This is a rebuild- any thinking otherwise was simply not coming to terms with reality.. I know the staff is working to build the proper foundation for stability going forward.. is it all in place in year 2- NOPE and it would be unrealistic to expect that despite the obvious improvements in this years team. This team also would look very different with Dishman and Scurry in the rotation as others have noted- on both sides of the ball. That said CNM's initial challenge is in recruitment and it is much harder to recruit highly talented, athletic, offensive players than it is to recruit the down/dirty defenders.. the cupboard was pretty bare last year and I don't think anyone has major issues with the recruits to this point. Some guys haven't developed as much as I would like but those guys are all underclassmen right now- I'm willing to give them more time before I call them disappointing.. I wondering where at least one of the upperclassmen is at after displaying such improvement last year.. I think the staff are emphasizing the recruitment of offensive talent first but over time there will be more balance as CNM is able to implement the 4-year planning, peppered with some key 1-3 year transfer types, if you can get 1-2 offensive studs then you can take a few bruisers (defensive studs/offensive liabilities) to balance out things.. I know there are some wannabe recruiting experts here but trust me it's hard to find guys that play exceptionally well on both ends of the court at the D1 level..
I don't disagree with any here that are wanting a better defensive effort- but please don't disregard that there are several factors that exist in the game itself that are different now than what once was.. namely the current rules emphasis and the current HS player's mindset that are at odds with that as a priority.. offensive freedom is a major highlight and especially in early season games we see a lot of whistle-fest type games.. as the season goes on you don't see as many of these whistle-happy games and guys can get away with stuff in the conference slate that they simply call differently in the OOC schedules. That said, the defensive footwork was pathetic and a lot of that is effort- but some of that is fatigue (short bench equals more minutes, less rest).. most of the stuff I saw in the CCU game was just bad/lazy decisions- a lot of swinging at shots and bringing their hands down for easy calls.. it'll be interesting to see what changes vs Nova before some folks here walk off the ledge in this early portion of the schedule...
I don't disagree with any here that are wanting a better defensive effort- but please don't disregard that there are several factors that exist in the game itself that are different now than what once was.. namely the current rules emphasis and the current HS player's mindset that are at odds with that as a priority.. offensive freedom is a major highlight and especially in early season games we see a lot of whistle-fest type games.. as the season goes on you don't see as many of these whistle-happy games and guys can get away with stuff in the conference slate that they simply call differently in the OOC schedules. That said, the defensive footwork was pathetic and a lot of that is effort- but some of that is fatigue (short bench equals more minutes, less rest).. most of the stuff I saw in the CCU game was just bad/lazy decisions- a lot of swinging at shots and bringing their hands down for easy calls.. it'll be interesting to see what changes vs Nova before some folks here walk off the ledge in this early portion of the schedule...
