What I mean is that Fred's teams and years are looked at like they were untouchable. Fred did a lot right and did a lot of great, but his 5 years weren't some untouchable mark. Basically my point.
I have not been a Fred sunshine pumper. Honestly I haven't seen a lot of people - at least of late - that cling to him. There seems to be a lot of straw man attacking going on, on this site.
I'll give my thought on the Fred and Prohm paradigms/comparisons, but just for full disclosure: I had an open mind when Prohm was hired. It seems like most fans did from my admittedly hazy recollection. He wasn't my first choice, but based on his teams' Kenpom metrics it looked like he handled things quite well when he was at Murray St. Defense wasn't great but it looked like an improvement over what Fred's staff was doing. He was clearly excited for the job as he let it leak he got it before the announcement was made. There is no questioning his passion for being at Iowa State, and he's never been anything but class. We all appreciate that.
To me, there's one thing that tidily explains the dissent for Prohm: lack of IDENTITY. Fred's teams had an identity, and a powerful one at that: offensive firepower backed by charismatic guys who played for each other. Fred got guys that could really launch from land and the passing and spacing and flow was something to behold. Sweet baby Jesus, help any team in the country when his teams were on. Fred would run multiple sets with clever hitches and counters (screen up top for Ejim vs. Baylor in Big 12 Championship comes to mind for some reason). Out of bounds plays were a thing of beauty. He'd find ways to get his best players iso'd on the other teams' worst defenders. He'd get timely contributions in timely moments.
Conversely, Prohm's squads don't have an easily perceptible identity. I can't think of one thing I'd call a strength or enjoyable to watch. I fully expect Sigmapolis to respond with "Kenpom offensive rating" or "Bartorvik *whatever*" but anybody who watched Fred's teams realize there was an IDENTITY to those teams that made it exciting basketball. That identity for the most part hasn't existed under Prohm.
The Suns couldn't play defense during their high years. Virginia has often been average offensively. Hell, my 8th grade team couldn't hit the broad side of a barn but we were vicious defenders and rebounders. Huggins, Frank Martin, etc. All identities that the fan base knows what to expect. And they've produced results that make it easy to back. With an identity the fanbase knows what to expect, and things are easier to love when you understand what they are. You never know what to expect from Prohm's squads. It still seems like
Steve's still trying to figure out what he wants.He'll plug up a hole one game but other issues from the past pop up, leaving fans to wonder, "What is this team?" each year so far after Fred's recruits moved on. He clearly likes to space the floor, but he's obtained a roster full of chuckers that can't actually shoot. And it appears the commits for next year aren't really shooters either. It feels like everything he's trying to do is discordant from what is being produced.
I root for him and his improvement. Fred showed you don't have to be a howling jacka$$ to control a basketball game, and Prohm's fine with his style. I just think he needs to figure out what he is, and then get the right guys to do it. And it's extremely troubling that we're in year five without knowing what he is and that, seemingly, he doesn't know what he wants. Funny thing is, I'm now remembering posting something along these lines a year or two ago.
