cowboysooner
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A number of threads have touched on this subject through the years with regard to all of our coaches and of course with regard to Lon's tenure as well. Having gotten to my ripe old age, and having raised a son that dedicated his entire youth to a particular sport and ultimately played at the collegiate level for four years, I thought I would just give you my thoughts on this issue.
First, regardless of the sport, the amount of dedication and commitment that a kid has to give to a sport for the entirety of his youth to be good enough to play at a high or collegiate level is immense and all consuming. Very simply this "fire" of a life burns them out at some point. For some kids, it is when they hit puberty and discover the opposite sex. For some, it is when they are old enough to get their drivers license and get a car (and also discover the wonders of interpersonal relationships). For others the drive and perseverance drives them all the way to college.
Basketball, perhaps more than most sports, is a sport where height and athletic ability (measurable) creates the most opportunity. So, sometimes a kid, while playing all the time, doesn't really have to completely commit to advance, e.g. make the game the complete focus of his life 24/7/365. So, the commitment level in college to improve is a real eye opener and change for them. Often these kids just burn out their freshman year. This accounts for the so called sophomore slump. Kids have been at home all their lives and to a certain degree under the eye and control of parents, then they get to college and discovery beer, dope and girls, and all of a sudden, they decide that school and sport is not everything in life.
Some sports are different. With some rare exceptions, with the skill driven sports, parents have already had to deal with their kids "burn out" long before college.
With regard to Lon and the previous coaches as well, there are very distinct NCAA regulations that control how much time a coach can spend with a kid, and it is only a small fraction of the time a kid would have to spend to really change his skill and ability from his freshman year to his senior year. Kids are driven or they aren't. Some are intent on becoming the best, and some just go to and perhaps work hard a practices, that is just become whatever that will make them. This is why recruiting is just about everything. If everyone of the kids you sign is elite, they don't have as far to go to be successful.
Every kid signed by Alabama in football is a high 4 or 5 star kid, and most do not pan out. This doesn't make Saban a bad developer of talent. I think Lon does a decent job of development and certainly gives the kids the freedom to be all they can be. He tends to recruit athletes that can, if they have the drive, become championship players. He hasn't tended to recruit the hyper skilled but less athletic kids, or the solid bigger but shorter bids that are more skilled. In short and like me at the horse track, he bets on the best long shots so that if he wins he can win something. The other kinds of kids can win you games but have a very distinctive ceiling.
So how has lon done, well I think pretty good but with a mixed bag. Had a number of kids dramatically improve and many that haven't.
I guess my point with all of this is that it is complicated, and while the captain of the ship should bear and accept responsibility for the end result, we are a university that is not going to bring in all high profile kids and so we are going to have kids that don't pan out regardless of what lon does, he does have to reach and project some. All in all, I am satisfied with the job Lon has done and look forward to next year.
First, regardless of the sport, the amount of dedication and commitment that a kid has to give to a sport for the entirety of his youth to be good enough to play at a high or collegiate level is immense and all consuming. Very simply this "fire" of a life burns them out at some point. For some kids, it is when they hit puberty and discover the opposite sex. For some, it is when they are old enough to get their drivers license and get a car (and also discover the wonders of interpersonal relationships). For others the drive and perseverance drives them all the way to college.
Basketball, perhaps more than most sports, is a sport where height and athletic ability (measurable) creates the most opportunity. So, sometimes a kid, while playing all the time, doesn't really have to completely commit to advance, e.g. make the game the complete focus of his life 24/7/365. So, the commitment level in college to improve is a real eye opener and change for them. Often these kids just burn out their freshman year. This accounts for the so called sophomore slump. Kids have been at home all their lives and to a certain degree under the eye and control of parents, then they get to college and discovery beer, dope and girls, and all of a sudden, they decide that school and sport is not everything in life.
Some sports are different. With some rare exceptions, with the skill driven sports, parents have already had to deal with their kids "burn out" long before college.
With regard to Lon and the previous coaches as well, there are very distinct NCAA regulations that control how much time a coach can spend with a kid, and it is only a small fraction of the time a kid would have to spend to really change his skill and ability from his freshman year to his senior year. Kids are driven or they aren't. Some are intent on becoming the best, and some just go to and perhaps work hard a practices, that is just become whatever that will make them. This is why recruiting is just about everything. If everyone of the kids you sign is elite, they don't have as far to go to be successful.
Every kid signed by Alabama in football is a high 4 or 5 star kid, and most do not pan out. This doesn't make Saban a bad developer of talent. I think Lon does a decent job of development and certainly gives the kids the freedom to be all they can be. He tends to recruit athletes that can, if they have the drive, become championship players. He hasn't tended to recruit the hyper skilled but less athletic kids, or the solid bigger but shorter bids that are more skilled. In short and like me at the horse track, he bets on the best long shots so that if he wins he can win something. The other kinds of kids can win you games but have a very distinctive ceiling.
So how has lon done, well I think pretty good but with a mixed bag. Had a number of kids dramatically improve and many that haven't.
I guess my point with all of this is that it is complicated, and while the captain of the ship should bear and accept responsibility for the end result, we are a university that is not going to bring in all high profile kids and so we are going to have kids that don't pan out regardless of what lon does, he does have to reach and project some. All in all, I am satisfied with the job Lon has done and look forward to next year.