Re: UNH 2020 Off-Season Thread: That Rinky-Shrinky Thang And Other Lively Banter
Well, its not just casual fans. My belief is that Umile has zero clue about recruiting, and by ignorance, developed a narcissitic belief (as you describe with fans) that players show up, and "great coaches" like him were what made the teams great.
It is FAR more common than people would ever wish to admit, for NCAA coaches to view recruiting as a nuisance and, at best, a necessary evil. I cringe every time I here some semblance of the, "I'd rather win with hard-working two stars than lazy five stars" argument. This makes the assumption that talented kids can't also be hard workers - but in reality its just BS often spouted by coaches to lazy to make the recruiting effort or lacking in the sales ability to actually land top players. Umile was hardly unusual in his indifference and Souza is hardly unusual in his struggles...
As far as recruiting goes - even your worst college coach may be a likeable and charismatic personality. Unfortunately, recruiting is relative and the only thing that matters is how your likeability, passion and sales ability stack up against the recruiting competition NOT the general public.
I agree with you that recruiting has been a disaster. Souza has simply not gotten the job done with any level of consistency the position requires. I don't buy that he was hamstrung in his first three years - he was the head coach in waiting, recruiting players who would never play for his predecessor and had plenty of space available to bring in talent. He either failed to attract the necessary talent (on his own) or didn't sense the urgency to upgrade the recruiting coffers. He simply hasn't shown the ability to acquire the players needed to move UNH back towards the top of Hockey East...
Outside of Luke Reid (another late decommit) who in this most recent flurry of activity is a true difference maker, capable of lifting the talent around him and, as a result, the program to old heights? To me, the recent activity seems more like grabbing a bunch of guys to increase your odds that one of them suddenly turns out to be a GUY...
There are certainly lessons to be learned in recruiting, but I'm not sure how much a tiger can change his stripes. One either embraces and enjoys the commitment and the challenge or does not. One either has the passion, communication skills and intensity to impress upon top recruits or they don't. If there is a lesson for Souza to learn, IMO, it is recognizing his inability to front a recruiting process and making the hard decision to find someone who can. Who knows if he's willing to do that at this point - egos in coaching are VERY real. Even if they wanted to make this move, I'm sure they would loudly lament their ability to adequately pay the going rate for a top recruiter in today's game - which is why you don't throw away money on frivolous avoidances of accountability like rink size...
Neither NU or UMass 'got it going' right away in terms of wins and losses - but both heavily announced their presence on the recruiting trail almost immediately. Carvel completely changed the perception around UMass and its future, kept Makar in the pipeline and went to work adding talent way beyond what anyone thought UMass was capable of attracting. Madigan, as you noted, hired Keefe and that immediately translated into Roy, Aston-Reese, Sikura, Szmatula and the Stevens brothers...
If Souza hasn't been able to make that shift in culture, perception and energy in five seasons, than I see no reason why he would be capable of doing it now. It's a very real possibility that they've missed their window...
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As for this season, it was the best talent and depth of roster that UNH has had in a long time - thanks to some key Borek holdovers, and the handful of above average talent Souza has actually landed. They wasted it completely. One of the easier things to do in coaching is take a bad team to mediocre. Its exponentially harder to make any further progress. Its the business 80-20 rule, where twenty percent of the effort, ability and production can push you toward the mean while the smaller steps to actual success take SO MUCH more. I have a hard time seeing legitimate progress or reason for optimism and I wonder if those who do are more hopeful than convinced...
Next year, with Reid and (likely) Ardanaz being FR - I think we will realize what we had in Gildon and Wyse this season. Maass will go from one of three top D to THE guy and UNH will need BIG jumps from their other three regulars, who will be thrust into the limelight that comes with increased responsibility and role next season. If they don't make those jumps the defense will take a step back. Simply not being Gildon will no longer cover up the flaws/mistakes in their games.
UNH's scoring will take a massive hit if Crookshank leaves. He is the one true impact forward they have - capable of making plays on his own and creating offense out of any situation. The rest of the offensive talent would be better suited as secondary top-six pieces, much like Souza himself (a hardworking, solidly-skilled player who capable of a big year if skating with players like Krog/Haydar/Kelleher/Poturalski - but only capable of so much impact when carrying a line). With no Gildon and no Crookshank, its hard to imagine UNH's production getting any better. They NEED Angus back, but who could blame him if he thought he'd better develop elsewhere...
There are other 'key' players at UNH that I have concerns about wanting to return. The cat is out of the bag with BVR. There is one school that has had a lot of success with transfer's at a key position and suddenly has a connection to a UNH student-athlete. I'm sure a lot of others might look at one UNH upperclassman, in particular, and envision skating him alongside two of their better forwards and offering a lot of production.
At first glance, I'd predict UNH is back under .500 next season - and they're at a major crossroads where things could actually get a lot worse if they don't take significant steps forward in critical areas like recruiting. Next year will be year six of Souza, not two or three - at least in my eyes - if UNH cares about its hockey program than significant progress needs to be made and perception around the program and on the trail need to shift dramatically. If that doesn't happen, hard decisions need to be made. This is not your standard give the coach 4-5 years scenario, he's had his time to build his roster - its time to deliver...
