Everybody has their own way in rating/determining success and I won’t begrudge you yours. But this is a discussion board so I will poke at yours a little to understand better. For me personally, I lived in Indiana for nearly the entire MA regime. I don’t really have a feel for how bad the program really got. I obviously know the records, trend over years, the excuses (draft, etc…J) but there were many who thought there was some talent on those teams and the culture and coaching were the issue. Everybody probably lands in a different spot on this subject which is why rating DE after year 4 probably draws folks out on both sides of the issue.
While I firmly believe depth was an issue, I fall in the camp the cupboard wasn’t completely bare and there were some tools to work with. Therefore, I can give the new staff a modest pass for the first few years, but can’t support the full pardon many condone under the premise he didn’t get his first full recruiting class until year 3. While I do have an acute understanding of the baseball recruiting process and get that he may have had some uphill battles with HS kids in those first few years, nothing limited him from the JC ranks and if the team he inherited was devoid of talent (which I don’t believe it was) then they could/should have hit the JC ranks harder. Let’s also keep in mind the difference in recruiting with baseball being quite different than football and what many know and understand on our Husker boards, the one thing that’s consistent is it’s a non-binding commitment until their SR year. So while many top payers commit in between the sophomore and junior years of HS (summer) it doesn’t mean they are off the market in any way shape or form as they can’t sign until November of their SR year.
Now back to the ratings. The one thing that I can ignore from the MA regime (outside of the record) is the culture that appeared to be very poor. You don’t change something like that overnight and I will give DE a modest pass for that in the first few years. The last few years are directly on him. 2014 was a successful season for the most part and the step we needed to take. How anybody (including DE’s most ardent supporters) could call this season anything other than a complete disaster, would fall on deaf ears for me. He lands definitively at the C level for me and I guess where I don’t understand your rating process is that the only way he could get an A from you is if he made a CWS appearance? Did you really think that was possible in 4 years when he took over? If for example we won a regional this year you’re after qualifying for one last year your highest grade would have been a B?
Apologies if I’m misunderstanding your thought process but I can’t support that or understand the logic. Regionals should be the expectation on a yearly basis. Super’s every 3-4 years, CWS 1-2 per decade. If we get more than that then we don’t have an “A” coach, we have a legend. DVH probably doesn’t get the true credit he deserves for doing what he did here. While I don’t buy into the cold weather teams can’t compete on a consistent basis crap, it is none the less harder. DVH proved and so are a lot of others. The one thing DVH didn’t have as much of when he was doing it here was competition from other cold weather schools. Those really putting an emphasis on baseball were few and far between and many were content to leave it to the warm weather schools to battle it out. Just not the case anymore and many are getting behind the sport. Have to believe it makes DE’s job harder, but still not an excuse for his overall 4 years. Just wanted to explain my logic some.
I want him back next year; I think we all know he would be regardless of our respective opinions though. But I do believe his job will be much harder next year, than it was this year, with what has to be replaced. Now if chemistry, players not buying in, or something of the sort were a problem this year, than maybe some inexperience and the ability to develop them into what he wants will offset the lack of experience. Who the heck knows for sure? All I do know is my expectation remains the same next year and anything short of a regional is not acceptable. If we don’t get there I think our AD really needs to sit down and evaluate the direction of the program and whether we have the right staff.
