Progress

It's undeniable the program has made substantial progress:

1)  We are in the hunt in every game.

2) Our recruiting is at a higher level.

3) The program has minimum expectations from its players and staff and holds to those expectations.

4) Alumni Hall (Carn) and MSG have been upgraded.

5) NYC is in better shape and even more of a destination than ever.

6) Our coaching staff is at a higher level. Kids know they can get help.

7) Our press (as in media) is mostly positive.

Reasonable (or at least understsandable) for fans to demand more and be impatient.

The.more important question is have the players made progress? How much better is Co and Sampson than last year,etc. I am dissapointed..

Fair question....I think CO is stronger.  Sampson's shot is better and he has more range.  i don't think any of our players have really settled in and gotten comfortable for the season.  I believe they will.

In game coaching needs a massive upgrade

It is early in the season but agree with Baldi on the in-game coaching over the past two years.  What is confusing to me is that, in Year 1, we definitely saw some improvement in in-game coaching over the course of the season.  As some may recall, we used all kinds of crazy lineups in the beginning of the year, but were pretty settled by January.  I'm waiting for that to happen.

As far as player progress, I do think that some have definitely gotten much better.  Harrison is a far improved player for year one.  Dom, while the shooting is still suspect, has improved other areas significantly since he first arrived on campus.  Phil is a better player.  I would have liked to see some more improvement from CO on the offensive side from year one, but big guys do take longer to develop.

In game coaching needs a massive upgrade

Could you tell us what strategy you have heard Lavin informed his players during the game that would suggest that? How many of us actually know what "in game coaching" is going on to say it needs an upgrade?

It is early in the season but agree with Baldi on the in-game coaching over the past two years.  What is confusing to me is that, in Year 1, we definitely saw some improvement in in-game coaching over the course of the season.  As some may recall, we used all kinds of crazy lineups in the beginning of the year, but were pretty settled by January.  I'm waiting for that to happen.

When you see improvement over the course of a season its not because the coaches suddenly decided to tell the players' something different. I believe many posters confuse "in game coaching" with player execution. The problem is many fans never been on the sideline, or never participated in any organized sports and then read a few clipping from some media type who knows no more about the sport than they do yet treat their write ups like gospel, suddenly believe they know more about basketball than a college coach at the highest level, who happens to have a HOF coach on the staff with him. Baffling to say the least.
 

My comment is directed towards the rotations.  That goes towards in-game coaching.  We still do not know what rotation we are going to play on a consistent basis, and I think most people think that that should be set to an extent by this point (i.e., Jordan and Branch playing the point, Gift not providing substantial minutes at the start of the game and start of the second half. player roles, etc).  In year 1, after tinkering around with Boothe and Stith starting and various rotations, we basically had a steady rotation set. 

I take your point that these guys obviously have far more expertise than we do.  Ultimately it will be judged by W's and L's.  But one thing that is undeniable is that we have a lot of talent on this team.

Quote from: Marco Baldi on January 04, 2014, 11:59:59 AM

In game coaching needs a massive upgrade

Could you tell us what strategy you have heard Lavin informed his players during the game that would suggest that? How many of us actually know what "in game coaching" is going on to say it needs an upgrade?

No idea what the strategy is, Lavin admitted so by his recent quotes. Recruiting  is great. Preparation and strategy, not so much IMO

Rough timing with that number 1 sign of progress

yup....there's still 9 minutes left, but when you're right, you're right and you are right

The coaching staff has de-gressed

The coaching staff has de-gressed

Why is it never the ability of the players? I'm not as high on the talent level as it appears many of you are. We cant shoot, dribble, pass, rebound, etc. One thing I would like to see is Lavin shorten the rotation. Play your best 8-9 players. The problem is too many of our players are one dimensional.

Quote from: HowCouldUBeSoHarkless on January 04, 2014, 02:43:36 PM

The coaching staff has de-gressed

Why is it never the ability of the players? I'm not as high on the talent level as it appears many of you are. We cant shoot, dribble, pass, rebound, etc. One thing I would like to see is Lavin shorten the rotation. Play your best 8-9 players. The problem is too many of our players are one dimensional.

Well who recruited these guys?

Quote from: HowCouldUBeSoHarkless on January 04, 2014, 02:43:36 PM

The coaching staff has de-gressed

Why is it never the ability of the players? I'm not as high on the talent level as it appears many of you are. We cant shoot, dribble, pass, rebound, etc. One thing I would like to see is Lavin shorten the rotation. Play your best 8-9 players. The problem is too many of our players are one dimensional.

The man bought the ingredients. Shouldn't he make the meal?

Absolutely

Quote from: SJUFAN on January 04, 2014, 03:45:25 PM

Quote from: HowCouldUBeSoHarkless on January 04, 2014, 02:43:36 PM

The coaching staff has de-gressed

Why is it never the ability of the players? I'm not as high on the talent level as it appears many of you are. We cant shoot, dribble, pass, rebound, etc. One thing I would like to see is Lavin shorten the rotation. Play your best 8-9 players. The problem is too many of our players are one dimensional.

The man bought the ingredients. Shouldn't he make the meal?

I agree, Coaching staff has not done a good job with this group. With that said I really think the fans here over-hype our players. I really like D'lo, but 1-12 today. Team as a whole missed a lot of open shots in the first half. Shot 21% from the field in the first half.

I'm not surprised that we lost the last 2 games on the road.

This just shows that the interchangeable parts strategy employed by lavin does not work when A) Few of the parts can shoot (if that) and B) None of those parts were mcd aa caliber (like he got at ucla).

Given that, if you had guys that gave max effort, were unselfish, and pressed/played suffocating d, it could work (see lavs first year w norms players).

Its like we are trying to make a pizza with only the cheese.  No matter how many ways you make the cheese, it aint gonna turn into a pizza without the dough or the sauce. But we could turn this into a pretty darn good fondue if we just changed the recipe...

G'town is not that good of a team and they manhandled SJU today.  I thought at the very least that Lavin would get great talent here and would win with his coaching deficiencies, but it appears my hopes will be dashed again.  I never gave up when Norm was hired and have given Lavin the benefit of the doubt, but I can't take it any longer and won't be cheering on SJU.  It is time to face the facts that SJU will make the NCAA tournament every so often and that will be considered a great season.

Old Red/Scotch, is that you?