Yep. MW is really screwing up with getting this team playing so well so early. Anything less than the final four and he's outta here.
I also recall how we all laughed at Leonard Hamilton and wished the SOW would keep him forever. Well they have and it goes to show you that fans typically don't know chit.
Whites problem is his apparent inability to take H.S.kids and Coach them up. This is something he absolutely will need to fix. Our team right now is playing very well. The top six players are all transfers. Therefore it is hard to tell if the problem may or may not have gone away. But for this year….should be fun!
Maybe. maybe not. He did hire someone that could go out and get him good players. I have not been that impressed with what he has done with them. Some big season wins, but nothing much in the tournament.
Well, he just put two H.S. kids into the NBA last year. Both drafted, which is very hard to do in basketball with only two rounds. And no, that is not what White needs to focus on even if you are correct. No amount of coaching up is going to make our program elite. It's who you bring in. There are a lot of brilliant basketball minds out there who never sniff a championship because they don't have the personnel.
Tre Mann was the first of Mike Whites players to be selected in the first round. The last Gator before him was Beal. Scottie Lewis? Didn’t see the growth in his basketball performance, did you? If you are only going to put one player in the first round of the NBA draft every 9 years, you darn well better be able to coach up the kids you do sign. If you are saying we should land more bonafide one and done players, I am with you there. But good luck with that.
Don't move the goalposts. You said he needs to coach high school players up. Both Mann and Lewis improved from when they first got there, and Mann, much more so. KJ was a projected lottery pick... we all know that. Nembhard would have gotten drafted out of UF, too. Very convenient of you to brush away Mann’s growth in your response, though.
I don't know about you but I'm an old gator so I'll have to speak from an old gator perspective. Billy D was to gator basketball as Spurrier was to gator football. I thought we were incredibly lucky to get Billy and what he did for our program was more than I could ever expect - that's coming from an "alligator alley/Norm Sloan" era perspective. Most programs that lose a great coach should expect some years in the wilderness - who wants to follow a legend? We floundered when Spurrier left and again when Meyer left. But I never felt like that about Mike White. I thought we hit a home run with his hire. A young, upcoming, ethical, players coach was the prescription in my humble opinion. I was more than happy to cut him some slack. Younger gators, understandably, were not very patient with his coaching. I get it and understand that. But consider that he has adapted to this changed college basketball landscape with amazing skill IMHO. I know it's early to judge but I always thought he did a great job following a legend and this year is beginning to show more growth in his approach to recruiting and game strategy. He's a keeper. G8rvet, I'm not sure I understand your comments in light of what this early look (admittedly very early) of the gators this year has shown. Are we sunshine pumpers to be stoked about what we've seen so far?
Patience is a virtue. Not a popular one though. Folks would rather read a headline , then extrapolate with their own "genius" than to read the story. A coach could suck for two years, then win a NC while on the proverbial hot seat. Another could go the Final Four for two years and then disappear for one , and he is on the hot seat and we better hire the flavor of the month before someone else gets him. I applaud schools like Villanova.
If there were some middle-ground between unbounded adulation and unshakable enmity, the cyberworld would be a very different place. CMW is obviously a very fine person and is possibly a better coach than I and some others currently believe. And no, he's not a bad recruiter at all. But to this point in time, asserting that he has been anything special during his time at UF is a huge stretch - at best. He is what his record says he is - inconsistent and at least somewhat of an under-achiever. And while I'm at it, I haven't seen anyone demanding 35-win seasons or a trip to the final 4 every other year. Once in a while, however, would be nice. TBH, I am pleasantly surprised with the play we've seen thus far this season. The tenacity and physicality are remarkably improved over what we have grown accustomed during the MW era. But my advice to the "over the moon crowd" is to slow your roll just a bit. Like it or not, this is a pivotal year and Coach White still has much to prove. Stay tuned.
My feeling is that this is a very critical year for coach White and the team. I love the make-up of this team and I think the lack of mental toughness has plagued the previous teams just like the football team. "Developing" kids in college is limited by the amount of time coaches can spend with kids so I am sure the coaches tell them what they need to work on and at that point it is up to the kid to put in the work on their own time. You mention Scottie....what about the improvement in Tre? What about Castleton....Duruji? This team is made up of mature, determined and physically-ready.players who have a lot of grit to them. They seem to be playing at an elite level defensively and I anticipate the free throw shooting and shooting overall to improve as the season moves forward. Fingers crossed they can make a run to the Elite 8 which I think would get UF back in the discussion of a team once again on the rise which should help coach recruit at an even higher level. I would imagine there will be a shift in the type of player he recruits from here on out. Time will tell......
Speaking of Coach Hamilton, there is usually a decline in recruiting and team performance when a coach h reaches their 70s. Not sure if other teams negatively recruit speaking of you nearing retirement, if you are unable to relate to the kids, no longer have the energy or passion you once exhibited, or a combination of all 3. Will be interesting to see if this is the start to Coach Hamilton’s decline
I'd say it's a combination of all 3. Very few coaches are immune to it. Sometimes, you just need to realize it's time to hang up the whistle and cleats.
John Chaney was a GREAT basketball coach and he never had a Final Four team. Jim Calhoun was a really good coach and a cheat and it took him forever to make a Final Four. Mike White came close once and by making The Dance year after year the opportunity is always there and he has always won the first game. Here are some Billy D results: 2001 UF loses to Temple in the second round 2002 UF loses to Creighton in the first round. 2003 UF loses to Michigan State in the second round 2004 UF loses to Manhattan in the first round. 2005 UF loses to Villanova in the second round. 2008 NIT 2009 NIT 2010 UF loses to BYU in the first round
Well, since we are into back-handed compliments. Mike is a quality guy and I sincerely hope everyone wants to believe he has turned a corner. Up to now I feel he has had a blind spot, namely relying on athletes over basketball players. And quite a few ones who for whatever reason did not translate well to the major college game (Glover is my prime candidate but there are several more). This group seems to have a lot of grit and plenty of basketball IQ. He still needs to recruit a consistent number of big bodies. I am not sure whether he can get a quality big man who fits what he wants on defense without getting into the elite recruits that the blue bloods are getting.
What he has going is having a team full of experienced guys with some talent and are coachable. That usually beats young guys with a lot of talent and very little experience and think they know everything.
In fairness. I have felt this way since seeing the effort in game 1. I still think we underachieved the last couple of years (especially the year we landed consensus preseason first team all American will blackshear and were a top 10 team) but he’s young and I was too tough on him.
