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Message: [QUOTE="hoopsupstate, post: 5357111, member: 13"] My biggest question with analytics is, do people recognize the obvious? Defense has been our problem all year. We can’t do anything with rim protection. You either have it or you don’t. We don’t. My shock is our total inability or willingness to leave who guys are playing and get in a position of help. Three examples I can’t get out of my mind are: First possession against Duke a guy drives from right in front of our bench for an uncontested layup. Davis and Lampkin didn’t make the slightest attempt to help. Later in the Duke game, Flagg has McLeod one on one twenty feet on the wing. Everyone in the building knows McLeod needs help on the drive. Flagg dunks and Davis never left the opposite low block. NOONE made the slightest attempt to help. And the final example was against North Carolina when Carlos for some unknown reason was guarding Cadeaux twenty feet from the basket as if he’s the best three point shooter on the floors and get blown by for another layup line layup. Cuffe was right there and watched and never made any attempt to slide over and help. These are three that stick in my head, but there has been many. This is the one question I would like to ask our coaching staff for a simple reason why this continues to happen after more than twenty games into a season. Even if they come over and foul, at least they would seem engaged defensively. Both JJ and Moore are very poor defensively and it starts with their defensive stance. Neither can stay down for more than two dribbles. Their footwork is poor and they both stand up and get beat. I wanted to take up Coach Griffin’s offer to meet him at Cafe Kabul to talk about the state of the program. I’d do it in a heart beat if I wasn’t living two hours away. I‘m not going to bash the coaching staff because I know they work their butts off. I would just like to hear their take to why this happens. Griff might have a very reasonable explanation. I just want their take on the program and their plan moving forward. There’s a lot of coaching experience on this staff and they have to see what we see. Is it an accountability issue? Are our coaches not demanding enough? God help us if they don’t see it. I just want some answers and for whatever reason, Red is not communicating the issue. He can’t worry about hurting guys feelings. If he gets fired, I doubt the players will somehow apologize for their play. College sports are a ruthless business. As a coach you better be tough and demanding. You teach and if they don’t correct their mistakes, you don’t play guys. It’s basically that simple. [/QUOTE]

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