Mornin Mates...
Today's Topic = Player Development
I had to turn off the Utes dunk-a-thon yesterday, shortly after halftime, and turned on golf that tells you all you need to know about how this men's BB season has gone for our Sun Devils...at least for me...
I still like Bobby and Remy but this "one and done" deal was an absolute bust as far as I can tell...we basically got nothing out of it, aside from giving a scholarship to one five-star's brother who is not a Div 1 talent or even close to it...
Yes, the pandemic makes it hard to judge just about anything related to our BB program but, meanwhile, up in Eugene, where the pandemic is just as prevalent, the last I looked, the Ducks are once again atop of the PAC where they have usually resided on top or near it under Dana Altman...
Altman has won 72% of all of his games at Oregon and 66% of his PAC games while there...also won three PAC championships (probably a fourth PAC championship after they probably beat the Beavers later today) and taken the Ducks to the Dance 7 times and for an 8th time after this season...he's also taken the Ducks to the Elite 8 once and the next year to the Final Four...
So, how does he do it..??
According to Hansen, in the Daily Star, this past week, he does it "by spotting and developing hoops talent" and we are not talking necessarily about five-star, one-and-done talent, either, although the Ducks have had some high profile players that worked out but just as many that did not...
Hansen lists these four things as key to Altman's success at Oregon...
1) Coaching stability - two of his assistants have been with Altman his entire time at UO and his third has been there for the past seven years...
By contrast, Sean Miller has had 10 different assistants during that same time and I wonder how many assistants Bobby has had at ASU during his tenure there...
And, we all know that a key Sun Devil assistant is now ready to move on to a head coaching job in the Midwest...
2) The Ducks have identified and developed players like PG Payton Pritchard who was a four-star PG coming out of HS and stay with the Huskies for four years...
Of course, the Devils, under Bobby, brought in Remy who has stayed all four years at ASU and he has been a difference maker of sorts but he hasn't had the supporting cast that Altman gave Pritchard at Oregon...
Which leads us to this third point...
3) Altman and his staff "have been adept - masterful, really - at evaluating and acquiring transfers...just check out this year's Ducks' team that has these three key transfers...Chris Duarte, LJ Figueroa and Eugene Omoruyi...
Duarte may be the best player in the PAC and he came from Florida SW JC who had offers from UCF, NM State, W Kentucky, and Temple, etc...
4) Players develop under Altman and his staff as shown by Pritchard who averaged 9 pts a game as a FR and 21 ppg as a senior when he was the PAC POY...
Hansen concludes by saying this..."it's easy to say college BB is all about recruiting, but player development is no worse than 1-A...it's the difference between Arizona and Oregon"...
Do you agree with what Hansen is saying..??
How much of it applies to the Sun Devils under BH, if anything..??
And, most importantly, what has to change for the Sun Devils to move up in the PAC..??
Do we need a new head coach..??
(that choice certainly wouldn't be in line with Hansen's first point)
Who should Hurley hire as his next assistant...a great recruiter, better Xs and Os guy, former NBA player, etc..??
What about going to an NBA model or is that even applicable to basketball..??
The football program, under Herm, has certainly made strides in getting bigger, stronger, faster and more powerful players following an NFL model and Bobby is an ex-NBA player with a high profile reputation but does any of that apply to BB..??
And, this season, Herm's third, we should start seeing whether Herm and his staff are developing players the way they need to be developed to win championships, the way Altman has done it in BB at Oregon...
As you know, I'm a big Talent Is Destiny guy but based on what has transpired or not transpired with the five-star BB talent on BH's team this season, maybe it's more about player development than just plain talent..??
Maybe both Bagley and Christopher were over-rated..??
I still would rather have four and five star recruits on my teams but not in favor of this "one and done" deal in BB as it doesn't lead to team continuity, etc, moving forward...
And, does this one-and-done deal apply to transfers, as well..??
Anyway, I'll be interested to see what you all come up with...
G'day Mates and Go Devils!!!
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