Tweet
From today's Eagle:
Lose your focus? A coach cannot make his players focus on their job when they are a greater distance away. Coaches coach and players play.
You shouldn't have to tell a good, experienced team what's coming. We have neither a good or experienced team. Coaches coach and players play.
Accepting the inevitable run by the other team demonstrates the lack of confidence the team has in their ability to control their destiny. "Innocent bystanders" - a term that surfaced a few times the past several seasons. The coaches cannot be the ones to always demand a stop when that run starts. Players have to play.
And transitioning to leadership...
Again, they're becoming innocent, helpless bystanders. When they don't have the coaches riding them and helping them, the leadership and communication void on the floor paves the way for fluttering confidence and failure.
So...they recognize the problem, isn't that the first step toward recovery? We will see.
Coaches coach and players play.
One factor that can't be ignored, players and coaches say, is that WSU played tougher, more inspired defense in front of its own bench.
"You can get a lot of help," WSU junior Wendell Preadom said. "As you can see, in the last two games, second half, when we get away from the bench, and we can't hear the coaches in our ears, we lose our focus."
"You can get a lot of help," WSU junior Wendell Preadom said. "As you can see, in the last two games, second half, when we get away from the bench, and we can't hear the coaches in our ears, we lose our focus."
WSU coach Gregg Marshall is not sure how much the voices influence defense in each half. In 12 Missouri Valley Conference games, WSU allowed better shooting percentages in the first half six times and the second half five times. One team shot the same. He wants to believe his team is mature and dedicated enough to perform equally well at both ends of the court.
"I also know that the whole time we're on defense in front of me and my coaches in the first half, that I'm up as basically a sixth defender," he said. "We can tell them what's coming. You would hope they can do that on their own."
"I also know that the whole time we're on defense in front of me and my coaches in the first half, that I'm up as basically a sixth defender," he said. "We can tell them what's coming. You would hope they can do that on their own."
"Definitely, the coaches have something to do with it because they have scouted and they know," WSU senior P.J. Couisnard said. "It helps us a lot. In the second half, it seems like teams just get hot."
And transitioning to leadership...
For McKenna, it boils down to communication. Some players aren't talkers. In the first half, coaches can compensate.
"You can alert guys to what's happening," he said. "That might help take away a basket or two."
McKenna, who played six seasons in the NBA, talks to his players about how much the pros -- and good college teams -- communicate.
"It's a personality thing with some guys -- it's just not in their nature to talk and that's a concern," he said.
Marshall is a willing and talented talker. He knows his intense coaching can lift his team. Often this season he says he is the one who needs to push in practices and timeouts, because the team lacks vocal leaders. At Winthrop and WSU, Marshall would experiment by remaining quiet in practice to see how the energy changes.
"It's amazing how the practice just flutters away, it just has no passion or emotion," he said. "The quality of practice goes down, because they get used to it. They get used to me and our coaches urging them and in their ear on every cut, every screen."
In the second half, it is up to the players to talk and focus on defense without as much help from coaches. Like many things this season, progress comes and goes for the Shockers. In the past two games, the lack of progress stood out as WSU watched halftime leads disappear as the opponent got hot from three-point range.
"I don't think we're communicating," Preadom said. "We're not talking and they're getting wide open looks."
"You can alert guys to what's happening," he said. "That might help take away a basket or two."
McKenna, who played six seasons in the NBA, talks to his players about how much the pros -- and good college teams -- communicate.
"It's a personality thing with some guys -- it's just not in their nature to talk and that's a concern," he said.
Marshall is a willing and talented talker. He knows his intense coaching can lift his team. Often this season he says he is the one who needs to push in practices and timeouts, because the team lacks vocal leaders. At Winthrop and WSU, Marshall would experiment by remaining quiet in practice to see how the energy changes.
"It's amazing how the practice just flutters away, it just has no passion or emotion," he said. "The quality of practice goes down, because they get used to it. They get used to me and our coaches urging them and in their ear on every cut, every screen."
In the second half, it is up to the players to talk and focus on defense without as much help from coaches. Like many things this season, progress comes and goes for the Shockers. In the past two games, the lack of progress stood out as WSU watched halftime leads disappear as the opponent got hot from three-point range.
"I don't think we're communicating," Preadom said. "We're not talking and they're getting wide open looks."
So...they recognize the problem, isn't that the first step toward recovery? We will see.
Coaches coach and players play.
Comment