Why I Man-Crush Craig Robinson
I thought it was because he could recruit to Corvallis, a town that is "impossible to recruit to", or that upon being hired he objectively noted that the talent he inherited wasn't good enough.
But, that's only part of it.
The bigger reason is because 90% of athletics is confidence and psychology. Robinson recognizes this better than any OSU coach. Period.
Listen to his weekly press conference: http://www.osubeavers.com/sports/m-baskbl/sched/orst-m-baskbl-sched.html
Highlights:
- He's getting nitpicky about little things/details
- Not taking playing well for granted
- The importance of closing out games/not getting bored. Mentions not boxing out during PSU. Flat out says it wasn't good enough.
- Admits they're an okay team, wants it to be a great team. Just needs to cut down mistakes to do that.
- Continue to give max effort and get better even during blowout wins.
- Tells players "you can't get away with this in the conference" when they perform poorly/sloppy, etc.
- Doesn't want the conference games to be a "surprise"…so need to treat OOC games as learning experiences where they give max effort and attention to detail.
- Put together the schedule to go 8-3/build confidence.
- Etc.
Just watch the interview for yourself. It is highly impressive and shows a guy who understands how to straight shoot (without being a jerk or Mr. Nice Guy), and understands the importance of detail, psychology, etc. So, not only do I love this coach because he recruits great talent to a place fans say is impossible to recruit great talent, but even more so because he "gets it."