Not sure where im going but theres a point somewhere in there | The Boneyard

Not sure where im going but theres a point somewhere in there

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I keep reading posts calling for KO to be fired because hes "not a very good" coach who has not developed players over the last 4 years. I personally disagree completely with this as i believe in KO as much as i did the first day he was announced and when you know, WON A NATIONAL TITLE. Of course the naysayers will cry "he won with Calhouns guys". This sentiment is supposed to be some knock and proof of KOs lack of ability when in fact it proves the point that im going to make. My point is this, TALENT! Or the lack there of on this roster.

Now dont get me wrong we`ve got some good players and even a couple with some first round NBA potential but thats about it. People talk about guys like AB,Purv and Facey failing to develop but i ask, if these guys were under Calhoun would they be much better? Of course your first instict is to say yes but need i bring up the names of talented guys under JC who also failed to develop? The reason it never became an issue was because we were stacked with enough talent that if someone wasnt cutting it another guy stepped in and we`d be off and running. Remember the days when we had so much talent that we often wondered how some really talented guys could get enough minutes? Now we wonder if we have enough bodies to get through a game without resorting to walk ons.

At the start of the season the starting 5 were Larrier,Facey,Brimah,Purv and Adams. Let me ask would any of those guys start on any of our 4 national title teams? How about any of our powerhouse 90`s teams? Of those JA at best is likely a 6th man. I know Olander started in `11 so ill give you AB over him but thats about it. The point im making is that people are underestimating KO and over estimating the talent level thats here especially in regards to cohesiveness. Until we start getting 4 and 5 star guys up and down the roster these are the seasons we`re going to be dealing with. I know the counter argument will be "other coaches are doing more with less". But my counter is this sure we may have more physical talent than a lot of schools and we`re all wowed by it but many of our players skill level are average at best and the overall basketball iq on this team isnt very good.

Until we start getting physically talented,high skill,high iq players here like we became accustomed to having we are going to go through seasons like this. The good news is that it appears this is starting to happen although a bit slow especially when it comes to bigs but it does appear to be happening. This nightmare season will end soon and i fully believe that someday this program will get back to its spot among the elite of college basketball and the nightmare that has been these last two seasons will be a distant memory that will give us an appreciation for how special the good times are when they happen again.
 
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I keep reading posts calling for KO to be fired because hes "not a very good" coach who has not developed players over the last 4 years. I personally disagree completely with this as i believe in KO as much as i did the first day he was announced and when you know, WON A NATIONAL TITLE. Of course the naysayers will cry "he won with Calhouns guys". This sentiment is supposed to be some knock and proof of KOs lack of ability when in fact it proves the point that im going to make. My point is this, TALENT! Or the lack there of on this roster.

Now dont get me wrong we`ve got some good players and even a couple with some first round NBA potential but thats about it. People talk about guys like AB,Purv and Facey failing to develop but i ask, if these guys were under Calhoun would they be much better? Of course your first instict is to say yes but need i bring up the names of talented guys under JC who also failed to develop? The reason it never became an issue was because we were stacked with enough talent that if someone wasnt cutting it another guy stepped in and we`d be off and running. Remember the days when we had so much talent that we often wondered how some really talented guys could get enough minutes? Now we wonder if we have enough bodies to get through a game without resorting to walk ons.

At the start of the season the starting 5 were Larrier,Facey,Brimah,Purv and Adams. Let me ask would any of those guys start on any of our 4 national title teams? How about any of our powerhouse 90`s teams? Of those JA at best is likely a 6th man. I know Olander started in `11 so ill give you AB over him but thats about it. The point im making is that people are underestimating KO and over estimating the talent level thats here especially in regards to cohesiveness. Until we start getting 4 and 5 star guys up and down the roster these are the seasons we`re going to be dealing with. I know the counter argument will be "other coaches are doing more with less". But my counter is this sure we may have more physical talent than a lot of schools and we`re all wowed by it but many of our players skill level are average at best and the overall basketball iq on this team isnt very good.

Until we start getting physically talented,high skill,high iq players here like we became accustomed to having we are going to go through seasons like this. The good news is that it appears this is starting to happen although a bit slow especially when it comes to bigs but it does appear to be happening. This nightmare season will end soon and i fully believe that someday this program will get back to its spot among the elite of college basketball and the nightmare that has been these last two seasons will be a distant memory that will give us an appreciation for how special the good times are when they happen again.
We had 4 and 5 guys up and down the roster to start the season and we lost to Wagner and Northeastern at home and beat LMU by a bucket on the road. Recruiting has not been the problem, in terms of rankings Ollie is recruiting at Calhoun's level. I also think some of our players could be starting for some of those power house teams. The team in 2003 who beat Carmelo both times and lost to Texas in texas in the sweet 16 had Mike Hayes or Shamon Tooles starting many games. Eric Heyward was starting on some of those powerhouse 90's teams. Olander started the national title game as a freshman. I think Jalen could have started over Ollie.
 
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I keep reading posts calling for KO to be fired because hes "not a very good" coach who has not developed players over the last 4 years. I personally disagree completely with this as i believe in KO as much as i did the first day he was announced and when you know, WON A NATIONAL TITLE. Of course the naysayers will cry "he won with Calhouns guys". This sentiment is supposed to be some knock and proof of KOs lack of ability when in fact it proves the point that im going to make. My point is this, TALENT! Or the lack there of on this roster.

Now dont get me wrong we`ve got some good players and even a couple with some first round NBA potential but thats about it. People talk about guys like AB,Purv and Facey failing to develop but i ask, if these guys were under Calhoun would they be much better? Of course your first instict is to say yes but need i bring up the names of talented guys under JC who also failed to develop? The reason it never became an issue was because we were stacked with enough talent that if someone wasnt cutting it another guy stepped in and we`d be off and running. Remember the days when we had so much talent that we often wondered how some really talented guys could get enough minutes? Now we wonder if we have enough bodies to get through a game without resorting to walk ons.

At the start of the season the starting 5 were Larrier,Facey,Brimah,Purv and Adams. Let me ask would any of those guys start on any of our 4 national title teams? How about any of our powerhouse 90`s teams? Of those JA at best is likely a 6th man. I know Olander started in `11 so ill give you AB over him but thats about it. The point im making is that people are underestimating KO and over estimating the talent level thats here especially in regards to cohesiveness. Until we start getting 4 and 5 star guys up and down the roster these are the seasons we`re going to be dealing with. I know the counter argument will be "other coaches are doing more with less". But my counter is this sure we may have more physical talent than a lot of schools and we`re all wowed by it but many of our players skill level are average at best and the overall basketball iq on this team isnt very good.

Until we start getting physically talented,high skill,high iq players here like we became accustomed to having we are going to go through seasons like this. The good news is that it appears this is starting to happen although a bit slow especially when it comes to bigs but it does appear to be happening. This nightmare season will end soon and i fully believe that someday this program will get back to its spot among the elite of college basketball and the nightmare that has been these last two seasons will be a distant memory that will give us an appreciation for how special the good times are when they happen again.

Ok...no talent on the roster... who's fault is that?
 
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Thats crazy. Do you think this roster has the level of talent we`ve had in the past? I absolutely and respectfully disagree.
Absolutely I do, rankings wise. I don't even see how it's disputable. These are our players overall rankings coming out of high school- #23 at point guard, #35 at point guard, #14 at shooting guard, #33 at small forward, #78 at small forward, #51 at power forward, #85 at power forward, #92 at power forward. That's eight 4 and 5 star recruits.
 
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Absolutely I do, rankings wise. I don't even see how it's disputable. These are our players overall rankings coming out of high school- #23 at point guard, #35 at point guard, #14 at shooting guard, #33 at small forward, #78 at small forward, #51 at power forward, #85 at power forward, #92 at power forward. That's eight 4 and 5 star recruits.

Let's play the game...

99

Khalid 5 star
Ricky 4 star
Rip 5 star
KFree 4 star
Jake 3/4 star

bench: Edmund 4 star, Albie 4 star, Rash 4 star, Antric 4 star, Souley ? probably 3 star

04

Taliek 5 star
Ben 4 star
Rashad 4 star
Boone 4 star
Emeka 4 star

bench: Charlie V 5 star, Denham 4 star, Hilton 3 star, Marcus white 4 star, Marcus Williams 4 star

06
Marcus Williams 4 star
Rashad 4 star
Rudy 5 star
Hilton 3 star
Josh 4 star

bench: Denham 4 star, Jeff Adrien 4 star, Craig Austrie 3 star, Ed Nelson 4 star

09
AJ 4/5 star
Dyson 4 star
Sticks 5 star
Adrien 4 star
Thabeet 3/4 star

bench: Kemba 5 star, Okwandu 3 star, Austrie 3 star, Gavin 2/3 star, Rob Garrison 2/3 star, DBeverly 3 star

11
Kemba 5 star
JLamb 4 star
Roscoe 4 star
Oriahki 4/5 star
Olander 2/3 star

bench: Bazz 4 star, Jamal Coombs-McDaniel 4 star, Giffey prb 3 star, Okwandu 3 star, DBev 3 star

14
Bazz 4 star
Boat 4 star
Giff prb 3 star
DD 5 star
Phil 2/3 star

bench: Olander 2/3 star, Kromah 2/3 star, TSam 3/4 star, Facey 4 star, Omar 4 star, Brimah 2/3 star

17
Jalen 4/5 star
Purv 5 star
Vance 4 star
Facey 4 star
Brimah 2/3 star

bench: Enoch 4 star, Vital 3 star, Durham 4/5 star, Larrier 4/5 star, Gilbert 5 star, Diarra 3/4 star
 
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Let's play the game...

99

Khalid 5 star
Ricky 4 star
Rip 5 star
KFree 4 star
Jake 3/4 star

bench: Edmund 4 star, Albie 4 star, Rash 4 star, Antric 4 star, Souley ? probably 3 star

04

Taliek 5 star
Ben 4 star
Rashad 4 star
Boone 4 star
Emeka 4 star

bench: Charlie V 5 star, Denham 4 star, Hilton 3 star, Marcus white 4 star, Marcus Williams 4 star

06
Marcus Williams 4 star
Rashad 4 star
Rudy 5 star
Hilton 3 star
Josh 4 star

bench: Denham 4 star, Jeff Adrien 4 star, Craig Austrie 3 star, Ed Nelson 4 star

09
AJ 4/5 star
Dyson 4 star
Sticks 5 star
Adrien 4 star
Thabeet 3/4 star

bench: Kemba 5 star, Okwandu 3 star, Austrie 3 star, Gavin 2/3 star, Rob Garrison 2/3 star, DBeverly 3 star

11
Kemba 5 star
JLamb 4 star
Roscoe 4 star
Oriahki 4/5 star
Olander 2/3 star

bench: Bazz 4 star, Jamal Coombs-McDaniel 4 star, Giffey prb 3 star, Okwandu 3 star, DBev 3 star

14
Bazz 4 star
Boat 4 star
Giff prb 3 star
DD 5 star
Phil 2/3 star

bench: Olander 2/3 star, Kromah 2/3 star, TSam 3/4 star, Facey 4 star, Omar 4 star, Brimah 2/3 star

17
Jalen 4/5 star
Purv 5 star
Vance 4 star
Facey 4 star
Brimah 2/3 star

bench: Enoch 4 star, Vital 3 star, Durham 4/5 star, Larrier 4/5 star, Gilbert 5 star, Diarra 3/4 star
Yes, so on paper this group was/is right on pace with previous teams recruiting wise. Ollie gets a pass for injuries this year even though we lost those embarrassing earlier ones, next year no excuses.
 
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Yes, so on paper this group was/is right on pace with previous teams recruiting wise. Ollie gets a pass for injuries this year even though we lost those embarrassing earlier ones, next year no excuses.

Yep, this team has some talent; at least according to the rankings which of course we know is an inexact science. The question then becomes; were these players overrated? Has the coaching been poor? Or has every weakness these guys have somehow created a perfect storm of mediocrity? I'm not ready to dismiss KO, although this has not been his best year. I think clearly some guys coming in were overrated; Purvis most definitely, Enoch to an extent. The mediocre aspect is also legit. I think Enoch, if he played 30 minutes and didn't foul out, would give you 12-8 easy. But he'd also give up 30 and we know that he'd foul out by minute 15. Purvis was a dominant high school player who's physical advantage masked the fact that he struggles to finish, has a below-average handle, and cannot shoot off the dribble. On a team with more weapons, Purvis would be a great scorer off the bench. But his weaknesses are exemplified by us needing him to help create shots for himself and others.
 

ctchamps

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Yep, this team has some talent; at least according to the rankings which of course we know is an inexact science. The question then becomes; were these players overrated? Has the coaching been poor? Or has every weakness these guys have somehow created a perfect storm of mediocrity? I'm not ready to dismiss KO, although this has not been his best year. I think clearly some guys coming in were overrated; Purvis most definitely, Enoch to an extent. The mediocre aspect is also legit. I think Enoch, if he played 30 minutes and didn't foul out, would give you 12-8 easy. But he'd also give up 30 and we know that he'd foul out by minute 15. Purvis was a dominant high school player who's physical advantage masked the fact that he struggles to finish, has a below-average handle, and cannot shoot off the dribble. On a team with more weapons, Purvis would be a great scorer off the bench. But his weaknesses are exemplified by us needing him to help create shots for himself and others.
Add time needing to integrate lots of new parts. Started the season with this necessity, four games in had to restart with new replacement parts and mid season due to JA's concussion needed to restart again.

Also the weak link theory. Team game and the 5 is an achilles heel for this team.
 

Horatio

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Let's play the game...

99

Khalid 5 star
Ricky 4 star
Rip 5 star
KFree 4 star
Jake 3/4 star

bench: Edmund 4 star, Albie 4 star, Rash 4 star, Antric 4 star, Souley ? probably 3 star

04

Taliek 5 star
Ben 4 star
Rashad 4 star
Boone 4 star
Emeka 4 star

bench: Charlie V 5 star, Denham 4 star, Hilton 3 star, Marcus white 4 star, Marcus Williams 4 star

06
Marcus Williams 4 star
Rashad 4 star
Rudy 5 star
Hilton 3 star
Josh 4 star

bench: Denham 4 star, Jeff Adrien 4 star, Craig Austrie 3 star, Ed Nelson 4 star

09
AJ 4/5 star
Dyson 4 star
Sticks 5 star
Adrien 4 star
Thabeet 3/4 star

bench: Kemba 5 star, Okwandu 3 star, Austrie 3 star, Gavin 2/3 star, Rob Garrison 2/3 star, DBeverly 3 star

11
Kemba 5 star
JLamb 4 star
Roscoe 4 star
Oriahki 4/5 star
Olander 2/3 star

bench: Bazz 4 star, Jamal Coombs-McDaniel 4 star, Giffey prb 3 star, Okwandu 3 star, DBev 3 star

14
Bazz 4 star
Boat 4 star
Giff prb 3 star
DD 5 star
Phil 2/3 star

bench: Olander 2/3 star, Kromah 2/3 star, TSam 3/4 star, Facey 4 star, Omar 4 star, Brimah 2/3 star

17
Jalen 4/5 star
Purv 5 star
Vance 4 star
Facey 4 star
Brimah 2/3 star

bench: Enoch 4 star, Vital 3 star, Durham 4/5 star, Larrier 4/5 star, Gilbert 5 star, Diarra 3/4 star

Thanks for the work but I've never seen Brimah rated above a 2 star. Also it's interesting to look at the 3 star guys we've had and see that most of them remained Key role players / bench players with Giffey, Hilton and Austrie playing above 3 stars. Also , as I mentioned before , our current starting center came in as a 2 star project and we never recruited over him so that he can play within his original ranking which is a back up to a 4-5 star kid. That's not his fault. It is what it is and he exceeded his ranking if people would be honest about it.
 
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Add time needing to integrate lots of new parts. Started the season with this necessity, four games in had to restart with new replacement parts and mid season due to JA's concussion needed to restart again.

Also the weak link theory. Team game and the 5 is an achilles heel for this team.
No excuse to ever lose at home to Northeastern and Wagner when you have a roster full of 4 and 5 star recruits. The team was totally unprepared to start the season, something I find troubling.
 
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Add time needing to integrate lots of new parts. Started the season with this necessity, four games in had to restart with new replacement parts and mid season due to JA's concussion needed to restart again.

Also the weak link theory. Team game and the 5 is an achilles heel for this team.
We needed to "integrate parts" to beat Wagner? The 4th best team in Central's league? Are you serious?
 
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Let's play the game...

99

Khalid 5 star
Ricky 4 star
Rip 5 star
KFree 4 star
Jake 3/4 star

bench: Edmund 4 star, Albie 4 star, Rash 4 star, Antric 4 star, Souley ? probably 3 star

04

Taliek 5 star
Ben 4 star
Rashad 4 star
Boone 4 star
Emeka 4 star

bench: Charlie V 5 star, Denham 4 star, Hilton 3 star, Marcus white 4 star, Marcus Williams 4 star

06
Marcus Williams 4 star
Rashad 4 star
Rudy 5 star
Hilton 3 star
Josh 4 star

bench: Denham 4 star, Jeff Adrien 4 star, Craig Austrie 3 star, Ed Nelson 4 star

09
AJ 4/5 star
Dyson 4 star
Sticks 5 star
Adrien 4 star
Thabeet 3/4 star

bench: Kemba 5 star, Okwandu 3 star, Austrie 3 star, Gavin 2/3 star, Rob Garrison 2/3 star, DBeverly 3 star

11
Kemba 5 star
JLamb 4 star
Roscoe 4 star
Oriahki 4/5 star
Olander 2/3 star

bench: Bazz 4 star, Jamal Coombs-McDaniel 4 star, Giffey prb 3 star, Okwandu 3 star, DBev 3 star

14
Bazz 4 star
Boat 4 star
Giff prb 3 star
DD 5 star
Phil 2/3 star

bench: Olander 2/3 star, Kromah 2/3 star, TSam 3/4 star, Facey 4 star, Omar 4 star, Brimah 2/3 star

17
Jalen 4/5 star
Purv 5 star
Vance 4 star
Facey 4 star
Brimah 2/3 star

bench: Enoch 4 star, Vital 3 star, Durham 4/5 star, Larrier 4/5 star, Gilbert 5 star, Diarra 3/4 star

I would argue with your results that we have a
Thanks for the work but I've never seen Brimsh rated above a 2 star. Also it's interesting to look at the 3 star guys we've had and see that most of them remained Key role players / bench players with Giffey, Hilton and Austrie playing above 3 stars. Also , as I mentioned before , our current starting center came in as a 2 star project and we never recruited over him so that he can play within his original ranking which is a back up to a 4-5 star kid. That's not his fault. It is what it is and he exceeded his ranking if people would be honest about it.

We won a title with a 2 star starting center. Olander. I would put Brimah, even in his limited capacity, above Olander in terms of skill / production.
 
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Northeastern beat Michigan St by 8 points on the road on 12/18. It happens. I will agree that Ollie did not have this team ready to start the season and that's inexcusable. But with a full roster I think it's a reasonable to think they would have improved with a highe ceiling. Next year with a full roster I need to see better results from the start.
 

ctchamps

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No excuse to ever lose at home to Northeastern and Wagner when you have a roster full of 4 and 5 star recruits. The team was totally unprepared to start the season, something I find troubling.
It was a generalized statement in response to an evaluation @boog204 was making. I wasn't applying it to specific games.
 
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Thanks for the work but I've never seen Brimah rated above a 2 star. Also it's interesting to look at the 3 star guys we've had and see that most of them remained Key role players / bench players with Giffey, Hilton and Austrie playing above 3 stars. Also , as I mentioned before , our current starting center came in as a 2 star project and we never recruited over him so that he can play within his original ranking which is a back up to a 4-5 star kid. That's not his fault. It is what it is and he exceeded his ranking if people would be honest about it.

247 has/had him as a 3*, #242 in the country... Amida Brimah, Archbishop Carroll, Center (BK)
 

Wordbomar

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Yes, so on paper this group was/is right on pace with previous teams recruiting wise. Ollie gets a pass for injuries this year even though we lost those embarrassing earlier ones, next year no excuses.
Agree here, Ollie had a roster set full of Talent after this previous top 10 recruiting class. Injuries plagued this season, but when healthy next year and with MAL coming in... No excuse. I believe in him and that he will get it done. To those that say the losses at the beginning of the year to Wagner and Northeastern are unacceptable... I agree wholeheartedly. However, this was a team relient on a lot of Freshman and Sophomores. Hiccups at the beginning of any season for a team made up of younger guys is expected. He would have righted the ship if they stayed healthy.
 
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I'm a huge KO fan. I read his quotes and watch his videos like they are gold. The man can flat out motivate young men. I also believe he is a decent, but young coach, who is still learning. I don't think he is deserving to get fired, but the one knock I have against him to this point, he rarely lets his guys come in, and play their game. I know KO has a season plan, and individual game plans, but at some point, you have to just let the kids play basketball. Watching most games the last couple of years, it seems like players are trying to play to fit his system, not the other way around (see Cassell Jr.). Is this because of the coaching turnover? Possibly. If AG and TL stayed healthy this year, would we have seen a team of players who fit his style? Possibly. I know that you need structure, especially with the young players - and hopefully in a year or two under their belts, this team will be a well oiled machine, who doesn't need to be directed how to play, but what's the age old adage? Sometimes you've got to just let the boys go out and play basketball.
 

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Thanks for the work but I've never seen Brimah rated above a 2 star. Also it's interesting to look at the 3 star guys we've had and see that most of them remained Key role players / bench players with Giffey, Hilton and Austrie playing above 3 stars. Also , as I mentioned before , our current starting center came in as a 2 star project and we never recruited over him so that he can play within his original ranking which is a back up to a 4-5 star kid. That's not his fault. It is what it is and he exceeded his ranking if people would be honest about it.


Brimah was a three-star player - some services, (Scout), entered him in their database at the default two-stars and never bothered to update it.

ESPN had him as a three-star recruit and one of the top 20-25 centers available:

Brimah is a long and athletic post that needs to add strength but has high major athletic ability. He defense is ahead of his offense but if he continues to improve at the current pace he is on that gap will begin to rapidly close. Brimah has a great motor and tremendous upside.

He was Ollie's first recruit. A fair criticism is that Ollie both failed to recruit a better center since Brimah's signing and that he failed to develop him into something more than he is.
 

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Brimah was a three-star player - some services, (Scout), entered him in their database at the default two-stars and never bothered to update it.

ESPN had him as a three-star recruit and one of the top 20-25 centers available:

Brimah is a long and athletic post that needs to add strength but has high major athletic ability. He defense is ahead of his offense but if he continues to improve at the current pace he is on that gap will begin to rapidly close. Brimah has a great motor and tremendous upside.

He was Ollie's first recruit. A fair criticism is that Ollie both failed to recruit a better center since Brimah's signing and that he failed to develop him into something more than he is.
Fair . I remember seeing 2 stars and myself and others were wondering why they recruited him . He was a rail. I think the kid worked out pretty good considering the circumstances. But if we're counting stars and rankings Enoch should be our starting five going back to last year but that hasn't worked out.
 
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Results matter and preponderance of evidence is building against Ollie. I don't think that means he will or should be re-evaluated or fired this offseason, but essentially he's got 1 year of rope left in my book. If he doesn't bring in whiz-bang assistants to help with offense, player development and other weaknesses this offseason I will not be sucked into optimism for next year.
I think a good analogy is Doc Rivers coaching career. He succeeded when surrounded by Thibs, competent GM and other support systems. At times (early C's career, now) been in over his head and his PR skills mask his management deficiencies.
 

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I'm a huge KO fan. I read his quotes and watch his videos like they are gold. The man can flat out motivate young men. I also believe he is a decent, but young coach, who is still learning. I don't think he is deserving to get fired, but the one knock I have against him to this point, he rarely lets his guys come in, and play their game. I know KO has a season plan, and individual game plans, but at some point, you have to just let the kids play basketball. Watching most games the last couple of years, it seems like players are trying to play to fit his system, not the other way around (see Cassell Jr.). Is this because of the coaching turnover? Possibly. If AG and TL stayed healthy this year, would we have seen a team of players who fit his style? Possibly. I know that you need structure, especially with the young players - and hopefully in a year or two under their belts, this team will be a well oiled machine, who doesn't need to be directed how to play, but what's the age old adage? Sometimes you've got to just let the boys go out and play basketball.
First decent nugget I've seen in a while. By this I mean it's something different and merits some discussion.

I've almost posted something similar although the situations are not perfectly parallel. JC had an authoritarian attitude and an incredible drive to succeed. His recruits were players who needed or thrived under this type of personality. But it was unbalanced. There was little room for deviation. Only the superstars were allowed the luxury of deviating from his demands (they rarely got into his doghouse or rarely got benched when making mistakes on the floor). It was very effective but limiting imo. I believe Khalid changed things. Certainly he was a great floor general and very good player. But it was his character that gets overlooked. He brought a looseness to the team both on and off the court. He had the moxie to deal with and not succumb to JC's overbearing personality. And he had the playmaking skills to back it up and get away with it.

I remember some posters who were very aggravated with the bowing Rip and KFree did after baskets. I strongly disagreed because whatever negatives were created by this demonstration they were far exceeded by the kids having fun on the court. You don't want to be too loose. But being too tight is just as damaging (I actually think this is Rodney's problem and why Vance hesitates to shoot).

Of course KO is different than JC. But perfectionists, just like warriors, make it difficult for people to work through mistakes. KO is so nice kids want to please him. Nothing wrong with that unless they always have it in the back of their mind that making a mistake will fail the coach. It tightens players. In contrast Geno is just as demanding with regards to demanding perfection in execution. But running his practices he doesn't apply perfection in how he coaches the players. He's funny, or needling or insisting or whatever it takes to push players to prove him wrong. I imagine KO approaches players in a manner that makes them want to prove he's right. And that's not easy for young kids.
 
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Yea I don't understand the apologists and excuse makers either. We shouldn't have to "integrate parts" to beat not even mid-majors.

Funny "We" from you. Never came here until you could throw "we" down the toilet - super fan! Here you are mouthing off your views because they are having that down year. Hero, dope!
 

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