Wufan wrote:Cdizzle wrote:Wufan wrote:I still go back to UNI being on 2 of 4 plan, which is pretty damn good! McDermott would have gotten them there one or two years if not four. Oliver or Olivier (whatever it is) is playing well at OSU. He would have probably pushed them over the bubble this year. That would have given them appearances in 5 or 6 of 8 years. Currently, they have 3 in the last 7. UNI is right there every year and will be for the foreseeable future. Even Creighton, who seemingly went every year, only went for two of Altman's last seven years. The Bluejays hit the McDermott sweepstakes, effectively stealing UNIs bids for four years.
WSU's recent run has not only made it much more difficult for Jacobson (or any Valley coach for that matter) to grab an at-large, it's also made Shocker fans forget how difficult it is in general. The Valley should be a three bid league every year. WSU is carrying the torch for the foreseeable future, but UNI is right there. Beyond the Panthers, the Sycamores and the Redbirds are just one difference maker away from being that elite level team. Good things are happening at several other schools as well, and with a little luck, the MVC will return to its status as the premier non-BCS.
Lots of woulda, coulda, shoulda.
Kind of the Valley rally cry these days.
Oh, I know. I just think Jacobson brings in enough consistent talent that if things break right, then he's in the conversation every year. Break wrong and it's two out four or five years. The "four year plan" is accurate in that he relies on seniors. It's not accurate to believe that he only grabs enough talent every three years to be at-large worthy.
I agree with this and let me add a little.
Jacobson runs a system that requires a lot of buy-in from the players to work effectively. Players have to be willing to give up on some individual stats and accolades for the good of the team. Tuttle was an amazing player but was also a symbol to this as his willingness to pass out of situations where others may have tried to force things allowed the game to come to him. He got his points, but they were rarely forced and he was willing to not score to let others take the open shots.
Marshall runs a system that also requires buy-in but he also has the resources to scout and recruit/attract different scholar-athletes. He plus and fills a lot with Juco and transfers that come in with developed bodies but need to be broken into the system. He also recruits 4-year players to be the core of the team while the juco/transfers get broken in. Baker, Van Vleet, Wessel, Cotton, Murry, Stutz, Williams, etc. were all 4-year players who were cornerpieces of the Shocker teams their Jr. Sr. years.
Jacobson doesn't typically tend to go after jucos and has only had a hadnful of transfers. When he does bring them in, they either fit very well (Farohkmanesh, Jesperson, Washpun) or they flame out (Reed, Culliver). Building a roster full of kids right out of high school requires depth to be ready.
That is my concern with this team. 5 seniors last year (4 that played significant minutes) did not build a lot of game-experience depth-especially from the bigs. With one of those bigs suspended for the first three games, that depth takes even more of a hit. The other big concern is that we are redshirting every one of our freshman which currently leaves no seniors for the 2018-19 season.
Our schedule doesn't exactly allow for much wiggle room, but it is what it is. After these first three, we have three much easier games to shake things out and prepare for the last half of our non-conference where there are still plenty of quality wins to get. Would have liked to get 2 out of these first three at home, may end up with none. Who knows, maybe we'll shock everyone and still get two wins.
