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A10 Game 7 - VCU

No surprise at the result of this one. Normally I’m pissed when we lose to VCU. But now it not only is expected but doesn’t even upset me. We have the talent but we are just so poorly coached
Plydogg, I have felt this way since 2012, the last season I had tickets.
 
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This one didn't bother me as much as some of these games because I had zero expectations or hope of winning going in.

On page 2 I think, of this discussion, someone posted a list of the things that we would need to do well in order to win. We are capable of doing all of those because we have done them in bits and pieces this season. But I don't recall all of them coming together in one game. The problem with last night is we didn't do ANY of those things, let alone do them well.
 
This is the epiphany that came upon me over my whisky sour. Conman Moonie is the blind squirrel that eventually finds a nut or the broken clock that is right twice a day. He is just a guy who says the right things and knows that given enough time he will “succeed” through sheer luck every decade or so and that is good enough for our pathetic athletic department.
I hope it was a double.
 
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Me looking for VT on the board tonight. Funny how he has no stats to defend Mooney this evening

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I'm here. We got our butts kicked. Need to regroup and get the next one. This is only one of 18 conference games. The goal was a top 4 finish before this game, and the goal is a top 4 finish after this game.

VCU did a real good job on Nelson and Tyler. We usually need them both to play well to win. Against VCU, I would say we have to have them play well to win. Neither played well tonight. I'm certainly not counting them out though. They will both bounce back.

You all will always blame the coach when we lose, and give him zero credit when we win. That is very predictable. When I see another thread on here talking about how the players beat VCU last year and the coach lost to VCU this year, well, just allow me to disagree and not join the blame the coach for everything party.
 
I'm here. We got our butts kicked. Need to regroup and get the next one. This is only one of 18 conference games. The goal was a top 4 finish before this game, and the goal is a top 4 finish after this game.

VCU did a real good job on Nelson and Tyler. We usually need them both to play well to win. Against VCU, I would say we have to have them play well to win. Neither played well tonight. I'm certainly not counting them out though. They will both bounce back.

You all will always blame the coach when we lose, and give him zero credit when we win. That is very predictable. When I see another thread on here talking about how the players beat VCU last year and the coach lost to VCU this year, well, just allow me to disagree and not join the blame the coach for everything party.
So if you can't blame the Coach and you can't blame the players your answer is jut accept it and move forward.

My question to you is does a rivalry have to be competitive to be a rivalry? If so, or not how do you define a rivalry?
 
We did lose 2 out of 3 to them last year. Won the one that counted but it’s a trend to lose way more than we win against our “rival”
 
So if you can't blame the Coach and you can't blame the players your answer is jut accept it and move forward.

My question to you is does a rivalry have to be competitive to be a rivalry? If so, or not how do you define a rivalry?
Why do you have to blame anyone. When 2 teams play, one will win and one will lose. Do you always blame a team or coach when they lose?
 
I think the VCU trolls feel sad for us, they don't even come on our board and mock us anymore. Where's my namesake fmrick?
Still here. Was sitting in my season tickets, right behind the visitors bench. ur actually sold me extras, which I sold to VCU fans. The fans around me ask me every year- How do you get these seats. I tell them- Same way you do.

Before the game I was going to come over here and wish you luck. But before I did that, I went to the A-10 stats page and looked at both teams stats. When I realized that VCU's stats were (are) just too far ahead of ur's, I just did not see the point.

See you at the SC. Oh wait, your fans don't travel.
 
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UR WM Football- good rivalry but we should dominate.
UR VCU BB- a rivalry with horrific, unacceptable, beyond comprehension, intolerable results
UVA-TECH FB- a gem
HSC-RMC-a rivalry in all sports (well except womens….but then again….)
 
This does not feel like a rivalry to me.
I guess by definition it may be a rivalry with 2 teams from same city in same conference with lot of fan and PR hype. However, when there is basically no parity, and Mooney has a .25 win rate vs the supposed rivalry team, I wonder if we just need to consider this no longer a rivalry. The outcomes are pretty much anticipated. Just another game on the schedule?
 
This does not feel like a rivalry to me.

Well, it will always be a rivalry game of some sort, it just goes too far back.

But as a VCU fan, Dayton has become the game we circle on the calendar. I was at that game last week. Sat on the floor right behind our bench. Last night all the fans at the RC kept talking about how loud it was in the RC. Dayton was louder. By far. Of course, they sit about 13,500 for most games.

Our players just seem to thrive on the noise. Some of the ur fans looked at me like I was stupid when I cheered on the crowd and told them to get louder. I think by the end of the game they realized that VCU somehow is not as troubled by noise as some other teams.

If you ever get a chance to go to Dayton, go. It is a fun place to see a game. Just don't sit in the 400 level.
 
No surprise at the result of this one. Normally I’m pissed when we lose to VCU. But now it not only is expected but doesn’t even upset me. We have the talent but we are just so poorly coached
plydogg.....you grab on to simple phrases like....."Poorly coached". Time to shut up or put up.......Please list your top 10 coaching changes and mistakes!!
 
In years gone by this score would really bother me. Now, it's take your beating and move on. It's come to be expected. Mooney should be fired on his record against VCU alone.

plydogg.....you grab on to simple phrases like....."Poorly coached". Time to shut up or put up.......Please list your top 10 coaching changes and mistakes!!
I will say that we appear to be undisciplined and careless with the ball..to me, that's a coaching issue
 
Why do you have to blame anyone. When 2 teams play, one will win and one will lose. Do you always blame a team or coach when they lose?
I think any organization that is serious about success is consistent in evaluating how it performs and improves. At some level it’s just etymology whether you call this blaming or criticizing or analyzing, etc. The point is to honestly assess why you aren’t performing better.

In our case, it’s hard to argue that the coach doesn’t play a significant role in the critical evaluation of this rivalry, as there’s a significant body of evidence to work with.

I know you want to look forward and I can appreciate that you evaluate on recency but this rivalry is sort of a litmus for everything else when it comes to our success, particularly on a comparative basis.
 
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So if you can't blame the Coach and you can't blame the players your answer is jut accept it and move forward.

My question to you is does a rivalry have to be competitive to be a rivalry? If so, or not how do you define a rivalry?
To answer the 2nd part, some of you can focus on 8-23 or whatever all you want. I choose not to because I don't see the relevance. We could win the next 4 and the thread will say 12-23, so whatever.

Looking more recent, we beat them by 18 in 2020 in a huge game while we were chasing an at large bid. They got us in 2021, and then we won the most important of the 3 games last year in the A-10 tourney. So far this year, advantage them, but we will meet again. To use your word, yes, I would call that being competitive recently, yes, I would call this a rivalry, and I didn't even include a few years back when we swept them.

And, I'm not just accepting things. All teams, win or lose, look at things and try to get better. I'm just not as quick to blame coaches and players, and yes, I find it funny when I hear that it was the players who beat VCU in March and the coaching that lost to them last night.
 
I think any organization that is serious about success is consistent in evaluating how it performs and improves. At some level it’s just etymology whether you call this blaming or criticizing or analyzing, etc. The point is to honestly assess why you aren’t performing better.

In our case, it’s hard to argue that the coach doesn’t play a significant role in the critical evaluation of this rivalry, as there’s a significant body of evidence to work with.

I know you want to look forward and I can appreciate that you evaluate on recency but this rivalry is sort of a litmus for everything else when it comes to our success, particularly on a comparative basis.
So, I guess in 2020 and in the tourney last year, the coach didn't play a significant role, right? Okay. That's right, only when we lose is it coaching. When we win, it's the players. I apologize for forgetting this important message board theme. We were a 6 seed and they were a 3 seed last year. But, it was all our players doing, right? Wonder what our board would say if we were a 3 that lost to them as a 6? I'm sure they would just credit VCU's players, right?
 
Keys to this game for the Spiders.

1) Nelson must play his best game tonight. That doesn't mean he needs to score his most points. But we need him to play 35 minutes, have 3 or less turnovers, stay out of foul trouble, and just play a solid game tonight. If we can get 10 points and 5 assists with 3 turnovers tonight out of Nelson in 35 minutes - I like our chances.

2) Burton - no different than any other game, we need him to score, but we need him to be efficient - something he has not really been the last few games. But I think the up and down style of VCU will allow Burton more opportunities for open looks and better drives. 25 points tonight for Burton.

3) Grace/Roche - they need to be the support on offense. We don't need Roche to go crazy, but we def need one of those 4-6 nights, and not a 1-6 night. Grace - we need him to play like MFG most of the game. Doesn't need to go crazy - but we need him to help on the boards and be a contributor on offense - 10-12 points. If we can get 20-24 points out of these two combined, and get the 25 out of Burton and solid play out of Nelson - we should feel good.

4) Quinn - be your average self tonight. Play 19 minutes, go 3-5 from the field and grab 4 rebounds. And since your only playing 19 minutes - use up your fouls if you need to.

5) Bigelow - Rebound, Rebound, Rebound. This is all I would tell him to focus on tonight. He should try to get 10 rebounds tonight. And if he can knock down a 3 or two - bonus. But focus on rebounds tonight.

6) Goose, Randolph - provide energy and defense. And limit your turnovers. I don't expect Randolph to play too much in this game unless fouls are a factor (which could happen with Nelson). But I think Mooney will lean on Goose to be that calming presence and help with pressure, not so much through dribbling, but with good decisions in passing. Limit turnovers, play good defense.

This is a game we can win. But the difference between us and VCU right now is I think we have to play one of our best games to win, whereas I think VCU can play average or a little below average, and because of their style of play, energy, and bench - they can keep the game close even if they don't play well.
Nelson - we didn't get the great game out of him we needed. 5 points. 3 turnovers and 0 assists. That is hard for any team to use to beat VCU from their PG.

Burton - he played rushed at times and I think the athleticism of VCU bothered him at times. He didn't have his worse game, but certainly not near his best. And unfortunately for us to beat good teams like VCU - we need Burton to be at his best.

Roche/Grace. Roche was non-existent. 1-4 from 3 with that 1 coming at the end of the game when it didn't really matter. Grace gave us something and was aggressive at times, we just may need him to be more aggressive - especially when he looks around and sees Nelson and Burton struggling. Not a bad game from Grace by any means.

Quinn - he gave us his averages, but it was easy to see - he was significantly overmatched on defense.

Bigelow - Not much rebounding, and he took some quick shots. Too many quick shots, especially when they have not been falling for him.

Goose/Randolph - Nothing really. They didn't mess up anything, but didn't really add anything. Which is what I expected. But when Nelson and Burton are off - someone else needs to step up, but not sure we can ever expect it to be Goose or Randolph.

As I mentioned before - we needed to play one of our best games to win, and we did not play near that. I don't even think VCU played a great game, but they didn't need to. They just needed to play better in spurts and hold on and they did that and did it quite easily. Right now - VCU is heading up. I would not say UR is heading down - we are just staying consistent - right around .500 team.
 
Well, it will always be a rivalry game of some sort, it just goes too far back.

But as a VCU fan, Dayton has become the game we circle on the calendar. I was at that game last week. Sat on the floor right behind our bench. Last night all the fans at the RC kept talking about how loud it was in the RC. Dayton was louder. By far. Of course, they sit about 13,500 for most games.

Our players just seem to thrive on the noise. Some of the ur fans looked at me like I was stupid when I cheered on the crowd and told them to get louder. I think by the end of the game they realized that VCU somehow is not as troubled by noise as some other teams.

If you ever get a chance to go to Dayton, go. It is a fun place to see a game. Just don't sit in the 400 level.
Well, maybe you should have circled Richmond instead of Dayton at last year's tournament? Things were pretty loud last March. Didn't see a lot of thriving by your boys then. I actually have a lot of respect for VCU, but your post makes it sound like you guys never lose and went dancing last year while we were NIT bound. Think it was the other way around. As for last night, VCU's defense was outstanding and they earned the win.
 
So, I guess in 2020 and in the tourney last year, the coach didn't play a significant role, right? Okay. That's right, only when we lose is it coaching. When we win, it's the players. I apologize for forgetting this important message board theme. We were a 6 seed and they were a 3 seed last year. But, it was all our players doing, right? Wonder what our board would say if we were a 3 that lost to them as a 6? I'm sure they would just credit VCU's players, right?


I’m not sure what your argument is…are you suggesting that it’s the players responsibility that we’ve lost to VCU at a 75% clip during Chris’ tenure?

Your point about winning the next 4 is valid, it doesn’t drastically change the narrative of CMs overall record against our rival. It would of course make folks feel like we’ve turned the corner which is meaningful.

The real question is what would you do differently to turn that corner?
 
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plydogg.....you grab on to simple phrases like....."Poorly coached". Time to shut up or put up.......Please list your top 10 coaching changes and mistakes!!
Fine here you go, we’ll do this Letterman style. The top 10 coaching changes we can make:

10) Send Mooney to the Gulag
9) Send Mooney to jail
8) Send Mooney to prison
7) send Mooney to prison, but the Martha Stewart prison
6) Fire mooney
5) Just hire a new coach and act like nothing happened
4) shift his job title to concessions assistant
3) 2 years later promote him to concessions manager
2) Use our endowment to build a Time Machine to go back and fire him in 2012

And number 1…just change coaches like every other damn school does when it’s time
 
As per usual, you are deflecting from the point and you’ve minimized the dataset.

I’m not sure what your argument is…are you suggesting that it’s the players responsibility that we’ve lost to VCU at a 75% clip during Chris’ tenure?

Your point about winning the next 4 is valid, it doesn’t drastically change the narrative of CMs overall record against our rival. It would of course make folks feel like we’ve turned the corner which is meaningful.

The real question is what would you do differently to turn that corner?
He would have people stop criticizing Mooney, he doesn’t care about turning the corner. His allegiance is, and has always been, to Mooney. It would turn the corner for him saying we have only “real” fans
 
Plydogg, I have felt this way since 2012, the last season I had tickets.
I think we all know the length of time I have felt this way. Its just been so obvious to anyone who has played/watched basketball for any length of time. Mooney’s ineptitude as a coach knows no bounds. It can only be matched by his level of charm which is the only way to explain his survival.
 
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So, I guess in 2020 and in the tourney last year, the coach didn't play a significant role, right? Okay. That's right, only when we lose is it coaching. When we win, it's the players. I apologize for forgetting this important message board theme. We were a 6 seed and they were a 3 seed last year. But, it was all our players doing, right? Wonder what our board would say if we were a 3 that lost to them as a 6? I'm sure they would just credit VCU's players, right?
It's probably not that black or white but here's the thoughts of a guy that knows a little bit about coaching.

When Belichick was asked by Chris Berman after the game to basically admit his coaching is great, he said "Boomer, players win games. ... We have a lot of great players." Randy Moss replied "Players can't win if they don't have good coaching." To which Bill Belichick replied, "They can't overcome bad coaching, I know that."
 
The fact that Schmidt, with fewer resources, and a worse university, history, facilities and location, can put a team together entirely from scratch, beat us soundly and probably after today be ahead of us in conference play, is pretty much all you need to know about what is possible with better coaching than we have.
 
Can't call it much of a rivalry other than the fact both teams are playing in the same conference. Google gives the definition below as being a "good rivalry. Called the "Capital City Classic" for hype purposes. Certainly not a "rivalry" in the sense of consistently close game or alternating wins and losses. When it first begun it was more of a rivalry. Now that we win roughly 25% of the games more of a consistent domination by VCU that Richmond fans have to endure.
What makes a great rivalry?
  • “A good rivalry is made when two teams constantly play in close games and battle one another to win. I think there is a sense of rivalry and respect that is created and these two characteristics are passed on from year to year. I think it starts with two teams constantly going back and forth between wins and losses.
 
UR WM Football- good rivalry but we should dominate.
UR VCU BB- a rivalry with horrific, unacceptable, beyond comprehension, intolerable results
UVA-TECH FB- a gem
HSC-RMC-a rivalry in all sports (well except womens….but then again….)
UVa has beaten Tech in football just TWO times since 1999 inclusive, and that's a "gem" of a rivalry? Talk about your "horrific, unacceptable, beyond comprehension and intolerable results."

Not exactly sure why we should "dominate" W&M in football, either. Two very similar programs IMHO, both with a smaller recruiting bases because of stringent academic requirements.
 
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