It is going to take a while to get over that game. We had them at arms length most of the game. Jays led 41-34 with 13:14 left in the game, 77.5% win probability according to KenPom. Going from a celebration thinking we just forced OT to realizing they have 2 FTs to win the game was a gut punch to say the least. Some thoughts heading into the off-season:
- Happy for Coach Huss for getting the head job at High Point. Losing assistants to take head jobs is ultimately the sign of a healthy program. Mac's assistants having success getting and excelling as head coaches will help Mac's ability to fill those vacancies with quality candidates. Admittedly, I was initially underwhelmed when Mac hired Huss. Huss at the time had limited experience as a D1 assistant and it felt like an easy hire because Huss was an alum. Huss went on to show he was a quality assistant coach for Mac. He recruited well and helped land guys like Nembhard and Kalk. He opened some doors internationally. I'm thankful we were able to keep him a couple years ago when Illinois tried to hire him. Huss turned out to be a great hire. Best of luck to him at High Point.
- Last year's offseason recruiting was pretty quiet. The Jays didn't lose anyone of significance and kept their staff together. They won their two big recruiting battles for Sheierman and King. We know they will have to hire an assistant. I'm hoping it is more of the same in the end.
- I don't expect the roster to be set for a quite a while. I believe all 5 starters are at least fringe NBA prospects at this point (or maybe will be in the case of R2). Typically we see a large amount "declare" for the NBA draft, go through the pre-draft process, and then see many ultimately decide to come back to school. I think it's reasonable to expect nearly the entire starting lineup to declare. The deadline to declare for the NBA draft is April 23rd and the deadline to withdrawal is May 31st.
- We know Creighton is interested in Andrew Rohde from Saint Thomas and John Tonje from Colorado St. (edit: Tonje committed to Mizzou) at this point. I expect their to be some turnover near the bottom of the roster. Do Bello and Reef end up in a Creighton uniform next year? Do those guys seek a larger role somewhere else? Does Creighton want both of the them back?
I'm hoping that most of this group tries to run it back, but you just never know.
- Happy for Coach Huss for getting the head job at High Point. Losing assistants to take head jobs is ultimately the sign of a healthy program. Mac's assistants having success getting and excelling as head coaches will help Mac's ability to fill those vacancies with quality candidates. Admittedly, I was initially underwhelmed when Mac hired Huss. Huss at the time had limited experience as a D1 assistant and it felt like an easy hire because Huss was an alum. Huss went on to show he was a quality assistant coach for Mac. He recruited well and helped land guys like Nembhard and Kalk. He opened some doors internationally. I'm thankful we were able to keep him a couple years ago when Illinois tried to hire him. Huss turned out to be a great hire. Best of luck to him at High Point.
- Last year's offseason recruiting was pretty quiet. The Jays didn't lose anyone of significance and kept their staff together. They won their two big recruiting battles for Sheierman and King. We know they will have to hire an assistant. I'm hoping it is more of the same in the end.
- I don't expect the roster to be set for a quite a while. I believe all 5 starters are at least fringe NBA prospects at this point (or maybe will be in the case of R2). Typically we see a large amount "declare" for the NBA draft, go through the pre-draft process, and then see many ultimately decide to come back to school. I think it's reasonable to expect nearly the entire starting lineup to declare. The deadline to declare for the NBA draft is April 23rd and the deadline to withdrawal is May 31st.
- We know Creighton is interested in Andrew Rohde from Saint Thomas and John Tonje from Colorado St. (edit: Tonje committed to Mizzou) at this point. I expect their to be some turnover near the bottom of the roster. Do Bello and Reef end up in a Creighton uniform next year? Do those guys seek a larger role somewhere else? Does Creighton want both of the them back?
I'm hoping that most of this group tries to run it back, but you just never know.
