Coach Easley leaving
- Thread starter mred
- Start date
The thread has wandered a little - I agree that our talent level is decent and improving. Our record has suffered, in part, because the conference is much better than it was 10-12 years ago. In the Welle era, UT and TTU had slid; ATM wasn't a factor; OU was just starting its rise and BU was pathetic.
Completely agree about the coaching job BF did this past season. They overachieved during conference play but got completely exposed in post-season play. This may have been BF's best coaching job.
Regarding talent, the overall talent pool in the last couple of seasons has been the worst for BF since Stacy Frese came on board. Not to pick on Chassidy Cole, but she doesn't start on BF's prior teams nor does Jessica Schroll. Hopefully, the new recruits will improve the perimeter play next season. What is really worrisome is there is no one on the current roster or currently in the recruiting pipeline to replace Poppens and Prins after next season. Baier likely won't be ready for 2 or 3 years and it's a question mark if she will ever be a quality B12 post player.
Chas, Jess, and Stuckey as well were here to bring up the speed and defensive ability. In the early years the team was built on offense, with defensive shortcomings covered up by zones. If that worked today, Florzak and Mosman would have not been on the end of the bench. It's a lot harder to get the players with strength on both ends of the court. Not that we haven't had some e.g. Bolte and Lacey, just not enough. Moody, Bingley, and the Kid look to be a step in the right direction.
Just one question for you, how many years have you followed (and I mean attended every home game & been to the Big 12 tourney) the Cyclone womens team? You seem to really have it out for last years team. You want to point out two players that helped us win games last year as poor players but claim our talent is poor so who else do you feel did not belong on a team?
2013 post recruits that have offers and that staff are working on are high level. The fact that a 2013 frosh post could start for us (and if Trapp who was at the tourney and her and her family were wearing ISU gear, verbals) will likely do so, I'm not so worried. Staff is high on Baier, and we saw what they did with Pop.
What I think we need to be worried about right now is our guard court depth. Next year, likely Moody, Bingley, Williamson will be starting, maybe Kidd will compete for some time there, but to have only 4 guards, 2 soph, and two fresh to cover 3 positions is thin at best. Not counting on Vanloo till it is announced. and that would be 3 frosh and two soph.
Two players that I have been disappointed in their development were Harris and Z. Neither really has improved their game much since they came here and were defensive liabilities. Both would have been stars on the BF teams of old.
Agree with other posters here, we focus on the negatives of our players too much, not realizing what they contribute. We went to the Elite 8 and Sweet Sixteen with Stuckey who was a major impact on defense and rebounds. As Pat Summit says, offense sells tickets, defense wins games, and rebounds wins championships.
WBB and the Big 12 is tougher and more physical now. BF has been transitioning this team for the past few years, not to his preference, but for survival, and I commend him on his ability to adapt.
Overreaction. Did you read the first paragraph of my post? BF coached up a team that obviously did not have the talent of past teams. The staff and players should all be applauded for their efforts to achieve what they did. If you need further clarification, the offensive skill set of this season's team was the worst since Stacy Frese arrived. Defensively, they were good for the most part but the offensive limitations became painfully obvious in KC and against Green Bay.
I would beg to differ...some of the teams just prior (02-03, 05-06 or 03-04) had the lowest talent levels. Talent is not so much an issue as increased competition. This years team would have been a top 2 or 3 team in the conference in Stacey's day. Defense is light years better than back then.
If it was going to be Billy, we would know by now. The women's coaching ranks are still very fluid this late after the season. There are still 10-12 head coaching jobs open, and many assistants are on the move to new homes.
The key is to have someone in place for the July recruiting period, which I'm sure BF will do.
The coaching ranks may still be fluid at the mid or low major level but they are not at the high-major level. I am assuming for now that Bill is on something like Plan D at this point in time.
Tennessee just added two assistants this past week, including taking the top assistant from Kentucky, I would say that is high end.
We can compete with those two school in attendance but not much more, certainly not for staffers. I don't know what to think about the programs health right now. A couple years ago I was hoping we could move up a notch or two and maybe be a top 16 team but now it's starting to look like top 35-40 might be more realistic. It's too bad with the crazy fan support/attendance we have and the league we play in that we can't seem to get better or recruit better.
If Coach ends up promoting his own son I'll have a minor personal fan meltdown.
I guess I see our program going up not down. Returning the 2nd best player in the Big 12 with two legs, and one heck of a fast guard court next year. They will be young, but hopefully the experience of Prins, HC, and Pop will keep them grounded. Really, look at what we are losing, Chaz/Loz, and what we are gaining - Kidd, Bingley. Moody and Williamson will have some experience under their belt. I frankly think our guard court will be one of the best in the nation in two years, we just need to land a really talented big or two to go with that.
We also need Pop to play a little more composed so she can contribute more than 24 minutes. Also, please God, let Anna have a healthy off-season.
I would have really liked to have seen Law at ISU. Great recruiter, great defensive mind ala her mentor Stringer....
TN had to move fast to get staff filled. They haven't had a commitment in almost two years. All the question marks were starting to cause caution in recruits, and they really need to start landing some talent if TN is to remain TN. I like Holly, but she is got to prove a lot in the next two - three years - (and next year could be one of TN weakest ever).
Having Summit around is good for recruiting, but it is not 'playing' for Summit. TX thought having Conradt around would help them too.
I agree with what Three4Cy said earlier: if that were going to happen, it probably already would have by now.
This is getting interesting regarding the length of time on this hire. If Bill waits this long to hire Billy, that will really look bad (it would look bad anyway regardless of timing). If it's not Billy and someone else really good, there must have been a ton of dominoes to fall in order for the hire to be made this late. If it's a ho-hum hire, then there must have been quite a few candidates say no to Bill.
A decision has probably been made and just hasn't been announced yet. Announcements come a little slower this time of the year as it is a dead period for recruiting, end of the school year and coaches have been on vacations. It took almost a month for them to announce Ashley Hagedorn was walking on after it was on Twitter in early April.
