All--I have been a bit out of things with this program the last two years (for professional and personal reasons that required attention elsewhere). Although I've been tracking scores and recognize this season is completely lost, that's about all I know.
So here's the hypo: we're sitting in a bar and I asked you for a quick summary of what's going on with MU basketball right now, what you would you say? A Grand Unifying Theory as to how we got here, so to speak. Is it just that the talent isn't there and wasn't properly addressed through the portal? And who are players we want to invest in to turn things around quickly, if any? I've scrolled through some topics but can't quite tie it all together easily. Grateful for anyone's input.
Hmmm. Plenty of opinions out there.
Go to the second page of threads. Near the top, there's a post by Hards Alumni literally titled, "How We Got Here and How We Get Out" that does a pretty decent job of summarizing things.
IMO, we slowly accumulated a bunch of dead weight during the highly successful first few years. Then once that group departed, we were left with the dead weight and newcomers. It was a tough spot to be in for Shaka because there wouldn't have been much playing time available for guys who would be juniors now in their first 2 years.
In hindsight, wish Shaka treated this like his first year. Remove the dead weight (ie Dexter Akanno and Jose Perez) and replace them with more proven players. I guess it was tougher because he had closer relationships with the current dead weight. I do think Shaka could have bridged the gap better as the culture turned over to these new 1st and 2nd year guys.
So, I think the future is still bright but this year was mismanaged. A quicker hook is needed on the players who don't meet expectations after 2 years. Hopefully lessons learned and it's avoided in the future.