We do? Ben still hasn't proven anything yet.
He hasn't?
Roster Construction: He has shown that he can build a team that has some depth at all levels.
Recruiting FR: He has been able to identify talented HS players, offer and land them over the past two years. He's also found some in the portal.
Team Buy in: This one has been prevalent throughout his tenure. Even last year, you could see the players were fully into doing what he was asking them to do - although they had struggles to say the least in actually executing it.
Emphasizing Defense: Players know that if they don't perform on that end, they don't get much PT and they are playing team defense well. Think of all the times the past two years, people posted about our bigs on the d end trying to change the direction of the opposing guards on screen and roll. Most people wanted him to stop doing it, because we were getting beat on it often. They stuck with it and now this year they have played those high screen and rolls so much better. Payne still gets a little too physical on them at times and gets cheap fouls (last nights wasn't even a foul), but he has cut down on those recently.
Offense Philosophy: He has stuck to a system and now with a better set of guards it is starting to look good to great at times. We still have lapses on that end and I would like to see them run more stuff to get our shooters open looks when we do have those times of multiple bad possessions in a row. Maybe that will come next year, especially for Christie.
In-Bounds plays: on the offensive end they run some good sets to get shots quickly when needed or to get a certain guy the ball in scoring situations. On inbounding after an opponent score - they still need some work vs. the press
In game coaching: He is a work in progress. The really good thing that he does right now is to remain calm no matter what is happening on the floor. He occasionally is animated, but not too often. He works the officials, but not in a way that is easily seen on TV like Fran or Izzo. He's also shown an ability to adjust in game and through the season.
Player Development: Hawkins was a TO machine and out of control early in the year. Since BIG play has started he has really cut down on the out of control play and TO's. Payne is developing a really nice inside game both from the block and elbow. He's also improving in his FT shooting. Garcia has improved his overall game. Mitchell has improved in his decision making(most of the time) and shot selection.
Please explain what he hasn't proven yet.
