Heat-O-Meter: Settling Down

Of course, Coach Shulman had to know that the last seven games were going to be very tough. The team responded by going 2-5, and the Mocs went 3-5 in February.

So where does that leave Coach Shulman? On a slightly hotter seat than before.

However, with the Mocs winding up 12-6 in SoCon play and tied for first in the SoCon North, there is really no way that Coach Shulman is going to be fired. He's going to be sticking around here, unless he leaves on his own. Shulman, even with a first round loss, will be here next year.

But Shulman can still be in a lot of trouble with the Mocs with a first round loss. Next year should be a special year for the Mocs and if things are not better next year than this year, then Shulman could start to feel a lot of heat, especially if there is not an NCAA bid at the end of the tunnel this year.

In other words, Shulman is completely safe for now. The talk should end about whether or not he should be gone this year, because it is a totally fruitless discussion at this point. The discussion can continue about where he will be next year, and a lot of that depends on what happens this weekend, and, of course, next year.

Seriously, the Mocs should be great next year. It really should be a magical year. The Mocs need to win big next year for Shulman. This has a chance to be the Mocs bestr year since 1996-97. And Shulman needs to capitalize on it.

HEAT-O-METER: 4.5. Shulman's seat heated up a little bit this month from a 3.5. The reason is that the Mocs went 3-5 during February, and they did not win the SoCon North title outright after having a huge lead. So Shulman's seat got just a little bit hotter than it was previously. It also did not help that the Mocs got killed by Wofford. But he's still reasonably cold. Of course, as I have said repeatedly, his hot seat is always a little cooler in my book. So he's cooler in my book than this. However, I will say I was as frustrated with Shulman as I have been all year after the Wofford game. The lone exception may have been just before the Appalachian State game. But I see no reason to get rid of him after this year. Absolutely none.

GO MOCS!