Look, we're all disappointed in this season so far--the fan base, the players, the coaching staff.
But the one thing Travis DeCuire must learn as a coach is, Do not blame your players! Great coaches always take full responsibility for their team's fortunes. The fish always stinks from the head. Do not say, as I believe he did, "This team needs to look at itself in the mirror."
If DeCuire looks into that same mirror, he'll see himself. In fact, he will see multiple images of himself.
1. The absence of another good big man. If there's one truth about this year's team it is, "We miss Krslovic!" But Krslovic, like Beunig, was a gift from the Tinkle regime. DeCuire and his staff have in five years brought in one credible big man, Akoh. Anderson and NIcholas washed out. The one big who committed to us for this year changed his commitment. And it's clear that the three freshmen bigs are not ready for prime time.
Is this the fault of the players?
2. Our offense. If you don't have a good big man, do what the Warriors did with their now famous Death Lineup--no guy taller than 6'7". Yes, the Death Lineup can shoot like our team can't, but they also play fast. Any one of those guys, once he grabs a rebound, is off to the races, pell-mell down the court, before the opposition can set its defense. Do we play that way? We do not. We walk the ball up the court, and pass it around and around, often times heaving up a shot as the time clock expires. Save for Akoh, we have no low-post presence. So: Are we running the best offense for the personnel we have? Could we--should we--be playing faster? Do we have the athleticism and open-court talent to do it?
Again, the design of the offense is not the fault of the players. It's on the coaching staff.
3. Late-game strategy. Against Portland State, the way we played the final 30 seconds of that game was stupid, as I said before. Somebody else posted, maybe they were trying to get a 10-second violation. Not in that situation. They should have fouled, they should have fouled quickly, and they should not have fouled the kid who was lighting us up.
Is late-game strategy the fault of the players? Or the coaching staff.
I offer these observations as a guy who loves where this program is and the potential it offers for the future, and is extremely grateful for what DeCuire and this staff has brought to Montana. I believe DeCuire has built a solid all-round program, and that the future might even exceed the high expectations we all held for this year.
But DeCuire must not blame his players. He must learn as a coach to ALWAYS to take responsibility for his team's actions.
Anything else is fatal.
But the one thing Travis DeCuire must learn as a coach is, Do not blame your players! Great coaches always take full responsibility for their team's fortunes. The fish always stinks from the head. Do not say, as I believe he did, "This team needs to look at itself in the mirror."
If DeCuire looks into that same mirror, he'll see himself. In fact, he will see multiple images of himself.
1. The absence of another good big man. If there's one truth about this year's team it is, "We miss Krslovic!" But Krslovic, like Beunig, was a gift from the Tinkle regime. DeCuire and his staff have in five years brought in one credible big man, Akoh. Anderson and NIcholas washed out. The one big who committed to us for this year changed his commitment. And it's clear that the three freshmen bigs are not ready for prime time.
Is this the fault of the players?
2. Our offense. If you don't have a good big man, do what the Warriors did with their now famous Death Lineup--no guy taller than 6'7". Yes, the Death Lineup can shoot like our team can't, but they also play fast. Any one of those guys, once he grabs a rebound, is off to the races, pell-mell down the court, before the opposition can set its defense. Do we play that way? We do not. We walk the ball up the court, and pass it around and around, often times heaving up a shot as the time clock expires. Save for Akoh, we have no low-post presence. So: Are we running the best offense for the personnel we have? Could we--should we--be playing faster? Do we have the athleticism and open-court talent to do it?
Again, the design of the offense is not the fault of the players. It's on the coaching staff.
3. Late-game strategy. Against Portland State, the way we played the final 30 seconds of that game was stupid, as I said before. Somebody else posted, maybe they were trying to get a 10-second violation. Not in that situation. They should have fouled, they should have fouled quickly, and they should not have fouled the kid who was lighting us up.
Is late-game strategy the fault of the players? Or the coaching staff.
I offer these observations as a guy who loves where this program is and the potential it offers for the future, and is extremely grateful for what DeCuire and this staff has brought to Montana. I believe DeCuire has built a solid all-round program, and that the future might even exceed the high expectations we all held for this year.
But DeCuire must not blame his players. He must learn as a coach to ALWAYS to take responsibility for his team's actions.
Anything else is fatal.