I don't know if this should be in the football or the basketball forum but I think it is interesting to compare the direction of the football program under Hawkins and the basketball program under Buzz.
If you look at resources and history the football program should have a huge lead. We have historically strong fan support and averaged close to 50k this year, even with a bad record coming off three disapointing seasons. Basketball historicaly has had a hard time drawing more than 4-5k to the CEC unless the visiting team is bringing its fans like KU does. Football has multiple top 25, top 10 finishes and even a NC to claim, BB counts a few trips to the tourney in the past 25 years as high points.
Based on this and other factors compare the two programs and where they are going on a number of key factors.
Recruiting - Hawk started out well recruiting the top in-state players 3 years running as well as getting some 4* and even 5* national talent. The problem is that the last two years the concensis is that his talent recruited has declined significantly to a point where this year the class is last in the Big XII and behind CSU among others. It potentially could go even lower as some of the best players are question marks in terms of qualifying. Many of the highest profile recruits have failed to perform at a level corresponding to their expectations.
Buzz on the other hand has not recruited big names so far but has recruited solid players from as close as the Denver area and as far as Australia. The curve on BB recruiting seems to be going up and the vibe is positive. He has found some gems like Burks and Higgins, and other who are trending upwards like DeFault and Hornbuckle. All seem to be fundamentally sound and potentially solid contributors.
Retention - The best players in the world don't do you much good unless they actual get out and play for you. Buzz cleaned house on the guys he inherited from the past coaching staff but turnover on his recruits has been very low. Higgins was mentioned as a guy who might have left for the pros last year but he shut down that conversation. Roby staying an extra year when he potentially was a late 1st rounder says a lot about Buzz.
Hawk has had numerous players leave for a variety of reasons and the trend seems to continue. Katoa and Scott are the two biggest names but many others have left the program either without contributing or before their eligibility was completed. It seems like the team is constantly forcing young players to fill in before they are ready due to holes in the classes before them due to attrition.
Player development - Again an area were Hawk has a hard time defending his record. His team seems to make the same errors repeatedly over time. Do players really improve under the guidance of Hawk and his staff? On the BB team the difference between how this team plays now and at the start of the season is obvious. Compare this team to Buzz's first year and the difference is glaring. Both individually and as a team players do more things better as time goes by under Buzz. Buzz teaches and expects fundamentals from his players and more importantly he gets them.
For these and other reasons it is easy to see why the public impression of the programs are going opposite directions. Buzz has something positive to sell, he has not yet broken through to winning but to say that it is a matter of time is easily defendable. Hawks teams seem to continue making the same mistakes, generating the same disapointments, and adding to the same general expectation of failure. It would not surprise me to see a minor uptick on the record this year for football as players mature into the system but it is hard to see long term success for the program without a major change. For basketball on the other hand it is easy to expect that results will continue to improve over time
If you look at resources and history the football program should have a huge lead. We have historically strong fan support and averaged close to 50k this year, even with a bad record coming off three disapointing seasons. Basketball historicaly has had a hard time drawing more than 4-5k to the CEC unless the visiting team is bringing its fans like KU does. Football has multiple top 25, top 10 finishes and even a NC to claim, BB counts a few trips to the tourney in the past 25 years as high points.
Based on this and other factors compare the two programs and where they are going on a number of key factors.
Recruiting - Hawk started out well recruiting the top in-state players 3 years running as well as getting some 4* and even 5* national talent. The problem is that the last two years the concensis is that his talent recruited has declined significantly to a point where this year the class is last in the Big XII and behind CSU among others. It potentially could go even lower as some of the best players are question marks in terms of qualifying. Many of the highest profile recruits have failed to perform at a level corresponding to their expectations.
Buzz on the other hand has not recruited big names so far but has recruited solid players from as close as the Denver area and as far as Australia. The curve on BB recruiting seems to be going up and the vibe is positive. He has found some gems like Burks and Higgins, and other who are trending upwards like DeFault and Hornbuckle. All seem to be fundamentally sound and potentially solid contributors.
Retention - The best players in the world don't do you much good unless they actual get out and play for you. Buzz cleaned house on the guys he inherited from the past coaching staff but turnover on his recruits has been very low. Higgins was mentioned as a guy who might have left for the pros last year but he shut down that conversation. Roby staying an extra year when he potentially was a late 1st rounder says a lot about Buzz.
Hawk has had numerous players leave for a variety of reasons and the trend seems to continue. Katoa and Scott are the two biggest names but many others have left the program either without contributing or before their eligibility was completed. It seems like the team is constantly forcing young players to fill in before they are ready due to holes in the classes before them due to attrition.
Player development - Again an area were Hawk has a hard time defending his record. His team seems to make the same errors repeatedly over time. Do players really improve under the guidance of Hawk and his staff? On the BB team the difference between how this team plays now and at the start of the season is obvious. Compare this team to Buzz's first year and the difference is glaring. Both individually and as a team players do more things better as time goes by under Buzz. Buzz teaches and expects fundamentals from his players and more importantly he gets them.
For these and other reasons it is easy to see why the public impression of the programs are going opposite directions. Buzz has something positive to sell, he has not yet broken through to winning but to say that it is a matter of time is easily defendable. Hawks teams seem to continue making the same mistakes, generating the same disapointments, and adding to the same general expectation of failure. It would not surprise me to see a minor uptick on the record this year for football as players mature into the system but it is hard to see long term success for the program without a major change. For basketball on the other hand it is easy to expect that results will continue to improve over time
