Rider announcers said that we did not look like a one win team.
But that could be taken either way.
With the win, Rider moves into a tie with Quinnipiac for third place. Interestingly the MAAC website and the Rider website's schedules and Current Record are updated but not yet on the Stag website.
There are critics of our talent, but I generally think we have some players with talent.
With this in mind, is player turnover a good thing? I think it is bad sign. Reaching/searching for solutions, when the solutions are here. We just have to adapt/adjust to succeed.
This is what scares me.
Z, that is the $64,000 question (oh wait, I'm dating myself- now I guess it's the $640,000 question)! Anyway here is the basic problem that has to be answered before any semblence of progress can be detected. Is the composition of the Stag team right now (emphasis on the guards) not only (god forbid) good enough to maybe win a game or two before this season is over, but more important is it the squad that will magically turn things around in the next 2-3 years and become a CHAMPIONSHIP winner (or at least a contender). Because after all, that has been the stated goal of Sydney all along as he has brought in these players. And IMO your basic premise is right as far as reaching, searching, panicking (whatever) in the form of having a major changeover in personnel is a terrible thing, not only because it shows a lack of judgement in the original talent acquired, but also because it sends a bad message to future recruits revolving around the fact that the situation is an unsettled one. On the other hand however if the solutions are NOT here, I hate to say it but Sydney really would have no other choice but to do what he has to do and bring in the players he needs to reach his goals. A major dilemma for sure, right? With this in mind I certainly would wish at least a couple of guys would really step up their games in the last part of the season and prove to the coaches and fans that they indeed can be the players that could lead this team in the future. Time is running out before decisions have to be made!
Monmouth, Siena and Niagara are in similar situations to us. We are 0-3 against them. That is not a good sign. If we go 0-6 against these elite MAAC squads its definitely time to panic.
I suffered through the Rider game. I thought, as I have seen before, that they were competitive in the first half but came out flat in the second half. Looked like they had no energy, felt like they couldn't and wouldn't win the game. No one mentioned Malcolm's basket. A bad pass that was actually put in by Rider and Malcolm was the closest Stag to the ball so they gave him credit for the bucket. Lastly, in all my years of following the Red Stags, I think that leaving Grennan and Davis home is a big deal. This team is in disarray.
oh my........."Monmouth, Siena, Niagara" are elite teams??? Yes Niagara is good this year..............but Monmouth?? Statements like this are clear indications of just where the Stags are..........at the bottom. Could we play NJIT in a playin game for worst team in NYC metro?? What will change this decline pattern............next week, next month, next year???
There are critics of our talent, but I generally think we have some players with talent.
With this in mind, is player turnover a good thing? I think it is bad sign. Reaching/searching for solutions, when the solutions are here. We just have to adapt/adjust to succeed.
This is what scares me.
Z, that is the $64,000 question (oh wait, I'm dating myself- now I guess it's the $640,000 question)! Anyway here is the basic problem that has to be answered before any semblence of progress can be detected. Is the composition of the Stag team right now (emphasis on the guards) not only (god forbid) good enough to maybe win a game or two before this season is over, but more important is it the squad that will magically turn things around in the next 2-3 years and become a CHAMPIONSHIP winner (or at least a contender). Because after all, that has been the stated goal of Sydney all along as he has brought in these players. And IMO your basic premise is right as far as reaching, searching, panicking (whatever) in the form of having a major changeover in personnel is a terrible thing, not only because it shows a lack of judgement in the original talent acquired, but also because it sends a bad message to future recruits revolving around the fact that the situation is an unsettled one. On the other hand however if the solutions are NOT here, I hate to say it but Sydney really would have no other choice but to do what he has to do and bring in the players he needs to reach his goals. A major dilemma for sure, right? With this in mind I certainly would wish at least a couple of guys would really step up their games in the last part of the season and prove to the coaches and fans that they indeed can be the players that could lead this team in the future. Time is running out before decisions have to be made!
The Talent on the team is certainly the most important issue when looking at the future. But when a team is 4-19, and its determined to be due to not enough talent, then I think its a positive that we choose to bring in some talent to turn it around quickly. Does it look like an unsettled situation.... sure. It should be unsettled at 4-19. I think future recruits would want us to make changes. I also think our current players would want us to get better..... if they don't, then don't we have to question their committment. And if players have not shown the type of committment or hard work to make themselves better, then they have not lived up to their deal of gettting a Quarter of a Million dollar scholarship.
But I feel we do have some talent, but not enough to even field a consistent Starting Five. We don't need 13 talented players, but we do need 5..... and we don't have that. Not having a consistent scoring 2G, not having a 3 with guard-like skills, and not having an offensive Big Man are three major holes. Can we still fill those roles with this years team. Time is running out but we have options that have to improv this year. Can our 2014 recruits fit thse roles..... Maybe. But we cannot run the team on maybe's . So if we can get those type of players, we have to go after them.
I'm sure the coaches and players are frustrated by this lack of success as well....
I hope that GD, FvA and the Trustees are as well because this season (so far) has been a big (and possibly record breaking) step backward for the Men's Basketball program and Fairfield University athletics. I hope that I am wrong but IMO it will take more than one season to turn the University's premier sport around and even longer to get the fans (other than the die-hards), alumni, students and the local community interested in going to Bridgeport for Stag Basketball.
there are always 2 sides to every story. leaving 2 behind shows a splinter in the " one for all, all for one " theme. it is not war it is basketball, no one dies, but there is hand to hand combat. the united states marines leave no man behind.
Having two players stay home is pretty major/pretty public. It rarely helps morale.
I do not think the intent of leaving players at home was to help morale..... moreso to send a message to those players, and maybe to others, looking for more of a committment and sense of urgency.
Having two players stay home is pretty major/pretty public. It rarely helps morale.
I do not think the intent of leaving players at home was to help morale..... moreso to send a message to those players, and maybe to others, looking for more of a committment and sense of urgency.
That message generally tightens players up. It makes them walk on eggshells. They're already too tight.
Leaving people home works when you're 18-4 and not 4-18. We aren't good, people aren't interested, and there is not much re: light at the end of the tunnel unless we get a few JUCO guys or a Rakim Sanders-esque player who wants to come close to home.
We need to focus on getting to .500 next year and being .500 the rest of the year in terms of short and long-term goals. Let's simply get a win or two in the next few weeks so we can remember what it is like.
Yes, everyone at North Benson should be disappointed and a bit "on notice" as the ROI for Basketball is awful right now. What I would give to scream at Colin Nickerson to shoot or for Derek Needham to be consistent. We were relevant and had some moxie as a team...thanks to Cooley. Thank you Jamel Fields, Sean Crawford, et al. Yes, we botched some good opportunities but at least we mattered in terms of being in NIT, CIT/CBI, etc. I loved that we were arguing about Patriot League vs. Colonial and where we were we should go as we were on the up-swing. Now, we are THE BOTTOM OF THE MAAC...say it ain't so.
We don't have a go-to guy, we don't have a coaching staff that seems to "get the players" it has, nor do we have any sense of cohesion as a team. It's on Gene Doris and it's on Sydney...they are where the buck stops. Yes, players and asst. coaches are responsible too but hey, it's lonely on the top. Syd's evasive and boring interviews coupled with his desire to keep everything close to the vest have made it tough to care about the program. Just a sad state of affairs that doesn't look as if it will be changing anytime soon with the current regime.
I am hopeful that the young men who graduate go onto good things as do those who transfer.
Again, I am sure Coach Johnson is a good man. I am glad we don't have a Patsos or shady coach but would Bob Simon/Joe DeSantis have said yes? If so, its indeed quite sad.