Listened to Coach O's press conference and unfortunately came out of it more disappointed than relieved.
Coach O said he didn't know how Ball State would play after the loss.
He said he usually focuses more on getting his team right than the opponent (that seems to be a problem). He was surprised how prepared they were for JMU and absolutely shut down Koslova and McDaniel. Coach O had no backup plan and that is concerning.
He also said he is still learning about his team. A lot of unknowns for him. Their man-to-man defense is one of them.

I could go on and on, but so many times I was taken aback by how little he knows about his team.
And when a team takes them out of their game plan he struggles to fix it.
If some of these things were the only times I heard them, I wouldn't think much of it. But these seem to be recurring themes and that really concerns me.
I am not saying we should fire him. However, it is starting to get really, really concerning.

(02-13-2024 09:14 PM)Longhorn Wrote:  

(02-13-2024 07:57 PM)BleedingPurple Wrote:  

(02-13-2024 05:21 PM)orange-to-purple Wrote:  One thing I've noticed that maybe Coach O needs to address is that when things are down, Jamia Hazell seems to revert to something she did in her younger days, to try to do it all herself. She'll go ahead and take the ball inside when she could possibly pass it to someone else. It's kind of reckless and usually only happens when we're behind. She did that in the GA State game, the first Marshall game, and again in the Ball State game.

As much as I like her game, you are correct. The way to claw back in a game is first, defense including rebounding and second, pass, pass, pass, and do so with authority.

Bristow does the same thing.

You all hit the nail on the head - I think Hazell and Bristow are two of the most selfish, self-serving players JMU has had in years. While there are times their antics result in points, many more times they result in a turnover or an offensive foul.

I was a huge Coach O fan when he was Kenny's assistant and I was thrilled when he got the head coaching job. Since then I have gotten more and more disillusioned with him and his coaching abilities. He and the other coaches seem to be very comfortable with letting the players do their own thing. From each person wearing her own shoes to allowing Bristow to leave the court rather than be there for the national anthem to letting them run rogue on the court, nobody seems to want to say no or be in charge.

The team used to be very involved with their fans through the Crown Club and our activities. Once the AUBC opened and the high dollar Assist Club was formed, we were less than chopped liver. At least the former players appreciate what we were able to do for them- I still hear from some of them several times a year.

My tournament prediction is one and done. I don't think the team has the discipline to make a run in the tournament. I hope I am wrong.....

For the head coach to still have a lot of unknowns about his team this late in the year is rather damning. But probably more damning is continuing to run out a full 11-player rotation every game. You know how you learn about your team more quickly? Figure out your best 5, give them proper coaching, and let them cook.

(02-13-2024 09:14 PM)Longhorn Wrote:  

(02-13-2024 07:57 PM)BleedingPurple Wrote:  

(02-13-2024 05:21 PM)orange-to-purple Wrote:  One thing I've noticed that maybe Coach O needs to address is that when things are down, Jamia Hazell seems to revert to something she did in her younger days, to try to do it all herself. She'll go ahead and take the ball inside when she could possibly pass it to someone else. It's kind of reckless and usually only happens when we're behind. She did that in the GA State game, the first Marshall game, and again in the Ball State game.

As much as I like her game, you are correct. The way to claw back in a game is first, defense including rebounding and second, pass, pass, pass, and do so with authority.

Bristow does the same thing.

Bristow is more likely to be successful. Don't know why, maybe because she's bigger or can go around people.

I think some of the problems have to do with the team and not the coach. We lost a few young ladies via the transfer portal in the last couple of years that just couldn't wait for their turn and are doing very well at other schools. I know, because I can and do watch two of them as time permits, Mya Koné and Cheyenne Rowe, both of whom are coming off the bench at their respective schools but playing a LOT of minutes. Mya has been POW in her conference at least once. I would compare her to Bristow, possibly, although she is less prone to fouls. Cheyenne is more of an Ashanti Barnes type player. I watched her last week in a game and that's who I thought of mostly; although she doesn't come through with the wow! type shots, she is a very competent passer and knows her defense. I haven't seen Sherese Pittman at all because I don't have FloSports any more and she plays for Stony Brook, but I've heard good things. I really liked her when she was here.
Another problem, and one you can't always foresee, is that some players just don't develop the way you think they will. Annalicia Goodman is the best example of that. She makes the occasional really good play, and you can tell she tries, but I think she overtries a lot of the time and her anxiety shows through. She's also slow. And then there's the injury problem. We lost Claire Neff to repeated injuries, a player I think he'd counted on to come off the bench, but she retired from basketball, which I am sure was hard for her, because for years she'd lived and breathed it, because of her injuries (I sat in front of her parents last year so I know a bit about it). This year we finally got Mikaya Tynes back and she was giving the team good minutes, but then she got concussed and we haven't seen her since. Stuff like that will make a coach tear their hair out, which is probably why he keeps his so short. So try a few of those things on for size before totally criticizing.

Neff announced her retirement in April.
Coach O had plenty of time to bring in someone.
And he did. Ashanti Barnes.
She was announced a day later.

It's February. There are only a few games left in this season. If any JMU coach said this late in the season the things he said I would be just as concerned. I don't think he deserves a pass. That's his job.
There's no doubt things happened that were out of his control. I give him a pass for a lot of it.
But when they played a 3 loss Ball State team and he was surprised they had a strategy to shut down McDaniel and Koslova.... that is really concerning. He thought they might go into that game just focused on themselves. But they didn't.
And I shouldn't be allowed to be concerned?

(02-14-2024 10:25 AM)orange-to-purple Wrote:  We lost a few young ladies via the transfer portal in the last couple of years that just couldn't wait for their turn and are doing very well at other schools.

This is about as weak as it gets. Oh no, transfer portal. Maybe try pointing to something that doesn’t affect literally every school in America.

(02-14-2024 10:25 AM)orange-to-purple Wrote:  Another problem, and one you can't always foresee, is that some players just don't develop the way you think they will. Annalicia Goodman is the best example of that. She makes the occasional really good play, and you can tell she tries, but I think she overtries a lot of the time and her anxiety shows through. She's also slow.

Goodness, for someone so quick to snap at others about criticism, you’re not really interested in practicing what you preach.

(02-14-2024 10:25 AM)orange-to-purple Wrote:  Another problem, and one you can't always foresee, is that some players just don't develop the way you think they will. Annalicia Goodman is the best example of that. She makes the occasional really good play, and you can tell she tries, but I think she overtries a lot of the time and her anxiety shows through. She's also slow.

Goodness, for someone so quick to snap at others about criticism, you’re not really interested in practicing what you preach.
[/quote]

There's a little difference between a critique and constant griping about someone.

I didn't see the game, only listened to it. So,

Coach O's having to go through his lineup every game to find someone that takes pride in playing defense. It doesn't matter what type of defense either, not many on the team really want to buckle down and stop the other team. Same for turning the ball over. Whether it's taking low percentage drives/shots or telegraghing passes, the whole team is turning the ball over. Look at the stats. With the exception of Barnes, the rest of the top nine in MPG in that game had at least 2. Again, look at the stats. JMU has 402 TOs for the year, and they're spread evenly between the top 10 in MPG. The opponent only has 306 TOs. Someone asked why Kozlova and McDaniel weren't in much in the 4Q. It wasn't a halfcourt style game so Kozlova wasn't effective. Same for McDaniel. She wasn't productive on either end so Coach O was playing others that were. You could say that for the whole starting 5. At some point, the players have to take responsibility for their play. At the same time Coach O and staff have to bear the responsibility for recruiting those players good or bad.

I suspect one reason that Kozlova and McDaniel weren't in as much in the 4Q is that the style of game Ball State plays worked against them, as Cmore says. At that point you kind of have to put in the quicker players, and he did.

This same scenario happened last year. The starters, including KiKi were getting completely ran out of the gym. The bench warmers came in doing mopup duty and made a game of it. Nearly snatched a victory from the jaws of defeat. This year's bench warmers are almost all new, but the first 6-7 not that much. Think about that. I'm sure the coaching staff and players are.

Saw in the Post today that Ball State is RV in the latest AP Poll

Brian

RV? Translation pls.

Never seen it abbreviated like that anywhere ever, but guessing they mean Receiving Votes.

RV. Receiving Votes

Brian

The Cardinals are down by 9 athe the half to the 7-15 Ohio Bobcats.