Reply to thread

Message: [QUOTE="ctchamps, post: 4558813, member: 37"] When it comes to x and o(s) and skill development this forum is excellent at understanding these aspects of the game. When it comes to player temperament not so much. Hurley has been masterful in altering schemes as opposing teams have adjusted to our initial strengths. And we pointed this out. Just as masterful is how he has handled the different personalities on this team. Andre is a perfectionist and plays at level of intensity very few players can match. Now the latter part of this statement most people will agree with. But the initial part can be disputed based on his mistakes and failures. I contend that those mistakes and failures are primarily due to two things. The first thing is that his team mates are not always playing at the level of his speed/reaction. The one player who has consistently been at Andre's level this season is Adama. But there was a learning curve of two seasons for that to happen. The rest of the team needed time to adjust. Luckily for this season's recent success they are now anticipating his movements much better. The second thing is that Andre is not a confident individual. His wolfing and back talk are superficial bravado coping strategies he utilizes to get himself psyched. They give a false impression that Andre is mentally tough. It got exposed during his slump. With each mistake and inability to contribute Andre took it personally and went through a downward spiral of negativity, resulting in poorer play, more negativity and so on. It even resulted in reducing, although not eliminating, his defensive play. And this is where Coach Hurley was masterful. When Andre was down on himself Hurley was extremely supportive of him. You see it on the sidelines. You see it in how they now run offensive plays for him. You see it in that they kept him as a starter. And now his confidence is growing. He's developing a deeper degree of understanding of who he is and what he needs to do mentally and emotionally to be successful. It is my opinion that the relationship Andre has with Coach Hurley is why he strongly supports the program and why he made the statement he will stay with the program longer than we thought. He needs more time with his mentor to continue developing that aspect of his basketball play to make him successful - a belief in himself. [/QUOTE]

Verification: First name of men's bb coach