What do we feel is the problem with this year's team?

The Dude · Unread post by **The Dude** » 5 years ago

After witnessing the oddity that was tonight's game against Fordham, I figured it would be interesting to see what we all seem to feel is going on with this team.

CTRamfan · Unread post by **CTRamfan** » 5 years ago

A little bit of a lotta things need to be fixed. Before the season I figured 16-14, so I am not surprised that we are 12-12 at this point.

It is obvious that we are young. It is also obvious that our returning vets are not surrounded by EC, Jared, Stan, and Garrett, who each helped draw defenders away from them last year.

I think the defense has performed well enough to be competitive in most games.

The offense is a different story........Is it the system?.........To some degree, coach has kept it simple. But, teams with more movement defensively are not being drawn into mistakes which leads to contested shots on most possessions. Some teams are challenging our three-point shooting weakness with zone defenses.

Overall, I think we have good talent, but not the depth to try more sets. Jeff and CL are playing a lot of minutes, and we don't have a reliable back-up point guard...... Next year's incoming group should help a lot.

Backroads · Unread post by **Backroads** » 5 years ago

Shooting woes leading to lack of confidence leading to uninspired defense? It’s hard to force the ball down low when the other team doesn’t have to defend the perimeter. Should have hired a psychologist a long time ago.

section(105) · Unread post by **section(105)** » 5 years ago

.......when things are going this bad, it is easy to point fingers, and even the little things seem bigger as contributors to the decline, that said the end of game situations, with or with the time out are troubling for me......that points to coaching or lack there of.......

RoadyJay · Unread post by **RoadyJay** » 5 years ago

I took our Offensive and Defensive efficiency numbers from KenPom and put them in a graph along with the trend lines for each. You can see that the offense has remained fairly consistent (slight decline) during the season. What has really hurt us down the stretch here is the steady and significant decline of our defense.

15 Year Lurker · Unread post by **15 Year Lurker** » 5 years ago

It's pretty simple. They can't shoot.

It's hard to do anything else when that's the case.

this is one of the worst 3 point and jumpshot shooting teams in the country.

Now...would I make adjustments like don't let the starting shooting guard who I shooting 17% from 3 and 31% have the most shots so far on the team and find a different role for them...that leads to some of your other choices...

15 Year Lurker · Unread post by **15 Year Lurker** » 5 years ago

I don't think you can blame the strength program..if there were any proven shooters who couldn't shoot this year then that would be an acceptable option. But no one who is not shooting well this year has ever proven to be a good shooter so I don't think that is a fair assumption.

SmartyBarrett · Unread post by **SmartyBarrett** » 5 years ago

RoadyJay wrote: ↑5 years ago I took our Offensive and Defensive efficiency numbers from KenPom and put them in a graph along with the trend lines for each. You can see that the offense has remained fairly consistent (slight decline) during the season. What has really hurt us down the stretch here is the steady and significant decline of our defense.

Good stuff, Jay. Especially the three point defense, which was clearly Rhody’s biggest strength through the first half of the season. It’s gone.

ace · Unread post by **ace** » 5 years ago

I posted this in the game thread, but I know lots of people don’t revisit certain ones (these people are probably smarter than I am!)-

Once a season starts, there are things that a staff can adjust and some things they have to weather. The question should be, is this or any staff having a positive effect on all of the things they can change? Are the players’ skills being maximized? Are these guys, with whatever skill deficit they have, showing up at game time prepared? Was the practice leading up to the game used efficiently? Are the players locked in mentally the night before a game? That’s during the season.

Off-season, it’s all about skills assessment and roster management. This roster essentially started the season with 11 guys, and that’s including Aris and his whole situation. Looking back, could they have gotten better guys earlier to replace Akele and Layssard that would have contributed? We were told that the staff was putting their own influence on the roster, getting it where they wanted. I don’t know, but all of these things are hopefully learning experiences.

It’s not unheard of for an assistant to get his first job in the A10. I want Cox to succeed here so badly. I hate when specific coaches get the rep of only being good assistants but not worthy of the main job.

adam914 · Unread post by **adam914** » 5 years ago

CTRamfan wrote: ↑5 years ago A little bit of a lotta things need to be fixed. Before the season I figured 16-14, so I am not surprised that we are 12-12 at this point.

It is obvious that we are young. It is also obvious that our returning vets are not surrounded by EC, Jared, Stan, and Garrett, who each helped draw defenders away from them last year.

I think the defense has performed well enough to be competitive in most games.

The offense is a different story........Is it the system?.........To some degree, coach has kept it simple. But, teams with more movement defensively are not being drawn into mistakes which leads to contested shots on most possessions. Some teams are challenging our three-point shooting weakness with zone defenses.

Overall, I think we have good talent, but not the depth to try more sets. Jeff and CL are playing a lot of minutes, and we don't have a reliable back-up point guard...... Next year's incoming group should help a lot.

I'm curious what about the incoming group makes you think they should help a lot? The incoming freshman are not highly rated like this years class was, and this years class hasn't helped a lot.

bkoeppen · Unread post by **bkoeppen** » 5 years ago

15 Year Lurker wrote: ↑5 years ago It's pretty simple. They can't shoot.

It's hard to do anything else when that's the case.

this is one of the worst 3 point and jumpshot shooting teams in the country.

Now...would I make adjustments like don't let the starting shooting guard who I shooting 17% from 3 and 31% have the most shots so far on the team and find a different role for them...that leads to some of your other choices...

100% the inability to make shots. There are certainly other issues, defense lapses, leadership/culture problems, inexperience, lack of depth, etc. But the shooting numbers are so shocking, it's almost impossible to comprehend. These are D-1 athletes who have been playing the game for many years and they should be hitting a lot more shots, especially at the three. How many games have you seen them shoot 1 for 9, 1 for 10, 2 for 13, etc from 3, it's almost expected at this point. Fatts DOES have good shooting technique, Dowtin DOES have good vision/decision making skills to pick the right shots, CT DOES has the ability to shoot north of 25-27% at three (which is not asking much), as much as people don't think this is true. This is a complete, fascinating mental breakdown and is not reflective of the skills these guards collectively have.

My two cents is they had a fair amount of confidence coming in, especially Fatts to hit outside shots, and that the three was going to be a big part of their game plan, especially given how young the front court was with the exception of Cyril. After a few games of poor shooting, it became mental, first Fatts, than CT and now Dowtin - and they just never recovered. This has snowballed the start of the other issues which I mentioned earlier. Many were talking this was going to be one of the strongest backcourts in the A-10, and at times, when they are hitting shots they have looked like it. The more seasoned guards inability to hit shots, has taken a toll on their confidence, their credibility, and in some cases to lead. Imagine some of the games if we shot just 25% from three or 65% from the free throw line, we win those games. It started as earlier as the CoC game. Frankly any D-1 team that shoots this poorly shouldn't even be this close to .500 and maybe has 5 to 7 wins for the year at this point. Our defense kept us in so many games despite the miserable shooting. But there is no way we can expect the team to play that level of defense day in day out. I'm not sure who you blame with how we got here, but those who said we should have abandon the 3 are so wrong. This is division 1 basketball and having some form of 3 point shooting is critical to compete at this level. How we are constantly shooting south of 20% each game and going through lapses of not hitting half our free throws should have been corrected at this level given the talent we have. Those types of numbers will happen every now and than, but how it is the norm, game in and game out is crazy. I don't know what the answer is at this point, but given our lack of depth sitting these guys is not going to resolve the issue. I also struggle with why Omar is not playing more, just to get the team in rhythm by hitting some shots, but more importantly give them more depth. But at this point, we are now dealing with bigger issues, such as people getting suspended from the team and I really worry with what the rest of the season and off-season hold.

Shinze88 · Unread post by **Shinze88** » 5 years ago

Watching this team play the past few weeks I'm not sure there are enough letters in the alphabet to list this team's deficiencies, no need to discuss how poorly the team shoots. To me its a combination of talent and coaching, realistically you have Jeff and Cyril as players who you can count on game after game to give both max effort and put up numbers, nobody else on this team has shown any level of consistency to be counted on (Martin is going to be a solid player for us but he plays like a freshman). I haven't seen any tangible improvement in any of the other freshman as the season has progressed, to me that is coaching because each of the freshman has shown they have the capabilities to be solid contributors. I really hate to say this because I like Cox as a person and I feel he is a good representative of our university (unlike Baron and Jerry Duh), but he has not shown he has what it takes to lead a D1 team. We knew coming into the season that there was going to be a whole lot of growing pains with the young players and the first time coach, thats to be expected. What is glaring to me is how this team just doesn't play with consistent energy and scrapiness that the first few talent deprived teams Hurley had here. Dan's style is contrasting to Dave and the players have not responded to the passive nature of Cox. There is no chance Cox is removed as coach for next year so the hope is he figures out how to reach his team because he's losing his players at an alarming rate.

RF1 · Unread post by **RF1** » 5 years ago

I think you should have added another option that the player talent level was lacking and not up to expectations.

CTRamfan · Unread post by **CTRamfan** » 5 years ago

adam914 wrote: ↑5 years ago
CTRamfan wrote: ↑5 years ago A little bit of a lotta things need to be fixed. Before the season I figured 16-14, so I am not surprised that we are 12-12 at this point.

It is obvious that we are young. It is also obvious that our returning vets are not surrounded by EC, Jared, Stan, and Garrett, who each helped draw defenders away from them last year.

I think the defense has performed well enough to be competitive in most games.

The offense is a different story........Is it the system?.........To some degree, coach has kept it simple. But, teams with more movement defensively are not being drawn into mistakes which leads to contested shots on most possessions. Some teams are challenging our three-point shooting weakness with zone defenses.

Overall, I think we have good talent, but not the depth to try more sets. Jeff and CL are playing a lot of minutes, and we don't have a reliable back-up point guard...... Next year's incoming group should help a lot.
I'm curious what about the incoming group makes you think they should help a lot? The incoming freshman are not highly rated like this years class was, and this years class hasn't helped a lot.

I see the lack of depth as the main limitation as to how we play. JH fouls have limited front court play. It limits going big. The coaches had little confidence in Preston......In the back court the ball movement is not crisp. Hopefully some of those coming in play team basketball. The off the dribble sets we use end up with poor shots, often.

The Dude · Unread post by **The Dude** » 5 years ago

Results are in.
Don't know what to make of this team after the VCU game. They are just tanking right now.

reef · Unread post by **reef** » 5 years ago

I know what to make of this team , it’s not any good and heading south fast !!!

section(105) · Unread post by **section(105)** » 5 years ago

.....my own broken record here.....freshmen not that talented as touted, first year coach getting over matched, no identifiable offensive systems, porous defense, poor shooting, failure to keep JD at the point, poor end of game coaching.....mis using a Fatts......anything else?

rambone 78 · Unread post by **rambone 78** » 5 years ago

Too many issues to count...but 105 touched on a lot of them.

If there were only a couple of areas that needed improvement, that would have been expected...but not this.

section(105) · Unread post by **section(105)** » 5 years ago

.......I realize my post was piling on at this point, my bad for that, but I was trying to get me head around what things would need to examined in a post season review and corrective action plan in going forward in Cox year 2......

Rhodymob05 · Unread post by **Rhodymob05** » 5 years ago

Again, I'm not down on the freshman, I'm down on the system. Harris shows tons of talent and hes huge, but we all know hes not involved enough and his fouling is a deterrent. Martin scored in double digits 8 out of 9 games to begin the conference schedule with highlight dunks, Tate has shown flashes as well. I was watching clips from last years team and there's no just no way we can expect a freshman to be as polished as seniors. "Its not how you start, but how you finish".

steviep123 · Unread post by **steviep123** » 5 years ago

At this point we should be focusing on building for next season. I would try as arm chair coach (while fully admitting that if I were coach, this team would probably be 2-23, so take my suggestion for what they are worth):

Start:

Downtin
Martin
Tate
Harris
Langevine

Bench:

Fatts
Thompson
Silverio
Preston

Right now I think Fatts is better for the team as a spark plug off the bench. Having him and Dowtin in the game together only in smaller spurts is better for the team.

The good news is (assuming everyone except Preston comes back), then we have a rotation of up to 11 with the 3 new kids coming in. If Cox wants to play that way he can run and press and do a havoc style D like VCU with that many kids with regular playing time. I wouldn't start Fatts at PG until his senior year. Dowtin needs to be starting at point guard until he's no longer here.

Rhodymob05 · Unread post by **Rhodymob05** » 5 years ago

Agreed with stevie, although I'm not sure that Fatts can swallow that very large pill.

section(105) · Unread post by **section(105)** » 5 years ago

......I don’t know if we have the team speed, quickness, to execute that style of defense.....

ace · Unread post by **ace** » 5 years ago

The most important issue with this team right now is figuring out exactly what they have with their current freshmen.

A lot of people- fans, coaches, recruiting services, scouts- were high on them. We know all of those can sometimes be wrong. They’re also right a lot of the time, too.

Were they overrrated? Do they need a different (hopefully fixable) coaching approach? Is it just an extended adjustment period and it will work itself out?

People keep weighing in on which they think it is, but I think the honest truth is that we don’t yet know.

Blue Man · Unread post by **Blue Man** » 5 years ago

Rhodymob05 wrote: ↑5 years ago Agreed with stevie, although I'm not sure that Fatts can swallow that very large pill.

A good coach would be able to make that an honor, not a "pill."

If only there were some examples of players who lost their starting spots yet were still invaluable to the team, got the shine, made big plays, and still have basketball careers overseas? Or in coaching?

Gosh - there's got to be teams that have those guys right? Not like we had those players on this team the last few years. TJ Buchanan? Stan Robinson? Jarvis Garrett?

Hell, Fatts WAS a player like that last year.

The COACH of last year's team was able to get his players to be about winning and about the team. This coach came out of the gates and snarked at anyone who even suggested Fatts would come off the bench as a sparkplug at the preseason event. He did the same with the suggestion that Christion Thompson could provide that as well.

He just handed CT the starting role based on his age and let him hold onto it for too long, and he's doing the same with Fatts.

It shouldn't be treated as a pill to help the team in whatever way you can. That's what a good coach gets.

Anyone who's played any type of competitive sport knows a good coach and a bad coach. You can generate team buy-in with things like "impact subs" "finishing players" "sparkplugs" etc. Roster decisions are clearly made based on commitment to the team and performance on the field. It's very clear this team is just about being given time for no reason. It's not earned.

CT plays more minutes now than he did as a starter. Harris is a starter who doesn't even play half the game. Fatts Russell plays 34 minutes a night and is probably the biggest reason that we are a bad team this year.

Things are so bad behind the scenes that even a player as worthless as Ryan Preston felt like he should have a public voice in the matter.

Hurley was a master at that. Everyone felt like their contributions mattered - whether it was on the practice court or not.

How many times over the past 6 years did you hear that practice was tougher than the games? That even guys like Layssard or Onyekaba were active members of the team who helped everyone get better on the court?

Have you heard that once this year? Have you heard anything about the full contributions of everyone?

Christ if a player went down on the court and the entire team didn't run over to them to help em up, everyone did suicides the next practice.

WHERE IS ANY OF THAT????

I was doing such a good job of trying to calm down about this whole thing and now I'm fired up again.

ace · Unread post by **ace** » 5 years ago

I’ll always have such great respect for Jarvis Garrett. Dowtin did a great job in his absence and earned his role, but Jarvis still ultimately lost his starting job because of an extended illness. That’s a tough situation, but he never let it affect his play. His teammates appreciated and respected him so much, and he continued to be a leader.

Rhodymob05 · Unread post by **Rhodymob05** » 5 years ago

Great point Blue man, now lets hope Cox has the BALLS to make proper lineup adjustments.

Da_Process_Survivor · Unread post by **Da_Process_Survivor** » 5 years ago

none of the above.

it simply comes down to inexperience, both players and coach.

Example being the last minute of the Fordham game. A team that isnt relying on multiple freshmen doesn't lose that game.

The loss came down to inexperience, unfortunately both plays being against Tyrese

The biggest one being on the semi break with :40s to go. Instead of trying to force up a tough up and under shot while contested, just dribble along the baseline and make them foul. Do that and you're shooting to go up 2 possessions and basically end the game.

Then he had another mental error on the Fordham FT. That's just a bad lane violation. So instead of URI getting the ball up 2 with :30s to go, Fordham instead hits both FT on the re-do and ties it.

adam914 · Unread post by **adam914** » 5 years ago

Da_Process_Survivor wrote: ↑5 years ago none of the above.

it simply comes down to inexperience, both players and coach.

Example being the last minute of the Fordham game. A team that isnt relying on multiple freshmen doesn't lose that game.

The loss came down to inexperience, unfortunately both plays being against Tyrese

The biggest one being on the semi break with :40s to go. Instead of trying to force up a tough up and under shot while contested, just dribble along the baseline and make them foul. Do that and you're shooting to go up 2 possessions and basically end the game.

Then he had another mental error on the Fordham FT. That's just a bad lane violation. So instead of URI getting the ball up 2 with :30s to go, Fordham instead hits both FT on the re-do and ties it.

Fordham starts two freshman as well. They both average double figures, admittedly with Honor taking a ton of shots though. But still, those two freshman played 34 and 45 minutes against us and two of the three bench players they used were also freshman. So I'm not sure the inexperience angle works here. What you say about the mistakes from Tyrese is true, but Fordham...YES FORDHAM, somehow figured out a way to overcome relying on multiple freshman and embarrass us on our home floor.

bigappleram · Unread post by **bigappleram** » 5 years ago

You can't just chalk it up to inexperience anymore, we are 25 games into the season. Other freshmen around the league, who were much less regarded, look much more comfortable than ours do. Lack of improvement from even 1 player at this point is a major red flag. Regression from numerous guys is a red flag. Fatts becoming a shell of his former self is a red flag. It's clear that DC is struggling with what type of coach to be. As an assistant he was cerebral, calm and a great ying to Dan's yang. As a HC he seems just flat out pissed all the time, with a look of either bewilderment or complete and utter frustration. I can't remember seeing him smile once this year during a game. Not once have I seen him positively reinforce with his guys, jump on the floor after the other team calls a time out to pump up his guys or give them some positive encouragement. And what you are left with is a team that has a lot of issues, but the biggest one seems to be confidence. The transition is certainly not coming easy to DC. Hopefully the lightbulb goes off, but to just chalk it up to inexperience and ignore serious red flags is just putting your head in the sand.

reef · Unread post by **reef** » 5 years ago

That’s a good point comparing Cox to DH on the sidelines

Many times DH gets fired up and high 5s his players or gives a chest bump Cox doesn’t seem to do anything like that

Team chemistry is lacking they need to be more about the team and less about themselves another reason we are struggling

bigappleram · Unread post by **bigappleram** » 5 years ago

Dan would lose his mind after a mistake, but also be the first person to congratulate you for making a smart play. From what I can tell DC is just disgruntled on the sideline and doesn't show the positive side of his emotion. These are kids, they need positive and negative reinforcement.

I just go back to the Harvard game and that head scratching comment by DC after the game that Fatts ignored the play call and called his own number. That just doesn't happen under our previous coach OR that just doesn't come out in public if it did. I never understood why DC would have made that known during the press conference. It's either a huge red flag on his coaching or on his judgment.

reef · Unread post by **reef** » 5 years ago

That’s true stuff needs to be handled in house without the public being aware of that

Cox needs to hold these players accountable if they are not productive they need to be on the bench. Only play those who deserve minutes

KevanBoyles · Unread post by **KevanBoyles** » 5 years ago

Excluding Fatts, we would be ranked 234 (33.4%) as opposed to 351 in country in three point shooting. That’s a big difference. Dead last to top 2/3. Which still isn’t acceptable but much better.

CTRamfan · Unread post by **CTRamfan** » 5 years ago

The team is performing at the level I expected...............but, some areas that need improvement have been obvious.
OFFENSE
1. The number of 3 point shots Fatts is taking has been reduced.
2. Tyrese's minutes have increased as the season has progressed.
3. There have been fewer passes to Langevine when double teamed the last few games.
4. We are scoring at a good rate in the paint. Baskets plus foul shots.

However the three point drought has not been solved........I think the ball movement is too slow, with very few skip passes or ball reversals to open up shooters

DEFENSE......Generally is not bad. I wish they would offer different looks during the game. Use a few different zones at times to mix it up.

ramster · Unread post by **ramster** » 5 years ago

Da_Process_Survivor wrote: ↑5 years ago none of the above.

it simply comes down to inexperience, both players and coach.

Example being the last minute of the Fordham game. A team that isnt relying on multiple freshmen doesn't lose that game.

The loss came down to inexperience, unfortunately both plays being against Tyrese

The biggest one being on the semi break with :40s to go. Instead of trying to force up a tough up and under shot while contested, just dribble along the baseline and make them foul. Do that and you're shooting to go up 2 possessions and basically end the game.

Then he had another mental error on the Fordham FT. That's just a bad lane violation. So instead of URI getting the ball up 2 with :30s to go, Fordham instead hits both FT on the re-do and ties it.

URI had the top ranked Freshmen group in the A10, easily.
But we try to blame our inept performance on having Freshmen. We have not had a single Freshman as Freshman of the week - not one.

No freshman from URI will make the A10 all freshman team - with 12 Freshmen selections already made. And to “Toppin” that off our team lost a ton of experience to graduation leaving the door wide open to Freshmen for playing time. Why is that?

ramster · Unread post by **ramster** » 5 years ago

CTRamfan wrote: ↑5 years ago The team is performing at the level I expected...............but, some areas that need improvement have been obvious.
OFFENSE
1. The number of 3 point shots Fatts is taking has been reduced.
2. Tyrese's minutes have increased as the season has progressed.
3. There have been fewer passes to Langevine when double teamed the last few games.
4. We are scoring at a good rate in the paint. Baskets plus foul shots.

However the three point drought has not been solved........I think the ball movement is too slow, with very few skip passes or ball reversals to open up shooters

DEFENSE......Generally is not bad. I wish they would offer different looks during the game. Use a few different zones at times to mix it up.

Really, you expected this?

Billyboy78 · Unread post by **Billyboy78** » 5 years ago

ramster wrote: ↑5 years ago
CTRamfan wrote: ↑5 years ago The team is performing at the level I expected...............but, some areas that need improvement have been obvious.
OFFENSE
1. The number of 3 point shots Fatts is taking has been reduced.
2. Tyrese's minutes have increased as the season has progressed.
3. There have been fewer passes to Langevine when double teamed the last few games.
4. We are scoring at a good rate in the paint. Baskets plus foul shots.

However the three point drought has not been solved........I think the ball movement is too slow, with very few skip passes or ball reversals to open up shooters

DEFENSE......Generally is not bad. I wish they would offer different looks during the game. Use a few different zones at times to mix it up.
Really, you expected this?

Those are pretty low expectations. If you expected to lose to Fordham, Stony Brook and other low level teams and get blown out by others, if you expected no development of the players and if you expected a bunch of guys who don't seem to give a shit( with the exception of a couple), then I guess you got what you wanted.

rambone 78 · Unread post by **rambone 78** » 5 years ago

Anybody who expected these pitiful performances the last few games...must have loved the Jerry D year and a half. Wow.

NYGFan_Section208 · Unread post by **NYGFan_Section208** » 5 years ago

Rhodymob05 wrote: ↑5 years ago Great point Blue man, now lets hope Cox has the BALLS to make proper lineup adjustments.

Hope...nice to have...not a great strategy

CTRamfan · Unread post by **CTRamfan** » 5 years ago

Billyboy78 wrote: ↑5 years ago
ramster wrote: ↑5 years ago
CTRamfan wrote: ↑5 years ago The team is performing at the level I expected...............but, some areas that need improvement have been obvious.
OFFENSE
1. The number of 3 point shots Fatts is taking has been reduced.
2. Tyrese's minutes have increased as the season has progressed.
3. There have been fewer passes to Langevine when double teamed the last few games.
4. We are scoring at a good rate in the paint. Baskets plus foul shots.

However the three point drought has not been solved........I think the ball movement is too slow, with very few skip passes or ball reversals to open up shooters

DEFENSE......Generally is not bad. I wish they would offer different looks during the game. Use a few different zones at times to mix it up.
Really, you expected this?
Those are pretty low expectations. If you expected to lose to Fordham, Stony Brook and other low level teams and get blown out by others, if you expected no development of the players and if you expected a bunch of guys who don't seem to give a shit( with the exception of a couple), then I guess you got what you wanted.

I think my expectations were reasonable considering we lost 56 ppg [of 76] from the graduated class.....CT hadn't played in close to two years, Fatts was very streaky last year. Langavine has been a beast. Jeff has nobody else for the defenders to focus on..........Still, I've only missed two games, and cheer them on.

Billyboy78 · Unread post by **Billyboy78** » 5 years ago

CTRamfan wrote: ↑5 years ago
Billyboy78 wrote: ↑5 years ago
ramster wrote: ↑5 years ago

Really, you expected this?
Those are pretty low expectations. If you expected to lose to Fordham, Stony Brook and other low level teams and get blown out by others, if you expected no development of the players and if you expected a bunch of guys who don't seem to give a shit( with the exception of a couple), then I guess you got what you wanted.
I think my expectations were reasonable considering we lost 56 ppg [of 76] from the graduated class.....CT hadn't played in close to two years, Fatts was very streaky last year. Langavine has been a beast. Jeff has nobody else for the defenders to focus on..........Still, I've only missed two games, and cheer them on.

When talking about expectations, I'm not necessarily talking about wins and losses, although that's part of it. I'm talking about how they look, the lack of effort (last night was better), the lack of respect by the players for the coach and for each other. It just appears to be a big mess. I expected a lot more than that.

theblueram · Unread post by **theblueram** » 5 years ago

Maybe start all the reserves. Then when the team gets down 10 points, let the starters go in and ask them how they feel about trying to recover being down 10, since that's where they leave everyone else.

SandorClegane · Unread post by **SandorClegane** » 5 years ago

SHOOTING. This is the only answer.

The other stuff gets worked out over the next 18 months.
- Cox is in his first year, he will progress. See Hurley (UConn). It just doesn’t always click right off the bat.
- Can’t bench Fatts because you need more than one ball handler in the game. Teams will double Dowtin and the offense will shut down completely. Wish we’d stop talking about this.
- Realistically they only have a 7 man rotation, so Cox is limited in who he can swap in/out. This team isn’t 10 guys deep. 3 of those 7 are freshman. 2 start.
- The focus on next year needs to be team defense. They look lost at times against motion offenses. With only 7 guys, maybe it’s fatigue.

Need to figure what the issue is with shooting (mental?) and find ways to put more points on the board.

ramster · Unread post by **ramster** » 5 years ago

SandorClegane wrote: ↑5 years ago SHOOTING. This is the only answer.

The other stuff gets worked out over the next 18 months.
- Cox is in his first year, he will progress. See Hurley (UConn). It just doesn’t always click right off the bat.
- Can’t bench Fatts because you need more than one ball handler in the game. Teams will double Dowtin and the offense will shut down completely. Wish we’d stop talking about this.
- Realistically they only have a 7 man rotation, so Cox is limited in who he can swap in/out. This team isn’t 10 guys deep. 3 of those 7 are freshman. 2 start.
- The focus on next year needs to be team defense. They look lost at times against motion offenses. With only 7 guys, maybe it’s fatigue.

Need to figure what the issue is with shooting (mental?) and find ways to put more points on the board.

Keep line up the same? Would you keep the worst shooter on the team taking the most shots on the team? How about he gets 6-8 assists per game instead of ?
The bad shooters need to shoot less. Why is that such a difficult concept for Cox to implement.

I don’t see another win on the schedule. We are going to have the worst record in the A10 - and we will have people saying that is ok, they predicted that would happen, we list 5 seniors, our HC is new, the players were nervous with the big home crowd (he really said this), this was their Super Bowl (he really said this).....aaaarrrgggghhhh.

theblueram · Unread post by **theblueram** » 5 years ago

The problem is we don't have a 2 guard. Or a backup for that matter.

Rhody72 · Unread post by **Rhody72** » 5 years ago

I expected the team to be worse earlier in the season and better now.