Our B-ball Program
- Thread starter UgagSucks
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IMHO this is not the time for Mark Price. God forbid he is unable in his first HC gig to pull this program out of this hole and the fan base turns against one of our own. What is funny about that situation is I think it's also highly unlikely he would agree to leave his current situation to be on staff either.
megatron
Jolly Good Fellow
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What we say on message boards means so little to the decisions thousands have made in choosing to no longer care about the team or show up to games.
An indifferent fan base is far, far worse than an upset fan base. At least an upset fan base still cares.
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I am not sure who is the right choice for our basketball program. All I would like to see is for us to have a chance to compete for a place in the top 3rd of the ACC. Right now we seem to be closer to the bottom 3rd than I would prefer. For us to make a change, I believe the admin has to go "full in" and hire someone than says, from the beginning, we mean business in basketball. Not a Ron Hunter type hire. He may be a great guy, but he would not be a statement. And, we have a great guy right now.
GTJake
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Craig "Noodles" Neal
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He would be a statement, but the Villanova crowd probably would argue that taking a step backward to come to Tech doesn't make sense.
Stinger90
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Thad Matta tired of OSU yet?
DvilleJacket
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What I don't get is he seemed to be more successful at Dayton. I know competition is tougher but shouldn't he be getting better recruits?
4NatlChmps
Jolly Good Fellow
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Good post, but I gotta say we DEFINE the bottom third of ACC for last 4 years. Gotta change. Anything is better. Done until someone makes a move - then I will come roaring back. As other posters have noted, fan support or lack or indifference is our only vote on the matter. I tried to support for 4 years but this product is not representative of GT.
COJacket
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If you go back and read the majority of the Dayton fans response when we hired BG, they basically said BG is a great guy, did not know how to coach offense well, was not a good X/O guy, and was not that great of a recruiter. BG has pretty much played out the way they said he was at Dayton. Get a couple of good players, and he is alright. Otherwise, there are some glaring deficiencies. Always we will be a GT BB fan no matter what. Will always support our players and not get down on any of them. And, we got frustrated with Hewitt in not getting an inbound pass in safely and we had to learn to expect that a few times a game. I think there is enough data/experience now to say we are going to have to accept we will not have a great offense under BG unless he gets an assistant in that he gives the O over to and coach our players how to make a basket under a little pressure. Not unlike PJ and Roof. Just MHO.
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It is indeed unfortunate that we are having these kind of discussions at this point of the season. I sympathize with everybody who has posted in this thread. I haven't posted much in this forum this season, but I have watched pretty much every game, whether on replay or live. The way I see this is that we don't have a coaching problem, per se, but rather a roster problem. I can already hear some responses to that statement. "Coaches are responsible for putting a good roster on the floor" and I agree totally. Our kids play really hard and they play bonafide good defense while rebounding the basketball. That is a sign of good coaching. Our D has kept us in games despite a historically bad offense.
Unfortunately, in the sport of basketball, you have to be able to put it into the net too. It is hard to describe the magnitude of the struggles we have faced in this regard. I see three main problems contributing to this dilemma: first and foremost, we can't stretch defenses with the outside shot. Teams pack it in against us and dare us to shoot causing painfully little room to operate or penetrate inside. Secondly, we have no player who can consistently beat defenders off the dribble and break down the defense in the half court set. Thirdly, we have no length down low, making it doubly hard to get the ball inside. We can expect to see a steady diet of tight zone until we fix it.
We have tried to call on MGH to answer the call as an offensive leader. That, to me, is a sure-fire sign of how bad off we are - not that he is a bad player, far from it. To use a CPJism, that is like teaching a pig to sing. MGH is a guy who needs to play a ton of minutes and contribute a ton of ways. However, he is not a natural creative scorer who needs to take over the offense. I see him as a complimentary guy on offense who picks up garbage points and feeds off the flow of the game. He is physical and a great defender and he can drive and score a little as well, but on most teams, he will not be their "go to guy" who creates on his own.
I think Tadric has the potential to be a scorer type, but he isn't ready. IMHO, he has seen his teammates struggle enough that he feels way to much pressure to score. It is indeed a rare occasion when he turns down a shot or doesn't try to force something to happen alone. I'm sure in HS he was the man. Well, hopefully he learns that CBB is a team game and people can defend. Right now, when he shoots, I just feel so sorry for him. You can see him trying SO HARD to guide the shot out of his hand instead of just shooting from the floor up and letting it fly, trusting his shot. He has some skills and he can break people down, but right now he has no instinct for when is a good time to push it. He is just FULL GO all the time, even in bad situations. My gut feel is that Tadric is probably KILLING IT in practice, but during games he is just tightening up. He looks anything but comfortable on the stage right now. I can sympathize because it was the same way for me when I was young (different sport).
Has anybody else noticed how freely, confidently, and smoothly other team's players shoot the ball? When I see an opponent rise up for a 15 foot J, it just looks like it is going in. To a man, on our team right now, we look so stilted and mechanical in that same situation that it is painful to watch. We don't have control of our weight and our bodies are all out of alignment when we go up. Shooting a basketball has to be a free and natural motion. It just doesn't work any other way. You can't force it on the right path. It is all muscle memory.
I like CBG and I hope he stays, but the mere act of having to sign so many transfers in a single year is a sign of recruiting struggles. It is hard to develop chemistry in that situation. The good news is, it is easier to turn around a hoops program than practically any other sport. It just takes a couple of the right players. Here is hoping.
Unfortunately, in the sport of basketball, you have to be able to put it into the net too. It is hard to describe the magnitude of the struggles we have faced in this regard. I see three main problems contributing to this dilemma: first and foremost, we can't stretch defenses with the outside shot. Teams pack it in against us and dare us to shoot causing painfully little room to operate or penetrate inside. Secondly, we have no player who can consistently beat defenders off the dribble and break down the defense in the half court set. Thirdly, we have no length down low, making it doubly hard to get the ball inside. We can expect to see a steady diet of tight zone until we fix it.
We have tried to call on MGH to answer the call as an offensive leader. That, to me, is a sure-fire sign of how bad off we are - not that he is a bad player, far from it. To use a CPJism, that is like teaching a pig to sing. MGH is a guy who needs to play a ton of minutes and contribute a ton of ways. However, he is not a natural creative scorer who needs to take over the offense. I see him as a complimentary guy on offense who picks up garbage points and feeds off the flow of the game. He is physical and a great defender and he can drive and score a little as well, but on most teams, he will not be their "go to guy" who creates on his own.
I think Tadric has the potential to be a scorer type, but he isn't ready. IMHO, he has seen his teammates struggle enough that he feels way to much pressure to score. It is indeed a rare occasion when he turns down a shot or doesn't try to force something to happen alone. I'm sure in HS he was the man. Well, hopefully he learns that CBB is a team game and people can defend. Right now, when he shoots, I just feel so sorry for him. You can see him trying SO HARD to guide the shot out of his hand instead of just shooting from the floor up and letting it fly, trusting his shot. He has some skills and he can break people down, but right now he has no instinct for when is a good time to push it. He is just FULL GO all the time, even in bad situations. My gut feel is that Tadric is probably KILLING IT in practice, but during games he is just tightening up. He looks anything but comfortable on the stage right now. I can sympathize because it was the same way for me when I was young (different sport).
Has anybody else noticed how freely, confidently, and smoothly other team's players shoot the ball? When I see an opponent rise up for a 15 foot J, it just looks like it is going in. To a man, on our team right now, we look so stilted and mechanical in that same situation that it is painful to watch. We don't have control of our weight and our bodies are all out of alignment when we go up. Shooting a basketball has to be a free and natural motion. It just doesn't work any other way. You can't force it on the right path. It is all muscle memory.
I like CBG and I hope he stays, but the mere act of having to sign so many transfers in a single year is a sign of recruiting struggles. It is hard to develop chemistry in that situation. The good news is, it is easier to turn around a hoops program than practically any other sport. It just takes a couple of the right players. Here is hoping.
Maybe he meant it more like he hopes he succeeds. Still I don't think any of us WANT to see him gone.
COJacket
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thinking about this even more, and making observations about the past, we have only really done well when we have recruited gems. Way back in the 70's we had Yunkus. With Cremins it was little known gems like Mark Price and John Salley that turned things around (if you have never heard Bobby talk about his recruiting trip to Enid, Oklahoma to recruit Mark and his family with his Bronx accent, it is hilarious and you are missing something). That started point guard U and recruiting some of the biggest names in HS, especially from NYC, his home town. Bobby coached team ball with excellent X's and O's. In his later years with us, he did not have some of that talent he had in the early to mid years. He had not forgotten how to coach (he showed that at CC after he left Tech). Hewitt had a great gift in recruiting top talent for a least a couple of spots each year (the one and done years). We all know that really he just let them play and was not that good in the X's and O's (witness not getting the ball inbounds - and what is kind of funny is how the GMason fans started complaining about this pretty quickly, especially this past year when they went something like 11-20).
that leads me to the conclusion that we are not going to be able to get the best in the country like Duke, Louisville, and Kentucky. We need a coach that can find the next Mark Price like players and coach them up. And, IMHO, we need a style of play that is different to counter the best of the best players (not unlike football at GT). We need a coach that focuses on team ball, the idea that passes trump the dribble; that can teach good technical skills because our guys will be a step behind the top college programs mostly; and I believe we need to be able to play fast and furious and take risks to win in the ACC. It will be the fast and furious that will also counter some of the skills of the top talent we will face in the ACC. Just musing out loud.
that leads me to the conclusion that we are not going to be able to get the best in the country like Duke, Louisville, and Kentucky. We need a coach that can find the next Mark Price like players and coach them up. And, IMHO, we need a style of play that is different to counter the best of the best players (not unlike football at GT). We need a coach that focuses on team ball, the idea that passes trump the dribble; that can teach good technical skills because our guys will be a step behind the top college programs mostly; and I believe we need to be able to play fast and furious and take risks to win in the ACC. It will be the fast and furious that will also counter some of the skills of the top talent we will face in the ACC. Just musing out loud.
Indeed
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The last two games I can remember three separate instances in crunch time where Cox had position on the block and a guard looked him off. After taking control of the paint against ND for much of the game, Cox did not have a touch in the last 4 minutes when it mattered.
I don't see the coaches in someone's ear or giving them the hook when that happens. Our players are not that limited from an intellect/skill perspective to recognize what they should be doing if our strengths (relatively speaking) are properly emphasized. That, to me, is coaching.
I don't see the coaches in someone's ear or giving them the hook when that happens. Our players are not that limited from an intellect/skill perspective to recognize what they should be doing if our strengths (relatively speaking) are properly emphasized. That, to me, is coaching.