Nice 0-9 start for the Phoenix, without Darner as the HC. I believe that it was a financial decision, but wow, what a dumb firing...
I believe that the HL is slowly sinking in the rankings of Men's b-ball. Recent additions to the League and quality of play appears to be slipping. Example: PFW(formerly IPFW) is very lucky to ever draw 1,000 in attendance, usually attracting 800 to 900 per home game, whether it be on campus or in the spacious Allen Count Memorial Coliseum. Obviously this season is not the norm but those figures are approximate for recent normal years. Their Women's program is a complete disaster, this year starting at 0-7 and getting beat by 25-35 points per game. Last year they only won a couple of games. The addition of Robert Morris doesn't appear to be a good pick-up either.
The League's quality of play appears to have hit a downward trend also, example Oakland and Green Bay horrendous starts. We sure got out at the right time as the HL sure appears to be on a downward trend.
These schools probably also had a lot of program stars sit out the season. Not the fault of coaches to do this, so I'm calling this season a virtual wash for a lot of the small programs because of protocols canceling games, and players sitting out for family/personal reasons.