Muller's Talent Strategy

V Boy

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Going into this year, it looks to me like Muller's key pillars of his talent strategy were:

1) Continue to recruit size/length (6-4+ guys)
2) Blend new kids from Illinois with out-of-state kids who checked the size/length box. This presumably would drive more local interest in the program and provide more continuity with roster
3) Maintain balance between freshmen and transfers/JUCOs

So far I feel like he is executing his plan.

But.....the obvious lack of quickness and speed seems to be missing in the plan, which is so important in our league. Feels like a huge miss.

I feel like Muller's plan to out-size the other Valley teams might not be working (without having quicker guards).

What do other people think?
 

Metamoron

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The valley (an mid majors in general) is a guard league. Last year we had 2 seniors, one of which this forum would have ridden out of town after sophomore year. Our current guards are inexperienced, injured, and ineligible.

Nuff said.
 

Adunk33

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V Boy said:
Going into this year, it looks to me like Muller's key pillars of his talent strategy were:

1) Continue to recruit size/length (6-4+ guys)
2) Blend new kids from Illinois with out-of-state kids who checked the size/length box. This presumably would drive more local interest in the program and provide more continuity with roster
3) Maintain balance between freshmen and transfers/JUCOs

So far I feel like he is executing his plan.

But.....the obvious lack of quickness and speed seems to be missing in the plan, which is so important in our league. Feels like a huge miss.

I feel like Muller's plan to out-size the other Valley teams might not be working (without having quicker guards).

What do other people think?

I agree with your key pillars of Muller's recruiting. I think blending local talent without other states is key. But this is really his first year doing it so we must give it time. Ike, Boogie, and Taylor has brought a few more fans in. But the big fan guy is sitting out with a RS. I think the LeRoy crowd will come out in droves to see Chastain play. I was at the game where LeRoy fans alone filled over half of the lower bowl to watch Chastain take down Newark to go to State.

Outsizing was going to be key the whole time for Muller. Keep in mind, his first season, he had a 6'4 Nick Ziesloft playing the 4. NZ was the only option. Like Spack and his running back situation from a few years ago, it was clear Muller was not going to let that happen again.

Again, I agree with your pillars but we need more than 2/3 of a season to judge how well it works. This team saw an incredible amount of road bumps with injuries, ineligibility, and personal issues. I think if this team is healthy from day one, we are 6-2 in the MVC. It just takes time to jell together.

However, having guards with size is great. If we could get 2 or 3 more the size of Elijah, that'd be cool. But I agree we need some more traditional Daishon Knight guys. 6'2ish and quick. I'm not sure we'll see that in this class. Muller has preached since day 1 how much he loves wing players. Look at a guy like Milik or Mikyle. Both guys on other teams would play off the ball or a stretch 4 type. Both players here were point forwards and could bring the ball up the court.

Getting Copeland next season will be big for guard depth. I'm hoping we have some post help with Chief Rey and Demontay. Then we'll also add in Romine, and Chastain. Like I've said. If this isn't the year, next year is.

The 2019 recruiting class we will need to go guard heavy to replace Keyshawn, Boogie, and Milik. Hopefully Chris can get some of his buddies to come with him. I'm sure he knows some guys that would be a great fit. 7 of our 9 open offers in the class of 2019 are to guards or wings.
 

ChiRedbirdfan

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V Boy said:
Going into this year, it looks to me like Muller's key pillars of his talent strategy were:

1) Continue to recruit size/length (6-4+ guys)
2) Blend new kids from Illinois with out-of-state kids who checked the size/length box. This presumably would drive more local interest in the program and provide more continuity with roster
3) Maintain balance between freshmen and transfers/JUCOs

So far I feel like he is executing his plan.

But.....the obvious lack of quickness and speed seems to be missing in the plan, which is so important in our league. Feels like a huge miss.

I feel like Muller's plan to out-size the other Valley teams might not be working (without having quicker guards).

What do other people think?

Agree valid. All of that works as long as guard play holds its own. Guards for current ISU team, as of today, are arguably the weakest in the MVC. Keyshawn's injury is showing up as much or more on his defense vs his offense. Overall I like the size/length strategy.
 

Redbirdwarrior

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V Boy said:
Going into this year, it looks to me like Muller's key pillars of his talent strategy were:

1) Continue to recruit size/length (6-4+ guys)
2) Blend new kids from Illinois with out-of-state kids who checked the size/length box. This presumably would drive more local interest in the program and provide more continuity with roster
3) Maintain balance between freshmen and transfers/JUCOs

So far I feel like he is executing his plan.

But.....the obvious lack of quickness and speed seems to be missing in the plan, which is so important in our league. Feels like a huge miss.

I feel like Muller's plan to out-size the other Valley teams might not be working (without having quicker guards).

What do other people think?


Good post, V-Boy. I think there is something to be said for having a team that averages 6'7'' out there at this level, but I think perhaps we need to be open to other factors as well. Weight being one. I have always liked to see bangers under the rim. We currently have STRONG 220 pounders, but I think every team needs at least one guy that is 240+. What good is being 7'1'' if you are going to get boxed out by a 6'8'', 250lb guy every game?

I like the athlete strategy but ONLY if the key gameplan is to use that atheltisim. RUN. Run the other guys out of the gym. Get the rebound and bust ass for the paint. Every time. Every single time. Don't give the other team a chance to match up on the retreat. Suddenly you have a 6'9'' 3/4 on a 5'11" PG in the paint and you can AT LEAST draw contact.

Further, I think these guys need to be shooting free throws. A lot. All day. More. it is never enough. I know they do in practice, but there is no reason anyone should shoot under 70% from the line.
 

SgtHulka

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Metamoron said:
The valley (an mid majors in general) is a guard league. Last year we had 2 seniors, one of which this forum would have ridden out of town after sophomore year. Our current guards are inexperienced, injured, and ineligible.

Nuff said.

:text-+1:

HCDM prefers leftists
he prefers 6' 7-8" long and lean for everything but the 2 guard slots
His move towards size recently would have one believe he thinks he's OK for guards

His biggest issue, is turnover. What is the least amount of new faces we have had in his tenure? I'm gonna guess at least 5, but we average 6-7 new faces/year. It feels that way anyway. We can't get any solid footing. Last year was the most solid and it showed. His primary guards came as freshmen and left as seniors.

With recent trends in the NCAA looking to loosen the belt on transfers that isn't going to go away if they get their way. Usually a lots of new faces HCDM team is starting to hit stride right about now. This is probably the longest that has gone, but based on EC and Clayton being what he thought would be the guard combo by now, it's not surprising.
 

Humdinger

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Redbirdwarrior said:
Further, I think these guys need to be shooting free throws. A lot. All day. More. it is never enough. I know they do in practice, but there is no reason anyone should shoot under 70% from the line.

Hey man, no offense, but do you honestly think they're not shooting free throws, or enough of them? Guarantee you it's an every day subject. I shot close to 90% from the line my senior year, but it took me years to get there...and it's much more of a mental thing at the line. All the while balancing the fact that some of the time, you're completely out of breath when shooting them. Learning how to shoot em tired is more important, to me, than just shooting them.

I guess all I'm saying is, they're working on free throws, DEFINITELY. For sure. I don't disagree with you on 70%, and I get pissed about free throws, but people are people. The yips happen at the free throw line, too. With thousands watching live and more at home on the TV.
 

Bird Friend

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V Boy said:
Going into this year, it looks to me like Muller's key pillars of his talent strategy were:

1) Continue to recruit size/length (6-4+ guys)
2) Blend new kids from Illinois with out-of-state kids who checked the size/length box. This presumably would drive more local interest in the program and provide more continuity with roster
3) Maintain balance between freshmen and transfers/JUCOs

So far I feel like he is executing his plan.

But.....the obvious lack of quickness and speed seems to be missing in the plan, which is so important in our league. Feels like a huge miss.

I feel like Muller's plan to out-size the other Valley teams might not be working (without having quicker guards).

What do other people think?

This seems pretty fair. I think one additional recruiting strategy is finding guys who can play multiple positions.

I think some of the lack of speed we're seeing is attributable to three things:

1. Having guys who normally wouldn't be seeing so much of the floor, and truly do not have the speed.
2. A couple guys playing injured.
3. Guys who have not "bought in" to Muller's defensive strategy. Guys can look a lot quicker when they're focused on D, and slower when they're not.
 

Bird Friend

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Humdinger said:
Redbirdwarrior said:
Further, I think these guys need to be shooting free throws. A lot. All day. More. it is never enough. I know they do in practice, but there is no reason anyone should shoot under 70% from the line.

Hey man, no offense, but do you honestly think they're not shooting free throws, or enough of them? Guarantee you it's an every day subject. I shot close to 90% from the line my senior year, but it took me years to get there...and it's much more of a mental thing at the line. All the while balancing the fact that some of the time, you're completely out of breath when shooting them. Learning how to shoot em tired is more important, to me, than just shooting them.

I guess all I'm saying is, they're working on free throws, DEFINITELY. For sure. I don't disagree with you on 70%, and I get pissed about free throws, but people are people. The yips happen at the free throw line, too. With thousands watching live and more at home on the TV.

And as I think Timmy said in another thread . . . just shooting free throws doesn't help if you're not shooting them correctly in a repetitive manner.
 

V Boy

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With this Payton de-commit and if this transfer rule plays out you have to wonder how much sense it even makes for mid-major coaches to recruit high school players anymore.

You could probably put a good team together just Recruiting JUCOs and accepting transfers from lower leagues/programs.

It would be a sad sad thing, but the amount of effort it takes to recruit these high school players with the probability that 80-90% of them won’t stay 4 years calls into question whether it’s worth it to go after the younger, less experienced players anymore.

It’s just sad. The whole thing. The NCAA and AAUs are destroying the game.
 

fdbird83

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V Boy said:
With this Payton de-commit and if this transfer rule plays out you have to wonder how much sense it even makes for mid-major coaches to recruit high school players anymore.

You could probably put a good team together just Recruiting JUCOs and accepting transfers from lower leagues/programs.

It would be a sad sad thing, but the amount of effort it takes to recruit these high school players with the probability that 80-90% of them won’t stay 4 years calls into question whether it’s worth it to go after the younger, less experienced players anymore.

It’s just sad. The whole thing. The NCAA and AAUs are destroying the game.
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