The worst is over, Richard has a plan for ULM hoops

As March Madness descents into April Alcoholism, it’s time for a college basketball post-mortem.

If you haven’t figured it out by now, I love basketball. The game seems simple. Five on five. Each team trying to put a round ball through a hoop. But it’s far from it. That’s what I love about it.

It’s those little things that make it great. The individual nuances that set it apart from other sports. If baseball is built on tradition and football a militaristic wargame, then basketball is like music. Like being in a band.

Everyone on the floor brings something to the table. Each game is filled with negotiation and improvisation just like a good jam session. A good hoops team is a selfless collaboration filled with individual expression.

And personality—lots of it, too. Don’t believe me? Google Walt “Clyde” Frazier. You’ll thank me later.

I bring this up to say—just like a band—when one area is lacking, it all falls apart. It requires continuity and an intuitive understanding of your teammates. Everyone has to hit on all cylinders or it doesn’t work.

Whenever this analogy pops in my head, I think of Keith Richard. Don’t let the three and four-win seasons fool you. The man can coach. He’s had to rebuild the program from the disaster that was Orlando Early’s tenure.

Disaster maybe putting it mildly. Early left behind crippling scholarship reductions and a stint on APR probation. Pair that with an insane amount of roster attrition and Phil Jackson couldn’t have come in here and won.

GPA improvements have given the program all their scholarships back. The playing field is finally leveling out some. And ULM isn’t that far away from being good. Really.

I was as skeptical as anybody until I saw Richard work on the sideline. The Troy game at Fant-Ewing made a believer out of me.

With Troy packing the paint and his team struggling to finish at the rim, Richard switched offenses at halftime. He scrapped their set plays and went with motion offense principles. It worked. ULM still lost, but not before forcing overtime in a game they really had no business being in.

You may not be buying into this. Ok. Let’s say you’re more about the end result than the process, meaning winning. Then I want you to explain to me how the Warhawks managed to sweep a talented North Texas team with a future pro in Tony Mitchell.

Seriously, I’m all ears. Because I’ve got nothing for you. So maybe it’s time to stop and consider that Richard knows what he’s doing. He does.

There are still some glaring holes on the roster, but there’s also a nice core to build around.

Amos Olatayo can score the ball, Trent Mackey finished the season hot from the three-point line and Jayon James can pass as well as any post player in the league.

All that’s missing is a point guard to facilitate, a couple of strong rebounders and another shooter James can pass to out of the double team.

After four years, this band is almost ready to go on tour.