12/21 - dook can eat ****

[kg01]

They’re called role players for a reason. You don’t think missing three starters, then you don’t have a clue.

We probably still lose this game, but when you’re not playing at full strength, then everyone else suffers.

I've become convinced people don't understand what they're watching. That's why, literally every time we lose, it's 'man we gotta fire the coach'. Like, do people not actually think that through?

Fire the coach and hire who? After blowing out a guy after 1+ years, who's gonna take your job? And, if he does, what state is the roster/recruitingbase gonna be in?

We're missing 3 starters and one guy just got back from missing more games than originally thought he'd miss due to a concussion.

But folks are surprised we struggled against Duke with the likely #1 pick?

We shouldn't have been surprised to see us struggle against UMKBC or whatever tf the last game was.

It's not coaching. But color me unsurprised that most of the folks complaining now weren't fans of CDS's introductory press conference. It's ok that you didn't like the hire. Just don't pretend you have 'reasons' now.

 

[YlJacket]

Those role players also need to be a fit with different combinations when they rotate in to match against opponent’ starters and their own rotations. Injuries set back players far longer than just a healing period, if & when they return. The uninjured get gassed early in games without relief. But let’s fire coaches, have our freshmen & sophomores go portal, the 2025 & 2026 classes decommit & all present recruits remove GT from their final lists. That will make so many of the clueless happy around here. We’ll never get a rebuild & griping about Tech basketball can remain a lifetime endeavor. Don’t like CDS & the guys playing for Tech? Ok, don’t watch any more. Go watch & support the undefeated, 17th ranked, #1 Lady Jackets or are they too successful, leaving y’all with nothing to ***** about?

I always read these posts that say get a young coach who can grow and stay at Tech for 80 years. Well that is basically what we did with a high ceiling pro coach/player who is still young in regards to the college game. As you and others have said he is a legit force on the recruiting trail but is still finding his way in offensive scheme, rotations, defensive effort, take your pick. Little early to say fire him to say the least. I am hopefully realistic in both the issues we have had so far this year and that dancing is a distant and fading light in the tunnel - but I am still interested in watching the development of the team over the rest of the year and optimistic that we have some upsides still ahead of us and find some of the team chemistry/X&O things that carry over to next year.

 

[LargeFO]

Where did I say fire him? Oh I didn’t.

 

[LargeFO]

I've become convinced people don't understand what they're watching. That's why, literally every time we lose, it's 'man we gotta fire the coach'. Like, do people not actually think that through?

Fire the coach and hire who? After blowing out a guy after 1+ years, who's gonna take your job? And, if he does, what state is the roster/recruitingbase gonna be in?

We're missing 3 starters and one guy just got back from missing more games than originally thought he'd miss due to a concussion.

But folks are surprised we struggled against Duke with the likely #1 pick?

We shouldn't have been surprised to see us struggle against UMKBC or whatever tf the last game was.

It's not coaching. But color me unsurprised that most of the folks complaining now weren't fans of CDS's introductory press conference. It's ok that you didn't like the hire. Just don't pretend you have 'reasons' now.

I’m just saying reeves wasn’t doing much pre-injury.

O’Brien has been a letdown.

DO is/was (not sure he’s coming much) a frosh.

I’m all for giving ds more time, but those guys weren’t gonna change much against Duke.

 

[LargeFO]

I’m just saying reeves wasn’t doing much pre-injury.

O’Brien has been a letdown.

DO is/was (not sure he’s coming much) a frosh.

I’m all for giving ds more time, but those guys weren’t gonna change much against Duke.

Coming back* on DO

 

[kg01]

I’m just saying reeves wasn’t doing much pre-injury.

O’Brien has been a letdown.

DO is/was (not sure he’s coming much) a frosh.

I’m all for giving ds more time, but those guys weren’t gonna change much against Duke.

To be clear, btw, my post wasn't directed at you ... necessarily.

Anyway, we agree on Obrien. I've been really disappointed.

I disagree the 3 of them wouldn't have made much of a difference though. Even if you look at it from the standpoint of having all your bullets available. If you have a talent deficit, the last thing you want to do is overburden the ones you have available.

 

[LargeFO]

To be clear, btw, my post wasn't directed at you ... necessarily.

Anyway, we agree on Obrien. I've been really disappointed.

I disagree the 3 of them wouldn't have made much of a difference though. Even if you look at it from the standpoint of having all your bullets available. If you have a talent deficit, the last thing you want to do is overburden the ones you have available.

That’s fair. I hate that we haven’t been able to see the true McCollum as well.

 

[spdrama]

Coming back* on DO

Did you forget about McCollum who was supposed to give us senior leadership, floor generalship and quarterback the offense taking pressure off Nait with whom he was to work in tandem & allow Lance Terry to maintain 20-25 minutes off the bench instead of 38-39. He literally ran into a brick wall big v Cincy. The concussion protocol kept him sidelined from practices, & he is not yet 100%.

Reeves isn’t always consistent, but he also brings senior leadership. When on he has a deadly 3 point shot and he can beat defenders, drive to the rim & finish. He is terribly missed as both a starter, rotation fit & senior floor leader.

O’Brien played a supporting role in multiple rotations for a team that sent two players to the NBA. A 5th year player he was expecting to add even more senior leadership to a still very young team. Because of injuries to others he had to step in and play roles as starter & occasional big that he never did before. And then injuries have hit him too, despite which he has tried to play through them, hurt. And now he is sidelined.

Great things were never expected of Mutombo, but ya can’t teach height & at 7’1” he was expected to at least cover Ndongo & give freshman DO adjustment time and game blows. The death of his dad kept him away from the team, training & practice right up to season start. He is still not back to full game ready physical condition.

Sutton wasn’t expected to be a major contributor this season, but he was certainly going to be available coming off the bench against certain rotation defenders for a few minutes here and there to spot others some relief. If he hadn’t been injured himself, he would could have provided xtra backup minutes to a depleted staff. His MIA isn’t as big as others, but is still part of this year’s plague.

Then there is DO, that rare 7 footer who was expected to make major contributions as a freshman. Not only is he now gone, he might have been toxic in the locker room, negating some team comraderie.

Jaeden Mustaf has been forced to on the job training as a freshman & is proof that any rebuild starts with high school recruiting. But that’s a big problem around here because it takes patience.

Being short-handed has a domino effect. No bench for foul trouble relief leads to weaker defense, already negatively effected by winded starters.

So yeah, the coaching staff is our problem.

 

[LargeFO]

Did you forget about McCollum who was supposed to give us senior leadership, floor generalship and quarterback the offense taking pressure off Nait with whom he was to work in tandem & allow Lance Terry to maintain 20-25 minutes off the bench instead of 38-39. He literally ran into a brick wall big v Cincy. The concussion protocol kept him sidelined from practices, & he is not yet 100%.

Reeves isn’t always consistent, but he also brings senior leadership. When on he has a deadly 3 point shot and he can beat defenders, drive to the rim & finish. He is terribly missed as both a starter, rotation fit & senior floor leader.

O’Brien played a supporting role in multiple rotations for a team that sent two players to the NBA. A 5th year player he was expecting to add even more senior leadership to a still very young team. Because of injuries to others he had to step in and play roles as starter & occasional big that he never did before. And then injuries have hit him too, despite which he has tried to play through them, hurt. And now he is sidelined.

Great things were never expected of Mutombo, but ya can’t teach height & at 7’1” he was expected to at least cover Ndongo & give freshman DO adjustment time and game blows. The death of his dad kept him away from the team, training & practice right up to season start. He is still not back to full game ready physical condition.

Sutton wasn’t expected to be a major contributor this season, but he was certainly going to be available coming off the bench against certain rotation defenders for a few minutes here and there to spot others some relief. If he hadn’t been injured himself, he would could have provided xtra backup minutes to a depleted staff. His MIA isn’t as big as others, but is still part of this year’s plague.

Then there is DO, that rare 7 footer who was expected to make major contributions as a freshman. Not only is he now gone, he might have been toxic in the locker room, negating some team comraderie.

Jaeden Mustaf has been forced to on the job training as a freshman & is proof that any rebuild starts with high school recruiting. But that’s a big problem around here because it takes patience.

So yeah, the coaching staff is our problem.

I just said “I hate we haven’t gotten to see the true McCollum”.

 

[lv20gt]

It's not coaching. But color me unsurprised that most of the folks complaining now weren't fans of CDS's introductory press conference. It's ok that you didn't like the hire. Just don't pretend you have 'reasons' now.

Okay so tell me. How are we well coached?

 

[SoMsJacket]

Did you forget about McCollum who was supposed to give us senior leadership, floor generalship and quarterback the offense taking pressure off Nait with whom he was to work in tandem & allow Lance Terry to maintain 20-25 minutes off the bench instead of 38-39. He literally ran into a brick wall big v Cincy. The concussion protocol kept him sidelined from practices, & he is not yet 100%.

Reeves isn’t always consistent, but he also brings senior leadership. When on he has a deadly 3 point shot and he can beat defenders, drive to the rim & finish. He is terribly missed as both a starter, rotation fit & senior floor leader.

O’Brien played a supporting role in multiple rotations for a team that sent two players to the NBA. A 5th year player he was expecting to add even more senior leadership to a still very young team. Because of injuries to others he had to step in and play roles as starter & occasional big that he never did before. And then injuries have hit him too, despite which he has tried to play through them, hurt. And now he is sidelined.

Great things were never expected of Mutombo, but ya can’t teach height & at 7’1” he was expected to at least cover Ndongo & give freshman DO adjustment time and game blows. The death of his dad kept him away from the team, training & practice right up to season start. He is still not back to full game ready physical condition.

Sutton wasn’t expected to be a major contributor this season, but he was certainly going to be available coming off the bench against certain rotation defenders for a few minutes here and there to spot others some relief. If he hadn’t been injured himself, he would could have provided xtra backup minutes to a depleted staff. His MIA isn’t as big as others, but is still part of this year’s plague.

Then there is DO, that rare 7 footer who was expected to make major contributions as a freshman. Not only is he now gone, he might have been toxic in the locker room, negating some team comraderie.

Jaeden Mustaf has been forced to on the job training as a freshman & is proof that any rebuild starts with high school recruiting. But that’s a big problem around here because it takes patience.

So yeah, the coaching staff is our problem.

Add the fact that the two best players from last year, who were expected to be the core of the team have both significantly underperformed, either from trying to carry the team or haven't jelled with the revolving cast of starters. You can include Terry in that group.

 

[kg01]

Okay so tell me. How are we well coached?

Yeah we're not gonna play this game where you pretend there's anything I can say that'll change your position.

 

[lv20gt]

Yeah we're not gonna play this game where you pretend there's anything I can say that'll change your position.

Claiming others don't have reasons for their position and following that up with a flat refusal to defend your own is certainly a choice.

I'm not going to pretend that you can say anything that will change my position. Nothing about the product put on the court does anything to go against my skepticism of the CDS hire. I'm more interested to see if you, or anyone, actually believes he is a good coach or if it is more just hope in spite of what you are seeing.

 

[Rzunz]

Claiming others don't have reasons for their position and following that up with a flat refusal to defend your own is certainly a choice.

I'm not going to pretend that you can say anything that will change my position. Nothing about the product put on the court does anything to go against my skepticism of the CDS hire. I'm more interested to see if you, or anyone, actually believes he is a good coach or if it is more just hope in spite of what you are seeing.

From my limited knowledge and perspective from a fan in Tampa:
1) The product has not been good thus far.
2) We have suffered some bad breaks, injuries, etc.
3) Almost all the losses were to pretty good teams
4) We have played 2 ACC games against the 2 best teams (Clemson maybe close 3rd).
5) We have an outstanding class coming in next year (so recruitment is a plus).
6)
7) I remain hopeful that CDS will continue to grow as a HC (he’s still relatively inexperienced in the college game), and that he and his Staff will figure it out.
8) I also remain hopeful that the students will show up in January and supply the much needed energy and support from the stands!

 

[gte447f]

What’s the real scoop on DO? Anybody know? Now I’ve seen a post on here vaguely implying he created a toxic locker room. Any actual knowledge of the situation?

 

[AUFC]

What’s the real scoop on DO? Anybody know? Now I’ve seen a post on here vaguely implying he created a toxic locker room. Any actual knowledge of the situation?

Damon has said in pressers a while back that he is a little temperamental and will butt heads with coaches. You can pick up on that through his playstyle and pouting on the bench when the game isn’t going his way. I thought he got some rough fouls called on him early in the season but he has been particularly prone to dumb decisions more recently that you kind of just have to take with the fact that you’re starting an 18yo, especially one in a position where he’s usually jostling with 21 and 22 year olds who know the ins and outs of getting under an opponent’s skin. I’m not connected enough to know whether he’s picking fights with his own teammates, but would I be shocked? Not really.

Extremely talented and I hope he can get the sports psychology and therapeutic help he needs to contribute to our program. We could definitely use him when he’s at his best.

 

[cpf2001]

People knocked on Reeves as being more of a stay stuffer than a game changer or impact player but it turns out it’s better to have guys put up numbers between the stars than to lose that production.

The other absences are still more of a mystery to me. Especially what we should expect from McCollum.

 

[AUFC]

I admittedly didn’t watch much Javian last season but it’s highly reasonable just eyeballing his statistical splits that any perceived “fall off” is just due to the lower volume arising from his injury. He’s performing better in several rate-based metrics outside of minutes per game. And if you look at his play prior to the hard screen against Cincinnati, it looks fairly in line with how he played in non-conf for Oklahoma last season.

We have undoubtedly been snake bitten with injury trouble this season, more than I’ve seen from a GT team in a long time. It sucks but it is the nature of the sport. Ask Miami how they feel about last season - that team was primed to go dancing again off their Final Four appearance and finished dead last (or very close to dead last) in the ACC.