eddiejames

  Sorry I got caught up yesterday.  I really don't think that Cal is a great coach either, but he NBA level guys, three and four of which are starters.  I will admit that Crean has gotten a few of those, but not at the level UK has.  I know they are young, but the problem with that is the way we are recruiting means that we are going to continue to be young, because all these guys are going to bail after a year.   Recruiting like this pays off, because the best don't want to spend 4 years in college, but maturity is what helps teams win.  I think great coaches can overcome some of those pitfalls, I'm just not seeing that yet.

Coming late to the party here, but I wanted to jump in and give my two cents on the #firetomcrean bandwagon.   It's a very clear cut case of Talent vs. Coaching.  I would argue that this group is pretty talented.  Saying they "aren't very good yet" is a complete cop-out to the facts.  Noah, Troy, Yogi, Stan, Sheehey is a starting 5 that half the teams in the league would salivate over.  These guys are really good (see - Wisconsin, Michigan).     So let's now turn our attention to Coaching.  In more then 20 occasions we can all say while watching a game we've made this statement "Why is ______ on the bench", "Why has ______ sat out for almost 8 minutes?"  This is bad coaching, subbing out for someone who just made a great steal, block, or shot is a horrible way to manage a game.  Another point here is our inability to inbound the ball, garnish points out of timeouts, play to win the game (not to hold the ball for shot clock violations), and break a press.  Those are fundamentals of coaching that I just don't see in Crean.   Do I think Crean was the right guy for the job?  YES!  He brought a passion and fan base back to it's feet after being punched in the mouth.  Do I think that we will EVER win a NC under Crean.  Personally - NO.  Inevitably they will be matched up against a team that will throw something at him that we can't handle or coach our way out of.  I want him to succeed here, but enough is enough.  This team is TOO TALENTED to keep having these games against bottom dweller teams.