Ellis Has Completely Lost His Confidence

[Kung Wu]

After watching Aaron in the Bradley game, I can't help but to think of players that I have played and/or coached that "hide" on the field. They stay slightly out of position so as not to have to engage, hoping not to call attention to themselves. It's the low-confidence way of getting out of situations. Ellis is scared on the field. Total loss of confidence. It's painful to watch a kid with talent go through it.

Another tell-tale sign that he is hiding is his fouling. Guys without confidence generally foul to compensate for their lack of confidence. This lets them a) get out of a situation that they aren't comfortable in, such as getting beat one-on-one or b) get off the field (in this case court).

To check that I am not all wet on this I looked up his personal foul totals -- he has nearly the same number of personal fouls (24) as Stutz and Clemente (25 each) and 2 more than Hannah, yet he has less than HALF the minutes-per-game (12.4) of each of them (except Stutz who only has 17.8 minutes-per-game but obviously plays in a more foul-prone position).

I've seen other threads where people say he is "clueless" or "lazy" -- that's not it. I bet he plays strong and works hard in practice, where he is in a comfort zone (someone that has observed a practice can you verify this?) -- this just seems like a classical case of lost confidence.

So watching him go through this has crappy ramifications: There was no reason to draw a T the other night like he did .. he could have made a legitimate attempt to block the shot and cause a foul, instead of intentionally fouling him, drawing the technical. Ugh.

I hope he gets that confidence in check so we can see his real ability.

[WstateU]

Re: Ellis Has Completely Lost His Confidence

After watching Aaron in the Bradley game, I can't help but to think of players that I have played and/or coached that "hide" on the field. They stay slightly out of position so as not to have to engage, hoping not to call attention to themselves. It's the low-confidence way of getting out of situations. Ellis is scared on the field. Total loss of confidence. It's painful to watch a kid with talent go through it.

Another tell-tale sign that he is hiding is his fouling. Guys without confidence generally foul to compensate for their lack of confidence. This lets them a) get out of a situation that they aren't comfortable in, such as getting beat one-on-one or b) get off the field (in this case court).

To check that I am not all wet on this I looked up his personal foul totals -- he has nearly the same number of personal fouls (24) as Stutz and Clemente (25 each) and 2 more than Hannah, yet he has less than HALF the minutes-per-game (12.4) of each of them (except Stutz who only has 17.8 minutes-per-game but obviously plays in a more foul-prone position).

I've seen other threads where people say he is "clueless" or "lazy" -- that's not it. I bet he plays strong and works hard in practice, where he is in a comfort zone (someone that has observed a practice can you verify this?) -- this just seems like a classical case of lost confidence.

So watching him go throw this has crappy ramifications: There was no reason to draw a T the other night like he did .. he could have made a legitimate attempt to block the shot and cause a foul, instead of intentionally fouling him, drawing the technical. Ugh.

I hope he gets that confidence in check so we can see his real ability.

http://www.shockernet.net/sn/viewtopic.php?t=13031

[ShauXTyme]

You know what...some of this happens when the coach berates the player in front of 10500 fans when it's not called for. In the first half, AE made a mistake (not something huge) and GM completely, demonstratively ripped his arse while standing in front of the bench. I HATE it when he does this!!! Does he actually think this makes the player better? Seriously???? Someone needs to explain to me how this makes anyone better. AE sat down, dropped his head, and basically looked like a beaten puppy. GM is, in my opinion, letting too much of his emotion be shown during games. At one point, he kicked at the floor so hard, he almost fell down. That's uncalled for. And since when did we - as fans - become so dumb that we need the coach to tell us when to stand up and get loud? Don't call the crowd out for the lack of quality bball on the court. At one point, GM was so glad he came to a place where the fanbase was so knowledgeable, now he calls the fanbase out by saying he shouldn't have to be the one getting everyone fired up. Simple solution - just make the team better each game (which hasn't happened yet, IMO), and the knowledgeable fanbase will reward it.

[tgcshock]

You know what...some of this happens when the coach berates the player in front of 10500 fans when it's not called for. In the first half, AE made a mistake (not something huge) and GM completely, demonstratively ripped his arse while standing in front of the bench. I HATE it when he does this!!! Does he actually think this makes the player better? Seriously???? Someone needs to explain to me how this makes anyone better. AE sat down, dropped his head, and basically looked like a beaten puppy. GM is, in my opinion, letting too much of his emotion be shown during games. At one point, he kicked at the floor so hard, he almost fell down. That's uncalled for. And since when did we - as fans - become so dumb that we need the coach to tell us when to stand up and get loud? Don't call the crowd out for the lack of quality bball on the court. At one point, GM was so glad he came to a place where the fanbase was so knowledgeable, now he calls the fanbase out by saying he shouldn't have to be the one getting everyone fired up. Simple solution - just make the team better each game (which hasn't happened yet, IMO), and the knowledgeable fanbase will reward it.

1. While there is a line that can be crossed in chewing out players, many, many excellent college coaches do what Marshall is doing and much more. He is not throwing chairs or going on profanity laced rants. Some coaches are stoic and some are emotional. GM is emotional but IMO not wrongly so.

2. While I agree that the fanbase should be at a fever pitch without being called out by the coach, clearly it was not. Marshall called for noise, the fans responded and then the team responded. What's the problem? If you are mad at the fans for not being louder earlier, say so, don't complain about GM having to ask.

[SubGod22]

Didn't Aaron get ripped because he he was a bonehead and committed an intentional foul? That was well deserved. I was surprised he put him back in the game after that.

And the team was giving the crowd something to cheer about. They'd made a nice run to cut the game to 5 or so and most of the fans were still sitting on their hands until Marshall got them going.

[ShauXTyme]

I'm not mad at the crowd - I happen to think we're a great crowd. I don't think we're so dumb that we need the coach to call us out. When the team plays well - it will get the deserved response from the crowd.

No, the chewing wasn't due to the intentional foul - it was a poorly executed screen if I remember correctly. And, if you've noticed, NONE of the shocker players set good screens, something that needs to be worked on in practice - heck, my son's 5th grade MAYB team sets better screens than the shocks do.

[Snapshot9]

Coaches have 2 ways to deal with mistakes by players. They can tell them they made a mistake, and advice to correct it, or they can just sit them on the bench for the rest of that game, and maybe more.

Coaches can NOT wait for a whole season for a player TO GET IT. These guys have been playing basketball since they were kids, they should be able to catch onto what the coach wants done in short order.

All I can say is, there are usually 2 sides of why a player transfers, one being a problem with the team situation, and one being with the player himself.

Maybe, someone should ask Bobby Knight if he would have done anything different.

[Ed Harley]

Most of his fouls earlier this year came when he was playing the 3. Same thing happened last year when he was at the three.

After he moved to the 4, his foul problems lessened and his production increased dramatically. Would sure be great to have him just concentrate on the 4. He looks best when he is boarding, blocking shots, and shooting in the paint.

He reminds me a little of Jamie Sowers. Coach wanted him to play the 4 but Jamie wanted to play the 3. AE has the same or better athleticism and is a little taller. Not sure who thinks AE is a 3 (HCGM or AE) but it would seem that last year's results would have cemented him at the 4.

[SpanglerFan316]

ShauXTyme: You have an interesting post. I don't know if I agree or disagree. Certain types of players will respond to a strong public rebuke by trying to prove the coach wrong. Other types of players will get discouraged. I don't recall John Wooden calling out his players in public but my memory might be bad. Each player is different but public rebukes might often be counterproductive.

What about you? Are you motivated by being criticized in public (or private)? I don't know anyone who honestly benefits from nonconstructive criticism but I do know some people who like to dish it out. I've also seen some of these "dishers-out" lose their jobs.

If Aaron is like most people, Marshall may be taking the wrong approach with him. On the other hand, sometimes a message doesn't get through until it is delivered in a strong, possibly public, manner. When my dad was a sergeant in the Army (a long time ago and before my time), disputes with troops were often settled behind the barracks man to man; apparently this approach worked.

[pogo]

The fan base on new years tried to get into the game but time and time again the shox let the emotion slip away by throwing the ball away, taking a quick ill advised shot or just turning it over. At the end I didn't even see HCGM "call us out" we got on our feet and cheered when there was sustained effort on the court. They played hard for about 15 minutes the entire game eight of which were at the end of the game. I believe during this period of practice practice and practice they will right the ship. Go Shox.

[pinstripers]

Ellis cannot play the three.

He is nowhere near as athletic as Jamie Sowers, are you serious?

Yes, there is a good chance his confidence is shot.

I hate it when the coach tries to embarrass a kid in public.

Other than the above, I enjoy HCGM's candor.

Why can't the operator of the jumbotron get the crowd going? It's not at all difficult to tell when to ask for NOISE.

Ellis needs to find himself NOW in order to be productive and happy here.

[SHOXJOCK]

I am mad at the crowd, knowledgeable fan's get off your a$$ and make some noise without GM asking for it. BTW my sec. 107 you make more noise eating your nachos than cheering for the team.

[Kung Wu]

This guy's confidence wasn't lost in the Bradley game when he was called out for a mistake by HCGM ... the hiding and fouling began several games ago. Maybe HCGM is trying a new tactic to get Aaron fired up, but it didn't start during that game.

[ShauXTyme]

Me??? If someone called me out like GM did AE at the game, I'd have gone right back at him. Now, I realize that would probably get AE in more trouble, but seriously, if anyone noticed when this happened and saw AE sitting there, it wouldn't take a psychiatrist to understand that this approach was completely wrong with AE. If looks could have spoken words out of AE at that time, it was simply "this sucks...I don't need this anymore."

[shockerfan]

I love Marshall's emotion and cheer him for doing anything he can to light a fire in his team. I have ZERO problem with him getting after one of the players in any way he sees fit. You saw the one mistake, but you never know what may have happened prior to those mistakes. Did he already get onto Aaron about his screens during another part of the game? In practice? Maybe there was something else that set him off that we didn't see? Perhaps he wants Aaron to get mad...show more emotion?

Marshall has shown some compassion too...like with Murry during the Creighton game. Gave him a semi-hug and patted him on the back...even though Murry was really having a rough game. Marshall knows these players a billion times better than any of us and he probably knows what does or doesn't work with these kids.

I know with me I had a coach that never really rode me...always gave encouraging words. Basically I wasn't worried if I played poorly because I knew it was ok. Well one game I guess he was sick of seeing me be a little lazy on defense and losing rebounds so he REALLLLLYYYY ripped into me during the game...almost like GM did with Aaron. Was I embarrassed? Heck yes I was, I had family in the stands. But I couldn't get back in his face, I wasn't that stupid. So the next time I got in I was soooooo pissed I had back to back steals and ended up not losing even 1 rebound that came my direction the rest of the game. That was my way of saying FU. After the game I was still upset, but after I calmed down I realized that had he not got into my face I would have done the same stuff I had been and play the same way. After that, I never let my defense down and always fought hard for those rebounds. Just saying, some kids respond certain ways.

To me this country is too dang PC and too many people walk on egg shells. To me, Marshall's emotion and the fact he wears his heart on his sleeve is a breath of fresh air.