For the 1st time I feel we're in the right hands. Otz has some Tarkanian Vibe about him.
I've been the biggest critic...
- Thread starter SilverSpoon
- Start date
It will take time, but I do believe the team is going in the right direction for once!
the difference in defensive intensity and attitude from last year is enough to make a believer out of me.
I like a lot of what he does. Much of it. And I do think he will be fine here. By that I mean we aren’t going to see the shit Marv slung our there with a smile on his face and a shot to toast with in the other. Otz has some substance and direction, so with that I do think he will be “fine”.
Being “fine” will be much better than where we currently are, but “fine” may mean second tier of the MWC, which, in a usually one bid league, means NIT/CBI type stuff ... which won’t buy a ton of time, imo, especially if there is an AD change in the next three years.
I think he’s a good coach, I like that he’s rigid with his expectations and that he will punish instead of enable. That goes a long way with me. But I don’t get a Tark vibe with him at all. I don’t get a Tark vibe with any coach. He was different, very unique and he was as laser focused as a coach could ever be. He was a natural leader for young men, he was a star in this city without even trying, he galvanized.
Give me players who are under rated or "not good" by the stars system that the coach trusts and can do what he is asks of them every single time over players who are elite and don't care about the coach.
I would guess his recruiting will evolve and improve over time.
My biggest concern is if they succeed for a couple of seasons as a staff, and he starts to be in the mix for other jobs in P5, where money is no issue... what can UNLV do to offset that and keep him? Does UNLV then say "hey boosters... we have proven we can do it without your input. What can we do to bring you back and keep the most successful coach we've had in 30 years?" (...or at least since Lon...)
The fact that he took two player that did nothing under coach Menzies says a lot to me. One being a player that barely got into the game and wasn't even on scholarship and turned him into an active part of the team with the first triple double in decades for UNLV (Marvin Coleman), and the other player also being a backup player on the bench who is recently averaging 30 points a game (Bryce Hamilton) says a lot about his ability to coach up the players that he has. Without question he is miles in front of Menzies who had better players but never did anything to improve the players he had year to year. In fact the teams tended to play their best ball at the beginning of the season before coaching makes the difference. I did make the big mistake of supporting Menzies for far too long, but at least I have seen signs of player development that I never saw under coach Menzies.
Lower level (lower than high or elite) players that are buy in guys, guys that stay for four years... you’ll find consistency with a limited ceiling. That’s just logical. Lower peaks and valleys, staying close to the mean for the duration. But there are caps in place, on both the upper and lower end. We saw that very thing with Kruger. And it wasn’t enough for there to be heat, for him to lose booster backing. I guess boosters (and fans) can “learn their lesson” but let’s be honest, too much ego involved, people will revert to who they are.
The natural assumption is that recruiting will increase. I don’t think recruiting increases unless the recruiting philosophy changes. Further, Kruger was very, very good with the transfer market and UNLV was one of the top beneficiaries of transfers. Well, everyone takes transfers now, back then only a couple handfuls would deal with them.
I think we all worry about a coach moving on after success is had. And rightfully so. My counter would be let’s cross that bridge when we get there, especially since UNLV hasn’t had a football coach or basketball coach leave for greener pastures since ... when? We can say Kruger even though that’s a bit murky (greener pastures but had significant pressure here)... I’ll grant him. In the past 30 years? Nobody else. At this point I’d call it a good problem to have and I’d rather experience that than a firing.
The starts of their careers are night and day, thankfully. We couldn’t afford a repeat of what just happened to this program.
After the shit show of the BYU game, I'm hoping UNLV performs well for USU game in a week or so. They certainly seem to have turned the corner and figured things out since then.
Was damn beyond embarrassing walking out of the Vivant Arena and not something I want to have happen twice in one season.
Was damn beyond embarrassing walking out of the Vivant Arena and not something I want to have happen twice in one season.
When I say his recruiting needs to improve, it means that when he identifies "his" players and brings them in, they better pan out on the court in games! We saw the parade of 4 and 5 stars here under Rice who didn't do crap come conference play and only got worse as the season wore on. The guys Otz chooses need to turn into players not pumpkins like Tillman, Antonio and Shibel to name a few and Martinez better not be a drain on the team once he gets here either!
His recruiting here will be his boon or his death nail!
These next two are going to be tough. Right now, I like our chances at CSU more. I just expect that at some point, USU will turn it on for a bit.
CSU is playing better than UNLV at the moment.. every year I hear how we should beat CSU in football and basketball and we either split in hoops and lose to them on the gridiron. I think you mean to say I hope we win at CSU on Saturday because they play pretty well/hard at Moby, I wouldn't count it as win at all!.
Otz recently said that he doesn’t care about the stars behind a recruits name. He said those rankings are based on athleticism, and that other things about a player are important to him.
I think it was probably a misrepresented quote to some degree or a partial answer. Plenty of 4 and 5 star guys aren’t super athletic. I doubt he seriously thinks that not athletic means one star and super athletic means five star.
No, I’m not saying we will win either, I think both will be tough. I think USU is better but playing worse, CSU is playing well right now. Still, coming off a couple losses and a week rest, I’d think UNLV has a better shot at CSU than USU.
And neither do I!
Otz is recruiting to his vision and doing things his way. I'm saying as he gets his guys into the program (low star, no star, coach-able or whatever) they had better get it done when the lights are on!
When you had 2 lottery picks forego the NBA draft and risk injury for an entire year in a bid to give their coach back-to-back NCAA championships, that's unheard of. I don't think basketball commentators have ever given that story in Tark's legacy nearly the significance or weight it deserves.
Good point. Speaks volumes of the bond and the loyalty. Now, with transfer rate so high, with recruiting over so high, you just don’t see that type of loyalty. Coaches are quick to kick, players are quick to leave.
Never heard the quote. Never from him.
But it’s right.
Then again, maybe UNLV wants to compete at Del Mar instead of the Derby.
