(12-07-2021 03:52 PM)AlphaFlash Wrote: (12-07-2021 11:40 AM)fallsdog Wrote: Losing at home by 15 to a solid mid major is just the way things are now guys. Its not the offense, its not the coach, its not the defense, its not recruiting, its not culture. None of those things matter anymore. Sheesh.
I came to this conclusion about 8 years ago. Even Geno developed players and managed games better. Christian was incredible. Sendy seemed like the right guy at the time, but ever since we have declined. I'm not basing this off last night. His career hangs on Jaylin Walker/Jimmy Hall coming out of nowhere and having a blowout weekend in 2017. Since then its been several 20-win seasons developed off weak scheduling.
Since you mentioned Jaylin Walker ... I would think the consensus on this board is he 'developed' over the course of his career. His main issue was his biggest strength was also his weakness ... and if you don't think Jaylen Avery improved from freshmen to senior I can't help you. ADR certainly improved his two years at Kent ... Now, did Mitch Peterson improve, not much, but he was still a productive player. Did Whittington improve ... not much, but he was a productive player as well. Did Jimmy Hall improve, certainly. Dev Manley certainly improved, Kris Brewer improved, Derek Jackson improved ... this kind of cherry-pickin about coaching -- be it football or basketball -- seems to dismiss the fact other teams have gotten better not to mention how much the game has changed over the 10 years RS has been the coach.
Eight years ago Kent and Akron were the top of the league ... Buffalo, Toledo, BG were mid-pack. Now look. Kent and Akron are mid-pack (upper middle) and observers seem to feel those other three teams have leap-frogged NE Ohio.
As someone mentioned earlier ... Senderoff may not be the best coach in the league, but (1) he has proven to be a consistent winner and (2) he has proven he can rise to the occasion with enough talent at hand.
Let's not forget, that JHall NCAA team had to beat a team with the leading scorer in the nation (thanks JAvery) in overtime, a Buffalo team looking for a NCAA Tournament repeat, an Ohio team that was favored and Akron which was not only favored, but had won the league by 2-3 games and had the MAC POY.
As the saying goes ... you're usually better off with the devil you know than the devil you don't know.
And I'll add this ... for those who remember the last regulation sequence of the CMU OTime game, coming out of a timeout (!!!!) Kent got the ball to JHall on the block where he was mauled so bad he could barely get the ball above his head before it was knocked away. CMU missed a bustout 3-pointer to win. The So-Jr JHall likely would have gotten a tech complaining about the missed call. The Sr. JHall kept his composure and played to the end. ..... He improved.