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Post by LIONS90045 on Jan 10, 2016 21:33:16 GMT -5
Lively and interesting discussion here.
Waterboy - I'd like to hear your thoughts more often as they are insightful.
"t" - that was a veritable opus after your usual Twitter-limited enigmatic posts. You have a good understanding of this team and should contribute more.
After all the knowledge we've gleaned and from my own observations, I hope Haney knows lots more 4* recruits that might join the program. I just wish Dunlap would be a bit fairer, in his own interest, in allocating playing time. Just because someone is not your recruit he doesn't deserve second-hand treatment on the court. Dunlap prides in his logical approach to the game - let's see it in action.
Someone posted when Dunlap was hired that the only obstacle to his success was Dunlap himself - that is becoming more apparent as the seasons wear on. Let's get the max out of the current roster and build for the future.
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Post by ALioninWinter on Jan 11, 2016 2:38:17 GMT -5
This is the liveliest the board has been in probably a year. Too bad the subject matter couldn't be a little cheerier.
90045 - I'm the one who made that comment about CMD's biggest obstacle being himself, and I'm disappointed at how accurate that comment has become. I really thought he had the tools to make us a strong program. Maybe things will workout in the end but I'm really bothered by how much effort he has put into eliminating anything that isn't of his creation.
The other aspect of CMD's performance to date that really bothers me is what I believe is an apparent lack of defensive and offensive coaching prowess. Players need to execute and oftentimes it's unfair to blame the coach for players' failure to perform. However I really thought CMD's coaching abilities could be the difference maker that might turn a few close losses into victories. To date, I've seen almost no evidence of that prowess.
Most of us on this board criticized Max for not being an Xs and Os kind of coach. I think most of us expected that to change with CMD - but it hasn't. I hope we start to see that evidence begin appearing.
Regarding our point guard play -- I disagree that rushing out to recruit another PG should be our top recruiting priority. To date, that is the only position on the team that is providing consistent performance. We have bigger holes at every other position that are in serious need of attention. It's not Brown's fault that CMD didn't have a play lined up for the waning seconds of the Pacific game. No, Brown is not AI. But who is? Sure he likes to score, but there aren't a lot of options for him to look to on this team. He still had 7 or 8 assists in Saturday's game. He has enough skills for CMD to build an offense around him. I also think Tutu can grow into the role but for now Brown has the better game.
I really like Jacko's game when he's on the floor but his fouls are killing him. We're half way through the season. When is he going to learn to avoid the cheap fouls?
Mornar definitely deserves more playing time but not being a CMD recruit certainly seems to be weighing on him. On a decent team, I see him as an off-the-bench kind of player whose length can give a front court some needed presence. But on this Lions team he is needed on the court most of the game.
On this current roster, those are guys around which one can build a team.
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Post by ALioninWinter on Jan 11, 2016 15:34:43 GMT -5
Theal - those are pretty dismal numbers. I know shooters have to shoot themselves out of slumps, but this is going too far. I wonder what CMD is doing in practice to help him?
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Post by joefrat on Jan 11, 2016 23:02:08 GMT -5
I think we need to stop complaining about why players are missing shots or how non existence our offense is. Do you even know what happens behind closed doors? The program you are supporting is atrocious. Dunlap has made this program an embarrassment and laughing stock. Starts and stops with him and his antics. Instead of discussing how people are not making plays why not discuss how to get your school a new coach.
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Post by lmu2015 on Jan 12, 2016 10:17:42 GMT -5
If you know what is happening behind closed doors please share with the rest of us.
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Post by slblions08 on Jan 12, 2016 15:16:39 GMT -5
I don't think we should get into a he-said she-said type of discussion here. What I think does need to happen is Dunlap needs to get his program under control. He blames Good for having a wild loosey-goosey program. We never heard of anything like that other than that Max Good tries to take chances on guys like a Nino Jackson because he had a side motive of rehabbing kids. But this is the claim on the message board that is supported by one of the posters here. Maybe that is true.
What Dunlap needs to control is different than Good. Dunlap needs to communicate with his players, set some kind of standard and accountability that applies to all of his players. The obvious treatment of Haney to the point where he won't take him out even though he's hurting the team can't be good for the rest of the team morale. Also we have seen that from his first recruiting class, Humphries, Herman, Hayes and Krajcovic, one is gone, one doesn't see the court, one hasn't been developed, and the other has been given inconsistent time.
Secondarily, what I want to see is Dunlap take personal accountability for a losing record. I dont want to hear excuses from Dave Miller on the telecast. Dunlap said last year that last place wasn't acceptable, but then finished last place. He never said that in tearing the program to the ground they would be non-competitive. He totally backtracks on his goals. Additionally, this year the team should be competing for above last place, and right now they will need a massive turnaround to make that happen.
I would get off Dunlap's back if he admitted mistakes, unpreparedness and recanted some things. But his ego is way to big to think that this could be any of his fault. After the Pacific game, his comments were "shots didn't fall, rebounding and turnovers." Seriously? How about lack of offensive scheme, inability to locate shooters and at the game, yet another melt down due to lack of playcalling and clock management. If you want to blame players, thats fine they do play. But those other things are coach controlled.
There was a guy on here that used to call Max Good a used car salesman and in fact used his Nevada plates as an analogy. But if anyone is a used car salesman its Dunlap who sold everyone a lemon.
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Post by ALioninWinter on Jan 12, 2016 15:45:10 GMT -5
I know it is too early to give up on Coach Dunlap. A new coach needs and deserves time to make his mark. But I keep looking for little indicators of better things to come and I'm not seeing much. Brown and Jacko are strong improvements over last year's recruits. Next year's recruits present some confidence. There's not much else that I can see.
As I said in an earlier post, it bothers me that CMD put so much effort into tearing down everything when I felt he could have put some of the existing program assets to good use. Maybe CMD's approach will prove out in the long run. But his approach has certainly hurt us in the short term.
I agree with SLB and it bothers me too that CMD simply cannot assume blame for any failures to date. I also noted his comment after the Pacific game, "If you don't make baskets, you don't win." While that is true, he might have supported his players by saying, "I should have called a time out with 17 seconds left rather than leaving the guys to their own devices." Or, "I should've had the guys more alert to keeping a close guard on Kobre since he was the Tiger's only outside threat." Or something!
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Post by lmu2015 on Jan 12, 2016 16:51:12 GMT -5
SLB - I agree, Dunlap seems to keep backtracking and lowering his expectations instead of taking responsibility/explaining for why we aren't reaching those original goals.
I also believe I may be the potser you are referencing in saying I say how loose things were under good. I don't want to get to specific by mentioning names, but I worked with the basketball team for a year, roomed with some over a couple summers, as well as lived in the same apartments (Hannon) for two years which is where most of the players lived. Not all the players were trouble, but I could write a book of short stories of things they were doing that are 100% unacceptable for any student/person, let alone athletes. This is a big reason why I was (and still kind of am) a big fan of Dunlap, because the day he came in he stopped/got rid of all of that. I know the performance on the court has been far below our expectations but to be honest I am a lot more proud of the team because I know they are working hard and representing the school and team well off the court. It is one thing to watch LMU lose a game saturday afternoon game, it is another to watch them lose a Saturday afternoon game after being woken up at 4am the night before the game by loud music and the smell of weed reeking from a players apartment.
Dunlap has successfully changed the culture off the court, which is why I consider last year successful. For this year to be successful, I think the team needs to finish with an overall record of .500 or better. And for next year to be successful, I would like to see us get that 4th spot in league play. We looked like we were on track to have a successful year going into league, but progress has hit a wall. The players on this team work their butts off and they deserve to win games. But for me it is tough to tell how much our performance is due Dunlap being out coached, and how much of it is due to player inexperience (having 4 starters in their first year of D1 basketball and 5 starters in their first year with the program).
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Post by LIONS90045 on Jan 12, 2016 22:06:36 GMT -5
Lmu2015 - thanks for your candor in your posts! Enlightening but perhaps not unique in college basketball. Wonder what goes on at Kentucky or other top programs? I prefer a more low key, dignified program.
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Lion-O
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Post by Lion-O on Jan 13, 2016 10:54:09 GMT -5
LMU2015 - similar experience as you, same apartment, 18 years ago. Our team was inconsistent back then too.
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Post by keeptheballmoving on Jan 14, 2016 13:43:18 GMT -5
While I understand the frustration with conference play, the Pacific game was one they needed to win, I think it is a bit too early to write off Coach Dunlap and the direction of the program. It is great that LMU has a fan base that is engaged and truly wants to be successful, that is the make-up of great programs. But there needs to be a realistic mindset toward the state of division 1 college basketball. It is a crazy competitive industry where it's win right away or you're a bum. Along side of that, we are also demanding that the coach builds a program and does things the right way. From what I know of college basketball, you can't have it both ways. Either you build a program the right way, which takes time and patience from the alumni, or you go "all in" for the easy gratification of the Win and the problems soon pile up. I'm certainly not saying you got to like Coach Dunlap, but I think we all need to make up our minds of what kind of program we want to support.
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Post by ALioninWinter on Jan 14, 2016 14:39:40 GMT -5
I don't think anyone on this site is expecting miracles. No one was expecting overnight success. However it would be nice to see the emergence of some indicators that progress is being made. A year and s half in, that's not too much to ask.
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Post by husky on Jan 14, 2016 20:05:55 GMT -5
Don't we have a game in a couple of hours? Despite the ugliness of last week we have a decent chance to finally break the WCC ice this week; although, I like our chances on Saturday far better.
I'm sure the players and coaches have worked hard to try and deliver - really hope they have success. No sense about getting too worked up about the coach, he won't be going anywhere for a couple of years anyway. I still maintain his biggest problem is being over hyped. He seems to be average at best but that doesn't mean we can't win a few games.
BTW we are only 4 point underdogs - but after last week, I think I'll give it a rest pending the odds makers successfully passing drug tests.
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Post by LIONS90045 on Jan 14, 2016 20:32:06 GMT -5
Well put Husky - I'm hoping for an upset tonight - the guys deserve a win and the WCC has been topsy-turvy this season. Time for the Lions to get their due.
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