One Thing Brad Underwood Has To Have Is Time

I wrote this post about two weeks ago and just filled in Brad Underwood’s name when Mike Holder announced him as the new head coach. That is to say, no matter who OSU hired, that person needs time to build something.

Underwood’s contract hasn’t been announced yet, but it’s likely 3-5 years which sounds like a nice amount of time to bring GIA all the way back.

And my hope is that Underwood, unlike Ford, does it with the long view in mind. The greatest irony of the Ford era is his insistence on short-term gain even with a contract that stretched two presidential terms.

https://twitter.com/brendon_wm/status/712325257336500224

Travis Ford never built anything even though he had plenty of time to do so. It always felt like he was coaching and recruiting like he was on a one-year contract that would spontaneously combust on April 31.

Does Brad Underwood need to make the NCAA Tournament next year? If Jawun Evans and Phil Forte stay and are healthy, then you better at least sniff it. But if he wants to tear the rest of it down to build it back up, I’m fine with that.

It’s something he’s never done which is going to be the interesting part. I think Underwood is going to be more adept at the transfer game than many people realize (two of his top three scorers were transfers at SFA) which will be beneficial.

And like many have pointed out, you don’t necessarily need to be a great recruiter if you’re an elite coach.

“I went from being a role player the previous two years, to the Southland Player of the Year,” former SFA player Jacob Parker told the Oklahoman. “The individual work done with him and his staff is top notch by the means of individual improvement.”

So take your time, Brad. Build something for 2020, not for 2017. We’ll be here following every game, but we won’t take stock for a while.