Let me start off by saying that I don't follow our basketball team nearly as closely as football. Also, I don't profess to be an expert by any means on the finer points of the game. Also, last night was only the second time I have watched our team play at all this season. I didn't even turn on the game until about eight minutes left in the second half.
I remember watching State teams in the past (early part of the 2000's) where we seemed to be fairly well coached. Those teams at least always seemed to be full of players that cared, that gave tremendous effort, and were fundamentally sound on defense & the boards; even if some of our offensive sets were lacking in creativity and movement. Last night, even with my lack of basketball IQ, I was amazed at the lack of anything resembling basketball on our part. There was little defensive effort, even less rebounding effort, and nothing even resembling offensive effort. On the rare occasion where we actually defended well to very well & forced Vandy into a rushed/bad shot, we had no one in position for a board. Vandy would get the easy board & putback. I remember at least a half dozen times where the moment the ball left our hands on a shot, everyone immediately turned & headed for the other end of the court. On one particular 3 pointer from Ravern, we didn't have a single player inside the 3 pt arc when he shot. Like I said, I don't follow our team very closely anymore or even college bball for that matter, but those last 8 minutes were some of the worst basketball I remember seeing on a collegiate level.
Now, to my question: What is your opinion of what happened with Stans? I don't mean to open a Pandora's box of fighting on this, but I just wonder how a coach could go from what we had the early part of the 2000's to what we have now. Is it a result of the type of players he is bringing in? Has the game changed enough in the last 5 or 6 years & he hasn't adapted? Is it his insistence to play the "stars" or the upperclassmen? I have read alot about the team here this season, but despite what I have read, I was still kind of shocked at the pathetic display last night.
I remember watching State teams in the past (early part of the 2000's) where we seemed to be fairly well coached. Those teams at least always seemed to be full of players that cared, that gave tremendous effort, and were fundamentally sound on defense & the boards; even if some of our offensive sets were lacking in creativity and movement. Last night, even with my lack of basketball IQ, I was amazed at the lack of anything resembling basketball on our part. There was little defensive effort, even less rebounding effort, and nothing even resembling offensive effort. On the rare occasion where we actually defended well to very well & forced Vandy into a rushed/bad shot, we had no one in position for a board. Vandy would get the easy board & putback. I remember at least a half dozen times where the moment the ball left our hands on a shot, everyone immediately turned & headed for the other end of the court. On one particular 3 pointer from Ravern, we didn't have a single player inside the 3 pt arc when he shot. Like I said, I don't follow our team very closely anymore or even college bball for that matter, but those last 8 minutes were some of the worst basketball I remember seeing on a collegiate level.
Now, to my question: What is your opinion of what happened with Stans? I don't mean to open a Pandora's box of fighting on this, but I just wonder how a coach could go from what we had the early part of the 2000's to what we have now. Is it a result of the type of players he is bringing in? Has the game changed enough in the last 5 or 6 years & he hasn't adapted? Is it his insistence to play the "stars" or the upperclassmen? I have read alot about the team here this season, but despite what I have read, I was still kind of shocked at the pathetic display last night.