This ended up as the worst season since the days of Jesse Agel (the Rich Kotite of Brown basketball coaches).
I’ll say what everybody already knows: their shooting stinked and so did the circumstances. They ended up losing two of the only guys who could really shoot. Still had a hole to fill from losing an all-time scorer. And their scoring guard just stopped making shots. The one stat they were elite in - assist to FG rate - reflected the fact that nobody except Lewis could hit a shot unless it was spoon fed to them. It was the denominator that was the problem. That’s how bad the shooting got - they could only score if it was right in front of them, and sometimes not even then.
Defensively they were good. Steals and blocks. They fouled too much. The rest was solid.
My bright spots for the season? Lewis emerging as the top big in the league, only two seasons removed from riding the bench. JJ showing that he can really play, despite falling off in the 2nd half of the Ivy season. And seeing enough from Langham to believe he’ll be an impact player, but not so much that I worry about him hitting the portal.
It was good to see Paragon have some games where he rolled. I hadn’t seen that coming. I also think Charlie O’Sullivan has some high upside that maybe can be unlocked If he can mature some more physically and athletically.
The rest? AU played like he had the burden of carrying the Kino load, which got worse as his shooting declined. MWJ struggled most of the season, and was solid in anything that didn’t have to do with offense. Dabo played very well early in the season but lost something in the Ivy season. And Rochester just was.
I think there’s a non-zero chance that Mike makes another attempt to get an assistant job elsewhere this offseason. I’m interested to see what happens at BC and PC. James Jones has been mentioned for both of those jobs, though it seems like he’s slightly higher on the list at the former than he is at the latter. I wonder if Mike would angle for an assistant role if James made the jump. If Klatsky gets the Dartmouth job (if he is indeed interested), does Mike decide that life might be better in the Sunshine state after all, one year after he allegedly interviewed for a role on Golden’s staff? Time will tell.
If Mike sticks around, he desperately needs more shooting. Brown’s 27.4% from 3 was the worst mark for an Ivy squad in conference play since… Brown in 2008-09. Mike has a talented scoring guard from Chicago by the name of Ryan Woo headlining this incoming class who may see the court early in his time on College Hill. Ideally, he would complement him with another wing/guard out of the portal, but that hasn’t been a happy hunting ground for this staff in recent years.
Per 24/7 Sports, Jenkins and Langham are Brown’s best ever recruits - take that with as much salt as you feel necessary. You have two years left with both of them on the team, barring transfer/injury/etc. The coaching staff needs to find a way to make this team competitive in a hurry in order to take advantage of that talent. And they’ll have their work cut out, because I don’t see them competing for the top four next year in their current form, given what Penn, Harvard, Yale and Princeton bring back.
No question in my mind that Mike is committed to Brown and that Brown is lucky to have him. For two consecutive years, we’ve lost players at positions where we can least afford to do so through injuries and otherwise. This year, it was the shooters; last year, it was Nana. I expect a much improved performance next year with a solid recruiting class.
I couldn’t hope to predict where either Brown’s or Mike’s head would be on a parting of ways. Nothing would surprise me. But for now I’m going to assume that both sides stay committed to one another.
I don’t agree that next year necessarily looks better. A lot would have to be true for that to be the case. They are losing their one dominant offensive force from the worst Brown offense in a long time, and there’s nobody above the height of 6’4 that picks up that offensive slack. Unless a freshman or someone from the portal emerges, you’re starting Rochester (probably) and Dabo (definitely) in your front court. Rochester can play the part of the stretch four, while Dabo can play the part of the rugged rebounder and shot blocker. But our points in the paint are going to suffer a lot.
It’s a lot to put on Langham asking him to step into a lead role, but there aren’t many choices and he certainly has the talent. If he refines his three point shooting he’ll be there. Jenkins took a big step this year and needs to take another in his driving and finishing. (For a feisty player he drives and finishes far weaker than I’d have thought). But I think he’ll be ready for a larger role.
Freshmen look good but as a rule I don’t count them as chickens. The kid Woo in particular does look dangerous through.
But you can’t win without the shooting. Paragon will play and can go on shooting runs. Hopefully Loughlin returns and regains his form. I wouldn’t expect too much three point prowess from either of our two lefties, but I’m hopeful JJ and Rochester can shoot it more. That’s what we’ll need if we’re going to be better next year.