Well we didn't clarify that this is a Gophers Positivity thread.
I'm looking for a big bump up in wins the year-after-next. I seriously want that Haskins-style ground-up rebuild. Start winning when CBJ's recruits are juniors & sophomores.
Xavier fired their coach mid-NIT run that year because he failed to make the NCAA’s once in his tenure, which the Muskies did 16 of 18 years prior to him. This applies to the conversation, because that is who Ben learned under. By far the least successful coach Xavier had since the late 1970’s.
The good news is St Thomas lost.
I think it shows that a school should be ready to move on from a bad coach for a good coach even if the team is moving in the right direction. One could argue the prior coaching staff (Steele) was fighting the ship, by getting his team in the NIT (which the eventually won), but the school know that a real coach could potentially get them back to prominence and they went in that direction versus the slow growth model.
You cared on December 8, 2022. I suspect you were being your petulant self.
The idea was that Ben could recruit. And he already has a 5-star center on the way. And Christie seems good.
So he’s a much worse version of Josh Pastnor and Penny Hardway - let’s just call him Tim Brewster.
Is this more of that unbiased analysis that I've been told takes place on here?
How is it mid slinging, he’s a worse recruiter and delivers worse results compared to both those coaches. Also Brewster won more at this point. Those are all facts…not mud slinging.
Only in response to those who bring up what Pitino is doing now. I have not cited his conference record by number. I hope he does well where he is now. Much easier job now. He proved to be terrible here. Johnson has his chance to do better now. Patience is a virtue.
Head coaches get credit when they hire good assistants. This staff is recruiting very
We disagree on culture. I’ve coached for many years, read many books, and been to numerous clinics. It’s the only constant used in all of them. You want to call it coach speak then go for it, but we won’t agree and I know many of my former brethren agree.
You did the same last year so your qualifiers are disingenuous.
We don't need to agree. Winning is Winning. Team dynamics change rapidly, sports teams or work teams, etc. Culture is a fine word, and only a word.
You are batting 1000 when questioning gopher fandom.
Sure as a fan of something you can choose this as your only metric of importance. It’s the result that mostly matters in retention of a coaches job.
Hence the importance of program norms, standards, and expectations (A.K.A culture.)
Haven’t met a successful leader who doesn’t believe in the importance of culture. Most I’ve ever met or read about site it as being the #1 reason for their groups success. The others just don’t like the term, but then define all the stuff that literally encompasses it.
Norms, standards, and expectations. Examples of each?
Has this metric lead to lots of wins?
Nm. Staying away from cynicism.
Restraint of pen and tongue is, at times, a great virtue.
Him averaging 6.9 assists is a positive. That is what the thread is about. Not metrics that lead to wind.
So correct. New year so I am trying to ease up on sht posts. They add nothing and simply are me venting. Happy new year!
Depends on what the goals are/program is. Some micromanage everything, some provide more professional courtesy. If you want specifics with the men’s program here, good luck as Ben keeps things pretty tight (compared to PJ for example). Ben has put a lot more emphasis on team activities/building than past coaches here. He’s been more focused on locker room cohesion and they recruit a smaller number of HS players, but build relationships. They will also walk away if they think someone won’t fit (Chatman for example).
So really nothing to point to that is watching can say yup great culture!!
My thoughts exactly. Assists are good. I'm a Cooper backer.
The locker room chemistry is better. Player and coach relationships are better. Our team hasn’t quit on each other in a game yet. That crap happened a lot in our previous coaching regime. Our positional defending is significantly better (rotations, rebounding, and some screen coverages are still gross). Those are two specifics where Ben has improved. So far however It hasn’t proven to show up in positive win loss results though at this time. Not all businesses make money the first couple years either. Doesn’t mean it’s a dog or something to quit on yet.
Hard to spin assists as bad. Some may try though!
4U