As I sit here watching NCAA tournament games all weekend, it is abundantly clear to me how far our program is away from competing at the NCAA Tournament Level - much less, being nationally relevant. I watched multiple games this year - including the loss to Indiana. Undoubtedly, the highlight of the season was beating UAB - and I frankly have no clue how we did that with our current roster and coaching staff. We allegedly have a guard/wing that is NBA-draft quality. I have watched 75 kids this weekend that he doesn't belong on the floor with based on what I've seen over the course of his career. Not saying he is a bad player, he's not, but he is also not an NBA draft pick.
I know we just gave Dan a 1-year contract - and I'm disappointed because I believe there were at least two coaches available to us that would elevate our program immediately - John Brannen or Greg Marshall. That being said, here are five things I believe MUST HAPPEN for The Herd to have a turn-around next year:
#1 - Change the physique of our players
The basketball this weekend looks nothing like what we see in the Henderson Center. The players are physically far more developed than players in our program. This is both a recruiting issue and a player development issue. Strength & conditioning absolutely MUST be an off-season priority. Our players need to LOOK DIFFERENT when they return for the 2022-23 season.
#2 - Take the team overseas this summer to build chemistry
I was fortunate to be part of the transition between Dwight Freeman and Billy Donovan back in the 90s. When Billy came in, we went to Spain and Portugal and played 7 games in 10 days (or something crazy like that). It accomplished a few things. First and foremost, it gave us extra time in the summer for conditioning. Billy's conditioning program was brutal - but it paid huge dividends. Teams we played early in the season were tugging on their shorts by half-time, and our guys were fresh as could be. Secondly, it gave the team time to come together and build chemistry. We had NONE last season - and it was abundantly clear. Get the guys together, hit the reset button on the stale offense we run (whatever the hell it is supposed to be), and get the guys competing at a much higher level defensively.
#3 Reclaim the Henderson Center
One of the games I really enjoyed watching this weekend was the Chattanooga-Illinois game. Chatty should be a comparable program to Marshall... hell, for a decade we went toe-to-toe with them. Those kids play freaking hard... whistle to whistle... they were diving all over the place, crashing the boards like they WANTED the rebound... passed the ball to open teammates... took good shots... and generally had a plan. I checked, and Chatty went 12-3 at home - something that used to be a great source of pride at Marshall. Chatty has always been a tough place to play - but so has the Henderson Center (traditionally). We have to own our building - and then play close to or better than .500 ball on the road. We lost 9 home games this year - that is inexcusable.
#4 Make changes to the coaching staff
Look, I get it, Danny is a Marshall blue-blood. His sister is on the Board of Governors, he and his brother are Hall of Famers, and they are an important family to the University as fund-raisers. But none of his assistant coaches are relatives. Mark Cline, Scott Rigot, and Corney Jackson are none of those things. Cline has been at Marshall for almost a decade, working mostly with Marshall's big men... he is a professional basketball coach that I believe has added value over his time at Marshall - but has that time passed? Scott Rigot, on the other hand, brings nothing to the program. His recruiting is suspect, based on very reliable sources I know that his game preparation/scouting is FAR below what is necessary at the Division 1 level, and I don't believe our guards have gotten any better as a result of his coaching. Then there is Corny Jackson, who I really like. I don't think this is the coach that needs to be "changed." Corny has good recruiting ties across the state and throughout the region. Changes have to happen - you can't keep doing the same thing and expecting a different result. Coaches are the ones that make changes... Danny must make changes to the coaching staff.
#5 Be realistic about recruiting
I know this comes as a shock to no one but Danny D'Antoni, but it is 2022. We're so far past whether or not we should be looking at JUCOs it is unbelievable. We should be scouring the portal for players. We obviously do not have the talent in the program necessary to compete for championships in ANY conference. GO GET IT. It's great to have kids from West Virginia, but as several have pointed out, we are not quite the 304 Boys of the past. This goes hand in hand with #4... go hire a couple of assistant coaches that will bring kids in with them through the portal or will come in with them from the JUCO level. The talent in our program right now is the lowest it has been since the days of Tom Herrion. Should Kinsey decide to stay, he is a legitimate D1 mid-major starter, Anochili-Killen should continue to develop into a starter, Toussaint seems to have the potential to be a starter at some point in his career, and George is a solid player when healthy. Everyone else on the roster should either be coming off of the bench or playing in the WVIAC. Those are facts people - we don't have the talent to be playing in an NCAA tournament - so go get it, even if you have to look at JUCO kids and Portal Kids.
I know we just gave Dan a 1-year contract - and I'm disappointed because I believe there were at least two coaches available to us that would elevate our program immediately - John Brannen or Greg Marshall. That being said, here are five things I believe MUST HAPPEN for The Herd to have a turn-around next year:
#1 - Change the physique of our players
The basketball this weekend looks nothing like what we see in the Henderson Center. The players are physically far more developed than players in our program. This is both a recruiting issue and a player development issue. Strength & conditioning absolutely MUST be an off-season priority. Our players need to LOOK DIFFERENT when they return for the 2022-23 season.
#2 - Take the team overseas this summer to build chemistry
I was fortunate to be part of the transition between Dwight Freeman and Billy Donovan back in the 90s. When Billy came in, we went to Spain and Portugal and played 7 games in 10 days (or something crazy like that). It accomplished a few things. First and foremost, it gave us extra time in the summer for conditioning. Billy's conditioning program was brutal - but it paid huge dividends. Teams we played early in the season were tugging on their shorts by half-time, and our guys were fresh as could be. Secondly, it gave the team time to come together and build chemistry. We had NONE last season - and it was abundantly clear. Get the guys together, hit the reset button on the stale offense we run (whatever the hell it is supposed to be), and get the guys competing at a much higher level defensively.
#3 Reclaim the Henderson Center
One of the games I really enjoyed watching this weekend was the Chattanooga-Illinois game. Chatty should be a comparable program to Marshall... hell, for a decade we went toe-to-toe with them. Those kids play freaking hard... whistle to whistle... they were diving all over the place, crashing the boards like they WANTED the rebound... passed the ball to open teammates... took good shots... and generally had a plan. I checked, and Chatty went 12-3 at home - something that used to be a great source of pride at Marshall. Chatty has always been a tough place to play - but so has the Henderson Center (traditionally). We have to own our building - and then play close to or better than .500 ball on the road. We lost 9 home games this year - that is inexcusable.
#4 Make changes to the coaching staff
Look, I get it, Danny is a Marshall blue-blood. His sister is on the Board of Governors, he and his brother are Hall of Famers, and they are an important family to the University as fund-raisers. But none of his assistant coaches are relatives. Mark Cline, Scott Rigot, and Corney Jackson are none of those things. Cline has been at Marshall for almost a decade, working mostly with Marshall's big men... he is a professional basketball coach that I believe has added value over his time at Marshall - but has that time passed? Scott Rigot, on the other hand, brings nothing to the program. His recruiting is suspect, based on very reliable sources I know that his game preparation/scouting is FAR below what is necessary at the Division 1 level, and I don't believe our guards have gotten any better as a result of his coaching. Then there is Corny Jackson, who I really like. I don't think this is the coach that needs to be "changed." Corny has good recruiting ties across the state and throughout the region. Changes have to happen - you can't keep doing the same thing and expecting a different result. Coaches are the ones that make changes... Danny must make changes to the coaching staff.
#5 Be realistic about recruiting
I know this comes as a shock to no one but Danny D'Antoni, but it is 2022. We're so far past whether or not we should be looking at JUCOs it is unbelievable. We should be scouring the portal for players. We obviously do not have the talent in the program necessary to compete for championships in ANY conference. GO GET IT. It's great to have kids from West Virginia, but as several have pointed out, we are not quite the 304 Boys of the past. This goes hand in hand with #4... go hire a couple of assistant coaches that will bring kids in with them through the portal or will come in with them from the JUCO level. The talent in our program right now is the lowest it has been since the days of Tom Herrion. Should Kinsey decide to stay, he is a legitimate D1 mid-major starter, Anochili-Killen should continue to develop into a starter, Toussaint seems to have the potential to be a starter at some point in his career, and George is a solid player when healthy. Everyone else on the roster should either be coming off of the bench or playing in the WVIAC. Those are facts people - we don't have the talent to be playing in an NCAA tournament - so go get it, even if you have to look at JUCO kids and Portal Kids.
