PHCARD said:
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I can remember many years when another BB coach was blamed for these type of slumps. He worked them too hard, etc etc.
But to be fair, Rick had a track record of success. Before Louisville he had taken 2 schools to the Final 4 and won a title. He’d also taken an NBA team to the playoffs.
But I don’t blame Mack. I think this group is a bunch of over achievers. We overachieved so much last year that it got the hype further last year. And the overachieving is because of coaching.
We just assumed this freshman class would add to the players we had coming back and we’d roll. But we’re a bit limited on what we have.
Ryan McMahon, Dwayne Sutton, and Fresh Kimble are mid-major talents that Mack is getting a bunch out of right now. Nwora is a draft pick and is still a top scorer in the nation. Sutton was a transfer. Malik and Perry are juniors who were 4 stars, but I can’t blame Mack as the aren’t his guys and Malik plays well. Sam and DJ are freshman, not elite freshman but just good. This is a strange roster and has some limits. A lot of players who can play, but they don’t fit right now.
It’s a mixed group of Rick’s leftovers, transfers, and six freshman. We don’t have a point guard right now. This freshman group re-energized our program and we’ll see the benefits of them as the years go on.
Mack is gonna be a fine coach, I think the high expectations for this team are a result of how good of a coach he was to come in and turn it around so quick.
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Lol remember a couple of years after Rick arrived and things went south. People were asking if he lost it and some even were advocating for him being replaced.
I won’t judge Mack until he has all his players.
My question is this. Are we playing to our competition? Ryan made a comment about how some on the team doesn’t get it, that when we play other teams we have a huge target on our back, because we were a top 5 team. And aren’t ready for the intensity the other teams bring because of that. Sure we get up for Duke and UVA, but not the Clemson and GT. Who knows.