The team was 10-2, trending up and had just received a commitment from a 4 star kid from California because of how well the season was going. They then went 5-15 to finish the season including an 11 game losing streak that caused said 4 star kid to reevaluate and decide he wanted nothing to do with this program going forward. The way the Lovett situation was handled and played out, as well as the season as a whole was a debacle.
The Lovett situation was a debacle. He was one of the top ten players in the conference and he was a legit top 25-50 caliber recruit for what he did on the court. The fact that we had no contingency for him and Ponds was horrific roster management. Lovett specifically showed signs of being extremely untrustworthy. Even with those two scoring point guards why not bring in a stable dump it off PG in the mold of Malik Boothe or Geno? They are everywhere.
The two players we were missing we had the year before in Sima and Mussini. I don’t know for sure, but I am pretty confident that Mullin didn’t do enough to convince them to stay. IMO he should have played Sima more before the end of the first semester to avoid the mid-year transfer. That is a new coaching blunder and perhaps something his pride as a hall of famer wouldn’t allow him to stoop to.
After Lovett went down we were ruined. We had no chance to win unless Ponds was heroic.
I don’t have a problem with being extremely critical of Mullin for all of the above, but I think what we saw on the court was exactly what was expected with an injury to either Ponds or Lovett. I don’t think he underperformed during the season... he and his staff made that bed prior.