College basketball tips off: Six coaches in need of a turnaround

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Georgetown coach Patrick Ewing
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It is almost peaceful in the days and hours before the season begins. There still are basketballs bouncing and players running and jumping and crouching into defensive stances. Nothing counts, though, until the college season begins Monday.

So it doesn’t matter, really, what happened in secret scrimmages or charity exhibitions or the David v. Goliath games between Division I powers and Division II opponents delighted for the guarantee check and a smidgen of public exposure.

There has been judgment regarding the potential of those aspiring to be a part of March Madness 2023, but nothing that registered. Until now. Over the next 4.5 months, there will be plenty.

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And these coaches all could use a great season to find themselves on the sunny side of those discussions:

Patrick Ewing, Georgetown

Last season: 6-25

Last NCAA appearance with Hoyas: 2021

What’s up: When gifted freshman Aminu Mohammed chose to become an undrafted one-and-done rather than continue for another season with the Hoyas, it represented one more example of a player departing before reaching his full potential. With Mohammed attached, there’s now a fairly long list of such guys: Mac McClung, James Akinjo, Qudus Wahab.

Yes, Wahab is back for this season after spending a year at Maryland, but keeping this project together and moving forward has been Ewing’s greatest challenge as he enters a sixth season in charge. So it makes perfect sense that he would choose to try this with other coaches’ transfers rather than watching his own walk out the door.

He’s brought in seven transfers, five from high majors, four of whom averaged double figures last season. There’s at least one player to cover each position, and depth at center and on the wings. The Hoyas have some capable returning players, but it seems fair to suggest they’ll be an entirely new team.

Jerod Haase, Stanford

Last season: 16-16

Last NCAA appearance with Cardinal: None

What’s up: Haase’s best teams since arriving at Stanford in 2016 have excelled on defense, particularly in 2020, when the Cardinal ranked No. 7 in defensive efficiency according to KenPom.com and might have made the NCAAs with a strong Pac-12 Tournament performance.

What hasn’t worked as well has been the attack, which is curious given the presence of future NBA players KZ Okpala, Tyler Terry, Ziaire Williams and five-star prospect Harrison Ingram, who will be a key player for this year’s team. None of Haase’s six Stanford teams has cracked the top 100 in offensive efficiency.

Haase told reporters he wants Spencer Jones, who led last year’s Cardinal in scoring at 12 points per game, to feel comfortable taking any quality shots available to him. Jones will be the focal point of the team’s attack. Jones was one of the few regulars to hit an attractive percentage of 3-point attempts, at 37.6 percent per game. Transfer Michael Jones from Davidson could help there. And if Ingram wants to help himself as a prospect, he’ll need to get his number up from 31.3 percent.

Chris Collins, Northwestern

Last season: 15-16

Last NCAA appearance with Wildcats: 2017

What’s up: It has been Collins’ misfortune to coach several decent Northwestern teams during a period in the Big Ten when merely being decent means you’re fighting to finish 11th in the league. The Wildcats were No. 73 in offensive efficiency and No. 101 on D last season. And what did that get them in a Big Ten that produced nine NCAA Tournament teams? A 7-13 record.

In what figures to be a less demanding Big Ten, Northwestern’s problem is the departure of two of the team’s leading scorers for ACC powers (Pete Nance to North Carolina, Ryan Young to Duke). Increasing offensive output without them is going to be a challenge.

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Jerry Stackhouse, Vanderbilt

Last season: 19-17

Last NCAA appearance with Commodores: None

What’s up: Last year represented a significant step forward for the Commodores, with more conference wins than in the previous three seasons combined. That was achieved in a strong year for the SEC, which made it all the more impressive, but with All-SEC guard Scottie Pippen Jr. in charge of the offense, which will make it all the more difficult to improve upon or duplicate.

Pippen averaged 20.4 points and 4.5 assists, which made him responsible for nearly half of the team’s 70-point average. UC Davis transfer Ezra Manjon might make up for some of that, but it’s a big move from the Big West to the SEC.

The Commodores’ solid recruiting class has built up some nice depth in the frontcourt, but Pippen’s absence makes it seem like this will be a rebuild of the rebuild.

Kevin Keatts, NC State

Last season: 11-21

Last NCAA appearance with Wolfpack: 2018

What’s up: Keatts was the right man for the job when he was hired by the Wolfpack. He delivered an NCAA appearance in his first season and was headed there again, in 2020, when the pandemic intervened. That happened to a lot of quality coaches. Many fans and administrators have chosen to dismiss everything that happened that season, even for coaches who had constructed impressive records.

Many building programs lost momentum as a result, and this surely is one. The Pack took a significant backward step last season, falling to 4-16 in an ACC that produced only five March Madness entrants. Keatts attracted four transfers to address the team’s dreadful rebounding and defense.

Based on what lined up in NC State’s exhibition game, it’s still a small squad, emphasizing perimeter quickness and shooting skill, but there is the size available to alter that approach if required.

Wing Terquavion Smith will be one of the most important players to his team. Given his ability to score big and set up opponents, Smith has All-America potential.

Mark Fox, California

Last season: 12-20

Last NCAA appearance with Bears: None

What’s up: Fox’ timing with the rebuild of Cal basketball was not ideal. His first season on the job was 2019-20, and so there wasn’t a lot of opportunity for him to get out and sell his vision in person to those who might provide the basketball talent necessary.

Cal basketball has been vexing for a generation of coaches. There’s talent in the Bay Area, and the Haas Pavilion can be an oppressive venue for opponents. But since Jason Kidd took the Bears to the Sweet 16 in 1993, there’s been only one more venture that deep into the NCAAs – in 1997, with future Pro Football Hall of Famer Tony Gonzalez as one of the team’s key members – and only 12 NCAA bids total. Of the 15 times in that period Cal won double-digit Pac-12/10 Conference games, six belong to the great Mike Montgomery, who did it every year he was in charge.

The Bears brought in no top-200 recruits this season, and one major transfer: point guard Devin Askew. He still is only 20 years old after seasons at Kentucky and Texas. Not having such a blazing spotlight might help him reach his potential.

The Pac-12 media predicted Cal would finish 11th in the league this season. So at least there’s a chance to surprise.

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Mike DeCourcy Photo

Mike DeCourcy is a Senior Writer at The Sporting News