Like how the aggy questions the QB committing after only visiting SC out of his Top 7. As if their own best commits aren't guys who committed without visiting anywhere and now have to decide between a decommit just to visit elsewhere or being a pussy to Jimbo's cuck-induced coercion.
This being the recruiting thread, what I am saying is Shaka's offense, such as it is, and his recruiting have failed to come together. We have a lot of athletic guys who actually look better suited to Havoc or at least an up tempo pace and then he brings in transfers like Cleare and Osetkowski who aren't. He has made it clear that he doesn't want to run Havoc, but he also doesn't have to run half court sets that require multiple .380+ 3pt shooters when he has no guys who can shoot at that clip.
I think Coleman is going to save his bacon and by the time he is an upperclassmen Shaka will be getting another extension. Does Shaka learn something either as an X and Os coach about generating offense no matter the personnel or does he learn something as an evaluator and get the right balance of skills to actually score in his offense?
Meh. If you guys can't shoot for shit, then come up with something that gives them a better chance to score. Like, oh I don't know, a pressuring, full-court defense that will generate turnovers and layups for guys not named Dylan.
This is the same problem I have with Herman and Beck with their lack of offense. It is fine to have a system that you are building to maximize, but when you have injuries or don't have the personnel to run it effective, at least have enough coaching acumen to tweak the system or even install some different things to give your guys a chance to win. These coaches get paid way too much money to be brain-dead slaves to a system that means disappointment any season where there are a few injuries or one or two players didn't develop in the way you thought they would.
Ricky Blaine and Neonmoon cover where I am at when looking for a hopeful spin on the situation. Beck won a lot of games at OSU, but the numbers show his offense wasn't as good as his predecessor and successor. OSU won because of the talent and experience as much as (or likely more than) anything Beck brought to the table. Herman isn't defending a national title, so not making the playoffs next year isn't on his or Beck's shoulders. I hope Herman will shoot for more than 8 wins and will pull the plug on Beck calling plays at the earliest opportunity, should Beck ever even call plays next season.
The offense will look better so long as injuries don't decimate the OL. But even with some bad luck, having more experienced guys and the fact that we have at least average talent across the board, especially at QB, should help keep the chains moving. Add to it that Beck may or may not actually call the plays, and there should be a bit more of a silver lining on the offensive side of the ball. Herman gets continuity (and I am hoping he is just waiting for the OC he really wants and that wasn't an option this offseason) and the chance to see if calling plays himself is possible.
Or Herman could just be stubborn and Beck leads us to a sub .500 record at midseason before Herman steps in and he too struggles and we finish where we were or worse than last season and Herman earns himself a Strong scent of failure.
What? I celebrate every one of his inebriated moments in the Station. He was statistically one of the best coaches that aggy has had in the modern era and yet the guy won nothing but fauxmentum. Perfect aggy. I praise him and his incompetence!
I would also imagine guys who are on the take or have a handler will hold off to see what sort of additional cash can be funneled in by desperate buyers.
I think the true top guys know they will get the red carpet treatment by coming in for officials in the Spring and Summer. They probably don't care about Bama or Clemson making a late desperation stab at them when the already have strong relationships with a bunch of premier programs.
Improvement is key and after that what CDC then sets as the floor when Shaka maxes out. I still think next year we will win at least a few more games due to the combination of the conference losing so much talent and our talent getting a year older. That will give him year 5. I think with Coleman as an upperclassmen, so long as Shaka doesn't run off the rest of the experience chasing one-and-done guys, we will peak that year (then I assume Coleman goes pro after his junior year). Will it be a Final Four like with TJ? Can he or does he need to maintain that sort of level to keep his job or will a series of mediocre season like Barnes had post 2008 get him a quicker hook without the early success Barnes built to shore up his tenure? I figure Shaka is here until at least 2022. I can only hope he figures it out and ultimately 'out-Jay-Wright's Jay Wright, but if not his teams will probably do just enough to get him another 4+ years.
One of my favorite CDC tweets:
"We are looking at a cross of Kentucky Bluegrass, Featherbed Bent, and Northern California Sensemilia. The amazing stuff about this is, that you can play 4 quarters on it in the afternoon, take it home and just get stoned to the bejeezus-belt that night on this stuff."