BEVERLY HILLS (MI) -- Earlier in the 2010-2011 college basketball season, back when UD was defying the prognostications of guys like Joe Lunardi and Ken Pomeroy, “From the Swamp” took a pretty good shot at stat heads everywhere and Kenny Boy in particular:
http://www.udpride.com/forums/showthread.php?t=16265
Well, I am here to say that I was wrong and Pomeroy was right.
Initially yours truly looked like a genius, as UD ran their won/loss record out to 13-3. The five game losing skein that Pomeroy’s predictor algorithm had envisioned in reality turned out to be a five game Flyer winning streak.
And then
UMass happened.
Since then, with the exception of wins over Atlantic 10 lesser lights
LaSalle, St. Bonaventure,
Fordham and St. Joes, UD has dropped
every single meaningful conference game, regardless of whether it was on the road or at home.
We’ve all seen this movie before.
Speaking of flicks, in the murder mystery film “Rising Sun” Police Detective/Japanese culture expert Sean Connery explains the difference between how Japanese and American businesses address problems:
“The Japanese have a saying, ‘Fix the problem, not the blame.’ Find out what's f***ed up and fix it. Nobody gets blamed. We're always after who f***ed up. Their way is better.”
So instead of firing BG or shipping a scholarship player or two out of town as so many Message Board/
DDN Comments Section know-it-alls have recommended, let’s do what 007 says and identify the problems and fix ‘em.
Where to start?
-- UD currently ranks
#314 in FG percentage in Division 1 of the NCAA. Let me repeat that.
UD ranks 314th out of the 345 schools playing D-1 hoops in field goal percentage.
There’s the problem in a nutshell right there, kids.
As the title of this little opus implies, ‘Coaches coach; Players play’ so clearly it is the players who have to take and make better shots if the fortunes of the Flyers are going to change, whether it be this season or next.
Solution: If they don’t have one already, spend the $3,999 and get one of these machines from the Mark Price Shooting Academy, stat:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/27/sp...r=2&ref=sports
Hey, if it’s good enuf for Andres Sandoval, it sure as hell can’t hurt to try it and fix what ails the Flyboys!
-- I am a staunch believer in the tacit connection between excellent FT shooters also being good FG % guys. Let’s face it, if you can shoot freebies at a 90+% clip, you should be able to make a decent percentage of your shots from the floor, regardless of your position. Look at guys like Ray Allen, Reggie Miller and Larry Bird -- great FT shooters who also made a tremendous FG %. The Flyers do neither well, as they now rank
#204 in the country in FT percentage at 68.1%
Solution: Shoot more FTs in practice…
a lot more.
-- Against
URI, the Flyers ran off 21 unanswered points in the 1st half to take a 29-22 lead into the locker room.
Who should get the credit, BG or the players?
Against URI, UD ended up losing by 14, getting outscored in the 2nd half by that exact same number -- 21 points -- 45 to 24.
We’re not playing the blame game here, but whose fault is that, BG or the players?
Solution: How do you teach or coach a concept like consistency? The only way I can think of is by constant repetition and positive reinforcement.
-- Speaking of the URI road loss, the guys at College Chalk Talk’s Secondary Break interviewed Juwan immediately after the game:
http://secondarybreak.wordpress.com/...ten-interview/
Boy, talk about great timing! Juwan looks really excited to speak to them, doesn’t he?
“So Mr. Mubarak, other than resigning from the Presidency of Egypt, how has the rest of your vacation been?”
Solution: Do us all a favor and don’t interview the Flyers' freshman PG after a crushing road loss.
-- Live by the three, die by the three. How many times have we heard that said about the Red and Blue? Ken Pom has Dayton ranked as the
#200 squad in three point FG percentage.
Solution: Instruct the Flyer players not to shoot a three unless they are wide open and only if the shot came as a direct result of moving the ball inside/out.
-- In the 1st half vs.
Temple, UD had 1 assist on only 9 FGs made. How do you fix that? Is the problem Juwan Staten and Josh Parker? I don’t think so.
There are two parts to every assist:
The player getting the assist has to make the pass
More importantly, the player receiving the pass must make the shot
The Flyers missed innumerable layups in the game vs. the Owls. KenPom.com shows BG Boys ranking
#12 in the country in assist-percentage. So, I don’t think passing the ball is the Flyers root problem.
Solution: Send the Flyers to a Finishing School.
-- Is ball handling the issue here? According to Ken Pom, no. UD ranks
#8 in the entire country in offensive steals percentage, meaning they don’t get the ball stolen from them very often, which is in their favor.
Solution: Don’t change a thing.
-- Are the Flyers unlucky? Earlier this year, my boy Kenny had the Flyers as the 3rd luckiest team in college basketball. Not any more. UD now ranks
#25 in “luck factor” according to Ken Pom. That’s still a high ranking, but I don’t think any of the
Flyer Faithful would typify this year’s squad as particularly lucky, especially in A-10 play.
Solution: Get luckier.
-- Is there some correlation between FT shooting and luck? This guy at The Audacity of Hoops seems to thinks so:
http://audacityofhoops.blogspot.com/...-and-luck.html
Solution: Hell, I have no idea what this dude is talking about.
So there you have it, the answer to all of the Flyers’ problems.
Now, go forth and win!
That’s it “From the Swamp.”
You can email me at:
swampy@udpride.com