Game 18, 2024-25: at Fordham (1/15)

[InnervisionsUMASS]

Interesting that he coached last night and the suspension gets announced less than 24 hours later. Did they sit on it for a day or two?

Whatever, we won.

Considering they wanted to celebrate the building... probably. No need for the distraction to take away from the event.

[chapter 11]

Well that was fun. Brought the family from Manhattan for the traditional biennial game. They know the tribulations of being a UMass fan but were loving it and yelling like wild people. I didn't need to bribe them to stay throughout OT although I told them not to get too vested. My wife was walking to the concessions during the first Diggins "heave fest" and almost got in the crossfire which was funny. I told her she wouldn't get that in Ann Arbor. Our fans were great, even had the U Mass chant going. Plenty of fist bumps. Being so close to the action was great despite not getting the Chick-fil-A giveaway. Its a great venue for young kids to see the action including the colorful language which was not that much. Fordham's fans were more annoying than I remembered but the idiots in Swim gear were funny. The Fordham coach irks me as well for some reason but most of their players seemed tough. I was a student during the '96 run but this win ranks up there. Now let's build.

[mdogt12]

Frank was screaming at Jayden several times after he fouled out saying “Thanks for helping the team tonight”

[NilesGold]

Ok, now I can be a little bit critical.

The officiating last night was horrendous, but our team continues to be incapable of defending without fouling and adjusting to situations.

Diggins's mid-season revival is now into its 5th game, crossing my fingers hoping it continues. Diggins completely changed the complexion of the game, because of him Fordham switched on picks, which resulted in Rivera being defended by the 5-8 Jackie Johnson on a number of possessions.

As Diggins ascends, Curry has fallen to new lows. Another disastrous game from him.

Rivera still has his flaws, the FT shooting in the 2nd half and OT and foul on Fordham's half-court shot nearly lost the game, but UMass needs him, he's probably their best post-up player and he's been good at exploiting smaller defenders when the opportunity arises. Credit to Rivera and the coaches for adjusting mid-season and taking better advantage of his skills and not trying to make him into someone he's not.

DHS is just not the same player he was before the injury and it's really holding UMass back because the other big men are not up to the task.

Frank was screaming at Jayden several times after he fouled out saying “Thanks for helping the team tonight”

What a fucked up thing to say to a player, how is that helpful to him or the team? My biggest criticism with Jayden in this one is that he was too aggressive on defense committing too many fouls when UMass needed him on the floor. UMass is better when he's in there. I don't want to belabor this, but there are 5 players on the court for UMass and only 1 basketball. You don't need every player to be a scorer as long as defenses consider you enough of a threat that they don't ignore you.

I contend that UMass' best lineup is usually going to be some iteration of Worthy, Diggins, Jayden and Rivera... with the 5th player dependent on the opponent... if DHS was himself it would be him, but at this point another guard, forward, or even one of the highly flawed centers might be better.

Speaking of centers, I'm glad Frank is using Doumbia a bit more, even if it's mostly out of desperation. I just don't see much upside from any of the others. Malek is a complete disaster. Shahid provides some defensive value and he can make FTs, but he gets pushed around by physical big men and seems to be lost on offense. Seems to me like Luka may not have the physical tools for this level. Doumbia at least shows promise and with more reps I think he might be ok.

[Floyd]

I'm starting to think Curry and Jayden might be elsewhere next year. More than once he's made offhand comments about Curry's finger rolls and videos, and Jayden seems like his favorite guy to insult lately. At some point guys get sick of this stuff and with Carbuccia coming aboard, the portal, and guys eating Jaydens minutes already, reduced minutes and the displeasure from Frank may be enough to make them go elsewhere. Hope not, but wouldn't surprise me

[GOODY]

I'm starting to think Curry and Jayden might be elsewhere next year. More than once he's made offhand comments about Curry's finger rolls and videos, and Jayden seems like his favorite guy to insult lately. At some point guys get sick of this stuff and with Carbuccia coming aboard, the portal, and guys eating Jaydens minutes already, reduced minutes and the displeasure from Frank may be enough to make them go elsewhere. Hope not, but wouldn't surprise me

Agree

[Juice Stand]

That was the type of game that gets people in the area to pay attention. My phone was buzzing throughout the day with people texting me about the game. That hasn't happened after any game this season.

[minutefanjsf]

I'm starting to think Curry and Jayden might be elsewhere next year. More than once he's made offhand comments about Curry's finger rolls and videos, and Jayden seems like his favorite guy to insult lately. At some point guys get sick of this stuff and with Carbuccia coming aboard, the portal, and guys eating Jaydens minutes already, reduced minutes and the displeasure from Frank may be enough to make them go elsewhere. Hope not, but wouldn't surprise me

Jayden had no offers aside from UMass. He seems to be a great team player. He seems to have a strong relationship with Frank, despite the harsh, public criticism. His playing time has only decreased due to the fouls being called on him. He is legitimately in a sophomore slump, IMO. Curry not being from Massachusetts and being highly recruited, and also in a sophomore slump, could look elsewhere or actually appreciate the coaching and want to stay. The brutal and/or sarcastic comments from Frank do not seem to bother his players as much as they bother witnesses to the behavior. There will be movement for sure; it is the nature of the beast now. I could see some of the freshmen leaving too due to low or no playing time. Big Jelly is redshirting and will take a spot. There will be 15 spots, too.

[Floyd]

Curry not being from Massachusetts and being highly recruited, and also in a sophomore slump, could look elsewhere or actually appreciate the coaching and want to stay. The brutal and/or sarcastic comments from Frank do not seem to bother his players as much as they bother witnesses to the behavior.

Hopefully true

[NilesGold]

The brutal and/or sarcastic comments from Frank do not seem to bother his players as much as they bother witnesses to the behavior.

It’s possible, but I don’t think we can know this one way or the other.

[chapter 11]

Any idea how diggins and the team is feeling? Besides ecstatic.

[minutefanjsf]

The brutal and/or sarcastic comments from Frank do not seem to bother his players as much as they bother witnesses to the behavior.

It’s possible, but I don’t think we can know this one way or the other.

Considering almost all of his former players seem to revere him, and these guys already have stuck it out to be here for a second year, I think the stuff we don’t see in locker room, on sidelines in huddles, at practice, etc. historically seem to outweigh the over the top demeanor during the games. We can’t know for sure, but it seems like less of an issue with the players when compared to the fans.

[Floyd]

Not sure any of them would publicly say anything anyway. Doesn't really affect fans aside from the team being rebuilt every year, and possibly ticket sales because of that.

[Camby4Life]

The brutal and/or sarcastic comments from Frank do not seem to bother his players as much as they bother witnesses to the behavior.

It’s possible, but I don’t think we can know this one way or the other.

Considering almost all of his former players seem to revere him, and these guys already have stuck it out to be here for a second year, I think the stuff we don’t see in locker room, on sidelines in huddles, at practice, etc. historically seem to outweigh the over the top demeanor during the games. We can’t know for sure, but it seems like less of an issue with the players when compared to the fans.

Great post and completely agree. I’ve been a fan of Frank’s career and his resume of former players help support this point. Frank’s successful teams at KSU and SC had 4 year captains and star players who he relied on. You could just see the special relationships he had with his players. Of course the transfer rules have changed, but those players could have transferred out if they didn’t like his yelling. Frank also took in some quality transfers who wanted to play for him.

I’m also with Eldon on this one when he says the AM-herst folks are sensitive to what they see and hear at the games. It’s not a coaching style for everyone, but I still believe that there are quality players out there who would thrive at the tough love.

[NilesGold]

Considering almost all of his former players seem to revere him, and these guys already have stuck it out to be here for a second year, I think the stuff we don’t see in locker room, on sidelines in huddles, at practice, etc. historically seem to outweigh the over the top demeanor during the games. We can’t know for sure, but it seems like less of an issue with the players when compared to the fans.

If Frank is winning games you'd hear almost no complaints from fans, but he's done almost as much losing as winning, so I'd say the critiques about his demeanor are fair.

"almost all of his former players seem to revere him" is a bit of a stretch. I don't hear Cohen, Keon or Robert Davis saying much about Frank and they definitely don't seem to revere him. You're almost never going to hear players be publicly critical of their coaches, regardless of what they think of them.

Most coaches have some level of support from some of their players, even when locker rooms are toxic and coaches get fired for mistreating the players they'll have some players come out in support of them.