Firing Matt Wells with a 5-3 record.
Believing it was justified and being surprised that it happened are two different things. I'm extremely surprised we did it. Anyone without inside info that it would or might happen should be equally surprised. What we did is unprecedented. I'm not sure there's any other mid-season firing that's been similar. Really, the biggest (only?) downside to making the move that early was the unnecessary distraction it would've been to the current team. And that didn't pan out because we finished with our best record in years.
The biggest upside to making the move early actually did play out. And I'm not talking about any recruiting boost. Matt Wells' players and coaches won 7 games this year. This may be painful for people to think about or accept, but it's possible we would've finished this season with the same exact record with Wells as the coach. At 6-6 (before the bowl) or 7-6 (post bowl), it would have been difficult to fire him... after all, it was the best season we've had from a win/loss standpoint in at least 5 years. Keeping Matt Wells instead of hiring McGuire would've sucked for this program, in my opinion at least.
Jace Jung
I thought he would be good since his older brother was a top 10 pick and one of the best college baseball players of all time. But I wasn't expecting Jace to also be a top MLB prospect, essentially, the day he stepped on campus. This guy is a freak like his brother. Just unbelievable power.
Where did Adrian Frye, Bouyer-Randle. Malik Dunlap, and Jesiah Pierre Go?
These guys only played 196 snaps after the TCU game, which is mostly when our defensive problems were figured out. If you would've told me that Tech finishes 2-3 in its last 5 games the way we did, I would've guessed that the above guys were playing big roles. The transfer from New Mexico State (Matthew Young) was getting more reps than these guys in the last half of the season. That surprised me.
Mark Adams' First HS Signing Class
I wasn't worried about Adams' ability to recruit, but Lamar Washington, Pop Isaacs, and Robert Jennings is a top 3 or so best HS class that Tech Hoops has signed in 20+ years. That surprises me. We're not going away any time soon in basketball.
Tech Having a Top 25 Offense
Considering it was Cumbie's first year, and considering the injuries at QB, I'm surprised that Tech will finish with roughly a top 25 offense this year. Our QB situation behind Shough was extremely bleak on paper, but we figured out a way to move the ball with Colombi and D Smith. I would not be surprised if we have a top 25 offense next year, though (assuming Shough is healthy).
Last Year's Hoops Team Went 18-11
I'm surprised we underachieved last year based on the players we had. The betting market seems to agree with me. We were the favorite to make it to the sweet 16 as a 6 seed with a 17-10 record, and only were behind Baylor for best chance of making it the Final 4. Mac McClung, Kyler Edwards, Terrence Shannon, Kevin McCullar and Peavy was a legit group of guys that could've been much better from a win/loss standpoint.
Henry Teeter
Henry Teeter played more snaps than Loic Founji, McLane Mannix, and JJ Sparkman. He played just 3 less than Dalton Rigdon. That surprises the hell out of me. I had no idea who this guy was until fall camp started. I wonder what happens to him in Kittley's offense.... there may not be a big role for the 3rd TE, whether that is him or Castles.
Super Regional Slaughter
I thought Stanford was good and had the right personnel to win at Dan Law. But I thought we would at least put up a fight...
Return of Terrence Shannon
I'm pretty dang surprised that Shannon returned for another year. It seems like fringe pro guys almost always go pro instead of returning to Tech for another year. Hope he gets healthy and the decision pays off.
Believing it was justified and being surprised that it happened are two different things. I'm extremely surprised we did it. Anyone without inside info that it would or might happen should be equally surprised. What we did is unprecedented. I'm not sure there's any other mid-season firing that's been similar. Really, the biggest (only?) downside to making the move that early was the unnecessary distraction it would've been to the current team. And that didn't pan out because we finished with our best record in years.
The biggest upside to making the move early actually did play out. And I'm not talking about any recruiting boost. Matt Wells' players and coaches won 7 games this year. This may be painful for people to think about or accept, but it's possible we would've finished this season with the same exact record with Wells as the coach. At 6-6 (before the bowl) or 7-6 (post bowl), it would have been difficult to fire him... after all, it was the best season we've had from a win/loss standpoint in at least 5 years. Keeping Matt Wells instead of hiring McGuire would've sucked for this program, in my opinion at least.
Jace Jung
I thought he would be good since his older brother was a top 10 pick and one of the best college baseball players of all time. But I wasn't expecting Jace to also be a top MLB prospect, essentially, the day he stepped on campus. This guy is a freak like his brother. Just unbelievable power.
Where did Adrian Frye, Bouyer-Randle. Malik Dunlap, and Jesiah Pierre Go?
These guys only played 196 snaps after the TCU game, which is mostly when our defensive problems were figured out. If you would've told me that Tech finishes 2-3 in its last 5 games the way we did, I would've guessed that the above guys were playing big roles. The transfer from New Mexico State (Matthew Young) was getting more reps than these guys in the last half of the season. That surprised me.
Mark Adams' First HS Signing Class
I wasn't worried about Adams' ability to recruit, but Lamar Washington, Pop Isaacs, and Robert Jennings is a top 3 or so best HS class that Tech Hoops has signed in 20+ years. That surprises me. We're not going away any time soon in basketball.
Tech Having a Top 25 Offense
Considering it was Cumbie's first year, and considering the injuries at QB, I'm surprised that Tech will finish with roughly a top 25 offense this year. Our QB situation behind Shough was extremely bleak on paper, but we figured out a way to move the ball with Colombi and D Smith. I would not be surprised if we have a top 25 offense next year, though (assuming Shough is healthy).
Last Year's Hoops Team Went 18-11
I'm surprised we underachieved last year based on the players we had. The betting market seems to agree with me. We were the favorite to make it to the sweet 16 as a 6 seed with a 17-10 record, and only were behind Baylor for best chance of making it the Final 4. Mac McClung, Kyler Edwards, Terrence Shannon, Kevin McCullar and Peavy was a legit group of guys that could've been much better from a win/loss standpoint.
Henry Teeter
Henry Teeter played more snaps than Loic Founji, McLane Mannix, and JJ Sparkman. He played just 3 less than Dalton Rigdon. That surprises the hell out of me. I had no idea who this guy was until fall camp started. I wonder what happens to him in Kittley's offense.... there may not be a big role for the 3rd TE, whether that is him or Castles.
Super Regional Slaughter
I thought Stanford was good and had the right personnel to win at Dan Law. But I thought we would at least put up a fight...
Return of Terrence Shannon
I'm pretty dang surprised that Shannon returned for another year. It seems like fringe pro guys almost always go pro instead of returning to Tech for another year. Hope he gets healthy and the decision pays off.
