simply had Dave's number. Largely cuz Dave didn't know how to defensively stop him — which gave some fans the impression we didn't have the personnel to stop them, but that was rarely the case in reality.

Good defense is not only good strategy. It's max effort & doing your assignment thoroughly. While Rose's lineups were often lacking a few "athletes" — honestly, so are Bennett's, almost always. Which is why the loss of Logan Johnson has lowered their ceiling in a year everyone thought they'd be a real contender.

We're fortunate to have not only a solid defensive coach at the helm, but a guy who knows the importance of having defensive competence & balance in your personnel. And recruits accordingly. And is also generally solid at hiding his personnel deficiencies.

So long as Pope can start landing marquee recruits, I trust we're in very good hands in the Big12.