LOL...I can't use my daily driver account to be a cynic, now can I? Well, let me just say this as I'm pretty sure I'm only coming across as mean spirited at this point. I bleed crimson and cream and all I want is for this program to succeed and beat the living bejesus out of Texas! But I've just had it up to here with the mediocrity at McCasland. We've too much of a proven system here to import some California Kid with a 50% win record and expect him to change things meaningfully. He didn't do much while he was at LMU either. No disrespect to the guy, I don't know him, but I have been in the sport long enough to recognize the same tired, lame patterns play out. New coach gets hired, blames the previous staff for a piss poor job, promise to change the world, bring in their own people, suffer through a tough season and call it "rebuilding", marginally improve the quality of recruits for the next few years while they work out the sales pitch, eventually get fired, and then repeat the same thing at a different school. I gave him a chance last season hoping he'd bring something new to Norman but to no avail. And I'm tired of these coaches treating us like we're just some big-name stepping stone to another big paycheck that isn't deserved. All I'm trying to get across is that the kids aren't the problem at this point. Years and years of mediocrity don't just happen. And frankly, it starts with the AD.
Kemohah being "exceptional" is quite generous of you. I distinctly remember multiple sets and games where Kemohah was pinched by our girls and targeted by servers because of shanked serves. Why would an exceptional libero ever be targeted? I'm just not convinced, sorry. Is she a "good libero"? Sure. And as for Burts, there's not much "inside baseball" needed to see what she's sharing on social media:
https://www.theknot.com/us/lydia-burts- ... n-jan-2024. Congrats to her, I wish her and all the girls on our team the best. Maybe the fact that she chose to come back for one more is saying something so I can be fair and give her that.
In any case, we'll certainly have to take our talent losses on the chin, as we'll have to do that every year. But the idea that Mansfield is going to recruit "full rotation" players is a joke, honestly. That just has "BS" written all over it. If he were paying attention, he'd know that nowadays the sport is overly specialized from a young age and they're simply not being taught the fundamentals. Maybe that's why they started running that men's style triple block scheme so that the girls wouldn't have to think too much about positioning. When I played, full rotation skills were just the basics. Now, full rotation kids are very hard to come by and if we're being honest, our track record over the years isn't much of a selling point to get the recruits we need. Which is why the LMU pick ups are bothersome. Sure these girls may want to play for him but what does that add to the program if they're not also bringing the skills needed? For what it's worth, I'd be happy to eat my words at the end of the season. I do hope we do well and that things start changing in the fieldhouse.