Pope killed his introduction at Rupp, in part, by declaring that he understood the Assignment — hanging banners — and he unapologetically declared that he would not temper expectations. It felt great to hear. He had a challenging task of filling a competitive roster in little time. How do you feel about where we are? I see a team of good college role players at the P5 level. Good players with a good coach. But I don’t see anything that is likely to meet the Assignment. Right now, we have a team that should be good but is not being recognized as a top 25 team in the preseason. My sobering moment was when I went through The Athletic’s top portal rankings and didn’t see any of our players listed in the top 30. I want to be an optimist and I want to believe that this team will be nationally competitive next year but I don’t see that yet.
I recognize that this could change if a couple of these players out perform their rankings or if we add a top talent before the season begins. And my instinct is that the 6th man on a borderline top 25 BYU team is not that type of talent. Yes, I want him because I think he would make this team better but I don’t necessarily believe that he is a top 25 talent. If he was, he would be a first round draft pick and he won’t be coming here.
I intentionally didn’t post this in a thread about any individual player’s signing because I don’t think that would be fair to any of them. They are D1 players who are all projected to be good, solid players at the P5 level. I just don’t see that difference maker who takes the team to a higher level. Systems, and Pope has a really good system, don’t win alone at the highest levels because of the modern level of scouting and preparation. You have to have someone (and hopefully several someones) who can break down a good defense.
I really want Pope to succeed and hope that he can make this team a top 20 team by the end of next season. If he can do that, and get to the second round of the NCAA, he has the chance to do really well here. But if we are a 30-40th kind of team and we don’t move the needle nationally, I’m afraid we might not get to launch. That won’t be passing the Assignment.
I recognize that this could change if a couple of these players out perform their rankings or if we add a top talent before the season begins. And my instinct is that the 6th man on a borderline top 25 BYU team is not that type of talent. Yes, I want him because I think he would make this team better but I don’t necessarily believe that he is a top 25 talent. If he was, he would be a first round draft pick and he won’t be coming here.
I intentionally didn’t post this in a thread about any individual player’s signing because I don’t think that would be fair to any of them. They are D1 players who are all projected to be good, solid players at the P5 level. I just don’t see that difference maker who takes the team to a higher level. Systems, and Pope has a really good system, don’t win alone at the highest levels because of the modern level of scouting and preparation. You have to have someone (and hopefully several someones) who can break down a good defense.
I really want Pope to succeed and hope that he can make this team a top 20 team by the end of next season. If he can do that, and get to the second round of the NCAA, he has the chance to do really well here. But if we are a 30-40th kind of team and we don’t move the needle nationally, I’m afraid we might not get to launch. That won’t be passing the Assignment.
