Seasons hinge on coaching

Spend an hour with Mike Dunlap and youāre likely to come away feeling like you won the lottery, like you found out Tyra Banks would like to go out some time, and like the test came back negative all at once. He is the optimist.

Spend an hour with Darryl Smith, and your side will hurt from laughter, mostly at his expense. This guy pokes fun at himself like he is getting paid for it.

Both are basketball coaches at Metro.

Smith screams and pleads with the womenās team, almost always getting the most out of it; while Dunlap is more likely to pick up the ball and blow right by one of his players in a drill in order to get his point across.

Dunlap is a great communicator. He makes people feel good about themselves. Smith does the same trick with motivation. Sometimes the stomp of a foot or a red face is all it takes to get the most from a player, it seems.

This season, both will need to be better than before. Better motivators and communicators if their Roadrunner teams are to have any shot at improving on last season.

Sure, both might say that taking care of the ball or rebounding is the key to their success, but these guys and their performance as coaches will decide more than the players on the court this season.
Each man has his own set of problems.

The menās team has nine new faces, which doesnāt include Dunlap or the rest of the coaching staff. Only three returning players accounted for significant minutes last season.

Molding a team out of strangers is only half the battle. And itās a difficult fight. Last season the menās team was fractionalized. It ran in cliques. Some members simply didnāt like others. That translated into a 13-13 record under former coach Charles Bradley.

Once the friendships are formed and this team becomes a team, getting it to make the right decisions on the court is an entirely different challenge.

His personality tells me Dunlap will get the job done. He will earn the right to keep his job, which he currently holds on an interim basis. Iāve spent an hour with him. The team will spend months. Prediction: 15-11 possible conference tournament appearance.
 

Smithās problems are fewer, but still significant.

Shilo Justice, a team leader in points and rebounds last season, will sit out the year with a bulging disc in her back. Nicole Davis, a Division I transfer, will miss the season as well with a torn knee ligament. Justice and Davis figured to be Smithās best post players.

The team will struggle in the middle, but is strong enough on the perimeter to make up with Stephanie Allen, Kristi Baxter, Gabi Sandovol and Danielle Stott.

If the Fab-Four play to their potential, this team will be right back where it always seems to be, scrapping for the conference title.
Prediction: 19-7 conference runner-up. Barring injury, next yearās team will be scary.