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I'm as critical of Jank as the next guy, but I was actually shocked to see a decent coaching job by him in this game, both in terms of plan and execution. And then actually showing some balls to bench a guy for taking a horrendous shot vs the typical golf clap nearly had me fall out of my chair. Not a great win, but a nice win for sure on the road vs a mid-tier Big East team. We have nice pieces in Mike and Hunt (and maybe Ethan if he can stay disciplined) for the next coach but definitely need an alpha guard from somewhere in order to be a tourney team. I'm surprised Douglas hasn't already announced he's transferring to be able to start in December somewhere else next year vs sit the whole year. No question we have a 7 man rotation for the rest of the year unless foul trouble forces Young (like it did on Saturday for a few minutes) or White to fill space.

Ironic that the depth next year will be the worst it's ever been (unless something very unforeseen takes place) and yet we will finally have our full load of ships...

Where would Douglas transfer to? StumbleBum Junior College? Nobody wants him. Landrum, Ray, Douglas - a three headed monument to recruiting incompetence.

I'm sure Douglas would have some options because he was a good prospect coming in. All of that said, everything I have heard is he is a good kid and not a cancer or anything like that. He puts time in.

The most important thing is what you do with the other three scholarships next year. Need a high end transfer who sits out a year and two very good guards. If that doesn't happen we are in trouble regardless of who the coach is.

What is the problem with Douglas?

Terry Webster wrote:What is the problem with Douglas?

just does not appear good enough to play at this level

All three: Landrum, Douglas and Ray are reportedly good eggs.
And I haven’t heard anything bad about their work ethics other than Ray doesn’t grasp Jank’s concepts quickly or easily. But it’s not about their character.

You could have made arguments for or against any or all of them at the time they were signed. But a season and a half into their college careers none has provided any significant contribution to the program.
Landrum moved on.... problem solved.
Douglas clearly has not met expectations and now it looks like Jank has lost confidence in him. He’ll be gone.
Ray is a bit more difficult because of his injury. He’ll most likely redshirt so he’s basically still a freshman who needs to further prove himself.

But the message is pretty clear. Jank needs to recruit better than his current record indicates and it definitely does not appear he is up to that task.

It’s too bad: Jank is a nice guy. Landrum, Douglas and Ray are good kids.

And this is a .500 team flat out of excuses. An improving .500 team? Yes.

But it’s pretty clear to see that, if recruiting continues as it has, we’ll not compete with top tier teams.

The recruiting misses put Tim on the hot seat... he knows it.... the only thing that saves him is if he can finish top three in a rebuilding conference.... which would validate his ability to coach.... I don’t see a team that is good enough on defense to beat the top half of our league
UCF, UH,Temple,Cinci probably Memphis are all better than us.
If we finish 7th in conference as predicted then Jank is gone.

Pony81 wrote:The recruiting misses put Tim on the hot seat... he knows it.... the only thing that saves him is if he can finish top three in a rebuilding conference.... which would validate his ability to coach.... I don’t see a team that is good enough on defense to beat the top half of our league
UCF, UH,Temple,Cinci probably Memphis are all better than us.
If we finish 7th in conference as predicted then Jank is gone.

The problem is that we still are screwed. I think this gets lost in just wanting to see SMU succeed and win games. Things staying the way they are right now - it literally does not matter how we finish this year because we are going to be much worse next year, and further worse the year after. There will be no hero transfers, this staff can't get them barring they all get lobotomy's or something. The pragmatic view is the most unpleasant one because you actively need our team to lose. That always feels gross and it is not fun at all.

BTW - There is a reason there are rumors some/all of the assistants are going to go after this year. They pretty much suck but they aren't stupid, get out while you can still control the narrative and go to another good school. And make no mistake, if that happens it will get spun as an "everyone wants to hire our guys! Man, what a staff we have!" deal by SMU. Remember this for any assistant who figures out a way to make a lateral or upward move after this year.

ObeyMyDog wrote:

Pony81 wrote:The recruiting misses put Tim on the hot seat... he knows it.... the only thing that saves him is if he can finish top three in a rebuilding conference.... which would validate his ability to coach.... I don’t see a team that is good enough on defense to beat the top half of our league
UCF, UH,Temple,Cinci probably Memphis are all better than us.
If we finish 7th in conference as predicted then Jank is gone.

The problem is that we still are screwed. I think this gets lost in just wanting to see SMU succeed and win games. Things staying the way they are right now - it literally does not matter how we finish this year because we are going to be much worse next year, and further worse the year after. There will be no hero transfers, this staff can't get them barring they all get lobotomy's or something. The pragmatic view is the most unpleasant one because you actively need our team to lose. That always feels gross and it is not fun at all.

BTW - There is a reason there are rumors some/all of the assistants are going to go after this year. They pretty much suck but they aren't stupid, get out while you can still control the narrative and go to another good school. And make no mistake, if that happens it will get spun as an "everyone wants to hire our guys! Man, what a staff we have!" deal by SMU. Remember this for any assistant who figures out a way to make a lateral or upward move after this year.

There is zero reason to root for the team to lose. If Jank somehow makes his way into the tourney this season, then he will have three good recruits fill in the open spots. The recruiting momentum will be back. I get it that there isn't a track history there of getting the 2 high end guards that are necessary in the next class. We get two decent guards, Hunt level recruits, and then next season we are kind of okay and don't get into the NCAA and then Jank is done anyway.

If Jank doesn't get us in the dance this year, then the next guy will be hired right after the season and fill the open spots. And if we get two really high quality guards, next year's team will be very good.

The dumpster fire scenario is Jank getting us in the tourney this year, pulling in two lower level recruits, and then we are awful next season. But I think there are very low odds of that scenario playing out.

Another major dumpster fire scenario would be Jank not getting to the NCAA tournament but winning just enough games and giving just enough excuses to keep his job and pulling 2 lower level recruits. And then having a less than desirable season next year.

Terry Webster wrote:What is the problem with Douglas?

Too much time in the Memphis private school league - not the Memphis public school league

Terry Webster wrote:What is the problem with Douglas?

The majority opinion on William Douglas seems to be he deserves a spot on the bench.

DanFreibergerForHeisman wrote:

Terry Webster wrote:What is the problem with Douglas?

The majority opinion on William Douglas seems to be he deserves a spot on the bench.

I was a fan of Douglas and pushed for patience with him and felt like it would just take a little longer than we wanted for the light bulb to go off. But from game one of this season, you could see it STILL hadn't happened after a full season and full off-season. Now he can't get in at all and even White has passed him by, which is really scary when you look at the 30 seconds White gave us against TCU. The writing is on the wall, so I'm just a bit surprised he doesn't jump now instead of waiting until summer. Will be pulling for him wherever he ends up, seems like a good kid. And there will be programs that will have a spot for him, no question.

Rebel10 wrote:Another major dumpster fire scenario would be Jank not getting to the NCAA tournament but winning just enough games and giving just enough excuses to keep his job and pulling 2 lower level recruits. And then having a less than desirable season next year.

Exactly. I feel like I am crazy. This is a variation of June all over again. It is that simple. There are people in power and who have influence who want to see Jank succeed and will leverage anything positive to keep him around - just like June. Rip the band-aid off. To assume Jank is gone after next year even if he somewhat keeps it together over that period is to completely forget how the June thing went down.

Obviously there are positives on our team, and that is great. But replenishment via recruiting is everything and it isn't there and you will always wither if you don't address it. That isn't even my main gripe though; the way Jank and staff recruit is they recruit scared. You can't have that running your program. I don't dislike the guy, I just want him running our bball program.

Obviously there are positives on our team, and that is great. But replenishment via recruiting is everything and it isn't there and you will always wither if you don't address it. That isn't even my main gripe though; the way Jank and staff recruit is they recruit scared. You can't have that running your program. I don't dislike the guy, I just want him running our bball program.

I haven't exactly followed every BB post, but have we discussed whether Jank's recruiting "scared" (a good description) stems from the AAU/Adidas scandal and the potential consequences on our program of contacts with AAU coaches, etc., etc. Has an order come from On High not to play the AAU game for fear of even more draconian sanctions? The whole recruiting game seems dirty to me, but what is the Administration willing to tolerate?