Anyone Still Think...

[4everwarriors]

we got jobbed on the seeding?

[PuertoRicanNightmare]

Seedings are so overrated.

I just wonder what kind of message was sent to the team when our coach immediately questioned the seeding...suggesting the BE rep didn't do their "due dilengence."

PUKE!!!!

[bananahammock]

this team has no clue offensively!  can we run a pick for a 15 footer? 

[Pardner]

I hate to be fair weather...but Crean's teams are ill prepared at the end of the season.  There is no excuse to not show up for these games.  No answer for this match up zone--which MSU invented.  This is where having no inside game kills us.  He practices his teams into the ground late into the season--and they then lay these eggs in post-season.  He always seems to burn them out and there inevitably is key practice injury.  Coach Crean runs a great program, but he needs to adjust his season strategy.  This was one of the few things Deane did well.

[PuertoRicanNightmare]

It's not his strategy and it's not his practices. It's his personality!! Teams take on the personality of their coach. Our coach is completely high strung and as nervous as a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs.

[AlumKCof93]

orn, thanks for your posts tonight.  Your wit coupled with Dukes loss has helped offset what otherwise would have been a terrible night.

[NavinRJohnson]

It's not his strategy and it's not his practices. It's his personality!! Teams take on the personality of their coach. Our coach is completely high strung and as nervous as a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs.

This was pretty much what I was thinking during that 10 minutes we were waiting for Marquette to get to the game. I love the guy and what he has done, but I think the pressure got to him a bit and that carried over to the players. He needs to relax, coach less, and just let his players play.

[only a warrior]

Crean is not going to relax - if its not in you to do so, you can't do it.  Perhaps his assistants need to step up and calm the team down.

[BuzzSucksSucks]

It's not his strategy and it's not his practices. It's his personality!! Teams take on the personality of their coach. Our coach is completely high strung and as nervous as a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs.

This was pretty much what I was thinking during that 10 minutes we were waiting for Marquette to get to the game. I love the guy and what he has done, but I think the pressure got to him a bit and that carried over to the players. He needs to relax, coach less, and just let his players play.

These were my thoughts exactly as the time wound down..

[chapman]

It's not his strategy and it's not his practices. It's his personality!! Teams take on the personality of their coach. Our coach is completely high strung and as nervous as a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs.

Reminds me about the Izzo quote about Crean someone posted earlier, about him being pretty much paranoid and worrying about everything.  I envy teams like West Virginia and players like Devendorf who have a fire lit under them even though they're in the NIT.  West Virginia is playing like it has something to prove, and even though his team played like they were still too PO'ed at not making the NCAAs Devendorf would not let them lose.  Our team plays like we don't belong there once we get to the NCAAs....I guess the young players don't know what it's like to not get the opportunity to play in the NCAAs, and the program doesn't have the perennial expectations of Duke or UNC to expect to win in March.

[PuertoRicanNightmare]

Crean is not going to relax - if its not in you to do so, you can't do it.  Perhaps his assistants need to step up and calm the team down.

Maybe his assistants would try to calm them down if any of them lasted more than a year.

[PuertoRicanNightmare]

Reminds me about the Izzo quote about Crean someone posted earlier, about him being pretty much paranoid and worrying about everything.  I envy teams like West Virginia and players like Devendorf who have a fire lit under them even though they're in the NIT.  West Virginia is playing like it has something to prove, and even though his team played like they were still too PO'ed at not making the NCAAs Devendorf would not let them lose.  Our team plays like we don't belong there once we get to the NCAAs....I guess the young players don't know what it's like to not get the opportunity to play in the NCAAs, and the program doesn't have the perennial expectations of Duke or UNC to expect to win in March.

chapman -- you make a great point. Diener was the kind of guy you talk about, but it didn't really help us his last two years because of the atrocious talent around him (except for SN). It sure made it easier to root for those teams than this year's squad. It points to the fact that we SORELY miss leadership on this team. I'm not saying our sophs cannot be leaders, but think about when you were in college. Would you think some sophomore was somebody you would follow? I wouldn't. This team is lacking in leadership. I don't really blame Crean...except for the recruiting class he whiffed on. He said it repeatedly on his radio show...this team did not communicate.

Last year was worse. For Crean to give Chapman's (a senior) starting spot to Matthews, (a FRESHMAN!!), was to me, unconscionable. How can you ask the upper classman to lead the young guys when you're screwing over the guys who have worked their asses off for 4 years!

Anyway, there are any number of problems with this team.

[SoCalEagle]

I hate to be fair weather...but Crean's teams are ill prepared at the end of the season.  There is no excuse to not show up for these games.  No answer for this match up zone--which MSU invented.  This is where having no inside game kills us.  He practices his teams into the ground late into the season--and they then lay these eggs in post-season.  He always seems to burn them out and there inevitably is key practice injury.  Coach Crean runs a great program, but he needs to adjust his season strategy.  This was one of the few things Deane did well.

Well said, Pardner.  After we have seen the same thing season after season, you begin to wonder why we continue to make the same mistakes.  Late season poor performances and uninspired play in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament: I'm begining to expect these things. 

[SoCalEagle]

Our team plays like we don't belong there once we get to the NCAAs....I guess the young players don't know what it's like to not get the opportunity to play in the NCAAs, and the program doesn't have the perennial expectations of Duke or UNC to expect to win in March.

That's exactly it.  We play like we are lucky to be there and we hope no one figures out we don't belong.  Question is, how do we change that?

[PuertoRicanNightmare]

[That's exactly it.  We play like we are lucky to be there and we hope no one figures out we don't belong.  Question is, how do we change that?

It would be great if Crean had huddled the "Big Three" up on the court and made them watch MSU "celebrate" like he did last year.