This team lacks a Bad A

[kcsu]

We lack that one player the one tough mother that nobody on the team dares to screw with. DC Devo Waiters. That player with the Edge. Coon dog and Gmac had it. Our best teams had more than one.
This team has battle but he lacks that
edge im talking about.

 

[br801]

Now you're just grasping for straws.

 

[20Plus]

Now you're just grasping for straws.

Look at scoop even as a sophomore come in and take over against Georgetown or Villanova we do lack that

 

[kcsu]

Now you're just grasping for straws.

No im not. The team lacks that one true leader. Battle is a solid player who always plays hard but it isnt his style to get on the other guys. Frank had the edge last year this year he seems detached. Our 3 bigs are all very chill types. I dont see any true killers on this team.

 

[OrangeFoo]

No im not. The team lacks that one true leader. Battle is a solid player who always plays hard but it isnt his style to get on the other guys. Frank had the edge last year this year he seems detached. Our 3 bigs are all very chill types. I dont see any true killers on this team.

Again with the meathead view that big cajones means wins. This team couldn’t drive past a trash can tonight and we can’t play inside out because we have no inside. That completely killed our offense. They aggressively cut off any and all penetration and we had no answers besides throwing it back out... that’s why we lost.

 

[Zelda Zonk]

Seemed like you were initially talking about an Enforcer type, and then you switched up into talking about "edge" or 'alpha-ness' or 'leadership.' I don't know what you're talking about now. GMac certainly was no enforcer. Neither was Devo or Cooney.

I said in the game thread a moment ago that this team seems to have only 1.5 guys with 'a motor' — Battle and Carey. And Tech's team was chock full of motors. I think that's how Buzz recruits. He can't get blue-chippers, so he gets intense, scrappy, hard-playing kids who will buy into his brand of energy. We have the professorial Boeheim, who gets heated in instances, but doesn't exist with that same kind of energy. Not that one is necessarily better than the other, but we were definitely out hustled, out-physicaled, and out-edged today, by players of lesser (HS-emerging) talent.

I'd say Battle absolutely is a "killer." He is pretty bad-*ass. He's just not consistent because the team isn't consistent.

 

[br801]

No im not. The team lacks that one true leader. Battle is a solid player who always plays hard but it isnt his style to get on the other guys. Frank had the edge last year this year he seems detached. Our 3 bigs are all very chill types. I dont see any true killers on this team.

Battle is that guy. He frequently imposes his will and takes over games in crunch time, and seems to welcome the responsibility. We've also seen it at times from Howard, Hughes, Brissett, and occasionally even Chukwu. The fact that they got slapped around tonight on the road by a good team doesn't change that.

 

[CuseFaninVT]

I mean, Cooney? You killed you're own point kid.

 

[CaptainJ]

We lack that one player the one tough mother that nobody on the team dares to screw with. DC Devo Waiters. That player with the Edge. Coon dog and Gmac had it. Our best teams had more than one.
This team has battle but he lacks that
edge im talking about.

 

[orangehomer]

we arent good because we dont have good players, why is this so complicated to people

 

[kcsu]

I mean, Cooney? You killed you're own point kid.

Yes Cooney had that edge. I was really tough on him as a shooter but i always loved his passion and effort.

 

[Cuse#1]

I have my own opinion about this team and I don't know how many people share it but to be honest I really don't have too much confidence in this team or too many boehiem coached teams cause mainly for the lack of consistency of these teams! So many times we could have a big win and we come out and lay an egg against the tewe should beat and or a player out of nowhere having a career game against us which of course A lot of the time this affects the end result of the game. I don't know if coaches stubbornness is the result for a lot of this happening but it's been going on for too long and would like to hear other people's opinion on it and somehow maybe get addressed someday. hopefully I pray the next coach things like that will change because I have no confidence coach JB will adjust or change, pretty much what-you-see-is-what-you-get with coach. don't get me wrong coach has been very successful and he's had so many great years bought if he was a little bit more open to change and that's so stubborn you could have been probably the best of all time. losses like this I just getting two common and just very frustrating and unfortunately they might become more, because even and unfortunately they might become more commonplace because even the recruiting is taking a hit since Hopkins left. Okay I'm done for now.

 

[Zelda Zonk]

we arent good because we dont have good players, why is this so complicated to people

It's not complicated. It's just not true.

 

[W'boro'Cuse315]

Big fan of both but Rautins was so much more of a badass than Cooney. Andy took control of huddles & held players accountable as an upperclassman. When he spoke, the team listened.

 

[Zelda Zonk]

I have my own opinion about this team and I don't know how many people share it but to be honest I really don't have too much confidence in this team or too many boehiem coached teams cause mainly for the lack of consistency of these teams! So many times we could have a big win and we come out and lay an egg against the tewe should beat and or a player out of nowhere having a career game against us which of course A lot of the time this affects the end result of the game. I don't know if coaches stubbornness is the result for a lot of this happening but it's been going on for too long and would like to hear other people's opinion on it and somehow maybe get addressed someday. hopefully I pray the next coach things like that will change because I have no confidence coach JB will adjust or change, pretty much what-you-see-is-what-you-get with coach. don't get me wrong coach has been very successful and he's had so many great years bought if he was a little bit more open to change and that's so stubborn you could have been probably the best of all time. losses like this I just getting two common and just very frustrating and unfortunately they might become more, because even and unfortunately they might become more commonplace because even the recruiting is taking a hit since Hopkins left. Okay I'm done for now.

Paragraph.
Breaks.
Please. : )

But, what is it that you think is "stubbornness" that is playing out here? The same system that just beat Duke and played well against Miami is the same system he trotted out against VTech. How many systems do good college coaches have?

Also, you can probably say the same thing about every league mid-pack team—that they play well one day and lay an egg the next. That's why they're not top of the league teams. And since you're talking about more than just this year where we are closer to the top than in the previous five years, and its still early, we're not a top of the league team. A lot of us said earlier on that we're going to be the kind of team that could beat anyone and we could also lose to anyone. That's being proven.

As much as i criticize JB, the team has some fundamental flaws that aren't easily concealed or remedied with in-game coaching or pre-game prep. And in this game, we did have a short turnaround. There isn't much flexibility-wise that JB can now do about centers that throw up bricks and airballs from a foot away from the rim, or forwards that can't finish. We're weak where we need to be strong, we don't have enough effective penetration from the PG spot, and we don't move the ball around enough to make easier shot attempts for people. Some of that is coaching and some is inherent limitations in players. That doesn't absolve the coaches, because they recruited them, and had time to develop them, but i don't know where the "stubbornness" thing comes from. Not now. JB made one significant change in his career. He's not going to suddenly make three in his last three years, especially since he didn't even expect to be here a few years ago.

 

[SWC75]

I have my own opinion about this team and I don't know how many people share it but to be honest I really don't have too much confidence in this team or too many boehiem coached teams cause mainly for the lack of consistency of these teams! So many times we could have a big win and we come out and lay an egg against the tewe should beat and or a player out of nowhere having a career game against us which of course A lot of the time this affects the end result of the game. I don't know if coaches stubbornness is the result for a lot of this happening but it's been going on for too long and would like to hear other people's opinion on it and somehow maybe get addressed someday. hopefully I pray the next coach things like that will change because I have no confidence coach JB will adjust or change, pretty much what-you-see-is-what-you-get with coach. don't get me wrong coach has been very successful and he's had so many great years bought if he was a little bit more open to change and that's so stubborn you could have been probably the best of all time. losses like this I just getting two common and just very frustrating and unfortunately they might become more, because even and unfortunately they might become more commonplace because even the recruiting is taking a hit since Hopkins left. Okay I'm done for now.

Yeah, we win a lot but we lose sometimes, too.

 

[SWC75]

What we lack is an on-court leader that can get us organized in the middle of games when things are going poorly. And Ennis or and MCW could do that. Howard just brings the ball up and then becomes a stationary jump shooter.

 

[Zelda Zonk]

we arent good because we dont have good players, why is this so complicated to people

Just to satisfy my curiosity, i did a quick 'recruit-level stat check.'
VATech's players that average real game minutes have 3.57 stars, and an average player grade of 84.33 (higher is better). Our team of players that actually play (not including HowWa or Braswell) has 3.75 stars and 83.75 grade. Not including Marek.

Make of it what you will.

 

[br801]

What we lack is an on-court leader that can get us organized in the middle of games when things are going poorly. And Ennis or and MCW could do that. Howard just brings the ball up and then becomes a stationary jump shooter.

Who were the on-court leaders last season when this team went on its NCAAT run?

 

[kcsu]

Frank was the vocal leader last year. Battle second. Those two need to grab this team by the throat and light a fire under everyones arse.

 

[SaltLakeOrange]

Again with the meathead view that big cajones means wins. This team couldn’t drive past a trash can tonight and we can’t play inside out because we have no inside. That completely killed our offense. They aggressively cut off any and all penetration and we had no answers besides throwing it back out... that’s why we lost.

Yep...We don’t have the players we once had. Especially inside. Where is a Warrick or CJ or Josh Pace or Rak? That’s the biggest issue.

 

[SWC75]

Who were the on-court leaders last season when this team went on its NCAAT run?

The zone. When the team is playing well on defense, we don't need to "get organized" on offense. We averaged 59 ppg in that run.

And I'm not talking about a holler guy. It's more about getting people calmed down and getting the offense functioning properly.

 

[rrlbees]

What we lack is an on-court leader that can get us organized in the middle of games when things are going poorly. And Ennis or and MCW could do that. Howard just brings the ball up and then becomes a stationary jump shooter.

As someone that has had the extreme fortune to sit court side a few times this year, that’s not correct. Howard is the only one that talks on the court. Not as a screamer but he’s always moving guys around and calling for screens even for others and pointing for someone to do something. He also is the only one that talks during a huddle even on the side court during a time out. He’s the one that encourages guys when they’ve done something wrong. He doesn’t however get in peoples faces. He’s not loud and demonstrative but be sure he talks especially when he has the ball up top.

 

[orange79]

As someone that has had the extreme fortune to sit court side a few times this year, that’s not correct. Howard is the only one that talks on the court. Not as a screamer but he’s always moving guys around and calling for screens even for others and pointing for someone to do something. He also is the only one that talks during a huddle even on the side court during a time out. He’s the one that encourages guys when they’ve done something wrong. He doesn’t however get in peoples faces. He’s not loud and demonstrative but be sure he talks especially when he has the ball up top.

This was my experience also. As much as many people here want him gone, he will be a big loss at the end of the season.

 

[OrangeFoo]

As someone that has had the extreme fortune to sit court side a few times this year, that’s not correct. Howard is the only one that talks on the court. Not as a screamer but he’s always moving guys around and calling for screens even for others and pointing for someone to do something. He also is the only one that talks during a huddle even on the side court during a time out. He’s the one that encourages guys when they’ve done something wrong. He doesn’t however get in peoples faces. He’s not loud and demonstrative but be sure he talks especially when he has the ball up top.

As good of a leader as frank is... his inability to get past his man is really hurting our offense. Yes other players are struggling to that but you need your lead guard to be able to get some penetration.