Can't win because they can't defend starting with #11

[theicon]

I'm probably not well liked on here being a UVA fan,but watching this team play last few years is Copeland has no desire to or has a very poor Bball IQ when it comes to play defense. He looks like he doesn't have the slightest idea what's going on out there on that end. So I wish the draft gurus would stop salivating over his potential. If he's just uncoachable in that end play Johnson, or send a wake up call by not starting him. He's really not that good!

Campbell is just as bad with his ol'e defense. Sad to see from a guy I watched in WCAC action. The defense in the MD game didn't surprise me as much because Melo owned him then as well. But last night was ridiculous.

This team has no toughness or grit and that starts with JT3. He tries so hard to be the opposite of JT2 that he's slowly killing everything his dad built at GTown. Sometimes the players just need to man up, defend, and take it personal. That's not all on the coaching staff.

[ColumbiaHeightsHoya]

Agreed on both accounts. Lateral quickness doesn't exist.

[blueandgray]

A good take. Agree 100% on Copeland....so perplexed by his lack of intensity on the defensive end.

[bostonfan]

Copeland just plays with such a casual attitude for most of the game and it drives me crazy. He shows flashes where it is obvious he has the talent and athleticism to a really good player but you need to focus and play hard for the entire game. Watching inferior players blow by him on defense or simply outwork him for rebounds is just so frustrating.

[blueandgray]

Soft.

[lichoya68]

agree that copeland must GET MEAN AND HUSTLE both sides for forty minutes or more MEANARY NEEDS TO GET WAY UP need at least TWQ wins in hawaii right NOW> go hoyas

[lda05816]

Just imagine the player Cope could be if he had the toughness, effort and desire of a guy like Trawick.

[blueandgray]

Guards light up when they see Copeland on them. It's an invitation to drive the lane.

[the_way]

Nov 18, 2016 8:22:50 GMT -5 theicon said:

I'm probably not well liked on here being a UVA fan,but watching this team play last few years is Copeland has no desire to or has a very poor Bball IQ when it comes to play defense. He looks like he doesn't have the slightest idea what's going on out there on that end. So I wish the draft gurus would stop salivating over his potential. If he's just uncoachable in that end play Johnson, or send a wake up call by not starting him. He's really not that good!

Campbell is just as bad with his ol'e defense. Sad to see from a guy I watched in WCAC action. The defense in the MD game didn't surprise me as much because Melo owned him then as well. But last night was ridiculous.

This team has no toughness or grit and that starts with JT3. He tries so hard to be the opposite of JT2 that he's slowly killing everything his dad built at GTown. Sometimes the players just need to man up, defend, and take it personal. That's not all on the coaching staff.

He is not trying hard to be his dad. He just isn't his dad.

JT3 has always been himself.

As a coach you have to be yourself.

As far as the players, they are unsure right now because their coach is unsure. III is coaching a new style that even he is unfamiliar with right now. That trickles down to the players.

[guru]

Nov 18, 2016 10:32:50 GMT -5 the_way said:

Nov 18, 2016 8:22:50 GMT -5 theicon said:

I'm probably not well liked on here being a UVA fan,but watching this team play last few years is Copeland has no desire to or has a very poor Bball IQ when it comes to play defense. He looks like he doesn't have the slightest idea what's going on out there on that end. So I wish the draft gurus would stop salivating over his potential. If he's just uncoachable in that end play Johnson, or send a wake up call by not starting him. He's really not that good!

Campbell is just as bad with his ol'e defense. Sad to see from a guy I watched in WCAC action. The defense in the MD game didn't surprise me as much because Melo owned him then as well. But last night was ridiculous.

This team has no toughness or grit and that starts with JT3. He tries so hard to be the opposite of JT2 that he's slowly killing everything his dad built at GTown. Sometimes the players just need to man up, defend, and take it personal. That's not all on the coaching staff.

He is not trying hard to be his dad. He just isn't his dad.

JT3 has always been himself.

As a coach you have to be yourself.

As far as the players, they are unsure right now because their coach is unsure. III is coaching a new style that even he is unfamiliar with right now. That trickles down to the players.

Please read more carefully before responding.

[Deleted]

Opposing teams drive the lane on us because we don't know how to play team defense.

[Massholya]

Copeland needs to sit. Has demonstrated zero improvement in any category. Takes the ball to the hoop like he's afraid to get hurt. Guess what Cope? You ain't getting drafted if you keep getting blocked going up for lay ups. Where is the explosion? That's not even to mention his handle. Guy needs a sit down. If his confidence is that fragile, then that's his problem. Shouldn't be the team's problem. He is hurting the team right now in multiple ways.

[blueandgray]

Nov 18, 2016 10:45:59 GMT -5 Massholya said:

Copeland needs to sit. Has demonstrated zero improvement in any category. Takes the ball to the hoop like he's afraid to get hurt. Guess what Cope? You ain't getting drafted if you keep getting blocked going up for lay ups. Where is the explosion? That's not even to mention his handle. Guy needs a sit down. If his confidence is that fragile, then that's his problem. Shouldn't be the team's problem. He is hurting the team right now in multiple ways.

Yes

[the_way]

Nov 18, 2016 10:42:12 GMT -5 guru said:

Nov 18, 2016 10:32:50 GMT -5 the_way said:

He is not trying hard to be his dad. He just isn't his dad.

JT3 has always been himself.

As a coach you have to be yourself.

As far as the players, they are unsure right now because their coach is unsure. III is coaching a new style that even he is unfamiliar with right now. That trickles down to the players.

Please read more carefully before responding.

Let it go. It is not that serious.

[hoyasaxa2003]

It is actually refreshing to see that others see what I have seen about Copeland on defense. People have a tendency to focus more on offense and miss it. Here's the thing: this year, JT3 seems intent on using a lot of lineups with Govan (and I assume Hayes once he's back), Copeland, and then three guards. I have no problem with that.

So let's assume you're going to play Guard, Guard, Guard, Wing, Center (or another Wing). What are your options here? The most obvious replacement for Copeland is Derrickson. And, if Derrickson was fully healthy, I think you could argue in favor of him getting a lot of Copeland's minutes (except Derrickson has fouled too much in the past, so it's questionable whether he could stay on the floor). But, beyond that, who else? Agau could theoretically play aside Govan or Hayes, but I am not seeing that at the moment.

The alternative is to go even smaller, with a lineup like Mulmore, Mosley, Peak, Pryor, Johnson, Govan or a similar lineup with Campbell in there. Granted, a smaller lineup with Copeland at center basically fueled our almost-comeback in part last night, so maybe it would work, I just don't know.

Lastly, since our guys are still fouling at a pretty high rate, and Copeland doesn't foul a lot, he will get a fair amount of time based on that alone. You need to be near someone on defense to foul them.

Generally, I am a big JT3 supporter and I very much want him to succeed, but I do think one weakness is that he has a tendency to over-play veterans, even in instances where it is detrimental to the team.

[bostonfan]

Nov 18, 2016 10:45:59 GMT -5 Massholya said:

Copeland needs to sit. Has demonstrated zero improvement in any category. Takes the ball to the hoop like he's afraid to get hurt. Guess what Cope? You ain't getting drafted if you keep getting blocked going up for lay ups. Where is the explosion? That's not even to mention his handle. Guy needs a sit down. If his confidence is that fragile, then that's his problem. Shouldn't be the team's problem. He is hurting the team right now in multiple ways.

It is maddening that Copeland just does not try to ever put his stamp on a  game. You see LJ trying to take over the game for the entire time he is out there. He knows his team needs him to play well and he is always very active. Sometimes that gets LJ in trouble by trying to do too much but I will live with that over guys playing timid!!!

[Deleted]

I disagree. I think he is trying the best he can. He looks frustrated. He just isn't getting the proper guidance or development. This year the only player who appears to have improved somewhat, is Govan and he is really only effective against teams that don't have a good center. It is just not Copeland. Tre has not improved, Mourning and Cameron have vanished. So can you tell me who has taken a major step in improvement this year?? LJ has only improved a little bit. Our TEAM defense is horrible. Our TEAM passing is terrible, our team offense is awful. If you bench Copeland, who is going to take his place??? Opposing guards are having no trouble getting to the basket. That is a failure of correct team defense, not of any individual person.

[b52legend]

John Calipari was on Jim Rome yesterday and said some things that I took note of, especially after last nights debacle:

- His intention is for practice to be so tough, and so hard, that when the kids get to games, they feel like it is a respite.
- If you don't play defense, you don't play, regardless of what you bring on the offensive end.
- He doesn't have an "offense" - he plays whatever is going to work and will even take ideas from the opponent when scouting them.

I don't like Cal, but I do like all of these ideas. I haven't seen our practices, but what are they like. Are the intense? Do we create situations where guys are fighting for the right to play? We seem soft in games and I wonder if that is a result of practice.

I used to think we were soft on defense because we didn't have the right personnel to deal with guards in today's rules environment. I now think its because we don't emphasize it enough.

[bamahoya11]

I think the defense is a systemic problem right now, starting with the "press" we are running. It really isn't a press, so much as it is a couple of traps that are pretty easily beat so long as a guard can complete a pass across the mid court line.

Good pressing teams play disciplined, team defense, and they are fast. Right now, we are playing undisciplined defense, and we are surprisingly slow. At the open practice a few weeks ago, JTIII basically boasted about how fast we are. So far, I haven't really seen it. Last night, even Mulmore, supposedly one of our fastest players in years, got outrun by the Ark St guards. A similar story for our other players. But the truth is, I don't think this team can press effectively because they don't have five fast players to put out at a time. Simply put, if you have three guys in the backcourt, there will always be a more athletic player for the other team who can beat our front court guys of Govan and Copeland. Frankly, it's not entirely fair to ask them to make plays they aren't really capable of playing.

We also have a tendency to avoid true team defense. Already you see some of the over helping that has plagued us in recent years. Two or three guys will collapse on a man and leave someone else wide open. Someone will collapse too late and foul. It's the same mistakes.

We have to get better fast, and it starts with the defense. I'm just not sure a press will get it done with these personnel.

[Deleted]

Once again, I don't agree. Watch the game again. Our players are really really trying hard to defend. They just don't understand team defense and proper positioning. This is my amateur opinion.