2. We're not seeing the same offense as White had his first couple of years. He doesn't seem to have trust in a PG since Chiozza, White seems to be calling more set plays. Maybe the bad luck has had an impact & he's trying not to hemorrhage until he gets the right PG. However, it's up to him to either recruit or develop the right PG. Mann isn't the guy, he's as time-inefficient as Nembhard. Appleby has the balls & talent, but he's too careless.
I am certainly “white apologist”. I understand your opinion- I just disagree. This doesn’t make either of us right/wrong... just different perspectives.
Again- the totality of Grant’s resume doesn’t scream “no-brainer” to me. He had a great year last season. But he had the National POY, and his best win was over Georgia. AG may have grown into a fantastic coach. I hope that is the case, as he is a great person and I root for his success. I just wouldn’t want to hire him.
He’s also probably in the last half of his life. Who cares? The guy could coach at Florida for a solid 15 years.
In an alternate universe, he would've coached at Florida for a solid 15 years if he decided to stay on Donovan's staff a little bit longer.
Brent I think you are an intelligent guy and I do respect your views but I certainly don’t understand why you are blind to see that White isn’t what Florida needs at head coach. We will just have to agree to disagree. This isn’t personal.
I also don’t think AG is the coach Florida needs. His ability to coach offense is questionable to say the least.
Brent has been very logical in his defense of White. White is not without mistakes of course but who is. I searched coaching candidates a little while ago and honestly don't see any possible candidates who would warrant White's removal unlike in football where we can hire the cream of the crop any time we want. White's not been terrible, it's been a seesaw of emotions sure, but at least there are positives. It's mainly been the players who have dropped the ball the past few seasons. Nembhard refused to change his game, needed to be more aggressive instead of relying on others to carry the weight. Allen and Hudson wouldn't shoot when open in fear of missing. That **** is infuriating to watch. Our guys need to be playing angry like CC does even if it's not in their nature. Winning has to take you out of your comfort zone at some point, that goes with everything in life. Be comfortable with the uncomfortable. I questioned the talent level coming in but what can you do when the recruiting environment is so plagued with corruption? Talent level is never going to be elite but our attitudes can certainly change for the better. They have a "nice" label, that's not what you want. We don't get first place sportsmanlike conduct ribbons.
I've come to view programs as being in one of three categories essentially: Tier 1 - blue bloods (wouldn't count UCLA, have to have history and be currently relevant), Tier 2 - really solid programs (just below top schools, might lack history or have, like UCLA, lots of history but just not relevant to that degree anymore), Tier 3 - everyone else (might have success sometimes but not a consistent threat like other tiers). I wasn't yet a college basketball fan prior to Donovan's years but, from my perspective, he vaulted y'all to tier 2. But then he left and, with that, I view y'all as being in a make-or-break point and time will tell. If another coach can have consistent success again, even if not on Donovan's level, y'all get locked into tier 2 - or better eventually, who knows. The more guys who come in and struggle, from my perspective, solidify the notion that Florida's success was really only due to Donovan. I will say though, unlike my perspective, I do think most fans thought Florida was done when Donovan left. I remember threads asking the question of what SEC team would step up to replace Florida. I even remember a mocking one welcoming Florida back to being irrelevant. I think that's more what your question was about and I agree with you on it. Using my own made up tiers, I think most college basketball fans dropped Florida to tier 3 the second Donovan stepped down. Though that'd change as soon as significant success happened under someone else.
The problem with that my friend is it's an argumentum ad populum and really doesn't prove anything one way or the other.
You seem to enjoy diminishing AG. You chalk up his success last year to having the POY, as if that's nothing short of a remarkable accomplishment at a school like Dayton. Toppin was a zero star recruit and AG helped develop/turn him into POY. That's a case of player development that Mike White can't come close to. And bagging on a schedule he had no control over? C'mon with the UGA crap. Richmond, St. Mary's, Rhode Island and St. Louis were all better wins (not to mention an OT loss to KU in one of the best games of the year). They were on a mere 20 game winning streak when the season was called. I'll stop short of calling him a no-brainer, slam dunk hire....but he is a more accomplished coach than Mike White.
I'm at 3.14159 ...and furthermore, Scottie is about as far as you can get from a player whose impact on a game can be measured primarily by points scored.
I actually really, really like AG. I think he is a terrific person and was an incredible assistant here. I don’t “enjoy diminishing him” at all. But when the discussion is his candidacy for our HC, I think all of my talking points are relevant. You are correct about my “Georgia crap”. But the larger point remains... none of the three teams you mentioned spent a single moment of the season ranked in the top 25. Grant has accomplished more than White.... as a head coach??? AG has last season and his COY award, and was probably robbed the opportunity of further accomplishment. But as far as HC, White has far more successes. It really isn’t close. Also- I think the Toppin question is a fair one.Prior to last season, AG really wouldn’t be on a radar and hadnt any remarkable type season since his very first a vcu. A personal friend of mine is HC at Lehigh. I think he is a good coach, but I also think it is reasonable to wonder if his outstanding season in which he topped Duke in the tourney could be largely attributed to having CJ McCollum. While I may really enjoy having Brett Reed as our HC... and would lobby like hell for a job.... I suspect you might partake in some “bagging”! (Especially if he hired me!)