Ever since I was a little kid, I've been watching Bears basketball. I'm referring of course to the Missouri State Bears (formerly Southwest Missouri State Bears). For those of you who may not know, Missouri State is a campus of 20,000 students in Missouri's third largest city (Springfield).In the late 1980's and early 1990's, the Bears were NCAA tournament regulars under coach Charlie Spoonhour. My parents had a little television sitting on a pretty tall chest of drawers in their bedroom, and I would literally stand the whole game, looking up at the television, glued to the set as the "Bear Hair" cheered the Bears to win after win in "Spoon's Temple of Doom" (Hammons Student Center).
After Spoon left, the Bears went through some so-so years until former Indiana great Steve Alford took over the program in 1995. Alford brought a renewed energy to the program, and in 1999 the Bears advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament, before losing to Duke. (Almost as sweet that year was a victory over the Missouri Tigers in Columbia, the highlight of which was a William Fontleroy dunk that Bears fans will always remember. The Tigers have not played us since.)
After the '99 season, the University of Iowa scooped up Alford, and Missouri State hired the coach of Oral Roberts University, Barry Hinson, to lead the Bears. Hinson's tenure at Missouri State has been marked by consistently good teams, but not great teams. The nine years since the Sweet 16 run, the Bears have yet to return to the NCAA tournament. Although, three times they have been left out of the tournament with RPI ratings below 40, including the biggest snub ever in 2006, when they were left out of the tournament with an RPI of 21.
This year the Bears are under .500, and in eighth place in the Missouri Valley Conference. Not only has the record suffered, but players have been in trouble with the law. It has not been a pretty year. Combine these things with Hinson's seeming inability to win the big games, and declining attendance, and the writing appears to be on the wall that this will be Hinson's last year at Missouri State.
My comment is this... If it's going to happen, let it happen now. If the decision has essentially been made (by one or both parties) that Coach B will not be back, it might as well come out in the open. The Bears fan base has become increasingly frustrated with Hinson, but I think it's purely about wins and losses. I don't think it's personal. In fact, I think if Hinson announced his resignation now, effective at the end of the season, he might be surprised by how warm of a farewell he would receive from the fans, particularly the last game of the year (and last game ever for Hammons Student Center) against nationally ranked Drake. If the Bears could make a run through the Valley tourney, and make it to the NCAA's, Hinson could even leave town a hero. That would be good for everyone. Go Bears, and best of luck Coach B.