Posts: 1,393
Threads: 20
Joined: Oct 2011
WIM, I certainly agree on some of the points you make. Bright was far better in year two than year one, though in my recollection he started off the season like a house on fire then cooled somewhat as we got into Pac-12 play. But yes, better. Randle, better. But here I am somewhat skeptical about how much of that improvement is due to Dawkins, or whether it was just a matter of getting adjusted to the college game. Sometimes talent develops due to the grit and work of the player despite the coaching. But, granted, there was improvement. I hope that the situation of Anthony Brown and Powell is simply a result of their fighting injuries all year long. I would LOVE to be proven wrong in my evaluation of Dawkins' ability to develop talent. But each of the last two years the team has started off strong, then regressed as it entered Pac-12 play. The better programs generally don't see that kind of movement; they usually move in the other direction. Whether this is due to the coach's inability to create a system, or manage a game, in a way that gets the most out of his players, or his inability to teach and coach up those players to get the most out of their talent, seems to be where we have some disagreement. Sometimes the two are related.
I think we have a talented team, one that could be performing much better than it has. And due to the strength of his recruiting, I was a firm Dawkins supporter until well into last season. And, as I said above, I'd love for Dawkins to come out and make me eat my words this upcoming season; healthy players develop into all-conference selections, team goes to March Madness, etc. But I'll be extremely skeptical until I actually see it happen
