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Post by Crosser on Nov 21, 2021 1:13:58 GMT -5
Why didn't Dorsey see any action today? Is he injured or out of favor with CBN? Good luck finding an answer to that.
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Post by Non Alum Dave on Nov 21, 2021 5:37:08 GMT -5
Why didn't Dorsey see any action today? Is he injured or out of favor with CBN?
Dorsey did not have game shorts on (although he had his warm up top), so I assumed he was unavailable. And now Rabs too. Great.
You know me - I am trying with every last morsel of fiber in my being to stay positive. But it sure isn't easy. True, having an experienced productive player like Walker helped AF, but it doesn't explain the incredibly sloppy play. The trio of Jud/Bo/Bubba is supposed to be the foundation of the future, but, respectfully, they were just terrible yesterday. Call it an excuse if you want (don't really care), but this team desperately needs RJJ back; Luc just isn't a facilitator, and they're not getting the most out of him having to play him on the ball imho.
I really did not expect them to beat AF, but they totally allowed AF to dictate how the game was going to be played. That's not good.
It was at least nice to see GG come back, and draw fouls. And Louth looked a little better as well. Other than that........
Maybe Bryant's style will actually be a better matchup for HC today. If I don't try to look for something positive......I might cry.
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Post by WorcesterGray on Nov 21, 2021 7:09:54 GMT -5
1assist to 21 turnovers. That has to be one of the most startling stat lines I have ever seen. We could be in trouble. Holy Cross now 358th (last) in the country in A/TO
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Post by crusader1970 on Nov 21, 2021 7:37:24 GMT -5
Why didn't Dorsey see any action today? Is he injured or out of favor with CBN? Great question.
From what I have seen of this team so far, Dorsey appears to be the best passer on the team.
The team had ONE assist yesterday. ONE!
If that trend continues, you have to believe that (absent RJ) Dorsey should get an opportunity to run the point.
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Post by trimster on Nov 21, 2021 8:11:28 GMT -5
1assist to 21 turnovers. That has to be one of the most startling stat lines I have ever seen. We could be in trouble. Holy Cross now 358th (last) in the country in A/TO
The number of times HC has appeared at the very bottom in all of college hoops in an important metric over the last five years, is very, very troubling.
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Post by trimster on Nov 21, 2021 8:13:36 GMT -5
Why didn't Dorsey see any action today? Is he injured or out of favor with CBN?
Dorsey did not have game shorts on (although he had his warm up top), so I assumed he was unavailable. And now Rabs too. Great.
You know me - I am trying with every last morsel of fiber in my being to stay positive. But it sure isn't easy. True, having an experienced productive player like Walker helped AF, but it doesn't explain the incredibly sloppy play. The trio of Jud/Bo/Bubba is supposed to be the foundation of the future, but, respectfully, they were just terrible yesterday. Call it an excuse if you want (don't really care), but this team desperately needs RJJ back; Luc just isn't a facilitator, and they're not getting the most out of him having to play him on the ball imho.
I really did not expect them to beat AF, but they totally allowed AF to dictate how the game was going to be played. That's not good.
It was at least nice to see GG come back, and draw fouls. And Louth looked a little better as well. Other than that........
Maybe Bryant's style will actually be a better matchup for HC today. If I don't try to look for something positive......I might cry.
I long for the RW days of “imposing our will” on an opponent.
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Post by Sons of Vaval on Nov 21, 2021 10:18:10 GMT -5
Does Nelson have a copy of the “Circle of Opportunity” one sheet?
A number of points there that can be accomplished with a roster that is both inexperienced and/or devoid of talent.
“ There’s nothing in this circle of 8 that we can’t do. We’re not asking you to do anything which you’re not capable of doing. It comes down to execution and effort.”
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Post by bringbackcaro on Nov 21, 2021 10:31:23 GMT -5
Not able to watch the game, so would love to hear some of your typical astute analysis on coaching decisions, what a different coach could have done better, etc? As always, appreciate the analysis! Looking at the box score, it appears that Senior AJ Walker (making his 80th career start) is having a pretty significant impact on the game, with 27 points and 3 assists so far. It’s definitely a coaching deficiency that he significantly outplayed our Senior-laden backcourt…. —- This is a dreadful period of Holy across basketball, but the last 8 days are nothing new. While many seem to have a very short memory, this has been the case with HC for about 98% of the past 12 years. What Brett Nelson has done to improve the program at this point can be argued, but he certainly hasn’t done anything to make the HC program worse than the sh*tshow he inherited when he arrived in July 2019. bTW Colgate beat Syracuse by 15-what are we doing and where are we going? Matt Langel did not have a .500 record until his 7th year at Colgate. In Year 3 he was 13-18 overall and 6-12 in the PL. I completely understand the frustration with where the program is right now, but the fact of the matter is that Nelson has played a very small role in the program falling off a cliff since the summer of 2009 when RW left for Louisville.
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Post by bringbackcaro on Nov 21, 2021 10:35:19 GMT -5
Does Nelson have a copy of the “Circle of Opportunity” one sheet? A number of points there that can be accomplished with a roster that is both inexperienced and/or devoid of talent. “ There’s nothing in this circle of 8 that we can’t do. We’re not asking you to do anything which you’re not capable of doing. It comes down to execution and effort.” Do we think there is a lack of effort right now? I’ve noticed quite a few instances of guys diving after loose balls in the 2+ games I’ve seen this year. IMHO our issues are much more about scheme execution, a lack of a point guard, and a lack of depth in the paint at this point.
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Post by Sons of Vaval on Nov 21, 2021 10:40:04 GMT -5
Does Nelson have a copy of the “Circle of Opportunity” one sheet? A number of points there that can be accomplished with a roster that is both inexperienced and/or devoid of talent. “ There’s nothing in this circle of 8 that we can’t do. We’re not asking you to do anything which you’re not capable of doing. It comes down to execution and effort.” IMHO our issues are much more about scheme execution, a lack of a point guard, and a lack of depth in the paint at this point. + lack of shooters, which is important in basketball.
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Post by KY Crusader 75 on Nov 21, 2021 10:51:21 GMT -5
Brett Nelson has been around Division-1 college basketball since 1999 when he enrolled at Florida. Certainly he should have picked up something about, say, how to install a defense in those 2+ decades. He has his players now. BBC, you say they are more athletic than the guys that came before. How is it that those inferior athletes, coached by Milan Brown and Bill Carmody, were able to play a defense that was so much more effective than what we have seen in the past couple of years and in this young season where Ken Pomeroy has us at #348 in defensive efficiency in D-1? Shouldn't a good coach--change that to even an average coach--be able to teach superior athletes how to play defense?
"I completely understand the frustration with where the program is right now, but the fact of the matter is that Nelson has played a very small role in the program falling off a cliff since the summer of 2009 when RW left for Louisville." That is meaningless: Brett Nelson is the coach now and needs to get the job done now.
You keep trying to "buy time" for your guy and we'll no doubt hear that when he is able to start a team of seniors and juniors, all recruited by him, we'll see what a great coach he is.
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Post by joe on Nov 21, 2021 11:06:59 GMT -5
Only way this coach will be terminated is if players transfer out en masse. Clearly there is a prospective approach at work in driving players out and then replacing them with new, younger, and supposedly more athletic players, so one must infer that the plan is for long term success, rather than a miraculous short term turnaround. One would also speculate (assume, hope) that the previous AD and the coach had some sort of mutual understanding that there was a relatively high likelihood of HC taking on the chin for about 3-4 years while this plan was executed. However, it took 3 years just to create a young team, so now I wonder if the understanding is that this process should take the better part of a decade? That’s awfully long to turn around a program in a sport that only requires 5 players on the field of play. I feel like we are now where we should have been 2-3 years ago. I don’t know. But that’s the timeline here as far as I can tell. That being said I’m still optimistic that HC become a significantly stronger team by the end this season.
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Post by thecrossisback on Nov 21, 2021 11:17:08 GMT -5
It is hard to be a really good coach when you were a really good player.
You see the game so differently.
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Post by KY Crusader 75 on Nov 21, 2021 11:22:21 GMT -5
John Wooden?
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Post by longsuffering on Nov 21, 2021 11:41:52 GMT -5
It is hard to be a really good coach when you were a really good player. You see the game so differently. That's what they said about Ted Williams, but Brett Nelson is not the "Splendid Splinter" of basketball. He was less accomplished than KC Jones, Bill Russell or Tom Heinsohn who each won multiple pro championships as both a player and a coach as well as at least one national college championship. Having said that, utility infielder or it's equivalent in other sports does seem to be an excellent training ground for being a successful head coach/manager because you learn to make the most of your limited ability and have to know strategy and technique because you don't have the natural skill to just overpower opponents.
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Post by bringbackcaro on Nov 21, 2021 13:20:54 GMT -5
Brett Nelson has been around Division-1 college basketball since 1999 when he enrolled at Florida. Certainly he should have picked up something about, say, how to install a defense in those 2+ decades. He has his players now. BBC, you say they are more athletic than the guys that came before. How is it that those inferior athletes, coached by Milan Brown and Bill Carmody, were able to play a defense that was so much more effective than what we have seen in the past couple of years and in this young season where Ken Pomeroy has us at #348 in defensive efficiency in D-1? Shouldn't a good coach--change that to even an average coach--be able to teach superior athletes how to play defense? "I completely understand the frustration with where the program is right now, but the fact of the matter is that Nelson has played a very small role in the program falling off a cliff since the summer of 2009 when RW left for Louisville." That is meaningless: Brett Nelson is the coach now and needs to get the job done now. You keep trying to "buy time" for your guy and we'll no doubt hear that when he is able to start a team of seniors and juniors, all recruited by him, we'll see what a great coach he is. 1) He’s not “my guy” — he’s the head coach at Holy Cross, and I am very interested in seeing the program succeed. I very much lean on giving him more time because starting over again with a new coach right now would be a disaster. 2) Re: installing a defense, this is another example of people grossly over-simplifying coaching with cliches. Nelson’s defensive style is pressure in the half and full court. The only way you can do that is if you’re able to score on offense so you can set up the defense. We are currently a dreadful offensive team and turning the ball over way too much. Playing this poorly on offense is going to have a significant impact on the defense. Everything has snowballed into a total disaster over the past 9 days. But it’s only 9 days. We need to get RJJ and Gates healthy, take a deep breath, and see where we can go from there.
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Post by hceconhist on Nov 21, 2021 13:26:40 GMT -5
Brett Nelson has been around Division-1 college basketball since 1999 when he enrolled at Florida. Certainly he should have picked up something about, say, how to install a defense in those 2+ decades. He has his players now. BBC, you say they are more athletic than the guys that came before. How is it that those inferior athletes, coached by Milan Brown and Bill Carmody, were able to play a defense that was so much more effective than what we have seen in the past couple of years and in this young season where Ken Pomeroy has us at #348 in defensive efficiency in D-1? Shouldn't a good coach--change that to even an average coach--be able to teach superior athletes how to play defense? "I completely understand the frustration with where the program is right now, but the fact of the matter is that Nelson has played a very small role in the program falling off a cliff since the summer of 2009 when RW left for Louisville." That is meaningless: Brett Nelson is the coach now and needs to get the job done now. You keep trying to "buy time" for your guy and we'll no doubt hear that when he is able to start a team of seniors and juniors, all recruited by him, we'll see what a great coach he is. 1) He’s not “my guy” — he’s the head coach at Holy Cross, and I am very interested in seeing the program succeed. I very much lean on giving him more time because starting over again with a new coach right now would be a disaster. 2) Re: installing a defense, this is another example of people grossly over-simplifying coaching with cliches. Nelson’s defensive style is pressure in the half and full court. The only way you can do that is if you’re able to score on offense so you can set up the defense. We are currently a dreadful offensive team and turning the ball over way too much. Playing this poorly on offense is going to have a significant impact on the defense. Everything has snowballed into a total disaster over the past 9 days. But it’s only 9 days. We need to get RJJ and Gates healthy, take a deep breath, and see where we can go from there. On point number 2, isn't that where adjustments need to be made? If you're not going to score, which you say is an essential foundation for his defense, shouldn't he change defensive strategy until the offense gets better?
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Post by bringbackcaro on Nov 21, 2021 13:33:05 GMT -5
1) He’s not “my guy” — he’s the head coach at Holy Cross, and I am very interested in seeing the program succeed. I very much lean on giving him more time because starting over again with a new coach right now would be a disaster. 2) Re: installing a defense, this is another example of people grossly over-simplifying coaching with cliches. Nelson’s defensive style is pressure in the half and full court. The only way you can do that is if you’re able to score on offense so you can set up the defense. We are currently a dreadful offensive team and turning the ball over way too much. Playing this poorly on offense is going to have a significant impact on the defense. Everything has snowballed into a total disaster over the past 9 days. But it’s only 9 days. We need to get RJJ and Gates healthy, take a deep breath, and see where we can go from there. On point number 2, isn't that where adjustments need to be made? If you're not going to score, which you say is an essential foundation for his defense, shouldn't he change defensive strategy until the offense gets better? We have played 4 games in the last 9 days. Mandatory to take at least one day off during that stretch. When do you propose that Nelson could have installed a new defense?
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Post by KY Crusader 75 on Nov 21, 2021 13:43:00 GMT -5
On point number 2, isn't that where adjustments need to be made? If you're not going to score, which you say is an essential foundation for his defense, shouldn't he change defensive strategy until the offense gets better? We have played 4 games in the last 9 days. Mandatory to take at least one day off during that stretch. When do you propose that Nelson could have installed a new defense?Shouldn't he have installed the right defense in the practices before the season began?
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Post by hceconhist on Nov 21, 2021 14:02:28 GMT -5
On point number 2, isn't that where adjustments need to be made? If you're not going to score, which you say is an essential foundation for his defense, shouldn't he change defensive strategy until the offense gets better? We have played 4 games in the last 9 days. Mandatory to take at least one day off during that stretch. When do you propose that Nelson could have installed a new defense? Perhaps this should’ve been considered before the season started. Given the inexperience you often cite, this should not have been considered a possibility?
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Post by bringbackcaro on Nov 21, 2021 14:28:53 GMT -5
We have played 4 games in the last 9 days. Mandatory to take at least one day off during that stretch. When do you propose that Nelson could have installed a new defense?Shouldn't he have installed the right defense in the practices before the season began? So Nelson should have assumed injuries to his two most important starters, conceded that our offense would stink, and changed his whole defense in the preseason? And you think that would have us in a better position today? Also, what is this “right defense” that you refer to?
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Post by KY Crusader 75 on Nov 21, 2021 14:35:36 GMT -5
Shouldn't he have installed the right defense in the practices before the season began? So Nelson should have assumed injuries to his two most important starters, conceded that our offense would stink, and changed his whole defense in the preseason? And you think that would have us in a better position today? Also, what is this “right defense” that you refer to?I'm not a college basketball coach. He is.. If he cannot figure out what to do why doesn't he look at the videos from the Carmody era when our defense was infinitely better than what we have now? Looking forward to the next excuse
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Post by sader1970 on Nov 21, 2021 14:43:57 GMT -5
Outside of being an undefeated CYO basketball coach, I claim no expertise and this is not intended as an attack on Nelson but the one thing Nelson does not seem to have nor his immediate 3 predecessors, was what Ralph had . . . . the flexibility to game plan for specific opponents. I assume that is a unique or rare talent. It seems that every HC coach after Ralph had one way of doing things and they never deviated from that no matter if they were playing a D-3 or an ACC team. Not sure how Ralph was able to do it but it seemed he and his coaches were able to do an excellent job scouting upcoming opponents for weaknesses that the Crusaders could exploit.
I wish Nelson would give Ralph a call. I'm sure he wouldn't come up to Worcester but just pass along some coaching tips because I'm guessing Nelson's previous coaching mentors had the same school of thought as SK, MB and BC - "my way will work and I don't ever need to change anything."
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Post by hceconhist on Nov 21, 2021 14:44:08 GMT -5
Shouldn't he have installed the right defense in the practices before the season began? So Nelson should have assumed injuries to his two most important starters, conceded that our offense would stink, and changed his whole defense in the preseason? And you think that would have us in a better position today? Also, what is this “right defense” that you refer to? You’re moving the goal posts. This all goes back to you saying that his defensive system relies on offensive production. All we are saying is that was a terrible assumption, regardless of any injuries. I don’t care who is injured. That was an embarrassing display against a program that you mocked last spring for losing to the MB coaching tree - on a neutral site.
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Post by longsuffering on Nov 21, 2021 14:47:42 GMT -5
Isn't it as simple as having a couple of guys start backpedaling a little sooner when a shot is attempted? Probably don't need to install a whole new defense to play more conservatively while offense is cold.
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