Scholarship table
While it may sound like "coach-speak," he makes good points about players adjusting to new roles, in my opinion:"I was proud of all of our guys tonight because a number of them made huge winning plays and for some of them that was the first time they've ever done it.""I thought Juan Anderson was sensational tonight," Wojciechowski said. "Look, we're asking all of our players to be in positions that they've never had to be in before as players. Juan Anderson had 20 and 9. He's never done that before. For Duane Wilson at the end of the game to make that strong drive and make free throws — he's never done that before.""Winning in college basketball is not easy, especially for a younger and inexperienced group," Wojciechowski said. "We have to fight and work so hard to grind out wins. That's who we are right now. Hopefully we'll continue to get better."I was really proud that we hung tough and we made winning plays with guys who have never been asked to make those plays in a high-pressure situation."(from Velazquez article)
Meanwhile Buzz would have said "we're just not very good" about 50 times. What a culture change
TAMUI do know, Newsie is right on you knowing ball.
What's more, last year (and several years for some) most of these players had very confused, mixed messages from the coaching staff. I believe many of these guys were just beat down as players and perhaps lost a level of confidence. It takes time to gain that back. Some may never get there, but others will figure out how to step up. As a fan last night was brutal considering who we played. As a player, it was a huge confidence builder for certain players and the team.
I get it. Only wish our guys had NJIT's hustle, energy and cohesive play.
Not only are these statements very positive, but they also happen to be true.Aside from Carlino, and maybe Burton and Derrick, every single player on the team is being asked to do something he never has before as a college athlete.
Beat down? If you've been beat down mentally, then you're not tough enough to play to begin with. A coach's job is to be hard on you and push you to new levels you never thought you could achieve. That's what makes a better player.
Told you aren't good over and over is gonna get in your head. The Jucos and underrated guys might respond to that because they have a chip but the top 100 guys have been told how good they are their hole life and have a swag if they're suddenly berrated Id be willing to bet it'd negatively effect their game.
I can tell you've never been pushed to the limits before. Besides, it's not like a coach is berating you 24/7. That just doesn't happen. Practice is when they jump on you. Outside of practice is where they are a mentor in many aspects of life.
There are positive ways of pushing a kid hard that successful coaches at all levels employ. For example,the "Sandwich" method, package a negative between two positives. It is pretty easy to tell when you look at these kids faces, they need that positive reinforcement along side the tough coaching.
VT looses another one tonight by 19 to Northern Iowa. Looks like Bert's coaching technique hasn't saved the day yet for the castrated turkey's.