Why Fox is the Right Guy for the Job

[AppDawg]

The Appalachain posted this last night and it reconfirmed for me why Fox is the right guy for the job. He isn't looking for a one hit wonder. He is trying to build a successful program from the ground up the right way. Fox has my full support.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=DSi9SyuHZtk&sns=tw

[DaphneUrquhart]

Patience is a hard thing and that's nowhere more evident than in college sports. We didn't get into the hole we're in in two years. It's going to take more than two years to get back to being competitive.

[moehler]

agree about Fox, we could not have hired a better coach or person, what worries me that with all the losing and empty seats, he becomes discouraged and decides to give up, and get the hell out of Boone. Fox is only human, got to be really tough on him.

[bigdaddyg]

The only way it will work is to recruit some studs. With football we have shown that we can bring in guys with zero or one stars, redshirt them, get them in the S&C program and very often these guys blossom into good football players. I view hoops differently. You have to bring in guys who can play. Even if a few have to sit a year either they can play at this level or they can't. I know that there are exceptions. There are so many basketball programs out there and those 6'7" playmakers are hard to find. Heck, centers are even more rare. It's not like you can bring in a 6'2" guy, redshirt him and in a year he grows to 6'8". With the lineman you can put 30 lbs of muscle on him and he can develop in a year or two. Just like with our baseball issues we simply have to convince recruits to come to a football school to play the other sports. I hope Fox does well and is able to find some gems out there. It all comes down to recruiting.

[JTApps1]

Fox inherited an absolute mess and it will take more time than usual to fix especially since he is building it the right way. He fully admits his system is complicated and that it takes longer to get it right, but when it does finally click we will see a big difference.

Go look at McKillop's first 4 years at Davidson if you think Fox has started out rough.

[HeffnerIV]

The way I think of our situation is that if a new program. Not only was he starting from scratch, he basically started from under water.


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[hapapp]

College basketball is about recruiting. His success will lie in his ability to bring in the kind of players that fit his system. His first class was essentially one to get us out from under the APR sanctions. Only one player from that class contributes consistent minutes. Another less so. This year's freshman class has produced three players who either start or get meaningful minutes. That is progress. However, going forward it will be critical that he can find guys who can not only provide playing time but also can contribute.

I admit to being frustrated with where we are considering the win totals have dropped and we sit last in the SBC in so many statistical categories. I recognize there are going to be growing pains as he implements his system, but we do need to see some progress in year 3. I am hopeful in a year or so, we will look back and realize our faith in Coach Fox was justified.

[moonshine]

I don't think we can even count Fox's first recruiting class. Personally I feel last year's class was his first since his staff had an entire off season to scout and recruit. The staff will need to bring in 2-3 more solid players this off season to make strides. I think we can start to grade Fox's job next year. That doesn't mean we have to win the league or go dancing but I'd like to see the program climb to the middle of the pack. By 2017-18, we should start holding Fox fully accountable. Any reasonable fan must give Fox time to turn the program around after inheriting the smoldering heap Capel left behind.

[EastHallApp]

I never understand why people take such a negative view of using jucos, transfers etc. to jump-start a program. I don't really buy that it means you can't win long-term, and even if it does, I'll take a few seasons of winning big over never doing it. Even Fox, despite his comments in that interview, has added a few of them.

[EastHallApp]

agree about Fox, we could not have hired a better coach or person, what worries me that with all the losing and empty seats, he becomes discouraged and decides to give up, and get the hell out of Boone. Fox is only human, got to be really tough on him.

Where do you think he would go? Back to being an assistant?

[scatman77]

I had the good fortune to talk with him during the recent reunion weekend. He is definitely the man for the job. He's positive, knows his basketball, easy to talk to, doesn't mind talking to, listening to, and explaining the way to get things done. If he is allowed to continue at his pace and put his program in place, keep on recruiting, App basketball will be back in good form very soon. I watched the men beat Troy and despite being up by 4-6 points or down 4-6 points, those guys played balls to the wall every possession.

[asu66]

Fox inherited an absolute mess and it will take more time than usual to fix especially since he is building it the right way. He fully admits his system is complicated and that it takes longer to get it right, but when it does finally click we will see a big difference.

Go look at McKillop's first 4 years at Davidson if you think Fox has started out rough.

Good call, JT. I was about to post "where have we seen this before?" when I read your post. And it was McKillop's first years at DC. He had a mighty struggle until he molded his staff and his recruits into a well-oiled big red machine. He's never looked back.

Fox will get it right. Patience, everyone. That "everyone" includes me--still the world's most impatient person. My first secretary, many years ago, hand-crafted a framed and intricate cross-stitch bearing a short prayer..."Lord, please grant me patience--but HURRY!" Today, it has a place of honor right over my desk where I still have to refer to it often.

We all want our basketball program to be relevant, well-respected and highly successful. It's more than two years in arrears and it'll take longer than two years to build a solid foundation.

[dman4x]

The only way it will work is to recruit some studs. With football we have shown that we can bring in guys with zero or one stars, redshirt them, get them in the S&C program and very often these guys blossom into good football players. I view hoops differently. You have to bring in guys who can play. Even if a few have to sit a year either they can play at this level or they can't. I know that there are exceptions. There are so many basketball programs out there and those 6'7" playmakers are hard to find. Heck, centers are even more rare. It's not like you can bring in a 6'2" guy, redshirt him and in a year he grows to 6'8". With the lineman you can put 30 lbs of muscle on him and he can develop in a year or two. Just like with our baseball issues we simply have to convince recruits to come to a football school to play the other sports. I hope Fox does well and is able to find some gems out there. It all comes down to recruiting.

I agree with your post as it applies to perimeter players but post players will either be 1) a project from high school which tracks with your offensive lineman analogy 2) a transfer who didn't work out at another higher profile school 3) a D2 step up tranfer or 4) a foreign born player, who will also be a project as they acclimate to the US college game. I think you can look at the current team and see all of these examples and the trip this summer will help with the fourth. Big guys are the holy grail and you need program stability to attract and develop them.