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I was thinking today about UConn basketball (shocker, I know) and it struck me the way the last two seasons have played out, with the 09-10 team falling apart down the stretch, looking like they had given up, and outright embarassing the program at times. Then I thought about the team from last year, the way a once promising season looked to be flushed away after the loss to Notre Dame, and how the group rallied around Kemba and Calhoun. In the face of adversity, one of these teams crumbled, and one of them thrived. With HOFC Jim Calhoun, UConn always has a slight advantage over other teams, simply in terms of the way he gets his team to respond when things look bleakest. However, a coach can only control the destiny of a team to a point. At some point, a leader needs to emerge, everybody else needs to rally behind him, and the wins need to begin to come.
Obviously, in any discussion about leadership, you think of a guy like Kemba, especially when you're a UConn basketball fan like me. Of course, Kemba's ability to defend, disrupt offenses, create turnovers, score, and create for his teammates factored into our success. But what is also crucial to the success of a leader is the effect he has on his teammates. Jay Bilas put it best last season, when he said, "He almost makes his teammates feel guilty if they don't play as hard". It's extremely noticeable how much easier things are, and how much more fun a team is to watch, when the best player on the team is also the vocal leader and the hardest worker. Things are a whole lot easier when you have a leader who's just as happy when he goes 5-19 in a win than he is when he scores 42 in a win. In 2009-2010, the kids selfisness almost worked to a fault, as he was willing to accept his duties as the third option on a team that was floundering. You could tell by the end of the year that it was time to turn the keys over to him, and when he didn't get the keys, somebody else drove the plane into the ground.
I don't think the kids on this team are selfish, but they haven't quite reached the pinnacle of selflisness either. More alarming than anything, they don't seem to trust each other. When Shabazz and Lamb consistently refuse to throw the ball into the post, refuse to pass to an open man on the perimeter, and pound the ball into the ground, it speaks to the lack of trust in their teammates to score and make the right play. Now if you've ever watched Roscoe Smith drive or Andre Drummond attempt a fall away hook, you'd understand that the lack of trust isn't completey mis-guided. When you hear Shabazz say things like, "I was yelling at the guys to kick it back out so we could start the offense, but they put it up anyway" and this lack of trust is even more evident.
What I see with this team, is a bunch of guys who are conflicted over what their roles are. Last year, everybody knew Kemba was the scorer, Lamb was the second option, Oriakhi was the guy who crashed the glass and lived on putbacks, Roscoe cut and rebounded, Okwandu was the guy who set the screens, Shabazz ran the offense, etc. Ironicly, the one guy who didn't seem to know his role was Coombs, somebody many of us, myself included, wish we had back right now.
Kemba made the UConn jersey stand for something last year. It stood for grit, wanting it more than the other team, redemption, and at the end it stood for the work of a champion. This year it stands for entitlement, complacency, and individual over team. Other than the fact that last years squad had kemba and this years team doesn't, I'll ask you this: How many times last season did you find yourself saying, "Man, this team just wants it more than they do"? Conversely, how many times this year have you said, "Wow, the other team is just hungrier right now"?
The only time this season I've actually had fun watching UConn basketball was the second half against West Virginia, when Calhoun got T'd, the crowd got into it, and the intensity picked up about five levels. That's the only time all year they've actually played harde than the opponent.
We've lost this season to Central Florida, Seton Hall, Rutgrs, Cincy, Tennessee, and Notre Dame. None of those teams have nearly as much talent as UConn does, and on paper, UConn should win those games comfortably. Unfortunately, UConn looks like a bunch of prospects more concerned about their NBA draft stock than about winning. When a guy passes the ball, he has no confidence that the favor will be returned. The awareness is lacking, there is no execution, no communication, and above all, no leadership. UConn can definitely get things back on the right track though. I'm watching Pittsburgh right now, and they were in a much worse situation than UConn is in now. But right now, they are moving the ball, making the extra pass, executing, defending with intensity, and outplaying West Virginia in their own building. If that team can right the ship, than so can UConn. In order to do that, we'll need some momentum though. A win on Wednesday would be a big step in the right direction. This team needs everybody rowing in the same direction, and UConn basketball has to feel like UConn basketball again.
Obviously, in any discussion about leadership, you think of a guy like Kemba, especially when you're a UConn basketball fan like me. Of course, Kemba's ability to defend, disrupt offenses, create turnovers, score, and create for his teammates factored into our success. But what is also crucial to the success of a leader is the effect he has on his teammates. Jay Bilas put it best last season, when he said, "He almost makes his teammates feel guilty if they don't play as hard". It's extremely noticeable how much easier things are, and how much more fun a team is to watch, when the best player on the team is also the vocal leader and the hardest worker. Things are a whole lot easier when you have a leader who's just as happy when he goes 5-19 in a win than he is when he scores 42 in a win. In 2009-2010, the kids selfisness almost worked to a fault, as he was willing to accept his duties as the third option on a team that was floundering. You could tell by the end of the year that it was time to turn the keys over to him, and when he didn't get the keys, somebody else drove the plane into the ground.
I don't think the kids on this team are selfish, but they haven't quite reached the pinnacle of selflisness either. More alarming than anything, they don't seem to trust each other. When Shabazz and Lamb consistently refuse to throw the ball into the post, refuse to pass to an open man on the perimeter, and pound the ball into the ground, it speaks to the lack of trust in their teammates to score and make the right play. Now if you've ever watched Roscoe Smith drive or Andre Drummond attempt a fall away hook, you'd understand that the lack of trust isn't completey mis-guided. When you hear Shabazz say things like, "I was yelling at the guys to kick it back out so we could start the offense, but they put it up anyway" and this lack of trust is even more evident.
What I see with this team, is a bunch of guys who are conflicted over what their roles are. Last year, everybody knew Kemba was the scorer, Lamb was the second option, Oriakhi was the guy who crashed the glass and lived on putbacks, Roscoe cut and rebounded, Okwandu was the guy who set the screens, Shabazz ran the offense, etc. Ironicly, the one guy who didn't seem to know his role was Coombs, somebody many of us, myself included, wish we had back right now.
Kemba made the UConn jersey stand for something last year. It stood for grit, wanting it more than the other team, redemption, and at the end it stood for the work of a champion. This year it stands for entitlement, complacency, and individual over team. Other than the fact that last years squad had kemba and this years team doesn't, I'll ask you this: How many times last season did you find yourself saying, "Man, this team just wants it more than they do"? Conversely, how many times this year have you said, "Wow, the other team is just hungrier right now"?
The only time this season I've actually had fun watching UConn basketball was the second half against West Virginia, when Calhoun got T'd, the crowd got into it, and the intensity picked up about five levels. That's the only time all year they've actually played harde than the opponent.
We've lost this season to Central Florida, Seton Hall, Rutgrs, Cincy, Tennessee, and Notre Dame. None of those teams have nearly as much talent as UConn does, and on paper, UConn should win those games comfortably. Unfortunately, UConn looks like a bunch of prospects more concerned about their NBA draft stock than about winning. When a guy passes the ball, he has no confidence that the favor will be returned. The awareness is lacking, there is no execution, no communication, and above all, no leadership. UConn can definitely get things back on the right track though. I'm watching Pittsburgh right now, and they were in a much worse situation than UConn is in now. But right now, they are moving the ball, making the extra pass, executing, defending with intensity, and outplaying West Virginia in their own building. If that team can right the ship, than so can UConn. In order to do that, we'll need some momentum though. A win on Wednesday would be a big step in the right direction. This team needs everybody rowing in the same direction, and UConn basketball has to feel like UConn basketball again.
