Shooting, what, 4 of 20 from 3? That's abysmal. Make three more (still under 33%) and it's a 7 point victory. 

FredD wrote:

Makes sense with all the roster turnover and the ease of transferring, guys think my professional basketball opportunities depend on ME. ME filling up the stat sheet. Not in a crazed you-must-respect-me fashion, but enough to prevent true buy-in. Buy-in requires trust and trust they don't got.
 

This is absolutely true. I am paraphrasing but Tyler Brelsford was quoted as saying there is no point to playing college basketball if you’re not starting when explaining his decision to transfer.

College coaches now must to be equipped to overcome that mindset.  They can’t just take for granted like it was in the 70s, 80s, and 90s that the players will just do what they’re  told.

Right now it looks like JC hasn’t figured out how to get that buy-in and the team and fan base are suffering for it.

moneybox wrote:

Here's the real dilemma: GW can't afford to fire Christian but also can't afford almost 3 more years of this debacle. Not the first time the bumbling administration and athletic department have been in this position. And sadly, it won't be the last. 

in past years at GW changes would be made.  But the school is in this tough situation where it was just forced to significantly cut its athletic budget, and the current President is on his way out and being replaced by an Interim President.  Would an Interim President even take something like this on?  What if he puts athletics at the bottom of his priority list?  I'm sure his first reaction would be to say there's no money to do a buyout and then to go out and spend the $ to hire a decent coach. Does anyone who holds sway in the GW community have the ability to force some kind of action?  If the program had a couple of large donors, they could probably get the word to someone.

But this feels like a program that’s in no-man’s land at this point.  JC’s quote about them doing anything and everything to motivate the players with sports psychologists etc is a joke IMO.  I have never seen GW basketball in this shape.  Maybe one day there will be a new start and GW will at least be a team that can compete to be in the top 1/2 of the A-10.  I am not even thinking about an NCAA tournament appearance in the future.  Just an average team, or one with a winning record.  I would be happy with that at this point.  When a program sinks to where GW is at right now it becomes embarrassing.  And that’s not good.

Last edited by Deleo (12/02/2021 10:19 am)

With all due respect to JR, unless you're with this team day in and day out, it's very difficult to draw a conclusion about trust.  To be fair, JR said it LOOKS like they don't trust one another.  Looks that way to many of us too.  That doesn't mean it's the iron clad truth.

To those who got on James's game last night, in the words of Mr. McEnroe, "you can not be serious."  Stop for a moment and imagine what last night's game might have looked like had James say had the flu and not played.  He was about the only reason why we were even in the game.

One of the changes that GWRising may have been alluding to was that James played off-the-ball practically the entire game.  There did not appear to be a conventional point guard last night...it was sometimes Brendan or Amir while he was in, sometimes it was Brayon, often times, Ricky grabbed a rebound and went coast to coast (more on that shortly).  James took 19 shots and made over half.  He made some big shots.  Completely unfair to get on him about assists when he's not controlling the offense from the point and he's taking good shots in rhythm for the most part.

Interesting that JC has consulted with a sports psychologist.  The better question is whether the sports psychologist has addressed the players individually or as a group.  With the hopeful blessing of GW69, I will now play sports psychologist and address many of our players:

Brendan Adams:  Brendan, you're pressing out there.  I know how badly you want to sink those 3's, but your body language is just terrible after every miss.  This has to be cutting into your confidence as a player.  Like a golfer who bogeys, you have to get that miss out of your mind, relax, and take the next good shot that becomes available.  You do many good things on the court; visualize those things the next time you go up for a shot.

Joe Bamisile:  What are we going to do with you Joe?  Everyone loves spectacular plays and you are clearly capable of making them.  The problem is that most plays in basketball are routine and unspectacular.  If you really want to contribute to a winning program, you need to learn to make the routine plays look...routine.  The embarrassing turnover trying to find a wide open Bishop who had an uncontested layup was unfortunate but I guess stuff happens.  The three point attempt coming out of a timeout with 15 seconds left was frankly, inexcusable.  We know it was well intended...you had a poor game and really wanted to make up for that turnover.  However, if you really stop and think about it, what would have been best for the team was to either let someone hotter than you take the shot, or find a much higher percentage shot. 

Brayon Freeman..Whether you're in the starting lineup or not, it's clear that you're going to have a more integral role with this team.  You're doing fine but you will need to improve as you gain experience.  I'm guessing you will.

Amir Harris:  I'm not an orthopedist but I have to ask anyway.   Are you physically able to play more than a handful of minutes per game?  If not, I understand as your physical health is the main thing.  But if you feel you are, please let your coaches know.

Ricky Lindo:  You appear to be exceptionally skilled at certain aspects of the game.  You're a warrior on the boards, you have a flair for making defensive plays, you have a nice shooting touch from the perimeter, and you handle the ball very well for someone your size.  However, there's this little thing I need to bring up.  When you grab a defensive rebound and dribble the length of the floor, it appears that: a) you rarely give up the ball and b) you often miss your shot.  Don't get me wrong.  It's refreshing to see someone your size go coast to coast.  But when that moment comes, you need to do a much better job at either scoring, getting fouled, or finding an open teammate.  Because there have been way too may empty possessions when you are leading the break.

James Bishop.  I liked what I saw on Wednesday.  Embrace the role of a shooting guard.  Focus on good shot selection and shooting in rhythm.  The responsibilities of getting your teammates involved has been lifted.  BUT, it's still up to you to determine what's a good shot to take and what isn't.  Some defense and a little rebounding will always be appreciated but if I'm being honest, if you score 23 a night on 10-19 from the floor, I can overlook a lot.

Noel Brown/Hunter Dean:  I'm going to talk to you two together because I am seeing similar things.  The first thing I'll ask is to please stay with the guys you are guarding. I realize this is not always your fault as some of our guards seem to refuse to defend the pick and roll by going over the screen, leaving you with the task of trying to keep up with players nearly a foot shorter than you.  Assert yourselves.  Scream at these guards if you have to.  Sometimes, you guys seem to venture off to the top of the key area for what looks like no real reason.  If you're out there to set up a trap, I can understand this.  But if you are 6' 10" or taller, are standing more than 20 feet from the basket, and are not even attempting to force a turnover, then what are you doing?  Let's have you both work on guarding down low, fronting your man, you know, big guy stuff.

Finally, a message to the entire team....communicate.  If it's been challenging playing together,  a primary reason for this might be that you're not talking to one another enough on the court.  Even I know from my pickup game to let my teammates know to switch on defense or when a teammate is about to blindly run into a pick setter.  Don't take for granted that your teammates will know what you're thinking and vice versa.  

Hope this helps.  I won't even charge you for my advice, as long as you win at least 2 of the next 4.

He's not the only person who should consult a psychologist here

Once again, inefficient half court offense and gave up a lot of points inside.
   I hope as a head coach, Jamion Christian would try to learn from his mistakes and find support from others on improving the team's glaring deficiencies.  GW's offensive sets don't get people open shots.  We got schooled by St Francis.  Every year, we get to watch Richmond, Davidson, and Bonaventure.  Steal their stuff.
   If the players go 1-on-2 or jack up ill-advised shots, it's not that they don't trust their teammates or that they're selfish.  It's that they don't trust their offense.  Our guards and wings don't run an offense, they just pass it around the perimeter and look for a shot or driving lane.  They need to have more options to pass inside to a post or a cutter.  And when you find yourself driving into a 1-on-3, find an open man.
   GW's defense is actually doing okay, holding most teams under 70.  But even Christian has noticed that when people break through the perimeter they get easy buckets because we have no backstop.  Noel Brown should be told on defense to keep at least one foot in the lane at all times to protect the basket and block out for rebounds.  We got burned so many times when he followed his man out past the 3-point line, on either the pick and roll or the drive around the pick.
   I actually liked Hunter Dean's defense in the second half.  He gets most of his fouls when he's moving sideways, but he seemed to play more chest out, hands up defense later in the game and he got a few stops.  Agree with the point about others helping out when their big man starts backing in 1-on-1.
 

BM wrote:

150 replies on this thread.  I think you can say people are concerned.

No need for concern! Once the shots start falling, we'll be fine. Plus, they've got music in the halftime locker room. Routine be damned! Let's keep trying new and different things until something sticks.

Whispers "guys, move the ball."

With all due respect to JR, unless you're with this team day in and day out, it's very difficult to draw a conclusion about trust.  To be fair, JR said it LOOKS like they don't trust one another.  Looks that way to many of us too.  That doesn't mean it's the iron clad truth.

The second half can't be what JC asked for or adjusted too. What explains 20 minutes of the athletically superior team getting worked? Little movement? No fluidity. Poor shot selection.

100% Snark free question for the group. If trust is not a central issue what is it?

Looks like the only mayhem we should be seeing is that of watching AD Vogel and Christian exiting GW. So desperate to quickly get beyond the scandal the administration accepted Nero's protégé as his replacement. Obviously both Vogel and Christian will not be moved until the end of next year. As GW fans we should insist they be removed if GW wants to see another dime in contributions. What a disgrace!

This board should get the same certification/credit as an AA/NA group.

Take care of your mental health everyone. Why is this such a surprise? When you hire an unqualified AD to try to quickly recover from your ineptness (our illustrious administration) this is what happens. We are stuck with TV and JC until their contract expires. Read my lips: this school can't afford to do anything else. Read today's Hatchet - we are looking to lease/sell real estate!

The only ones who give a damn are the 15 of us. The Nero/Knapp/Maltzman curse continues to strike 6 years later. We are not Maryland or Georgetown. Turgeon just lost his 2nd game of the season to a P-5 team and the student section boo'd him off their court last night. We just lost to friggin BU on our home floor and one of our 15 posters commented about what a great student turn-out (that person obviously never went to a game 5 years ago when we beat UVA and others who would dare come into the Smitty).

If you want to be relieved of some stress and not turn into a dude, go hibernate for a few years and come back when we are in the Patriot League and hopefully competitive again.

Raise High (just a little bit)!