[Goose]

Yup, the buck has to stop somewhere.  Question is whether this was an unforeseeable thing that won't happen again or whether this reflects some underlying misjudgment by the staff for which there is risk of repeat.

Or maybe it was foreseeable but was deemed worth the risk. Lots of possible factors involved. COVID-19 also undoubtedly affected how the team adjusted to each other and to Stanford. Very different than a normal year. For quite a while they were all joined at the hip. That can be a good experience, but it also may not be.

Separately (or maybe relatedly) I was a bit put off by the fact that Haase wrote daily letters to Williams.  Makes me think he's focusing too much on getting highly recruited mega-whales and not enough on making the most of the players we have.



BC

I have expressed exactly that sentiment on this board. Frankly, I would think it a bit strange if I were a recruit. I don't think Stanford is a great place for a "one and done" in general. We don't play an offense dominated run and gun type of game that shows off individual athletic talents, mostly because we don't have that kind of players. We have guys who can play, but it is more about defense, assists, and controlling the game. If we have a "one and done" who is so good he can take over the game and force the opponent to concentrate on said player, it can open things up for other guys on the team. However this will have to be done in the context of "who we are". Williams was unable to do that. Best case, it is certainly asking a lot, but that is kind of what one hopes a "one and done" brings. That may be fine. Many people on this board believe that it won't hurt his draft stock much. That may be true and it won't hurt him, but I am not convinced having him on the roster really helped the team much this year.

[Goose]

Yup, the buck has to stop somewhere.  Question is whether this was an unforeseeable thing that won't happen again or whether this reflects some underlying misjudgment by the staff for which there is risk of repeat.

Or maybe it was foreseeable but was deemed worth the risk. Lots of possible factors involved. COVID-19 also undoubtedly affected how the team adjusted to each other and to Stanford. Very different than a normal year. For quite a while they were all joined at the hip. That can be a good experience, but it also may not be.

Separately (or maybe relatedly) I was a bit put off by the fact that Haase wrote daily letters to Williams.  Makes me think he's focusing too much on getting highly recruited mega-whales and not enough on making the most of the players we have.



BC

I have expressed exactly that sentiment on this board. Frankly, I would think it a bit strange if I were a recruit. I don't think Stanford is a great place for a "one and done" in general. We don't play an offense dominated run and gun type of game that shows off individual athletic talents, mostly because we don't have that kind of players. We have guys who can play, but it is more about defense, assists, and controlling the game. If we have a "one and done" who is so good he can take over the game and force the opponent to concentrate on said player, it can open things up for other guys on the team. However this will have to be done in the context of "who we are". Williams was unable to do that. Best case, it is certainly asking a lot, but that is kind of what one hopes a "one and done" brings. That may be fine. Many people on this board believe that it won't hurt his draft stock much. That may be true and it won't hurt him, but I am not convinced having him on the roster really helped the team much this year.