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BASKETBALL 2018 Bad Boy Mowers Battle 4 Atlantis

I noticed but it's clear how we come out of the tip that is not how they are being coached in practice. So, it starts there. Asking them to slow down a time or two in the game during the first half is not what I'm getting at. What I'm getting at begins well before the game. We've seen the style of play in the first five games. This is instilled in practice how they will attack the game. He has to modify there not wait til gameday.

The only issue I have with your stance is that you're repeatedly saying that it's CNM's ego that is the root cause.. Perhaps the coaching staff who has spent more time with this team tan any of us actually knows what style/pace is has the best potential for this team based on what they're actually capable of? It may not be what you or I want it to be.. I can tell you it's not what CNM wants it to be.. but you can't turn a pigeon into roast duck...

So be frustrated but let's not pretend that there are a ton of options with the cards that have been dealt.. I give this team and staff a lot of credit for the energy and hustle and fight that they have shown- despite the score and THAT starts in practice as well.

Based on the players I see out of position in the offensive sets that I know CNM is running- I don't see how you could throw more plays or different sets at a team that clearly isn't grasping the new stuff CNM & staff are implementing.. simply hasn't been enough time with so many new players and the injuries they had before games started..
 
Butler has hit 6 more shots overall than us and 6 more threes. We are down by 17. We simply do not have enough guys that are a threat from the outside. Gamble is our #3 3 pt shooter. When no one is a threat from the outside they can crash the middle. Unfortunately a guy on our team that could help us here is not eligible right now. We need to get someone on McDermott though.
 
It’s obvious what our weaknesses are. Turnovers and poor 3 point shooting, the number of three we shoot are low. Again, only 3 diff MT players have made a three this year.

In general we play good D. Butler is shooting 45% and we are equaling them in the boards.

It’s the turnovers more than the D
 
One thing that does concern me with this team is lack of premier players. This is something we've always had the last 6-7 years. Every year we've had 2-3 absolute studs who were locks to be first team all CUSA and in the running for CUSA POY. Having these types of studs on your team is huge. Can't have a group of role players.

It feels like we have a group of role players.
 
No doubt it’s been ugly. We must play defense and take care of ball. Unfortunately most freshmen must learn to do both. We have to develop freshmen we don’t recruit one and dones. The season will be what most of us expected no one,is a miracle workers. It’s hard sometimes but we must be supportive. Go blue raiders
 
Really wish we could have kept Buffen and Curry. KJ Buffen is going to be a star.
 
A lot have things have been said and are pretty close to on point. Unfortunately this season was never set up for success. Honestly... it’s going to be more than one year of the headaches. I hate to say it, but I see the writing on the wall.
 
Really wish we could have kept Buffen and Curry. KJ Buffen is going to be a star.

I think you’re spot on with the lack of studs on this team..

You can place all those concerns on CKD right? Poached the incoming recruits and didn’t recruit the next wave of studs to replace King, Potts, etc.. in the current player roster/pipeline.. cupboard was bare and I don’t think those freshmen would’ve been the savior this year anyway..
 
I think you’re spot on with the lack of studs on this team..

You can place all those concerns on CKD right? Poached the incoming recruits and didn’t recruit the next wave of studs to replace King, Potts, etc.. in the current player roster/pipeline.. cupboard was bare and I don’t think those freshmen would’ve been the savior this year anyway..
Not all of it but equal blame, at least. I think everyone can admit that even if Kermit has stayed we would have taken a big step backwards.
 
I think you’re spot on with the lack of studs on this team..

You can place all those concerns on CKD right? Poached the incoming recruits and didn’t recruit the next wave of studs to replace King, Potts, etc.. in the current player roster/pipeline.. cupboard was bare and I don’t think those freshmen would’ve been the savior this year anyway..

Don't blame Kermit for anything. If he stayed at MT I believe we would have been fine. Maybe a slight down year this year, but Buffen, Curry, and Fagan are going to be great players and would have stepped right in and been studs. Especially Buffen. He would have signed a good grad transfer as well like he did for many seasons. I 1000% disagree with those who think that it would have been a down year if Kermit stayed. I completely reject that notion.

No, I don't think things would have tanked if Kermit stayed. Maybe a slight down year this season, but even that isn't a guarantee. Antwan Johnson and Antonio Green would have set this league on fire in my opinion. Also, I believe Buffen and Curry are going to both be great college players and would have contributed and played well here as Freshmen. Buffen is already playing significant minutes at Ole Miss and he's playing well. He would have filled the stat sheet here at MT all 4 years. The more I think about it, the more I believe we would have had a good team this year under Kermit. Of course Kermit was gonna sandbag it and say it would be a rebuilding year but the roster was honestly still pretty loaded.

This is just a really difficult transition because we are completely changing style of play, McDevitt had no time for this year's class, and we had a mass exodus of players when he came. Just off the top of my head...Buffen, Curry, Fagan, Tyrik Dixon, Antwan Johnson, Shelton-Shmizt (sp?)...and I'm sure there's more I can't remember. And these were not scrub players either. The 3 freshman were heralded as our greatest signing class ever. Dixon was all conference defender....Antwan Johnson most athletic on the team and an absolute sharp shooter....kermit said shelton-schzmit could be the best ever to walk through the doors....etc. When Kermit left we lost SO much talent. Basically all of our talent from the looks of things.
 
It sucks we lost all those players. What is McDevitt supposed to do when the recruits gave him basically no chance and 3 of the 4 guys that left apparently broke some team rules? My question is how many coaches could be handed this and do a lot better? Were not a lot of recruits left and he still got some with a lot of potential. This was the perfect storm of bad.
 
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Butler is loaded with shooters. Us......not so much. We just look out of control way too often. I do think our young guys have a ton of potential. Green has got to play better if we are going to have any success.
 
Outside of the first 2 exhibition games, every team is kicking our asses in the 2nd half. Some of that is depth but I think some of it is lack of adjustments by the coaching. And we scored 2 more points than the 2 non D1 schools in the 2nd half.
 
I suppose you’re right in that the previous staff would’ve continued to look the other way with Johnson, Dixon, Thomas’ off court stuff..

If the returning guys are role players it speaks to the lack of player development that has occurred as well.

All I see is Green is the one borderline starter- and his defense is suspect. Everyone is a first year player with a coaching change..
 
Turnovers, turnovers, turnovers. Mcdevitt said multiple times that we will only go as fast as we can go without turning the ball over. Well, we obviously need to slow it down because all we do is turn it over. Turnovers is all coaching too. Sims is turning it over this year and he rarely did last year. He has got to get them to take care of the ball more.
 
I suppose you’re right in that the previous staff would’ve continued to look the other way with Johnson, Dixon, Thomas’ off court stuff..

If the returning guys are role players it speaks to the lack of player development that has occurred as well.

All I see is Green is the one borderline starter- and his defense is suspect. Everyone is a first year player with a coaching change..

I honestly really don't care what Johnson, Dixon, and Thomas did in their free time as long as they are not getting into trouble with the law. If they were keen enough to keep it low key, then whatever. I'd venture to say a good chunk of college athletes are doing things they are not supposed to be doing. I was around the football team A LOT while in college and they were far from angels.

I also don't buy into the lack of player development comment either. Kermit Davis did more with less than than any other coach in America arguably. The vast majority of our players at MT under his leadership were 2 star players. He took several teams full of 2 star players with 1 or 2 high rated guys and made serious noise all the way into March. Not many coaches can do this.

Lastly, there isn't a single bonafied starter beyond Green on this roster for a reason. They all left or were ran off. The current players were role players under Kermits system for a reason. Not every player you sign is going to be starting material. It is up to the coach to turn them into great bench players and maximize productivity with them. Gamble is a great example. HAwthorne also. They were great for us off the bench because Kermit knew what they were and more importantly what they weren't.
 
Turnovers, turnovers, turnovers. Mcdevitt said multiple times that we will only go as fast as we can go without turning the ball over. Well, we obviously need to slow it down because all we do is turn it over. Turnovers is all coaching too. Sims is turning it over this year and he rarely did last year. He has got to get them to take care of the ball more.

I truly do believe Kermit would have had a stroke if he ever had a team play like that.
 
Turnovers are not all coaching. Turnovers are a mixture of coaching and play. Nothing is all on coaches and nothing is all on players. Easy to not turn ball over if you are Sims with that team. Last year is over and Kermit is gone. Talking about what we lost should only make us more patient. I am guilty of not being patient as well, but I will not stop supporting this team. I expect alot of the “fans” on here to stop going to games and start again when the wins start coming.
 
Turnovers, turnovers, turnovers. Mcdevitt said multiple times that we will only go as fast as we can go without turning the ball over. Well, we obviously need to slow it down because all we do is turn it over. Turnovers is all coaching too. Sims is turning it over this year and he rarely did last year. He has got to get them to take care of the ball more.
Amen. The pace of play comment is what I loved about McDevitt’s press conference as he made it sound like his philosophy would be adaptable but apparently not. Blows my mind that a unca fan would come on this board and say we do not know basketball seeing as we had one of the most well respected minds in all of college basketball from an x and o stand point.

McDevitt needs time but still not sold on the style as even if we get players I am not certain we will be able to grind out games on an off night like we were so accustom to.
 
I said this when he was hired. No defense and careless with the ball. All of his teams have those traits in common. We get to enjoy that success cycle now. Become really good and lose our coach. Now we are at the bottom again. We'll see if he learns and adapts. Right now, I'm not seeing it.
 
Really not looking forward to the Ole Miss game. I at least wanted it to be competitive. Instead we are going to get pounded and I'm just going to sit there and wonder what could have been with Buffen playing against us.

Gut wrenching.
 
Amen. The pace of play comment is what I loved about McDevitt’s press conference as he made it sound like his philosophy would be adaptable but apparently not. Blows my mind that a unca fan would come on this board and say we do not know basketball seeing as we had one of the most well respected minds in all of college basketball from an x and o stand point.

McDevitt needs time but still not sold on the style as even if we get players I am not certain we will be able to grind out games on an off night like we were so accustom to.

Should blow your mind since I never said anything of the sort.. I’ve debated some of the opinions expressed but didn’t realize that it would strike such a delicate nerve of the collective ‘we’ that evidently your the defender of... boards are made for debate.

This was always going to be a year of more questions than answers.. as a UNCA fan and former player I know what CNM is trying to implement- perhaps that is of importance since CKD isn’t coming back. Time is a factor that can’t be manipulated and this group will continue to develop as the year goes on.. but 3 games in 3 days is really not going to be indicative of how this team may perform in other games.. the current evaluation of these players in game situations by the coaching staff is also important because practice and games show differences in some players.
 
I’m a results guy and I don’t have patience for this crap! Our coach just got a major pay upgrade and I expect results. No excuses if your players suck at running your offense then change it to fit their skill set. I don’t blame kids at all for this shit show.
 
I don’t claim to be a coach or know everything about the game, but if I’m asked to contribute my money, time and emotional equity I expect a better product. It’s simple as that! I won’t ever stop being a fan, but I have the right to my opinion.
 
Stanford has lost its last two games by 18-16 points; Cardinal is even less experienced team than MT. Cardinal started 3 sophs, and 2 freshmen yesterday. Stanford 2 of 18 three's yesterday...
 
Yes you are consistently negative. :)

And you consistently pump sunshine where the sun doesn't shine.

I'm not negative. I'm a realist. The facts are:

1. We are not good.
2. CNM was dealt a difficult hand to start his tenure.
3. But CNM also is failing to match a strategy with the roster he has
4. CNM needs a year or two build his roster and we will know more
5. We are -71 point differential in our four Division 1 games.
Bonus. My comments to date are almost extensively based on what we should expect this season. And some people don't like to hear the truth so they pontificate on how good it will some day be again - which may or may not come.
 
With all this basketball knowledge I’m wondering how some of y’all didn’t get the job...

Welcome to MT fan land, many of the folks are experts I tell you, experts. Another trait is their extremely short memories. They remember the last 6 years of CKD but forget the first 8-9 years (the blowout losses early in the year, the constant running off of players with potential). This happens in every sport, after our FB team started 1-2 (two losses to SEC teams on the road) they all pronounced we may not win more than a game or two).


As for me, CNM gets a complete pass this year. All I am looking for is effort this year then effort and improvement next year. And it will take us to his third year when the F on this team are JRs to compete for the conference.


Look at what CKD had his first year at MT - a team full of veterans...note there was ONE FRESHMAN who didn't ever play on team and no 2nd year players. Yeah, we won some more games than our current team will but nothing special, in fact this veteran team started 4-8. With losses to East Carolina, UNCG, TN Tech, Murray State and Austin Peay. The only team with a pulse was Purdue which we lost to by 30. And then we had vaulted Sun Belt play.

Player # Class Pos Height Weight Hometown Summary

Tommy Gunn 32 JR G 6-3 205 Syracuse, NY 15.9 Pts, 4.1 Reb, 2.3 Ast

William Pippen 3 SR F 6-7 200 Hamburg, AR 15.5 Pts, 6.0 Reb, 1.1 Ast

John Humphrey 35 SR G 6-2 210 Raleigh, NC 9.0 Pts, 4.8 Reb, 1.0 Ast

Napoleon Rhodes 40 JR C 6-8 250 Ocala, FL 6.4 Pts, 5.1 Reb, 0.7 Ast

Eric Parham 11 SR G 5-10 175 Nashville, TN 5.7 Pts, 2.3 Reb, 3.8 Ast

Marcus Robinson 12 JR G 6-2 185 Newnan, GA 4.7 Pts, 2.4 Reb, 1.1 Ast

Keith Connor 1 JR G 6-0 190 Pflugerville, TX 3.9 Pts, 1.7 Reb, 1.6 Ast

Bryant Mitchell 34 SR F 6-7 215 Lawrenceburg, TN 3.4 Pts, 2.8 Reb, 0.2 Ast

Steven Jackson 4 JR F 6-6 215 Memphis, TN 3.1 Pts, 2.3 Reb, 0.3 Ast

Demario Watson 50 SR C 6-8 220 Memphis, TN 2.1 Pts, 1.6 Reb, 0.1 Ast

Derek Glasper 23 JR G 6-3 205 New Britain, CT 1.0 Pts, 0.2 Reb, 0.0 Ast

Adam Osborne 54 FR 0 0.0 Pts, 1.0 Reb, 0.0 Ast
 
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I said this when he was hired. No defense and careless with the ball. All of his teams have those traits in common. We get to enjoy that success cycle now. Become really good and lose our coach. Now we are at the bottom again. We'll see if he learns and adapts. Right now, I'm not seeing it.

Yeah, this is all I'm saying. Perhaps by the time conference play gets here he will have a better sense of how to get these guys in better position. The three good teams we've played have all exposed our weaknesses. So, now we will see what kind of coach he really is. Whether he can make adjustments and adapt. Time will tell.

Right now we are just really sloppy on offense, take lots of bad shots, and consistently out of position on defense. Oh and it is absurd to say that poor defensive positioning and all the turnovers isn't on the coaching. Those two factors are 90% coaching.
 
Definitely an ugly game. A couple of observations. Before season we were worried about rebounding. We out rebounded butler by 9. I’m not sure why shooting % goes down so much second half Nick does get a pass this year. I don’t know why anyone would question this. I’m disappointed but not surprised look at this roster. It’s all about guard play we have no experience. It will get better yes it does seem that the sky has fallen in it will get better.
 
Welcome to MT fan land, many of the folks are experts I tell you, experts. Another trait is their extremely short memories. They remember the last 6 years of CKD but forget the first 8-9 years (the blowout losses early in the year, the constant running off of players with potential). This happens in every sport, after our FB team started 1-2 (two losses to SEC teams on the road) they all pronounced we may not win more than a game or two).


As for me, CNM gets a complete pass this year. All I am looking for is effort this year then effort and improvement next year. And it will take us to his third year when the F on this team are JRs to compete for the conference.


Look at what CKD had his first year at MT - a team full of veterans...note there was ONE FRESHMAN who didn't ever play on team and no 2nd year players. Yeah, we won some more games than our current team will but nothing special, in fact this veteran team started 4-8. With losses to East Carolina, UNCG, TN Tech, Murray State and Austin Peay. The only team with a pulse was Purdue which we lost to by 30. And then we had vaulted Sun Belt play.

Player # Class Pos Height Weight Hometown Summary

Tommy Gunn 32 JR G 6-3 205 Syracuse, NY 15.9 Pts, 4.1 Reb, 2.3 Ast

William Pippen 3 SR F 6-7 200 Hamburg, AR 15.5 Pts, 6.0 Reb, 1.1 Ast

John Humphrey 35 SR G 6-2 210 Raleigh, NC 9.0 Pts, 4.8 Reb, 1.0 Ast

Napoleon Rhodes 40 JR C 6-8 250 Ocala, FL 6.4 Pts, 5.1 Reb, 0.7 Ast

Eric Parham 11 SR G 5-10 175 Nashville, TN 5.7 Pts, 2.3 Reb, 3.8 Ast

Marcus Robinson 12 JR G 6-2 185 Newnan, GA 4.7 Pts, 2.4 Reb, 1.1 Ast

Keith Connor 1 JR G 6-0 190 Pflugerville, TX 3.9 Pts, 1.7 Reb, 1.6 Ast

Bryant Mitchell 34 SR F 6-7 215 Lawrenceburg, TN 3.4 Pts, 2.8 Reb, 0.2 Ast

Steven Jackson 4 JR F 6-6 215 Memphis, TN 3.1 Pts, 2.3 Reb, 0.3 Ast

Demario Watson 50 SR C 6-8 220 Memphis, TN 2.1 Pts, 1.6 Reb, 0.1 Ast

Derek Glasper 23 JR G 6-3 205 New Britain, CT 1.0 Pts, 0.2 Reb, 0.0 Ast

Adam Osborne 54 FR 0 0.0 Pts, 1.0 Reb, 0.0 Ast

Expert? Give me a break but to have someone come on here and claim McDevitt’s system is complex compared to what else people are running around the country is laughable. Like we all have said McDevitt needs more time but I thought he would be more adaptable as he claimed. Can he adapt? He has only had one stop as a player/coach. Early observations are that the Belmont second half was a disaster, crump who was committed to unca and fits the system has been terrible, inexplicable turnovers.
 
Those who follow my posts will note that I'm a long time fan and my favorite sport is, by far, men's BkB. Last night for the first time in memory I cut off a televised game at half-time and went to bed.
This knowing that since the PTB decided we didn't need to be on 89.5 I can't listen to games on my bedside radio, as I have done for years.
I've stated before that it's so hard to build a %$&-major program and very easy to lose relevancy. Is this the beginning of decades of mediocrity as we had during the Farrar's, Weil's, and first 10 years of Davis' tenure? Hard to convince me otherwise.
 
Those who follow my posts will note that I'm a long time fan and my favorite sport is, by far, men's BkB. Last night for the first time in memory I cut off a televised game at half-time and went to bed.
This knowing that since the PTB decided we didn't need to be on 89.5 I can't listen to games on my bedside radio, as I have done for years.
I've stated before that it's so hard to build a %$&-major program and very easy to lose relevancy. Is this the beginning of decades of mediocrity as we had during the Farrar's, Weil's, and first 10 years of Davis' tenure? Hard to convince me otherwise.

Not necessarily. It's all going to depend on the quality of this hire, and I will explain in just a moment. Personally, I believe the guy from UMBC - Ryan Odom - was a better fit culturally for MT, and I think everyone by now knows what happened there between Massaro and McPhee.

Very different circumstances. MT basketball has some clout now. We are getting into tournaments like Atlantis and the one next year because the profile of the program has been raised. We are in more recognizable basketball league now as well though it's not as good as it once was. All that to say is that McDevitt - in spite a difficult roster situation in year one - inherits a program with some name recognition and a culture of winning. The brand is out there now to influence the recruiting picture, so bottom line is that it's up to McDevitt to keep it going. He inherited a far better situation than Davis did when he got here.
 
Expert? Give me a break but to have someone come on here and claim McDevitt’s system is complex compared to what else people are running around the country is laughable. Like we all have said McDevitt needs more time but I thought he would be more adaptable as he claimed. Can he adapt? He has only had one stop as a player/coach. Early observations are that the Belmont second half was a disaster, crump who was committed to unca and fits the system has been terrible, inexplicable turnovers.

Only that is not what he said - He said he understands what CNM is doing, he NEVER said its more complex.

And adapt to what...did you actually look at the roster from CKD first year that I posted. They had 3 studs - Gunn, Pippen and Humphrey's that are BETTER than any player on our current roster. And even with that veteran roster he started 4-8 - using your logic, maybe Kermit should have adapted?

Sensible early observations is we don't have enough talent to win against good teams. In college, guard play is critical - we are playing 4 young guards, 3 of them F. All have some talent, they have to be developed. We need them to have confidence to shoot the 3, they are not ready for this type of competition.

Lastly, our schedule did this team NO favors. I get playing 1 or 2 P5s OOC, but last years team may have been 3-3 at this point.
 
The overreactions as of late are real! We all knew we were in over our head before this tourney even started. This season is more or less about growing with our new cast. It’s unfair to compare this team to ones of the past of late. It will take time to get back to that level but CNM is already bringing in more highly touted 4 year players then CKD was ever able to do. CNM gets a pass this year but we need to see improvements in many areas from the start of the season to the end. I’ll hold my judgment until next season.
 
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