Freudenberg, Lovett, Yakwe, Dixon, Owens. The list continues. The common denominator was Mullin.
They all came to play for him, and for the most part, when they understood what that would be, they left.
Freudenberg went home to be a "professional".
Lovett was very selfish. At that time he was shining here. His Dad ruined him. We know how that story ends.
Yakwe had a very successful freshman yr under Mullin and then became an albatross. He had no success at UCONN either. They worked on him catching and throwing passes all the time but it didn't click. Frustrating to see how his career went.
Dixon wanted to be a starter and was frustrated with playing time. Sometimes players don't see the bigger picture. He would be a lead guard this yr.
Owens graduated and had options. He wanted to be in a featured role and felt SJU couldn't provide that. He committed to a depleted roster at that time. No one in the nation thought TT was gonna be good. They were picked 7th in the BIG 12. He played great.
We can paint anything anyway to fit a narrative. Players leave programs all the time in college hoops. Is Mullin bulletproot of critcism? Absolutely not. He wasn't into begging guys to stay. He should've worked it out with TO. He had his defencies but brought in talent. Unfortunately he couldn't retain some of them which hurt our chances and led to his demise.