I find myself conflicted in regard to KE. I was delighted when he was hired and was all in on him. He said ALL the right things to fire up a fanbase that had been deprived for over a decade in a way that DP never did. He talked openly about "success" being championships and NCAA appearances. I was in heaven. My donations increased and I was ready to take on the A10 and NCAA.
A year and a half later I find myself beginning to doubt him, his methods, strategies, and his ability to recruit "championship" players. I don't like feeling that way. IMO he has done a "nice" or "adequate" job of getting guys from the portal. Schwartz, Cooper, Gaines, Ojiako, Singleton, etc. have kept us from sucking and being the bottom of the barrel. Yet, what have we won with them? Nothing. We were 14-16 (7-9) last year. We currently stand at 9-6 (1-1) for an overall record of 23-22 (8-10). We are 0-6 in holiday tourneys and 0-1 in the A10 tourney. We can't buy a freaking road win. Not much to write home about if winning is the ultimate goal. Not a great resume thus far. Do I still hold out hope? Yes, but my confidence is waning. We still have no real identity (offensively or defensively) or the "toughness" that he has talked about wanting so much.
In regard to recruiting....On paper he has delivered "star" recruits in a way that DP never did. But what have they done for us to date? In no way is it my intention to bash any player. If it comes across that way I'm sorry. I fully expected JF to deliver 15-20 minutes a night given his hype coming in. But, "great athletes" often are not great players. The guys coming in next year? Could be studs, could be busts. I doubt we'll win with 3 freshmen in the starting line-up if that's what it boils down to.
The portal for next year? Well, most players that have come to us have had a previous relationship with KE. That's going to dry up in the next year or two. Finding a great player, that wants to come to GMU, will be harder and harder to find given our 12 year track record. No prime time players leave current situations, it just doesn't happen that way.
Are we going to be better next year? Highly doubtful given our current roster, the players who will leave at the end of the year, and our overall youth next year. If Michael, Magic, and Larry walk through the door I may change my tune.
I want to believe!!!!!!!!!!!! Just find myself in the early stages of doubt given our crappy 12 year history. My 2 cents and I'm sticking to it.
In the meantime I'll continue to go to every home game, some road games, post game threads here, live and die with the team, say positive things when we win, and criticize when we lose. It's called being die hard.
