Women's sports do well at Portland State. That characteristic is settling itself in as a kind of rule. Volleyball and now Softball. And Basketball. Soccer soon. We do have quality coaches. May Tennis and Track & Field experience similar gains.
My hope for the Men's teams is that (1) Nigel does, in fact, establish himself as a great coach with a great coaching staff and great nationally potent teams, the kind that give I-A teams fits, and that (2) Tyler G. avoids being lobotomized ("Sobotka-ized") and in dynamic recovery fashion---like a plane suddenly turning from a steep dive to a steep climb.
I believe Tyler Geving is a fine recruiter, especially evidenced by the great Center Brandon Cataldo coming on board next season. But I wonder what his standing is with the players insofar as his being their
head coach. I trust there is no crisis of confidence, but I don't know what's going on behind the scenes.
Why, for example, wasn't he able to follow through on his recruiting of Max Jacobsen from Lake Oswego, eventually losing him to NAU? Why is Chris Harriel departing? He was a bright spot every season. Why also wasn't he able to motivate Phil Nelson to play at his best level? To me, he played in a way that seemed sheepishly defiant of his head coachship. Is there a motivation gap that was not present here under Coach Ken Bone? Maybe Phil Nelson resented playing for the assistant coach and not for the one he followed out and away from UW.
Geving needs to apply what works well from his recruiting acumen to mature his relationships and motivational influence of team members. These relationships will last a lifetime.
I personally believe he may need something of a bit of a style makeover. He needs some personal pzazz to play up his urban appeal. If he wants to be country, he needs to make it work well in the city. Get rid of the "blank stare and buck teeth" look. Is he going to develop into a fine coach or remain fixated where he is? C'mon, Coach, make a change for the better and the betterment of the program. Renew yourself.
