Post by gator8 on May 15, 2021 14:15:24 GMT -6
The conclusion of any season always brings a time of reflection, and with softball season seemingly done, I wanted to offer some of my thoughts on the Beth Mullins era as it stands.
I don't think Mullins was John Hartwell's first choice for a head coach, and maybe not even his second. I believe it took a lot of coaxing for Hartwell to get the green light from Chancellor Hawkinks to dump Melanie Davis. Davis had done a lot for the university and just seemed to be one of Jack's girls. That said, it needed to be done. The softball program was not in great shape and wasn't getting better. I saw Davis scouting a Class 2A area tournament once, and it wasn't even one of the good area tournaments. It was time for a change. Jimmy Kolaitis was the target, but the price for Kolaitis was just too high.
Mullins, though, came with some good pedigree and I think she has been great for the program overall. She earned co-Sun Belt Coach of the Year in her first year, and that was no small feat. She led the Trojans to two consecutive defeats of ranked opponents, something that had never happened in program history. Most years, the program has been in the top half of the SBC — and many of those in the top four. No doubt her teams have been the most talented ever to step on Troy's campus, and they seemingly get more talented each year. Troy is competitive and finds itself ranked in the top-50 of RPI for several weeks out of most years.
The frustrating part comes from the fact the Trojans cannot seem to get over the hump — either in terms of getting the RPI high enough at the end of the season to get an at-large bid or in winning the Sun Belt tourney. In 2018, they made the semifinals with a younger team only to drop two consecutive games to open the 2019 tourney — as the No. 2 seed. The resume hasn't never been quite good enough to get the at-large bids, mainly because — while they are never embarrassed in games with top-tier Power 5s or ranked opponents — they don't close enough of them out.
Typically that's a sign of a young and building program, but after seven years, is it that young anymore? Is there a fatal flaw in the culture and approach to the game that means Troy will always be close to being an elite G5 but never there? It seems sometimes Mullins' teams play not to lose rather than to win in the big games. I feel like it's why the results are inconsistent.
As an athletic program, you can't fire everyone quickly. Inconsistency in coaching will lead to inconsistency on the field. Coaches will be afraid to work for your program. At the same time, you hope to avoid Mark Richt situations — where you're consistently peaking just short of the ultimate goal. I wonder if Mullins has what it takes to push Troy into the next echelon...
That said, she'll get another year, and as long as the transfer portal is kind, it should be a phenomenal year. For most of this SBC tournament, Troy's lineup had five or six freshmen. The potential is there, but it has been for so many years of the Mullins era. My hope is that I'm not writing something like this again next year.
Here's to the school we love ...
I don't think Mullins was John Hartwell's first choice for a head coach, and maybe not even his second. I believe it took a lot of coaxing for Hartwell to get the green light from Chancellor Hawkinks to dump Melanie Davis. Davis had done a lot for the university and just seemed to be one of Jack's girls. That said, it needed to be done. The softball program was not in great shape and wasn't getting better. I saw Davis scouting a Class 2A area tournament once, and it wasn't even one of the good area tournaments. It was time for a change. Jimmy Kolaitis was the target, but the price for Kolaitis was just too high.
Mullins, though, came with some good pedigree and I think she has been great for the program overall. She earned co-Sun Belt Coach of the Year in her first year, and that was no small feat. She led the Trojans to two consecutive defeats of ranked opponents, something that had never happened in program history. Most years, the program has been in the top half of the SBC — and many of those in the top four. No doubt her teams have been the most talented ever to step on Troy's campus, and they seemingly get more talented each year. Troy is competitive and finds itself ranked in the top-50 of RPI for several weeks out of most years.
The frustrating part comes from the fact the Trojans cannot seem to get over the hump — either in terms of getting the RPI high enough at the end of the season to get an at-large bid or in winning the Sun Belt tourney. In 2018, they made the semifinals with a younger team only to drop two consecutive games to open the 2019 tourney — as the No. 2 seed. The resume hasn't never been quite good enough to get the at-large bids, mainly because — while they are never embarrassed in games with top-tier Power 5s or ranked opponents — they don't close enough of them out.
Typically that's a sign of a young and building program, but after seven years, is it that young anymore? Is there a fatal flaw in the culture and approach to the game that means Troy will always be close to being an elite G5 but never there? It seems sometimes Mullins' teams play not to lose rather than to win in the big games. I feel like it's why the results are inconsistent.
As an athletic program, you can't fire everyone quickly. Inconsistency in coaching will lead to inconsistency on the field. Coaches will be afraid to work for your program. At the same time, you hope to avoid Mark Richt situations — where you're consistently peaking just short of the ultimate goal. I wonder if Mullins has what it takes to push Troy into the next echelon...
That said, she'll get another year, and as long as the transfer portal is kind, it should be a phenomenal year. For most of this SBC tournament, Troy's lineup had five or six freshmen. The potential is there, but it has been for so many years of the Mullins era. My hope is that I'm not writing something like this again next year.
Here's to the school we love ...