I read the word in a previous post that I think sums up Geving, and that is consistency. Or lack thereof in my opinion. Consistency comes from the top, and it doesn't appear to be trickling down to the team. Just look at this year. Highs of wins on the road at USC, Weber, and EWU, but lows of getting ran out of the gym against Portland, and looking pretty lackluster against NAU, Montana, and Sac State at home.
While we did have quite a few injuries this year, I think that a team with this much talent (I know, it's a bit cliché to say how talented we are since year after year it's "look at PSU over there with all that talent, but they just can't seem to put it together on the football field or basketball court") this team had. I remember talking to another longtime season ticket holder after the SIU game and him saying that we were noticeably more athletic this year, and I totally agreed. Not sure if it was that rotations were still being tinkered with and there was just more effort, but this team seemed to change from what I saw early on. Perhaps it was the injuries, locker room stuff, kids not buying in to Geving's philosophy, or a combination, but I had higher hopes for us this year based on what I saw early on.
With regards to the state of the program in general, this year sort of epitomizes my view of how things are going. Some highs, some lows, pretty much mediocre. We're not great and we don't suck. Mediocre.
Mediocrity is not a good thing for this program right now. With the Viking Pavilion project officially moving forward and dates being set for shovels hitting the ground, we need a buzz around this program. Can Geving provide this buzz? I'm not so certain. The last time I checked, the only thing that is mediocre and creates a buzz is a twelve pack of Pabst Blue Ribbon. That's not to say that he can't be the one to get things done here, but from what I've seen, he's going to need to surprise me.
That being said, that's just my opinion on the state of the program, not my view of Geving as a person. He's a heck of a nice guy, and seems like a good character guy and great family man.