So,
@Bobcat and
@brnkj, each of you has posted on several occasions, and recently, the infamous
"I told you so's" regarding Aston. Here's what Karen did for our program:
2014 - Round of 32
2015 - Sweet 16
2016 - Elite 8
2017 - Sweet 16
2018 - Sweet 16
To me, that's the best or second-best 5-year run our program has had in the last 30 years. I can admit that I never would have predicted she could/would accomplish that in years 2-6 after how year 1 went, and the average talent she inherited.
So, your predictions of our program's demise and Karen's recruiting flailing began when, exactly? I mean, after she signed her 2017 recruiting class (in November 2016, although Littleton was like summer 2017), the sky seemed to be the limit as she was finally bringing in a bunch of desperately-needed long-range sharp-shooters. After she signed her 2018 recruiting class (in November 2017), which brought us Prince, and a late big-time defection from UConn in Charli Collier, who couldn't be excited and optimistic about the future? At that point, it sure she seemed to me like she had everything going in the right direction as far as assembling an extremely talented roster at every position, and lots of possible mismatches for our opponents.
We all knew Karen was hired despite not having much head coaching experience, or any post-season tournament success at UNC-Charlotte or North Texas. So, there were always questions about her actual coaching skills and ability to learn on the job. She was hired because of her familiarity with our university and women's basketball program, her recruiting success as an assistant coach at Texas, and her superior understanding (compared to Goestenkors) of the state of Texas high school and club ball culture.
Just curious to know your point in time as to when you began to sour on Karen's abilities to lead this program to the next level, or to maintain her consistent level of having a Top 16 program.
Click to expand...