Coach Frank Martin

[Merlin Samuels]

Don't put too much stock into a coach's reaction when his team is getting blown out.

He does this when UMass isn't getting blown out.

So which is it? Too much emotion or he’s withdrawn?

I saw a better team win at home yesterday riding a wave of momentum and shooting over 50% from the floor. I can’t believe how many people sound the alarms here.

[Juice Stand]

You can't believe how many people sound the alarms? Really? You must be new here.

In our last four non-home games (neutral vs North Texas and at St Bona, GW, VCU), we've lost all of them, by an average margin of defeat of 18.25 points. There's a startling trend developing there. You mix in the home loss to LaSalle, predicted to be one of the two or three worst teams in the conference, and yeah, I can see why people are sounding the alarm, or at the very least tickling it.

[InnervisionsUMASS]

No alarm sounding from me, sorry I brought it up!!!

[PreecherJenkins]

Otherwise, step down now and let Allen Edwards take over.

you did see Allen's last two years at the Arena-Aud? It was a bloody disaster. Yes, he did win a CBI his first year, but unlike others in the MWC did not use that title to elevate their program...

[PreecherJenkins]

For anyone that paid attention to Martin at KSU and USC: is sitting there with his arms crossed the majority of the game standard for him? I feel like I always knew him as being up and coaching and screaming, but I can't say I watched many of his team's games prior to him coming here.

I was wondering the same thing. I'm starting to believe that Frank doesn't want to be coaching anymore.

I cannot believe this...

I am agreeing with Niles

Also, it looks ridicolous that Frank is wearing a sport coat while the assts are all wearing polos. Think a uniform look would be better.

[Jackson96]

My favorite thing* is when folks think they know — without being around a program — what a coach is thinking, or know his/her instruction methods really are, or how much assistant coaches do or don’t do.

* by favorite thing I mean my favorite thing to laugh at.

Certainly I have some concerns with the diminishing returns on the court as of late, but I have no idea about any of the above stuff. None of us do really. Wondering about it is certainly natural and fine, but some folks act like they know. It’s quite funny.

My main concerns are with the defense getting worse not better and with the sometimes maddening turnovers and inability to finish inside.

Do the lineups bother me? Sure, sometimes, but I also don’t think we are as talented as some folks think we are. There was a talent upgrade from last year, sure, but that is also like saying you outgrew a midget. All of these players have warts.

I don’t think the players — Gapare and DD — that most folks seem to think should get more minutes, would make a huge difference in the final results.

Gapare is clearly gifted but he’s also clearly not strong enough out there. I say this while also saying I would like to see him get more minutes for developmental purposes.

And DD has turned himself into a wonderful offensive player, much better than I ever expected, but his defense is pretty awful. Similarly, I do think he should play a bit more as well, but I’m more concerned about the issues I outlined above than I am by the lineups, especially the team defense, which I expected to be consistent and good all year and it hasn’t been.

People are good at yelling on Twitter about the lineups but if I posted there, I would be yelling about the defense or the turnovers.

Lastly, missing two of our best players hurts us quite a bit. I think Luis is turning himself into our best two way player already, while TJ is just so damn inconsistent (Luis is too to an extent but he’s a freshman and he’s creating not just finishing.)

Noah meanwhile, provides some steadiness and scoring on offense. Diggins and Keon have both shown flashes here and there but neither one of them can really shoot. Any lineup that has one or two of them and then Martin and Leveque is going to be challenged offensively (yes a lineup critique!)

[inthescoop]

Tough but fair after last night's result
https://twitter.com/ol_trevmeister/stat ... 1575181313

Side note, I think the UMass alumni program has a fuck-all for alumni relations everywhere but New England.

Big props to Trevmeister, much respect sir.

[Juice Stand]

Otherwise, step down now and let Allen Edwards take over.

you did see Allen's last two years at the Arena-Aud? It was a bloody disaster. Yes, he did win a CBI his first year, but unlike others in the MWC did not use that title to elevate their program...

Not debating whether he is a good coach or not. The majority of that post was how I think that Frank Martin is still dedicated as a coach and has a passion for the process, the game, winning, teaching, etc. What I said is that if he no longer has that and he's just playing out the string and cashing a check, then step down and let Edwards take over. I don't believe that he is, I said if he is.

[NilesGold]

I can’t believe how many people sound the alarms here.

At what point are we allowed to sound the alarm bells?

[dennisdent]

This is from twelve years ago but sure fits Martin today: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRHoWx7g4Xc

He's definitely calmed down since then...

[Juice Stand]

I don’t think the players — Gapare and DD — that most folks seem to think should get more minutes, would make a huge difference in the final results.

I agree with most of what you said, but I'll quibble with this one line here. I agree that it might not make a huge difference, but in some of these games it's just a small difference that matters. Take GW for example, I think the lineups were horrible, and when we finally got the lineups figured out, we went on a really nice run to make it a game but there just wasn't enough time left. Similarly in the LaSalle game, the lineups were awful, and when we figured out the right group, we shut them down defensively and had a real chance to win that thing. Huge difference, small difference, whatever, sometimes that's the difference between 11-7 vs 13-5, or 2-4 in conference vs 4-2 in conference.

[Jackson96]

That’s fair. I don’t know if changing things up earlier in either of those examples would have had the same type of positive result only bigger. Very well may have, but I don’t know.

[SignMan]

Tough but fair after last night's result
https://twitter.com/ol_trevmeister/stat ... 1575181313

Side note, I think the UMass alumni program has a fuck-all for alumni relations everywhere but New England.

Big props to Trevmeister, much respect sir.

Excellent Trev...
Been there, done that re many otherwise failing events because t Mother org had no work ethic.
Everything, making lots of calls, myself and friends for UM via me, turned would be failed events into success stories, athletics and others.
Biggie re t 40th anniversary CCEBS reunion in 2008.
T head of t program at UM told me Mother org AA provided zero help and wanted to cancel t event so they would not be embarrassed (or maybe lose their jobs).
I provided all t resources to contact would-be attendees at a very late date, drew up a plan to be implemented and t org itself, not Mother, followed it over t two or three weeks before t event.
Prior to my assistance they had 4 sign-ups. At least 75 attended. Mother refused to recognize my existence, let alone a simple Thank You.
Many of them never spoke with me again and still refuse to.
Doesn't pain me in the least.
Did more like it for more than one athletic event.
Leaving it to younger generation now.

Keep up t good work.
Nothing better than personal contact.
I always preferred a direct marketing plan with phone calls...harder to say No to.

Alum friend since we were kids, in Richmond now, was there last night.

[Plano Minuteman]

Otherwise, step down now and let Allen Edwards take over.

you did see Allen's last two years at the Arena-Aud? It was a bloody disaster. Yes, he did win a CBI his first year, but unlike others in the MWC did not use that title to elevate their program...

Haha, yeah, he did get them Hunter Maldonado, though, who has been a thorn in CSU's side for 5 years.

College hoops is a fickle beast, though. Everyone thought the Cowboys were going to contend for the MWC title this year - having added 2 USC guys and a UCLA guy to a core that lost very little, and it's been a disaster. They'll probably beat CSU on Saturday though. I'll probably be witnessing that in person.

Multiple player injuries are devastating to a team's momentum, even when you're as stacked as say....Arkansas.

I'm not even close to sounding the alarm bells on Martin.

[inthescoop]

Tough but fair after last night's result
https://twitter.com/ol_trevmeister/stat ... 1575181313

Side note, I think the UMass alumni program has a fuck-all for alumni relations everywhere but New England.

Big props to Trevmeister, much respect sir.

Excellent Trev...
Been there, done that re many otherwise failing events because t Mother org had no work ethic.
Everything, making lots of calls, myself and friends for UM via me, turned would be failed events into success stories, athletics and others.
Biggie re t 40th anniversary CCEBS reunion in 2008.
T head of t program at UM told me Mother org AA provided zero help and wanted to cancel t event so they would not be embarrassed (or maybe lose their jobs).
I provided all t resources to contact would-be attendees at a very late date, drew up a plan to be implemented and t org itself, not Mother, followed it over t two or three weeks before t event.
Prior to my assistance they had 4 sign-ups. At least 75 attended. Mother refused to recognize my existence, let alone a simple Thank You.
Many of them never spoke with me again and still refuse to.
Doesn't pain me in the least.
Did more like it for more than one athletic event.
Leaving it to younger generation now.

Keep up t good work.
Nothing better than personal contact.
I always preferred a direct marketing plan with phone calls...harder to say No to.

Alum friend since we were kids, in Richmond now, was there last night.

I love how Sign Man does not believe in the word "the"