|
|
WORKING HARD
Feb. 11, 2005
It’s all about the little
things. On the surface it may
appear that our team is treading
water, but we are in fact moving
forward. More importantly, the
kids are suffering through every
loss. They know full well how
committed and how passionate our
fans are and they feel as though
they have let them down. Some
teams lose without remorse, but
we have a great group of young
players and they will be better
for it down the road.
One thing that is important to
remember is that thirteen of our
fifteen players are
underclassmen. This is a young
team, which cannot be compared
to the group that went to the
NIT Championship. There are some
players that were a part of that
run, but it’s a different
“team.”
In five of our eight losses we
had the lead or were close in
the final moments. There is such
a fine line between being near
the top and struggling. Trying
to get over the hump is a great
challenge, but it’s even greater
for a group that is so young.
Success is most often measured
in wins and losses. But when you
are winning you aren’t always as
good as some may believe.
Likewise, when you lose games
there is a tendency to think
that things are worse then they
actually are. This group works
hard and continues to put forth
a great effort. Winning starts
with effort so I really like the
path we are on.
LEARNING HOW TO WIN
Dec. 21, 2004
Heading into the season, there
were great expectations for our
team. We were coming off an
appearance in the NIT
championship game and everyone
was excited about the 2004-05
season. And after wins over
Charlotte and St. Mary’s, that
excitement reached an even
higher plateau. But everyone
lost sight of one thing -- the
youth of this team.
13 of our 16 players are either
freshmen or sophomores. It’s a
talented group with a bright
future, but it’s asking a lot to
expect them to pick right up
where last season finished.
The frontline, from last year’s
squad, is gone. This season we
have kids that hadn’t previously
logged any minutes getting a lot
of playing time. Winning on the
road at Charlotte proved that we
have the talent, but our
three-game losing streak proved
that it takes more than talent
to win consistently.
As coaches we attempt to take
talent and teach them the finer
points of the game, but one
thing that is difficult to teach
is playing in crunch time. You
can preach all you want, but
it’s something that players have
to experience.
Our players had a lot of
confidence, following our 2-0
start and for good reason. They
made the plays down the stretch
to secure the wins. However,
that wasn’t the case in the next
three contests.
Make no mistake about it, every
player on this team is given
their all. The kids are playing
very hard and they aspire to be
better, but the fact remains
that they are young. With youth
comes a learning curve and right
now they are learning how to be
more consistent. In short, they
are learning what it takes to
win.
Talent will win games, but
experience wins championships.
On Dec. 4 we played host to Bo
Ryan’s Wisconsin Badgers.
Wisconsin started four
fifth-year seniors and one
fourth-year junior.
Those kids have been through the
battles and matured with every
game and every season. They have
already been through the growing
and maturing process. Our
players are in the early stages
of the process.
On Dec. 18 we played host to
Norfolk State. Many people would
have expected us to win the game
convincingly, but I was
concerned. I knew we had the
talent to win the game, but did
we have the maturity to win?
In the second half we built a
16-point advantage. It looked as
though we were going to be able
to put the game away, but
Norfolk hit a couple of
three-pointers and got right
back into the game. In the end
we were able to come away with a
63-58 win, but we missed an
opportunity to put the game
away.
Often you will hear analysts
say, “good teams know how to put
teams away.” There is truth in
that statement, but a more
accurate observation would be,
“good and experienced teams know
how to close the door.”
We have the talent to compete in
every game, but we don’t yet
have the experience necessary to
do it on a consistent basis. But
with each game we get one step
closer.
|
