Why are we so bad?

[ponywhupp9202]

From a rather uneducated baskeball fan (haven't been to a game since last season), does anyone have any real explanation for our poor performance? We have a coach that used to be good/great and an awesome facility in Crum and a decent venue in Moody. Does Coach Doherty run a strange system? Does he have trouble recruiting kids to run his system? Is he just not a good coach anymore? Do we have sub-par talent on the team? I don't want this thread to turn into a b'atch session, but I really do not understand the reasons. Even though the production was not there, the games seemed much more entertaining and competitive when Dement was coaching.

Any thoughtful explanations or insight would be welcome. Thank you.

[Pony_Fan]

1) Please attend a game
2) Read the threads over the last week or so - too many factors

McCoy is playing terrible
Doh can't recruit very well
Injuries, lack of cohesion
among, many other things...

[papawasamustang]

Ponyfan touched on a lot of it, but it all begins & ends
with recruiting.

[PonyFan]

No I didn't.

That was the first men's home game I've missed this year.

[Cardinal Puff]

Watching the games remains a frustrating experience. The defense is much better and some of the players appear to be improving as the season progresses. Doh seems to be giving them more of a chance to play and that is a positive. I still get the feeling that between certain players being in the game and Doh keeping them out of a rhythm, that offensively we come down as team playing four on five.

[NastyStang]

Besides recruiting, it is all coaching. Our talent level isn't horrible by any means and should be competitive in CUSA. If Doh would put the correct players in position to succeed, it would actually be fun again. We need to be in an up tempo push the ball offense with shooters spotting up. Williams is super fast and great at pushing the ball, imagine if he had legit shooters that he could dish to. Pair that with Papa's huge improvement this year and we have a pretty good team. I do like the change in defense that Doh made recently. This change is probably why we have been in these last few games against the best in the conference.

[PonyDoh]

Besides recruiting, it is all coaching. Our talent level isn't horrible by any means and should be competitive in CUSA. If Doh would put the correct players in position to succeed, it would actually be fun again. We need to be in an up tempo push the ball offense with shooters spotting up. Williams is super fast and great at pushing the ball, imagine if he had legit shooters that he could dish to. Pair that with Papa's huge improvement this year and we have a pretty good team. I do like the change in defense that Doh made recently. This change is probably why we have been in these last few games against the best in the conference.

I like it when we push off turnovers or misses, but let's be honest about Will, he seldom looks to pass. Even when we spot up shooters, his first look is always at the rack and to shoot. He's one of those kids that I'm thankful for b/c he has heart, speed, and puts up stats, but he's a black hole at point. He doesn't involve anyone. It says a ton when our best passer is Otis, and it's not really close.

All that said, our defense is vastly improved, even though we give up some really random 3 pt looks. We may not execute that well on O, but we're really frustrating the undisciplined squads in this league. I hope that continues

[Pony ^]

the offense is: pass, pass, pass, pass, pass, no one move, pass, pass, screen, shot clock buzzer

[Terry Webster]

If McCoy was playing like he did last year, we could be 4-0 in conference. Hopefully things will settle for him soon.

[CalallenStang]

no one move,

That's the worst part of the offense. More than a few coaches I respect have said that the key to a successful offense is how your players move when they don't have the ball. We simply don't.

[NastyStang]

Besides recruiting, it is all coaching. Our talent level isn't horrible by any means and should be competitive in CUSA. If Doh would put the correct players in position to succeed, it would actually be fun again. We need to be in an up tempo push the ball offense with shooters spotting up. Williams is super fast and great at pushing the ball, imagine if he had legit shooters that he could dish to. Pair that with Papa's huge improvement this year and we have a pretty good team. I do like the change in defense that Doh made recently. This change is probably why we have been in these last few games against the best in the conference.

I like it when we push off turnovers or misses, but let's be honest about Will, he seldom looks to pass. Even when we spot up shooters, his first look is always at the rack and to shoot. He's one of those kids that I'm thankful for b/c he has heart, speed, and puts up stats, but he's a black hole at point. He doesn't involve anyone. It says a ton when our best passer is Otis, and it's not really close.

All that said, our defense is vastly improved, even though we give up some really random 3 pt looks. We may not execute that well on O, but we're really frustrating the undisciplined squads in this league. I hope that continues

Very true about Will, he's a scorer at the pg position. Wouldn't expect him to dish out anywhere near double digit assists. Just would be nice to have the right players on the court to take advantage if a team shut down his penetration. And I totally agree about Otis, easily our best passer. Love when he takes off with the ball however reckless it is.

[ponywhupp9202]

all good stuff; thank you.

[ponyscott]

the offense is: pass, pass, pass, pass, pass, no one move, pass, pass, screen, shot clock buzzer

LOL....thats good but put in one more 'no one move'....or one 'no one screen away from the ball'...

[Hey June]

Hey ponywhupp9202 — I'm going to my first SMU basketball games Saturday. You should, too!

[angryfan04]

Go watch a HS game instead