The key to the program's ascent: Skill development

[Quality Is Job 1]

Let me preface my comments — which I hope no one interprets as "expert," because I'm nothing more than another message board moron — by saying that I like Travis Ford as SLU's coach.  While I hadn't been initially impressed with the selection of Ford three years ago after he'd been dismissed by Oklahoma State, I recognized that he was a "name" coach and was willing to keep an open mind.  He won me over with his press conference!

As an aside, though, I have to confess that I'd thought Jim Crews should have gotten the interim tag removed after the 2013 season and held out hope far too long afterward that he would vindicate the faith people had placed in him.  That was misplaced faith.  Also, as a homer, I have a tendency to hope for the best with any coach — including Rich Grawer and Brad Soderberg — for longer than may be reasonable.  I say that to show that I may not be the best judge of character regarding a leader's fitness for the job.  That conceded, I feel Travis is showing practically every sign that he was at least a suitable choice for the job in 2016.

But there's room for improvement.  Oklahoma State fans said that some of the knocks on him during his tenure in Stillwater were that he kept a short rotation and that he tended to lack adequate height/frontcourt depth.  Those have been a bit of a problem for him so far at SLU, as well, though mostly because of circumstances out of his control.  With the three available scholarships for 2019, I'd like him to get all frontcourt players, 6-7 or taller.  (And I'd prefer that two of them are grad transfers if at all possible, so that he can have two open scholarships for the 2020 early signing period.  [Yeah, I know someone might leave during next season, but such schollies wouldn't be available until the spring signing period, when first- and second-option recruits are generally off the board.])

The most crucial aspect, though, is for Coach Ford and his staff to develop the skills of his returning core players to fit both the vision he has for the 2019-20 and 2020-21 teams' play and the individual players' futures for hoops after SLU.  During his introductory press conference, Travis said that one of the foundations of his program was individual skill/player development.  If the 2019-20 team is going to meet reasonable expectations, then we're going to have to see evidence of growth in the individual games of (especially) Hasahn French, Jordan Goodwin, and Fred Thatch.  Yes, surrounding them with complementary players is important, but it's more important for those three players to elevate their games, particularly within the aspects of the game where they're weakest.

Ford was a point guard who specialized in shooting.  He's got to coach these guys up in shooting!  French pretty much replicated his play as a freshman this past season.  He's got to get better for next year.  Get his free-throw percentage at least to 50 percent for 2020 and to 60-65 percent for 2021.  And he can improve in other areas, as well.  Goodwin regressed (overall) this past season, compared to his freshman season.  He had spurts of brilliance both seasons, but consistency eludes him.  His shooting, from every level, must get better by 5-10 percentage points (at minimum).  His ballhandling and decision-making must improve, if he's going to continue to be a point guard (or point forward, if I had my druthers — more of like a hybrid of a short Pippen or LeBron [speaking only of style of play!] and a Donnie Dobbs); otherwise, take him off the ball and "feature" him less, so that he can play more to his strengths.  I won't attempt to make a prescription for Thatch, but he's going to have to improve on the offensive side of the court as well; he logged far too much court time to score so few points.  It's time out for playing 4 on 5 (or 3 on 5) on offense!  Everyone needs to be a threat to score.

Sure, he needs to recruit players who are good at shooting, but if he's going to claim he specializes in player development, we really ought to see that manifested, and this year it will be critical.  Javon Bess and Tramaine Isabell Jr. leave some big shoes to fill.  Ford may have to (at very least) tweak the system he uses to suit the strengths of his returning core unless he does contribute to their improving their shooting skills.  He's done an excellent job tailoring defensive schemes to take advantage of their strengths, but now we need to see similar progress on offense.  I hope not to be saying anything like, "This team's offense is a liability to its defense," anymore.

In conclusion, I want to encourage Coach Ford and staff and the players by saying that I believe that they can do it.  I expect and look forward to it.  The Billikens will (most likely) be picked to finish between sixth and ninth in the A-10 in 2019-20, but if they make the progress I've outline here, they can far exceed those expectations.  Have fun, guys!

[VeniceMenace]

Way too early to say where they’ll be picked when they have three scholarships to fill.

Also, a team anchored by JGood and French as juniors isn’t going to finish in the bottom half of the A10.

[jimbofive]

TL; DR