Q&A with Coach Hewitt?

[wijg]

I was there and heard everything PH said about message boards, blogs, etc. He never said people shouldn't write what the feel, and IMO never came close to chastizing the fan base in any way. All he said was people might want to think about ramifications before they post. PH actually read some of the things off the "other" website that were pretty classic, very similar to some of the hyperbolic stuff that gets thrown around here from time to time. I just find it funny how 95% of the posters here were not at the event last night but seem to think they know exactly what and how things were said. Not saying I agree with everything that was said but atleast I got the info first hand.

So, taking your account of it as fact, you say he did not chastise the fan base, but said to think about the ramifications before they post. Then he cherry picks some of the moronic comments that people have made instead of addressing the valid criticism of his poor roster management and how his system does not seem to be doing anything but creating confusion on our side of the court. I think he has done the typical Hewitt magic and pulled the wool over your eyes.

Sorry, based on your account, he just made a backhanded attack on the fan base. This is the same arrogant and dismissive attitude he has had since, at least, his days at GT.

Instead of worrying about the ramifications of what the fans are posting, maybe he should consider the ramifications of refusing to change his system even though it has not done anything notable in more than a decade.

 

[polepino]

Thanks for those that went, very insghtful! Was curious how it was going to go down with PH being under the spotlight and in front of the fan base.

 

[Dawgs99]

So, taking your account of it as fact, you say he did not chastise the fan base, but said to think about the ramifications before they post. Then he cherry picks some of the moronic comments that people have made instead of addressing the valid criticism of his poor roster management and how his system does not seem to be doing anything but creating confusion on our side of the court. I think he has done the typical Hewitt magic and pulled the wool over your eyes.

Sorry, based on your account, he just made a backhanded attack on the fan base. This is the same arrogant and dismissive attitude he has had since, at least, his days at GT.

Instead of worrying about the ramifications of what the fans are posting, maybe he should consider the ramifications of refusing to change his system even though it has not done anything notable in more than a decade.

I was hesitant to even mention what was said at the event last night just to avoid posts like this. I'm simply relaying what was said, its certainly open to anyones interpretation. There were several questions about scheme and roster management issues last night, but I 'll leave that to your imagination. Don't shoot the messenger. All 4 coaches made it clear that they love to hear feedback from supporters via e-mail, shoot them a message and voice your concerns.

 

[Quentin Daniels]

I'm convinced, it's nothing but lollipops from now on.

 

[Quentin Daniels]

Man we were competitive in those losses! Right up until the final buzzer you really thought we were going to almost win.

Sure some of your other A-10 programs get more then 4 wins, but do they appreciate them as much as us? He'll No!

 

[GSII]

And what was the response to roster management and x and o's issues? The two main reasons for our down fall.

 

[Cool Disco Dan]

I'm just glad other schools were sending recruits here and not to our 'game results' page.

 

[Son-of-a-Gunston]

I've been sick for years of all of the misguided postings about "roster management" and "Xs & Os" and that PH is deceitful and duplicitous when it comes to managing the team and its fanbase. It's unfounded crap from a bunch of message board hens.

I'm not saying no one can criticize, but if you do, do it right. Back up your criticsms with facts, not emotion and conjecture. I want to know what credentials you possess that leads you to your "expert" conclusions. How many have you run any basketball team at a high level? How much do you know about "Xs &Os"? What are your suggestions other than shoot the ball, defend better, coach-up the players, coach better in-game. I want specifics. No more vague answers. How many of you played HS ball? College ball? NBA ball? Do you really know how an NCAA team operates, or how any team operates?

My guess is that most of you few dozen vocal critics are "fantasy" coaches and ADs. It's often been said that a critic is nothing more than a whiney malcontent who failed to make it in the field that they criticize. It's my belief that very few of you have even stepped foot on the field that you attempt to criticize. That makes most of you nothing more than bloviating yentas.

Let's create a "fantasy coach" thread. That would be the most appropriate forum for you to place the misguided statements and other unsubstantiated comments that are so ubiquitous throughout this message board. Feel free to draw up any set plays, game strategies, and systems that you find appropriate. That way we'll know how many grains of salt to take ahead of time before reading whatever is posted there.

 

[Patriotsince81]

"Bloviating yentas", wow now there's one I've never heard. Two thumbs up from the Russian judge on that comment.

I coached at the high school level for 11 years, both JV and Varsity. Had the pleasure of coaching against 2 NBA players in Hubert Davis (Lake Braddock) and Grant Hill (South Lakes). Coached against Charlie Garner (NFL) when he played basketball at Stuart, so yes, I feel I have some experience and knowledge of the game. I do question what Hewitt does.

Concern 1 - Offense. Ball movement and player movement are lacking in my opinion. I would prefer to see players run shoulder to shoulder on the pick and roll instead of using a banana cut which allows the defender a window to work through. I would love to see a double low post with a flash to the elbow against a zone, then have a high low look or a look opposite for 3. I would love to see more of a motion offense. I would love to see all 5 players touch the ball without it hitting the floor on a possession resulting in a wide open shot. I saw out opponents do this to us regularly.

Concern 2 - Defense. I really wish we didn't switch as much defensively. We allow far too many mismatches in the post and on the perimeter by not fighting though the picks/screens. I would love to see Hewitt teach giving teammates a "window" to work through. I would love to see an EFFECTIVE press resulting in easy baskets.

Concern 3 - Press offense. I would love to see us attack the press more. We did it effectively a few times last yeat but not consistently. At times we struggled to even throw the ball in, yet alone look ahead to attack.

Concern 4 - Time out usage. With TV timeouts every 4 minutes how can it be that on too many occassions we did not have them at the end of the game when we needed them most?

Concern 5 - Substitution pattern. This got better as the year went on. I understand the concept of looking for combinations and lineups, especially early in the year but we threw away some opportunities last year, especially early. There were times when I just scratched my head and wondered why he substituted the way he did.

Concern 6 - Lack of emotion. Maybe it's just not his personality but I would love to see him go toe to toe with refs, opposing coaches, and players alike. Doesn't seem to be any fire in the man's belly. If the reason we lost last year was because the players couldn't/wouldn't execute what he tried to teach then that also falls on him.

I could go one but this will have to suffice for the time being. The "facts" are that we lost 20 games last year. That's some pretty rarified air that the likes of Paul Westhead and Ernie Nestor achieved in their time here. I'll admit I'm a hothead when it comes to the game. I received more than my fair share of technicals in my day but my teams played hard and smart, something I just didn't see last year from a Paul Hewitt coached team.

My 2 cents, and I'm sticking to it. If he turns it around this year and leads us to the NCAA tourney I'll be delighted, shocked, but delighted.

 

[gmujim92]

I've been sick for years of all of the misguided postings about "roster management" and "Xs & Os" and that PH is deceitful and duplicitous when it comes to managing the team and its fanbase. It's unfounded crap from a bunch of message board hens.

I'm not saying no one can criticize, but if you do, do it right. Back up your criticsms with facts, not emotion and conjecture. I want to know what credentials you possess that leads you to your "expert" conclusions. How many have you run any basketball team at a high level? How much do you know about "Xs &Os"? What are your suggestions other than shoot the ball, defend better, coach-up the players, coach better in-game. I want specifics. No more vague answers. How many of you played HS ball? College ball? NBA ball? Do you really know how an NCAA team operates, or how any team operates?

My guess is that most of you few dozen vocal critics are "fantasy" coaches and ADs. It's often been said that a critic is nothing more than a whiney malcontent who failed to make it in the field that they criticize. It's my belief that very few of you have even stepped foot on the field that you attempt to criticize. That makes most of you nothing more than bloviating yentas.

Let's create a "fantasy coach" thread. That would be the most appropriate forum for you to place the misguided statements and other unsubstantiated comments that are so ubiquitous throughout this message board. Feel free to draw up any set plays, game strategies, and systems that you find appropriate. That way we'll know how many grains of salt to take ahead of time before reading whatever is posted there.

I'm not going to say there's not some truth in what you posted -- this place does get ridiculous at times with the criticism of Hewitt -- but here are a couple counter-points for you to consider:

1. There's no such thing as an experience/credibility test for being able to post on a message board. If there were, such boards wouldn't exist -- the vast majority are populated by folks who are much more passionate than knowledgable about any specific topic. If you can't handle that, message boards probably aren't for you.

2. You really don't want to suggest that because none of us (I'm assuming here) have coached Division I college basketball that ALL of the concerns and criticisms expressed here lack merit.

I've actually found the "You never played/coached" line to be a cheap cop-out that's used in an attempt to silence criticism, mostly by people who deserve to be criticized for subpar job performance.

3. Finally, if you know so little about the sport of basketball that you can't see our team is poorly coached, perhaps it's you who should think twice about posting on a basketball message board. Following the trajectory of our program since Hewitt took over makes it pretty damn obvious.

If Tom Pecora wasn't still at Fordham, we'd have the worst coach in the A-10 by a wide margin. Pecora is terrible, but even he managed to beat Hewitt twice last season.

 

[wijg]

I was hesitant to even mention what was said at the event last night just to avoid posts like this. I'm simply relaying what was said, its certainly open to anyones interpretation. There were several questions about scheme and roster management issues last night, but I 'll leave that to your imagination. Don't shoot the messenger. All 4 coaches made it clear that they love to hear feedback from supporters via e-mail, shoot them a message and voice your concerns.

I was tot shooting the messenger, I was addressing where you went into opinion and away from reporting on the facts. You said "...IMO never came close to chastizing the fan base in any way". But, according to your account, he painted a caricature of online fans. To me that is an insult.

Now you say "There were several questions about scheme and roster management issues last night, but I 'll leave that to your imagination." Why leave the most important stuff out? We would all love to hear how he addressed those. Since none of us on here are qualified to criticize him according to SOAG, we could all learn from what he had to say.

 

[Vurbel]

Concern 4 - Time out usage. With TV timeouts every 4 minutes how can it be that on too many occassions we did not have them at the end of the game when we needed them most?
.

A to the Men! How many times have we gone on a run and called a timeout to break our own momentum? Or called our last timeout with 4:08 left (vcu 2012 CAAT) when a media timeout is coming up. Or how we had to heave a 3/4 court shot against s. Fla. with 5 seconds left because we had no timeouts left?

Ever heard an announcer say how it's the end of a game it sure would be good if coach k, izzo, pitino, Roy, or crean had a timeout left? Neither have I.

 

[A.-Siegfried]

I've been sick for years of all of the misguided postings about "roster management" and "Xs & Os" and that PH is deceitful and duplicitous when it comes to managing the team and its fanbase. It's unfounded crap from a bunch of message board hens.

I'm not saying no one can criticize, but if you do, do it right. Back up your criticsms with facts, not emotion and conjecture. I want to know what credentials you possess that leads you to your "expert" conclusions. How many have you run any basketball team at a high level? How much do you know about "Xs &Os"? What are your suggestions other than shoot the ball, defend better, coach-up the players, coach better in-game. I want specifics. No more vague answers. How many of you played HS ball? College ball? NBA ball? Do you really know how an NCAA team operates, or how any team operates?

My guess is that most of you few dozen vocal critics are "fantasy" coaches and ADs. It's often been said that a critic is nothing more than a whiney malcontent who failed to make it in the field that they criticize. It's my belief that very few of you have even stepped foot on the field that you attempt to criticize. That makes most of you nothing more than bloviating yentas.

Let's create a "fantasy coach" thread. That would be the most appropriate forum for you to place the misguided statements and other unsubstantiated comments that are so ubiquitous throughout this message board. Feel free to draw up any set plays, game strategies, and systems that you find appropriate. That way we'll know how many grains of salt to take ahead of time before reading whatever is posted there.

Yes because if you didn't play beyond HS ball you clearly have no business trying to convince people you know the game.

Just ask guys like Buzz Williams, Scott Drew, Tom Crean and even Roy Williams (who never played a minute of college varsity basketball). Just a handful of guys who probably had the same resume as some people here when it comes to a playing career. Just decent HS players who never made a college team but somehow got into coaching and know the game. There are people on these boards who know the game and never put on a college uniform. Doesn't mean they aren't correct in their assesment(s) of the team at times.

I like their bloviating personally. Even if they aren't yentas.

 

[GSII]

This Q & A, while it was a good idea & respectable of Hewitt, it's a reach. Had he done this as an annual thing then it would feel different. This feels like he HAD to do it and while he was at it, he poked some message board posters about what they said about him and/or his recruits. If he's still here next year, I'd like to see the Q & A happen as an annual event.

Looking forward, I hope this year he does a better job in ONLY ONE AREA. Defense.

 

[Dawgs99]

I can appreciate a post like patriotsince81....he lists his concerns with facts to back them up. No hyperbole just reasonable basketball talk. In reference to GSII....I told Hewitt that he needs to be a little more open to things like the Q/A session etc. To me it shows that he cares on some level about the folks that are passionate and pony up good hard earned cash to support the team. More access to fans etc is a good idea for a guy who sometimes seems aloof. Wijg.....I never painted a caricature of anyone, in fact his concerns were about the gmuhoops site which he said many folks outside the program think is some how affiliated with the school, that is where his concern was. PH never mentioned this site or the old CAAZONE. It really doesn't matter what or how things were said, there needs to be major improvement in many areas to have a bounce back year. The staff also seemed really high on Erik Lockett and Therence Mayimba. If we do suck next season at least it will be some what refreshing watching a mostly new group of guys out there instead of the same old thing we've seen from many of the departed guys.

 

[Quentin Daniels]

I'm not saying no one can criticize, but if you do, do it right. Back up your criticsms with facts, not emotion and conjecture. I want to know what credentials you possess that leads you to your "expert" conclusions.

Well.......

When Paul Ball took over the team, we'd just knocked off Villanova in the tourney, had been nationally ranked and led the NCAA for consecutive wins. Now, we can't beat Fordham.

So I guess my "credentials" are that I passed the 3rd grade and know that 4 wins are a heck of a lot less then 16 wins.

 

[GMUSig03]

"Bloviating yentas", wow now there's one I've never heard. Two thumbs up from the Russian judge on that comment.

I coached at the high school level for 11 years, both JV and Varsity. Had the pleasure of coaching against 2 NBA players in Hubert Davis (Lake Braddock) and Grant Hill (South Lakes). Coached against Charlie Garner (NFL) when he played basketball at Stuart, so yes, I feel I have some experience and knowledge of the game. I do question what Hewitt does.

Concern 1 - Offense. Ball movement and player movement are lacking in my opinion. I would prefer to see players run shoulder to shoulder on the pick and roll instead of using a banana cut which allows the defender a window to work through. I would love to see a double low post with a flash to the elbow against a zone, then have a high low look or a look opposite for 3. I would love to see more of a motion offense. I would love to see all 5 players touch the ball without it hitting the floor on a possession resulting in a wide open shot. I saw out opponents do this to us regularly.

Concern 2 - Defense. I really wish we didn't switch as much defensively. We allow far too many mismatches in the post and on the perimeter by not fighting though the picks/screens. I would love to see Hewitt teach giving teammates a "window" to work through. I would love to see an EFFECTIVE press resulting in easy baskets.

Concern 3 - Press offense. I would love to see us attack the press more. We did it effectively a few times last yeat but not consistently. At times we struggled to even throw the ball in, yet alone look ahead to attack.

Concern 4 - Time out usage. With TV timeouts every 4 minutes how can it be that on too many occassions we did not have them at the end of the game when we needed them most?

Concern 5 - Substitution pattern. This got better as the year went on. I understand the concept of looking for combinations and lineups, especially early in the year but we threw away some opportunities last year, especially early. There were times when I just scratched my head and wondered why he substituted the way he did.

Concern 6 - Lack of emotion. Maybe it's just not his personality but I would love to see him go toe to toe with refs, opposing coaches, and players alike. Doesn't seem to be any fire in the man's belly. If the reason we lost last year was because the players couldn't/wouldn't execute what he tried to teach then that also falls on him.

I could go one but this will have to suffice for the time being. The "facts" are that we lost 20 games last year. That's some pretty rarified air that the likes of Paul Westhead and Ernie Nestor achieved in their time here. I'll admit I'm a hothead when it comes to the game. I received more than my fair share of technicals in my day but my teams played hard and smart, something I just didn't see last year from a Paul Hewitt coached team.

My 2 cents, and I'm sticking to it. If he turns it around this year and leads us to the NCAA tourney I'll be delighted, shocked, but delighted.

I picked up on nearly all of these and have no experience other than watching a lot of college basketball, playing intramural basketball and talking with other more knowledgable fans. Doesn't take a genius to see the negative trends and shortcomings.

 

[GMUgemini]

"Bloviating yentas", wow now there's one I've never heard. Two thumbs up from the Russian judge on that comment.

I coached at the high school level for 11 years, both JV and Varsity. Had the pleasure of coaching against 2 NBA players in Hubert Davis (Lake Braddock) and Grant Hill (South Lakes). Coached against Charlie Garner (NFL) when he played basketball at Stuart, so yes, I feel I have some experience and knowledge of the game. I do question what Hewitt does.

Concern 1 - Offense. Ball movement and player movement are lacking in my opinion. I would prefer to see players run shoulder to shoulder on the pick and roll instead of using a banana cut which allows the defender a window to work through. I would love to see a double low post with a flash to the elbow against a zone, then have a high low look or a look opposite for 3. I would love to see more of a motion offense. I would love to see all 5 players touch the ball without it hitting the floor on a possession resulting in a wide open shot. I saw out opponents do this to us regularly.

Concern 2 - Defense. I really wish we didn't switch as much defensively. We allow far too many mismatches in the post and on the perimeter by not fighting though the picks/screens. I would love to see Hewitt teach giving teammates a "window" to work through. I would love to see an EFFECTIVE press resulting in easy baskets.

Concern 3 - Press offense. I would love to see us attack the press more. We did it effectively a few times last yeat but not consistently. At times we struggled to even throw the ball in, yet alone look ahead to attack.

Concern 4 - Time out usage. With TV timeouts every 4 minutes how can it be that on too many occassions we did not have them at the end of the game when we needed them most?

Concern 5 - Substitution pattern. This got better as the year went on. I understand the concept of looking for combinations and lineups, especially early in the year but we threw away some opportunities last year, especially early. There were times when I just scratched my head and wondered why he substituted the way he did.

Concern 6 - Lack of emotion. Maybe it's just not his personality but I would love to see him go toe to toe with refs, opposing coaches, and players alike. Doesn't seem to be any fire in the man's belly. If the reason we lost last year was because the players couldn't/wouldn't execute what he tried to teach then that also falls on him.

I could go one but this will have to suffice for the time being. The "facts" are that we lost 20 games last year. That's some pretty rarified air that the likes of Paul Westhead and Ernie Nestor achieved in their time here. I'll admit I'm a hothead when it comes to the game. I received more than my fair share of technicals in my day but my teams played hard and smart, something I just didn't see last year from a Paul Hewitt coached team.

My 2 cents, and I'm sticking to it. If he turns it around this year and leads us to the NCAA tourney I'll be delighted, shocked, but delighted.

I think most of us have said the same things. It's not really that hard to figure out where this team is failing.

A lot of these issues come down to execution (I highly doubt Hewitt is "telling" his players to lazily run under screens or make banana cuts on pick and rolls), which leads me to my biggest concern: how this team practices and prepares for games. I fear Hewitt is a little too philosophical to get his message across and he either doesn't delegate enough to his assistants, or they are incapable of taking that philosophical approach and turning it into something practical when working with the players (nothing wrong with a philosophical leader if the assistant coaches can translate it for the players).

I'm also concerned about the substitution pattern coming into this season, because like last season our starting lineup and hierarchy off the bench will be highly unsettled. I'm hoping Hewitt can find a strong starting 5 early and ride them while figuring out who to come off the bench and when. His substitution pattern really didn't settle down until Moore and Jenkins solidified their starting roles and he finally gave up on Okoloji contributing anything to the team, that was about 20 games into the season (much too late).

He needs to figure this out much quicker next season if he's going to save his job.

 

[CHRISTOPHER JAMES JOLLAY]

Agree. No problems with people like Pat81's post picking apart what he doesn't like.
There is plenty to not like about the program right now that can be reasonably expressed. At the same time I chuckle when I hear Hewitt castigated for his playcalling and other things. I sit right behind the bench and can assure you, many times it ain't his fault for how things are executed.

The Okoloji schollie was a big setback. That was a slot the program really could have used a player (preferably experienced transfer) to help transition from L's guys to Hewitt's guys. I consider that a major blotch on Hewitt.

To paragraph 1 one time I heard Marko tell Okoloji explicitly not to foul at the end of a game, to which Okoloji went out and promptly fouled. Can't coach that kind of thing.

You can just choose better recruits (for which Hewitt is still at fault).

 

[GSII]

The concerns mentioned while legit are nothing more than a broken record. When has Hewitt coached differently in last 14 years?? The man pushes system over everything else. Making adjustments during a game for him is like a freshman in college waking up for an 7am exam and having to walk 2 miles in the snow to get there. We can talk til we're blue in the face about what needs to be done, but if you look around everyone is pretty much blue in the face.

I'm setting the bar low this year and hoping to see some better defense and less mental freezes overall. I expect to see freshman make 'freshman' mistakes, but if our upper classman are having the same mental freezes last years seniors had, then we'll know for sure we have a major issue in the coaching dept.