Players or Coaching?

[Dallas Brave]

I know a lot is made of JL's game coaching, lack of experience, etc ...

When it comes down to it though, you can't win without the right combination of players. This year's team is an enigma. They play hard one game and then play like pansies the next game.

I think Les is an OK coach and is doing the best he can with what is a mediocre team. IMO, where he has messed up big time is not recruiting better inside players or properly developing the big guys he has recruited. In 2005-06 we had POB and Zach plus a 3 (MS) who could rebound to go with outstanding play from the guards. The team was a complete team and the results showed. In 2006-07, we were OK because Zach was a stud and our 3 point shooting was the best in the nation. After that, we have been mediocre despite winning 20 games each season which has become a meaningless benchmark when you play almost 40 games a year.

While I want to do well in the MVC, I want to do well in the NCAA more. Build a team that can do well in the NCAA and the MVC results will automatically be there. Could you imagine what would happen to this team if they get on a run in St. Louis and get the auto bid? They will get absolutely hammered in the first round of the NCAA.

JL better recruit some big men, wide body boys who can play defense, rebound, and make a layup. And he better be able to develop them if they are projects. It makes me literally sick to see the program get so little out of players like David Collins and AT. If they are as bad as JL seems to indicate by limiting their minutes, then don't recruit them.

I have hated watching us trot out such a short lineup for the last 3 years.

I have hated watching a 4 play the 5 spot and a 3 play the 4 spot for the last three years.

I am hoping that a combination of WE and JP might get us where we need to be at minimum ... provided we put them on the floor at the same time. And can AT be as bad as JL seems to think he is?

If I fire JL ... it is because he can't recruit and develop big guys. This is NCAA basketball, not a 6 foot and under league.

[Braves4Life]

Players or coaches....... Some would say it's one and the same Dallas.

[Skut Farcus]

Players or coaching ? My answer is, yes.

[Big Mike]

great post DB.....to win the Valley you must have an inside presence....and bigger players make it tougher on opponents in the paint....my worry is next season we lose SS, if AT is worse than SS and all we have is JP who is a 4 in his 1st year D1, WE and TB who are both under 220 lbs.....then we are in trouble....we need to get over the fact we are not a run-n-gun O' and are not a big 3-point shooting team....please lets get bigger! And if JW does become a Brave he is also a 200 lb player who prefers the outside!

[BradleyBrave]

It's both, but ultimately it's one man's program and one man's responsibility.

[Dallas Brave]

It's both, but ultimately it's one man's program and one man's responsibility.

I agree 100% with that statement as JL is responsibile for who he has recruited and how he has decided to play them. Individually, we have good recruits. But they are an unbalanced starting 5 ... which is JL's fault and in my opinion what will end up costing him his job ... whether it is after this season or next year.

Regarding the things the players control. I'm not sure if they have good chemistry. I know that this team does not have consistent heart. Sorry if that sounds harsh to say about college kids, but we have seen Bradley teams with a lot more heart than this team.

This team is what ... 10-11. From my arm chair (literally) turning this season around will require a whole lot more lineup experimenting than we have seen and require JL to go outside his comfort zone and change his subsitution patterns. You can't yank your big guy out every time they make a mistake like he has done with DC last year and AT this year. If you are not one of JL's favorites, he has a very short leash.

I would go AT (5), WE (4), TB (3), AW (2), and SM (1). I think WE would be much more effective if he has another big guy out there. You have DSE, CR, and SS coming off the bench. I could be way off, but for the sake of seeing what would happen, I would try a bigger line up for 2-3 games. At 10-11, what is the risk.

[mrcoachdude]

I agree 100% with that statement as JL is responsibile for who he has recruited and how he has decided to play them. Individually, we have good recruits. But they are an unbalanced starting 5 ... which is JL's fault and in my opinion what will end up costing him his job ... whether it is after this season or next year.

Regarding the things the players control. I'm not sure if they have good chemistry. I know that this team does not have consistent heart. Sorry if that sounds harsh to say about college kids, but we have seen Bradley teams with a lot more heart than this team.

This team is what ... 10-11. From my arm chair (literally) turning this season around will require a whole lot more lineup experimenting than we have seen and require JL to go outside his comfort zone and change his subsitution patterns. You can't yank your big guy out every time they make a mistake like he has done with DC last year and AT this year. If you are not one of JL's favorites, he has a very short leash.

I would go AT (5), WE (4), TB (3), AW (2), and SM (1). I think WE would be much more effective if he has another big guy out there. You have DSE, CR, and SS coming off the bench. I could be way off, but for the sake of seeing what would happen, I would try a bigger line up for 2-3 games. At 10-11, what is the risk.

can you tell I agree....see my signature

[ER3]

I agree 100% with that statement as JL is responsibile for who he has recruited and how he has decided to play them. Individually, we have good recruits. But they are an unbalanced starting 5 ... which is JL's fault and in my opinion what will end up costing him his job ... whether it is after this season or next year.

Regarding the things the players control. I'm not sure if they have good chemistry. I know that this team does not have consistent heart. Sorry if that sounds harsh to say about college kids, but we have seen Bradley teams with a lot more heart than this team.

This team is what ... 10-11. From my arm chair (literally) turning this season around will require a whole lot more lineup experimenting than we have seen and require JL to go outside his comfort zone and change his subsitution patterns. You can't yank your big guy out every time they make a mistake like he has done with DC last year and AT this year. If you are not one of JL's favorites, he has a very short leash.

I would go AT (5), WE (4), TB (3), AW (2), and SM (1). I think WE would be much more effective if he has another big guy out there. You have DSE, CR, and SS coming off the bench. I could be way off, but for the sake of seeing what would happen, I would try a bigger line up for 2-3 games. At 10-11, what is the risk.

I think it is time we give up on the notion of AT becoming a "5" at BU. If he has gained 40 lbs. since he's been here (which I think is a myth...), then he's still 50 pounds short of where he needs to be to try and defend players like Odiakosa, Egleseder, Lawson, Carmichael, etc. in the post...He would get absolutely destroyed if we put him out there in meaningful situations against other centers in the Valley.

Labelling AT as a 'big guy' is an insult to the word big. Our coaching staff is not stupid. They see how limited Singh is physically...They see how overmatched Egolf can be, at times, in the post against the top centers in the Valley. If AT was capable of giving us anything at all this year, he would be in there...He's not, so I think it may be time to stop waiting on him to be some sort of answer at the "5"...We need to bring in a minimum of 2 JUCO bigs that will be capable of giving us minutes in the post next year, IMO. And if AT's scholarship is one of the spots that we need to use to bring in a contributor for next year, so be it. Three years in the program, and he still can't give us a single meaningful minute...time to cut bait, and bring in some bench players that actually have value...IMO.

[Braves4Life]

Well said ER3!

[BradleyBrave]

I think it is time we give up on the notion of AT becoming a "5" at BU. If he has gained 40 lbs. since he's been here (which I think is a myth...), then he's still 50 pounds short of where he needs to be to try and defend players like Odiakosa, Egleseder, Lawson, Carmichael, etc. in the post...He would get absolutely destroyed if we put him out there in meaningful situations against other centers in the Valley.

Labelling AT as a 'big guy' is an insult to the word big. Our coaching staff is not stupid. They see how limited Singh is physically...They see how overmatched Egolf can be, at times, in the post against the top centers in the Valley. If AT was capable of giving us anything at all this year, he would be in there...He's not, so I think it may be time to stop waiting on him to be some sort of answer at the "5"...We need to bring in a minimum of 2 JUCO bigs that will be capable of giving us minutes in the post next year, IMO. And if AT's scholarship is one of the spots that we need to use to bring in a contributor for next year, so be it. Three years in the program, and he still can't give us a single meaningful minute...time to cut bait, and bring in some bench players that actually have value...IMO.

Well, JL said on his radio show a couple of years ago that AT was the most talented big man he'd coached next to POB. I've heard AT might not work as hard all the time as he needs to, but if he's as talented as JL said, shouldn't that at least garner him some minutes? What does Sam Singh give you that AT couldn't?

[Guinness]

Win as a program, lose as a program. Its everything involved. More effort is needed.

[Braves4Life]

Well, JL said on his radio show a couple of years ago that AT was the most talented big man he'd coached next to POB.

That was a rather irresponsible comment on Les' part, IMO, that has come back to haunt.

[Dallas Brave]

I think it is time we give up on the notion of AT becoming a "5" at BU. If he has gained 40 lbs. since he's been here (which I think is a myth...), then he's still 50 pounds short of where he needs to be to try and defend players like Odiakosa, Egleseder, Lawson, Carmichael, etc. in the post...He would get absolutely destroyed if we put him out there in meaningful situations against other centers in the Valley.

Labelling AT as a 'big guy' is an insult to the word big. Our coaching staff is not stupid. They see how limited Singh is physically...They see how overmatched Egolf can be, at times, in the post against the top centers in the Valley. If AT was capable of giving us anything at all this year, he would be in there...He's not, so I think it may be time to stop waiting on him to be some sort of answer at the "5"...We need to bring in a minimum of 2 JUCO bigs that will be capable of giving us minutes in the post next year, IMO. And if AT's scholarship is one of the spots that we need to use to bring in a contributor for next year, so be it. Three years in the program, and he still can't give us a single meaningful minute...time to cut bait, and bring in some bench players that actually have value...IMO.

I agree with what needs to happen in the offseason. But before I cut bait on AT, I would give him a chance to make it. We haven't seen the guy play without the threat of getting yanked if he misses a play ... how can any kid play basketball knowing that you get immediately benched if you make a mistake? You might think he doesn't deserve minutes, but I want to see him him play meaningful minutes before making my own conclusion. We have seen enough on WE and SS to know that they can not handle the 5 spot when they are the only big guy on the floor. If you don't start AT, then start SS and WE and use AT off of the bench. The main point is to have two big guys on the floor at the same time. Maybe it won't work ... but we know the alternative is 10-11 which isn't that great either.

[wily coyote]

Players or coaching ? My answer is, yes.

My vote is yes.

[SFP]

I'd like to get a real 5 with our last scholarship and perhaps we also may want to play AT at the 4. Kevin Garnet plays the 4! Let's not worry that he has the length of a 5 so he should play the 5. He has the body mass of a 3 so that averages to a 4. I'd also like to see us play WE and SS at the same time for some reasonable minutes. What do we have to lose?