How many magicians are there?

[TheREALwrk]

It's the system. Boeheim has made a Hall of Fame career with it. So has Ryan. And Bennett is continuing the trend.

In Operations Research one can always distill issues down to one of 3 things: People, Process, Training. It really is that simple (what is bloody difficult is developing the algorithms and applying them dynamically in complex environments.)

What system coaches have done is mastered this paradigm. And they can calibrate shortcomings in any one of the three cones by weighting another/others more heavily. And they can do this on the fly - which in the CBB construct is called In-Game Adjustments.

The USAF has outstanding gear, phenomenally smart people, and the processes to hone their warfighting skills.

The F 15 Eagle is undefeated in aerial combat - something like 130 - 0. That record is testament to what the USAF calls the Air Battle Management System (which we have co-developed with our brothers in the IDF, some of the finest fighter pilots in the world.)

It's not like the old days when pilots kicked the tires then lit the fires of their Phantom and went off looking for MiGs. F 15s are integrated into the battlespace at higher altitude with F 16s who play in lower altitudes. The battlespace is divided into blocks of real estate where all actions are controlled by the EA 3 Sentry. 

It is through this systemic management of aerial combat that the USAF and IDF dominate the skies.

What Boeheim, Ryan, Bennett, etc... are doing is no different. Applying OR principles to any dynamic environment eliminates the randomness that characterizes fluid environments.

I used to laugh my ass off when Tanned Tommy bragged about his 200-some page play book. That's not meticulous planning; rather, it is creating unnecessary chaos.

I see the same problem with Wojo. He doesn't have a systemic approach to game planning/management, player recruitment and retention, and program development.

If I were Marquette, I would hire a mouth breather away from the Rand Corp or the Air Force Research Lab to implement an OR-based system to empower an Xs and Os gym rat.

This is.... Something.

[MUBurrow]

The problem is Burrow, Wojo has ZERO change ups or tricks up his sleeve, for certain game situations etc. He keeps doing the same thing over and over and over again whether it's working or not
[...]
Wojo just does none of that, and I have yet to figure out why. I take the GT game at home for an example..Akinjo and McClung were abusing them off the dribble, all game long. What did he do to try to correct that?? Not much of anything. You know what i would have liked to see?? How about some traps as soon as they get over half court?? They are Freshman...on the road..you know what freshman are going to do under that kind of pressure(the trapping), when they are playing on the road?? They are going to turn the ball over...that's what they are going to do. You gain an extra possession or two that way, and since that was a two point game, that could have been the difference...why not TRY it??

I agree that I've been frustrated with the pace of some in-game adjustments. Most of my frustrations are on the offensive end, but there are some on defense as well. I think a lot of that stems from the fact that we're just not a very fast team.  Markus is shifty but you cant really use him to apply lead pressure in the backcourt. Neither of the Hausers can be really effective in pressure (maybe Sam, but he's probably at midcourt, not in the backcourt). You would have to use some combination of Sacar, Cain, and Bailey to apply that kind of pressure, but that means they all have to be on the floor. Whether on offense or defense, though, I will agree there often seems a lack of creativity in the gameplan. I diagnose that as part lack of particularly versatile players, and part something Wojo has to grow into.

[Cheeks]

Cheeks
My point on having is a system is in regards to guys you recruit. The guys Keefe noted are guys that recruit to fit their style of play. There is much higher probability of success for the long haul recruiting to your strengths.

Fair enough and it makes sense.  That said, sometimes if you cannot get the guys you want, you have to be flexible....or take a guy that is a no brainer like Hank.  Yes?

[Cheeks]

I can tell you one Coach that is a "magician" that's Coaching currently that ALWAYS has his teams perform better then their talent level...Matt Painter. Purdue's starters man for man aren't as talented as MU's..yet they always make the tourney, and usually Sweet 16's minmum.

Another guy that was nearly run out of town and IU fans begging for him to be signed to a long term deal.  How quickly you forget.  6 year stint with two NCAA tournament wins and missing the tournament twice had Boiler fans not so happy.  He was able to figure it out.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

The problem is Burrow, Wojo has ZERO change ups or tricks up his sleeve, for certain game situations etc. He keeps doing the same thing over and over and over again whether it's working or not.

Two(and there were more) of the best "tricks" I have ever seen by MU Coaches...One by Crean, when they played Wisconsin(the year escapes me), but he put Chris Grimm on Alando Tucker that day. Worked beautifully, he shut him down, MU won the game. The other was Buzz in the NCAA tournament vs Xavier putting Jimmy Butler on Tu Holloway. Absolutely shut him down. Who does that?? put a 6'7 kid on a Lightning quick PG?? No one would think that would work. Buzz did, and he was right. Buzz threw out zones in middle of games which they had never really run before...they worked.

Wojo just does none of that, and I have yet to figure out why. I take the GT game at home for an example..Akinjo and McClung were abusing them off the dribble, all game long. What did he do to try to correct that?? Not much of anything. You know what i would have liked to see?? How about some traps as soon as they get over half court?? They are Freshman...on the road..you know what freshman are going to do under that kind of pressure(the trapping), when they are playing on the road?? They are going to turn the ball over...that's what they are going to do. You gain an extra possession or two that way, and since that was a two point game, that could have been the difference...why not TRY it??

Wojo does not make big adjustments, that is true but I think the narrative that he does ZERO adjustments is false. We had a lot of come from behind victories this season due in part to some of the adjustments that Wojo made.

You are misremembering the Georgetown game. Akinjo and McClung were killing us, by making tough contested shots that had no business going in (and then getting bailed out by refs in the last few minutes). When you play good defense and force a bad shot you don't overreact and change things just because the bad shot went in. Sometimes good defense isn't enough. As for your trapping suggestion, we could have tried it...of course that was Wojo's plan against Murray State and we saw how that worked out.

To be clear, I don't think Wojo made all the right calls or pushed the right buttons, especially at the end of the season. I just don't think Georgetown was the best example. I think Keefe said it best, Akinjo and McClung were throwing up turds that kept splashing into the punch bowl.

[Cheeks]

Wojo does not make big adjustments, that is true but I think the narrative that he does ZERO adjustments is false. We had a lot of come from behind victories this season due in part to some of the adjustments that Wojo made.

You are misremembering the Georgetown game. Akinjo and McClung were killing us, by making tough contested shots that had no business going in (and then getting bailed out by refs in the last few minutes). When you play good defense and force a bad shot you don't overreact and change things just because the bad shot went in. Sometimes good defense isn't enough. As for your trapping suggestion, we could have tried it...of course that was Wojo's plan against Murray State and we saw how that worked out.

To be clear, I don't think Wojo made all the right calls or pushed the right buttons, especially at the end of the season. I just don't think Georgetown was the best example. I think Keefe said it best, Akinjo and McClung were throwing up turds that kept splashing into the punch bowl.

I think the GTown game at GTown, where we had to start game with Markus and then play about 35 minutes of it without him was a giant adjustment.  People don't mention that or give the staff credit for that game.

[Jon]

Keefe

It may be that simple, but as you know the results are not so predictable for Boeheim, et al.  He misses the tournament from time to time, he has first round exits, etc.

I've also seen some of the supposed brilliance of McKinsey, and others absolutely implode on their machine learning recommendations, or other processes.  It's not a universal truth to simplify it as much as you state, in my opinion.  Yes, they can do good work, but let's not overstate that they solve everything with their recommendations and processes...they have plenty of misses.

Jams,

A system is not a guarantor of success. But it certainly increases the odds thereof.

There is a reason why certain programs are consistently successful; OR systemic models drive consistency, predictability, and quality.

Because CBB programs are smaller organisms than marshaling the resources of a nation for war there is greater irregularity than in the larger ecosystem. Because varaiance is the norm it has a greater impact on a 30 game season involving 12 guys than it would the 24/7 operations of a major multi-national.

ANd that is why SYracuse can lose in the first round. But at least Cuse always gets to the Dance.

[Cheeks]

Jams,

A system is not a guarantor of success. But it certainly increases the odds thereof.

There is a reason why certain programs are consistently successful; OR systemic models drive consistency, predictability, and quality.

Because CBB programs are smaller organisms than marshaling the resources of a nation for war there is greater irregularity than in the larger ecosystem. Because varaiance is the norm it has a greater impact on a 30 game season involving 12 guys than it would the 24/7 operations of a major multi-national.

ANd that is why SYracuse can lose in the first round. But at least Cuse always gets to the Dance.

They don't always get to the dance, but I get your point in terms of reducing variability.  Thing is, these are human beings that are performing, so that variability is always going to be there.

[MUHoopsFan2]

I think the GTown game at GTown, where we had to start game with Markus and then play about 35 minutes of it without him was a giant adjustment.  People don't mention that or give the staff credit for that game.

He did make a BIG ADJUSTMENT...and he did it late in the after a loss! And I applaud him for it. He went away from Markus chucking up shots without passing the ball around and he went to getting the ball in the post, like Buzz was all about paint touches.

He went to an inside and out the game on offense instead of the outside and in-game finally and started posting up the Hauser's.

We found out that the bigs are just putback guys and their range is 3 feet but you still have to go to them. I would have liked to see more screen and rolls with the Bigs next year but you need a guy who can dribble the ball better.

One thing that also changed was the ball-handling and turnover ratio in the last 7 games... and teams figured Howard out late, or he was a bit injured. or both. the other team plays to win too you know...

[MUHoopsFan2]

I agree that I've been frustrated with the pace of some in-game adjustments. Most of my frustrations are on the offensive end, but there are some on defense as well. I think a lot of that stems from the fact that we're just not a very fast team.  Markus is shifty but you cant really use him to apply lead pressure in the backcourt. Neither of the Hausers can be really effective in pressure (maybe Sam, but he's probably at midcourt, not in the backcourt). You would have to use some combination of Sacar, Cain, and Bailey to apply that kind of pressure, but that means they all have to be on the floor. Whether on offense or defense, though, I will agree there often seems a lack of creativity in the gameplan. I diagnose that as part lack of particularly versatile players, and part something Wojo has to grow into.

No, you are right. They are not fast or quick with the ball...And when you make them speed up they turn it over. They need an ELITE BALL-HANDLER at PG.

A guy to not fiddle with it but bring it up and get it to the shooters, quickly. Don't have it in one guys hands [Howard] and have them pound the dribble and hoist up a 30 footer. Granted, some of those when in this year and it won some games.

But over the long season that wore out.  And they do not use the pass well.

And he refused to play Jamal Cain and Greg was hurt...to me that is the biggest key of the year. No team speed...

Sacar improved greatly but outside of that...that has to change next year. And it will.

[The Sultan]

Jams,

A system is not a guarantor of success. But it certainly increases the odds thereof.

There is a reason why certain programs are consistently successful; OR systemic models drive consistency, predictability, and quality.

Usually the simple answer is that their coaches are better. Boeheim and Bo are better than Wojo right now.

[NorthernDancerColt]

MUDish

I like the system of knowing and having too much talent. That would be my first choice.

it certainly makes for creating  better "Parties on the Court", as Al thought was his main job.

Retitle the thread "Hardwood Hosts with the Most"

[Silkk the Shaka]

Jams,

A system is not a guarantor of success. But it certainly increases the odds thereof.

There is a reason why certain programs are consistently successful; OR systemic models drive consistency, predictability, and quality.

Because CBB programs are smaller organisms than marshaling the resources of a nation for war there is greater irregularity than in the larger ecosystem. Because varaiance is the norm it has a greater impact on a 30 game season involving 12 guys than it would the 24/7 operations of a major multi-national.

ANd that is why SYracuse can lose in the first round. But at least Cuse always gets to the Dance.

"These are my OR systems"
"Oh, are they?"

[LAMUfan]

"If I were Marquette, I would hire a mouth breather away from the Rand Corp or the Air Force Research Lab to implement an OR-based system to empower an Xs and Os gym rat."

My Dad worked at RAND and I have multiple family friends/ basically family that still work there, and can tell you that you should not hire them for anything related to sports

[Warrior Code]

"These are my OR systems"
"Oh, are they?"