TallTexan said:
Can you expand on this Isaac? I think from a lot of our perspectives, we just don't see the output you would expect from a great coach. At times, the offensive philosophy looks to be lacking, you never know if the team will show up etc.
We know he's a great recruiter based on his reputation and results, but we just haven't seen the same early results from the team. I think we're just all concerned that the success under BU might be fleeting and don't want to lose that momentum.
Would love if you can expand on what you're seeing and also tell us what Keller's vision for the offense is. BU's teams were incredibly fun to watch on both sides of the ball. What should we expect from Keller's team next year with an offseason of work?
I think that expecting a lot of tangible output right now is probably premature. A coach can look like an offensive genius when he has smart offensive players.
Let me give you an example... the coaching staff hates drawing up plays. They hate it. In their mind, where they've coached in some pretty special programs, a good offensive team has a basic philosophy, a system, and players who just go out and play basketball. The point guard runs the show and makes shots for people.
This season, there were so many timeouts where Keller had to huddle around and draw up plays. Again, love Dallas Cameron and all he's done for this program, but that's what happens when you don't have a natural point guard. SFA had one last year in Trey, and Brad's system didn't even require a strong point guard as much as Keller's. But one thing you could be sure of out of a timeout (with a few exceptions), is someone would have an open look. Once a play was drawn up, these guys could execute it just fine. They just really struggled to play offensive basketball in the half court without a coach walking them through the whole play.
I've watched Keller lead practice. He's actually similar to Brad in a way, VERY tough during practice. His cracking jokes, wry smiles, etc, that we see in press conferences... none of that. He drives them hard and they practice very hard. He'll blow plays dead, pull a guy out, and show them exactly what they did wrong with their technique. An over the top/out of control pass? Even if it's caught, that's a turnover in practice. Sometimes he'll yell and holler (not unlike Brad), but guys respond. He has Cox (forwards) and Mason (guards) watch and interject too, and both of them do one-on-one tutoring sessions with players from their respective position group.
They very thoroughly scout every opponent. Cox generally leads the scouting sessions and it's pretty insightful to watch, while Keller interjects and explains their strategies.
I get that Keller is a recruiter. He is, and a good one. He's also a coach. A very experienced and confident one too. Hopefully that translates to wins next year. I have no reason to think that it won't, based on what I've seen this season.