Thanks for the info on recruits. I didn't mean to imply JH was the same talent level as RP, just that he was a big man who tended to mostly position himself shooting the 3 instead of banging inside. Maybe that was a function of the games I saw, as the rebounds per game average is much higher than I would have expected based on the games I went to.
I am not trying to put down any of the recruits in any way, I am sure they are all great - my point is are they the cure to the ills? As I see it, the main problems are 1) lack of a solid point guard, 2) lack of a good inside game, 3) failure to play well as a team, and 4) we have trouble getting more than 2 players a game who play like they want to win - the rest seem to be going through the motions, and 5) the Griz idea of defense is to foul.
It is up to PK to get the team motivated - if a player is not motivated, PK has to deal with it, either by putting his foot up their butt, benching, or kicking them off the team if they don't respond. Obviously a player is goign to have an off day, but at this point most players have fewer on-days than off-days. Maybe he is doing things behind the scenes, and I think he is classy enought that he wouldn't publicly tear down a player, but obviously whatever he is doing isn't working.
As for issues 1 & 2, these need to be addressed either through the offensive plays, or by recruiting. Since they are running the same offense now that they ran at the beggining of the season, only switching players to try to make the offense work, it doesn't look like this is something that can be adjusted, so it has to come from recruiting.
Maybe Lynch or Farr will be good point gaurds next year. I think if Lynch had another year to study under a good point guard eh coudl be great his junior year, but that isn't going to happen. We coudl bring in a JC transfer that is a good pg, but then he will need to spend 1/2 the season getting to know the offense and players.
Chavez will really help when he gets back - he is a legitimate inside player, especailly if he matures a little from last year. Strait sounds like a good player, but is 6-8 big enough, or will he be another sf? It seems like we have an overabundance of sf/sg on the team now, and can't seem to put schemes together to take advantage of it.
I don't really have any answers, only questions. I do think the decision should be made about Kennedy this year, though, and, beleive it or not, I am not against keeping him. But if he does stay, make some real changes, no more band-aids. Bite the bullet this year and next, and work towards a great team in 2 years. Let the young players play now, don't worry about wins and losses, or playing the best players on the team if they won't be here in 2 years. Next year redshirt all or most of the recruits, and give them an extra year to practice and learn how to play together. Put together offensive and defensive schemes that compliment the type of players we have. Sure we would be terrible next year, maybe only win 5 games or so. Think about this - Mansel had a great game on Thursday, but in the end were the Griz better off with him in the game or Lynch in the game? Mansel made sure the Griz had a chance to win, but in the end it was a close loss, with nothing gained for next year. If Lynch had played we might have been blown out, but at least he would have more experience playing with his teammates. Same argument for Pederson and Ventors minutes vs minutes for Dloughy, Easley, and McKay. I'm not saying the young players are better, or would do better, just that they have more years to come together as a team, so let's give them a chance now.
I'm not trying to make excuses for the coaches, but you can't do any of this if you have to prove yourself this year or next - this program needs to rebuild, not reload. either make a committment to rebuild now, or next year will be even worse IMO.
