There is a lot of vitriol pointed at the team by some to support their theory that a national search for a coach should have been made and that hiring from the bench was wrong, and Red won’t succeed, and to support their position they point out each instant where the team didn’t play perfectly and where Red didn’t put coach K, Bobby Knight, John Wooden, and JB to shame with his game plan and in game adjustments.
Once we lost Williams, Westry, McLeod, Carey and Hima, leaving us with a bench of Copeland and Cuffe, Red's ability to pull levers via changes of personnel is very limited.
What do you want him to do, pull Mintz and Starling for a worse player?
Carey coming back gives Red a little more he can do, but taking out Brown for Carey in most circumstances is only to give Brown a short rest.
On the other hand, outside of personnel, I am a little worried about Red's in game management.
The offense in the second half wasn't nearly as effective, but we still scored 40 against a pretty good defensive team...
On defense, we couldn't get any stops, including leaving Notre Dame's leading three point shooters open again and again. The zone got torched, man to man got torched, and Red didn't seem to do much to try to change the momentum.
Maybe a proactive press would have helped, changing up the responsibilities, putting Taylor and Copeland in together or summertime else could have helped.
The status quo was certainly not.