galvezwave wrote:DfromCT wrote:It's funny how this recruit from Hargrave Academy, that very few outside of me on this board gave any credit to, is now putting us into a "the sky is falling" mode because he may flip to Memphis. Clearly, Penny Hardaway thinks the kid can play.
But more importantly, I think Dannen needs to think long and hard about our basketball program. If all the recruits end up flipping and we have a lousy class and are in the bottom 3 of the AAC again next year, Dunleavy should be shown the exit. There needs to be a sense of urgency with the basketball program. It's VERY common to turn around a basketball program in a short period of time, and if Dunleavy does not bring us to the middle of the AAC (AT MINIMUM) in year three, there has to be doubt he can get us to the top of the conference, which should be our goal.
Penny Hardaway was a big move on Memphis' part. It was a $10 million investment in winning right away. I don't know that he's a better or worse coach than Dunleavy, but the folks that sign the checks in Memphis sure think he's $10 million better than Tubby Smith. I think Tubby Smith is a hell of a coach, but that's me.
Middle of the pack? Not possible. Daniels , embo, Cornish. That’s pretty much it. Sky already fell about midway through conference play. Lol
It's not the specific recruit flipping that is causing the sky to fall. It's the fact that he's just 1 of 2 players that have commited to Dunleavy and the program this year. A year in which the recruiting class needed to see a HUGE upgrade over previous years, but is ranked at the bottom of the conference even with both recruits. Couple that with losing Reynolds and possibly Frazier and we're looking at a likely repeat of 2016-17. Dunleavy is on his way to having the worst 3 year record of any coach since the Death Penalty.
Clark 41-46 (16-25) - Year 3 Improvement + 7 wins 22-9(8-4)
Finney 39-51 (15-33) - Year 3 Improvement +2 wins 16-15 (8-8)
Dickerson 46-45 (21-25) - Year 3 Improvement +0 wins 17-15(6-10)
Conroy 48-48 (12-36) - Year 3 Improvemnt +5 wins 20-15 (6-10)
What Dunleavy needs next year...
20-11 overall record to beat Finney's miserable first 3 year win total by 1 (39)
21-10 overall record to beat Finney's miserable first 3 year win % (.433)
15-16 overall record to show an improved win total - Only Dickerson didn't show at leat 2 more wins from year 2 to 3.
6-12 conference record to beat Conroy's historically terrible conference win % in first 3 years (.250)
Honestly I can't see this team going 15-16 (6-12) next year. Failure to do so would make Dunleavy the worst performing coach in and out of conference over the last 30 years. And with no real optimism around righting the ship through recruiting.
And IMO, compounding the issue (the sky is now falling) is that Dunleavy's failure here will set as back even further than Conroy or some of the others before him. For whatever reason (college game is different, recruiting game was different, whatever), the failure of a respected NBA coach here will make filling the position more difficult than ever. Maybe a Carlin Hartman/Kim Lewis reunion on the coaching bench...