5-7. Still not great, but better than 3-9. Then year 6 we bring in a ton of transfers with a year of eligibility and we go 6-6, mostly beating teams we shouldn't to get to a bowl game. Then, looking at the roster you realize that this is an older team and will lose most of the starters.
So, if you take this analogy... would you think the program is going in the right direction going into year 7? Are years 1 and an average or so year 6 enough to warrant a year 7 and beyond? Especially given that you know that year 7 is likely to be a tough one given the turnover. Now mix in that your two biggest rivals (Tennessee and Louisville) are starting to regularly make it to the College Football Playoffs and Tennessee spent the entire year that you were 6-6 at number 1 in the nation, with a coach that has been there a year less than your own. Is barely making a bowl game really enough to make you want to keep that coach longer?
To me... the first one seems like an outlier and the 6th year, while pretty decent, isn't enough to show me that the ship is righted. I don't want a team that is happy with a bowl game. A bowl game should be the standard, not the exception. Bowl games should be expected and it should be considered a failure when you don't make them.
To me, the NCAA tournament is like a bowl game. I want to get to the point that we expect to be there every year. I want that to be our mindset and not that we celebrate barely getting in. I don't think Mingione raises that bar.
So, I am kind of in a tough spot with this. On one hand... I hope they go win the whole damn thing and make me look like a real fool. This team is a bunch of good guys and they deserve good things, so go do it. On the other hand, I don't mind if they lose and we move on. Not going to actively root against them, but I'm also not overly upset when there is a loss.
What will upset me, though, is if at the end of June Mingione is still our coach.