Players Win Games...

[irishlion]

"Players Win Games, Coaches Lose Them"

It's a tough sentiment, especially if you're a coach. But the point is this. As a coach, you have the ultimate responsibility to prepare the team, and then put the right players on the floor at the right moments, and call the correct sets/defenses.

Yes, the player has to execute. But again - if he isn't performing, it is up to the coach to address it. Pull him or refocus him. Get the offending player to adjust. It is up to the coach to put the right pieces on the game board at the right time.

Its a tough, pretty thankless job - because the players get credit for the wins. But that's the nature of the game.

I feel for our coaches, because they are working with an incomplete set of pieces. But - they still have to get the job done. It would be great to have a lock down defender ( we don't at this point). It would be great to have a beast in the paint, ripping down boards and blocking shots (we don't at this point). It would be great to have a point guard who takes pride in assists - again, we don't.

The coaches have to adjust to those inadequecies. Maybe someone on the team can be taught how to defend on the perimeter. Maybe one of our posts will understand how important each and every rebound is. Maybe our guards will start taking more pride in assists than points.

And all of those changes fall to the coach to enable them.

I believe we dropped the ball last night in a big way with our substitution patterns. Too many, too soon. That was maybe a gamble that didn't pay off. OK.

We dropped the ball in not fouling out Eric Wise. He had 4 fouls half way through the second half, and we didn't take advantage of it. We should have had Viney attacking him - but didn't get him the ball for way too long. Wise killed us. Not just his points, but the distraction he caused which opened up the shooters. We needed him out of the game - and didn't call the right plays to make it happen.

But then again - maybe we did call the plays, and the players didn't execute them. If that's the case - it still falls on the coaches. If the players don't execute - pull them. Yell at them. Throw a damn chair. But clean up the execution issues.

I love our coaches. I truly believe they will make the adjustments to get us some wins. I'm just pointing out that we all focus so much on the lapses of our players. The ultimate responsibility is the coaches.

[LIONS90045]

Hey irish - I like Max. And Scholl and the other assistants. Max has heart, knows how to motivate the players, kept last year's team in tact and has been through some hardships before landing here in the Garden of Eden in LA. IMHO, he doesn't yet play Given and Alex as much as they deserve for our future (and in fact present) but perhaps the coaches will learn. We are no longer permitted to say who should not be in the game so I won't go there - but zagsfan shows some support for Given to be in the game anyway. Would you have given Larry some more rest last night given his off game? Would you have used Brad early in the first half - I take it you are a Brad fan - as the coaches did when we blew our lead? (This was not Brad's fault to make myself clear.) Aren't you the guy advocating a 7-8 man rotation and shouting for Brad? Our you thinking Brad is one of our top 7 players?
Who said the coaches know what they are doing and let's give them credit for their decisions based on inside knowledge of who can help the team? (Maybe not you Irish but I am not sure now.) I am not sure where you are coming from?

[irishlion]

You misunderstand my point. I love Coach Good, and our entire staff. I believe they are very good - and was unbelievably impressed with what they were able to do with last year's squad. And I know - without doubt - that they will address the issues this year.

My point - regardless of how much I love and respect our coaches - is that our problems last night need to be resolved by coaching. We were focusing so much on the players - but I believe that the coaches hold the responsibility for last night's loss.

We subbed too many, too soon. We lost the momentum, cooled players off, didn't address the selfish, careless play quickly (or strongly) enough.

I said the coaches know what they are doing - and should be allowed the leeway to play who they think is ready. I think they misjudged the game last night (maybe
thinking the game would be winnable at 12 deep), and then the players didn't have the ability to recover. But, with all my respect and love for our coaches - they are not infallible.

Re Sweezy - I think his value to the team is as one of our subs. Yes I would put him in an 8 man rotation. Does this mean he is a top 7-8 player on the team? Maybe. Maybe not. But quite honestly, I don't think a couple of our players have a complete enough arsenal to counter act Sweezy's work ethic and willingness to play team ball.

What would I have done with Larry last night? Crap, I don't know. I probably would have let him keep trying to pull it together. A couple of games like that - and maybe not. But it's early enough, and I want Larry to be able to fix it on the floor. You don't want your studs to worry about making mistakes, getting pulled, etc. But - one or two more performance like that, and I'd handle it differently. I'd sit his butt - just like coach did with JD.

[LIONS90045]

Thanks Irish - Good clarification - I think we are on the same page!
I agree Brad did his part last night. And I like his heart! ;D
More minutes for Kalipinde and for (in my view) Osborne.

[irishlion]

I truly think Given will get minutes as well as AO as the season progresses. Given will get the call when one of our three guards goes south (illness, injury, tank, whatever) and AO will get the call when our bigs get into foul trouble, or are just unable to defend and rebound. I'm not overly happy with either Edgar or Tim in those two departments .... so their leashes would be short right now anyway.

[LIONS90045]

Edgar is OK on defense and rebounds, needs to make more of his shots, he is a keeper.
Given is a future star with much to offer now. Agree if our three main guards are on game, minutes will be tough. But if not, let's see more Given. He is the only player on the squad I have seen to electrify the fans with his passing. Doesn't fail to finish on layups either!
AO is a gem in the rough, the top underrated (by scouts reports) player in the recruiting season.

[irishlion]

We'll agree to disagree on Edgar's d and boards. He's averaging over 20 minutes a game - at his height, length and athletic ability - he should be ripping down significantly more. I will shut up about it when he is outrebounding the opposing centers - or averaging 10+. Anything less than that is under achieving.

And our defense in the post is just not good. I'm on the third go round on this DVR, and its amazing how many times we release before we have gained possession of the ball. Or sag off and let them score. Or we don't step over on help soon enough. He's a freshman - and defense is the hardest thing to learn at this level. So - I'll give him a minute on that. But rebounding? Nope, no slack there.

One more thing - we get another offensive board and try to kiss it off the glass, instead of dunking the ball - and I'll lose my mind. It will improve that weak shooting percentage from .300 to over .600. Just ... dunk .... the.... ball.

[LIONS90045]

OK dunk the ball - we agree.
Edgar is a frosh and I give him some points there - already he is better than Marco.
Edgar needs a bit more toughness on offfense - dunk, dunk dunk!
He did make a nice left handed banker off the glass and an impressive no look over the shoulder pass to JD (marco never did in my experience).
Let's not have another 6'10" player's "layup" "blocked" by a defender. DUNK IT! (Like Kevin!)

[irishlion]

Agree, agree, agree. Marco is a really nice young man - just playing in the wrong position at the wrong level.

I liked Edgar's shots last night - well, not the one from the perimeter. But he has a nice touch from the 5-7' range. I would like to see him get in there and get someone in foul trouble (he is avoiding contact right now). If he gets a nose for offensive boards, and follows with some dunks - his point total will increase.

But honestly - I'll take tougher d and more boards over more points.

[waterboy]

Deitrich is hole for us down under. When he's in there we lose a lot as he is not strong enought to battle even with the little guys like UCI. Edgar is a force and the other true freshman AO did a decent job of holding his own and showed some moves. Coach may be forced to start 2 freshmen at the posts. However, regardless of the bigs, we need the guards to protect the ball and get it into play.

[LIONS90045]

Thanks waterboy
Someone had posted a picture (or a link to a picture) of Tim and OJ on the beach earlier this summer and I noted the apparent lack of upper body development in Tim. He is in his third year in college and did not seem to really develop in his year off on Redshirt. Perhaps, he has reached his potential already and will continue to lose minutes to more capable youngsters.
Others have much more "bounce" also.
You need some bulk inside to compete these days in the WCC.

[ironlions]

Tim shoulder was out of commission until just before practice. Its hard to develop upper body strength with one shoulder. That beginning said I expecting more hustle and rebounds from him by this point.

[irishlion]

I feel for Tim, as he is having to perform at the time he should be putting muscle back on, and getting his body back into game shape. He is showing passion and heart - I personally thought his minutes in the USC game were key to our turn around. Stat wise, there isn't much there - but hustle and heart points were huge. His subbing minutes in the second half was when we turned it around. Followed, of course by JD, Larry and Viney - but he woke them up.

Anyone watching Tim's effort on Saturday, and his fist pumping, yelling, pushing his teammates - understands just what he brings to the team. And when he gets his legs back, and some strength going with the hustle - he will be a huge asset. Heck - he already is.