Wojo took everything away from the team. Have to earn it

[mattyv1908]

And you DON'T think that was a direct result of practicing in white t-shirts?

I fixed this for you.

[MerrittsMustache]

I fixed this for you.

I was hoping it wasn't necessary.

[3Mer]

How were they any more competent?

Score: MU 81 - LSU[22] 80

[mattyv1908]

I was hoping it wasn't necessary.

Apparently there are many on this board that believe it was a huge factor.  The fact that they feel this way should have everyone questioning the value of their MU education.

[Dr. Blackheart]

You guys do realize that college teams usually practice in hotel ballrooms with a wadded up tape ball during these Thanksgiving tournaments, right?  McLaughlin Park is Uptown.

[Lennys Tap]

I think teachers are important. And we all have special memories of that teacher who inspired, who taught us more than what was in the text book. One of the things I admired about Al and Buzz is that they were as much (or more) about life lessons as they were about Xs and Os. I think Wojo was teaching an important life lesson to his guys. Good for him. And they listened and maybe learned. Good for them. How someone could be "against" that is beyond me.

[Frenns Liquor Depot]

Apparently there are many on this board that believe it was a huge factor.  The fact that they feel this way should have everyone questioning the value of their MU education.

I don't think it was HUGE.  It was just a tactic to get the kids focused.  We played better as measured by my blood pressure last night.

I think most are just disagreeing with you that it was some sort of nefarious move by Wojo as opposed to thinking playing in street clothes saved the season.

[mattyv1908]

I think teachers are important. And we all have special memories of that teacher who inspired, who taught us more than what was in the text book. One of the things I admired about Al and Buzz is that they were as much (or more) about life lessons as they were about Xs and Os. I think Wojo was teaching an important life lesson to his guys. Good for him. And they listened and maybe learned. Good for them. How someone could be "against" that is beyond me.

I think it severely smells like desperation.

[Eldon]

I think teachers are important. And we all have special memories of that teacher who inspired, who taught us more than what was in the text book. One of the things I admired about Al and Buzz is that they were as much (or more) about life lessons as they were about Xs and Os. I think Wojo was teaching an important life lesson to his guys. Good for him. And they listened and maybe learned. Good for them. How someone could be "against" that is beyond me.

I think some folks may not be against it per se, but rather, they feel that it is a gimmick.  And if Wojo has to turn to gimmicks to motivate his team, what does that say about his leadership abilities (as a coach)?

[source?]

This has to be one of the dumbest comments I've ever read.  Most people change tremendously during college. Maybe you arrived at MU wearing a sweater vest and ready for the professional world but for the majority of people they're still learning and developing.  I'm not saying that Wojo is accountable to do the life lessons things that Buzz did about a bottle with sand and rocks etc. But he is still supposed to impart his wisdom and teach when he can.

Yup. 18 year olds have no clue who they are, where they are going, they barely have an idea of where they came from. I moved out of my parents house at 18, didn't speak to them for a long time. A couple of years working two jobs and going to school and you start to get some perspective on the struggle people have to go through in the real world. Also, at 18 your values are based almost entirely on what your parents taught you. I couldn't be further from my 18 year old self on so many political and moral issues that I can't even keep them straight. You may have your basic meat and bones structure formed when you enter college, but you don't become you until you have the ability to choose your own path.

[mattyv1908]

I don't think it was HUGE.  It was just a tactic to get the kids focused.  We played better as measured by my blood pressure last night.

I think most are just disagreeing with you that it was some sort of nefarious move by Wojo as opposed to thinking playing in street clothes saved the season.

We discount 'the eye test' yet the 'blood pressure test' suddenly has credibility?

[mattyv1908]

I think some folks may not be against it per se, but rather, they feel that it is a gimmick.  And if Wojo has to turn to gimmicks to motivate his team, what does that say about his leadership abilities (as a coach)?

Thank you.

[Warriorfish]

I think it worked in the sense that MU did play harder, but there were still far too many brain freezes that reflect poorly on the head coach.

[Frenns Liquor Depot]

I think some folks may not be against it per se, but rather, they feel that it is a gimmick.  And if Wojo has to turn to gimmicks to motivate his team, what does that say about his leadership abilities (as a coach)?

Buzz's Life Lessons, Boot Camp, Crean's Tackling Dummies, Al's punch you in the face at halftime.

What-ever - i think people are over-analyzing this.  These are college coaches - right.  The whole thing is theater.

[Marquette_g]

I think some folks may not be against it per se, but rather, they feel that it is a gimmick. 

Ding, ding, ding.

This is exactly how I look at this.  I'm not sure I'll take the leap to say that I question his leadership, I just think it is stupid.  I'm guessing some players responded, while others collectively rolled their eyes.

[StillAWarrior]

This has to be one of the dumbest comments I've ever read.  Most people change tremendously during college. Maybe you arrived at MU wearing a sweater vest and ready for the professional world but for the majority of people they're still learning and developing.  I'm not saying that Wojo is accountable to do the life lessons things that Buzz did about a bottle with sand and rocks etc. But he is still supposed to impart his wisdom and teach when he can.

My son currently is home for Thanksgiving in his Freshman year.  Some of the changes we already see in him are striking.  Moving away from home changes kids.  If it doesn't, they're doing it wrong.  As a parent, you can only hope that there will be someone there to encourage good change.

[79Warrior]

Apparently there are many on this board that believe it was a huge factor.  The fact that they feel this way should have everyone questioning the value of their MU education.

May not have been a huge factor but it certainly helped. Nothing wrong with what he did. it is all part of the education that you are questioning.

[Marquette_g]

May not have been a huge factor but it certainly helped. Nothing wrong with what he did. it is all part of the education that you are questioning.

Post hoc ergo propter hoc

[CTWarrior]

Buzz's Life Lessons, Boot Camp, Crean's Tackling Dummies, Al's punch you in the face at halftime.

What-ever - i think people are over-analyzing this.  These are college coaches - right.  The whole thing is theater.

Correct.  Every motivational technique is a gimmick of some sort.  Besides making sure the team is technically prepared (and we have a way to go in that regard) whatever works is the right motivational technique.  And (at least for a day) this worked.  They played with energy from the tip.

[mattyv1908]

My son currently is home for Thanksgiving in his Freshman year.  Some of the changes we already see in him are striking.  Moving away from home changes kids.  If it doesn't, they're doing it wrong.  As a parent, you can only hope that there will be someone there to encourage good change.

Having four children myself ranging from 19 to 3 currently, I could tell you at an early age that despite anyone's best effort that the second oldest (now 18) was going to have to learn the hard way regardless.

People are far more set in their ways and personalities are developed much, much earlier than most want to admit.

[chapman]

Not even about the 'earn it' message to me; it's all about breaking habits.  Show up to practice, go through the usual motions but with negativity due to losing and added frustration from the coach, it's tough to change the mindset.  Having to think through your wardrobe, practice in the Old Gym during the week then in the chilly weather outdoors, and the added travel to Brooklyn - the completely different approach lends itself to a different result. 

[StillAWarrior]

Having four children myself ranging from 19 to 3 currently, I could tell you at an early age that despite anyone's best effort that the second oldest (now 18) was going to have to learn the hard way regardless.

People are far more set in their ways and personalities are developed much, much earlier than most want to admit.

Fair enough.  Having four children myself, ranging from 18 to 12 currently, I can tell you that some aspects of their personality were clearly set and identifiable before they could speak, and other parts of their personality have developed over the years.  The two concepts (i.e., personalities being set early and also developing into adulthood) are not mutually exclusive.

[Galway Eagle]

Having four children myself ranging from 19 to 3 currently, I could tell you at an early age that despite anyone's best effort that the second oldest (now 18) was going to have to learn the hard way regardless.

People are far more set in their ways and personalities are developed much, much earlier than most want to admit.

Or... and this is a wild thought... teenagers don't quite share every change they go through with their parents. It's a fact that the brain doesn't stop developing till the mid 20s

[mattyv1908]

Fair enough.  Having four children myself, ranging from 18 to 12 currently, I can tell you that some aspects of their personality were clearly set and identifiable before they could speak, and other parts of their personality have developed over the years.  The two concepts (i.e., personalities being set early and also developing into adulthood) are not mutually exclusive.

My bigger point is that if Wojo is more concerned with teaching life lessons than fundamental basketball he's in the wrong line of work.

Other than our guys hitting some shots that haven't fallen to date, the fundamental basketball aspects of our team were just as sorely lacking last night as they have been in the first 3 games.

[MU82]

We discount 'the eye test' yet the 'blood pressure test' suddenly has credibility?

I smell a guy who is hoping the Warriors fall flat tonight -- as in Iowa flat -- so he can say, "I told you Wojo is still a dope."

Nobody here said Wojo and the Warriors have "fixed" everything. What we are saying is that, hopefully, it was a good positive step in a long road to respectability. I think what several of us also are saying is it's easy to always look for the negative and it's idiotic to rip into Wojo and Marquette after they finally did enough good things to win a close game against a quality opponent.

Some of the more realistic posters here point to how young this team is and how far it has to go. And then others say, "Screw that. Other teams are winning with freshmen." And then a nationally ranked LSU team shows up with the BEST freshman and a highly touted supporting group  ... and they were so good that they lost to the crappy, unprepared Warriors and their horrible, gimmicky coach.

Anyway, I hope the good things are repeatable and the bad things will get less bad with time, repetition and experience.

Now go get your Arizona State jersey on and hope you get the chance to tell us you told us so.