Does it? [refers directly to the quoted text. Could also be written: Does the question “why were we so shitty” still remain [unanswered]]
The answer to that question [why were we so shitty?has been obvious any time it has needed to be asked The question “why were we so shitty?” only needs to be asked about a season in which we were shitty.
The only uncertainty [the only part or the answer that isn’t obvious] was how far back in the causal chain [“why” questions are answered by a cause. Most effects [being shitty] have a cause [Danny Manning currently] that is also an effect of some other cause [Ron Wellman]. This forms a causal chain. you needed to go. [You can almost always identify a but-for cause for any given effect, but that cause is not always “proximate” (excuse the legal jargon) to the effect you are ultimately trying to assign blame for. It’s not always obvious how far back, or even which direction (some effects have more than one but-for cause), to go.]
[The following are examples of the above observation
97-99: Odom, but he’ll fix it. [We were shitty during the 97-98 season and the 98-99 season. This was Dave Odom’s fault. Given his track record it was a reasonable assumption he would fix the problem. He did.
05-07: Skip, but he’ll fix it. [same as Odom]
10-12: [Redacted], but surely Wellman will fix it. [[Redacted] was an obvious mistake from the get go but the prevailing assumption among the fan base was that Wellman would fix the problem he created
12-16: [Redacted], but really Wellman (maybe he fixed it?). [Wellman failed to fix the problem for two years and then took steps to fix the situation that showed at least some signs of promise. My two year pass for Manning is so well known I didn’t feel the need to mention it.
17-present: Manning, but really Wellman, but actually really Hatch and the BOT. [ We are shitty because of Manning, but Manning is still here because of Wellman, who is still here because of Hatch, etc.]
This isn’t rocket science. [I truly thought this observation would not be controversial.]