Far worse than watching Notre Dame lose another overtime game (at this point I’m almost numb to that) and drop to 1-8 in conference play (average margin of defeat: 3.25 points) was listening to the ESPN commentator verbally fellate the Irish and Mike Brey throughout the game. On and on he babbled about how good a coach Brey is (ha!), about how the players play with so much effort (what is this, middle school?) and so forth. It was ridiculous. Don’t give Brey credit that he doesn’t deserve! This season is a train wreck and the last thing we need is to delude ourselves about it.
At one point, looking back on all of Notre Dame’s close losses, he said something along the lines of, “You can’t fault the coach or the players — it’s just been bad luck.” HA!!! Yes I can fault the coach for repeatedly calling terrible plays after timeouts in crucial situations, and the players for repeatedly taking bad, low-percentage shots (like Quinn’s forced, desperation 3 with plenty of time still on the clock) and making other bonehead mistakes.
I wasn’t terribly upset about the loss to West Virginia last week because the Mountaineers actually earned that one; we didn’t give it away. But in most of our losses, we’ve given the game away with late blunders. Plus, as the (far more competent) commentators on the West Virginia game noted, a big part of our problem is our tendency to fall way behind early, expend an enormous amount of energy coming back, and then run out of gas at the end. It’s completely predictable, and the solution is to play harder and better earlier in the game, so we don’t have to rely on dramatic, exhausting comebacks. Forget all the last-second drama; the bigger problem is our inability to play well for 40 minutes. The seeds of our heartbreaking losses are planted in the first half of these games, when we’re letting our opponents walk all over us.
Bottom line: it’s not just bad luck. We suck.
P.S. Nice shot by Taquan Dean, though. Can’t take that away from him.
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Categories: Uncategorized
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February 4th, 2006 at 4:22:36 pm
The ESPN2 commentators at halftime of the Charlotte game took Mike Brey to task for the way regulation ended. They basically explained you always foul if the lead is three points, under 10 seconds, and the other team puts the ball on the floor.
This SI story…
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/basketball/ncaa/men/recaps/2006/02/04/36620_recap.html
… reiterates Brendan’s observations of narrow losses and slow starts.
February 4th, 2006 at 4:40:35 pm
Blue Gray Sky has a new blog devoted to the basketball team–Fieldhouse
February 4th, 2006 at 5:14:39 pm
That “you always foul” thing is controversial. Some coaches think you should, some think you shouldn’t. The counterargument is, if you foul, maybe they hit the first free throw, miss the second, kick it out and hit a three, and suddenly YOU LOSE, whereas before, the worst-case scenario was overtime. But the percentages would certainly seem to suggest that fouling is a good idea, especially when you’re playing a team that has good three-point shooters.
February 4th, 2006 at 9:21:05 pm
Brendan–
To suggest that Brey should be fired for the reasons that you give, show your ignorance of the game. I believe the reason for your lack of knowledge on the subject (I suspect) is that you have never been a member of any organized sports team, let alone basketball. This is not meant as a derogatory comment, but just to illustrate your lack of knowledge in this field. Granted, Brey has made several small, yet significant coaching errors in the final minutes of many of the irish games this year. I would also agree with your assessment that when you allow yourself to get down by so many points so early in a game, it is hard to dig yourself out of such a whole and when you do, you often lack the necessary energy to finish the game out.
This said, it is a testament to Brey that he still can get his players to play as hard as they do. I have been an irish basketball fan for a long time and this team plays hard all the time and plays together better than any I have seen in a long time. It would be so easy for these kids to lower their heads and throw in the towel, but instead they push through to the final minute and for that I am proud of this team.
What this team lacks is a significant inside presence who can consistently put up 10 to 12 points each game. Francis, who was suppose to be such a player has not panned because of injuries and such. In addition, to fire Brey this year would most likely rob the basketball program of three (the third just committed two days ago) outstanding recruits coming in next year. Those three recruits along with the three freshman already on the team would suggest a very favorable future for the irish program.
In addition, BreyÃs decision not to foul in the final 11 seconds of regulation was not a mistake. NO COACH is going to foul with 11 seconds left in the game, that simply is too much time left in the game. Instead, the mistake was that Falls did not step out immediately on the ball screen and force Dean to pick up his dribble and pass the ball. If Brey made any mistake it was made before the game even started in not teaching how to properly defend the pick and roll.
ìThe dumbest people I know are those who know it all.î
- Malcolm Forbes
February 4th, 2006 at 9:40:00 pm
I suppose all the Irish fans over on The Fieldhouse who are calling for Brey’s head, saying basically the same things I am, are also “ignorant of the game”? And my friends here at ND, generally very reasonable people, and very basketball-savvy, who have played team sports in their lives, are also “ignorant”?
I don’t claim to be a basketball expert, but I’m not ignorant, either. I know consistent bad coaching decisions in crunch situations when I see them. I know a failure to develop player talent when I see it. When I was at USC, I was calling for Henry Bibby’s head — even back when the Trojans were doing relatively well — and sure enough, the administration fired him a couple of years later… because I was right, he was a bad coach. I suspect the same will happen here.
You are correct that I’ve never played team sports, but I don’t see how that renders me incapable of analyzing a team’s woes when I’ve been watching basketball for 15 years. That’s a classic appeal to authority — a logical fallacy — which distracts attention from the validity of the arguments and tries to dismiss what I’m saying because of who I am. Sorry, not buying it. Also, I highly doubt that every single Irish fan who disagrees with Brey has never played basketball before, so I’m afraid that’s a losing argument.
You note that Brey is good at motivating his players to play hard in late-game situations. You’re right. I didn’t say he has NO strengths. He has some — just not enough. We need a coach who can motivate his players to play well in the FIRST half, too. We also need a coach who calls plays that make f***ing sense, instead of taking long 3-pointers without attempting any dribble penetration with 15 seconds still on the shot clock in a tie game in the final 30 seconds … twice. And we need a coach who not only knows how to recruit top talent, but also how to develop it. We need a lot of things that Mike Brey can’t gave us.
You say “if Brey made any mistake it was made before the game even started in not teaching how to properly defend the pick and roll” as if that’s not a legitimate criticism. There are a lot of situations in these games where Brey’s failure to educate his players in various key areas is blatantly obvious. That’s one of the many reasons he needs to go.
Brey is a lot like Ty Willingham, IMHO — a decent recruiter (probably better than Ty in that regard), a terrible play-caller, a good motivator in some sitautions who falls horrifically short in others, a good, decent human being who inspires loyalty from his players, but ultimately, a bad head coach.
Your point about the outstanding recruits is well taken. But that’s the only reason I can see to potentially keep Brey around for another year.
February 4th, 2006 at 10:07:02 pm
Anonymous,
I take issue with your comment that, “NO COACH is going to foul with 11 seconds left in the game, that simply is too much time left in the game.” Honestly, I have never known a coach who WOULDN’T foul with 11 seconds left, and I’ve known some who will foul with as little as 50 seconds or more left. One of the first strategies I learned when I initially started playing basketball competitively in the 3rd grade was that if the game was close, the other team was ahead, and there was not very much time left, whoever had the least number of fouls and the first opportunity should foul to stop the clock.
Also, the ability to motivate your players and get them to play hard does not automatically make one a good coach. My most beloved coach of all time could motivate my team to play our hearts out for him, and we did again and again. However, that didn’t stop him from making coaching mistakes like putting me in to play the final second of the third quarter when I had only one eligible quarter left to play (I played both JV and Varsity) when we were in foul trouble. I loved my coach, I loved playing for him, and I would have run myself into the ground for him. But I can tell you that the next year when we got a new coach, although we were not as devoted to him as the first, we had a substantially better win/loss record for the season and actually made it to the divisional tournament. Obviously, the best situation is when you can have a good, talented coach who also motivates his players and inspires loyalty. But the bottom line is that a coach who merely has the ability to motivate his players without having any talent for actual coaching will most likely not be very successful.
Since personal experience seems to be in your high esteem, I played competitive team basketball for 10 years, and my father and both my grandfathers were basketball coaches. However, in my personal opinion, there are PLENTY of people in this world (including Brendan) who have never played competitive team sports who do indeed know a lot about the sport and are qualified to comment on it.
Disclaimer: I make no claims as to Brey’s coaching talent or lack thereof, considering I have only seen a grand total of three minutes of one ND basketball game.
February 5th, 2006 at 12:07:35 am
Kristin,
You are the perfect example of what i have been hammering on this whole time, a little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing. Of course, you foul if there are 11 seconds left and you are down by three, however in this situation ND was AHEAD by 3! To foul with 11 seconds left, when you are ahead by 3, is dangerous because you run the risk of stopping the clock with too much time left and there by giving your opponent more opportunities to beat you. Any smart basketball player/coach/spectator will tell you that you do not want to foul when you are ahead because you do not want to prolong the game, the only exception would be with say 1.8 or 2.3 seconds left on the clock. The reason that some coaches have the philosophy of fouling with very little time left is because they think the odds are in their favor that the opponent can not make one foul shot, miss the other, get the rebound a make the second (which in this case needed to be a three) with only 2 seconds to spare.
As for the idea that I think only people that have played a sport can be an expert at it, that is just ridiculous. I know many people that did not play a particular sport when they were younger, but fell in love with one or the other latter in life and became very knowledgeable about the subject. All I was suggesting was that in BrendanÃs case his lack of familiarity with organized sport in general and basketball in particular may have been the reason for some of his ignorant comments, like those lambasting Rick Majerus on the comments he made about the Irish and Brey.
Brendan, I was suggesting that Brey made mistakes and I think he is open to criticism just like any person in his position. However, I think that a mark of a good coach is his ability to get the best out of the players that he has, I think Brey does that. Who on this team has he not developed to their fullest potential (tell me quinn could be more with another coach), except for Francis and that was due to injury. The bottom line is that this team lacks athleticism and a true big man, in a conference like the big east (probably the best in the country) you can not win without talent. To BreyÃs credit, he is getting the most out of what he has and has been in every game this year. A similar example to ND is Wake Forrest, who has a very poor record in the ACC as a result to a lack of talent at the point guard position. However, I would be hard press to find someone that thinks Prosser should be fired.
February 5th, 2006 at 12:32:43 am
Anonymous, clearly Kristin didn’t understand the nature of factual situation we were talking about. She didn’t watch the game, so it’s not hard to see how she got confused. That doesn’t prove that “a little bit of knowledge is a dangeroud thing,” it just proves that she misunderstood us.
Any smart basketball player/coach/spectator will tell you that you do not want to foul when you are ahead because you do not want to prolong the game, the only exception would be with say 1.8 or 2.3 seconds left on the clock. The reason that some coaches have the philosophy of fouling with very little time left is because they think the odds are in their favor that the opponent can not make one foul shot, miss the other, get the rebound a make the second (which in this case needed to be a three) with only 2 seconds to spare.
Funny, I just saw a bunch of smart former coaches and commentators on ESPN talking about how they think Notre Dame should have fouled in this situation. And you even acknowledge that “some coaches have the philosophy of fouling” in ND’s situation. So I’m not sure how you can support your statement that your opinion is universally accepted as correct by “smart” people.
I think that a mark of a good coach is his ability to get the best out of the players that he has, I think Brey does that.
That is our fundamental disagreement. It’s not that I’m “ignorant,” it’s that I disagree with you on that point. And there are a whole lot of other people who agree with me, so I would say it’s clearly an issue that reasonable people can disagree on, not an issue where only ignorant people would disagree with you. Anyway, I think it’s a cop-out to say that Francis’s problems are completely “due to injury.” As for other players, how about Chris Thomas, who was better his freshman and sophomore year than his junior and senior year? How about Colin Falls, who is a great shooter but in some games just doesn’t get shots? How about Torin Francis, who just can’t seem to break out into something really special? I could go on. But I don’t expect you to agree with me — I just wish you would acknowledge that my opinion is legitimate, shared my lots of other reasonable people, and not obviously the result of “ignorance.”
And what about Brey’s BLATANTLY AWFUL PLAY CALLS in a whole bunch of crucial situations this year? Even if you’re right that Brey “get[s] the best out of the players,” which I don’t think you are, and even if that’s “a mark of a good coach,” well, there are other “marks of a good coach,” too, and one of those is the ability to make good play calls, especially in game-ending situations… and Brey has consistently failed at that, as I’ve discussed with the whole, “hmm, we have 25 seconds and we just need 2 points… so, let’s not try to penetrate or pass the ball inside at all; instead, let’s pass it around the perimeter for 10 seconds and then shoot a long 3.”
Oh yeah, and how about last year, when the Irish just needed ONE WIN after the Boston College upset to secure a tournament berth… even a win over f***in’ Rutgers in the Big East tournament would have done the trick… and they couldn’t pull it off. Some motivator. The Irish sleepwalked through the last few weeks of last season (NIT first-round game included), and they’ve sleepwalked way too often in first halfs and early second halfs this season.
Sorry, not buying it. There are way too many problems with this team that can be attributed to bad coaching, for me to accept that Brey is a good coach.
February 5th, 2006 at 12:36:49 am
Correction: the Irish needed one more QUALITY win after the Boston College game. They did win three games, but they were against inferior teams (Providence, Georgetown and Rutgers — the latter two at home). They lost Pittsburgh and UConn on the road, and UCLA and Pittsburgh against at home, which put them in the position of needing a single win in the Big East tournament to most likely secure an NCAA berth… and then they LOST TO RUTGERS… and then fell to Holy Cross in the first round of the NIT. Like I said: they sleepwalked through the end of the season. It was pathetic to watch.
February 5th, 2006 at 1:46:02 am
Mea culpa on the facts with the fouling situation….it seemed to be the other way around, and I did indeed become confused. My assumption was biased by the 3 minutes of Irish basketball I did see in the game against Villanova, where with one timeout left and something like 1.7 seconds left(memory’s a little shaky, not entirely sure), ND did NOT call a timeout and did NOT throw the ball upcourt, but inbounded it under Villanova’s basket and wasted the time dribbling to half court. I still stand by my distinction between a good coach and a coach who motivates his players.
Anonymous,
In your first post, you said: “I believe the reason for your lack of knowledge on the subject (I suspect) is that you have never been a member of any organized sports team, let alone basketball.”
In your second post, you said: “As for the idea that I think only people that have played a sport can be an expert at it, that is just ridiculous” and continue on to say that Brendan’s so-called “ignorance”
is caused by “his lack of familiarity with organized sport in general and basketball in particular.”
So which is it? It seems to me that your comments in your second post say the exact same thing as your first post. Why doesn’t Brendan qualify as one of those elite few who never played, but can become “knowledgeable”? Is it because he doesn’t agree with you?
Obviously, I cannot comment on Brey’s quality coaching or lack thereof. But I do know that two fans, watching the same coach and the same team and the same games, can have opposite views on the coach and team and games. To reiterate a point of Brendan’s, this doesn’t make them “ignorant,” it just means that they don’t agree.