If L was still here, we'd still be wondering. J2 never would've gotten off the bench -- there's just not a mean bone in the kid's body. It's not in his psychological toolbox to be Ryan Pearson.
The Paul Hewitt Thread
- Thread starter Patriotfan49
- Start date
If L was still here, we'd still be wondering. J2 never would've gotten off the bench -- there's just not a mean bone in the kid's body. It's not in his psychological toolbox to be Ryan Pearson.
Yeah, I want a guy like Ryan Pearson that opposing fan's hate.
Amen, Jim. Not only did opposing fans hate Ryan, but he wore it as a badge of honor.
Quentin Daniels
Hall of Famer
That's very likely. Although maybe the constant drilling of under the basket fundamentals that L liked to do would have had an impact.
I still look at Daryl Monroe as the example for this - just a good kid all around who came in the softest 6'7" 275 jump shooter you ever saw. His next season (granted w/an injured redshirt between) his rebounds and scoring nearly doubled. He could still hit the short jumpers which made him tougher to guard, but also made guys like 6'8" 245 Tony Durant his bitch beneath the basket.
No way to tell, but I have to wonder.
I do cut Hewitt some slack for losing Arledge. He was an absolute beast that second half of last season and looked poised to be a double-double machine this year.
Pablo
Hall of Famer
One topic I like to bring up that evidently never interests anyone else is the importance of team leadership. For the past 2 seasons, this team has had a tendency to lose focus and get lazy. Sure you can blame Coach Hewitt. But, does this also reflect poorly on team leadership? Would this have been such a significant problem with team leaders like George Evans or Will Thomas?
When your players have only 90% confidence in the coach, these dumbfounding results are what we get. Airballs, confusion, bad passes, just a bunch of bad ball. Those who are blaming the players and Hewitt, take a grand deep look and set a percentage of blame to each. The players are following the coach. And who is the one slow to make adjustments as stated by many on these boards? Hewitt. So do the math and stop acting like these Larranaga kids are some sort of alien and can't play. I blame 95% of this on Hewitt b/c he lets too much slide on game day. End of story. He's the one who is soft. I don't care if we were 0-8 right now b/c he had to bench the 4 softies for poor play and finish games with 3 players on the court. The bar must be set higher than it is for gameday.
Teams grow throught the year, right? What growth have we seen up to this point in his career? Instead of shaking off the rust, we seem to be accumulating more of it. Thus the 27pt lead we lost to NE and the 32-4 a** rape we got in previous year vs vcu. Both repeat episodes of past GT teams, btw. Look, teams in A10 and Iowa st are going to be killing us from the get go, then let up and we will still try hard while our fans are disillusioned that we are making it competitive.
Perhaps when Shaka started to see his guys getting the slightest bit comfy and soft, a navy seal training regiment was implemented. And he participates. Go for it Paul b/c you need to buck up too!
Teams grow throught the year, right? What growth have we seen up to this point in his career? Instead of shaking off the rust, we seem to be accumulating more of it. Thus the 27pt lead we lost to NE and the 32-4 a** rape we got in previous year vs vcu. Both repeat episodes of past GT teams, btw. Look, teams in A10 and Iowa st are going to be killing us from the get go, then let up and we will still try hard while our fans are disillusioned that we are making it competitive.
Perhaps when Shaka started to see his guys getting the slightest bit comfy and soft, a navy seal training regiment was implemented. And he participates. Go for it Paul b/c you need to buck up too!
I do agree with you in that I prefer a coach who won't hesitate to jump a player's shit for not playing hard. I believe our team's lack of fire is a reflection of the laid-back attitude our coach exudes, and if I could wave a magic wand to make Hewitt more fiery and detail-oriented, I would.
Just like J2 can't be Ryan Pearson, Hewitt can't be Shaka Smart. It's just not his personality, and if he tried to change at this point, the kids would know he's phony as a 3-dollar bill.
TOC knew what he was getting when he hired Hewitt. If it turns out that it's not good enough, it's gonna reflect badly on TOC.
But I have at least come around to accept that the players also bear responsibility for getting physicall and mentally prepared to play their asses off. It's why they're receiving a free education, after all.
Can we get a source for this stat? I Googled it, and it's not showing up anywhere.
Completely agree. Allen will occasionally get in someone's face, but he hasn't made this "his team" like the players you list as well as Pearson/Morrison or even Hancock in his last year. Any great (or even very good team) has that on-the-court coach. Peer pressure is a very strong and overlooked motivator.
Yeah I used to think peer pressure was super over-rated, but my friends convinced me otherwise...
This is absolutely part of the problem. Morrison took that role when Long and Hancock left, and Pearson to a lesser degree. But the closest one we had last year was Paris Bennett.
A good player leader can cover up a coach's deficiencies, and a coach with the right motivational tactics can overcome a leaderless roster. We have neither.
So what I gather from this thread is that we are the perfect mix of turrrible. Players, coach, admin, etc.
Harry
Starter
Sherrod had pretty good lift until he developed the heel spur last year. How else do you account for his drive-and-dunks? And he has had many in his career.
What about the energy? I've never seen the bench ever get excited for anything we've ever done (not that there's much to celebrate). But I used to love when Vaughns would go wild. A problem I correlate with Hewitt's quiet demeanor. It seems like we are always so dull and run through the motions. I always love the white guys at the end of a top D1 bench just go ape every time someone hits a shot. It's a little ridiculous but it's an energy I haven't seen in the last few years.
The entire program doesn't seem to have much energy.
LOL! hahaha
OP
Patriotfan49
Starter
- Thread Starter
- #198
Harry
Starter
I agree with what has been said about J2. So why try to remake him as someone else? Just realize he's a 6'8" guy who likes to shoot mid-range jumpers. And try to get him the ball in those situations. He probably has the size to shoot over most defenders, especially if you play him as a 3.
He doesn't have the handle to play the 3 on offense and he can't guard 3s on defense. Other than that, there's not a thing in the world stopping Hewitt from playing J2 at the 3.
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