I am very surprised by this extension. I'm trying to process it and figure out the timing, and the why, when, where, who, all the different question words come into play. KSU is taking a big chance here that will either set the program up nicely for the next few years and make Milton Overton look great, or set it back horribly financially, and make Milton Overton look like a complete idiot.
Amir Abdur-Rahim has completed 3 seasons. Year 1 was a retool. He inherited terrible talent and chose to bring in high school kids instead of getting vets to cover the holes. The season was a disaster at every level. Year 2 he got his guys in there, but it was a COVID year, so everything was turned upside down, and it was much harder to develop players. Year 3 we got a much better team than Year 2 or Year 1. We had more veterans and no freshmen on the roster. You could argue last year was a big improvement year on year, compared to his first 2 years. However we still did not finish with a winning record or a winning conference record. I will say that it’s a big positive that in the day and age of the transfer portal, and immediate eligibility, we did not lose any starters from last season. I feel like this extension is more of a show of faith than a sound financial investment. Could it pay off and be a wise investment? ABSOLUTELY! 8 months from now, we could be on the brink of winning the conference. At the same time, we could have also shown no improvement, and are staring the transfer portal in the face, plus 4 additional years.
IMO why not extend 2 additional years or why not wait until December to see how the team looks in year 4? I have no inside information, all speculation, but I can’t see what the motivation to extend AAR for four years right now is. This absolutely helps with the recruiting and that’s the biggest benefit that can’t be denied from this extension.
Again, all speculation and perhaps a bit of fan fiction here, but I wonder how much AAR was pressuring for a new deal. He’s a smooth talker, and if he says “Extend me before the season or I can’t guarantee that I’m back. I can get an assistant job at any high major for similar or more pay, and nowhere near the amount of responsibility.” I think Milton Overton’s success as AD is already tied to Amir Abdur-Rahim, so he has to go all in with his guy. If Overton were to take the chance of waiting, and loses AAR, then he might not get another chance to hire a new coach and we are back where we started.
I feel like this is Milton Overton going all in. Is this the best move for Milton Overton? Yes. Is this the best move for KSU? I don’t know.