blueandgray
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Post by blueandgray on Nov 18, 2024 15:15:20 GMT -5
Like in business or raising a family, culture is huge in basketball. You can be great at leading culture (like Cooley), but at the same time you need people who are willing to buy in and want to be part of it. There are certain guys on our team who are all in and despite their troubles in the court, they want to improve, they want to understand, they want to elevate. And there are others that simply don’t get it, would rather externalize and perhaps come from shaky cultures themselves.
You can see the guys that are all in…Epps, Mack, Sorber, Fielder. You can see others that are trying to figure it out. Then there are others that just don’t get it and may never. Sadly…as I see it, there are a couple of those. Hopefully I am wrong and the light switch goes on for those who are lost or seem disconnected. Life and basketball often mirror each other.
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prhoya
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Post by prhoya on Nov 18, 2024 15:28:38 GMT -5
Like in business or raising a family, culture is huge in basketball. You can be great at leading culture (like Cooley), but at the same time you need people who are willing to buy in and want to be part of it. There are certain guys on our team who are all in and despite their troubles in the court, they want to improve, they want to understand, they want to elevate. And there are others that simply don’t get it, would rather externalize and perhaps come from shaky cultures themselves. You can see the guys that are all in…Epps, Mack, Sorber, Fielder. You can see others that are trying to figure it out. Then there are others that just don’t get it and may never. Sadly…as I see it, there are a couple of those. Hopefully I am wrong and the light switch goes on for those who are lost or seem disconnected. Life and basketball often mirror each other. And you can see all that from 3 games?! Geez! |
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DFW HOYA
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Post by DFW HOYA on Nov 18, 2024 15:49:41 GMT -5
Like in business or raising a family, culture is huge in basketball. You can be great at leading culture (like Cooley), but at the same time you need people who are willing to buy in and want to be part of it. There are certain guys on our team who are all in and despite their troubles in the court, they want to improve, they want to understand, they want to elevate. And there are others that simply don’t get it, would rather externalize and perhaps come from shaky cultures themselves. You can see the guys that are all in…Epps, Mack, Sorber, Fielder. You can see others that are trying to figure it out. Then there are others that just don’t get it and may never. Sadly…as I see it, there are a couple of those. Hopefully I am wrong and the light switch goes on for those who are lost or seem disconnected. Life and basketball often mirror each other. I'm not sure we can tell that at this point, but when "culture" is left to the court and not that of Georgetown overall, it's not going to last. The Cooley culture will be transient if their experiences never extend beyond the walls of the Thompson Center. |
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jwp91
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Post by jwp91 on Nov 18, 2024 17:08:22 GMT -5
I usually agree with Blue & Gray. I don't see a culture problem. I see a roster construction problem. We don't have shooters. When we face any team that is skilled a putting it in the basket, we could struggle like we did. DePaul took the opposite approach. They found shooters and are trying to figure the rest out.
The biggest mistake made on Saturday was going to a 2-3 zone against a team that has been shooting it well. That is on Cooley. Then his players lost composure and starting heaving 3 pointers up....starting with Sorber.
Our big men outside of Sorber are not ready to carry this team the way he can. Julius will in time, but he is not there yet. Drew is also not there. When Sorber is off (like he was being sick) we are going to struggle.
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Post by hoyasaxa2003 on Nov 18, 2024 23:43:54 GMT -5
My assumption has always been that blueandgray has some access to the program we do not have, which inform those conclusions. I agree that based solely on watching three games, it would be impossible to make those conclusions.
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blueandgray
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Post by blueandgray on Nov 19, 2024 0:07:03 GMT -5
With every team there are guys that are fully bought in and others that are still on their way. With so many new faces, is it really unreasonable to think that there are guys still trying to figure out what it’s all about? I think not.
I think they can all get there…it’s early.
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trillesthoya
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Post by trillesthoya on Nov 19, 2024 1:24:00 GMT -5
Like in business or raising a family, culture is huge in basketball. You can be great at leading culture (like Cooley), but at the same time you need people who are willing to buy in and want to be part of it. There are certain guys on our team who are all in and despite their troubles in the court, they want to improve, they want to understand, they want to elevate. And there are others that simply don’t get it, would rather externalize and perhaps come from shaky cultures themselves. You can see the guys that are all in…Epps, Mack, Sorber, Fielder. You can see others that are trying to figure it out. Then there are others that just don’t get it and may never. Sadly…as I see it, there are a couple of those. Hopefully I am wrong and the light switch goes on for those who are lost or seem disconnected. Life and basketball often mirror each other. Peavy seems like a guy that’s bought in as well. |
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Elvado
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Post by Elvado on Nov 19, 2024 5:14:21 GMT -5
I would be happy to speculate as to who has bought in to Cooley’s culture, if someone could define what that is.
Right now, the defining characteristic is the repetition of past mistakes:
Wide open 3 pt shooters on defense and
Stagnant ball sticking offense
If this is it, they should not buy in.
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jwp91
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Post by jwp91 on Nov 19, 2024 8:54:27 GMT -5
With every team there are guys that are fully bought in and others that are still on their way. With so many new faces, is it really unreasonable to think that there are guys still trying to figure out what it’s all about? I think not. I think they can all get there…it’s early. I can fully agree that there are guys trying to figure it out, but I don’t think it is because they are not bought into the culture. There is not a player on the team who is fully comfortable in what is being asked of him right now. Even the most experienced player, Peavy, is trying to take on more of the offensive load and to be more of a leader. You are privy to more non-public information that I am. So maybe you are hearing things that I cannot see in the public domain. I see we have a collection of good players who are incredibly young. They are long and tough but short on sharpshooting. |
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blueandgray
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Post by blueandgray on Nov 19, 2024 9:31:57 GMT -5
Like in business or raising a family, culture is huge in basketball. You can be great at leading culture (like Cooley), but at the same time you need people who are willing to buy in and want to be part of it. There are certain guys on our team who are all in and despite their troubles in the court, they want to improve, they want to understand, they want to elevate. And there are others that simply don’t get it, would rather externalize and perhaps come from shaky cultures themselves. You can see the guys that are all in…Epps, Mack, Sorber, Fielder. You can see others that are trying to figure it out. Then there are others that just don’t get it and may never. Sadly…as I see it, there are a couple of those. Hopefully I am wrong and the light switch goes on for those who are lost or seem disconnected. Life and basketball often mirror each other. Peavy seems like a guy that’s bought in as well. 💯 on Peavy!!! Super professional and serious student athlete. |
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Post by jctnhoya4ever on Nov 19, 2024 10:07:49 GMT -5
They are not time to buy into culture you have to coach players thats 1 and done they are new rosters every year now. You have to change your coaching velocity or you want succed in today’s college basketball landscape. That is it usually 1-2 years and they are gone.
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Post by professorhoya on Nov 19, 2024 10:15:32 GMT -5
Like in business or raising a family, culture is huge in basketball. You can be great at leading culture (like Cooley), but at the same time you need people who are willing to buy in and want to be part of it. There are certain guys on our team who are all in and despite their troubles in the court, they want to improve, they want to understand, they want to elevate. And there are others that simply don’t get it, would rather externalize and perhaps come from shaky cultures themselves. You can see the guys that are all in…Epps, Mack, Sorber, Fielder. You can see others that are trying to figure it out. Then there are others that just don’t get it and may never. Sadly…as I see it, there are a couple of those. Hopefully I am wrong and the light switch goes on for those who are lost or seem disconnected. Life and basketball often mirror each other. The culture that has to change and the culture that we can change is the culture on this board. If a new head coach were taking over this unit they would jettison a lot of them because they are extremely negative, team cancers, and have a losing mentality. You can’t build a winning culture with losing malcontents. As hard as that is to do after years of losing that is what is needed. A complete reboot in attitude. Just look at the Washington Football Team. They had a cancerous loser running the team in Dan Snyder for 25 years. Two years after he was overthrown, the new ownership has instilled a winning culture and a winning team. |
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Post by ColumbiaHeightsHoya on Nov 19, 2024 10:16:36 GMT -5
I usually agree with Blue & Gray. I don't see a culture problem. I see a roster construction problem. We don't have shooters. When we face any team that is skilled a putting it in the basket, we could struggle like we did. DePaul took the opposite approach. They found shooters and are trying to figure the rest out. The biggest mistake made on Saturday was going to a 2-3 zone against a team that has been shooting it well. That is on Cooley. Then his players lost composure and starting heaving 3 pointers up....starting with Sorber. Our big men outside of Sorber are not ready to carry this team the way he can. Julius will in time, but he is not there yet. Drew is also not there. When Sorber is off (like he was being sick) we are going to struggle. You don't need shooters to give up 80+. With the length that some of those non-shooters bring (CU Williams, Burks), they need to make up for it on D. They have not. Our bigs are all plus shooters. Our guards (Mack/Epps) need to figure out where to shoot and percentages will go up. On the wing, McKenna looks to have a decent shot and Peavy should be passable. Our D needs to be dialed in and it just simply isn't. Our pick & roll D on shooters stinks. |
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sweetness
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Post by sweetness on Nov 19, 2024 10:23:42 GMT -5
Recognizing that culture is not formed overnight....isn't it the job of the staff to vet & bring in guys who fit the culture?
I'll also add that it appears like we have 11 guys trying to get into the rotation. At least 1-2 will not be playing significant minutes as the season wears on. Not sure how that will impact this issue.
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DanMcQ
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Post by DanMcQ on Nov 19, 2024 14:13:46 GMT -5
If part of culture is getting a group of first- and second-year guys to buy in to help and rotation team defense, that may look great in practices, but in games against other teams it could break down pretty quickly initially. That provides plenty of teaching material to move things forward. If the team defense still looks like this in January I might get worried. I'm not so worried at the moment.
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drquigley
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Post by drquigley on Nov 19, 2024 15:25:19 GMT -5
Culture - Shmulture. Just bring in guys who can hit 3's!!!!
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traversb
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Post by traversb on Nov 19, 2024 15:55:56 GMT -5
Like in business or raising a family, culture is huge in basketball. You can be great at leading culture (like Cooley), but at the same time you need people who are willing to buy in and want to be part of it. There are certain guys on our team who are all in and despite their troubles in the court, they want to improve, they want to understand, they want to elevate. And there are others that simply don’t get it, would rather externalize and perhaps come from shaky cultures themselves. You can see the guys that are all in…Epps, Mack, Sorber, Fielder. You can see others that are trying to figure it out. Then there are others that just don’t get it and may never. Sadly…as I see it, there are a couple of those. Hopefully I am wrong and the light switch goes on for those who are lost or seem disconnected. Life and basketball often mirror each other. What exactly is the culture and how are the guys that you pointed out "buying in" to said culture. |
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prhoya
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Post by prhoya on Nov 19, 2024 18:42:09 GMT -5
Like in business or raising a family, culture is huge in basketball. You can be great at leading culture (like Cooley), but at the same time you need people who are willing to buy in and want to be part of it. There are certain guys on our team who are all in and despite their troubles in the court, they want to improve, they want to understand, they want to elevate. And there are others that simply don’t get it, would rather externalize and perhaps come from shaky cultures themselves. You can see the guys that are all in…Epps, Mack, Sorber, Fielder. You can see others that are trying to figure it out. Then there are others that just don’t get it and may never. Sadly…as I see it, there are a couple of those. Hopefully I am wrong and the light switch goes on for those who are lost or seem disconnected. Life and basketball often mirror each other. What exactly is the culture and how are the guys that you pointed out "buying in" to said culture. Sounds to me like the start of Exodus… |
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playtyler
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Post by playtyler on Nov 20, 2024 0:15:33 GMT -5
I agree with everyone that Blueandgray is easily one of the most valuable posters on this board. But I am confused when the claim is that the problem is that only Epps, Mack, Sorber, Fielder and Peavy are all in. These are the best five players on the team and four of the five starters. If some of the young bench guys are not bought in, we still should be able to play better with our five best players bought in, and be able to survive the others not yet on board. Yet, in the first three games we have been awful.
Against Lehigh (a team that is 0-4 and in the other three games lost to Northwestern by 44, UCLA by 40 and to Columbia) we were down 5 18 minutes into the first half and down one with 13 minutes left in the game. I was there and it felt worse than that (we only won the second half by three points and the game by 8 points).
Against Fairfield (who lost to Rhode Island by 38 and Drexel by 6 and whose only real win was a 6 point win against an awful 1-6 New Hampshire team (who lost by 18 to Brown)), the starters who are "bought in" were down ten in the first half and Cooley yanked them all out and we fought back to up 3 at halftime, ultimately winning by 12. I was at this game and it never felt like Fairfield was out of the game.
Against Notre Dame ...
We have almost no shooting, with less threes made than our opponent in all three games, while having more three point attempts and never breaking 30% from 3. Our defense is a work in progress with only Peavy and Sorber being plus defenders. As an aside, I am very much enjoying watch Peavy guard.
To be clear, I like this team and our top 7 guys are all Big East level talent who are for the most part "bought in". We shouldn't be playing this badly against these teams with this level talent. The buy-in thing doesn't really seem to be the issue when it all five of our best players and the minutes that they have been in as a unit have been some of the worst minutes. Some great recent teams (UNC, Kansas, Uconn) have gone with basically 5 guys, with spot duty for the subs.
We won't win a lot this year without any shooting. Last year we shot 35% from 3. This year it is 25% (admittedly low sample size). Hopefully we shoot better and play some defense. Or it is going to be another long season and some of those players who are bought in are going to be bought out.
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blueandgray
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Post by blueandgray on Nov 20, 2024 1:53:45 GMT -5
I confess that I haven’t read every post on this thread….and perhaps I shouldn’t have posted. By no means am
I saying that the only people I mentioned are the ones that are bought in. More are as well.
I think culture in this case refers to gratitude of the incredible opportunity being given to these young men. They go to an incredible academic institution , play for great coaches, have wonderful facilities and get paid to do so. Some guys appreciate it more than others. Anytime you have a group that shares an appreciation for such things….you build a culture of gratitude which usually leads to good things. For some, it’s a work in progress.
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