In rebuilding a college basketball program, the third year often is a key to whether or not a coach will succeed.
Coaches get a couple honeymoon years to change the culture and the roster, but Year 3 requires visible progress. Show those positive signs and you’ve likely bought yourself a couple more seasons. Don’t show it and you may be shown the door, or you have set up a “win or else” fourth season.
As Danny Manning entered his third year, he faced those same expectations of progress. The roster he inherited from Jeff Bzdelik needed a rebuild, and Manning cobbled together enough pieces that this season’s group oozed with promise.
Now, a little over midway through the season, are the Deacons delivering?
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