Take a look at the big picture
And what is the big picture in your mind?
It is what it is. These kids will get to the NCAA despite Lavins shenanigans. Good for them. There will be plenty of time in the offseason to pick the Lavin situation apart.
And everyone will come to their same conclusions! It's like the Republicans with Obama, he hasn't made a correct decision since he was elected and never will. What will happen will happen with no input from this Board. Funny this is the same conversation Terp fans were having about Turgeon last year, look at the big picture, which wasn't too good. Today different story.
Not comparable. They had talent returning. Wells, Layman, Pack etc And they had Trimble inked.
If Sheed was as good as Trimble is this freshman year, do you think we have danced last year. I suppose he was coached up by Turgeon. When you are rebuilding it takes some luck and skill of course. Remember that 5 UMD players transferred out last year, do you think they were all stiffs. I live down here and nobody was happy with him. Prior to the Wisconsin game my friends didn't trust him at all, now they are warming up, but worry if Trimble declares will they go back to last years performance.
Few fans are rarely happy with their coach, everyone is smarter.
Actually, Melo was coached up by Joe Wooten. Melo was mostly SG frosh/soph seasons, and made the transition to PG his Jr. year at O'Connell. He still is a score first PG, but he can go left/right and distribute to teammates good enough for now. He needs to improve his A/TO ratio
quite a bit to get ready for the next level. IMO, Turgeon coached him up the most in the psychological department when PG Seth Allen unexpectedly transferred. He let Melo play his game and didn't pressure him too much.
I say this because that is the one primary area Sheed needs to keep working on - consistently getting his head in the game. Sheed's recent uptick in play has quietly (I say quietly because of the loud boom from Dom and Phil's play) supported the team's push forward. Sheed's decision making and shooting in the flow of the offense is markedly improved.
I still want the program
to take a further step forward (yes, results-wise) the next 5 years. Can Lavin get us there? I'm not sure. The one thing that has irked most of us is the uneven recruiting numbers. I can deal with the coaching quirks as they will not cost "many" games, but this staff needs to keep getting talent in at a manageable level, i.e., year in, year out. I really don't want to hear about a variety of circumstances why we're sitting with another potentially unbalanced class. Strange as it seems, we'll all be very thankful if Sheed and Chris are here next season to provide some starter continuity
for Sampson and whoever joins him. We all were looking at doom if they left after this year. I do not believe it will happen if they're smart, but I think this is most important for Lavin's next two years if he stays.
We are no means to be a lock with a coach that is a sure thing to do better than this staff if a move was made. I like 2-3 coaches who I am pretty sure will do better the next 10 years (Hurley, Miller, and plug in any of a few more), but if we do not connect with them after making a move, there is some risk we could step back a bit - yes, now there's a smidge of room to take steps back - we should give Lavin credit
for that, however begrudgingly some might be inclined.
Since Turgeon was mentioned earlier, and being a long time Terps fan (not as long as STJ's
, I know it will be hard to get a coach with Turgeon's pedigree that is seemingly a best bet for taking it to the next level. That is why, if a move is made, it better be a late 30s, early 40s HC with some experience and success, but also has the eye of the tiger energy to recruit his behind off and get it done. The up and down recruiting years has me wavering on whether Lavin and the staff can get it done to improve on the past 5 years for the next 5. I don't know who feels like gambling
or cashing in on the safe bet of slightly above mediocre. I really am on the fence right now. If this was 20 years ago, Houdini would pull a sweet 16 out of his hat and quell the natives' drumming for another season. we'll see what unfolds here.........