For those of you with “The Athletic” subscriptions, there are now 6 State of the Hoops Program articles complete for BE teams. Links are below. All good breakdowns.

For those without a subscription, I highly recommend considering it. These articles are a perfect example why. They are feature length – in depth analysis on the teams for the year. Very good reads and worth the $$ in my opinion (I got a crazy good deal on the subscription too though… so that could play into it).


Villanova
https://theathletic.com/1063975/2019/07/...main-high/

Providence
https://theathletic.com/1071199/2019/07/...ournament/

Creighton
https://theathletic.com/1166702/2019/08/...ts-inside/

Xavier
https://theathletic.com/1172657/2019/09/...ournament/

Butler
https://theathletic.com/1147732/2019/09/...rd-season/

Marquette
https://theathletic.com/1181126/2019/09/...us-howard/

Id love to read ours but I also love being cheap. It’s a struggle

(09-10-2019 10:56 AM)scoscox Wrote:  Id love to read ours but I also love being cheap. It’s a struggle

You can do a free trial to check it out and then cancel. If you don't cancel, it's only $4/mo right now if you do the annual plan.

State of the Hoops Program: Patrick Ewing is in a hurry to get Georgetown places

https://theathletic.com/1210108/2019/09/...wn-places/

It was, all in all, a pretty successful year. His team had improved, not only from his first season on campus but throughout this second campaign itself, had posted 19 wins overall and a .500 record in the Big East, despite having a roster dominated by freshman guards who were asked to learn on the job. The loss to Seton Hall in the Big East tournament and a gutting first-round NIT defeat to Harvard made for a disappointing end, but there were, otherwise, plenty of positive signs.

Had Patrick Ewing taken a moment or two for quiet, patient reflection — had he stepped back and assessed the successes of his second year as the coach at Georgetown — he would have had good reason to be pleased. He deserved to pat himself on the back.

Newsflash: Ewing didn’t do that. Not even a little bit. “I never had the opportunity to sit back and reflect on the season,” Ewing says. “I don’t have the time.” Instead, even in the first few moments after the loss to Harvard, Ewing was already thinking about recruiting, about the transfer portal, about what was coming next.

Incrementalism is not Ewing’s approach. Patience is not his style. What does he want his team to get better at? “Everything,” he says. When does he want it to happen? Now.

.....

State of the Hoops Program: Dan Hurley knows only one gear as he works to restore UConn’s proud tradition

https://theathletic.com/1222083/2019/09/...tradition/

The fix, fans hope, arrives this year. Hurley, who is still recovering from serious back surgery, recruited a top-20 class, UConn’s first since 2016, bringing with it immediate hope that the downturn is soon to be over. Hurley understands the optimism. During workouts, he has seen and felt a difference himself. His team is young and a bit underdeveloped, but it looks like a “real program,’’ he says. There is reason to believe in a bright future. There is, however, no reason to assume one. The guys brimming with hope are young, and while they can spread enthusiasm, it’s up to the old guard to direct it. That group, beaten down by what’s happened during their tenure, needs a boost. Which is where the tyrannical Hurley comes in. “We’ve got to get the swagger back, the confidence back,’’ he says. “The last few years have knocked that out of this program a little bit. They need my spirit and my energy to build their confidence.’’