I wanted a point guard to replace Pullin from last season, and I also wanted Johnell Davis over Alijah Martin. So I am gonna let Golden run the basketball program from now on.
We just won a NC with 0 and 3-star players - the idea of paying that much money and NOT winning an NC seems beneath us. We’ve cracked the code, why deviate and get into bidding wars with everyone else. I like what Illinois is doing, at least they’re original. So many big programs now feel like the Yankees, and have won as much.
doing it once, is not cracking any code. If we can continue this and still get to the Elite 8/FF, then code is broken, but I think we'll need more highly regarded players to continue.
you can crack a code once. If they change the code, you crack it again or you don't, but we did crack it. Our ascension to an NC in 3 years, with big leaps in individual and team performance is about as close as you can get to a proven formula in such a short period of time. Why change strategies if you don't have to - at least until they change the code.
Fland is a bad shooter and not elite finishing at the rim when contested. I’d take Claude over him all day.
The 'money/high quality players vs. 'code' question does not have a binary answer in my opinion. All things being equal, the team that pays more and acquires better talent wins. But all things are NOT equal. For example: - paying for an elite '1 and done' freshman is very risky as the big lights, long season of college hoops is a hard adjustment. Perhaps spend on a seasoned veteran (especially guards)? - Talent evaluation is not even across the board. No player is perfect and some coaches value defense (Houston) or offense more. - Recruiting complementary players or just 'getting talent'? - Talent development and coaching - look at Golden focusing on our defense (knowing the offense would be there). Money is one of many factors. Golden is on top of all the other factors, and it seems like we have the money to continue doing great things (as long as Golden is our coach).
I believe our staff applies next-level analytics in its player searches as much as it does in game-planning. There may not be as much data available on high-school players or overseas players, but the staff is digging deep into what is available and going after those guys that are team-first guys, play hard, and check off the data boxes.
I’m reminded of the era when UK signed most of the top players every year it seemed. They flopped and most of these blue bloods were one and done. We all laughed at the UK fans who predicted a NC every year. I agree there are a lot of variables in putting together a winning, championship team; I think Golden is one of those rare coaches that understands a lot of what it takes.
