Bad half? or a Sign of Things to Come?

[jacks1]

Re: Bad half? or a Sign of Things to Come?

Kermit thanks for the information. My point of my post was when Lakes stated that next year's talent comparison between NDSU and SDSU is not even close.

...fixed it for ya

[zooropa]

Re: Bad half? or a Sign of Things to Come?

AJ (who learned a bit of game management from Nagy) got props from Rebecca Lobo during the Baylor game last year because he -didn't- call a timeout late in the game:

"RebeccaLobo I LOVE that coach (Senor Jackrabbit?) didn't call a timeout. That is trusting your players. Pro coaches ALWAYS call the timouts. No trust."

[1stRowFANatic]

Re: Bad half? or a Sign of Things to Come?

I think the TO needed to be called not so much because of what NDSU was doing, but what SDSU wasn't. It looked like a different team from the first half. And the K-State game I didn't think they needed a TO, just felt different watching it. Maybe because I am more invested as a fan in the Jacks (not a K-State fan at all) for the different perception.

[filbert]

Re: Bad half? or a Sign of Things to Come?

Does Nagy really have to call time-outs to remind his team that they're playing a game called "basketball?" It looked to me like some of the players simply forgot that fundamental fact for a while last Friday night.

I seem to recall that one of the major criticisms of Nagy during the Really Bad Times was that he yells too much at his oh-so-sensitive players.

Now people are upset because he didn't?

The second half collapse is squarely on the shoulders of the players on the court in Fargo, not on Scott Nagy. The players had the game under control when they went into the locker room for half time, and they let the Bison take it away from them as soon as they came out for the sstart of the second half. The Bison raised their intensity level and the Jacks failed to match that intensity.

The players blew it. From the comments I've seen, they are very aware that they blew it.

As bad as the second half of the NDSU game was, I still think that The Really Bad Times for the men's BB program are over, thank Naismith. This does not however mean that The Good Times have returned. Work remains to be done before SDSU can be considered an annual serious contender for the Summit League title:

The student-athletes need to continue improve, physically and mentally--maybe especially mentally. We still are not seeing the level of mental toughness from this team that is necessary to be consistently successful.

The coaches need to continue to improve in their pre-game preparation and their in-game coaching. It may be that the coaches need to look in their mirrors and think about their level of mental toughness as well. I don't know for sure about that, but the coaches set the tone for the team, so that leads to an inevitable conclusion. (We all know how emotional Nagy is--it's entirely possible that the Haiti disaster has affected him much more than even he really realizes . . .)

Both of those things are continuing, never-ending processes--you are never, ever done trying to improve (both in basketball and in life, actually). "I'll sleep when I'm dead."

The fans need to turn out this weekend and yell like crazy (kind of like the Bison fans did) to back both of our basketball teams in four big, important games this weekend.

Objectively, the men are maybe the third best team in the league. Number One is coming to town. If they beat Oakland, they're still in the race. If they don't, then they're playing just to stay in the upper bracket for the conference tournament. But before they get to that game, they need to take care of IPFW--something that they've had difficulty doing since they've joined the league. (Remember last year's game in Ft. Wayne? 55-18 after the first half? I wish I could forget it . . .)

I've said it before: Any D-I team will cheerfully beat your brains out if you don't bring your best game for 40 minutes each and every night--especially at their place. The Jacks didn't bring their best game for 20 minutes, and the Bison cheerfully beat their brains out.

That game is over. The Mastodons and the Grizzlies await.

[Nidaros]

Re: Bad half? or a Sign of Things to Come?

Coach Nagy did mention his mind being on the Hiati earth quake and with his adopted daughter and having been their more than once, it can be a bit of a disruptive influenence, but I doubt it.

Coach is on track and most coaches dont let what some critical fan thinks, bother him too much. Maybe Eric Musselman might be an exception, but most coaches either ignore or the find a job in insurance when the stomache ulcers are too much, which is very honorable exit by the way.

Its been a long time since I have emailed Nagy, I think he deserves a big thank you bringing us this far at the D1 level. Whether he calls time out or not is often a detailed explanation that most of us don't comprehend totally. We hired him to coach so let him do his thing, and there is a big difference between coaching YMCA youth bb and coaching in the Summit.

[SoDakJack]

Re: Bad half? or a Sign of Things to Come?

I don't understand what I time out would have done. Was Nagy supposed to remind AC that he isn't supposed to wander aimlessly under the Bison hoop when on defense? A time-out isn't going to stop some of the terrible passes that the Jacks tried.

Sometimes the best thing that a coach can do is let the kids play and learn on the fly. Sure, it might not work out in the short term but in the long run it makes the players better and more accountable for what is happening on the court. I, for one, don't want a team that needs to rely on the coach when adverse conditions arise on the court.