WBB - Valpo @ Loyola - 1/19/12

[jack]

The ladies have a a challenge ahead of them this afternoon. The Loyola squad has 4 players averaging in double figure scoring this season. One plus for us is, they haven't faced a defense as good as ours is playing yet. This should slow them down a bit.
Keys: Offense:
We must make the most of every possession. The outside shots have to fall at around 45% to keep this one close. This squad leads the league in blocked shots at 6 a game. The looks will come inside periodically, but only if we make good use of some screens, and back door looks. Playing them straight up inside will be a mistake tonight. Ball handling, and movement will need to be top notch, and we MUST control the turnovers. If we lose the T.O. battle, this one will get ugly.
Deffense:
We've been playing some quality deffense so far. It's kept us in games we should have been blown out in. The biggest change needed here is, we MUST step out on their 3 pt. shooters. This squad shoots almost 40% from behind the arc. If we are to have any hope of staying with this team, we have to get a hand in the face of their shooters, and pick them up aggresively at the top of the key.
Good Luck Lady Crusaders! Let's get another "W".

[valporun]

I want to see the ladies have a good weekend of basketball here. Loyola should be a good indicator of what we can do. I don't know that it would be a smart idea, but at least a good game to give it an option, but do something to slow the pace of the game. I don't care if it means "5 passes before a shot", or if it's being more disciplined about getting open or setting the right screens, but something needs to happen to lower our turnover total.

Also, this will be a long day of Valpo basketball as it is a doubleheader day at Loyola. I'm excited for it, and hope for a great day for the men and women. Paraphrasing this to basketball, it is an appropriate day for Ernie Banks's classic quote "Let's Play Two". GO VALPO!!!

[Crusader03]

Good luck ladies! 

Sorry I haven't been offering more analysis lately, gents.  I've been working on a manifesto of sorts and it is taking up a great deal of my usual posting time.  Would post some excerpts but my kind of free-thinking is generally frowned upon.

[jack]

That was by far the worse display of coaching that I've ever witnest. could it have been any more obvious that they don't want to be there? I feel for the ladies. There's noone at the helm.

[Crusader03]

That was by far the worse display of coaching that I've ever witnest. could it have been any more obvious that they don't want to be there? I feel for the ladies. There's noone at the helm.

Even Jack has given up on this mess...to think, two weeks ago they were a win or two away from being back in post-season contention.

Classic case of the inmates running the prison...

[valporun]

You can see the coaching staff has given up, when Freeman is spending most of his time sitting next to Greg Kirby, and talking behind his forearm. Today, I think we just could get anything going, and it is taking its toll on the ladies.

[jhnmttws75]

I agree, it's very hard to watch these girls work so hard on the court and look over to see their DIVISION ONE head coach sitting with his head in his hands. How about we find someone who is engaged and has a passion for the game so then Keith can watch games like that from that stands.

[jack]

I can imagine this season has taken it's toll on the coaching staff. It'd be hard to remain possitive, alert, and in tune with the game, when there just aren't enough tools in the shed. Having said that, it just isn't fair to these girls who are fighting their tails off with very little help, to give up on them. That's exactly what happened this game. I'm no expert, by no means, but there was plenty we could have tried tonight, to give these ladies a fighting chance. And yet, nothing. The coaches seem to be sitting on the bench, going through the motions, and hoping the clock hurries the hell up and runs out. I don't get it. I never thought I'd find myself saying that about Freeman and his staff, but it couldn't be more obvious then it was tonight.
First: we're playing the #1 3 point shooting team in the conference, but yet, they shot more uncontested 3pt shots tonight then any team we've played this season. We made zero adjustments at the half. Second: how do you make it through an entire game without trying 1 pick and roll, or 1 back door?? That blows my mind. When you are playing with the shortest bench in the NCAA, you have to get creative with your offense and give your team a chance to score. And yet, zero. Every week you know you're playing with the same 6 to 7 players - can you not think outside the box and put something in play that works towards these players strengths? A good coaching squad rises up to adversity, and works as hard as the players are, to be sucessful. I'm not seeing anything they're working towards at all. They throw these ladies out there without a safety net, and expect them to create their own sucess while they sit on their hands on the sidelines and hope. Even the most talented teams out there will struggle without direction. I see no passion for anything while they sit their and watch, like the rest of us do. It's time to suck it up, and give as much as the players do each and every game, win or lose. And when the season ends, they need to be honest with themselves and decide what's best for the team first, and themselves second. Do it for the ladies that are giving it their all, and trying their best to be sucessful. I'm proud of them all, and hope at least THEY will continue to give us 100%.

[IndyValpo]

Look this guy earlier admitted he couldn't get a player ready because the guys practice team was on Christmas break.  This with only 6 other healthy girls.  Apparantly the 3 others coaches are as clueless or too weak to suggest anything.

Early he said Jansone could be a Big Ten player. Tonight she played 14 minutes in a 30 point blow out.  Freeman either can't judge talent, can't develop talent or destroys the talent he has.  Probably a little of all three. 

Think outside the box?  Remember this guy started the same girls basically all last season despite falling behind early many nights.  We can only hope the AD is paying attention and is not blinded by injuries.  We will go nowhere with this staff.  I am now wondering if Horton is sitting out to save a year for a new coach.

[jack]

That brings up another point: We have inelgeable players on scholarship that are allowed to go home over holiday break while we expect the players that can play to be on campus practicing, and then complain that we don't have enough ladies here to run a decent practice? Ask the elgeable, and inelgeable players from the team that just beat us where they spent their holiday. Sadly< what's happening now will adversely affect the recruits we can atract in the future, and it's not about W's and L's, but about commitment from everyone involved.

[valporun]

I don't know if the problem is Coach Freeman as much as I feel it is Greg Kirby? Kirby was the head coach at Valpo High, where he was good, but now that he's an assistant at VU, I've been skeptical of this decision since he was hired. It just seems like the only reason he was hired is that Keith knew he was going to stay around for awhile, unlike a lot of Keith's assistants had before. What has really hurt this team, from my view, is that Steve Bruce left to become a head coach at IUSB. Bruce seemed to have a better chemistry with the players, in terms of getting the best out of them. I'm not seeing this at all from Greg Kirby. In fact, most of what I see from Kirby is a "mentor" sitting next to the head coach, being like Freeman's safety net, instead of a true advisor.

[StlVUFan]

I agree, it's very hard to watch these girls work so hard on the court and look over to see their DIVISION ONE head coach sitting with his head in his hands. How about we find someone who is engaged and has a passion for the game so then Keith can watch games like that from that stands.

OMG.  Is this Bears fan disease breaking out here?  "Fire and passion"?  I saw Greg Kampe do the exact same thing, and his team responded to it.

How about this?  What else is there for him to do?  They were actually playing fine (tied it up at 40 after being down 7), and then Loyola started hitting everything in sight, the ball started bouncing the wrong way, and there was no help for it.  Is he supposed to stomp his feet and yell at a team that is undermanned and is trying their best?

I'm speaking hypothetically of course.  I don't know that that is a valid explanation.  But it sure seems plausible to me.  What I do believe is that the quality of coaching is not dependent on the level of emotion demonstrated on the sideline.  It depends on what is going on in practice and during timeouts.  That's where coaching takes place.  There's plenty that has gone on in the past couple of years prior to this one for which Keith Freeman can be questioned, and for all I know there are things he can be questioned for this year too, but not showing fire and passion on the sideline doesn't seem like a worthy target.

[jack]

Not to be piling on the coaching staff, but to answer your question, there were things that could have been done, or at the very least, tried. Personally, I couldn't care less about his sideline demeneor. It's the lack of coaching during games that concerns me. A coach worth his weight will adjust to what's happening on the floor, and put his team in the best possible possition to be successful. We made absolutely zero adjustments when they started draining them from long range - we tried zero pick and rolls, zero back doors, zero anything, other then the vanilla offense we see game in and game out. Whether it's sucessful or not, we HAVE to try something different. Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. If this is true, then this staff can plead insanity.

[IndyValpo]

Whether it's sucessful or not, we HAVE to try something different. Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. If this is true, then this staff can plead insanity.

Jack, this was my exact point last season.....this coaching staff is out of ideas!

[Pgmado]

I touched on some of the concerns of Loyola knocking down 3-pointers in my postgame interview and what I got seemed to make sense. Freeman addressed that Loyola is a tricky team to guard because as much as you want to double their post players, that frees up the outside shot. When they weren't doubling the post, Loyola was scoring inside with 38 points in the paint. When they were doubling the post, the Ramblers were knocking down 3-pointers, scoring 27 points from long range. Obviously a very tough game last night where little went right, but I'm not sure what else could've been done. Skube was a force with her length and shooting ability and their other posts such as Law and Hambric were a wreck for Valpo to try and contain. The team dropped off considerably when Carr and Jansone went in the game defensively. Just a brutal game, especially after the quick start in the second half.

[jack]

We knew what to expect, and didn't plan for it, or adjust for it when it became apparent that what we were doing wasn't working. Keep in mind, that Carr and Jansone are running the game plan they were put in to run. If I'm not mistaken, that was more minutes then Jansone has seen yet, and Carr won't be healthy until post season evaluation / therapy. They aren't out there adlibbing. With a team like Loyola, you run a box and one with help side D. Both Carr, Jansone, and Richards are quick enough to run the one, and disrupt the flow. The next time down the floor you move into a slightly different version. Mix it up a bit. You have got to recognize your players strengths and devise a plan to maximize them. Loyola adjusted a bit on offense the last few minutes of the first half, and got things going. We failed to counter on that at all, and then came into the second half with more of the same. This may run counter to some thoughts here, but, in my opinion, if we get through the first half with zero personal fouls, we aren't playing agressive enough. Again, things this season might have been very different without the injuries, and the loss of Ladd. Freeman and the coaching staff, and the players for that matter, have been dealt a tough hand. They have to make the most of it from here on out because the calvary isn't coming. Another thing that strikes me is the lack of encouragement displayed by Freeman and Kirby. In the first half, when we were hanging with them, and keeping things close, I saw absolutely no possitive encouragement from either of them. With this game being such a mental challenge, especially with the ladies game, a little encouragement would go a long way. When the players see the coaching staff sitting on their hands, seemingly lost for answers, it affects them far more then given credit for. Just my humble opinion.

[StlVUFan]

We knew what to expect, and didn't plan for it, or adjust for it when it became apparent that what we were doing wasn't working. Keep in mind, that Carr and Jansone are running the game plan they were put in to run. If I'm not mistaken, that was more minutes then Jansone has seen yet, and Carr won't be healthy until post season evaluation / therapy. They aren't out there adlibbing. With a team like Loyola, you run a box and one with help side D. Both Carr, Jansone, and Richards are quick enough to run the one, and disrupt the flow. The next time down the floor you move into a slightly different version. Mix it up a bit. You have got to recognize your players strengths and devise a plan to maximize them. Loyola adjusted a bit on offense the last few minutes of the first half, and got things going. We failed to counter on that at all, and then came into the second half with more of the same. This may run counter to some thoughts here, but, in my opinion, if we get through the first half with zero personal fouls, we aren't playing agressive enough. Again, things this season might have been very different without the injuries, and the loss of Ladd. Freeman and the coaching staff, and the players for that matter, have been dealt a tough hand. They have to make the most of it from here on out because the calvary isn't coming. Another thing that strikes me is the lack of encouragement displayed by Freeman and Kirby. In the first half, when we were hanging with them, and keeping things close, I saw absolutely no possitive encouragement from either of them. With this game being such a mental challenge, especially with the ladies game, a little encouragement would go a long way. When the players see the coaching staff sitting on their hands, seemingly lost for answers, it affects them far more then given credit for. Just my humble opinion.

I agree with the sentiment about what supportiveness is needed from the coaches when times are rough, but I don't believe fans in general can adequately judge from outward appearances whether or  not that supportiveness is there.  For all I know, Freeman does encourage his players, you just can't see it on HLN.  If you're sitting right behind the bench in an empty Gentile Center, that's different, of course

[jack]

My observation and knowlege of the lack of encouragement isn't from watching HLN, though it does support my possition. If we aren't going to change things up, even a little, then let's get the season over, applaude the ladies for giving it all they had, and let the chips fall where they may. This is a tough group of young ladies, but a chain is only as strong as it's weakest link.

[Pgmado]

I'm watching the Milwaukee men's basketball team on the Horizon League Network right now and Youngstown State has tied the game at 64-64. Milwaukee coach Rob Jeter is just sitting on the bench. He isn't saying anything to his players. Wow, what a terrible coach. I can't believe how bad of a coach he is right now. I think he should be fired. I think all the Milwaukee players should be released from their scholarships. I think Milwaukee should no longer play in the U.S. Cellular Arena. I think all of this because Jeter is just sitting there.

[Crusader03]

I'm watching the Milwaukee men's basketball team on the Horizon League Network right now and Youngstown State has tied the game at 64-64. Milwaukee coach Rob Jeter is just sitting on the bench. He isn't saying anything to his players. Wow, what a terrible coach. I can't believe how bad of a coach he is right now. I think he should be fired. I think all the Milwaukee players should be released from their scholarships. I think Milwaukee should no longer play in the U.S. Cellular Arena. I think all of this because Jeter is just sitting there.

Stop flaming

[vuweathernerd]

I'm watching the Milwaukee men's basketball team on the Horizon League Network right now and Youngstown State has tied the game at 64-64. Milwaukee coach Rob Jeter is just sitting on the bench. He isn't saying anything to his players. Wow, what a terrible coach. I can't believe how bad of a coach he is right now. I think he should be fired. I think all the Milwaukee players should be released from their scholarships. I think Milwaukee should no longer play in the U.S. Cellular Arena. I think all of this because Jeter is just sitting there.

[StlVUFan]

I'm watching the Milwaukee men's basketball team on the Horizon League Network right now and Youngstown State has tied the game at 64-64. Milwaukee coach Rob Jeter is just sitting on the bench. He isn't saying anything to his players. Wow, what a terrible coach. I can't believe how bad of a coach he is right now. I think he should be fired. I think all the Milwaukee players should be released from their scholarships. I think Milwaukee should no longer play in the U.S. Cellular Arena. I think all of this because Jeter is just sitting there.

[IndyValpo]

I'm watching the Milwaukee men's basketball team on the Horizon League Network right now and Youngstown State has tied the game at 64-64. Milwaukee coach Rob Jeter is just sitting on the bench. He isn't saying anything to his players. Wow, what a terrible coach. I can't believe how bad of a coach he is right now. I think he should be fired. I think all the Milwaukee players should be released from their scholarships. I think Milwaukee should no longer play in the U.S. Cellular Arena. I think all of this because Jeter is just sitting there.

Perhaps if Jeter's record over the past 3 years was hovering around .333 you would have a different opinion.  Just saying!

[jack]

Exactly. It's obvious that Pgmado is speaking from the heart. Logic would counter that possition. My views are nothing personal. Never are. I've been around this game for many, many years. From my view point, injuries are just one of the issues we have with this team. If coaching were easy, everyone would be doing it. It takes a special understanding of the game, and even a better understanding of how to motivate players, and get the most out of their abilities. This isn't exclusive to Freeman. His entire staff needs to be able to work as one. It's time to inject a new philosophy into the program. Whether that means bringing in help for Freeman, or wholesale changes all together, is not for me to say. I only know, when I watch he and Kirby on the sidelines, if I didn't know any better, I swear, they could just as easily be sitting courtside watching a pacer game. As someone else suggested, they just appear to be out of ideas.

[StlVUFan]

I'm watching the Milwaukee men's basketball team on the Horizon League Network right now and Youngstown State has tied the game at 64-64. Milwaukee coach Rob Jeter is just sitting on the bench. He isn't saying anything to his players. Wow, what a terrible coach. I can't believe how bad of a coach he is right now. I think he should be fired. I think all the Milwaukee players should be released from their scholarships. I think Milwaukee should no longer play in the U.S. Cellular Arena. I think all of this because Jeter is just sitting there.

Perhaps if Jeter's record over the past 3 years was hovering around .333 you would have a different opinion.  Just saying!

No doubt my opinion of overall coaching performance would would be different, but not my opinion on the relationship between coaching ability and sideline histrionics would not.