Unfortunately Tony, we are stuck with another year of our worst coach in history of school. 3 years in, and guy still can’t figure out how to break a zone down, find a big man or a pg or draw up a play in the huddle.
I'm not a Mullin lover or a Mullin hater. I know Mullin has plenty of flaws and he may never overcome some of them. But let's break down what you just said:
"3 years in, and guy still can’t figure out how to break a zone down". Not true. He's 2-0 vs Syracuse beating them both times with inferior talent. Duke attempted to zone us a couple times during that game but we made easy baskets which quickly took them out of it. They've been playing zone all year but weren't confident playing zone against Mullin.
"find a big man or a pg". I agree he has failed at finding a competent big. Probably his biggest failure of the tenure so far. But to say he hasn't found a PG is flat out false. He brought in Lovett who is a true PG. He didn't know he'd tweak his knee in November and sit out the rest of the year. But he also has Ponds, who is a combo that competently played PG in wins over Duke + Villanova and Simon who can play PG also. Then he has Mikey Dixon joining the mix next year who is also a combo G. Can't say he hasn't found a PG.
"or draw up a play in the huddle". You must have watched 0 games this year. The offense has been completely brutal at times, especially during the 11 game losing streak, but the one time they have actually consistently gotten easy baskets was off of sets immediately coming out of timeouts.
So weird that with so much to criticize Mullin for you pointed out things he's actually decent at.
I have watched every minute of every game, either live or on TV so I will break down what you just said and explain what I meant.
1. Duke plays 90% man and 10% zone. They have had to go more zone this year because they are just not a good defensive team man to man. Especially on the road, where they give up 76 points a game, which ranks them somewhere around 120th in the country. In that game we had Clark flashing in the middle where he was hitting the foul line jumper. I will give credit to staff for putting Clark in the middle and he delivered. U mentioned the Cuse games, which we played extremely well, however these are just small sample sizes. In every game this year, outside of Duke, some of our worst draughts have come when the other team has played zone. Mainly because we only have one guy that can get into the teeth of the zone and because teams do not need to play further out agains us, thus they have the middle bottled up. Against the Hall, we had Ponds in the middle, which should not happen, that should be Clark or BA. This leads me to my next point about a PG.
2. Ponds has the ball in his hands too much. Lovett, Ponds and Dixon are NOT pg's. They small quick guards who do not make guys around them better. Each guy is a volume shooter, it is very apparent that Mullin is recruiting the same type of player for his offense. A offense that is currently ranked 195th in offensive efficiency. Simon is not a pg either. He is a forward in a guards body. Yes, he see's the floor decently, but he has a very high dribble and can not beat his man off the bounce. A lot of what he does is back in the smaller guard defending him and kick out, or throw up a floater. In order for this team to be more consistent on offense, both Ponds and Simon have to play off the ball so that simon can play to his strength, which is cutting to the basket. Ponds has the ability to be a PG, but with the ball in his hands all the time, he will continue to get double and sometimes triple teamed, leading to a forced shot or passing to a guy like Owens who will take a 3 which is crazy. I agree with Dixon, he should open up more, 1 on one opps for Ponds next year, but again, when you take ponds out and they go Dixon and Simon, the same thing happens, only one guy can get in the lane beating his man. Teams usually need a few guys, especially vs a zone.
Lastly, Mullin does not call plays in the huddle, that is St Jean's job. I have seen Mullin on so many occasions sit there with his chin in hand listening to St. Jean. Mullin is not a HC, he is a face and an advisor. You say that some of our best plays have come from a TO, which is fine, but how about during the 11 game losing streak, when game after game, towards the end, we look like a deer in headlights when calling a play after a TO. Take a look back at the Xavier game and even the Nova game, we ran the clock down to 5 seconds, with zero movement and then either did not shoot at all, or Ponds has to heave up a three. Same thing for the Hall game. I actually saw ponds take two fade a way threes because the clock is winding down. Every coach in crunch time, grabs their erase board and commands the huddle, not their assistants, especially a 24 year old. They draw up the play and they are the ones that make the final call, good or bad. Mullin does not do that, ever!