Mark Few on game day

[Dcuse]

Seems like a nice guy and is obviously putting together a juggernaut. That said in some critical games in the NCAA he has seemed like a deer in headlights on more than one occasion.

Mark Few..." A Deer in Headlights"

Post of the year!

 

[OrangeDW]

Few is 164-14 over the last 5 seasons. Great coach and always deports himself with class, even after the heart breaking loss last night.

Not sure what some of you think you are seeing, but couldn't disagree more with some of these takes.

It’s the stupid “ringsss” sports fan culture that has taken hold over the years and led to know nothings trashing guys like Melo and Barkley.

I blame social media and the sports shows where the guys all just yell at each other and try to out “hot take” each other.

 

[pearl31]

agree w those saying nothing more he really could have done last night w the players at his disposal - so, that said, I guess you could say the roster he assembled, albeit incredibly talent rich, was perhaps a tad lacking in the physicality/raw athleticism dept? at least when facing a team like Baylor?
I dunno, he's clearly one of the top handful of coaches right now regardless

 

[CuseFaninVT]

agree w those saying nothing more he really could have done last night w the players at his disposal - so, that said, I guess you could say the roster he assembled, albeit incredibly talent rich, was perhaps a tad lacking in the physicality/raw athleticism dept? at least when facing a team like Baylor?
I dunno, he's clearly one of the top handful of coaches right now regardless

I'm pretty sure the same athleticism complaint can be made for about 93% of all other D1 hoops teams when compared to Baylor.

 

[TheHaze315]

Nobody could’ve beaten Baylor with how they played last night. They played incredible on both ends of the floor.

 

[dollarbill44]

I'm pretty sure the same athleticism complaint can be made for about 93% of all other D1 hoops teams when compared to Baylor.

You might actually be low with 93%. The only team I saw this year that was on that level athletically was Houston and we saw how that went.
When you combine that kind of athleticism and talent, you get a really good team. Then, when everything clicks, you get an unbeatable team.
I think if they play 10 times, it's probably 6-4 or 7-3 Baylor with some close games. This was just that game where everything went right for Baylor and little went right for Gonzaga.

 

[Eric15]

Has anyone ever done a faceswap with Mark Few and Mark Davis?

For some reason Few has always reminded me of the actor Ralph Fiennes.

 

[Cusefan0307]

Gonzaga has more tournament wins than any ACC school has had over the past 5 tournaments and more tournament wins than everyone but Kentucky or Duke the last decade. These takes are scorching.

 

[two3zone]

Gonzaga has more tournament wins than any ACC school has had over the past 5 tournaments and more tournament wins than everyone but Kentucky or Duke the last decade. These takes are scorching.

The funny part is the people with these takes are the same ones who defend our sweet 16s like it’s the end all be all of success.

 

[Cusefan0307]

Few is a great coach and has done wonders with Gonzaga. I was rooting for them last night. But he only has 14 losses and that gaudy record because he plays in a mid major conference.

He may have more losses if he was in a different conference, but they still have more tournament wins than anyone else over the past 5 tournaments. FWIW he has 17 wins in the tournament over that time. Jay Wright has 16. Tony Bennett has 10, Coach K, JB, Calipari all have 9.

 

[rrlbees]

Few is a great coach. One of the best in the game. They ran into a buzzsaw last night. It happens.

 

[kuethstheman]

agree w those saying nothing more he really could have done last night w the players at his disposal

Yeah. I'm guessing that "deer in the headlights" look was more like a "We've thrown everything we have at them and they're still killing us!" look.

 

[sufandu]

It’s the stupid “ringsss” sports fan culture that has taken hold over the years and led to know nothings trashing guys like Melo and Barkley.

I blame social media and the sports shows where the guys all just yell at each other and try to out “hot take” each other.

I can't agree enough. It's especially stupid with football, the most team oriented of sports where your best player literally can't be on the field half the time. I always hated the Manning vs Brady discussions, as if Brady was responsible for the defenses Manning played against. Or the idea that a bunch of QBs are better than Marino because they have a ring and he doesn't. Is Marino ringless if he plays for San Francisco in the 80's? How many fewer rings do the Patriots win with Manning instead of Brady?

 

[CardiacCuse]

there are a lot of skills that can benefit a college basketball coach.

a successful coach doesn't have to have all of them to be successful.

A winning program can be built by a coach that is missing some or a few of the skills that benefit many other coaches. (personality, likability, etc (some examples of traits that dont mean you know how to win games but can still benefit you and help you to build a good program)...

look around the landscape...how many morons have gotten ncaabb jobs? they look good on camera and know how to play the role...but are clueless when it comes to x's and o's...look at tom crean for example...

Few built a big program in Gonzaga. In my opinion he is not good with strategy and in-game adjustments. Just bc he wins a lot (against mostly off the radar teams/cupcakes/etc) doesn't necessarily mean he is a great tactician or game manager. The only way to truly determine that is to give him the same rosters as his opposing coaches and see who wins...but that is impossible.

he is generally coaching superior players vs weaker squads. does he deserve credit for putting himself into that position ? sure...he has a lot of the skills that can help a coach...now that he has built his brand, he likely only increase the talent advantage that he enjoys in most games.

For him to win a title, he will have to have a big advantage in talent bc he doesnt have an edge when it comes to strategery, imo. he's no rick pitino or one of those guys that is a master at x's and o's

 

[two3zone]

there are a lot of skills that can benefit a college basketball coach.

a successful coach doesn't have to have all of them to be successful.

A winning program can be built by a coach that is missing some or a few of the skills that benefit many other coaches. (personality, likability, etc (some examples of traits that dont mean you know how to win games but can still benefit you and help you to build a good program)...

look around the landscape...how many morons have gotten ncaabb jobs? they look good on camera and know how to play the role...but are clueless when it comes to x's and o's...look at tom crean for example...

Few built a big program in Gonzaga. In my opinion he is not good with strategy and in-game adjustments. Just bc he wins a lot (against mostly off the radar teams/cupcakes/etc) doesn't necessarily mean he is a great tactician or game manager. The only way to truly determine that is to give him the same rosters as his opposing coaches and see who wins...but that is impossible.

he is generally coaching superior players vs weaker squads. does he deserve credit for putting himself into that position ? sure...he has a lot of the skills that can help a coach...now that he has built his brand, he likely only increase the talent advantage that he enjoys in most games.

For him to win a title, he will have to have a big advantage in talent bc he doesnt have an edge when it comes to strategery, imo. he's no rick pitino or one of those guys that is a master at x's and o's

They were 9-1 against P5 teams this year.

 

[CardiacCuse]

They were 9-1 against P5 teams this year.

and? doesnt change anything I said. I dont even think coach K is a great x's and o's coach...he just benefits from talent...like calipari etc...

thats how JB can beat Duke ...

Winning in and of itself doesnt mean a coach is great, imo.

Rick Pitino doing what he did with Iona is more impressive to me.

I feel like Few is really good at all the things besides actual in-game coaching (espeically recruiting)and that is where he builds his advantage...but when he comes up against an equally or more talented team he gets exposed...

 

[bpo57]

Few is an excellent coach and a class act. The criticism is crazy but as pointed out above that's our sports culture. Maybe equally strange is the slow take on the fact that Scott Drew is also a very good coach. They weren't just great this year but they were also a top three team last year. He assembled a helluva squad of very talented and unselfish players that play very well together. And he switched from zone to man to better use the personnel he had. Pretty impressive.

 

[two3zone]

 

[CardiacCuse]

Few is an excellent coach and a class act. The criticism is crazy but as pointed out above that's our sports culture. Maybe equally strange is the slow take on the fact that Scott Drew is also a very good coach. They weren't just great this year but they were also a top three team last year. He assembled a helluva squad of very talented and unselfish players that play very well together. And he switched from zone to man to better use the personnel he had. Pretty impressive.

leadership wise, mentor wise...character wise yeah...great coach.

I still feel like gonzaga is consistently overrated and overseeded...and now that they have so much momentum and brand name recognition in this era of super short attention spans...they might actually get over the hump and get big time recruits on the reg...

its an amazing accomplshment to build what he built.

but lemme put it this way...if you had to pick a single college coach to coach a usa select team vs european players and your life was on the line depending on the outcome of the game ...are you picking Few? Is he even in your top 5? 10? hes not in mine.

 

[bpo57]

leadership wise, mentor wise...character wise yeah...great coach.

I still feel like gonzaga is consistently overrated and overseeded...and now that they have so much momentum and brand name recognition in this era of super short attention spans...they might actually get over the hump and get big time recruits on the reg...

its an amazing accomplshment to build what he built.

but lemme put it this way...if you had to pick a single college coach to coach a usa select team vs european players and your life was on the line depending on the outcome of the game ...are you picking Few? Is he even in your top 5? 10? hes not in mine.

There are a few guys I'd take above him but I think he's better than you think. I thought he got hosed with bad calls in his other Finals appearance. Despite expectations going in, it was clear to me that he had inferior personnel last night, particularly off the bench. There was no adjustment he could have made that was going to get him a W.

 

[grepal]

That's true, but he can not do much about the conference. No Football, no Big conference. Few is at the very least as good a recruiter as there is. His team was a thing of beauty to watch this year, the last game not withstanding. Just athletic ballet on the offensive end.

 

[jncuse]

there are a lot of skills that can benefit a college basketball coach.

a successful coach doesn't have to have all of them to be successful.

A winning program can be built by a coach that is missing some or a few of the skills that benefit many other coaches. (personality, likability, etc (some examples of traits that dont mean you know how to win games but can still benefit you and help you to build a good program)...

look around the landscape...how many morons have gotten ncaabb jobs? they look good on camera and know how to play the role...but are clueless when it comes to x's and o's...look at tom crean for example...

Few built a big program in Gonzaga. In my opinion he is not good with strategy and in-game adjustments. Just bc he wins a lot (against mostly off the radar teams/cupcakes/etc) doesn't necessarily mean he is a great tactician or game manager. The only way to truly determine that is to give him the same rosters as his opposing coaches and see who wins...but that is impossible.

he is generally coaching superior players vs weaker squads. does he deserve credit for putting himself into that position ? sure...he has a lot of the skills that can help a coach...now that he has built his brand, he likely only increase the talent advantage that he enjoys in most games.

For him to win a title, he will have to have a big advantage in talent bc he doesnt have an edge when it comes to strategery, imo. he's no rick pitino or one of those guys that is a master at x's and o's

Smack My Head.
You act like this guy has been awful in the tournament. Gonzaga has basically played to its seed for the last six tournaments -- if you take the average performance by a team on each respective line over the last 6 tournaments, Gonzaga has outperformed teams on the same seed lines.

#1 seed - National Final
#1 seed - Elite Eight
#4 seed - Sweet 16
#1 seed - National Final
#11 seed - Sweet 16
#2 seed - Elite 8

The people that rip Gonzaga are probably the same people that ripped Villanova for such a long time.

 

[sufandu]

and? doesnt change anything I said. I dont even think coach K is a great x's and o's coach...he just benefits from talent...like calipari etc...

thats how JB can beat Duke ...

Winning in and of itself doesnt mean a coach is great, imo.

Rick Pitino doing what he did with Iona is more impressive to me.

I feel like Few is really good at all the things besides actual in-game coaching (espeically recruiting)and that is where he builds his advantage...but when he comes up against an equally or more talented team he gets exposed...

Go back to the '80's. Coach K was winning back when the talent was more evenly spread. He wasn't asked to coach the Olympic team because he didn't understand strategy.

I question your ability to analyze coaches.

 

[oTTo113445]

I didn't mind gonzaga to this year. It wasn't just the media it was the super over-confident attitudes during the games. Look at the big conferences out east beating each other up with 7-8 losses per team, and along comes the undefeatable one and everyone is supposed to wish they were them all tournament.
I felt like half the jumpers they made they were channeling energy from the nba, rather than earning it. That being said still a super talented team, and they ran the best back door in the country this year. Baylor was on its way to 90+ almost all game.

 

[FrancoPizza]

Yeah. I'm guessing that "deer in the headlights" look was more like a "We've thrown everything we have at them and they're still killing us!" look.

Exactly. How was he supposed to look? Should he have thrown some bombs? Removed his sweater? Messed his hair up like Rollie massimino?