CDS Pushing Through Ups and Downs

[Root4GT]

Terry finished last season strong, was hitting his stride on O and taking charges on D.

My only comment other than that is that I question whether his decision to redshirt was good for the program. He was back to practicing as we rolled into ACC play and I think he could have made a difference this year so from a team point of view, I do not look on his decision to redshirt all that favorably, at least not at this moment. Maybe I'll feel differently next season.

The question is when would he have been healthy to be a true contributor? Practicing is not the same as playing and we have no insight as to how he was practicing. If he was still in a boot in late Dec he likely would be getting into BB shape around now.

 

[daddee724]

Well at least he is winning/losing with his recruits

 

[Randy Carson]

Well, I logged on thinking I would start a (for me) rare basketball thread by asking, "Did we make a colossal mistake with CDS?"

However, from the posts above, it would seem that everyone is saying,

"He's moving in the right direction."
"It's year one."
"He's making do with what he inherited, recruiting well, yada, yada, yada."

Is that it? Is there cause for hope that next year will be better?

 

[Northeast Stinger]

Well, I logged on thinking I would start a (for me) rare basketball thread by asking, "Did we make a colossal mistake with CDS?"

However, from the posts above, it would seem that everyone is saying,

"He's moving in the right direction."
"It's year one."
"He's making do with what he inherited, recruiting well, yada, yada, yada."

Is that it? Is there cause for hope that next year will be better?

My concern right now is the team’s mental attitude. I’m not sure all the players are completely bought in. As long as those who are struggling don’t contaminate other players, the younger guys will be much improved by next year.

 

[iopjacket]

Hopefully any players that "aren't bought in" can be encouraged to transfer out. It can't be a very pleasant experience for players, coaches, or fans.

 

[684Bee]

Well, I logged on thinking I would start a (for me) rare basketball thread by asking, "Did we make a colossal mistake with CDS?"

However, from the posts above, it would seem that everyone is saying,

"He's moving in the right direction."
"It's year one."
"He's making do with what he inherited, recruiting well, yada, yada, yada."

Is that it? Is there cause for hope that next year will be better?

What I didn’t like was his confident declaration that he would turn this team around in 90 days. Don’t say something like that and then get blasted by VT by 24 points.

 

[AUFC]

Well, I logged on thinking I would start a (for me) rare basketball thread by asking, "Did we make a colossal mistake with CDS?"

However, from the posts above, it would seem that everyone is saying,

"He's moving in the right direction."
"It's year one."
"He's making do with what he inherited, recruiting well, yada, yada, yada."

Is that it? Is there cause for hope that next year will be better?

Basketball is way different from football. Rotations typically exist of 7-10 guys so you can go worst to first with 2 lucky gets from the portal or a HS senior who turns out to be a stud since Freshmen can actually compete with 22 year olds in basketball. We've got 2 studs coming in from OTE next year, so CDS has shown his recruiting prowess (Top 20 ranked recruiting class; surrounded on the board by perennial tournament teams). Let's see if he has some success in the portal now that he's had a year to proof of concept his NBA offense. My biggest concern is going to be whether he can land a legit big man from the portal. Another Dowuona-type isn't going to cut it but is the NIL there to land a Jesse Edwards-type?

 

[slugboy]

What I didn’t like was his confident declaration that he would turn this team around in 90 days. Don’t say something like that and then get blasted by VT by 24 points.

I think it was 180 days, and I personally loved it. Some other coaches have done that this season. It’s not that uncommon

Basketball is way different from football. Rotations typically exist of 7-10 guys so you can go worst to first with 2 lucky gets from the portal or a HS senior who turns out to be a stud since Freshmen can actually compete with 22 year olds in basketball. We've got 2 studs coming in from OTE next year, so CDS has shown his recruiting prowess (Top 20 ranked recruiting class; surrounded on the board by perennial tournament teams). Let's see if he has some success in the portal now that he's had a year to proof of concept his NBA offense. My biggest concern is going to be whether he can land a legit big man from the portal. Another Dowuona-type isn't going to cut it but is the NIL there to land a Jesse Edwards-type?

Stoudamire hit on a couple of players this season, but not as many as he needed to. Amaree not panning out and some of the other perimeter players either being injured or not making the assists they need to hurts

Not having a physical center and PF is a killer, and the perimeter play isn’t enough to overcome it

Over at the Falcons, Arthur Smith is out of a job because he backed a QB who wasn’t up to the job. He got criticized for picking Ridder, he got criticized by Bradshaw for benching Ridder, and he got criticized for saying that Ridder could be an NFL starter.

Here, Stoudamire is getting criticized for saying his players aren’t playing up to their potential.

I guess the answer is that a coach will be criticized no matter what they say

 

[MtnWasp]

Huge roster turnover from Pastner's last year to Stoudamire's first. His first roster was thrown together over a very short period of time. Some hits, but significant misses also.

I would bet that subsequent roster management will be more 'careful.'

If Stoudamire can't find players that can translate his vision to the floor, then, 'yes,' he will have been an enormous miss.

But he WILL get more time, I figure at least two more seasons, to get his players to compete. But I guess it is possible that if, at the end of year two, he is still talking about his players the way he is talking about his current team, he could be gone after next year.

I see no utility to trying to forecast at this point. It would simply be a guess before the inevitable data comes in.

 

[57jacket]

The lack of post play also hurts the G/F play. Opponents can press our shooters without concern for the inside game. Also, our G/F can't beat anyone one on one apparently. I really think it's more quality of our players rather than coaching although round peg / square hole applies.

 

[Root4GT]

The lack of post play also hurts the G/F play. Opponents can press our shooters without concern for the inside game. Also, our G/F can't beat anyone one on one apparently. I really think it's more quality of our players rather than coaching although round peg / square hole applies.

George is actually pretty good at getting inside his man and creating opportunities for his teammates of dribble penetration for a freshmen. None of our other guys can do more than a straight line drive to the rim and often they are not great finishers. Kyle almost never gets to the rim but he does have a nice turnaround jump shot.

We are an average offensive team. We are a really bad defensive team.

Listening to CDS he rarely comments on the offense rather it's 80+% about the defense's issues.

 

[Northeast Stinger]

George is actually pretty good at getting inside his man and creating opportunities for his teammates of dribble penetration for a freshmen. None of our other guys can do more than a straight line drive to the rim and often they are not great finishers. Kyle almost never gets to the rim but he does have a nice turnaround jump shot.

We are an average offensive team. We are a really bad defensive team.

Listening to CDS he rarely comments on the offense rather it's 80+% about the defense's issues.

CDS has been clear for sometime that he’s more concerned about what a team can control than what they can’t control. Defense and energy are high on his list of priorities as a result.

 

[Bogey]

As a casual Georgia Tech basketball fan, I enjoyed watching this team play at the start of the season. We moved the ball around so fast which created open shots and we scored well, though a lot of turnovers. Then we got into ACC play, beat Duke and I thought we were well on our way. But it seems me me, being a lay person when it comes to round ball, ACC defensive play caught up with CDS and his offense. Whether it is due to scheme or talent, I do not know, probably both. I do think George, Ndongo, and Reeves are very talented and the type player Damon is looking for. Deborah has been a disappoint for me on offense, he is clearly a catch and shoot player. I shutter everytime he puts the ball on the floor. Kelly has worked hard on defense and i believe it has affected his offense.
I do like our coach and hope he gets things going our way within the next 2 years as he continues to rebuild our roster. We should be much better if our most experienced players like Kelly and Terry both return and Ndongo, George, and Reeves continue to improve with another season under CDS with the talent we have coming in and hopefully can still land a talented big who can shore up our defense at the rim.
Having said my piece, it would not surprise me a whole lot if we do the Georgia Tech thing of beating the number 3 team in the country tomorrow night.
Go Jackets!

 

[alagold]

The lack of post play also hurts the G/F play. Opponents can press our shooters without concern for the inside game. Also, our G/F can't beat anyone one on one apparently. I really think it's more quality of our players rather than coaching although round peg / square hole applies.

The one on one comment was spot- on ESPECIALLY when the offense seems to be "professional" like with guys spread out to allow for individual "wins".I've seen few of those 5 passes in 8 second set-ups that some college teams have.

 

[glandon1960]

If I could ask CDS one question, it would be something I told a friend around Christmas ...

GT forces very few turnovers from our opponents - and recently I saw we were near the bottom of the NCAA in forcing turnovers.
My question would be - How do you plan to address this next season? The zone is very passive (vs what Pastner did), in man, we have one inside defender (well two if you count Duowana, but then we're playing 4 on 5 on the offensive end). Too many bad turnovers (some of that is too many young players, but most games it's been manageable). If they had forced 3-4 more turnovers in these close games - several would have become W's most likely.

Many of the comments here are spot on - lack of a big not named Ndongo that can play consistently at ACC level right now, lack of inside offense lets teams press up on the shooters, shooters shooting lower percentage than expected, Terry out (we know he can shoot well), etc. ..... Disappointed, but they 've been right there in all but three games all season - and the team is young. WIll still keep going and watching - I do think what CDS is trying to do can work - but he's missing some pieces he needs right now to get over the hump.