A letter to Furman's new head coach

Dear Coach Jackson:
Welcome aboard. I am proud that Athletics Director Gary Clark and his staff made such an informed decision to bring you here to lead our Furman basketball program.
Your experiences and successes with other academic programs will immediately help our program. In addition, I am certain, that your recruiting skills, that have placed you among the top 25 recruiters in the country, will impact Furman's program immediately.
I have the utmost confidence that you will continue to bring top-notch student-athletes to Furman, as your predecessor Larry Davis, did.
It is true that you have inherited a program that is ready to win right now. Next year's senior class is packed with talent, as you already know. One would think that Davis set the table for you to make a run for the Southern Conference championship in your first year. That isn't quite the case.
Improvement has been a slow process over the past nine years. Poor floor coaching and a lack of rebounding have slowed the progress of teams that have had unlimited potential.
For instance, the past three seasons have featured Furman teams that could shoot the lights out of a gym. Davis would not recruit a player who couldn't shoot the ball. That philosophy worked great until teams started shadowing Paladin shooters or Furman started missing.
Each offensive possession ran 25 seconds off the shot clock by looking for a 25-foot jump shot. If that shot wasn't clear, a frantic scramble for a basket in defensive traffic resulted.
Don't get me wrong, there were flashes of light, meaning a backdoor pass or a nice cut here and there. However, those didn't come on a consistent basis against top conference teams.
Next, Furman is, at best, a mediocre rebounding team. As you probably, know rebounding is an essential key to success in any conference, especially the SoCon. Teams, such as the College of Charleston, have eaten the Paladins alive on the boards. Offensive rebounds on top offensive rebounds against this team have translated into Paladin losses.
Your team is full of perimeter players. Even your forwards and "center" live outside the paint. That just doesn't cut it when players like Kyle Hines and Josh Jackson exist in the conference.
Furman is capable of rebounding with the best of them. They just need a little coaching. I'm confident that you and your staff can bring out the fierceness of these current players.
Whether it's more work in practice or scheduling better out-of-conference opponents, I'm positive you are the guy that will accelerate the improvement process.
This past week has been refreshing and optimistic for Paladin students, alumni and fans. Your impressive resume speaks for itself. However, it is your character that inspires us.
Thank you for choosing Furman. Good luck to you. Sincerely,
Adam Regan Class of 2006