Can Mullin take the next step?

Year 4 = NCAA tournament appearance. By all accounts we thought the team would likely be more.

Is this the best it gets?

Can the team continue and build off this?

Do you want school to get another head coach?

It gets better only if (as we have all said) he gets better staff around him. Xs and Os and better HS recruiting connections. Next year with no Ponds and solid not great players we are NIT team unless Heron stays and becomes superstar. After next year if no top recruits in pipeline at least and NIT, Chris should resign. Its all about - does after next year leave you the sense and reason for optimism?

Now is the time to walk away, leave on a somewhat high note of making the ncaa Tournament. It will only go downhill from here if current staff and staff activity on recruiting trail remains the same

So envious watching the defense being played by the teams currently in the NCAA tournament. They are all bringing it. Owens is the starting center on a top 10 team and went 4-14 in BE play with us last year. He looks so much bigger this year. So many of you point to us making the tournament this year as progress, however I cannot ignore how poorly this team is coached, how poorly the program is being run.

I would like nothing more than Mullin to be successful, but to ignore all the red flags and think it will improve “just because” is unrealistic, naive, and juvenile. We have been poorly coached. I rather move on and take a hit in the short term than continue this experiment and fall deeper into irrelevancy only to make a change later. Where do you stand Dave after 4 seasons, what’s your take?

So envious watching the defense being played by the teams currently in the NCAA tournament. They are all bringing it. Owens is the starting center on a top 10 team and went 4-14 in BE play with us last year. He looks so much bigger this year. So many of you point to us making the tournament this year as progress, however I cannot ignore how poorly this team is coached, how poorly the program is being run.

I would like nothing more than Mullin to be successful, but to ignore all the red flags and think it will improve “just because” is unrealistic, naive, and juvenile. We have been poorly coached. I rather move on and take a hit in the short term than continue this experiment and fall deeper into irrelevancy only to make a change later. Where do you stand Dave after 4 seasons, what’s your take?

Dave only mentioned this 5-6x already. Doesn't do any good complaining every other post on your same points over and over again. You have no control over whatever decision(s) that will/will not be made. Your constant complaining won't determine any outcome.

There are a few major questions surrounding this program right now that will determine how next season and beyond will go. Some of these questions will be answered in the coming days and others in the coming weeks and months.

- Will Heron return?
- Will Simon return?
- Will Matt leave for Nebraska?
- Will we land one or two impact grad transfers?
- Will Mullin finally shake up the staff even if Matt chooses to stay?

Hitting the lottery would be Heron, Simon and Matt stay, we land two solid grad transfers (a PG and a big), Mullin swallows his pride and finds an experienced college coach to take Mitch's spot and we are competitive again next year.

Unfortunately, the chances of all of that occurring are slim. What seems to be far more likely is that we will be entering another rebuilding process. It won't be as deep and painful as Mullin's 1st year but another year or two of being mostly uncompetitive seems to be the most likely scenario.

Maybe Mullin and Cragg can figure out a plan that will avoid another rebuild. I'm sure the last thing Mullin wants is more uncompetitive seasons after his first three, so we'll see if he can pull a rabbit out of his hat.

Regardless of the roster and staff makeup next year Mullin needs to RADICALLY change his coaching style if he wants to really succeed. The offensive system of just rolling the ball out there and letting his guys play hasn't and won't work on a consistent basis. The only time the team runs coherent sets is out of timeouts and that is unacceptable. Otherwise it's just stagnant offense and horrific shot selection in which there are no consequences. His teams will simply not reach their offensive potential unless this changes.

Furthermore, Mullin's complete disdain for crashing the offensive glass is devoid of reason. His claim is that he'd rather have his guys get back on defense instead of crashing the offensive. That sounds reasonable in theory but not in practice when you actually do just a little look into the analytics. 7 of the teams in the Sweet 16 are in the top 25 of offensive rebounding %. Meanwhile there was only one at large quality NCAA Tournament team in the bottom 50 of offensive rebounding % in division 1 this season. Guess who it was.

I actually think the defensive end of the court hasn't been terrible from a X's and O's standpoint. Obviously the lack of size and a competent big hurt a ton this year. Last year with Owens the defense was top 30 in the country despite the under .500 record. I do wish they'd track shooters better and stop overhelping off of them though, something that has been an issue the past few years.

I actually think the defensive end of the court hasn't been terrible from a X's and O's standpoint. Obviously the lack of size and a competent big hurt a ton this year. Last year with Owens the defense was top 30 in the country despite the under .500 record. I do wish they'd track shooters better and stop overhelping off of them though, something that has been an issue the past few years.

I think they need to stop all the switching on defense (it's lazy and has caused mismatches galore) and implement a couple competent zone defenses where they're not over-reliant on simply man-to-man defense.

I think they need to stop all the switching on defense (it's lazy and has caused mismatches galore) and implement a couple competent zone defenses where they're not over-reliant on simply man-to-man defense.

I agree with this. The switching everything was working early in the season but the BE teams and coaches knew how to exploit it pretty easily and it was really exposed when either Keita or Roberts were on the court. Knowing how to switch 1-4 in certain situations would have been beneficial to keep Keita and Roberts from having to guard a PG on the perimeter.

That is one of the areas where an experienced assistant coach can help. Defensive coverages and ball screen defense should be a focus of the offseason.

Dave only mentioned this 5-6x already. Doesn't do any good complaining every other post on your same points over and over again. You have no control over whatever decision(s) that will/will not be made. Your constant complaining won't determine any outcome.

Complaining or making fair points that are disturbing to the Mullin die hards? 

I actually think the defensive end of the court hasn't been terrible from a X's and O's standpoint. Obviously the lack of size and a competent big hurt a ton this year. Last year with Owens the defense was top 30 in the country despite the under .500 record. I do wish they'd track shooters better and stop overhelping off of them though, something that has been an issue the past few years.

The help defenders often times don’t watch the ball. The help defenders actually turn their backs to the ball while guarding their man. Middle schoolers have a better understanding of man/ball principles than I’ve seen from this team.

I feel like we have a weird organizational coaching plan and roster that just doesn't match up.

All of the team strategies mentioned in this thread and elsewhere on the forum (Automatic switching on D, Not crashing offensive glass, Shooting 3's, Spreading the floor, etc.) are all current trends in the NBA and what the analytics say are the right things to do.

However, this may not be the case with sub-NBA level talent, which is what we have. With all due respect to Ponds and possibly Heron, I don't think we had any true NBA talent on this roster this past season.

I think the decision needs to be made whether we want to keep TRYING to recruit NBA-level talent and going this coaching/gameplanning route of playing a NBA-Style game that doesn't work with less talented players, or we go a more X's and O's route, but may have to look at different type recruits who might have to sacrifice a pro-style offense.

There are a few major questions surrounding this program right now that will determine how next season and beyond will go. Some of these questions will be answered in the coming days and others in the coming weeks and months.

- Will Heron return?
- Will Simon return?
- Will Matt leave for Nebraska?
- Will we land one or two impact grad transfers?
- Will Mullin finally shake up the staff even if Matt chooses to stay?

Hitting the lottery would be Heron, Simon and Matt stay, we land two solid grad transfers (a PG and a big), Mullin swallows his pride and finds an experienced college coach to take Mitch's spot and we are competitive again next year.

Unfortunately, the chances of all of that occurring are slim. What seems to be far more likely is that we will be entering another rebuilding process. It won't be as deep and painful as Mullin's 1st year but another year or two of being mostly uncompetitive seems to be the most likely scenario.

Maybe Mullin and Cragg can figure out a plan that will avoid another rebuild. I'm sure the last thing Mullin wants is more uncompetitive seasons after his first three, so we'll see if he can pull a rabbit out of his hat.

Regardless of the roster and staff makeup next year Mullin needs to RADICALLY change his coaching style if he wants to really succeed. The offensive system of just rolling the ball out there and letting his guys play hasn't and won't work on a consistent basis. The only time the team runs coherent sets is out of timeouts and that is unacceptable. Otherwise it's just stagnant offense and horrific shot selection in which there are no consequences. His teams will simply not reach their offensive potential unless this changes.

Furthermore, Mullin's complete disdain for crashing the offensive glass is devoid of reason. His claim is that he'd rather have his guys get back on defense instead of crashing the offensive. That sounds reasonable in theory but not in practice when you actually do just a little look into the analytics. 7 of the teams in the Sweet 16 are in the top 25 of offensive rebounding %. Meanwhile there was only one at large quality NCAA Tournament team in the bottom 50 of offensive rebounding % in division 1 this season. Guess who it was.

I actually think the defensive end of the court hasn't been terrible from a X's and O's standpoint. Obviously the lack of size and a competent big hurt a ton this year. Last year with Owens the defense was top 30 in the country despite the under .500 record. I do wish they'd track shooters better and stop overhelping off of them though, something that has been an issue the past few years.

Well said

Of course he can make the next step. Anyone who thought he would be a finished product — or close to it — after his first four years of coaching was foolish. The thinking was that he’d attract enough talent to mitigate the learning process.

From a talent perspective, until we lose someone we are better 2-5. We are bigger. We are deeper. We are more experienced. We will be better on defense and on the glass. We will be more athletic. We will have more continuity and experience as well.

Obviously we will lose guys over the next month, but that’s what the transfer market is for.

If Matt goes, that opens up an opportunity to gain a recruiter that can actually contribute to player development and coaching.

Mullin needs to move Mitch to a special assistant role and bring in an assistant that will recruit and who has a track record of success in college. Jim Calhoun is the obvious choice to me. Calhoun can takes years off the learning process.

- Will Heron return?
- Will Simon return?
- Will Matt leave for Nebraska?
- Will we land one or two impact grad transfers?
- Will Mullin finally shake up the staff even if Matt chooses to stay?

- Will Heron return? I hope so
- Will Simon return? I think so
- Will Matt leave for Nebraska? I hope so
- Will we land one or two impact grad transfers? probably not
- Will Mullin finally shake up the staff even if Matt chooses to stay? I think he will

If Coach Mullin really believes in his own ability to Coach and trusts St. Jean...   he should just go out and get two new assistants whose only job is to deliver players.

The NCAA is supposed to change a rule next season as to who can be on the court coaching the kids during practice. If the rule change goes through, Mitch would be permitted to be on the court as a special assistant coach. This rules was supposed to go into effect this year and didn't, it was one of the factors that prevented the expected hiring of Mike Rice last Summer

How about an assistant who can coach, preferably with HC experience, and help in the recruiting game. Those aren’t mutually exclusive. Then you find a second guy who can still coach but perhaps is not as seasoned but is a strong recruiter (assuming Matt decides Lincoln Nebraska is better than living in NY at the program you supposedly adore)

Next step is already in the works. Fresh blood coming on that staff

Of course he can make the next step. Anyone who thought he would be a finished product — or close to it — after his first four years of coaching was foolish. The thinking was that he’d attract enough talent to mitigate the learning process.

From a talent perspective, until we lose someone we are better 2-5. We are bigger. We are deeper. We are more experienced. We will be better on defense and on the glass. We will be more athletic. We will have more continuity and experience as well.

Mullin was coaching the past four years? We were supposed to be deeper this past season, until we see how the transfers look we can’t say we’re better. Also if Williams and Roberts is on par with Trimbles development, cause we don’t have a player development program worth a sniff, can’t count on them being much better either. I’m in a wait and see pattern, hope they’re able to turn it around but it starts with the staff.

Next step is already in the works. Fresh blood coming on that staff

Like who? Who’s leaving? Or are you just throwing things out there as usual?

Mullin was coaching the past four years? We were supposed to be deeper this past season, until we see how the transfers look we can’t say we’re better. Also if Williams and Roberts is on par with Trimbles development, cause we don’t have a player development program worth a sniff, can’t count on them being much better either. I’m in a wait and see pattern, hope they’re able to turn it around but it starts with the staff.

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Well guess what, guy? Matt A has no eye for talent. I think he literally just messaged guys on the portal and took whoever wanted to come.

Sign and sit transfers have to be sure things. Keita was awful. Dixon didn’t have it between the ears. His one and only job was to recruit. It’s not like was coaching up guards like Shaheen Holloway at SH.

Something can be said for Mullin trusting recruiting to Matt with not enough oversight, sure, but there is no excuse for not having a backup PG or a capable big man.

A lesson learned I hope.