re: Does McMahon get a 3rd year?

quote:

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Coach K built Duke from the ground up. They weren't shite before him.

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That's not true, well, at all.

Coach K was hired ahead of the 1980-81 season. Three years prior Duke played for the National Championship as a #1 seed (Lost to Kentucky). The year before K was hired Duke lost in the Elite 8. Duke had 3 Final Four appearances in the 60's...including playing for a National Championship in 1964.

Bill Foster, who had "rebuilt" Duke in the 70's left for South Carolina. That's when K was hired. He promptly began tanking the program before getting it going again in his 4th season...and never looked back.

History lesson aside, comparing college basketball of the early 80's with that of today is BEYOND absurd. First, college basketball (and college sports in general) wasn't the multi-million dollar business it is today. Coaches weren't making huge salaries like they are now. More importantly, it was rare that a player left for the pro ranks before spending 4 years in college. Thus, there was MUCH more patience to allow a coach to build a program. Firing a coach after a year or two was not commonplace.

But maybe the biggest thing all of the McMahon defenders fail to acknowledge (or maybe are unaware of) is the fact the transfer rules have completely changed the timeline for "rebuilding" a program. When Brady, Johnson, Jones, Wade took over the LSU program the only means available to them to quickly overhaul the roster was HS signees and JUCO transfers (and grad transfers for Wade). If you had a weak roster it was nearly impossible to completely flip it into a good roster over one offseason unless you were able to sign multiple big time HS recruits.

Now, coaches can (and have to) completely change the roster from year to year. So you can go from worst to (near) 1st in one offseason. Consequently, it can work the other way and you can have your roster decimated by transfers. But whether you, me, or anyone else likes/dislikes the current state of extensive player movement in college basketball THAT is the reality of the times we live in. So saying "give a guy 3, 4, 5 years to get his players in and develop them" is foolish. Most players simply don't stick around in one spot that long. They either leave early for pro ball or transfer.

That means the patience level for a coach is much, much less than it used to be. Is that "fair"? Maybe not. But that is the world we live in. Last season other coaches took over completely gutted rosters, brought in new players, and performed MUCH better than LSU. This season, with eight new players McMahon has been a bit better to date. But not would anyone would (or should) call successful. Of course, there are still 12 games less so things could change quickly. But regardless of how this year goes it's highly likely he will have to bring in 6, 7, 8+ new players next season. That means there won't be a ton of "building" on top of this season. He will, like this season, have to get a new group in and quickly mold them in to a winning team.