Hardly a straw man. You (and others) are speculating on improvement because of the decline in coaching within the ACC. But one of the problems with this line of logic is that there are strong programs and coaches all over the country. If State can’t move up nationally while those coaches you mentioned are still here, then there is no reason to think that their absence will somehow improve State’s position.
I have never said we can’t move up with those coaches in place. I said in the very post you quoted that Gott is still improving, which implies he can help us move up now. I have posted elsewhere that I expect a top 4 finish next season. That is moving up, and I don’t expect any of these coaches to be retired next season.
Since my post wasn’t clear, I will restate my view clearly. I think Gott has the program on an upward track. I think we will be a top 4 ACC program, maybe a top 3 ACC program, before the retirement wave hits. Unfortunately, it is hard for me to see our program surpassing Duke or UNC before K and Roy retire, unless UNC gets hit hard by the NCAA. But I think Gott can elevate our program past the others that have been ahead of us. I think we will be a consistent top 25 program by the time the retirement wave hits, and regularly in the hunt for top 4 seeds in the NCAA tournament.
When the retirement wave hits, that can only further boost the program, if only because of the possibility that it would boost recruiting, both because those other universities will have less capable recruiters to compete with and because being in the hunt to win the conference regular season and conference tournament and contend for good NCAA results every season should further boost our profile with prospective recruits.
