My only gripe with Yuri was his propensity to try too hard to be “the guy” at the end of games. I would always say “here comes Yuriball” in the last two minutes of every game. But do you really blame him? He was probably the most clutch player on the team his first three years. 2021 at George Mason anyone??
But Yuriball is NOT the reason the team underachieved. The offense was good. We had a bad year because of defense and lack of depth. Letting every team have their season-best shooting night when they played us makes it hard to win. And when you have to put Gibson Jimerson on Tyler Burton because no one else in the starting lineup can guard a parked car? (I’m looking at you, Javonte). You have to out-score everybody. And when you have the same 5 guys play the entire 2nd half with minimal subs, you’re gonna choke leads at the end of games because you’re tired.
I had a lot of criticism for Yuri last year. And I still do. But he was not the main problem.