Looking at the outcome of that season it made me ask a question that might clear things up for some ppl. I noticed Nic Moore's freshmen year at Illinois State (10ppg 3.9apg)was similar to Malcolm Armstead of WSU. My question I pose is would WSU had been as good if Armstead (10.6ppg 4apg)never transferred in & played that final 4 season?
The obvious answer would be "no." So why would a high expectation be set for a team that would lose a player of that caliber? & why should a 1st year coaches evaluation be based off the expectations that were set higher than they should have been after losing a player of this caliber? Only losing one conference game less than Jank should have been surprising after losing this talented of a player.
Unfortunately, I'm guessing some of you would still with "yes." Because you had a 4-Star freshmen that could have stepped in. Jank did not recruit any depth at point guard therefore ISU did not have anyone to step in & take this role. Offenses work well if you have a point guard that can essentially "play quarterback" for the team.