I used to be a season ticket holder. Had them through some of the Tarrant years up through Mooney's time. I wanted so much for him to be successful. I liked everything about him except for his lack of coaching experience and his coaching philosophies. I figured he would learn and morph on the job into a really good coach. The only real changes that took place is that he started getting smaller and smaller guards. He still played a defense that relied on length but with the exception of the s16 year his teams were getting smaller and smaller. When he would sub, he would go even smaller. He took great pride in his 3 point defense which sent the bigs out on the perimeter quite a bit. I got tired of watching Anderson, Brothers, Lindsay and the rest of them struggle badly to defend the middle and get pounded into submission on the glass. The other teams couldn't hit a 3, but they would win the game in the paint. On the offensive end, at least when he was running the PO they used the whole floor. Then his offense morphed into high ball screens and shots either behind the 3 line or right at the rim. No mid range offense anymore. In his defense, that is where basketball is headed so a lot of teams are doing it as well. Well, the other teams would go zone and you beat a zone with shots from the gaps and seams where they are available. Not Mooney, though still bombing away from 3 and it was either feast or famine. This despite having a team full of "shooters." No shots from the free throw line to open up that zone. Just bombs away! The other teams would just pack it in even more. Finally, I got tired of hearing about depth and experience issues year, after year, after year despite having 13 scholarships available. If you are not going to play your bench then don't whine about it. The favoritism among players was irritating as well. That quick hook for certain players no matter how they were playing was confusing.
The sad part was that it wasn't even about wins and losses. I just can't watch his teams play. It is finesse all the way. Even during the Dooley years the teams played tough. Ol Jer won in the Phog! Enough said. You have to look up at the scoreboard to see who is winning because unless the other team is really bad, it looks like UR is losing every game. I feel so sorry for his players. I think after 2-3 years some of them don't believe in his system. That is why you see the dropoff. Maybe that is what is happening this year. Who can blame them? I don't believe in it either. One other thing, usually a sign of overall good recruiting is when you see lower classmen overtaking the upper classmen for starting spots. Think back through the years and you will find an upper classman that lost his spot to an under classman. It didn't happen much in Mooney's tenure while I was following them. People always talk about Mooney hanging his career on KA's back. If not for FCM's timely barrage he wouldn't have beat Vandy either. This despite his constant yanking of FCM every time he even breathed wrong.
I gave up my tickets and quit watching. Now I am a fan without a team. This is a good thing because one of my neighbors is a big VCU fan. As we like to say, " nobody can snatch defeat from the jaws of victory like Mooney." That is sad. I still want him to succeed, but he has to change.
