(05-12-2021 05:50 AM)Tribe32 Wrote: ...Then we had the pandemic. .......Not sure how a conclusion is made that teams weren't prepared.
First, to address some of Tribe32's points: the comment about W&M teams not being prepared can be shown with just two quick examples. The MBB announcers stated several times during the year, and they quoted some of the players, that the late date for starting
team practices plus the fact that none of the players were able to practice together during the summer (especially the incoming freshmen) were crucial reasons why team chemistry took longer to develop this year. Similarly, Women's Tennis Player of the Year Mila Saric (who is from the Canary Islands) stated that the complete lockdown over the summer (where she didn't even leave her house for three months) had a hugely detrimental effect on her practice time. W&M lost an early match to JMU 7-0 due to lack of practice, whereas two months later they were competitive in the CAA Finals (losing a match that could truly have gone either way). Both of these examples highlight how the pandemic changed things.
Which leads to my second point. The pandemic changed things for
everybody! Yet, somehow, other CAA teams were able to win 22 championships (so far; Baseball isn't done yet) this year. Roughly speaking, multiply 23 sports by 32 conferences and you get 736 college teams that were able to overcome the pandemic adversity (not even counting other teams that earned at-large berths in the many various NCAA tournaments). So, sure, the pandemic wreaked havoc...but it did so for everybody and shouldn't be used as an excuse for poor performances. In my opinion, W&M used the pandemic as cover for hiding/excusing poor play and to save money on scheduling. They were not "All In" this year. They would receive more credit from me if they had simply "opted out" of all sports in October. They would have had a ton of time to get their act together on finding a new Athletic Director.
(05-12-2021 07:23 AM)nogretheogre Wrote: I would add that over the past few years, that while it seems that teams in the CAA have "caught up" the reality may be that our programs have dropped. We are rarely if ever ranked in the top 25 in any sport. We remain "competitive" in the CAA, but in some sports we had previously been competitive with ACC teams. Being at or near the top of CAA standings for us is now not as common as it once was. Aside from swimming and cross-country, we have rarely won any championship in the last 5-10 years. Its hard to gauge exactly what is happening, but the overall trend has been concerning to me for awhile and I dont think its solely coaching-related. Facilities have improved, but our peers have done the same if not more (Kaplan really truly needs to be a go). Its also possible that our slow slip in academic rankings has dimmed what has been our most attractive feature to some student athletes.
I am in 100% agreement with Nogre that this rock bottom year has been in the making for several years now. Don't know whether the decline should be blamed on Reveley/Rowe (on whose watches it occurred) or on Driscoll/Huge/Martin (who bore first-line responsibility). I think the answer is probably "all of the above". However, this gradual yet alarming slow-but-sure slide
must be reversed upon the hiring of the new AD. It cannot be overstated how important this next hire is. It will shape the next 10 years of W&M sports. I'm pretty sure that I won't live long enough to ride out another bad hire and wait for the next golden age.