mick cronin is a psycho, but this is why iβve always liked him- particularly the second part about recruiting winning players:
https://x.com/thehoopherald/status/1897486779667681567?s=46
barnes and beard understood that, and for me, this type of mind frame (and it being an obsessive, 24/7 thing) is the difference in the winning coaches and the shaka smarts of the world. you have to know what type of team youβre trying to build and what archetype of player fits in your system. this is why barnes and beard always have βbarnes guysβ and βbeard guysβ on their teams. barnes didnβt luck into royal ivey, isaiah taylor, grant williams, admiral schofield, and zakai ziegler, those guys all fit the archetype(s) of what heβs looking for, and he could give a damn about their recruiting ranking or how many stars they have.
this is what we *have* to have from our next coach- a clear identity, and the ability to identify the players who fit that identity. thatβs what gives your program a high floor year in and year out and a chance to make deep tourney runs with relative regularity.