MJSooner
Well-known member
- Joined
- Nov 10, 2008
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You’re missing the common denominator shared by Brady, Alondes, and for that matter, Kur Kauth. Better coaching and an improvement in player development.
No one wants to say it, but I complained about the assistants Lon brought in to replace Henson and Hill, long before he announced he was retiring. Take a close look at the players we brought in following our Final Four season and you’ll know what I mean.
While I agree that the assistants the last few years have been less than stellar, and at times bad, I don't think this rhetoric about how much all these guys improved and got better development once they got away from Kruger is accurate.
In Alondes' case, a player doesn't go from 6 PPG, 2 RPG, and 1 APG to ACC POY just because Lon wasn't near the coach as Steve Forbes. A player doesn't make that kind of leap unless something changes from within. Sometimes a new coach and change of scenery can jumpstart it, but Alondes' play at OU wasn't just because LK couldn't coach him up.
And as far as Brady, I am not sure he "improved" at UNC. If you look at his stats his junior year at OU and at UNC, they are almost identical, maybe slightly favored to OU especially considering it was a tougher conference. I think it is no secret that Brady struggled with the mental toughness part of the game at OU (remember the meltdown at KU) and it impacted his play much more than coaching. I think the transfer relieved some of the pressure he felt in Norman.
Kur had almost the same stats at Marquette as he did last year at OU with double the minutes. Other than FG%, not really much difference. So I am not sure I would say Kur improved, and I for sure wouldn't say Shaka Smart is the king of player development. Just look at his underachievement with 4 & 5 stars at Texas.
BTW, you didn't mention him, but I would argue that DH regressed at Oregon or certainly didn't improve. His shooting % was down and his PPG was down slightly.
Lon has three current starters/PT starters in the NBA and more top 10 draft picks than any other coach in OU history. Evidently he did something right in identifying talent & developing players.
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