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Anyone remember an early road game from a first year head coach at WSU? The Shocks were not expected to do well, being hostile territory and what (for us, anyway) was a rivalry game. I don't remember the game being televised, but a freshman player on that team (who came off the bench, I believe, please correct me) took over. He started taking shots, making shots, and making things happen on the defensive end as well.
The entire time it was happening I was in near shock, waiting for it to all fall apart. But the lead grew, and the Shocks won the game. If I recall, the player was quickly moved into the starting lineup where he remained for the rest of his 4 years. He had a great 4 years here and was one of the greats to play in a Shocker uniform, even if he never had his # retired. He was a quiet leader on the floor, letting his play do most of his talking, finishing in the top 10 in a number of statistical categories (if those things are worth being measured.) His senior year, I believe he led the Valley in scoring at over 20 pts a game and he was just a joy to watch when he was in the game.
Now if the same player had deferred to veteran players and hadn't done what he was capable of doing (and making it look rather easy in the process), we would never have won that road game and we would have never gotten to watch this unusually gifted scorer and surprisingly quick defender. I'm not going to sugarcoat the situation too much, because there was not a lot of talent on his squads and the coaching may not have exactly suited his game, but what a missed opportunity it would have been for us as fans to watch him play.
Anyone care to name the player? Now tell me if he should have deferred to a veteran player.
My point is, if ANY PLAYER (as an example) is capable of taking the ball down low, turning on his man and taking it for a basket or foul, or turning around on an outside turnaround - but he's not doing it because he's "deferring" to someone with one more year under their belt or even 4 years in the program hoping they'll be a leader and start doing what it takes to win, well, then we all lose out. The fans, the team, the players, everyone.
If as a veteran player, you can only see that you've got 2, 3 or even 4 years of experience and commitment to a program and fail to recognize that someone on your team, read that TEAM, is capable of effective production either on the offensive or defensive end, then, you should move on and become the greatest 1 on 1 basketball player or H-O-R-S-E player in the universe.
I cannot imagine any coach letting a player get away with deferring to someone with more experience. I expect Marshall encourages every player he's ever had, and I think he will utilize every advantage he can on the court to get a win.
The entire time it was happening I was in near shock, waiting for it to all fall apart. But the lead grew, and the Shocks won the game. If I recall, the player was quickly moved into the starting lineup where he remained for the rest of his 4 years. He had a great 4 years here and was one of the greats to play in a Shocker uniform, even if he never had his # retired. He was a quiet leader on the floor, letting his play do most of his talking, finishing in the top 10 in a number of statistical categories (if those things are worth being measured.) His senior year, I believe he led the Valley in scoring at over 20 pts a game and he was just a joy to watch when he was in the game.
Now if the same player had deferred to veteran players and hadn't done what he was capable of doing (and making it look rather easy in the process), we would never have won that road game and we would have never gotten to watch this unusually gifted scorer and surprisingly quick defender. I'm not going to sugarcoat the situation too much, because there was not a lot of talent on his squads and the coaching may not have exactly suited his game, but what a missed opportunity it would have been for us as fans to watch him play.
Anyone care to name the player? Now tell me if he should have deferred to a veteran player.
My point is, if ANY PLAYER (as an example) is capable of taking the ball down low, turning on his man and taking it for a basket or foul, or turning around on an outside turnaround - but he's not doing it because he's "deferring" to someone with one more year under their belt or even 4 years in the program hoping they'll be a leader and start doing what it takes to win, well, then we all lose out. The fans, the team, the players, everyone.
If as a veteran player, you can only see that you've got 2, 3 or even 4 years of experience and commitment to a program and fail to recognize that someone on your team, read that TEAM, is capable of effective production either on the offensive or defensive end, then, you should move on and become the greatest 1 on 1 basketball player or H-O-R-S-E player in the universe.
I cannot imagine any coach letting a player get away with deferring to someone with more experience. I expect Marshall encourages every player he's ever had, and I think he will utilize every advantage he can on the court to get a win.
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