[Purple Haize]

No need to make game threads so I guess we can just put game discussions here

Solid win at George Mason today. There’s an energy with this team I have not seen in awhile. On a negative side if I’m playing L
U I pick up I pick up Acin full court and just harass and fatigue her. She’s got a nice basketball IQ but also some physical limitations
Really really like Nwaobi. She’s the type of big we haven’t seen in awhile.
Mills has really improved since last year.

I think this Mason game was a good test. They looked poised and put together. They are missing a few pieces but I’ve definitely seen improvement from the beginning of the season. Hope it continues

[ECC29]

So, my question for you is, if you were the coach, would you start Acin as a point guard?
When you recruit a basketball player especially a point guard who will handle the ball most of the time , one of the main criteria is the skill set with the ability to create space from your defender. Acin does not have that ability. IMO, she is not a D1 PG. yet this coach keeps starting her. Granted the backup guard Thompson missed like 4 layups today. Which is not positive. At least she is has the athletic ability to play good defense. Acin is a liability on defense. An example, at the end of the game that GMU scored their 72 points. It was off an offensive rebound by GMU. Acin was guarding that player and she fell behind and unable to stop that player. She is very slow. I say we got very lucky with that game. This coach puts up a slow starting lineups, which he had to play zone so Acin does not get beat with man to man. When you play zone, you will give up outside shooting. The result of the first quarter was 30 points for GMU. When the lineup changed to a faster lineup, they were able to play man to man and only allowed 9 points in the 2nd quarter. So, when the 4th quarter started, I thought the coach figured out a lineup for better defense but instead he went back to the original lineup that gave up 30 points in the first quarter. We got lucky with this game.
As I said before, Mills is carrying this team. You can add Stout as the second person carrying this team. Everyone else are just trying to keep up.

Yes, I like Nwaobi. I wish the team still have Moore to help with athleticism. There are way too many slow players in this team that are not leveling up with D1 competition.

[Chippy]

Last year's team had 4 scoring threats in the starting 5 and Mills, Moore, Steenbergen, and Stout off the bench. This year there are 2 scoring threats only and no production off the bench. Nawobi is a beast n the boards and is an asset but lacks offensive skills. Aegistottir has her limitations as well.

[ECC29]

Therefore, how to adjust with a team this year is to beef up the defense. Play strong defense like the second quarter. This will keep them in the game. They can’t keep having games like the 1st quarter when they gave up 30 points. They will not survive the season. They will need athletic players on the court a lot more so they can play more man to man defense instead of zone. Zone defense leaves too many open shots.
However, since they lack talents off the bench, zone defense helps Mills and Stout conserve some energy. They need them on the court a lot more. It’s a terrible dilemma.
This is an example of poor recruiting.

[Purple Haize]

So, my question for you is, if you were the coach, would you start Acin as a point guard?
When you recruit a basketball player especially a point guard who will handle the ball most of the time , one of the main criteria is the skill set with the ability to create space from your defender. Acin does not have that ability. IMO, she is not a D1 PG. yet this coach keeps starting her. Granted the backup guard Thompson missed like 4 layups today. Which is not positive. At least she is has the athletic ability to play good defense. Acin is a liability on defense. An example, at the end of the game that GMU scored their 72 points. It was off an offensive rebound by GMU. Acin was guarding that player and she fell behind and unable to stop that player. She is very slow. I say we got very lucky with that game. This coach puts up a slow starting lineups, which he had to play zone so Acin does not get beat with man to man. When you play zone, you will give up outside shooting. The result of the first quarter was 30 points for GMU. When the lineup changed to a faster lineup, they were able to play man to man and only allowed 9 points in the 2nd quarter. So, when the 4th quarter started, I thought the coach figured out a lineup for better defense but instead he went back to the original lineup that gave up 30 points in the first quarter. We got lucky with this game.
As I said before, Mills is carrying this team. You can add Stout as the second person carrying this team. Everyone else are just trying to keep up.

Yes, I like Nwaobi. I wish the team still have Moore to help with athleticism. There are way too many slow players in this team that are not leveling up with D1 competition.

The simple answer is, I don’t know. I’m not in practice so I cannot determine that. Would I be looking to improve at that spot? Absolutely. Right now he’s got to play the cards he is dealt.
You call it luck. I’d say it was pretty good coaching. He put the players he had in position to succeed and they did. Unlike you im not going to minimize a victory. Especially in light of how the season started.

[ECC29]

I don’t agree it was good coaching. There were a lot of bad decisions with coaching. You thank Mills and Stout for carrying the team. That does not take much to coach. My issue is that it is very obvious which players should have less or more time on the floor. I understand he has to play what he has but certain players should play less to help the team succeed more. Like I said, they had a good 2nd quarter when the lineup changed but then he went back to the poor starting lineup I. The 4th quarter and luckily won the game. I’m not confident with this coach decision making.

[Purple Haize]

I don’t agree it was good coaching. There were a lot of bad decisions with coaching. You thank Mills and Stout for carrying the team. That does not take much to coach. My issue is that it is very obvious which players should have less or more time on the floor. I understand he has to play what he has but certain players should play less to help the team succeed more. Like I said, they had a good 2nd quarter when the lineup changed but then he went back to the poor starting lineup I. The 4th quarter and luckily won the game. I’m not confident with this coach decision making.

Are you in practice? Do you see what they do everyday? Do you understand the teams chemistry? Or do you just believe he’s playing Acin over someone else out of spite? Do you think he doesn’t know the teams limitations and strengths?
Anyone can point out a teams deficiencies, which is something you excel at, but the fixes aren’t as obvious. There’s a reason the players who are playing are playing. I hope that by the end of the year some of those other players improve to the point where they are starting and playing more minutes. But as I said, I’m not in practice so I don’t know what other players are/are not demonstrating

[ECC29]

I recognize that I am not at their practice and I cannot know all the answers. However, I am stating facts and what is obvious. An example, he puts a starting lineup that pretty much gave up 30 points in the first quarter and then had a mixed lineup in the second that gave up only 9 points. Then in the 4th quarter, goes back to the same lineup from the 1st. How is that not obvious of poor coaching decision. Go with what works that game and not be stubborn and go back to what it did not work. There are faster players that can be more effective in defense. These things I mention does not need for us to be in practice to see that.
Here is another thing, you mentioned that he has to work with what he got. He has been there for 18 years and in charge of recruiting before becoming head coach. With the players he has to work with, Who is that on? Who is responsible?