Last year was the first season with this group four assistants together and I felt they performed well. This year is a different story. Not only do I blame the assistants for some of the losing, but I also didn't see the signs that they were doing as well as past Skinner staffs.
Recruiting -- this is probably the area where they performed the best. While not as deep as last season's recruiting class, the staff landed another strong group of players. Reggie Jackson should make an immediate impact and Ravenel received many accolades in Florida.
Scouting -- without knowing the true ins and outs from game to game, I have to be critical of our scouting this season. Too often we got down early, seemingly unprepared for the circumstances. Sometimes we'd claw back, others we'd never catch up. I appreciate that the freshmen were asked to do a lot, but I would hope that the assistants would get them mentally ready for ACC play. At times during the losing streak, it felt like Tyrese was all alone and was the only one who knew his role.
Player Development -- good news, bad news. The freshmen all looked better and Rice took a huge leap in his level of play. Oates, Blair, Roche and Spears didn't. That's on the assistants. How can the same guys be making the same mistakes over and over? I also have to say I am disappointed in how the big men developed. I think Blair got worse as the season progressed. Oates never performed at a consistent level. During the season and at practices and shoot arounds, the assistants do most of the teaching and talking. Last season whatever they did worked. Everyone got better. This year it didn't.
I am not giving up on Al's guys just yet. Pat Duquette is one of the best around and Preston Murphy is showing real promise. Hopefully another season working together will provide the cohesion the players need and help us get back to winning basketball.
Season Grade: C+
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment