Mullin Update
- Thread starter paultzman
- Start date
Sorry but I have to agree with Panther 2 on this one. Villanova won because of continued very good smart recruiting for years, with no monster recruits. A team consisting of 4 * and 3 * recruits who stick around for 4 years and improve year to year is far better in my books than the monster recruit who leaves after a year or two.
We are not and never ever will be Kentucky or Duke, so we will never be able to reload with 5* players. But we can put just as good a team on the floor if we follow the Villanova recruiting pattern/philosophy.
Nice post as usual Beast especially the obvious: we will be better, more balanced, stable next season.
As far as delegating, why not? It's an important option for any leader. AND IMHO as soon as we accumulate Ws, no one will give a rat's (fill in the blanks) whether there is delegation, scorer's table sitting, tiffs between assistant coaches, negative speculation...whatever...
And beyond delegation, I see no ceding authority...does any player, assistant not know who has the ultimate say?
Recruiting well covers many "sins" and accumulating Ws covers them even more so.
We are progressing on the recruiting front and no doubt will on the W-L ledger as well
Thanks again for your insights!
beast of the east
Active member
Just one question: Would Villanova have traded Jenkins, Arcidiacono, Hart, or Brunson for any one on our 2016-2017 roster? Arcidiacono was Big East player of the year 2015, and is a guy who always wnated the big shot, and even a great shooter like Jenkins would defer to him. Even so, that was a team that if played over, could have gone out of the tournament in any round in part because they didn't have a monster player. They were, however, superbly coached. Even after the final buzzer sounded, Wright showed no emotion because he wasn't sure the shot was good.
In the last 40 or so years, whenever we were in that status, we had an NBA level player - Artest, Jackson, Berry, Mullin, George Johnson - that carried the team and who the team relied on. In the absence of having the luxury to recruit precisely the type of player you want, which Wright obviously has, I believe we'd have to recruit talent, talent, and more talent to crack the top 15.
beast of the east
Active member
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Nice post as usual Beast especially the obvious: we will be better, more balanced, stable next season.
And beyond delegation, I see no ceding authority...does any player, assistant not know who has the ultimate say?
Thanks again for your insights!
ss&G - You are one of the most gracious respectful posters on here. Thanks for your comments.
I do see a ceding of authority. I've seen lots of assistnat lead a huddle - Brian Mahoney comes to mind when he charted plays. However, I've never seen a coach stay 50 feet from the huddle and not be a part of it in its entirety during a timeout. A lot of people, including those in the AD have noticed that, and are concerned. It's one thing to allow assistants to share their insights during a timeout, and another to be so far removed from the huddle, that you don't even feel the need to listen to what the assistant has to say to players - it's crazy. You never even see Chris confer with the guy leading the huddle before the timeout that he doesn't participate in.
I do agree 100% with you that all that matters is W's and L's, and winning will take the focus off Chris if he doesn't take the reigns more firmly.
I recall you are out in Sag Harbor - perhaps we can have a drink out there this summer.
TRabinowitz
Member
I find it funny when people point to Villanova not having any "4 star" or "one and done" kids to try and somehow say their players weren't high recruits out of HS or weren't well regarded. Those folks don't really know the recruiting business.
All players on Nova were highly sought after while in HS and all were in the top-100 in their respective class.
Phil Booth: 92nd- offers from Nova, Indiana Virginia, Georgetown
Arcidiacono: 46th: Nova, Florida, Notre Dame, West Virginia
Daniel Ochefu: 54th
Kris Jenkins: 73rd: Nova, Xavier, Miami
Josh Hart: 92nd
End of the day, there are more than one way to skin a cat (meaning to win big). We have seen one and done-oriented teams do it (Kentucky, Duke) and we have seen teams filled with talented 4 year players do it (UConn, Nova). Fact of the matter is most players ranked within the top 100 are good players on the high-major level. You will very VERY rarely see high major teams win with most of their roster outside the top 100. People like to say that "recruiting rankings mean nothing" but the fact of the matter is that, for the most part, they are pretty accurate and the trend regarding teams that win :: teams that land top-100 recruits is pretty true and pretty steady.
All players on Nova were highly sought after while in HS and all were in the top-100 in their respective class.
Phil Booth: 92nd- offers from Nova, Indiana Virginia, Georgetown
Arcidiacono: 46th: Nova, Florida, Notre Dame, West Virginia
Daniel Ochefu: 54th
Kris Jenkins: 73rd: Nova, Xavier, Miami
Josh Hart: 92nd
End of the day, there are more than one way to skin a cat (meaning to win big). We have seen one and done-oriented teams do it (Kentucky, Duke) and we have seen teams filled with talented 4 year players do it (UConn, Nova). Fact of the matter is most players ranked within the top 100 are good players on the high-major level. You will very VERY rarely see high major teams win with most of their roster outside the top 100. People like to say that "recruiting rankings mean nothing" but the fact of the matter is that, for the most part, they are pretty accurate and the trend regarding teams that win :: teams that land top-100 recruits is pretty true and pretty steady.
I've had this debate a handful of times with a few other people.
Per RSCI:
Ochefu -- #44
Arcidiacono -- #55
Jenkins -- #78
Hart -- #94
Booth -- #84
Bridges -- #96
Brunson -- #19
All high-level 4-star recruits, with Brunson being the lone 5-star recruit.
I haven't agreed with much you've said lately, but I totally agree right here.
beast of the east
Active member
Thanks for doing your HW and posting it.
I came to appreciate Arcidiacono more and more since last season (early in the tournament I posted here that at first I thought he was very overrated, but watching him more closely the past 2 years came to believe he was underrated). What most people don't realize is that Wright knew he wanted the kid since Ryan was a freshman in HS, and that Arcidiacono missed his entire senior year in HS after rupturing a disc in his back and having major surgery to fuse it. It's hard to believe that this kid who routinely catapulted himself over scorers tables and into the stands (he destroyed a few laptops along the way) had suffered a back injury that would have ended the sports careers of many players. I'm guessing that because of his surgery he slipped a whole lot in the rankings, so I am not sure he slipped to 46th, or from 46th down the list a bit. I'll tell you though, I'd take that kid in an instant because he has the heart of a lion.
Not only were Wrights players top 100. But they were team first players w excellent attitudes. Although Sheed was right in his back yard. Wright wouldn't touch him. Hopefully that's what Mullin is building. Seems like our recruits are are also good character.Mullin wasn't tolerating any of COs antics.
They were always team first players, but couldn't make it out of the first weekend of the tournament. The thing that may have catapulted 'em over the top probably had to do with their experience (to along with their talent).
Wright also backed off from Alkins. Wright is at the point where he doesn't have to or doesn't want to deal with prima donna's or any, other term you'd want to use for potential troublemakers or for players who aren't team first guys.
Why does the conversation has to morph into Jordan, Obekpa, and/or Lavin for some of you?
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Nice post as usual Beast especially the obvious: we will be better, more balanced, stable next season.
And beyond delegation, I see no ceding authority...does any player, assistant not know who has the ultimate say?
Thanks again for your insights!
ss&G - You are one of the most gracious respectful posters on here. Thanks for your comments.
I do see a ceding of authority. I've seen lots of assistnat lead a huddle - Brian Mahoney comes to mind when he charted plays. However, I've never seen a coach stay 50 feet from the huddle and not be a part of it in its entirety during a timeout. A lot of people, including those in the AD have noticed that, and are concerned. It's one thing to allow assistants to share their insights during a timeout, and another to be so far removed from the huddle, that you don't even feel the need to listen to what the assistant has to say to players - it's crazy. You never even see Chris confer with the guy leading the huddle before the timeout that he doesn't participate in.
I do agree 100% with you that all that matters is W's and L's, and winning will take the focus off Chris if he doesn't take the reigns more firmly.
I recall you are out in Sag Harbor - perhaps we can have a drink out there this summer.
Yes Beast
Raised in Brooklyn west end of Long Island and now my good fortune to be in the East End North Haven/ Sag Harbor
Since our distinguished Head Coach has or had home in nearby Sagaponack, he can join us w/ quites for Redmen.com
Philip H. Sheridan
West Point Class of 1853
