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Message: [QUOTE="manleyzoo, post: 1666614, member: 519"] The thing is Cooney gets multiple kudos for playing hard, being a good guy, a solid locker room presence, loved by the coaches, etc., etc. as if that somehow evens out his deficiencies as a player. That stuff is just the ante to play at this level, only a portion of a player's total contribution to the program not a measure of his overall production. Plenty of bench warmers get that kind of praise. Funny how it's nearly always attached in first mention of a bench player but rarely tagged in that manner to a great player. Did JB say first off Carmelo was a great guy, or did he say he was a great player first and followed up with, oh by the way, he's also a great guy? I'm sure Cooney's a terrific young man from a terrific family and his dedication to the program is unmatched. But that still doesn't mitigate his sporadic and unpredictable production. Do the coaches know for sure at tip off if he's going 1 - 9 or 3 - 14 or will he go off? That's a measure of his performance not his personality. Wouldn't any player be criticized for such uneven results? Neither JB's nor other coaches' supposed opinions change the facts that his production, with basically one role offensively, is, well, let's just say it's unpredictable at best. To me, one of his problems is that he plays smaller than his height and weaker than his strength. Going into the lane does he seem like a 6'4" guy or does his crouching down and then rising up make him appear much smaller? Does he play like a guy capable of pushing defenders around or does he give the impression of being weaker than he truly is? Does he dribble standing up like a tall guard or does he hunch over to half his height? And for such a great defender, why is he repeatedly trailing guys at the top of the key who go around him? How often does he convert off of all those steals like McW or many of our other starting guards did? Does he play his ass off? For sure he does but that's the expectation for all our players, isn't it? (See Roberson, T) So why is he praised and defended for merely doing what's expected? I don't know him personally but my guess is he's a shy, very polite, unassuming young man who's a pleasure to be around. Frankly, I don't see the hate or the bashing. I see a player who fans believed had the determination and work ethic to be better but wasn't actually good enough to be better. Is he playing at the top of his ability? Without question. And most everyone here knows it. It's just not good enough much of the time. How that's hate is beyond me. [/QUOTE]

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