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I've had some things rolling around in my head for months and now I'm going to dump them. Some may be untimely or unpopular.
1) Armstead is a beast and has helped us win a lot of games we wouldn't have won this year. Remove Armstead from our roster and we never sniff the top 25 this year. However, depending on the type of team we are playing, FVV should have games were he gets a healthy share of the minutes.
2) Had Carl Hall not come back, we would be 5-1 over the last six games. When beast went down our team changed for the better with regards to overall toughness and focus. Every player was chipping in. When beast came back, we slowly regressed to a point where the overall team is less effective than it has been since the start of the season. I also think Beast's return has hampered Early's growth. These are just observations, any sane person brings Beast back the moment he is ready. The impact on the team has just been unfortunate.
3) Gregg Marshall is worth exactly what he was worth a month ago (which is more than he is currently paid). His coaching philosophy is the same today as it was when we were 19-2. Anybody questioning HCGM at this point does nothing to help the team. HCGM has the eternal green light when it comes to Shocker hoops.
4) I have held my tongue over the last couple months when everybody continued to chant, "down three starters." Some of the players that started at the beginning of the year would not be starting now. Cotton took the starting spot of Wessel or Baker a long time ago. DWill also brings a defensive and athletic presence that I doubt Wessel or Baker could replace. Now, had Baker been shooting lights out (like I saw him in the summer) before he went down, I may have a different opinion.
5) EO has never been the same since he went down against Iowa in Cancun. He has so much potential, but he is only half a man now. They need to try something radical to get him healthy for the end of the season - which includes sitting him for some games. We need a healthy EO in the NCAA Tournament.
6) I have watched teams all year expertly get the ball to their post players against us. Why have we been so bad at it this year? It reminds me of the Shocker baseball team and bunting. Every time we go down the floor either Early, Beast, White, or EO should touch the ball and make the defense move. If Wiggins is open, Beast should kick it out and Wiggins should shoot. EVERY TIME DOWN THE FLOOR. We have a significant advantage over the entire Valley with respect to post players. A shot close to the basket is the highest percentage shot a player can take, it is also the highest percentage shot that draws a foul. I don't mind losing a game, but it better include Carl taking at least a dozen shots down low. Do you know that Beast only took 6 shots last night? He should have had double that. When we downed the BJ, Carl took 15 shots (he was 8 for 15). And that was against the only other front court in the MVC that can challenge us. Now how do we go into SIU, playing the 7 dwarfs, and Carl only gets 6 shots...........?
The thoughts I have just posted occurred to me long before our current losing streak. I realize that college basketball is played by very young men who have not yet learned how to deal with success and failure in life. It is the coaches job to keep encouraging them so they can play their best. We are 19-5 and most likely going to the Dance. We have the same weapons we've had all year. We just have a bunch of players that have yet to learn how to deal with success. Now that they are getting a taste of failure, hopefully they can become more focused and keep their head down until the end of the season. I agree that national rankings are hurting this team. Right now they are playing nowhere near their potential. Good times are still ahead of us... this year.
T
...:cool:
1) Armstead is a beast and has helped us win a lot of games we wouldn't have won this year. Remove Armstead from our roster and we never sniff the top 25 this year. However, depending on the type of team we are playing, FVV should have games were he gets a healthy share of the minutes.
2) Had Carl Hall not come back, we would be 5-1 over the last six games. When beast went down our team changed for the better with regards to overall toughness and focus. Every player was chipping in. When beast came back, we slowly regressed to a point where the overall team is less effective than it has been since the start of the season. I also think Beast's return has hampered Early's growth. These are just observations, any sane person brings Beast back the moment he is ready. The impact on the team has just been unfortunate.
3) Gregg Marshall is worth exactly what he was worth a month ago (which is more than he is currently paid). His coaching philosophy is the same today as it was when we were 19-2. Anybody questioning HCGM at this point does nothing to help the team. HCGM has the eternal green light when it comes to Shocker hoops.
4) I have held my tongue over the last couple months when everybody continued to chant, "down three starters." Some of the players that started at the beginning of the year would not be starting now. Cotton took the starting spot of Wessel or Baker a long time ago. DWill also brings a defensive and athletic presence that I doubt Wessel or Baker could replace. Now, had Baker been shooting lights out (like I saw him in the summer) before he went down, I may have a different opinion.
5) EO has never been the same since he went down against Iowa in Cancun. He has so much potential, but he is only half a man now. They need to try something radical to get him healthy for the end of the season - which includes sitting him for some games. We need a healthy EO in the NCAA Tournament.
6) I have watched teams all year expertly get the ball to their post players against us. Why have we been so bad at it this year? It reminds me of the Shocker baseball team and bunting. Every time we go down the floor either Early, Beast, White, or EO should touch the ball and make the defense move. If Wiggins is open, Beast should kick it out and Wiggins should shoot. EVERY TIME DOWN THE FLOOR. We have a significant advantage over the entire Valley with respect to post players. A shot close to the basket is the highest percentage shot a player can take, it is also the highest percentage shot that draws a foul. I don't mind losing a game, but it better include Carl taking at least a dozen shots down low. Do you know that Beast only took 6 shots last night? He should have had double that. When we downed the BJ, Carl took 15 shots (he was 8 for 15). And that was against the only other front court in the MVC that can challenge us. Now how do we go into SIU, playing the 7 dwarfs, and Carl only gets 6 shots...........?
The thoughts I have just posted occurred to me long before our current losing streak. I realize that college basketball is played by very young men who have not yet learned how to deal with success and failure in life. It is the coaches job to keep encouraging them so they can play their best. We are 19-5 and most likely going to the Dance. We have the same weapons we've had all year. We just have a bunch of players that have yet to learn how to deal with success. Now that they are getting a taste of failure, hopefully they can become more focused and keep their head down until the end of the season. I agree that national rankings are hurting this team. Right now they are playing nowhere near their potential. Good times are still ahead of us... this year.
T
...:cool:
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