I'm not seeing how we're in a "great position."
We're not ranked. We just lost our prime recruit. We have a coach who we all believe will retire within a handful of years, and we have no clear succession plan.
We have a bunch of recruits that we like, but somehow we still need to rationalize their ranking and self-inflate them, because "they haven't been seen enough" or somesuch, while ignoring that the other kids ahead of them might be facing similar circumstances. I'm not saying our kids aren't better than their numbers, or won't be, but at some point if you accept that your #3-ranked recruit really is #3, you kinda have to accept that the #47 really is #47, especially when the past handful of years has been a pretty truthful translation of recruiting to conference performance.
Yeah, i'd like a qualified, proven, experienced big man coach. That's been on my list for a long, long time. Even as people (Rony?) were throwing acclaim at Bernie Fine. But, who is that guy? And is it really about a 'name' guy? How many other top programs have a 'name' guy at that position? It's about two things: trust—having a recruit believe he will develop under that position coach; and then some sort of assessment of the actual development itself, which is even more difficult to deal with.
Plus, there's the matter of the position of Center itself being transformed. The appeal of the traditional post game is fading a bit. Pre-2020 draft, there were articles written about how Golden State should absolutely not draft Wiseman, because post centers just weren't making championship impact anymore. I wonder how or if that philosophy will trickle down to college, or if inside power can still be a decider in the NCAA. Either way, that's an aspect we need to consider. "Center" is a broader category now, and even 7-footers want to launch threes. So, what kind of big man coach is the right kind of big man coach?
To improve our program... We need JB to be an even better salesman/ambassador/PR guru. Somehow. Designing, developing, and managing those opportunities should be a priority for the Athletic Department. We need better PR. We need better 'Design and Flair.' But, substance-wise, we need our alums to be better and more impactful in the NBA, and that starts with getting better recruits in the first place—it's a cycle.
So, basically, it's scientifically impossible.
