There's a portion of posters who were dismissive of Howard from the beginning, so they either discredited the 20-21 champs, or just act as if these are Howard's first two seasons. this post is not for them, as they seemed to be mad about the very idea of hiring Howard from the beginning, and refused to acknowledge winning, even when we were winning.
So those people are entrenched, no point trying to change those minds.
Right now, it seems as if all of college basketball is at some kind of crossroads, and it affects different programs in different ways.
Yes, the trend may be bad, but keep in mind, the 20-21 roster had huge question marks, such as Hunter having to come in ready to start as a true freshman (he did, despite not being a five-star), Mike Smith being able to handle his size deficiency while adjusting to the transfer up from the Ivies (he did), Chaundee Brown being a "do it all" type who could start in a pinch (he was), Austin Davis being a good mentor/backup/spot-starter for Hunter (he was), and, most importantly Franz, Livers, and Eli having their best seasons (they all did). Heck, even Brandon Johns had a good season off the bench (and starting for the injured Livers).
I think that it's interesting that, while Hunter led that team in scoring, he was not the trigger of that offense. The focal point was Franz and his multi-purpose, walking-mismatch game. Hunter rarely shot from outside the lane that season, and launched no 3s at all, but played the role of half-court post dominator.
In addition, Hunter was surrounded by more versatile pieces, in Franz, Livers, Eli, and Smith, all of who can shoot from the perimeter, and handle the ball, and penetrate.
The team was an immaculate collection of former JB players (Eli, Davis, Johns) one a steady contributor for two seasons with JB (Livers), a couple of transfers (Smith, Chaundee), and two key recruits (Hunter and Franz).
Looking back, the pre-season expectations were much lower than the way the team actually performed, yet many look back and shrug at the season as if a B1G Title and Elite Eight (especially in light of the Livers injury) was the least of their expectations.
I feel that the 20-21 formula is something that he has attempted to replicate, but has recently failed in the last 2 iterations, despite Hunter being a consistent force.
21-22, IMO was a much different season than 22-23. Though our transfer PG DeVante Jones also had injury issues, he was available for most of the season. And honestly, the two freshman starters that season (Houstan and Diabate), were less promising than the freshmen starters from this season (Jett and Dug).
Honestly, I think that the 21-22 team itself was just full of inconsistent players and devoid of shooting when Houstan and Eli were off (which was often). jones was slow afoot and exacerbated the poor D played by Houstan, and to an extent, Diabate. That team was what it was, but the Sweet 16 was a nice run, above most people's expectations (before dismissing this: think about Purdue).
22-23 marked similar inconsistency, but the team actually improved over the span of the season. Sadly enough, the most important projected perimeter player for next season played himself into a likely first round pick. Another, our projected starting (or at least veteran off the bench) PG went out in game 8, before Michigan could fairly gauge what he would be. Even if Llewellyn offered a microcosm of what Eli did (solid ball handling, great FT shooting, leadership, good D, and timely shots), that could've made the sliver of difference we needed to make at least a couple of the of about 9 one point or OT games we lost go our way.
One more issue was that the star freshman was a bumpy fit, especially on the defensive end and when he finally started blending in, he had back-to-back high ankle sprains that, at best limited him.
Yet, in his absence, the other starters- particularly Hunter, Bufkin, and Dug- flourished. Jett's injury seemed to hurt us twice, as Bufkin would probably not emerged to the lead perimeter scorer level with a healthy Jett present. and not been on the NBA's radar, until next season.
Hunter leaving, of course is seismic, but that's always been one more thing that Juwan Howard would have to eventually prove he can do: Improve the team post-Hunter.
(I know, too long, I will continue in another post about my projections, hopes and fears for next season below, if you aren't too sick of reading my blabber) 😁 😂
So those people are entrenched, no point trying to change those minds.
Right now, it seems as if all of college basketball is at some kind of crossroads, and it affects different programs in different ways.
Yes, the trend may be bad, but keep in mind, the 20-21 roster had huge question marks, such as Hunter having to come in ready to start as a true freshman (he did, despite not being a five-star), Mike Smith being able to handle his size deficiency while adjusting to the transfer up from the Ivies (he did), Chaundee Brown being a "do it all" type who could start in a pinch (he was), Austin Davis being a good mentor/backup/spot-starter for Hunter (he was), and, most importantly Franz, Livers, and Eli having their best seasons (they all did). Heck, even Brandon Johns had a good season off the bench (and starting for the injured Livers).
I think that it's interesting that, while Hunter led that team in scoring, he was not the trigger of that offense. The focal point was Franz and his multi-purpose, walking-mismatch game. Hunter rarely shot from outside the lane that season, and launched no 3s at all, but played the role of half-court post dominator.
In addition, Hunter was surrounded by more versatile pieces, in Franz, Livers, Eli, and Smith, all of who can shoot from the perimeter, and handle the ball, and penetrate.
The team was an immaculate collection of former JB players (Eli, Davis, Johns) one a steady contributor for two seasons with JB (Livers), a couple of transfers (Smith, Chaundee), and two key recruits (Hunter and Franz).
Looking back, the pre-season expectations were much lower than the way the team actually performed, yet many look back and shrug at the season as if a B1G Title and Elite Eight (especially in light of the Livers injury) was the least of their expectations.
I feel that the 20-21 formula is something that he has attempted to replicate, but has recently failed in the last 2 iterations, despite Hunter being a consistent force.
21-22, IMO was a much different season than 22-23. Though our transfer PG DeVante Jones also had injury issues, he was available for most of the season. And honestly, the two freshman starters that season (Houstan and Diabate), were less promising than the freshmen starters from this season (Jett and Dug).
Honestly, I think that the 21-22 team itself was just full of inconsistent players and devoid of shooting when Houstan and Eli were off (which was often). jones was slow afoot and exacerbated the poor D played by Houstan, and to an extent, Diabate. That team was what it was, but the Sweet 16 was a nice run, above most people's expectations (before dismissing this: think about Purdue).
22-23 marked similar inconsistency, but the team actually improved over the span of the season. Sadly enough, the most important projected perimeter player for next season played himself into a likely first round pick. Another, our projected starting (or at least veteran off the bench) PG went out in game 8, before Michigan could fairly gauge what he would be. Even if Llewellyn offered a microcosm of what Eli did (solid ball handling, great FT shooting, leadership, good D, and timely shots), that could've made the sliver of difference we needed to make at least a couple of the of about 9 one point or OT games we lost go our way.
One more issue was that the star freshman was a bumpy fit, especially on the defensive end and when he finally started blending in, he had back-to-back high ankle sprains that, at best limited him.
Yet, in his absence, the other starters- particularly Hunter, Bufkin, and Dug- flourished. Jett's injury seemed to hurt us twice, as Bufkin would probably not emerged to the lead perimeter scorer level with a healthy Jett present. and not been on the NBA's radar, until next season.
Hunter leaving, of course is seismic, but that's always been one more thing that Juwan Howard would have to eventually prove he can do: Improve the team post-Hunter.
(I know, too long, I will continue in another post about my projections, hopes and fears for next season below, if you aren't too sick of reading my blabber) 😁 😂
