Coach K's Strategy

Posted By: Holy Cow
Date: 2011-11-14 22:56:03

When Coach K got here in April, obviously most, if not all, the talented 2011 recruiting class had signed elsewhere (and there just wasn't any PAC 12 tready alent working at Starbucks to pick up, sorry hoopknowledge). So, Coach K got to work on the 2012 class. He likely said to himself, if I want to build this thing the right way, then I need to focus on the future. Could he have kept O'brien, Clyburn, Sharp? Maybe or maybe not. Maybe things could have been handled differently or maybe Coach K did what he could to keep them, but it just wasn't enough. That is not my point. Once Coach K saw that these players were leaving, and that the talent available from the remaining 2011 recruiting pool was as shallow as it was, he begin focusing on 2012. He got some talented transfers in Dean and Dotson to start playing in 2012. And he recently signed 5 others for 2012, which will include some nice frontcourt help. I mean I look at what Coach K did during his first few days on the job. He was not focused on picking the scraps that remained from 2011 class, but he focused instead on recruting and offering the best player in the state, Loveridge. And he got him. The jucos that Coach K signed in Dawson, Farr and Martin were all basically one year players as fill-ins and i think they all knew that unless they played out of their minds this year, that they would likely be gone. That is why Coach K has already oversigned by 3 scholarships for 2012.

This year is basically a wash, with the exception that Coach K needs to let the freshman play and teach them the fundamentals. I really hope that Matthews, Odunsi and Storey are all given a fair shot to play and that they take it upon themselves to learn and get better. This year could really provide invaluable experience to those three into the future.

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