Coach Keating Interview Part 3 - The Future of SCU Men's Basketball

"The Bucking Bronco"

For Season Ticket Holders, this is another Deja' Vu moment.

For us, the new "future" of Men's Basketball was supposed to have started seven years ago when Coach Keating arrived.  So, the future should be here by now, shouldn't it???

Turns out, maybe it is...As I reported, the Trustees unanimously voted to implement the recommendations of the President's Commission on Athletics.  It means, FINALLY, coaches will get funding to level the playing field with WCC and our "peer" schools as bench-marked by the Commission.

We're not talking "transfusion" type funding, but the spigot is open and Men's Basketball will be a very visible centerpiece.

I BELIEVE THIS DECISION BY THE TRUSTEES TO BE ONE OF THE MOST SIGNIFICANT EVENTS IN SANTA CLARA ATHLETICS HISTORY.....

I cannot recall ANYONE at ANYTIME stating SCU Athletics was not only important, but strategic.....AND investing....

I know we've all heard time and again "how great it's going to be".  Well, for the first time, real money is involved and not just hype.... Different?  Hope so.

The stakes for the University are enormous.  In Education, as in Business, it's all about the "Benjamins".

Endowments need to grow to fund important initiatives.  And I have a sneaking hunch our Athletic alums are in possession of some of those Benjamins....A potentially potent source.

What Coach Keating had to say about the future I found - well, surprising....

Let me say, upfront, Coach Keating has fire.  He's like a rare strain of Tabasco that when mixed with other ingredients can become combustible.  We've all seen it....He wants SCU to be in the conversation as one of top WCC teams to threaten Gonzaga.  I have to say, we've played GU pretty tough WITHOUT the resources, so WITH more resources....

IMHO, he may feel like he's been racing in the Indy 500 with a Prius.  By the time you get up to speed, the race is over.  WE, as Season Ticket Holders believed he HAD the Indy car and have expected more...

So here we are...The Future...

Coach said, "What I'm most proud of, is that even after our two worst seasons with key people out, we came back the next year and won 24 and 26 games and two postseason titles.  In fact, our only two fully healthy senior class seasons resulted in post season championships."

Granted, as Season Ticket Holders, these are not the titles WE had hoped for, but something the Players will always cherish.

Coach Keating told me, "If we get the one more guy, the guy maybe you're not supposed to get, I believe we can win the league in 3 years with the freshmen class we have now".  Of course in 3 years it will be their senior year.

I'm glad he feels like that.  Maybe we can make a run at it.  But certainly, sources say, he has an expectation to get to the NCAA Tourney with an At-Large bid within that same time period.

The timing seems perfect.

The University is investing more money to resource Men's Basketball.  The current freshmen should, under Coach's plan, develop.  We'll hopefully add some higher "star" recruits - maybe the guy you're not supposed to get....So, it's out there.  A plan that has details AND a specific performance goal - from Coach Keating himself.

He goes on to say, "No NCAA Coach has won all 4 postseason titles and although they're not the top ones, we've won 2."  Fire...Ambition...

As Season Ticket Holders, we hope Dan Coonan and the University leadership team agree.

Gotta love it....

Now - hopefully - get to see it....Happen.

Next Post:  My interview with A.D. Dan Coonan

The "President's Commission on Athletics Has Spoken"

"The Bucking Bronco"

June 2014 was a BIG month for Santa Clara University.  

The President's commission on Athletics presented their findings and recommendations to the Board of Trustees who "unanimously" endorsed and directed the University to implement a plan to increase our visibility and competitiveness on a National level.

As a wrote last December 5th, the commission's makeup had some real "street cred".  Their research extensive, their criticisms frank, and their vision of the opportunities "significant".

The Trustees agreed.  Athletics across the board needs to be improved.

NOW, this is the moment, we as Men's Basketball Season ticket holders have been waiting for....

It feels like to me, that we have been buying our season tickets with a 401K attitude...  "I'll buy them again as if it's an investment for something better in the future"....

The FUTURE is here....

Why is this time different?

Try these.

The Trustees run the University and they have "directed" the University to implement and report.   A first.

Athletics has been tasked with developing a plan and timetable to meet the goals stated above to upgrade SCU Athletics and particularly Men's Basketball.

Athletics is now a key component in the University's strategic plan versus an "honorable mention" in the past.   Another first.

The University will fund as part of its operating budget, the shortfall in Athletic scholarships SCU has been suffering from for a long time, estimated to be, as I reported earlier, about a 30% delta to the rest of the WCC teams.  The wallet is out - and the moths are fleeing.   Another First.

Pretty Strong....And long overdue.

We as season ticket holders HOPE all these "firsts" translate into a first place in the WCC or our first NCAA bid in over 20 years.... Both hard, but hey - goals are goals....

The Stevens family generous gift  of $ 7.7 million for Soccer is the catalyst for hopefully more gifts to come.
Soccer, particularly the success of Jerry Smith's women's program, can serve as a model for Men's Basketball.   The Steven's gift will upgrade our Soccer field, lockers, and stature as a top tier National stage player.  Well earned and deserved.

We all dream that Men's Basketball can get there.....

SOUNDS FANtastic!

I'm just a little queasy on two points......

MY FIRST:
If Athletics is developing the plan and timetable - will they go too easy on themselves to meet the Trustees goals??  Hope not - fox in the hen house issue...

MY SECOND FIRST:
Where in the University structure will Athletics report?  Critical.  A key signal.   In most National programs it's to the University President.  The "buck" stops here importance...

At the end of the day - it's all good....

Money is coming, measurements of success will be reviewed, people become accountable for results - and FANS and SEASON ticket holders loyalty becomes recognized and acknowledged....

The first half of the NEW Santa Clara Athletics focus has begun - and the clock it ticking......

Coach Keating Interview - Part 2 - The Keys To Success

"The Bucking Bronco"

"The key to success in college basketball is recruiting and scheduling", said Coach Keating in our December interview.

Sounds easy enough...Find the right players, put them in a good system where they develop, schedule stronger opponents, beat a ranked team or two, and voila, compete for WCC titles and NCAA bids.  Anybody can do it?  Right?

Turns out, very few can.  Analyzing the variables involved in the above formula would "choke" IBM's Watson super computer.

Some NCAA Tourney qualifying "gee whiz" numbers:
Less than 10% of all NCAA division 1 teams are conference winners
Another 11% get at-large bids - most of these come from the top 3 teams in the best conferences
Of all at-large bids, 4 or 5% (3 - 4 teams) are selected outside of these parameters

That sounds easy - doesn't it?

The formula for Santa Clara, and many others in the Mid-Major mix to make the NCAA tourney, is either win the league or league tournament or finish second and have a strong RPI resume.

As with success in any realm - you need to make your Brand stand out and deliver performance.

And performance means recruiting.   Recruiting means the ability to judge the talent and potential of 15 -16 years olds....According to Coach Keating, "we recruit on a 6 year cycle" and then try to "schedule out" 3 - 4 years.  It's a high stakes "what if's" guessing game.

Unlike the Big Name conference teams, Santa Clara is not on the radar of 5 and 4 star ranked recruits.  The competition for 3 star recruits is fierce.  Add our tougher academic standards and slim budgets.  You get the picture.  We search in the 2 star and under ranks. We'll go after 3's but it's a tough win.

I reminded Coach Keating of his recruiting reputation coming into Santa Clara.

I have to say, given all of the above, he's done well.  His first 2008-09 class was maybe the best. Foster, Trasolini, James Rahon, with big John Bryant, Scott Thompson, Ben Dowdell, Michael Santos, and Calvin Johnson filling out the existing.roster.  However, they never seemed to "gel" and then losing Thompson (medical) and Rahon (xfer to SDS) was a blow.

There was some real optimism going into 2011-12 after adding Ray Cowels, Niyi Harrison, and Evan Roquemore in 2010.  2010/11 was a 24-14 year and a 9-6 WCC record with a post season CIT championship.

We all know the wheels came off in 2011-2012 - but Coach found Brandon Clark and Denzel Washington who, along with the above players, refocused and won 26 games and the CBI and my guess, were maybe one or two overtime losses away from that elusive NCAA at-large bid....

Coach recalled, with angst, several "recruiting coup" near misses who would have been game changers during this time period.  We just got our pocket picked at the last minute.

Overall, we've had as many recruits succeed as those who have not panned out.  Not bad in the talent judging stats.

More importantly, we have not, as yet, either found or developed that "break out" kid
or as Coach Keating says "the guy you're not supposed to get".

NOW would be a great moment for that...

I DO like the 2013-14 class.

I hope Jared Brownridge turns into "that guy you're not supposed to get".
If he, Jalen and Emmanuel develop and our new recruits add punch - just maybe.....they'll become the best.

FYI.  Click on the link to see Santa Clara's 2014 recruits from the ESPN rankings:

Santa Clara 2014 Recruits

Just maybe it allows us to create a STRONGER SCHEDULE.  The second key to success.

Why is schedule so important?  RPI baby.  Like it or not NCAA selection committees like RPI.  

Our competitors, Gonzaga, BYU, and St. Mary's each spend upwards of $500K annually for "play in" games where they pay opponents to come into their home arenas to play and frankly - lose.  Duke used us for this purpose a few years ago as did Notre Dame.  All in the name of winning and RPI.  You may not know it, but WE had to pay teams to come to Leavey - just so we could get into the CIT, CBI, and last year's Las Vegas Invitational.  We needed to win those games to get an invite.  So, sometimes when we, as season ticket holders grouse about Sacred Heart - there's a bigger reason.

We all ask "why don't we play better teams" in the East, or Cal, or Stanford?  The money's not there.  No good team wants to come all the way out west.  Too far, too expensive, and if they are good, they might lose and guess what - wreck their RPI.  Both Cal and Stanford have the money and want bigger games.

IF, we can buy or get a better schedule and beat some teams with a recognizable Brand or ranked OR qualify for an NCAA, it can be the rocket fuel we need to sustain "better" everything.

We have a REAL chance this year to make some noise at The Old Spice Classic - some bigger name teams and on the road - a "rush" for RPI and recruiting.  Can we seize it??

The Season Ticket holders formula, is to go "Formula One" - get out the race car.  Coach Keating told me "we are sitting on an oilfield with a Ferrari".  I hope we can afford the "gas" to let it race....

We've been in the slow lane way to long.....

P.S.  For More on Recruiting and Scheduling, click on the link for Coach Keating's May 27, 2014 interview with Damon Bruce.  You have to hang in there for a minute while Damon segways.

Damon Bruce Interview with Coach Keating

Next Up:  X's and O's and Coach Keating Talks about the Future.

A Conversation with Coach Kerry Keating - On the Record - Part 1

"The Bucking Bronco"

Last December, after my first few posts, I reached out to Coach Keating to get his perspective on the many topics we, as season ticket holders and fans, have for years been wondering about and for which we have received little or no communication.

Being uninitiated in the media "rules of engagement",  I sent Coach an email and he promptly responded.  We met in his office on December 19th.  During the interview, Coach Keating suggested we meet again to go into more depth - but - as this conversation took place before I was banished into the realm of "uncredentialed media" - the subject of a prior post - follow up's will most likely not be happening.

Our conversation was open, direct, and revealing.  What follows is Part 1 of 3 posts about the interview.

Part 1:  Back to the Future - The first 6 years 
Part 2:  Kerry's Keys to Success - Recruiting & Scheduling, X's & O's
Part 3:  Coach's Goals 2014 - 2017 

Fasten your seat belts.  It's going to be a wild and bumpy ride, but when we get to Part 3, I hope you'll have a clear vista from which you can view Santa Clara Men's Basketball under Coach Keating's tenure.

At the outset, let me say, Coach Keating has SO MUCH to say - but seems to lack the outlets to share HIS voice.  Radio, TV, Print, Web, SCU Men's Basketball and Coach just don't get much "ink". To get "ink" you need to make noise - either good or bad noise - and we've had only a little of both - winning the CIT and CBI and the Kevin Foster debacle.  

The arrival of Coach Keating at Santa Clara was a big event.  I mean, we just don't change Men's Basketball Coaches, let alone do it a way that seemed so nuclear.  As fans, we were both outraged - but intrigued....This MUST mean we're stepping up to compete for WCC titles.

No one in their right mind would oust a popular coach unless you're raising the bar.  Right?

As Season Ticket holders and fans our expectations got a little radioactive as well.

Ask Coach Keating what is his most important measurement:  it's ALL about the kids, a resolute commitment to the kids and their parents.  They will graduate, they will be challenged in the classroom and on the court, and learn accountability to the team and others that will serve them forever as adults.  

The W's are important, but secondary.  

You can see the level of disconnect with our expectations is seismic.... 

Upon Kerry's hiring, no SCU official came forth publicly to declare higher expectations. No newspaper headlines:  "Santa Clara's hiring of Coach Kerry Keating signals ambition to return to national prominence".  Fact is, the only real change was the coach.  

Our expectations, six years later, are still there.  

His SCU career record through this past season is 114-121 overall and 39 -67 in WCC play.

Adding fuel to this fire, is that other WCC teams outside of the "big 3" are getting better as witnessed by the weirdness of who beat who last season. 

When I asked specifically "so let me make sure I understand, if we have a 100% graduation rate and we finish the season 50/50 wins and losses, the university' is OK?" 
Basically, yes. 

Would he have liked to have won more, of course.  BUT, he points out that even after the two seasons without key players, (2009-10, 2011-12) he has the third most wins in the two seasons after, (2010-11, 2012-13) other than Randy Bennett and Mark Few; winning both the CIT (2011) and CBI (2013) post season tournaments.

He says, with conviction, that overcoming the "0-fer" conference season of 2011-2012 and the bounce back, was his best learning experience; in that we not only kept all of our players, but we won 26 games and the CBI the next year.  He feels we were 2 wins away from an 
at-large NCAA berth.  

It feels like the fish story - the big one that got away....And IMHO, it is these things that DRIVE Coach Keating.  The "burn" is there.  There's a fire inside that is raging for success, recognition, and to be "the one" to bring SCU not only back to the NCAA tourney, but prominence and respect....He's wearing out court-side scorer's table legs in his quest.

And there is HIS  disconnect.  A "big" program Coach in what is today at SCU, a "small" program reality. You get the picture in his Tweets and #hashtags.  He sees the possibilities, but hasn't the means to deliver.  He's driving a Prius against the Gonzaga, BYU  Ferrari's. Even Niki Lauda wouldn't stand a chance.  He needs to "get the guy we're not supposed to get" - through another "Nashlike" video on YouTube to "jump shift" the reality. 

My hope, come June, we can trade in the Prius for a Tesla...I'd like to see if he's our driver.

As season ticket holders and fans it's been like the movie "Ground Hog Day". And we want the time loop to end...



Up Next:   Kerry Keating Interview - Part 2:  The Keys to Success

NCAA "March Madness" is over but is the Madness Just Beginning For SCU?

"The Bucking Bronco"

"The conventional wisdom is wrong".  A #7 seed can't win the NCAA Tournament.  I guess someone forgot to tell UConn.   Madness?  Absolutely.  Kentucky, starting 5 freshman and getting to the final.

Also madness.

Let's take it down a notch...

SCU's "madness" was losing to Gonzaga twice in the final seconds - I still have acid reflex syndrome over it.  I'm sure Kerry and the players are still seeing the "ghost" of David Stockton.

For many of our fans, it's not just madness, but maddening...We get to the precipice of earning some legitimacy and we just can't quite finish the job - well - not since a Steve Nash lead team decided to torpedo Kansas, who probably didn't believe they lost to us until they were at the airport going home.

NCAA madness is over - but is ours just beginning?

For SCU, the madness is to dare to contend. "We're not in Kansas anymore".  In a season of real disappointments, we also got a "taste" of what might be and what we would like it to be. Our appetite is larger, our hormones are raging, and our expectations are for bigger and better.

We hope that the The President's Commission Report is a call to action and can be our menu for success.

Our five course dream gourmet meal?

An "amuse bouche" of the promise of Emmanuel Ndumanya, followed by an appetizer of Jalen Richard distributing the ball, a mixed salad of maybe Nate Kratch or Evan Wardlow* hitting a kick out three pointer, then, of course, the MAIN dish, Jared Brownridge "shredding" the nets, and ending with the sweet stroke of Brandon Clark nailing free throws at crunch time.

AND...making Gonzaga pick up the check!

Unfortunately, there's going to be lots of madness, chaos, angst, before we dine...The expectations for everyone involved in Men's basketball will be REAL. Money will be spent, goals set, measurements tracked, and performance evaluated. Some patience will be needed. Like many 5 star rated Zagat restaurants, reservations take time to get.

I'm ready to make my reservation....I wonder when our table will be ready?

*Evan Wardlow is a signed SCU recruit.

Next Up:  My early season conversation with Head Coach Kerry Keating

"What We've Got Here...Is a Failure to Communicate"

"The Bucking Bronco"

Many of you will instantly recognize this famous line from the 1967 classic "Cool Hand Luke" starring Paul Newman.  Luke refuses to buckle under the constant punishment handed to him by the Captain. After Luke's repeated attempts to escape, the Captain utters the famous words above.

I worry we have the same issue with Santa Clara Men's Basketball.  

Now, I get it.  I'm only a blogging season ticket holder.  I'm just a customer/fan, like you, who wants the best product we can get.  The reason I write this Blog, is because we in the "chairbacks" and other fans who are die hard supporters, are not getting the communication and information we want.

We're not talking game stats or summaries or EyeBronco videos.  There's PLENTY of that.

As customers, we want to know things:  like where are we going as a team?  who are we going to play?  who would we like to recruit?  And a hundred more bits that loyal customers expect.

I've made a number of requests to represent you  - the season ticket holders - as a voice, and I'm getting the "4 corners stall" from Men's Basketball.  

It feels like their communication policy is not to communicate...

To be fair, I did get a chance to sit down with both Coach Keating and A.D. Dan Coonan. Those meetings were a good start to, what I thought, was a conversation and avenue to go into topics they wanted to expand upon.  Since then, the stall - "wait until after the season".

OK.  

Now, it's after the season and I am being pushed to "maybe in the fall" before the next season starts. You get the drift.....

The "Cone of Silence" has fallen....

I'm confused and now a little - miffed...I just don't understand the benefit of waiting to communicate with your best customers at the exact time they desire the MOST information - now.

Can you imagine John Chambers of Cisco Corporation telling his shareholders - "you'll have to wait until next quarter to talk about this quarters results!  I don't think so.....  

Now, SCU is not a publicly traded company, but as season ticket holders, we feel like, we are the stakeholders - buying our tickets year after year - and would like to be treated as such.  I know for sure one piece of communication that is consistent - the call to renew your season tickets - that's always on time...

How about an outreach or even maybe a "thank you" for your loyalty?

In the absence of communication, comes speculation - which, without dialogue, is usually negative. What are we hiding?  It's grossly unfair to the coaches and the A.D. who, without a face and a voice to their customers - are deemed aloof and uncaring - which having talked to them - I know is completely false. 

Maybe it's just ME...I'll take the rap....

When I've asked why, I am told:  "coaches don't do interviews during the season - except for game recaps - they're focused on game prep and the season"  and "no amount of communication is ever enough" and  "we are still figuring out what to do about Blogs versus credentialed media"...I'm no cyberspace wiz by any means - but "dealing with Blogs" - we're talking 10 year old web technology......Really???  

You have a captive audience of some of your best fans and supporters, who are "in the moment" seeking information and you have at least one vehicle - a Blog, that reaches more than a thousand of these customers and your strategy is to push the "mute" button...or hope it goes away...

If our PR theme, "We're On A Mission" is our tag line to build the "Brand" of SCU Athletics, how do you do that without extensive communication?   I hear USF's radio announcements and I see St.Mary's ads in the San Jose Airport - but we can't get a dialogue going between Men's Basketball and our own season ticket holders...This is OUR turf - like our home court - defend it!

Well, I'm not going away.  I have many topics to expand upon - your topics - because I believe in the potential of this Brand and I'm willing to speak up.

It'd be nice if our program did the same...

Leaving Las Vegas - The Fundamental Truth

"The Bucking Bronco"

The sacrifice bunt.  The tap-in 2 footer.  Picking up the blitz.  The pick and roll.

The common denominator:  basic fundamentals.  They are the little, boring and repetitive things that are drilled into athletes so they become second nature and executable in the most important moments.

The last 30 seconds of our season, against Gonzaga, laid bare, in brutal finality the conundrum of the 2013-2014 season.  A team capable of exceptional athletic feats, but unable to consistently deliver - you guessed it - THE FUNDAMENTALS......

Jared Browridge dribbles left, off a pick, and nails a step back 2 with four sweaty Zag palms in his face followed by David Stockton dribbling unguarded until half court, going left, off a pick, splitting our defenders to the rim for a layup where there was no help and Zag nation celebrates..........AGAIN.

For me, it was the season of the Pick and Roll and fundamentally.  

We couldn't handle it consistently - on both ends.

Let's set up coaching scenarios in those last 30 seconds - because IMHO they are fundamentally different.......These are just my guesses.

SCU Ball:  Kerry calls a play to get the ball into his best player's hand with under 15 to go - that's Jared. Let him run off a pick or two and take the best shot or pass available at 10 seconds or less. 

ZAG "D" plan:  they know it's going to Jared or Brandon, off a pick, so double them, don't give up a 3 and force a pass to anyone else with under 5 to go and make THEM tie it.  

Good tactic.  They did double, but Jared didn't pass, even under double team pressure - he elevated and made the shot.  BTW, pretty much the same shot he made to beat St. Mary's.

ZAG Ball:  Mark Few put the ball NOT in his best player's hand, but in his best "decision makers" hand - David Stockton.  Take the dribble to the center, use the pick, read the pick defense and make the best decision, pass or shot - you have all 5 players as options to use - read them - use them.  And he did.  No Bronco helped on the high pick and the lane was wide open - for a layup, a 75% shot vs pass out to a 40% shot or less. Fundamentally sound.....and different.....

SCU "D" plan:  not sure on the "no guarding" of Stockton until after half court, but keep the ball in front of you, go through or switch on the high pick, and force them to take the hardest shot possible with the least time left.  

Do not leave Pangos, or Dower to help.....

Stockton athletically reacted to the "over-switch" - we didn't keep him in front of us and he made the fundamentally right decision.  Much like he has done in practice 1000's of times.

Although this was one game - the above scenario played out all season long.  WCC coaches know our team well.  They know if they can limit shots by Jared, Brandon, and sometimes Evan and switch on the perimeter screens, that we will have to settle for tough shots, late in the clock OR pass it back to a 30% or less shooter.  Smart.  Fundamental. In fact, we try SO hard to make the picks work, we commit - my guess, more fouls on screens than any other WCC team.   

As season ticket holders, we've seen this play out over and over again - like "Ground Hog Day".  The hue and cry is "try something else"!  Unfortunately, we lack the other offensive options to play an "inside - out" game.

In spite of all this, I am truly amazed at what Jared and Brandon have been able to do. Jared is a shooting "savant".  Can you imagine what he could do if we could get him some truly open looks versus these acrobatic Cirque Du Soleil shots?  Brandon emerged this year as fearless force.  Making tough shots at crunch time, taking charges, and a slashing surgical knife in the middle, taking on any BIG that came to help.

So Great to watch!  

The fundamental question is why?  84 practices - over 30 games, and thousands of pick and roll experiences.  It's a conundrum, and to season ticket holders, a migraine that just won't go away.  Is there a "pick and roll" pill we can take???  I've asked to attend practice - not to critique, just to see and provide information to the chairbacks about how hard these kids work - but was fundamentally denied access.

The simple answer might be - well, the other teams have better athletes.....Some do, most don't.  Oh, maybe we're "young".  OK, well for most of the year we started 4 upper classmen....I can go on and on about maybes.....

Maybe it's more fundamental than we think?  In fact, maybe over thinking is the fundamental issue.  Clogged heads trying to process TMI in milliseconds instead of "athletically" reacting to what you "see".  

Maybe it's Vladimir Guerrero, a devastating hitter, simple....."See the Ball, Hit the Ball". No thought of the 100's of potential pitches that could be thrown in a situation - use athleticism and "play" the game.

Was Jared "thinking" about all the obstacles he had to overcome in making that last shot - no way.  He was "reacting" to what he could see and feel - the athlete in him.  Did he think about the shot itself and the magnitude of  the situation?  Nope.  He just let it go - because he's made that shot SO many times in the schoolyard or in practice.  He got out of his own way....."Free your mind".....

Fundamentally, if we don't fix the pick and roll going forward, not even the ghost of Steve Nash, will be able to get us to contend in the WCC. 

And that's the Fundamental Truth.....