Reality

[CarolinaSpider]

Despite the hopes from early in the season, this is not a good team. I said it a few weeks ago against good teams we have to have several players at their A game level. Trouble is tonight we fight back get a lead then forget about patience and defense.

Marshall Wood where are you? Where have you gone? No presence on the court no points
Deion Taylor why are you taking any shot? Where is your defense?

When Trey and Deion were in together did anyone notice how Davidson would cover the offensive guys
and force the ball to go to them. Then they would collapse on Wood and Allen and not let them pass out to Shawndree. We cannot win against a team with 5 shooters and only 3 on our side. But if MW is going to be a liability on offense and defense, then play Fore and let"s have someone that is going to attack.

I am done watching this team any more this year, cause my frustration with the level of play is going to kill me.
Because I am going to get ripped for posting this negative dialogue, I will accept it and say see you on the board for football. I am done with Spider Basketball and honestly don't see a lot of hope for next year.

 

[fatherspider]

Didnt see the game. All i know is mw did not start. For a princeton guy mooney sure is thick headed

 

[FrontRoyalSpider]

Despite the hopes from early in the season, this is not a good team. I said it a few weeks ago against good teams we have to have several players at their A game level. Trouble is tonight we fight back get a lead then forget about patience and defense.

Marshall Wood where are you? Where have you gone? No presence on the court no points
Deion Taylor why are you taking any shot? Where is your defense?

When Trey and Deion were in together did anyone notice how Davidson would cover the offensive guys
and force the ball to go to them. Then they would collapse on Wood and Allen and not let them pass out to Shawndree. We cannot win against a team with 5 shooters and only 3 on our side. But if MW is going to be a liability on offense and defense, then play Fore and let"s have someone that is going to attack.

I am done watching this team any more this year, cause my frustration with the level of play is going to kill me.
Because I am going to get ripped for posting this negative dialogue, I will accept it and say see you on the board for football. I am done with Spider Basketball and honestly don't see a lot of hope for next year.

I'm with you Carolina Spider. I am done with Spider basketball for this season. See you on the football board. Football is our real D1 sport,

 

[whampas]

Despite the hopes from early in the season, this is not a good team. I said it a few weeks ago against good teams we have to have several players at their A game level. Trouble is tonight we fight back get a lead then forget about patience and defense.

Marshall Wood where are you? Where have you gone? No presence on the court no points
Deion Taylor why are you taking any shot? Where is your defense?

When Trey and Deion were in together did anyone notice how Davidson would cover the offensive guys
and force the ball to go to them. Then they would collapse on Wood and Allen and not let them pass out to Shawndree. We cannot win against a team with 5 shooters and only 3 on our side. But if MW is going to be a liability on offense and defense, then play Fore and let"s have someone that is going to attack.

I am done watching this team any more this year, cause my frustration with the level of play is going to kill me.
Because I am going to get ripped for posting this negative dialogue, I will accept it and say see you on the board for football. I am done with Spider Basketball and honestly don't see a lot of hope for next year.

No ripping by me. I with you brother.

 

[SpiderK]

No fire on this team. Never dive for a loose ball and too lazy to follow up and go after a deflection. No one works hard for their shot or comes hard off a screen. No one sets picks for their teammates. When it comes time to rebound we have 5 one handed Helen Kellers out there.

 

[Spider B]

Really disappointing effort. Just can't afford to lose home games, especially with a senior dominated lineup. Our D is just bad. I don't think we got a stop until the under 16 timeout. Unless something unexpected happens, our season basically ended tonight. Really tired of losing close games in the RC. I am usually fairly optimistic, but I just don't see this team winning in Foggy Bottom or Olean. That means 10-10 overall and 2-6, which is unacceptable for a team with the kind of experience we have. CM has to change it up. I would start with inserting MW in the starting lineup. He has a good track record as a starter. Just do something different.

 

[SpiderK]

Time to play the young kids and get them ready for next year. TD and DT should be down to 5 min per game. Tired of stat sheets full of Zero's and still giving up 80 a game.

 

[CarolinaSpider]

No fire on this team. Never dive for a loose ball and too lazy to follow up and go after a deflection. No one works hard for their shot or comes hard off a screen. No one sets picks for their teammates. When it comes time to rebound we have 5 one handed Helen Kellers out there.

I will disagree to point Fore is the best hustler and battler we got.

 

[urmite]

So I know we will still complain about each loss and about the coach next season, but which individual players will we complain about next season? Or will that be less of a constant for a while?

 

[SpiderRick]

We will complain about any player who is starting but contributes little.

As far as players who were hustling last night, in addition to Fore, I would add TJ to the list. Every game I have seen this year TJ is giving 110%

 

[SpiderFan]

The expectations will be tempered next year for sure. If we can get to 10-8 at this time next year that will be considered progress. It's all relative season to season. I'm just wondering who our new coach will be. Who knew that the departures of Kevin McGeehan and Jamal Brunt would indicate who was the real coaches on the team. And that Miami game last year was an omen for 15-16. Time for lacrosse!

 

[I-M-UR]

TJ and SJ have some things they need to work on. I don't know where TJ's outside shot has gone, and foul shooting (oh and use the backboard in the post no more tear drops). SJ needs to drive to kickout; more smart teams will not bail you out with a foul. Terry has improved every year he's been here, I hope he gets a shot at the next level, he's put in the work. Fore has great potential. with that said our recruiting should be easier with Freshmen who want to get significant playing time. I'll still go to the games and hope for a turn around, but what a let down.

 

[SpiderPhoto]

TA, SJ are warriors, they need the ball more. They go to them then go away from them. VCU game, TA vanished in the second half. I would have had TA go to the hoop non stop last night

 

[97spiderfan]

[
Agreed next year will at least be exciting from the perspective of watching our young players develop. This year might be the low point of the Mooney regime as we watch a senior laden team play out a lost season.

Kind of like the last few years of being a Phillies fan for me. Everyone in the world knew that Utley, Rollins, and Howard were past their prime and couldn't play at the level they had before, everyone that is except for the GM, who was mercifully canned after Phillie fans had to suffer through 3 years of bad aging players continuing to get their AB's while younger players were not given the opportunity to play or develop.

Trey and Deion are our Utley and Howard. We get to watch them play out the string on their careers because the head coach is wedded to them and too stubborn to admit that this is a failed experiment and time to retool and get the younger guys meaningful time. I don't know if Jesse, Julius and Paul are long term answers to our problem, they might be, they might not. I do know that Deion and Trey are not the answer.

I apologize if this is harsh to a couple of student athletes who have undoubtedly busted their a**es off for the past 4 years for the program, for that they deserve praise, but lets just call a spade a spade, and acknowledge that they are not giving us anywhere close to what we need ON THE COURT to be an upper level A-10 team

 

[CarolinaSpider]

[
Agreed next year will at least be exciting from the perspective of watching our young players develop. This year might be the low point of the Mooney regime as we watch a senior laden team play out a lost season.

Kind of like the last few years of being a Phillies fan for me. Everyone in the world knew that Utley, Rollins, and Howard were past their prime and couldn't play at the level they had before, everyone that is except for the GM, who was mercifully canned after Phillie fans had to suffer through 3 years of bad aging players continuing to get their AB's while younger players were not given the opportunity to play or develop.

Trey and Deion are our Utley and Howard. We get to watch them play out the string on their careers because the head coach is wedded to them and too stubborn to admit that this is a failed experiment and time to retool and get the younger guys meaningful time. I don't know if Jesse, Julius and Paul are long term answers to our problem, they might be, they might not. I do know that Deion and Trey are not the answer.

I apologize if this is harsh to a couple of student athletes who have undoubtedly busted their a**es off for the past 4 years for the program, for that they deserve praise, but lets just call a spade a spade, and acknowledge that they are not giving us anywhere close to what we need ON THE COURT to be an upper level A-10 team

97 agree for as hard as it may seem, we love all these guys and their efforts. It is not necessarily their fault if they are recruited to play in a system that does not meet their strengths. For that reason, the only one to blame is the coach and his staff. As the A10 network was going off, there was SDJ walking away with his head in his hands and a look of total humiliation. That look proves he cares. I would love to hear that someone leads a player only meeting that includes anger and forceful language, that motivates these guys to play with more aggression and heart.

 

[fatherspider]

97 agree for as hard as it may seem, we love all these guys and their efforts. It is not necessarily their fault if they are recruited to play in a system that does not meet their strengths. For that reason, the only one to blame is the coach and his staff. As the A10 network was going off, there was SDJ walking away with his head in his hands and a look of total humiliation. That look proves he cares. I would love to hear that someone leads a player only meeting that includes anger and forceful language, that motivates these guys to play with more aggression and heart.

I disagree about sdj frustration. He only does it when he isnt scoring and then starts whining. A team leader doesnt start whining half way thru a game because his shots arent dropping. He should be fighting and clawing to do whatever he can to better the team and win.

 

[spideroo]

Didn't fatherspider mention in another thread that he didn't see the game?

 

[97spiderfan]

SDJ is a great leader. I'm sure he was frustrated last night, he didn't play as well as he normally does and just from the losing aspect of the game. He was fighting hard to the end, I saw no quit in that dog at all. Nor have I ever.

 

[CarolinaSpider]

I disagree about sdj frustration. He only does it when he isnt scoring and then starts whining. A team leader doesnt start whining half way thru a game because his shots arent dropping. He should be fighting and clawing to do whatever he can to better the team and win.

His shots started falling at the end, but I can assure you this was a look I have not seen from him ever. I watch and attend a lot of games. It was a look of
someone losing their closest friend.

 

[fatherspider]

His shots started falling at the end, but I can assure you this was a look I have not seen from him ever. I watch and attend a lot of games. It was a look of
someone losing their closest friend.

He had the same frustration level throughout the entire RI game. its not an appealing quality.

 

[keefusb]

Reality is that this season is toast. We need to get the freshmen (true freshmen and redshirts) as much playing time as possible so we at least reduce the possibility of having a sub .500 season next year. Or maybe a couple of sub-.500 seasons will heat up the coaching seat. Who knows?

We have two seniors who have used up all of their seniority credits anyway. Let's have the kids who will need to backfill next year get maximum playing time for the remainder of this season.

 

[sdspider]

Reality is that this season is toast. We need to get the freshmen (true freshmen and redshirts) as much playing time as possible so we at least reduce the possibility of having a sub .500 season next year. Or maybe a couple of sub-.500 seasons will heat up the coaching seat. Who knows?

We have two seniors who have used up all of their seniority credits anyway. Let's have the kids who will need to backfill next year get maximum playing time for the remainder of this season.

Not gonna happen, loyalty to the end. Not only will this season not end well it sets up for a less than stellar next year as well

 

[coachfezz]

Not gonna happen, loyalty to the end. Not only will this season not end well it sets up for a less than stellar next year as well

I like Coach . Like the fan i have ither thingd i would like to see him do but i think we will have transfers

 

[SpiderGuy]

Not gonna happen, loyalty to the end. Not only will this season not end well it sets up for a less than stellar next year as well

Yep...loyalty to a fault.

 

[FrontRoyalSpider]

The expectations will be tempered next year for sure. If we can get to 10-8 at this time next year that will be considered progress. It's all relative season to season. I'm just wondering who our new coach will be. Who knew that the departures of Kevin McGeehan and Jamal Brunt would indicate who was the real coaches on the team. And that Miami game last year was an omen for 15-16. Time for lacrosse!

Mooney is under contract til 2021. I don't think we will see a new contract until the current coach's contract runs out.

 

[SpiderK]

His shots started falling at the end, but I can assure you this was a look I have not seen from him ever. I watch and attend a lot of games. It was a look of
someone losing their closest friend.

SDJ is fighting a bad ankle sprain. He is limping the whole game. Definitely effecting his shots. Wood is still fighting his sprain also.

 

[Spider B]

I disagree about sdj frustration. He only does it when he isnt scoring and then starts whining. A team leader doesnt start whining half way thru a game because his shots arent dropping. He should be fighting and clawing to do whatever he can to better the team and win.

Come on father, you can't be serious. Have you ever seen the Spiders play? SDJ brings it every game and is playing through injury. Our Spiders have a lot of problems right now. SDJ isn't one of them.

 

[fatherspider]

Come on father, you can't be serious. Have you ever seen the Spiders play? SDJ brings it every game and is playing through injury. Our Spiders have a lot of problems right now. SDJ isn't one of them.[/QUOTe

Who is saying he is not trying every night. Im saying i have seen his frustration level get very high early in the game and it is not a good attribute for success and he should work on it. thats it and i bet if someone on the staff has any sports psychology knowledge they would agree.

 

[Spideroldie]

+1 to the suggestions that we truly get to see the current freshmen play, and determine what they have. By now, the offense and defense should have been learned, so it is all about PT at this point.

However, a much more important issue, from my perspective is to totally re-tool the defense, starting NOW. If we had a well-roacticed box-and-one defense, for example, we likely could have shut down Davidson's guy who went off for 30+ points. Basically, we needed to stop one guy, and did not have a defense we could shift into that could do that. Let's also try out a 1-3-1 zone, if it is not too insulting to shift into a D that has worked very well for VCU, and/or a 2-3 zone. Frankly, our guys could likely play better "man" defense than they have been playing, at least once in a while. Surely our coaching staff has someone on-board who knows all these defenses, and can teach them effectively. If not, we need to bring in such a coach ASAP. Playing the young guys is an "easy-fix," but teaching new defenses is HARD, and I'm not sure we have the staff to execute that plan.
FYI, I believe that SDJ and TJ are giving us a great effort, and that SDJ's play is still affected by his ankle injury. Another really creative idea would be to give SDJ a couple of weeks to rehab his ankle, and in the meantime give KF and the freshmen guards some 30+ minute games. To say we have "nothing to lose" by making the changes suggested on this board (including the new defenses) is blindingly obvious, but we seem to currently be operating with "eyes-wide-shut." It is also not just our HC who should be taking some heat; our AD has some accountability here too.

 

[wr70beh]

Right now the anger of the VCU game is subsiding, now it's becoming acceptance. Eventually, apathy will set in.

 

[SpiderK]

I say we get the kid that won the pizzas last night to walk-on and play the rest of the year. Prettiest arc and spin on the ball I have seen all year. Kid can hit under pressure too!!

 

[SpiderRick]

Right now the anger of the VCU game is subsiding, now it's becoming acceptance. Eventually, apathy will set in.

Whenever we have lost I have been angry and upset. After the Davidson game, I was not surprised or upset. Apathy?

 

[Hanca]

CM's contract may last to 2021 but cannot effectively recruit after '18 without extension (please, NO). Therefore next year or two must either produce to get small extension or Gill must say goodbye to Coach Mediocrity. Cannot recruit as lame duck.

 

[Ulla1]

Like the title of this thread, "Reality". Let's deal with reality. The Spiders have eight losses of which five were by eight points or less. The only losses where we are outmanned were Texas Tech and Florida, both on their home courts. In six of the eight losses (adding the JMU game), we were in it most of the way. So the reality is that we just need to get better at closing games. I don't know the answer, but I do know that there is a fine line between winning and losing. The Spiders could turn this around in a heartbeat. OSC

 

[spiders13]

^^^ agreed, but tough to do with a 7 man rotation, guys get gassed at the end of games.

 

[64Spider]

Personally a little tired of the 7 man rotation excuse. Most of the teams we play only go 8 deep. We just need one more consistent player in our starting five and we are looking at post season play. Plus everyone knew we were going to need additional help from the bench even before the season started. But those players need to be given game experience early. Didn't happen. No big mystery.

 

[97spiderfan]

We have a 7 man rotation, of that we have 4 A-10 level starters (TJ, TA, KF, and SDJ) and 3 rotation/specialist players. The problem is 2 of those specialists are starters for us. So, it not just being 1 player off from having a full rotation, it is several players off from a personnel perspective.

 

[CarolinaSpider]

Like the title of this thread, "Reality". Let's deal with reality. The Spiders have eight losses of which five were by eight points or less. The only losses where we are outmanned were Texas Tech and Florida, both on their home courts. In six of the eight losses (adding the JMU game), we were in it most of the way. So the reality is that we just need to get better at closing games. I don't know the answer, but I do know that there is a fine line between winning and losing. The Spiders could turn this around in a heartbeat. OSC

Ulla I am an optimist but this team is testing my freaking attitude to the hilt. Why have we played at the level we did for CA, WV and UNI, Fordham, and since then gone down to the level we have? It is a mystery to me and I don't understand it. We should be working towards a peak by end of December and getting more bench players seeing the floor in January, and hitting February with an experienced and deeper team ready for the A10 tournament. We have changed directions and are playing worse than we did earlier in the season. This is the part that blows my mind cause certainly we should be at a higher level of defensive ability and to shoot 0-15 from 3 on your home court is unbelievable. The poor 3 point shooting against VCU was not so much their defense as the fact we are now not hitting open shots or teams have learned to focus on only those players who can.

 

[Not-A-Homer]

Like the title of this thread, "Reality". Let's deal with reality. The Spiders have eight losses of which five were by eight points or less. The only losses where we are outmanned were Texas Tech and Florida, both on their home courts. In six of the eight losses (adding the JMU game), we were in it most of the way. So the reality is that we just need to get better at closing games. I don't know the answer, but I do know that there is a fine line between winning and losing. The Spiders could turn this around in a heartbeat. OSC

Agree 100% that the margin between winning & losing is small. Recruiting, player development, strategy, adjustments from the bench, game management, substitutions, (and many more) as discussed on this board are the things that determine whether a team ends up with "more losses" or "more wins." It is called coaching.

 

[CarolinaSpider]

Agree 100% that the margin between winning & losing is small. Recruiting, player development, strategy, adjustments from the bench, game management, substitutions, (and many more) as discussed on this board are the things that determine whether a team ends up with "more losses" or "more wins." It is called coaching.

AMEN, Ditto, Ditto, etc....!