2019-20 season

[Jackson96]

Today’s lists...coaching.

Biggest Question Marks In My Mind:

1) Connected (part one). It’s a word McCall has loved to use (especially in year one) — can he get this team to buy in and play together? Will they be connected as a team?

2) Connected (part two). This part is arguably even bigger than the first part. Will the players feel connected to McCall?

3) What’s the dynamic going to be like between McCall and Bergeron?

4) Consistency — I think this has been one of the bigger issues from the first two years of the McCall era. The lack of consistency in effort. Even in year one when they were outmatched but generally played hard, there were a few games where the effort just wasn’t there. Last year was obviously way worse in this regard. Maybe this happens to all teams as it’s a long season, but still this is one of my bigger concerns.

5) Player development — this is another area McCall has preached about where the jury is still out — partially because of all the roster and staff turnover. Now a new staff...new roster...let’s hope the players get better.

Biggest Reasons for Cautious Optimism:

1) Change. What we had clearly wasn’t working. Is a housecleaning of staff (along with the roster) a bit of a gamble? Sure but it beats the alternative. It wasn’t working.

2) Bergeron’s track record. Looking at it, it’s clear he wins and it sounds like his teams play hard and defend.

3) McCall himself. Despite the disappointing results (particularly in year two — overall year one wasn’t disappointing despite what some folks might say) McCall has shown some decent glimpses that he can coach when his players are bought in. Maybe these hard times have taught McCall some lessons and he will adjust to get more consistent buy-in. This list is cautious — not blind — optimism.

4) New energy. A lot of this will come from the new mix of players hopefully but it also needs to come from the staff and I hope Wheeler and Bergeron play a big part in this as the newest coaches onboard.

[capezona]

I'm willing to give McCall a new start. The first year was a mad scramble - late hire, late out of the blocks on recruiting, lots of guys leaving, injuries, quick roster spots being filled with whoever was available, lots of transfers, new staff, etc. And he was successful, beyond my expectations anyway. For the second year he was kind of stuck with the rash of fill-in players, more injuries, transfer in mid-season, morale issues, and he tried to make it work with limited success because key players wanted out. Then he chucked it all.

This year he has hold-over guys who want to be here and a slew of freshmen who have a lot of talent and desire. I'm really looking forward to this season and 20-21 to see how all this plays out. I have high hopes but also feeling cautious understanding that this team needs experience. I'm glad they get a few games in August. I think it will be a fun year of basketball.

[69MG]

4) Consistency — I think this has been one of the bigger issues from the first two years of the McCall era. The lack of consistency in effort. Even in year one when they were outmatched but generally played hard, there were a few games where the effort just wasn’t there. Last year was obviously way worse in this regard. Maybe this happens to all teams as it’s a long season, but still this is one of my bigger concerns.

For a multitude of reasons that have already be discussed, last year was a disaster and almost everyone is in agreement on that. In year one, I thought the players really bought in and it was fun to watch that scrappy, undermanned team fight as hard as they could. It's almost impossible to get 100% effort for every game so I give MM a pass for the couple of games in year 1 that you alluded to. With the POTENTIAL TALENT of this year's team, if he can get that same effort I'll feel a lot better about having renewed my season tickets.

[Floyd]

Don't have any idea what the working dynamic was with the previous staff, but I didn't get the impression there was a ton of collective collaboration going on. Bergeron was a proven winner at the prep level, Wheeler was a very good, successful player, and bringing in a seasoned guy to act in an advisory role, all appear to be positive additions. How they all work together and support and listen to each other could be a major improvement from last year and really make a difference. This is a big year for Matt McCall

[69MG]

This is probably the most optimistic outlook I have seen so far, both for UMass and the A10. I thought it was just somebody tweeting but it turns out Freeman is a legit BB guy.

Tristan Freeman
‏@hoopsnut351
5m5 minutes ago
A-10 basketball rankings for 2019-20:
1. VCU
2. Davidson
3. Dayton
4. Rhode Island
5. Duquesne
6. St. Bonaventure
7. St. Louis
8. UMass
9. George Mason
10. Richmond
11. La Salle
12. GW
13. St. Joe's
14. Fordham

Expect 3-4 bids from league next season.

[uz2b-len]

Don't know how anyone can rank us above George Mason. They beat us like 6 times in a row.

[eldonabe]

Don't have any idea what the working dynamic was with the previous staff, but I didn't get the impression there was a ton of collective collaboration going on. Bergeron was a proven winner at the prep level, Wheeler was a very good, successful player, and bringing in a seasoned guy to act in an advisory role, all appear to be positive additions. How they all work together and support and listen to each other could be a major improvement from last year and really make a difference. This is a big year for Matt McCall

The whole thing was a mess from all accounts. From coaches not on the same page to Pip acting like Kyrie Erving, last year was a recipe for exactly what we saw last year.....

All of the prior administration's scent is now gone (including salary!!!) I really liked the big man, but he just didn't have the drive - that is not on DK, but he was part of the old guard......

I am cautiously optimistic about next season, and it really has nothing to do with with win expectations. I like the new blood, I like the fact that (on paper at least) we have a talented class coming in, I like the fact that we have new coaches, and I LOVE the fact that MM made some very real and wholesale changes (I don't care if Bamford forced him to or not)..... I am still beyond bothered and disappointed by the DK dumpster fire season after which an "entire program review" was promised and it yielded and new S&C Coach and the exact same disjointed and unorganized look on the court. In reference to whether Bamford forced that on MM or not; the fucking AD (when DK did his "review") should have been unsatisfied with those changes and pushed for more too.

[InnervisionsUMASS]

You'll move on some day.

[MJatUM]

Don't know how anyone can rank us above George Mason. They beat us like 6 times in a row.

Luckily we don't have to play GMU every game of the season.

[Marty Peretz]

This team will play hard and we will be pleased with their efforts. If you told me the odds of Tre Mitchell winning A10 Rookie of the Year were 3 to 1 I'd take that bet in a heartbeat. I think several other freshman will be really solid as well (Santos, Weeks, East in particular). The five returnees form a solid core. That said, the A10 is WAY WAY better than it was a year ago AND our non conference slate is the best it's been in years. This makes it very tough for a young group. I'd be enormously pleased with a .500 record and view this is a two year process. Without an established point guard to take the reigns from day one, it's just not going to be pretty at times during the non conference. That said, I think our compete level and chemistry will undergo a 180 and that our trip to USVI this summer will prove invaluable. I also think we're going to press a ton and that will help mask some of our inexperience since we have great length and it will allow us to get some easy buckets.

Keys to the season:
*off season development/general health of Sy, Samba, and Keon. All of those guys showed real signs last year. If all three put it together you have a really solid core. If all three struggle, we're going to have trouble scoring the basketball in the half court.
*Decision making of our young point guards, particularly in the early going. Will East or Kelton Mitchell be able to step in and do what a number of rookie PG's have done around the league in recent years? Or will it take a full year for them to acclimate to the pace of the collegiate game? Can Keon prove adept enough at the one in the event that production from the frosh isn't up to par in league play?
Does Carl make the jump from 10-12 to 16-17? Does he need to? Basically the key is "to what extent is Carl shouldering the offensive load?" If he's scoring 20 and that's leading to wins, great. If he's scoring 20 because no one else can score, that's bad. We need him to take the next step and help lead us to wins. How that will manifest itself in terms of stats remains to be seen.

[eldonabe]

You'll move on some day.

From the guy who is still butthurt over Ford....

[InnervisionsUMASS]

^
I'm butthurt over Ford like I'm butthurt over the Pats losing the perfect season. I don't act like Ford killed my dog or child.

[eldonabe]

^
You are right he didn't kill either of those things, he only killed the basketball program.

[InnervisionsUMASS]

^
I appreciate you making my point. You're one truly unbelievable character.

[MikeUMA]

Don't know how anyone can rank us above George Mason. They beat us like 6 times in a row.

Even worse. The streak is 7. But at least they've been close: either went to OT, or regulation by 5 points or less.