The current reality of GT Hoops - A Primer

[LibertyTurns]

There's plenty of figurehead leaders in the world. You don't have to take out a full page ad & alert the entire world, but you can hire support underneath a guy who's struggling and eliminate those responsibilities to allow him to focus on whatever he's good at. I just offered up one suggestion.

You have to ask yourself- If you're failing at what you're doing & you do not quit, you either believe the change you're personally making in how you do business is going to turn things around or on your own you seek out help to help you turn things around. I would ask, what are you going to do different THIS YEAR that you didn't do previous years to change the outcome. Now if you're not planning on changing anything but you expect a better result, then I say you're crazy. It's like the people that keep hitting the same keys on the computer thinking something different is going to happen.

The other alternative is that he thinks things are going well. I have only one response to that, he's delusional and I don't think that's the case.

Now put yourself in the place of the Boss. Do you just sit by idly and watch your man fail? What would that say about your leadership ability? I understand we have limited resources, so you need a plan that you can afford. I offered one up. What's the alternative, just accept being miserable because the smartest school in the nation does not have anyone capable of coming up with a solution? We'd never had landed on the moon with that mentality.

 

[orientalnc]

There's plenty of figurehead leaders in the world. You don't have to take out a full page ad & alert the entire world, but you can hire support underneath a guy who's struggling and eliminate those responsibilities to allow him to focus on whatever he's good at. I just offered up one suggestion.

You have to ask yourself- If you're failing at what you're doing & you do not quit, you either believe the change you're personally making in how you do business is going to turn things around or on your own you seek out help to help you turn things around. I would ask, what are you going to do different THIS YEAR that you didn't do previous years to change the outcome. Now if you're not planning on changing anything but you expect a better result, then I say you're crazy. It's like the people that keep hitting the same keys on the computer thinking something different is going to happen.

The other alternative is that he thinks things are going well. I have only one response to that, he's delusional and I don't think that's the case.

Now put yourself in the place of the Boss. Do you just sit by idly and watch your man fail? What would that say about your leadership ability? I understand we have limited resources, so you need a plan that you can afford. I offered one up. What's the alternative, just accept being miserable because the smartest school in the nation does not have anyone capable of coming up with a solution? We'd never had landed on the moon with that mentality.

I think we have to agree to disagree. I can never come to your side of this argument.

 

[LibertyTurns]

I think we have to agree to disagree. I can never come to your side of this argument.

No problem with your viewpoint and I'm speaking from an uninformed point of view because I have zero knowledge of the top level conversations. I personally would change something but have neither the money nor influence to change a damn thing.

 

[LibertyTurns]

I will also add that I hope he turns the program around and has a long and prosperous GT career. He's still our coach and the guys wearing the white and gold deserve our support thru thick and thin.

 

[dtm1997]

@LibertyTurns - I've gotta digest what you said in total, but I'll offer up a few items

• I'm not happy about BG's results by any stretch, but I pin his ongoing regime squarely on the leadership of MBob & his two predecessors. Outlined why in the original post.
• BG has been told things need to change and he appears to be making some efforts to do so. Examples include hiring Herrion, who's greatly expanded our recruiting footprint, and seeking to implement changes to the offense (push the ball, bringing in Smith as a shooter, etc.). I don't think it's fair to BG to classify him as stubborn & unwilling to change, especially given he's been mandated to do so.
• As far as your idea goes, it just fundamentally doesn't make sense. It's entirely disrespectful to BG and would be a nuclear bomb for team chemistry. Additionally, any sort of sharp, young mind is going to cost more than that. We're barely paying our assistants that level now. We might see some new blood among the assistants after this year regardless though, as Herrion and/or Dollar might look for a low-major or mid-major opportunity to be head coaches.

I think we all want the same thing, which is an improved GT hoops team & results, but my overriding point is that just because we're not happy with the current results, there's no reason for cheap shots & overtly rude comments (not accusing you of this), particularly to the extent it's about student-athletes.

 

[LibertyTurns]

I should have been more thoughtful in my posts as it appears many are reading that if we humiliate him in public he will just leave on his own. That was not my intent.

We cannot afford to replace him. We cannot afford top tier assistants. I get that. What I'm offering as an alternative is to go out there and find someone to take a risk on & basically turn over responsibilities for the "teaching part of coaching the team". Much the same was as a Head Coach in football has an offensive and defensive coordinator. Ideally it would be someone that if we had success could be like a "coach in waiting". It would have to be someone outside of known entities because we allegedly cannot afford anything else.

I'm sure Gregory is good at something. Maybe it's mentoring? I honesty have no idea. My opinion is he is not a good coach of basketball so whoever we would get I'd have him do that. I do think Gregory is a fine man, of good character, etc. We should exploit that strength and any others he has.

At work, I constantly hear about how we're going to train someone to be something they're not. My approach has always been to take what they are & extract as much goodness out of those things as I can & find others to stopgap what they're weak at.

I do the same for myself. I delegate responsibilities for things I'm no good at to my people. They take care of those things lock, stock and barrell and they tell me what they're doing. I rarely offer opinions on those things because they're better at it than I am by long shot. What I'm good at, I do for the entire company. There's nobody better anywhere I've ever met that even comes close. Maybe I'm just too old to change & it's time to put me out to pasture?

 

[dtm1997]

If I had to identify BG's weaknesses, they'd be bad luck, inconsistent recruiting (this has potentially been improved, but also has potential for improvement), and in-game management & adjustments (he brought on an assistant with head coaching experience last year and has been mandated to make offensive changes).

If you listen to him in pre-game & post-game interviews, dude really does know hoops inside & out. Driving in-game execution & mental toughness of the players has been the issue. If our players had confidence in their ability to execute, we're at least a .500 team overall with a win over Louisville. Instead, we were what we were. That starts at the top.

I hate dook with a passion, but when it's time to put a game away, they step on your throat and will beat you by 20, 30, or 40 points. Coach K drives that. We slip up with comfortable leads and end up losing. This has been a trait of many GT teams, but with his job on the line, he needs to teach stepping on throats.

BG certainly has the chance to turn things around if he can win with this senior-laden team and convince enough quality recruits (and there happens to be lots of quality in 2016 & 2017 classes) to take the plunge for playing time, education & ACC hoops. Time to see if he can do it.

 

[AE 87]

For me, it's just in-game management. I think he's all theory and can't see and adjust well to what's happening on the court. A team that plays ND to the wire twice last year shouldn't have lost to BC and vpi. I think recruiting has followed results.

 

[orientalnc]

The biggest problem for BG right now is the ominous cloud hanging over his job security. I am sure our recruiting would be better if that were not the case, but his in-game management problems are the reason the storm clouds moved in.

 

[Peacone36]

I echo the previous 2 posts. Its the same game plan every game. Its like we practice one thing and we are going pound that square peg into that weong hole regardless of the situation.

Discipline, fundamentals and in game adjustments are the most glaring issues. Its a good thing there are still a few months til i see someone try to feed the post from the top of the key beyond the arc, or play pass back with the wing for 28 seconds.

Is MGH participating in full contact drills?

 

[Buzzbomb]

Must take issue that CBG does not know hoops. Have spoken to him on occasion, you will be hard pressed to find a coach at his salary that understands defense any better.

 

[AE 87]

Must take issue that CBG does not know hoops. Have spoken to him on occasion, you will be hard pressed to find a coach at his salary that understands defense any better.

Nobody has said otherwise.

 

[dtm1997]

The biggest problem for BG right now is the ominous cloud hanging over his job security. I am sure our recruiting would be better if that were not the case, but his in-game management problems are the reason the storm clouds moved in.

This is one of my primary points. The outside world & recruits may think there's a lack of job security for BG, but until MBob raises $4MM and is authorized to use it to clean things up, that lack of job security is not reality.

 

[up state jacket]

How much longer do you give him without looking like we didn't give him a chance? His biggest problem has been him. He missed on a few recruits early in his tenure at Tech and has never recovered.

 

[Peacone36]

His biggest problem is us. If Dave Braine doesn't give out the most ridiculous contract I've ever seen, we offer the job to an ACC caliber coach after Hewitt and BG is probably in the A10, Mountain West, AAC etc making a post season every 3 years for a school that would love to have him. He was put into a no win situation.

 

[up state jacket]

He was put in a better situation than what Bobby Cremins inherent ed. Paul left a little bit of talent. Don't confuse basketball with football. A basketball program can be turned around in 3 yrs. It only takes two top tier players to get things turned around. He has been his worst enemy. Bad personal moves fall on his shoulders. Talent level has dropped to an unacceptable level during cbg's time at Tech.

 

[Peacone36]

You will get no argument from me on that. I'm just saying he's not an ACC coach. Shouldn't have been hired to begin with. I blame Dave Braine. I blame LazyAD second most.

Being a competitor of course he would take the job. Who wouldn't want to coach in the best conference in the country. GT made the bed, now we are sleeping in it.

 

[up state jacket]

I completely 100% agree with what you're saying. The Hewitt contract is the real culprit here. Which, like you are saying, is the heads that made those decisions. The shameful part in all this is a very good basketball program may have been permanently destroyed.

 

[Buzzbomb]

Nobody has said otherwise.

Yes, they have...and I quote from the post above me:


I'm sure Gregory is good at something. Maybe it's mentoring? I honesty have no idea. My opinion is he is not a good coach of basketball so whoever we would get I'd have him do that. I do think Gregory is a fine man, of good character, etc. We should exploit that strength and any others he has.

 

[AE 87]

Yes, they have...and I quote from the post above me:


I'm sure Gregory is good at something. Maybe it's mentoring? I honesty have no idea. My opinion is he is not a good coach of basketball so whoever we would get I'd have him do that. I do think Gregory is a fine man, of good character, etc. We should exploit that strength and any others he has.

"not a good coach" does not equal "not know hoops"