Poll Vote of Confidence: Paul Hewitt (1/11)

[gmubrian]

When he was first hired, I only glanced at his record and thought it was ok. But, He really did not do average in the ACC. He had exactly one season in which he had a winning record in the ACC. One. And that season was only 9 and 7

 

[gmujim92]

Hewitt is good in many areas of "coaching" -- recruiting, running a clean program, projecting a positive image -- but he is simply terrible when it comes to the fundamental, tactical aspects of the game.

The vcu game was a perfect example. In the first half they weren't hedging our screens hard and our guys were able to drive right to the basket and score. We didn't really have to set anything up -- it was one pass, a ball screen and a drive. That's one thing we do well.

In the second half, vcu changed the way they were defending our high ball screens and stopped letting us just drive it all the way down the paint. We had no counter in our halfcourt offense and shot 24 percent in the second half.

It's all just 1-on-1 garbage. If he has enough talent to win the individual matchups, it looks good. But failing to have a Plan B or C when your first options are taken away is terrible coaching.

Yes, he has recruited some promising young talent, but I have very little confidence that they'll develop into a cohesive unit going forward. It's fairly obvious by now that Hewitt's problems at GT weren't limited to losing guys to the NBA -- his "system" is simply not conducive to developing solid, fundamental basketball teams.

 

[Walter]

All true Jim, but he does seem to be recruiting self-motivated guys who aren't afraid to take it to the other team. More BA and Jenkins type guys. These type of guys are less dependent on good game coaching. At least that is what I want to believe but not having a good x's and o's coach will always put a ceiling on us.

 

[gmujim92]

I'm watching UVa pummel NC State right now.

Wolfpack are, just like Hewitt's GT teams, extremely talented but underachieving under sucky Mark Gottfried.

Meanwhile, Tony Bennett -- widely regarded as one of the best young coaches in the game -- has UVa on its way to 3-0 in the ACC.

Coaching makes a huge difference in college hoops. You can't just roll the balls out and let your guys go 1-on-1 like they do in the NBA.

 

[gmutom]

Well said, Walter. I'm never going to say Hewitt's a great coach, because he's not; but not everything is the doom and gloom some people want to project. A lot of this year will continue to be like getting a root canal, but the next few years have the potential to be fun with us actually building toward something.

 

[gmujim92]

Well said, Walter. I'm never going to say Hewitt's a great coach, because he's not; but not everything is the doom and gloom some people want to project. A lot of this year will continue to be like getting a root canal, but the next few years have the potential to be fun with us actually building toward something.

You're kidding yourself.

We actually have people here feeling optimistic after LOSING BY 14 to vcu.

I don't get it.

Hewitt's teams always underachieve. Always. It's the only thing he does with any consistency.

By the time Hewitt is done "coaching" them, Moore and JJ likely will be shells of their formerly promising selves.

The only hope is to cut bait, hire a real coach and hope the players decide not to transfer.

 

[EXpatriot13]

You're kidding yourself.

We actually have people here feeling optimistic after LOSING BY 14 to vcu.

Couldn't agree with this more. I have also seen tweets about people gaining confidence after the vcu game. I'm sorry but last time I checked we lost the game. If "only losing by x number of points" to vcu is suddenly okay then we've started to set the bar low for ourselves. I don't care if we lose to vcu by 2 or 20, it's the same thing: a loss.

 

[PoorManProfit]

Check what was going on at UNC in 2004 and prior years. One could argue Hewitt benefited from the down years at UNC. And still couldn't gain ground.

OK. That is true, but he DID get G Tech to the Final of the NCAA Tournament. Most don't get there. Of course, the caliber of player he could get to Atlanta will never consider or even know where Fairfax, VA is.

 

[GMUgemini]

Hewitt is good in many areas of "coaching" -- recruiting, running a clean program, projecting a positive image -- but he is simply terrible when it comes to the fundamental, tactical aspects of the game.

The vcu game was a perfect example. In the first half they weren't hedging our screens hard and our guys were able to drive right to the basket and score. We didn't really have to set anything up -- it was one pass, a ball screen and a drive. That's one thing we do well.

In the second half, vcu changed the way they were defending our high ball screens and stopped letting us just drive it all the way down the paint. We had no counter in our halfcourt offense and shot 24 percent in the second half.

It's all just 1-on-1 garbage. If he has enough talent to win the individual matchups, it looks good. But failing to have a Plan B or C when your first options are taken away is terrible coaching.

Yes, he has recruited some promising young talent, but I have very little confidence that they'll develop into a cohesive unit going forward. It's fairly obvious by now that Hewitt's problems at GT weren't limited to losing guys to the NBA -- his "system" is simply not conducive to developing solid, fundamental basketball teams.

To be fair, when you have exactly one player who consistently hit their mid-range and outside shots what are you going to do at that point? You could run more pick and rolls I guess, but come on you've seen our bigs "finishing" skills around the rim. That shooting percentage is not 100 percent on Hewitt, plenty of missed wide open looks.

I'd say our inability to turn teams over, rebound and get out on breaks hurts our shooting percentage more than our offense. Every possession can't be a patient break the defense down half court game.

Everything has become too hard for this team because they simply can't pressure the ball without fouling.

 

[Patriotfan49]

 

[Patriot Lawdog]

You know who had potential? Gani Lawal had potential. Iman Shumpert had potential. Ask the GT fans how they developed. They'll tell you they didn't. What you saw as a freshman was what you got as a senior (if they did not regress).... So he gets 6 years to show any progress (i.e. get us to the tournament)? That's ridiculous....

Oh, the f-ing irony that I'm watching a team called the Patriots right now and the coach is the exact opposite of what we have. Guys playing at a level above what they should be playing at.

 

[gmujim92]

Can I vote "No" again?

Actually, I'd suggest adding a couple other categories: "Hell No" and "Are You F'ing Kidding Me?"

We ought to be able to register a new vote after every game.

 

[Quentin Daniels]

Can I vote "No" again?

Actually, I'd suggest adding a couple other categories: "Hell No" and "Are You F'ing Kidding Me?"

We ought to be able to register a new vote after every game.

& a "Who are the 11 idiots that voted Yes!? Did all the assistants register multiple accounts?"

 

[99 Patriot]

I am one of the yes votes. While we have laid some terrible eggs this year and he is far, far, far from blameless, I see the same things others have referenced, freshman and sophomores who are far better than seniors and juniors. Add to that that these first two A-10 games our team has played hard, with passion and as a team and I think that's all you can ask for.

Listen, I just don't think we are very good. Outside of Jenkins, our frontcourt is terrible, and Jenkins is still a freshman who doesn't box out and makes some rookie mistakes. That said, the effort we put out last night would have beaten probably every CAA team, but our talent level and number of flaws don't make us good enough to beat good teams who are also playing well.

My hope for the next two months is that our guys, especially the young guys, continue to put out the effort like they did these first two conference games and don't get too frustrated and start mailing it in because we don't always get the result we want.

 

[Bricker]

Ah the key words to this whole mess.

See the GT history. He had plenty of talent, but couldnt really get them to play good solid basketball as a team....and why he was "average" at best in the ACC. Sometimes his talent would win, most times good coaching from the other side would beat him.

Its that simple.

Yep.

Side note: Hewitt would be a good NBA coach if it was for a veteran team. He wouldn't get in shouting matches with his players, he would let them do their thing on the court, free agents would want to sign with the team because he's a "nice guy", etc.

So... uh... can anyone make this happen?

 

[Bricker]

& a "Who are the 11 idiots that voted Yes!? Did all the assistants register multiple accounts?"

11 people thought the question was "Are you confident Paul Hewitt is the head coach of the Patriots?"

d'oh-- more missed layups

 

[GMUgemini]

I am one of the yes votes. While we have laid some terrible eggs this year and he is far, far, far from blameless, I see the same things others have referenced, freshman and sophomores who are far better than seniors and juniors. Add to that that these first two A-10 games our team has played hard, with passion and as a team and I think that's all you can ask for.

Listen, I just don't think we are very good. Outside of Jenkins, our frontcourt is terrible, and Jenkins is still a freshman who doesn't box out and makes some rookie mistakes. That said, the effort we put out last night would have beaten probably every CAA team, but our talent level and number of flaws don't make us good enough to beat good teams who are also playing well.

My hope for the next two months is that our guys, especially the young guys, continue to put out the effort like they did these first two conference games and don't get too frustrated and start mailing it in because we don't always get the result we want.

Bad defense is bad defense no matter what level. We laid defensive eggs agains Iona and Princeton too do it isn't just the uptick in talent level. For a supposedly defensive minded coach not to have the kind if defense he "requires" by year three is unacceptable. He should be gone at the end of the year losing recruits or not.

 

[GSII]

as a Georgia Tech alum I wonder what Cabrera thinks and has heard about Blewitt.

 

[Patriotfan49]

Im starting to wonder if people are coming around and seeing that it may be more people than you think that arent pleased with Hewitt and the situation of our team.

 

[CHRISTOPHER JAMES JOLLAY]

I'm watching UVa pummel NC State right now.

Wolfpack are, just like Hewitt's GT teams, extremely talented but underachieving under sucky Mark Gottfried.

Meanwhile, Tony Bennett -- widely regarded as one of the best young coaches in the game -- has UVa on its way to 3-0 in the ACC.

Coaching makes a huge difference in college hoops. You can't just roll the balls out and let your guys go 1-on-1 like they do in the NBA.

I love Tony Bennett but he hasn't done anything there yet. Lest you forget they were a preseason top 25 and played pretty crappy in the OOC.