Coach, Not Refs, Is to Blame

[HoopDeeDoo]

Granted there were bad calls but having
Patrick on the floor only 21 minutes in
regulation was a bad decision. The announcers
at start of game said how well Castro and Simpson were clicking. There were times he put Patrick in and Eric was on the bench.
The dynamic duo need to be there for us to win. At end of game, Simpson had 4 fouls
he still had one to give.

[JasonB]

I finally got to come up from Austin and see another game in person .

Patrick was playing aggressive, but was picking up fouls. He looked good out there, but he was in foul trouble the majority of the game, and what Dement wanted was strong effort. He didn't want to leave him in, and have him play passive.

One thing that I liked about the game is that we really tried to get the ball inside. Boise State did a great job of denying the post and playing interior defense, but we really made a point of trying to get the ball down there.

Last night's loss I would attribute to a certain freshman. Bhop is a great player. And watching him break players down with that nasty crossover was awesome. But some games, you just don't have it. After he missed so many threes, he should have concentrated on breaking players down and creating open shots for his teammates. Instead, he kept shooting the ball. And missing.

Great players will always take an open shot. But once Bhop matures, when he realizes that his shot is gone for a game, he'll put more effort into running the team instead of forcing bad shots trying to get on track.

[FloridaMustang]

amen.

[Nacho]

You guys amaze me. BHop is the best thing to happen to SMU in a very long time and all you can do is criticize him. Pathetic. SMU deserves the WAC.

[Hoop Fan]

Nacho, starting to think you are a UNT troll. Nobody is bagging on BHop, the guy prefaced it by saying Hop is a great player etc. Lighten up or crawl back/over to the Sun Belt forum.

[FloridaMustang]

Nacho, for B-Hop to mature as a player, he must do these things. He has to a play smart game...a complete game. Q is a great example of a mature player. He was nowhere near the talent of BHop as a freshman, and he's most likely headed for the NBA. I can't imagine how BHop will be thrilling us in 4 years when he's thouroughly schooled in the game.

[This message has been edited by UNFMustang06 (edited 02-03-2003).]

[OldPony]

If Nacho could read a box score, he would understand that BHop hurt us Saturday by shooting about 25%. I don't care if you score 25 if you only make 1/4 of your shots. In fact, I'd rather you just score 2. BHop has the potentail to be great. At this point he isn't Q by any stretch. He is on par with PSimp and Castro although a year younger. I am most concerned about Isham. Two games in a row without a bucket. BHop will improve with experience (his TO/Assist ratio already seems to be getting better) and so will Simp, Isham and Castro. This team could be very good next year (or late this year) especially if Voc and Kelley contribute the way they were expected to. If only we could keep Q for another year.

[Waz]

IF ONLY we would wind up with more than one good senior at the end of each four year stretch. Where do they (our solid recruiting classes year after year) go, why don't they continue to improve over the four years so that we have more than one real contributor in the senior class. Maybe Stallion has the call with the JUCO's. If nothing else, at least they would plateau as Jrs in terms of developement. To be successful at this level you need at least 8 players that can contribute some significant play, consistently. Right now we have 5, sometimes 6 and that is abysmal. Don't throw injuries and academics in this equation, because every school in the country has that to deal with. Look squarely at the "Director of Player Developement" for your answers.

[PX]

OP, what exactly were you expecting Voc to contribute this year?

[Nacho]

I guarantee you numb-skulls that if BHop hadn't played SMU would have lost by 30. You guys are completely cluless.

[OldPony]

I was expecting Voc to give us some quality slow down minutes in relief of Hopkins and Isahm and some occasional outside shooting. I thought he could run the offense with good sharp passing and smart play for short periods. He has done that on occasion and I hope to see more of it especially when the other guys are having trouble finding the range. Isham is going through a tough stretch and needs some relief. Nacho doesn't understand that no one wants BHop NOT to play. We want him to play smarter when he is having an off night. To ctiticize others and not point out things that he is doing poorly isn't fair to the team. I imagine Nacho was on Sasser's case for shooting 25% but BHop seems untouchable to him. BHop is a god player and may become a great player. Right now our best player is Q. Simpson and Castro have really played well for the past 6-7 games. Let's give them all the same due.

[PX]

The reason I asked was that your former post seemed to be saying you felt that Voc and Jibran had performed below expectations. That is, when you say the team could be good this year, if they "perform the way they were expected to," you seem be saying that we havent been good because they havent performed up to your expectations.
Speaking for myself, I'm glad we've gotten all the way to February, and Voc hasnt blown out his knee again. The minutes we're seeing from Voc are pretty close to the best-case scenario. If you expected something different, then your expectations were unreasonable.



[This message has been edited by PX (edited 02-03-2003).]

[OldPony]

I understand what you are saying. Voc is giving us nearly all the minutes we could have resaonably hoped for but perhaps not the shooting I was hoping for. I would like to see Kelley do a little more offensively. He is doing well on the defensive end and is giving minutes. I think he is capable of getting 4-6 points while spelling Simpson and Castro. When this team plays well, we get most of what I'm talking about. It is really when one of the guards is shooting poorly that we are in need of Voc and/or Miller to give us some 3's or Kelley just a basket or two. I am not unhappy with the way this team has performed beginning with Fresno. I was very unhappy with what looked like a bunch of unrelated players playing pattycake defense and dribble-around do-nothing offense prior to that game. I see huge improvement since even in the 2 we lost. Simpson, Castro and BHop seem to be improving each game with the exception of BHop's 3 point shooting. Q is always solid. If Isham can recover what he was doing and we continue to get just a little better results from Voc, Kelley and Miller, things will look great compared to what I saw early in the season and we have an outside chance to get the WAC tourney.

[Austin]

Back to the original title subject of this thread...coaching. Start with fundamentals: defense, passing, shot selection. These are things that you coach, and that you stress as a coach. Look at Tech. Shooting at will: this is something that happens without coaching. Look at SMU.

The amount of subs were ludicrous, and the best players should be allowed to foul out if they are contributing. Every time a person gets in a rhythm, they are subbed. Get to the line, make some free throws, get subbed. It makes no sense. I beg you, leave Castro and Simpson in the whole game.

BTW, Nacho is right, sans Bhop this team would have lost by 15-20 to Boise State.
That's right, Boise State. The refs blew calls both ways. SMU blew it in OT.

[FloridaMustang]

I don't think some of are you are getting our point. There's no doubt BHop contributed, and played well. He scored 25? points. He drew so many fouls I can't remember. He's a high % FT shooter and his and Q's FT's kept us in the game. The problem is, his defense is still shoddy, he's taking too many 3's and difficult jumpshots. He's been stellar lately, and he was overdue for an off game. He shot poorly from the field and he kept shooting cold. He shot 2 or 3 airballs if I recall. He committed too many turnovers and didn't spread the ball around enough. His TO/Assist ratio is improving, but not by much. As long as you're hitting your shots, by all means, SHOOT! But when you go cold, use your head and use your passing skills and protect the ball. BUT..HE IS A FRESHMAN. No one expected him to be a perfect player straight out of HS. That's not what we're saying. I think all we were pointing out was what he needed to improve on...I pointed out myself that he's already a step ahead of Q at his age (and WAY above IHop and Castro). All of these skills come from experience and from playing the game...no one here is expecting him to improve his game overnight. I love BHop and he's an invaluable asset to this team. Don't mince words.