Thoughts Oregon, season...

[HuskyCLT]

One thing I'm looking to see is for both the coaching staff and the players to build on this tournament and take a lot of situations where they messed up and learn from it. An example being when Vance missed a 3, missed the offensive rebound then fouled.

I was watching the Hornets/Spurs game tonight and they brought up the point where Coach Clifford hasn't had much opportunity to coach certain situations that have come up because they have played 8 games in 13 nights. The same thing may be a reason we didn't see overnight fixes to problems seen in the first tourney games - there's only so much coaching you can do when you don't have much time to practice and need to keep guys fresh and focused on the games.

I'm expecting that Coach KO will use the totality of the tournament to teach for the rest of the season - and we should be encouraged by the heart and grit we saw in the last few games.

 

[uconnever]

We are fine. It's obviously a rebuilding year and I'm gonna have fun watching the young guys develop. Everyone that is unhappy now....will look stupid as early as next year. Think about who we have in our sophs and freshmen and imagine them in a year or two. If we get Durham and Enoch to develop and get any half impact big, I can definitely see a final four before this group is done. Coach Ollie says it best "embrace the process". It's sucks but I've been through it with Calhoun even though alot of you seem to forget. Maybe it didn't start out like this, but we will see the transformation all season. I kinda like it. Down but not out!

 

[temery]

If Adams continues playing as well as he did this week, is he gone?

 

[reddevilhusky]

If Adams continues playing as well as he did this week, is he gone?

In my opinion he still needs some work on his defending and distribution but if someone's gonna take a shot on him in the first round how could he turn it down

 

[upstater]

Then you just confirmed my point. Horrible coaching when it comes to knowing the basics that most posters on here know.

Call a TO to stop the other team's big runs. Not asking a lot.

I write, "he called a TO to stop a run."

And you write that I confirmed your point?

Say what?

 

[huskyharry]

Tell me why KO gets a pass ... Never seen anything like it. He just sits and watches.

I think KO has lost the drive and maybe, just maybe, it goes back to his divorce.

He's not this dumb. He just doesn't seem to care.

Ridiculous take. I was three rows behind the bench and Coach Ollie was absolutely involved throughout the game. On one play he shoved Vital towards the corner to get better spacing on offense.
All of the players and coaches pay complete attention when he runs a huddle.
The head coach ismoresponsible for everything, so it is easy to say that he is blowing it...just not valid though.

 

[sportsart]

I write, "he called a TO to stop a run."

And you write that I confirmed your point?

Say what?

He called 1 in the first minute and nothing the rest of the first half. What was it 4-0 in the first minute when he called it?

Yet 30-9 does not warrant a TO because he only has 4 instead of 5?

 

[Huskies4ever]

Really like this part of your speech.

Me, too. Well stated Mau!

However, he made a great point on those Dos Equis commercials. What happened to the "most interesting man in the world"? Hmmmmm........

 

[huskyharry]

Mau great post one of the best reads in quite sometime here.

I agree on the following:

- the Dos Equis commercial
- Brooks being a punk
- unlucky bs shooting by opposing teams. Oregon came into the game shooting 29% from 3 and the opened the game shooting 12-14.
- Durham to Rodney pass was a beauty
- right in with KO. I don't get the BY's fixation with putting the blame on KO for literally everything (must be a product of this election cycle)
- team is still fun to watch (with the occasional wtf moment)
- future is bright
- team never quits

Where I respectfully disagree:

- I don't think Rodney has played well. Love that the guy bleeds blue but very frustrated with his insistence that he is a 3 point assasin. He plays very well when attacking the rim and has been finishing his drives better this year but seems to just stick around the perimeter. Also with as strong as he is for a guard I would like to see him get more rebounds. I want to see more effort on him crashing the boards.
- I'm not as high on Vital and Jackson as you are (well not this year). They may turn out to be good when they are upperclassmen but sometimes I think they try and do too much on the offensive end, and ends up hurting the team more often then helping.
- I would be very surprised if this team ends up w/ less than 20 wins this season. I am very high on Jalen. Has a very impressive start to the season and I think he is only going to get better. He has a very special feel for the game and god given gifts with his wing span and athleticism. He is also a very crafty guard. A very unique combo for a guard.

Rodney does seem lost out there sometimes. He forgets to go back and help on breaking the press at least 4 times per game and his timing or spacing or something is not quite right at the start of the games. He did have some great finishes today (Jalen's were incredible) and when he gets hot, he is quite a weapon.
Vital and Jackson played with a ton of heart and hustle. They both made expected freshman decision-making mistakes but they are both improving...even over these three games. I have been very pleasantly surprised by Vance's handle and passing ability and Vital fights hard to get around screens and stay with his man.

 

[brasssbonanzaa]

The team ~330th in the country in three point shooting opens the first 5 minutes of the game shooting 100%. Not sure what you can expect the team do with that scenario. Everything that can go wrong has gone wrong this year.

 

[mauconnfan]

Tell me why KO gets a pass (talking to OP) on his lack of ability to know when to call a TO when the other team goes on a run.

In this tournament alone he should be beyond embarrassed.

JC must have broken 5 TV's by now. Never seen anything like it. He just sits and watches.

I think KO has lost the drive and maybe, just maybe, it goes back to his divorce.

He's not this dumb. He just doesn't seem to care.

He doesn't get a pass at all, but asking for him to be fired or replaced, well people are idiots but again just my take. The "divorce" or lost his "drive" - did anyone pay attention to the man last night he was passionate as hell and coaching his brains out. Does anyone get what just happened to the guy? Jalen gets his 2nd and he brings in Vital (who I like but isn't a PG) NOT Alterique. He now has CV and Rodney running the show. Amida gets 2 fouls he brings in either Facey, Enoch or Durham, both of whom have very little time as a 5. He now shares Terry Larrier's spot with Vance and Rodney in all reality and his 3 guard line up is now Jalen, CV and Rodney not Alterique, Jalen and Rodney with Larrier to create the "small" line up. Before they left for Maui they had AG go down, first game at Maui Terry Larrier, arguably his best player at that point, goes down. This team has changed over a week dramatically for Coach KO and the staff and add 3 games in 3 days to it, not easy. But I am sure sportsart and so many others could win an NC with this injury riddled squad? Amazing, great fans. He sucks....

NEXT

 

[80shusky]

Agree with most of the OPs take. That said, this team just isn't that good. There are some bright spots but they don't have enough talent now to hide Facey and Enoch. Adams coming out as an aggressive primary scorer is very impressive. I would love to see that continue. Larrier is gone. Diarra doesn't seem to be coming any time soon. Alterique even if his shoulder gets better and he can play is probably just another bad hit away from needing surgery. Probably best now that Larrier is out to redshirt Alterique and Diarra now and let them get healthy and concentrate on getting their schoolwork done. Durham appears to be on a short leash and rightfully so. Even though I want to see him in the game more pushing him now could just make a bad situation worse. Let him ease in a few minutes a game and give the team what he can.
Best thing they could do now is get Vital, Jackson and Enoch as many game minutes as possible and see what they have with them. Vital and Jackson both look like they could be solid contributors and Jackson maybe even more because of his shooting. I don't know what to make of Enoch.
People saying Facey and to a lesser extent Enoch shouldn't play are just being foolish. They have a very short bench now. They have to play. Guys need to rest and we need to have some fouls to give.
It's going to be a tough year and they aren't going to win all that many games. Hopefully we can find some bright spots as we cheer them on and see some potential for 17-18. You never know, maybe they could come together at the end and make an AAC tournament run, but I just don't see it.

 

[donyell34]

SLOWEST starts I have ever seen going on for a couple of years now . There has to be some kind of answer for this. This has gone on so long we all expect it is normal for us to be down 10,12,20, before I pop my first beer.

 

[Thirty Three]

Unfortunately the 5th TO the NCAA got rid of this year was the "stop big run" timeout.

I've defended KO a lot on this board and will continue to do. I realize there are some legit concerns about him - this is not one of them.

So what's the excuse for him not calling TO's the past four years before they took away the "stop big run" timeout? He hasn't called TO's to stop big runs in his entire career here as a head coach. I'm not calling for his firing, but stop making excuses. This is a pattern with him for 5 years now. How can you deny that?

By the way, I'm not buying the "he can't use a timeout to stop a big run because he has one less to use this year." The most important time to use a timeout is to try and stop the bleeding before it's a blowout and you have no chance. Saving 3 timeouts for when you're down 30 is useless. Every other coach uses timeouts to stop a big run, there's no excuse for KO not to.

 

[David 76]

SLOWEST starts I have ever seen going on for a couple of years now . There has to be some kind of answer for this. This has gone on so long we all expect it is normal for us to be down 10,12,20, before I pop my first beer.

You have to start drinking earlier.

 

[Huskybass]

KO is a great guy and a very good recruiter. However, he is not a very good game coach. With the amount of talent on this team, we shouldn't be falling behind by 10-20 points in the first half of EVERY game against mediocre D1 teams. Every inbounds play is an adventure, and our ball movement is noticeably worse than our opponents. If it wasn't for Jalen Adams playing insanely well, we would have gotten blown out by OK ST and Oregon.

A well prepared team doesn't fall behind by double digits in the first half of nearly every game.

 

[huskymagic]

If Adams continues playing as well as he did this week, is he gone?

Yes unless he feels insanely loyal to Ollie and the program to try to win a championship next year. If he hears feed back he will be a first round pick he will declare if not he will be back. We need him badly for next year that's for sure along with Hamidou .

 

[sportsart]

He doesn't get a pass at all, but asking for him to be fired or replaced, well people are idiots but again just my take. The "divorce" or lost his "drive" - did anyone pay attention to the man last night he was passionate as hell and coaching his brains out. Does anyone get what just happened to the guy? Jalen gets his 2nd and he brings in Vital (who I like but isn't a PG) NOT Alterique. He now has CV and Rodney running the show. Amida gets 2 fouls he brings in either Facey, Enoch or Durham, both of whom have very little time as a 5. He now shares Terry Larrier's spot with Vance and Rodney in all reality and his 3 guard line up is now Jalen, CV and Rodney not Alterique, Jalen and Rodney with Larrier to create the "small" line up. Before they left for Maui they had AG go down, first game at Maui Terry Larrier, arguably his best player at that point, goes down. This team has changed over a week dramatically for Coach KO and the staff and add 3 games in 3 days to it, not easy. But I am sure sportsart and so many others could win an NC with this injury riddled squad? Amazing, great fans. He sucks....

NEXT

I never said to fire KO. I questioned his fire and his ability to know when a time out is needed. Also, spare me the injury excuses, as he had AG and TL for the first few games.

If you call sitting on the bench and watching his team get steam rolled at the beginning of each game, coaching his ass off, then I guess he has been coaching his ass off.

I dread the thought of having someone other than KO coaching here. He can recruit and he has great character. But let's face it, he has yet proven to be a solid game day coach. Young guys or not, this year's defense is frightening.

He should be showing the same passion that got him T'd up, due to the ridiculous fouls on AB, towards the team.

I don't think I'm over the top with any of my statements. Pretty basic stuff.

 

[mauconnfan]

I never said to fire KO. I questioned his fire and his ability to know when a time out is needed. Also, spare me the injury excuses, as he had AG and TL for the first few games.

If you call sitting on the bench and watching his team get steam rolled at the beginning of each game, coaching his ass off, then I guess he has been coaching his ass off.

I dread the thought of having someone other than KO coaching here. He can recruit and he has great character. But let's face it, he has yet proven to be a solid game day coach. Young guys or not, this year's defense is frightening.

He should be showing the same passion that got him T'd up, due to the ridiculous fouls on AB, towards the team.

I don't think I'm over the top with any of my statements. Pretty basic stuff.

Lots of passion yesterday, most of the game. Can't be up all game. There were earlier games I totally agree, thought he was off his passion vs Wagner and NE. But for this tourney he was all in. And the injuries aren't excuses they are real. This team was very new to chemistry and it took a while, call that on him or whatever, but they found it in Maui at least the passion and playing hard every play. Maybe not smart but certainly engaged as was KO.

If I threw you in on the "fire KO" posters by accident I do apologize. There were many and you don't belong in that group obviously.

 

[tentoes4rings]

KO is a great guy and a very good recruiter. However, he is not a very good game coach. With the amount of talent on this team, we shouldn't be falling behind by 10-20 points in the first half of EVERY game against mediocre D1 teams. Every inbounds play is an adventure, and our ball movement is noticeably worse than our opponents. If it wasn't for Jalen Adams playing insanely well, we would have gotten blown out by OK ST and Oregon.

A well prepared team doesn't fall behind by double digits in the first half of nearly every game.

Its alarming to say the least. The past 3 years we've seen the same 3 things over and over to start games. The team routinely comes out playing flat, undisciplined and unable to defend the three. It takes exceptional talent to overcome these deficits, and we simply don't have enough. Due to the injuries, I'd give KO a pass this year but if we see more of the same next year, there needs to be a change. This program deserves better.

 

[dennismenace]

Mau: Great post, especially on Dos Equis. How can the new guy compare kicking a coconut with "parallel parking a train" ?

 

[nychuskyfan]

So what's the excuse for him not calling TO's the past four years before they took away the "stop big run" timeout? He hasn't called TO's to stop big runs in his entire career here as a head coach. I'm not calling for his firing, but stop making excuses. This is a pattern with him for 5 years now. How can you deny that?

By the way, I'm not buying the "he can't use a timeout to stop a big run because he has one less to use this year." The most important time to use a timeout is to try and stop the bleeding before it's a blowout and you have no chance. Saving 3 timeouts for when you're down 30 is useless. Every other coach uses timeouts to stop a big run, there's no excuse for KO not to.

A "pattern for the last 5 years". Funny, I bet you weren't complaining about his TO usage in 2014.

He called a TO at 4-0 when they got beaten down the floor for a dunk to make a statement. By your logic, shouldn't you be praising him for attempting to stop an early run? There are plenty of things to be critical of with KO, like most coaches, but nitpicking about his timeout usage as if that mattered yesterday is ridiculous.

 

[sportsart]

A "pattern for the last 5 years". Funny, I bet you weren't complaining about his TO usage in 2014.

He called a TO at 4-0 when they got beaten down the floor for a dunk to make a statement. By your logic, shouldn't you be praising him for attempting to stop an early run? There are plenty of things to be critical of with KO, like most coaches, but nitpicking about his timeout usage as if that mattered yesterday is ridiculous.

Yes he stopped that incredible 4-0 run but sat on his ass as it went to 30-9. Good job.

 

[Thirty Three]

A "pattern for the last 5 years". Funny, I bet you weren't complaining about his TO usage in 2014.

He called a TO at 4-0 when they got beaten down the floor for a dunk to make a statement. By your logic, shouldn't you be praising him for attempting to stop an early run? There are plenty of things to be critical of with KO, like most coaches, but nitpicking about his timeout usage as if that mattered yesterday is ridiculous.

I'll say it one more time. Make all the excuses you want, this is a pattern that has gone on for years, if you haven't noticed it you're not paying attention.

 

[nychuskyfan]

Yes he stopped that incredible 4-0 run but sat on his ass as it went to 30-9. Good job.

By your logic, how did it get from 4-0 to 30-9 after he called a TO? Cause you know, TOs magically "stop runs", even when you're undermanned against a better team.