But how many top 50 kenpom teams have they beaten?
I am also fine with Wes Miller, I do wonder why Scott Nagy wasn't interviewed if we are going the veteran coach route. But I suppose Wes is quite a bit younger and a bit more successful.
Pedon might outrage a lot of the people who want Martin. He's not much (if any) more qualified.
I don’t know who he is, but some national guys seem to love it. He was also in the running for the North Carolina job, so I’m in. Let’s see
I don’t know who he is, but some national guys seem to love it. He was also in the running for the North Carolina job, so I’m in. Let’s see
Miller’s UNCG program values defense first and his teams share the ball, run and pressure opponents. That sounds a lot like the Tar Heels under Williams, doesn’t it? Miller also has shown an ability to adapt the Spartans’ playing style to his personnel and a willingness to embrace analytics and the 3-point shot....
...“You need kids to dig in, work at it year to year, understand the values in your program and then instill those values in the locker room on the guys who come behind them,” Miller says. “ … The young guys have guys to look to and say, ‘That’s how we’re supposed to do it.’ That’s a really hard thing to achieve in 2017-18 in college athletics: four-year guys who dig in, especially when things aren’t going well.”...
...“The second thing we look for is kids we think can defend the way we’re trying to defend,” Miller says, “and that’s changed a lot in the last two or three years. Because we’ve changed the way we guard. We need kids who can fit into our pressing schemes and our man-to-man schemes and are versatile defenders. We love multi-positional players. Look at our frontcourt right now. I love James Dickey and Kyrin Galloway, because I can do so many things with them defensively. We can switch on ball screens, because they can guard five positions.”...
...“The last thing we’re trying to find, and it’s the most important if we can check those first two boxes, is we want tough, competitive dudes,” Miller says. “You have to have a DNA of winning when I watch you play. And if I don’t see that, we go in another direction. Sometimes we miss because of that. Sometimes a kid doesn’t show me he cares about winning the next possession and we misevaluate. Maybe he does have those characteristics, and he goes on to be a great player for someone else.”
I’m ready.The road to a bearcats championship starts today
He recruits totally different caliber players than Brannen and Mick. He somehow knows how get athletic freaks. We still should be in on McMillan, this move also helps us get Rayvon griffin. This more of his style of playWe got our guy, let’s have a good press conference tomorrow and then starting recruiting , we need guys.... anyone have any idea how good of a recruiter he is ? Hopefully we can sway McMillan to still come here
As a result of all of it, Miller now has players he loves to coach playing exactly the way he wants them to, which is how they’re built to do it anyway. “What we think we have the best chance to recruit,” he says, “is directly correlated to the style we play.” An unrelenting defense, spearheaded by a 1-2-2 press that doesn’t really take a break, ...
...But if you don’t necessarily get it done the right way, but you’re playing your balls off, he’s happy. He’d rather see his players playing with crazy effort and energy and activity rather than getting it right all the time...
He recruits totally different caliber players than Brannen and Mick. He somehow knows how get athletic freaks. We still should be in on McMillan, this move also helps us get Rayvon griffin. This more of his style of play
As I said earlier, Wes Miller is a guy who fits the traditional mold of UC basketball, winning by causing turnovers and crashing the glass. We were just talking in the analytics thread about rosters built with interchangeable parts who can play 1-5. The quotes above indicate that he wants that kind of roster. I can get behind that.
I'm a little concerned about offensive efficiency, but getting some good shooters will go a long way to fix that. I hope he can get better shooters here that also fit his system than he did at Greensboro. I also hope he brings in an offensive minded assistant. The low assist rate and lack of attacking the rim are areas of weakness for his teams.
My biggest concern is 3pt defense, which is always likely to be a problem with a pressure defense. Good teams will be able to handle the pressure, and with more teams embracing the three, I think that will be an recurring issue. His teams have been mixed in the 3pt shooting percentage they allow, but they give up a ton of attempts every year.
Anyway, I'm glad we have a new coach, and I'm excited to see how he builds the roster for next year.
You had me at athletic freaks. No more Vogt's, Sorolla's or Rap's.