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Message: [QUOTE="Zelda Zonk, post: 5348225, member: 966"] I think much of this is an oversimplification. I hate that i'm defending Red, but... Some of the players we have on the roster were acquired because of 'easy opportunities.' Some were from limited resources. Some were from limited effort to scour the country for better options. All of this seems to stem from the laziness of the end of the JB era, where we basically seemed to just get guys who were already known to us. Either because of some relationship or because of geography. So, with Lampkin, i thought the supposition that was common here, that we were inspired by the big NC State center last year, was logical. We went out to find someone who could have that kind of effect/impact. Which turns out to maybe have been a lightning in a bottle example, and not a template. Carlos was acquired to be a backup PG. And if we had landed a viable target starter, Carlos would probably have thrived, and wouldn't be seen as an (e-)scape goat. Not getting Leffew is more the problem than getting Carlos. Bell... is emblematic of what i used to say about Buddy. When Buddy struggled and fans screamed about nepotism being the only reason why he was still getting so many minutes, i rationalized it as JB thinking that it was more likely that Buddy would hit 4 out of the next five, even if he had just missed five in a row. That was sometimes proven out, and sometimes not. With Bell, he's shown the ability to hit a lot of shots. So, 'riding' him is an opportunity to both let him work his way back to the mean, and a means of rebuilding confidence. I know nothing about any deals or arrangements or promises that might have been made to Bell or his family, so i'm not going there. But, again, you have a player who can shoot and is lacking in defense. That was Buddy, as well. Red may just be conditioned to acceptance of that kind of player. The suggestion that we have players who don't want to play hard, or who don't have work ethic or toughness... I don't know. I'm not in practices. I don't see that. I do see players who are, at times, not going hard after loose balls (Bell is a major culprit), and guys who don't play with the kind of toughness we want (McLeod appears 'soft' quite often). I think we have too much of the 'nice guy' syndrome. McLeod's a gentle giant, not a killer. That's personality. I don't know that i could say that 'Red doesn't care' about such things. When scouting transfers or recruits, i think it's a practical matter than you can only be in touch with a certain number of kids. And assessing personality and 'intangibles' is a difficult matter. You see stats, limited video from high schools, and you see in person the performances that may be different because a coach is in the stands. Yeah, the persistency of this kind of issue makes it seem like it's a consistent fault of the staff. But, again, i think we operate from small pools, don't always get prime targets, and then when they reach campus, we don't have the coaching or systems that instill the necessary drive. A combination of a lot of factors, not just Red being 'stupid or blind' [not your words]. Gerry seems to be doing things the right way. Brought in a big man with big man experience. Changed the culture and image of his team. Those things count. But, he's working on a different plane, and who knows if what he's doing would have translated to more success with our current roster. I don't think it could have been worse... but JB anointed Red as the Assistant Head Coach, and that sealed the line of succession. We need new coaches. We need bigger NIL. [/QUOTE]

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