Game 31, 2018-19: at Rhody (3/9)

[Floyd]

Everyone needs to be on the same page or things don't go smoothly. Hasn't appeared to be that way all season. Don't think there's respect for MM and what he's trying to accomplish from all involved, and I think it best if there was major roster turnover. If at the end of next year, we're in the same situation, it might be time to look at the leadership, but I think a full year with all of his recruits will give us a good sense of where we're headed

I wouldn't say anyone has had an exceptional season, injuries have started to pile up, talk of lack of intensity, guys announcing they're leaving before the season is over, coach seems to have run out of things to say to motivate, etc. Been a season of lowlights

[TheOFFSeason]

I read the postgame comments by McCall in the Gazette and they were depressing. There's a section where Walfish mentions they were breaking timeout huddles early because McCall had nothing to say to the guys, and he himself admitted that he's sounding like a broken record. Woof ... I need my coach to be able to deliver a message and motivate players. If the message isn't getting across, change the way it's delivered; you have to be able to get through to your players.

McCall is certainly not without blame, but at this point in the season I think you just have to accept that it might not matter what McCall says or does, some of the players can't be coached by him. Some players, especially this late in the season in a meaningless game, are simply not going to be coachable, and this is certainly not isolated to UMass. Yeah, McCall recruited most of the current players, and he should've done a better job getting the right guys, but I think we need at least one more season before we can figure out if the core problem is McCall's inability to motivate and connect with players, or if it was simply a correctable short-term error in recruiting.

https://www.timesrecordnews.com/story/s ... 064228002/

I think there is an issue with ownership on the coach and players. It sounds to me that McCall thinks the entire issue is will to win and effort. It looks like the players are looking for more than that. When things aren’t going well, like yesterday, the players don’t want to hear try harder, they want to be told what to do differently on the court. Change defense, press, etc. neither the coach nor the players own the mistakes/losing while they are being made. McCall takes ownership after, but can’t figure how to own it while it’s happening as evidenced by him saying all the kids need to do is try harder.

This is right on...sticking with the same thing that isn’t working and saying there needs to be more effort, intensity etc is never going to bring success. There are enough guys that want to play and win but you need to put them in positions to succeed. Teach them stuff, keep them engaged by changing things up, play super aggressive and put pressure on the other team instead of just sitting back and running the same stuff hoping they will get better at it.
I have said plenty on here about what I have seen but there is much more that I haven’t said...many of you have similar stories or at least see similar things in games. This isn’t all of a sudden going to get better just because he gets his players...that has always been bullshit...if you can coach and teach you can do it with any players.
Fans of teams want to support their coach and feel he needs time to get things turned around and there are plenty of instances, from Coach K to the guy at Wofford that was posted on here, where it took 3-4 years but with each of those there were signs that things were moving in the right direction: toughness, togetherness, communication etc...I don’t see things heading in that direction.

[Roadtrip]

I tend to agree, Floyd, but the leader should never appear to be beaten, even when he is. McCall needs to get tougher, with himself and the team. And, "try harder" is not the answer. Never will be. If coach wants to lead, then lead, dammit. Find the five guys that get it most and ride them hard. Play that five for 30 minutes or more. Then ask the sorry pine riders if there is even one of them that has the stuff to give their teammates a break. Tell them you are looking for an 8 man rotation, and if they want in, they are damn well going to earn it. I don't know, maybe McCall is cut from the same cloth as some of the "players." OK, now I'm just getting bitter. Rant over.

[Floyd]

I agree Roadman and I agree with what OFFSeason has posted as well. But I'm not so sure that everyone here ( team, not forum) has respect for MM and has bought in completely. I agree with OFFSeason about teaching new things and that its not all about effort, and that may be due to MM's short history as a HC. Last year was a total patchjob with all the defections, so I count this year as really yr 1. Who's had a good year? Teach new plays, change things up,... absolutely, but at some point the shots have to fall, etc.

I know there's lots of DK love here, but isn't that what people complained here about him, that yelling "move" or telling them to play harder wasn't enough? 9 years he got, and now people want MM gone after 2? Next year he'll have had 2 normal recruiting cycles so we should have a fairly good idea of the direction and changes he'll make. Changing coaches every 2-3 years I can't imagine is good for us

RTrip, I'd think it's a tough slope to be so overly demanding and tough on young players to just sit them all. Kids today will tune out and transfer

[Jackson96]

I think there have been problems with both areas of coaching - motivating and teaching.

For me, the more frustrating part has been the effort and hearing the same broken record after every one of those games where the intensity level was for shit.

Teaching-wise I see things during games where I am beside myself (it shouldn’t be this difficult to get Holloway to post up properly and get him the ball) but I also feel the same way about the Patriots at times, so I don’t necessarily know what I know and what I don’t know. Yes I realize comparing this team to the Patriots is Pauly Shore-level dumb. It’s also dumb to keep complaining about how the Pats need to get faster in the front 7 on defense but I do...even when they are on their way to another Super Bowl.

But maybe I should pay attention more to the fact that the team is not changing things up instead of throwing the same lazy perimeter passes (to use an example from yesterday) and less attention to their level of compete...that’s hard to do, though. For me at least.

[NilesGold]

McCall is certainly not without blame, but at this point in the season I think you just have to accept that it might not matter what McCall says or does, some of the players can't be coached by him. Some players, especially this late in the season in a meaningless game, are simply not going to be coachable, and this is certainly not isolated to UMass. Yeah, McCall recruited most of the current players, and he should've done a better job getting the right guys, but I think we need at least one more season before we can figure out if the core problem is McCall's inability to motivate and connect with players, or if it was simply a correctable short-term error in recruiting.

https://www.timesrecordnews.com/story/s ... 064228002/

I think there is an issue with ownership on the coach and players. It sounds to me that McCall thinks the entire issue is will to win and effort. It looks like the players are looking for more than that. When things aren’t going well, like yesterday, the players don’t want to hear try harder, they want to be told what to do differently on the court. Change defense, press, etc. neither the coach nor the players own the mistakes/losing while they are being made. McCall takes ownership after, but can’t figure how to own it while it’s happening as evidenced by him saying all the kids need to do is try harder.

This is right on...sticking with the same thing that isn’t working and saying there needs to be more effort, intensity etc is never going to bring success. There are enough guys that want to play and win but you need to put them in positions to succeed. Teach them stuff, keep them engaged by changing things up, play super aggressive and put pressure on the other team instead of just sitting back and running the same stuff hoping they will get better at it.
I have said plenty on here about what I have seen but there is much more that I haven’t said...many of you have similar stories or at least see similar things in games. This isn’t all of a sudden going to get better just because he gets his players...that has always been bullshit...if you can coach and teach you can do it with any players.
Fans of teams want to support their coach and feel he needs time to get things turned around and there are plenty of instances, from Coach K to the guy at Wofford that was posted on here, where it took 3-4 years but with each of those there were signs that things were moving in the right direction: toughness, togetherness, communication etc...I don’t see things heading in that direction.

McCall isn't connecting with the collective team this year... but it seemed like he connected with last season's team... so which is a better indication of his ability to connect with players? I don't know the answer, but I think we should have a better idea by this time next year.

I think there have been some reasonable comments about what a coach should do... but I also think the complaints don't necessarily apply to McCall here, and this season has been put under the microscope and is being analyzed by a bunch of armchair quarterbacks, myself included. I'm not seeing McCall sticking with the same things that aren't working, he seems to be making adjustments all of the time. The offense has morphed and adjusted from a heavy reliance on Pipkins' using PnR to create, to now much more of Pierre running off screens to get an open look, and feeding Holloway in the post dependent on the right matchups. McLean went from numerous DNP's to getting some of the heaviest minutes. Defense has alternated between man, zone, and I've seen more trapping lately. Even in the 2nd half of the blowout McCall was still on the sidelines directing traffic.

I think McCall's frustration goes beyond the lack of effort, it's a lack of being coachable. My wife is a high school teacher, I hear countless stories of students that no matter what my wife says or does, they simply don't care about doing well in her class... they don't study, they don't come after class, they don't complete the homework... sometimes she and the parents are able to get through to them, but sometimes it's only temporary. I call bullshit if anyone says a good coach can coach any/all players, some guys, for any numbers of reasons, just aren't going to care enough to put in the necessary focus, time, and effort.

[Roadtrip]

^Then show them the damn door.

[UMassHoops]

True enough, many players/kids are difficult to coach.

One difference between your wife and MM is that she probably doesn't get to choose which kids are in her classroom but MM does. So he's either bringing in these kids and making poor character decisions, or he's not coaching them well. The other difference is MM is paid boatloads more money to get this right than a teacher. He's paid well enough to be held accountable, for every program that loses, there is a program that wins.

I'd say it's not fair to completely judge him on the results this year, but by the end of next year is not too soon.

[Juice Stand]

or do your homework on the recruiting trail and don't bring them here in the first place, which is something I think McCall has acknowledged when he said he's made mistakes in recruiting and can't be afraid to say no sometimes (last week's radio show).

Edit: whoops, sorry. You basically said exactly what I was going to say.

[minutefanjsf]

I think there is an issue with ownership on the coach and players. It sounds to me that McCall thinks the entire issue is will to win and effort. It looks like the players are looking for more than that. When things aren’t going well, like yesterday, the players don’t want to hear try harder, they want to be told what to do differently on the court. Change defense, press, etc. neither the coach nor the players own the mistakes/losing while they are being made. McCall takes ownership after, but can’t figure how to own it while it’s happening as evidenced by him saying all the kids need to do is try harder.

This is right on...sticking with the same thing that isn’t working and saying there needs to be more effort, intensity etc is never going to bring success. There are enough guys that want to play and win but you need to put them in positions to succeed. Teach them stuff, keep them engaged by changing things up, play super aggressive and put pressure on the other team instead of just sitting back and running the same stuff hoping they will get better at it.
I have said plenty on here about what I have seen but there is much more that I haven’t said...many of you have similar stories or at least see similar things in games. This isn’t all of a sudden going to get better just because he gets his players...that has always been bullshit...if you can coach and teach you can do it with any players.
Fans of teams want to support their coach and feel he needs time to get things turned around and there are plenty of instances, from Coach K to the guy at Wofford that was posted on here, where it took 3-4 years but with each of those there were signs that things were moving in the right direction: toughness, togetherness, communication etc...I don’t see things heading in that direction.

McCall isn't connecting with the collective team this year... but it seemed like he connected with last season's team... so which is a better indication of his ability to connect with players? I don't know the answer, but I think we should have a better idea by this time next year.

I think there have been some reasonable comments about what a coach should do... but I also think the complaints don't necessarily apply to McCall here, and this season has been put under the microscope and is being analyzed by a bunch of armchair quarterbacks, myself included. I'm not seeing McCall sticking with the same things that aren't working, he seems to be making adjustments all of the time. The offense has morphed and adjusted from a heavy reliance on Pipkins' using PnR to create, to now much more of Pierre running off screens to get an open look, and feeding Holloway in the post dependent on the right matchups. McLean went from numerous DNP's to getting some of the heaviest minutes. Defense has alternated between man, zone, and I've seen more trapping lately. Even in the 2nd half of the blowout McCall was still on the sidelines directing traffic.

I think McCall's frustration goes beyond the lack of effort, it's a lack of being coachable. My wife is a high school teacher, I hear countless stories of students that no matter what my wife says or does, they simply don't care about doing well in her class... they don't study, they don't come after class, they don't complete the homework... sometimes she and the parents are able to get through to them, but sometimes it's only temporary. I call bullshit if anyone says a good coach can coach any/all players, some guys, for any numbers of reasons, just aren't going to care enough to put in the necessary focus, time, and effort.

I am HS teacher and have coached; the analogy doesn’t work. This is D1 basketball. My point was that he is not changing his tune that just playing harder will get them there. The kids are looking for more in game changes when the shit hits the fan not just telling them to play harder. I agree he has made changes, but the those are part of his game planning not in the heat of the moment changes. I can’t fathom how D1 athletes can throw such lazy passes to the tune of 14 turnovers in one half. Telling them to play harder won’t fix that. They need to know what they are doing wrong. (out of position, not seeing the floor, the sets are not working-need to tweak positioning/footwork, etc.) It looked like at half time he made some adjustments. It was just too late by then.

[Floyd]

Not choosing sides here, coach vs players, but like you said, this is D1 basketball. And not low level D1 basketball. Shouldn't some of that stuff be skills they already have/know?

[JoleonLescottsHair]

Pipkins shot 43-155 in conference games. 16-70 from 3. Let that sink in. McCall should have limited his minutes and put a stop to that when it became obvious his shot wasn't coming back.

[NilesGold]

Pipkins shot 43-155 in conference games. 16-70 from 3. Let that sink in. McCall should have limited his minutes and put a stop to that when it became obvious his shot wasn't coming back.

You've got the mitigating factor of Tre Wood being injured (and not exactly being consistently impressive), and you can see that Pipkins' FGA per game declined starting with the 4th conference game.

[TheOFFSeason]

This is directed at Niles as I don’t agree at all with what he had to say in his post, but I’m interested in what everyone thinks of this:

Give this same roster to Pitino, Cal, Williams, Few, Marshall etc...all great coaches and what is the record with the schedule we played and what does the team look like on the court?

Keep in mind that I am not expecting McCall to be one of the greats or a hall of famer, but this exercise can show you just how far from excellence we are getting or maybe you think those guys wouldn’t have done better than 9th or so.


Superstar teachers get through to difficult kids all the time but they have to be creative as doing the same old thing isn’t going to work. His changes that you speak of are minuscule.

[NilesGold]

I am HS teacher and have coached; the analogy doesn’t work. This is D1 basketball. My point was that he is not changing his tune that just playing harder will get them there. The kids are looking for more in game changes when the shit hits the fan not just telling them to play harder. I agree he has made changes, but the those are part of his game planning not in the heat of the moment changes. I can’t fathom how D1 athletes can throw such lazy passes to the tune of 14 turnovers in one half. Telling them to play harder won’t fix that. They need to know what they are doing wrong. (out of position, not seeing the floor, the sets are not working-need to tweak positioning/footwork, etc.) It looked like at half time he made some adjustments. It was just too late by then.

Were the turnovers a function of something UMass was doing incorrectly, something URI was tactically doing that's different from the norm, or simply a lack of focus from UMass? I didn't watch the first half, but in previous games the excessive UMass turnovers have generally looked like a function of being careless and lacking focus. In the 2nd half the team looked much more focused and energetic and they played much better.

This team is capable of playing some solid basketball when most of the team seems to care.