The jury is justifiably still out on TJ. He may prove to be a horrible hire (I hope not, but I get the feeling some of you are lusting for his failure).
But for God's sake, must there be fights about every passing observation.
Gabe Kalscheur Commits
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The jury is justifiably still out on TJ. He may prove to be a horrible hire (I hope not, but I get the feeling some of you are lusting for his failure).
But for God's sake, must there be fights about every passing observation.
Absolutely. Some of it is coach mentality, and style as well. Prohm and Hoiberg were never the same as Eustachy when it came to rebounds.
I would say Hoiberg was very lucky to have a guy like Ejim, followed by Hogue. Those guys just knew how to rebound. Without their ability to rebound, those teams could have looked much different, because Niang wasn't that type of post player. The good news is, sometimes it only takes that one guy to change everything.
I can see where people would believe that, but if one is to look at all the factors, including those for which the fan base is not in the know, I don't see a scenario where he wasn't.
With the money situation alone, that eliminated all established "big name" coaches. That left us with up and comers who would take the job for less with an incentivized contract. And while it's difficult to know everything about every candidate, what was known about TJ is that no one was going to outwork him. Add in his connection to the school and the region along with his recruiting ability, it became a no brainer.
IMO we may have been able to get someone else who was as good as TJ and maybe even better at the Xs and Os. But when considering his energy level and other intangibles, we would have been idiots to not hire him...especially if we ended up with another Prohm. I'm old enough to have been around a lot of people like TJ in my life. It is very rare that they fail.
Yeah the only concern I have is how he will adjust to playing in a power conference. His jump is going to be a lot like Jones moving from the Summit League. Good coaching can get them prepared though
I do want to be the first to coin him "Kauliflower" though as I think of cauliflower every time I see his name and hair together.
Big 12 defensive player of the year Jameel McKay did alright there too.
Agreed on most of this, but we don’t know how any of last year’s players would be in a system because Prohm didn’t have one. For me that’s all I want from TJ is to find an identity for his teams. Be adaptable too like Scott Drew does now after making that change from his one way to do it system. Coaches that can adapt to the players they have are successful. Find your identity and stick to the principals of it while molding yourself based on the players you have.
Went car shopping with the wife last summer. 2 dogs she takes to the park almost daily so she wanted a crossover/small SUV. Saw a high mileage HellCat she told me we didn't have time to test drive. Hell yes I was butthurt but eventually got over it.
The question isn’t about where he’d rather play on offense, though. I’m happy to play 5-out with a 7 footer dragging his defender out of the paint. The question is whether or not he can credibly defend the 4 and if that, versus rim-protection, is the best use of his skill set. He may very well be able to, but I haven’t seen enough to say.
So for your reference Erik, this would be an Eagle Rare or McKenna...definitely not a 5 Star whiskey.
Kalscheur is an elite perimeter defender
Didn't you hear, TJ got his dream job. TJ has zero pressure on him due to the nature of his hire. TJ has a ton of pressure on him due to being a highly paid P5 MBB coach where his success & failures are over scrutinized by the media and fanbase.
My guess he is up for the challenge and is loving every day since he is doing what he loves.
Never bad to have the potential ROTY giving shoutouts to the program.
I don't think Hinson is a power 4- over 60% of this shots at Mississippi were 3 pointers. So I don't think he's a guy hanging in the paint.
Hinson could be a small ball 4, but I hope part of TJ's vision is a taller & more physical front line. Personally, I hope Hinson and Johnson are wings. Then the 4 position is manned by Foster, Kunc or a recruit like Payton.
What’s your basis for concluding he wasn’t the best realistic option?
I would agree that Foster is a stretch 4 on offense and I think he has length and skills to score in the paint. Especially as his body matures and he gets stronger.
But as another poster pointed out earlier, with Foster's foot injury, can he defend the majority of Big12 4's? For me that is the biggest question. If he can, that gives TJ post flexibility between Conditt (5), Kunc (4), Jones(5) and Foster(4/5).
I would like TJ to sign a kid like Paxton from Indian Hills. He has been a rebounding machine and efficient paint scorer at the JUCO level. A player with his skillset could play 5 on offense and 4 on defense. Which could compliment Foster- 4 on offense & 5 on defense.
I have seen nothing that indicates that other coaches were contacted or interviewed. If other coaches had been interviewed, it would have been made public by Pollard to bolster his decision.
What is your basis for concluding he was the best option if there is nothing to indicate other coaches were contacted or interviewed?
Maybe no one else wanted the job except Lavelle Mouton.
Chris Payton would be a great get especially now that his three point shot has seemed to develop more over this season.
