I have a two fold take on this team. First off I think that recruiting wise there has been a lot to be desired so far in Mike's tenure. I seriously doubted this team could even compete this season with the lack of talent. When we lost Portis and Qualls I felt like the problem was they hadn't prepared well enough for the possibility of losing them both.
However, I will say as far as the coaching side of things, I think Mike has done by far and away his best job of his career. Now I realize we are 11-10, but when you take into consideration that we have lost 6 games by 3 points or less its been really good. The reason we lost a lot of those games was simply because we don't have a go to closer that can create for himself or others in a pressure situation. I think Hannahs is slowly becoming more of a pressure player as they have found ways to run him off screens and backdoor's on people overplaying him.
As far as player development I cannot complain there either. Moses Kingsley, Anthlon Bell, and Dusty Hannahs have all become very good players. I can't speak for Hannahs, but Bell and Kingsley were average at best until this year. Mike has found ways with a solid motion offense and tons of screens and rubs to help lead this team to one of the most potent three point shooting teams in the nation. When you couple that with Kingsley has turned into such an impact player in the paint, this team has become very hard to guard. Also while I am on the topic of player development, I have to say Jabril Durham has actually improved so much as far as a floor general, and decision maker. Also, having your starting back court of three guards all shooting over 80% from the line makes this team a real threat down the stretch (with a much easier schedule) to run off some wins.
Finally, without a doubt Mike has done a tremendous job of developing and coaching, but he has to do a better job in recruiting. I will say in college basketball, I do know for a fact that a lot of the recruiting is done by the assistants, so there's that factor. You also have to consider that college basketball (because of the negative effect the NBA and the one and one has had on it) is a dirty sport. Most (not all) D1 college basketball coaches are very sleezy in their handling of kids. I feel like the ones that are doing it right are the teams that usually have the older players on them. So overall, you have to say Mike is probably doing about as good as can be expected with the lack of talent that we have. If this group of players coming in next year are as good as they are being touted it should be a very enjoyable team to watch.
However, I will say as far as the coaching side of things, I think Mike has done by far and away his best job of his career. Now I realize we are 11-10, but when you take into consideration that we have lost 6 games by 3 points or less its been really good. The reason we lost a lot of those games was simply because we don't have a go to closer that can create for himself or others in a pressure situation. I think Hannahs is slowly becoming more of a pressure player as they have found ways to run him off screens and backdoor's on people overplaying him.
As far as player development I cannot complain there either. Moses Kingsley, Anthlon Bell, and Dusty Hannahs have all become very good players. I can't speak for Hannahs, but Bell and Kingsley were average at best until this year. Mike has found ways with a solid motion offense and tons of screens and rubs to help lead this team to one of the most potent three point shooting teams in the nation. When you couple that with Kingsley has turned into such an impact player in the paint, this team has become very hard to guard. Also while I am on the topic of player development, I have to say Jabril Durham has actually improved so much as far as a floor general, and decision maker. Also, having your starting back court of three guards all shooting over 80% from the line makes this team a real threat down the stretch (with a much easier schedule) to run off some wins.
Finally, without a doubt Mike has done a tremendous job of developing and coaching, but he has to do a better job in recruiting. I will say in college basketball, I do know for a fact that a lot of the recruiting is done by the assistants, so there's that factor. You also have to consider that college basketball (because of the negative effect the NBA and the one and one has had on it) is a dirty sport. Most (not all) D1 college basketball coaches are very sleezy in their handling of kids. I feel like the ones that are doing it right are the teams that usually have the older players on them. So overall, you have to say Mike is probably doing about as good as can be expected with the lack of talent that we have. If this group of players coming in next year are as good as they are being touted it should be a very enjoyable team to watch.
