Way too early look at next year

[tribecalledquest]

Every Saluki fan should be really excited about that one commit. Kennard Davis Jr. is probably playing a tougher schedule than any recruit SIU has seen since the 2000’s and he’s the best player on that team. He’s going to be one of the best two-way Valley players as long as he’s at SIU.

But if you lose Domask, next year becomes a rebuild year unless you can hit absolute gold in the portal. Domask just means so much to SIU over the last 4 years and he’s masked a lot of the offensive problems SIU has had under Mullins. It’ll be a complete shame if his 4 years at SIU were wasted without postseason basketball.

SIU fans were really fired up and jazzed about Foster Wonders too.

[BCPanther]

Think the plan was to redshirt Hornecker and then Muila and Ebube both got hurt early in the season and they yanked it. Cade hasn’t looked great even in garbage time though. He needs to have a really productive offseason if he’s going to be a piece next year.

A really good 7-0 kid from Texas isn't going to end up at SIU. That just doesn't happen. 7-0 kids who are huge projects might - but not ones who are close to ready to play.

My god. Someone else that finally understands how things work.

If I read 'Why didn't Jake just go into the portal and get a 6-10 guy?' like he's grabbing something off the shelf at the grocery store, I'm going to scream.

Justin Dahl was our last 'true' big and he was completely unplayable until Year 4. We've got another one in Chase Courbat but, same deal, he's not going to be playable for a while.

[tribecalledquest]

Think the plan was to redshirt Hornecker and then Muila and Ebube both got hurt early in the season and they yanked it. Cade hasn’t looked great even in garbage time though. He needs to have a really productive offseason if he’s going to be a piece next year.

A really good 7-0 kid from Texas isn't going to end up at SIU. That just doesn't happen. 7-0 kids who are huge projects might - but not ones who are close to ready to play.

My god. Someone else that finally understands how things work.

If I read 'Why didn't Jake just go into the portal and get a 6-10 guy?' like he's grabbing something off the shelf at the grocery store, I'm going to scream.

Justin Dahl was our last 'true' big and he was completely unplayable until Year 4. We've got another one in Chase Courbat but, same deal, he's not going to be playable for a while.

Before SIU fans jump all over me - it's why Bradley fans were goofy to get ahead of themselves when 7-1 Ahmet Jonovic joined the roster at the semester. If he were good enough to come in and play in the MVC right away he wouldn't have been available in the first place.

[Salukidawg2014]

Every Saluki fan should be really excited about that one commit. Kennard Davis Jr. is probably playing a tougher schedule than any recruit SIU has seen since the 2000’s and he’s the best player on that team. He’s going to be one of the best two-way Valley players as long as he’s at SIU.

But if you lose Domask, next year becomes a rebuild year unless you can hit absolute gold in the portal. Domask just means so much to SIU over the last 4 years and he’s masked a lot of the offensive problems SIU has had under Mullins. It’ll be a complete shame if his 4 years at SIU were wasted without postseason basketball.

SIU fans were really fired up and jazzed about Foster Wonders too.

He’s behind domask. You expect him to get much playing time? He’s the best player at his position in the league

[DUBulldog]

Think the plan was to redshirt Hornecker and then Muila and Ebube both got hurt early in the season and they yanked it. Cade hasn’t looked great even in garbage time though. He needs to have a really productive offseason if he’s going to be a piece next year.

A really good 7-0 kid from Texas isn't going to end up at SIU. That just doesn't happen. 7-0 kids who are huge projects might - but not ones who are close to ready to play.

My god. Someone else that finally understands how things work.

If I read 'Why didn't Jake just go into the portal and get a 6-10 guy?' like he's grabbing something off the shelf at the grocery store, I'm going to scream.

Same thing on Drakenation. We used to have one poster in particular who always was telling everybody how Drake needed a couple of athletic 7-footers and some 4-star forwards, and other similar types. Damn, why didn't Coach DeVries think of that?

[tribecalledquest]

Every Saluki fan should be really excited about that one commit. Kennard Davis Jr. is probably playing a tougher schedule than any recruit SIU has seen since the 2000’s and he’s the best player on that team. He’s going to be one of the best two-way Valley players as long as he’s at SIU.

But if you lose Domask, next year becomes a rebuild year unless you can hit absolute gold in the portal. Domask just means so much to SIU over the last 4 years and he’s masked a lot of the offensive problems SIU has had under Mullins. It’ll be a complete shame if his 4 years at SIU were wasted without postseason basketball.

SIU fans were really fired up and jazzed about Foster Wonders too.

He’s behind domask. You expect him to get much playing time? He’s the best player at his position in the league

So SIU was so good and such a good offensive team a second year Foster Wonders couldn’t find the court?

Good coaches find minutes for the best players.

[siudawgs]

Like virtually all Saluki backers, I was extremely pumped when SIU hired Mullins. Still very glad he's the guy, but I'll acknowledge the first four years have not gone as well as I'd hoped.

The biggest Mullins pluses:
- All class. Some might eyeroll or minimize, but the academics, caliber of kids he brings in, relationship with the fanbase/students, etc., have all been excellent.
- Player retention. This probably overlaps with the point above, but his player relationships have also been great. Keeping Domask and Jones for (at least) four years in this climate is an achievement.
- Winning some big games. I prioritize this more than some others might, but winning games at Butler and Oklahoma State and over Colorado on a neutral floor tells me that, eventually, this program could win big games in a postseason tournament. It's also fun. Hinson, pathetically, beat zero power-conference opponents in his seven years and took pains to avoid scheduling them.
- Defense. Goes without saying that Mullins can coach defense and gives the team an identity, which also was lacking under the previous coach.

The biggest Mullins minuses:
- Offense. Not enough pace, easy baskets created or consistent player movement for my liking, and the number of games they've scored in the 40s or 50s speaks for itself, including 48 last week in a majorly disappointing home loss to Bradley. Haven't seen enough individual offensive improvement from guys other than Domask and Jones, either (and actually Jones has been less efficient offensively this year).
- Overly conservative approach. Mullins has proven to be very cautious on a lot of fronts: favoring middling upperclassmen over developing younger guys to an extreme, favoring guys who are more reliable defenders over more offensive-minded guys (like Wonders) to an extreme and an unwillingness to touch the coaching staff when it's been clear there are shortcomings when it comes to coaching offense.

I could keep going both ways but I've probably lost 80% of you all by now. I didn't put recruiting in either category because I'd say it's been decent but not great (and it's kind of hard to judge because he hasn't given the younger guys outside of D'Amico much opportunity). I did hope the Illinois Wolves connection would be a bit more fruitful, though I still think Ebube's ceiling is very high.

It's a big Arch Madness for Mullins and the Salukis coming up. A run to Sunday (or better yet, winning the damn thing) would buy plenty of goodwill if Domask leaves and next year is a step back. Conversely, if he goes four years without making a semi in St. Louis and next year doesn't go well, even a beloved guy like Mullins would justifiably face some heat.

[tribecalledquest]

Like virtually all Saluki backers, I was extremely pumped when SIU hired Mullins. Still very glad he's the guy, but I'll acknowledge the first four years have not gone as well as I'd hoped.

The biggest Mullins pluses:
- All class. Some might eyeroll or minimize, but the academics, caliber of kids he brings in, relationship with the fanbase/students, etc., have all been excellent.
- Player retention. This probably overlaps with the point above, but his player relationships have also been great. Keeping Domask and Jones for (at least) four years in this climate is an achievement.
- Winning some big games. I prioritize this more than some others might, but winning games at Butler and Oklahoma State and over Colorado on a neutral floor tells me that, eventually, this program could win big games in a postseason tournament. It's also fun. Hinson, pathetically, beat zero power-conference opponents in his seven years and took pains to avoid scheduling them.
- Defense. Goes without saying that Mullins can coach defense and gives the team an identity, which also was lacking under the previous coach.

The biggest Mullins minuses:
- Offense. Not enough pace, easy baskets created or consistent player movement for my liking, and the number of games they've scored in the 40s or 50s speaks for itself, including 48 last week in a majorly disappointing home loss to Bradley. Haven't seen enough individual offensive improvement from guys other than Domask and Jones, either (and actually Jones has been less efficient offensively this year).
- Overly conservative approach. Mullins has proven to be very cautious on a lot of fronts: favoring middling upperclassmen over developing younger guys to an extreme, favoring guys who are more reliable defenders over more offensive-minded guys (like Wonders) to an extreme and an unwillingness to touch the coaching staff when it's been clear there are shortcomings when it comes to coaching offense.

I could keep going both ways but I've probably lost 80% of you all by now. I didn't put recruiting in either category because I'd say it's been decent but not great (and it's kind of hard to judge because he hasn't given the younger guys outside of D'Amico much opportunity). I did hope the Illinois Wolves connection would be a bit more fruitful, though I still think Ebube's ceiling is very high.

It's a big Arch Madness for Mullins and the Salukis coming up. A run to Sunday (or better yet, winning the damn thing) would buy plenty of goodwill if Domask leaves and next year is a step back. Conversely, if he goes four years without making a semi in St. Louis and next year doesn't go well, even a beloved guy like Mullins would justifiably face some heat.

Great post. Thanks.

I know I needle SIU fans on here - but a good SIU is good for the MVC. Four of my HS classmates went to SIU. They have great fans.

[Kyle_Saluki_17]

Like virtually all Saluki backers, I was extremely pumped when SIU hired Mullins. Still very glad he's the guy, but I'll acknowledge the first four years have not gone as well as I'd hoped.

The biggest Mullins pluses:
- All class. Some might eyeroll or minimize, but the academics, caliber of kids he brings in, relationship with the fanbase/students, etc., have all been excellent.
- Player retention. This probably overlaps with the point above, but his player relationships have also been great. Keeping Domask and Jones for (at least) four years in this climate is an achievement.
- Winning some big games. I prioritize this more than some others might, but winning games at Butler and Oklahoma State and over Colorado on a neutral floor tells me that, eventually, this program could win big games in a postseason tournament. It's also fun. Hinson, pathetically, beat zero power-conference opponents in his seven years and took pains to avoid scheduling them.
- Defense. Goes without saying that Mullins can coach defense and gives the team an identity, which also was lacking under the previous coach.

The biggest Mullins minuses:
- Offense. Not enough pace, easy baskets created or consistent player movement for my liking, and the number of games they've scored in the 40s or 50s speaks for itself, including 48 last week in a majorly disappointing home loss to Bradley. Haven't seen enough individual offensive improvement from guys other than Domask and Jones, either (and actually Jones has been less efficient offensively this year).
- Overly conservative approach. Mullins has proven to be very cautious on a lot of fronts: favoring middling upperclassmen over developing younger guys to an extreme, favoring guys who are more reliable defenders over more offensive-minded guys (like Wonders) to an extreme and an unwillingness to touch the coaching staff when it's been clear there are shortcomings when it comes to coaching offense.

I could keep going both ways but I've probably lost 80% of you all by now. I didn't put recruiting in either category because I'd say it's been decent but not great (and it's kind of hard to judge because he hasn't given the younger guys outside of D'Amico much opportunity). I did hope the Illinois Wolves connection would be a bit more fruitful, though I still think Ebube's ceiling is very high.

It's a big Arch Madness for Mullins and the Salukis coming up. A run to Sunday (or better yet, winning the damn thing) would buy plenty of goodwill if Domask leaves and next year is a step back. Conversely, if he goes four years without making a semi in St. Louis and next year doesn't go well, even a beloved guy like Mullins would justifiably face some heat.

Great post. Thanks.

I know I needle SIU fans on here - but a good SIU is good for the MVC. Four of my HS classmates went to SIU. They have great fans.

The schools with big fan bases being good is very good for the conference. SIU and Murray comes to my mind first, but certainly Bradley and Illinois State and others can pack some as well when good I’m sure.

[SalukiWorld]

Perfectly fair write-up on Mullins and agree with almost all of it. Hate to pin opinions on a one and done Tournament but Mullins needs some Arch Madness success this year. Another Friday exit would not look great on Mullins who has one win so far in St. Louis, a Thursday win against a Bradley team that had no available players. You lose on Friday again this year and lose all your players, it’s going to be tough for people like me to get behind another rebuild when we’ve already been waiting since 2008 for any sort of postseason.