russianthistle wrote:

GWRising-- BC had joked about me making the point that they should play the two bigs together.. not targetng you at all.... I had must have missed your previous post and have no problem with your position.... the point was that for short stretches, Paar's stroke from 3 could pay off especially if his man gives him the shot --he showed off his shot this summer.
 

I know he can shoot it a little but he has not attempted a three all season. Not sure JC wants him trying that out in a close game like Saturday.

Don’t know that there is anything to suggest Toro is injured.  From what I am hearing, and this is supported by the pregame assistant coaches statements on numerous occasions, Toros lack of playing time has been a coaches decision...one that I personally do not agree with.

It's probably worth noting a few things here.  First, there are many things about this program that all of us do not know.  I don't believe that anyone has ever said that they possess keener insights regarding this program than the coaching staff does.  If AT is injured, they would know the extent of the injury, the progress of his recovery, and presumably what can be expected from him.  

Also, let's not conflate going against JC regarding their usage of AT with thinking that JC is a terrible coach or that he's not doing a good job.  Citing an argument like team improvement is essentially a non-argument.  I am a fan of JC and really appreciate the job that he and his staff are doing.  Watching the team play in conference games has been like night and day compared to earlier in the season.  The Athletic just gave GW some love yesterday (thank you Patrick Stevens).  And yet, you can in fact appreciate all of the positives surrounding this program, and still think that the coaching staff was incorrect on their handling of AT.  One needn't either agree with everything that is said and done or simply react by saying that I trust the coaching staff in order to be considered a supporter of this program.
 

And so here, on a message board, it is logical to draw conclusions and make assumptions based on what we do know as well as what we think might be the case.  It is a waste of time for anyone to suggest that any poster is not qualified to offer an opinion because they don't know all of the facts.  If this were true, then shut down the message board by all means since it's a rare discussion where everyone knows all of the facts.  As has been mentioned, the school's sports information department is less than forthcoming when it comes to providing behind-the-scenes information and without any beat reporters asking for this information, we are often left to guess.  (Using AT as an example, would it be hard to make a statement that said "AT is about 75% recovered but still has a nagging ________.  Coach is hoping to be able to play him 10-20 minutes today based on how the game goes and how he is feeling." )  Am pretty certain that no HIPPA laws would have been violated.

 

Gwmayhem wrote:

It's probably worth noting a few things here.  First, there are many things about this program that all of us do not know.  I don't believe that anyone has ever said that they possess keener insights regarding this program than the coaching staff does.  If AT is injured, they would know the extent of the injury, the progress of his recovery, and presumably what can be expected from him.  

Also, let's not conflate going against JC regarding their usage of AT with thinking that JC is a terrible coach or that he's not doing a good job.  Citing an argument like team improvement is essentially a non-argument.  I am a fan of JC and really appreciate the job that he and his staff are doing.  Watching the team play in conference games has been like night and day compared to earlier in the season.  The Athletic just gave GW some love yesterday (thank you Patrick Stevens).  And yet, you can in fact appreciate all of the positives surrounding this program, and still think that the coaching staff was incorrect on their handling of AT.  One needn't either agree with everything that is said and done or simply react by saying that I trust the coaching staff in order to be considered a supporter of this program.
 

And so here, on a message board, it is logical to draw conclusions and make assumptions based on what we do know as well as what we think might be the case.  It is a waste of time for anyone to suggest that any poster is not qualified to offer an opinion because they don't know all of the facts.  If this were true, then shut down the message board by all means since it's a rare discussion where everyone knows all of the facts.  As has been mentioned, the school's sports information department is less than forthcoming when it comes to providing behind-the-scenes information and without any beat reporters asking for this information, we are often left to guess.  (Using AT as an example, would it be hard to make a statement that said "AT is about 75% recovered but still has a nagging ________.  Coach is hoping to be able to play him 10-20 minutes today based on how the game goes and how he is feeling." )  Am pretty certain that no HIPPA laws would have been violated.

 

The reason information is not released is three-fold. First, competitive advantage. Second, gambling. Third, uncertainty.

Competitive advantage - why let your opponent know that Toro is 75%?
Gambling - the Conference and the school often warn about letting injury information to get out there either privately or semi-publicly that would be used to someone's benefit in the gambling context.
Uncertainty - sometimes it's a game time decision as in we will see how you feel in warm-ups..

As to criticism of the JC, you are correct that is what happens on message boards. But there is a difference between saying JC isn't playing Toro because he undervalues his talent and insinuating there must be some dislike or other effort to push Toro out solely because he is not one of JC's guys. There is no evidence for the latter and I am pushing back against that part not against the fact that this is a forum to discuss all things GW basketball including coaching. It just may be that you and others have to agree to disagree with JC on his use of Toro and we will see long term who is correct. 
 

Last edited by GWRising (2/18/2020 1:41 pm)