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Message: [QUOTE="JOC44, post: 1681850, member: 613"] I think there's a combination of small sample size and nostalgia for the good old days that is coloring the analysis here. It seems that the premise is that recent misses show that the current assistants can't develop and/or recruit players. And I see a longing for the prior crew of assistants (basically, Rob Murphy, Hop, and Fine). But that was the crew of assistants who (for the most part) coached up the post-championship class of Demetris Nichols, Terrance Roberts, and Mookie Watkins, a class that everyone would view as a disappointment. And Paul Harris didn't develop as anyone would hope under those assistants, nor did Josh Wright. But I wouldn't say the prior assistants were terrible. The reality is that in college basketball the rosters are so small that a handful of guys who don't develop can crush a program, particularly if those guys stay around for four years. It's hard to recruit behind them because they are viewed as an obstacle to playing time but they never actually perform well enough to make the team great. Some players miss because they get to college and don't work hard. Some miss because they get to college and have stage fright. Some don't have the body type or skill set to match their program. Some just weren't as good as you thought. We are bringing in good talent. I think the last couple of years are attributable to a few factors: (1) probation hanging over our heads; (2) a few guys going pro when they just as easily could have decided to come back for another year (i.e., right or wrong, it wasn't a slam dunk that they HAD to go); (3) a few more misses than usual; and (4) the failure to bring in a two-guard of note in the four years between Cooney and Richardson. There's nothing on that list that isn't fixed if the two freshmen return and Battle and Moyer show up as ready to play rotation minutes. If those things happen, we're back in business. [/QUOTE]

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