I had this exact same conversation with my friends yesterday. The best way to gauge how good a college coach is is dependent on how individual players improve year-to-year. And you're right, a lot of these guys haven't had the same improvement that we were accustomed to seeing under the Boyle years. I will, however, say that there is still time though for a lot of these guys to take that next step,. This off-season will be huge for individual development from these players. If we don't see guys make a jump in their junior and senior seasons, there will be a lot of questions abound of what is really going on here?
I will also say though, while this season (and last) has been frustrating, we can't just go ahead and fire Coach Hill. As much as we all love UNC, we have to be honest with ourselves here. We don't have deep pockets within the athletic department, we are the third biggest public school in the state and miles behind CU and CSU in terms of facilities of funds. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that, it's just what the situation is, it's who we are.
So we can't afford to just fire coaches for a poor season or two. We don't have the means to do so. And if we did, who do we hire? This school isn't exactly a "destination" job for many to be honest. It is my personal view that at this level, coaches should be given a 4-5 year grace period after taking the job. That means that they have at least one of their own recruiting classes go through the program through graduation. I also think that same "grace period" needs to be extended a season in this case because Hill DID lead us to the conference crown in his first year even though many are quick to point out that it was Boyle who set the table for him. Which leads me to my next point....
While Boyle deserves all the credit in the world for the job he did here, literally building a division I program from scratch and leading them to the brink of the Big Dance, we can't forget Hill played a significant role in that process too. While there is a distinct difference in "Head Coach" and "assistant coach", Hill was the right-hand man and behind-the-scenes guy for many of those seasons while this program worked its way up the ranks, recruiting many of the players that led this team to success... Many head coaches will tell you, they are only as good as their entire coaching staff and this was very much the case here.
And my final point (if anyone is still reading)....
If many of you are doubting if Hill is head coaching material (and I completely understand it if you do, it's human nature), just remember that when Boyle took the job at CU, he told the administration here at UNC that if they don't name B.J. the head coach, he was going to take him to Boulder as his lead assistant. If a this-guy-needs-to-be-the-head-coach-here endorsement from "The Godfather of UNC Hoops" isn't good enough, then what is?
