3star_recruit
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Everything posted by 3star_recruit
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SLU Men's Basketball Head Coaching Candidates
3star_recruit replied to Pistol's topic in Billikens.com Main Board
But this isn't how we operated when we were kids. We didn't know enough about how the world worked to care about the fine details. (Well ABomb did but maybe he was precocious). I'm not saying it's all bad, but it's certainly more stressful being an adult sports fan. And often more mean-spirited. -
SLU Men's Basketball Head Coaching Candidates
3star_recruit replied to Pistol's topic in Billikens.com Main Board
That's basically how we all operated when we were 10 years old and fandom was a lot more fun and carefree back then. I certainly didn't worry about how Rich Grawer produced whatever results he produced. I'm not even sure I knew who the coach was back then. I certainly wasn't making mental progress reports of the athletic director, who I didn't even know existed. Being an adult has turned most of us into concern trolls. We stress out endlessly over things we have no control over. We demonize men that we barely know. It's unfortunate. But it happens on every sports message board. That's the price of testosterone. -
SLU Men's Basketball Head Coaching Candidates
3star_recruit replied to Pistol's topic in Billikens.com Main Board
Ahearn was a high school coach for two years, starting in 2015. He was 7-17 Clayton and 12-16 at Desmet. Then the San Antonio Spurs G league team offered him the head coaching job. And he did well in that position. I agree, coaching a team composed of NCAA all-stars and NBA veterans doesn't require the same skill set as coaching at lower levels. -
SLU Men's Basketball Head Coaching Candidates
3star_recruit replied to Pistol's topic in Billikens.com Main Board
I suggested a framework for evaluating any prospective hire that levels the playing field. You can ask these questions about a D2 coach or a D1 coach with 15 years experience and still get actionable information. What kind of offense does he run? What kind of defense does he run? What level of player does he need to run those schemes? Will his teams be able to defend well enough to win in the A10? The problem with a coach like Ahearn is I don't think we have an answer to any of these questions. NBA guys dropping down to college basketball have a horrible track record. I think part of the issues is players at the NBA level are either very talented, very experienced or both. They don't require the degree of structure that college players do. -
SLU Men's Basketball Head Coaching Candidates
3star_recruit replied to Pistol's topic in Billikens.com Main Board
In assessing whather a coach would be a good fit for SLU I think you need to answer four questions: What kind of offense does he run? What kind of defense does he run? What level of player does he need to run those schemes? Will his teams be able to defend well enough to win in the A10? Other than when talking about Schertz and McCollum, I've seen very little discussion about the first two questions and nothing at all about the last two. -
Medley just came in at a bad time. If we were coming off an NCAA bid, his gradual progression into serviceable starting point guard would have been more appreciated. He's the second best passing freshman point guard in our program's history. Add some offense and he's another top flight Billiken point guard by his junior year.
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I don't think 10 year old boys today hate the players or the coach of their favorite team. They root for their team. If the team isn't winning enough, they go play video games or something. They don't hyperfocus on all the flaws of an organization the way we do. This is an adult problem. It's why the worst behaving people at youth sporting events are adults, not children.
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It's why we have such fond memories of childhood fandom. We rooted for the players on the team. This preoccupation with pocket watching, return on investment, the political leanings of the coach, etc. comes with the hangups of adulthood. It makes fandom a more miserable experience than it has to be.
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I'd be interested in seeing when other programs actually hire their coaches this season. Firing a guy and then taking two months to fill the position isn't a good look either.
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2024 SLU Men's Basketball Head Coaching Search
3star_recruit replied to thetorch's topic in Billikens.com Main Board
I hear what you're saying. But based on your criteria, then the likes of Matt Painter and T. J. Otzelberger would not have been hired by P5 programs. Because they didn't beat anybody at the mid-major level either. What they did do is have dominant seasons in their conference. The next school's job is to evaluate whether a coach's approach translates to a different level of competition. A coach's inability to beat good P5 teams with 2 star rosters doesn't prove anything. -
If a coach's system can succeed without standout athletes, that's a good thing. Expands the pool of players from which he can recruit.
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It's standard operating procedure for social media to announce a a firing days before the actual firing. That's literally how Trilly Donovan got his reputation.
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Agreed. Unless the player proves he is starter quality by year's end, you're always looking to upgrade the point guard position.
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Worst scoring freshman point guard, ok. Worst overall freshman point guard, nah. He's a good passer. Not Yuri-level of course, but better than most of our freshman point guards.
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Boosters are gonna booster. If certain men want a certain coach then the AD role in that process is glorified secretary. We have about 30 years of evidence.
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2024 SLU Men's Basketball Head Coaching Search
3star_recruit replied to thetorch's topic in Billikens.com Main Board
If <insert coach here> had led the Billikens to back-to-back seasons of 12-20 and 13-20, regardless of conference finishes, MBMs would not be engaging in semantic arguments about what bottoming out is. We would be claiming, rightly, that the program had cratered. As Spider Nation nation did back then. -
2024 SLU Men's Basketball Head Coaching Search
3star_recruit replied to thetorch's topic in Billikens.com Main Board
Mooney's program absolutely bottomed out in 2018 with a 12-20 season followed by a 13-20 season. That's where the Fire Mooney billboards came from. But there was a path to redemption because he at least had a system. -
2024 SLU Men's Basketball Head Coaching Search
3star_recruit replied to thetorch's topic in Billikens.com Main Board
Same thing that system coaches have been doing since the beginning of time. Subscribe to a system, build a roster of players that is compatible with that system and teach that system. Mooney had some bad years over the last decade but the AD stood behind him and the pendulum has finally swung his way. Other than bully ball -- which Coach Ford abandoned the last two years -- he doesn't have a coaching north star. There is no system. He's recruiting the best local/regional players he can get, filling in the roster with some transfer role players and apparently, hoping everything works out. -
2024 SLU Men's Basketball Head Coaching Search
3star_recruit replied to thetorch's topic in Billikens.com Main Board
A down year doing the Spoonball era still drew bigger crowds than the best years in the Majerus era. It was just a different time. Using the Spoonball attendance numbers as a measuring stick is not fair to the next coach. -
2024 SLU Men's Basketball Head Coaching Search
3star_recruit replied to thetorch's topic in Billikens.com Main Board
I love the mid to late 90s era of Billiken basketball. I wish we could go back there. But I don't think it's useful to rehash what happened 30 years ago in a very different social environment. We had strong crowds even in a down year during that period. That would not happen today. Bandwagon culture is a lot more ruthless now. There were a lot more families attending sporting events back then as well. -
2024 SLU Men's Basketball Head Coaching Search
3star_recruit replied to thetorch's topic in Billikens.com Main Board
Good point. Even if you land the coach, that doesn't mean you get the player. Avila's stock is through the roof right now. -
2024 SLU Men's Basketball Head Coaching Search
3star_recruit replied to thetorch's topic in Billikens.com Main Board
Jay Wright left just in time. The coaching landscape is a mess. -
I have no doubt that Coach Ford can grab a couple of pieces to restore the defense to a level to which we've grown accustomed. But that just gets us back to 18-20 win territory. I don't see a path to an NIT bid next year, never mind an NCAA bid.
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Every program needs fans who will write checks and go to the conference tournament, rain or shine. The rank and file boosters are not the problem. The problem is the Board of trustees hasn't changed the way they've done business in 30 years. More basketball savvy and nimble boards have blown right past them.
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Because quick turnarounds are hard. We laser focus on the 10% of programs that manage it and mock the 90% of programs who don't.