So far I’m not impressed. Looks to me like he’s already had a few choke jobs. That being said I’m willing to give him four years. When it comes to Bama hoops, im a realist.
Really? You do understand that the style of play that CNO has implemented is very different than we had under CAJ plus he had to install a winning attitude in these kids that was non-existent under CAJ. CNO has done wonders with this team in a short time with players he did not recruit. I've been very impressed with his roster management and offseason workout regimen. Both are light years ahead of CAJ who didn't have a clue about either. After getting the roster set up the best he could under the circumstances he then had 3 huge setbacks, Rojas and Gary were both injured and out for the season, and then then NCAA denied JQ's waiver to play immediately. I think Rojas would have been a day 1 starter on this team with JQ getting plenty of playing time as perhaps Gary would have as well. We have a veteran team but none of them have played in a system like this until now so they are still learning how to play the way CNO wants them to play. Early on there were just flashes of what was to come but we are starting to see what CNO is trying to do and I like what I see.
Even more important than the style of play being different is the fact that this team did not know how to win. They all seem to be good kids who play hard but there is a difference in playing hard and knowing how to win at this level. CAJ had no clue how to instill that into his players. He could recruit good players and get them to win some games that we might not have won in the past but we also lost some games that we shouldn't have lost just because the players would obviously lose focus during the season. They would be on the brink of a NCAA tourney bid each year and would collapse.
Every year. The only NCAA bid we received was when Colin Sexton willed us to victory in the SEC tourney. Without his miraculous play we would not have made the big dance that year with a team that had more than enough talent to have made it in easily. Colin had that built-in drive to succeed and win that few players have. Most have to learn how to push through and win when the chips are down and that comes down to coaching. Sometimes other players can inspire that to come out in other players in spite of the coaches. I believe that is what happened with the 1999 Bama football team. Shaun Alexander and a few other senior leaders were such great leaders they inspired the team as a whole but once they were gone the shortcomings in the coaching staff was on full display. I believe CNO started instilling the inner toughness into the team with the offseason program and that is starting to pay dividends now. The players are believing in themselves and they believe in each other. You can just see it with the way they play.
We still have areas of improvement. The lightbulb came on around game 5 for Petty and it appears to be coming on for Jones. Jones isn't the shooter that Petty is but he can score in other ways. Kira has all kinds of potential and is a very good player but not a great point guard. I think his ceiling is higher than Colin's but he isn't as advanced at this stage of his career. I'm sure Colin played with and against a higher level of players than Kira coming out of high school. Reese is flourishing under CNO and I think he will get better and better as he continues to learn his role and as the players around him learn how to use his talents. Reese is a bit limited with his lack of athletic ability but I see him getting everything out of himself that he possibly can. Shackelford is a star waiting to happen. He just needs to learn how to play within himself and with his teammates. Once he figures it out (it takes time) he's going to be fun to watch. Forbes has improved and you can see that he has ability and he will also take some time to develop but will be a valuable contributor at some point. Galin and Davis are role players that quite frankly are playing more out of necessity than ability. I'm not knocking either guy but they just don't have the athletic ability needed to play in CNO's system. Both can do some good things and have had and will have more good moments in the future. I just don't expect either of them to ever be more than serviceable role players but every team needs those guys. Hawkins is a disappointment thus far but we knew he was a very raw prospect that will need another year to get his feet wet. Hopefully next year we will start to see what he can do. If things start to click with Kira, Petty, Jones, and Reese at the same time, then this team could be dangerous at the end of the year.
