I think as time sets in and we distance ourselves from this very impressive B1G Tourney run, we'll see a 3-1 finish doesn't overrule a 13-18 season.
We saw a lot of positives in the tourney, but also things we should have seen much, much, much earlier. The young guns should have gotten the run way earlier. It's clear if Zed returns next year he needs to come off the bench, he slows this team up way too much. The whole year this team played too damn slow.
CCH is a nice guy, I'm sure this will be hated but my ideal turn of events is he goes to Notre Dame which is a decently high profile, low pressure job and Sean Miller comes in and takes this team to their next level.
That said, this team is shaping up very well next year to have Thornton/Gayle/Middleton/Royal/Okpara start, you'd have Chatman off the bench at guard, Brown for the wing, and Key at center running with the 2nd unit which is best for him at this point. We still need another big that can run and for depth and if Etzler isn't ready for that in year 3 it's not going to happen for him here. There's hope regardless, but if CCH is back next year and hasn't made any adjustments to his style I'll feel like that GEICO commercial based off of Texas Chainsaw Massacre where the girl goes, 'Why don't we just get into the running car?!'.
I think people are going to see what they want to see and take what they want to take from this season. That seems to be a theme with the fanbase at least.
Ultimately, I still don't think CH is being held to a performance standard as closely as the fanbase wants. Gene Smith has a completely different focus, and that focus isn't solely performance based.
At the same time, it's very clear that the slump in the middle of the season can't repeat itself. Extenuating circumstances aside, this team DID grow together and CH had a big part of that because he never gave up. Sometimes that's enough to pull a bunch of kids out of the doldrums of a long season.
Next year is important, yes, and no one here is going to accept another season like this one, but I'd bet the fans are way over-stating what level of success he needs to achieve to "keep his job".
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