In less than 2 months, PK and his staff have crafted what on paper, looks like an athletic skilled roster that has the capacity to handle whatever the staff throws at them and can match up against a wide variety of teams without any major glaring holes.
While the NIL money has to be there, NIL money as we know from even Washington, is everywhere. The staff has done it with charisma, a clear vision and energy. These players seem to be guys that decided to commit because they wanted to be coached by someone that feeds that dynamic, instead of it just being about the money and their NBA prospects.
On paper, the days of those sub-20% 3pt and sub-45% shooting nights are over. There won't be a time when shooters are not on the court, as has happened too often in the recent past. That alone will add another 5-7 wins to the year. We have come to expect those long draughts of shooting and a lack of physical play around the net. How great will it be to see dunking and aggression again around the rim to fire up the crowd? The pieces are in place to get the YUM! rocking once again. I have faith that PK and his assistants are good enough X's & O's guys to not squander the talent he has assembled around him.
On that point, I have a suspicion that these assistant coaches are going to be the X-factor in this season. Gone are the AAU hucksters, lazy check cashers and social media darlings pushing their brand. They appear to have been replaced by competent basketball coaches like we used to have under Denny and the early stage of Rick's career. Throw in a quality culture guy like Peyton Siva, and you have a recipe for success. Imagine the incoming players going to watch their assistant coach play in the TBT this summer with the guys around him soaking in the love from the fans. That has to have an impact on those young men as they get to see what the program is before the season starts and give them a little taste and hunger for that experience this fall.
I don't think we could have asked for better start to PK's career here, and I can't wait to see the product he puts on the floor this fall.
While the NIL money has to be there, NIL money as we know from even Washington, is everywhere. The staff has done it with charisma, a clear vision and energy. These players seem to be guys that decided to commit because they wanted to be coached by someone that feeds that dynamic, instead of it just being about the money and their NBA prospects.
On paper, the days of those sub-20% 3pt and sub-45% shooting nights are over. There won't be a time when shooters are not on the court, as has happened too often in the recent past. That alone will add another 5-7 wins to the year. We have come to expect those long draughts of shooting and a lack of physical play around the net. How great will it be to see dunking and aggression again around the rim to fire up the crowd? The pieces are in place to get the YUM! rocking once again. I have faith that PK and his assistants are good enough X's & O's guys to not squander the talent he has assembled around him.
On that point, I have a suspicion that these assistant coaches are going to be the X-factor in this season. Gone are the AAU hucksters, lazy check cashers and social media darlings pushing their brand. They appear to have been replaced by competent basketball coaches like we used to have under Denny and the early stage of Rick's career. Throw in a quality culture guy like Peyton Siva, and you have a recipe for success. Imagine the incoming players going to watch their assistant coach play in the TBT this summer with the guys around him soaking in the love from the fans. That has to have an impact on those young men as they get to see what the program is before the season starts and give them a little taste and hunger for that experience this fall.
I don't think we could have asked for better start to PK's career here, and I can't wait to see the product he puts on the floor this fall.
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