Gregory and Overcoaching

[jacketup]

I used to hate it when Bobby Cremins talked about "chemistry." I thought chemistry was a code word for "I don't know how to coach them, so they need to play together and figure it out on their own." Bobby was a leader, but he was no x's and o's genius.

But there is truth to "chemistry." The players do need to get used to each others habits, strengths and weaknesses--and develop chemistry. Playing time together as a starting 5 unit does that.

The ajc reported that 10 GT players played in the first 10 minutes of the Tennessee game. Against ETSU, no player played more than 29 minutes. Constant substituting.

Contrast that with Kentucky last night against Boston U. 3 players played more than 30 minutes-more like in the 34-35 minute range. Another guy played 29. I believe it is fair to say that UK has plenty of depth. Calapari knows that his best players need to play together to develop chemistry.

Gregory needs to pick out his top 5 and they should be getting 160 minutes per game. 2 or 3 others should be getting the other 40, unless it is a blowout.

He can't help himself. The end of game foul against ETSU has been discussed ad infinitum. It's just another example of his overcoaching.

His teams seem to understand fundamentals, but the floor coaching is questionable. Maybe he should stay in the locker room and watch on TV.

 

[CuseJacket]

I agree that Gregory has a history of questionable substitution patterns, though I believe there are better examples than UK/Calipari. UK went 10 guys deep last year with equal minutes until injuries struck. Regardless I agree with the questions about minutes distributions, and that goes back to the Hewitt years.

Here's a similar thread from last year: Substitution Pattern & Minutes

All that said I think Gregory's been a little better this year for a few reasons. 1) We're actually running more, 2) There are fewer timeouts, 3) There are one or two guys relegated further down the bench this year than last, meaning there's more of an effort to make minutes a performance-based decision, something I questioned more often last year.

 

[swampsting]

After years of watching CPH undercoach, anything by comparison looks like overcoaching.

 

[Peacone36]

I'd use the term "coaching" and "adjustments" loosely

 

[gtpi]

i was thinking about this last night. not only did cremins stress chemistry but he also constantly talked about putting players in a position to do good things.... playing to their strengths. i remember he coached just enough to allow this to happen. once they were put into position he allowed the skills of the players to take over. i think he is a far better coach than the last two we have had. i like his philosophy.

i see none of this from cbg. for his entire tenure i have been behind cbg. all things considered... the most recent loss to ets has been the last straw for me. what did i see the last 5 minutes of the game? same ol same ol same ol! he had 4 time outs with 4 minutes to play and they accomplished nothing.

the last minute of the ets game was played out in almost every single close game we lost last year. when i looked at mgh's eyes right before he shot those ft's i could see him thinking... not again. And sure enough.....

i think that short term cbg is our coach. i will support him and the team. long term? he has to go. if i had my druthers i would like to see bobinsky talk him into retiring from coaching while accepting a job at gt in some other capacity. i love coach cbg. he exemplifies gt imo ....

just not as our basketball coach.

 

[bob4gt]

i was thinking about this last night. not only did cremins stress chemistry but he also constantly talked about putting players in a position to do good things.... playing to their strengths. i remember he coached just enough to allow this to happen. once they were put into position he allowed the skills of the players to take over. i think he is a far better coach than the last two we have had. i like his philosophy.

i see none of this from cbg. for his entire tenure i have been behind cbg. all things considered... the most recent loss to ets has been the last straw for me. what did i see the last 5 minutes of the game? same ol same ol same ol! he had 4 time outs with 4 minutes to play and they accomplished nothing.

I loved Cremins and did not want him gone, but his philosophy is much easier to implement with multiple Burger Boys on the floor. Of course his recruiting style of one great player a year did not work with the one-and-dones.

Bob

 

[Tech93]

I have been saying this for the past 2 years. Unfortunately, CBG is not a good coach.

 

[Essobee]

Cremins was a once-in-a-lifetime gift and one of our greatest coaches, IMHO. He wasn't highly sought when we got him and he was a fantastic fit for Tech. He, himself, was a study in team chemistry insofar as the Tech athletic program was concerned. Players liked him, recruits liked him, alumni liked him, fans liked him, other coaches liked him...and he could coach. A few of our very vocal hard-*** fans said he couldn't coach, but I personally witnessed him out-coach Dean Smith one game. It's too bad that he was called home to South Carolina and took the bait before he quickly wised up, spit it out, and became a legend alongside two other great Tech coaches named Bobby.

 

[GTJake]

This might be a bit off the wall and I am not in support for any coaching changes (at the moment), hire Mark Price and Ken Whisenhunt. With Roof as DC we would have three of our top coaches as alumni ... am I the only one who thinks that would be cool ???