by Aargh » July 27th, 2019, 9:54 pm
When Mullins played for SIU, I always thought that if you built a brick wall between him and the basket, that he'd run through it - nose first. And his nose looked like he'd done that a time or two. If he's as tough as a coach as he was as a player, he's going to get the best out of his recruits.
I'm not familiar with any of his coaching background, but his background as a player is about the best a player can have for moving into coaching.
The situation at SIU isn't ideal. Lowery destroyed the program. Hinson brought it back to at least mediocre and regained some respect. There's still work to be done to restore SIU's rep as a basketball school. SIU's declining enrollment creates some financial restraints that are going to be tough to get past.
If Mullins can succeed in that environ,ment, I think SIU has a chance to hold on to him longer than successful coaches tend to stay in the Valley. That would be very good for SIU.
On a scale from bust to home run, I think this hire is a double into the corner. With the right bounce, it could be an inside the park homer. With the situation at SIU, an infield single would have been considered a successful hire.