The Cold Hard Truth About Cuonzo

beat a hurt KY team, an unfathomably poorly coached Mizz team and UF. UF was the lone good team in the run. The rest are generally crap. Late season no shows against UGA and Bama are unforgivable, especially given the stakes.

I know people think I'm being overly hard on our coach, but this isn't about how long we've had to turn anything around. My gripe is about the areas in which we appear well coached. I'm struggling to find them.

 

I'm equally skeptical of the run but in turn also not so freaked out about the no-shows. Who doesn't beat Mizzou at home? And when do we not step up against Florida? Yeah, Kentucky was awesome, but it's a lot more of an outlier when you're not impressed by Mizzou.

I just don't think our team was very good this year. The defense could not stop driving guards all throughout conference play. Whoever McBee was on basically scored at will. And what kind of teams beat us during the last ten games? Teams whose guards love to get into the lane. (yeah, Mizzou fits this description too, but remember they were on the road and coached by Frank Haith).

 

We did. So did they. I used VCU as the difference mainly because 1) it was a better OOC win than any we had and 2) the rest are fairly similar.

 

They apprently do factor in the "ability" to beat top teams in the tourney so a team with a top road win would go in after one with only big wins at home. fact remains the difference in the last 4 or 5 teams isn't much.

 

WSU > VCU

(okay, I don't believe this. But they did beat VCU. . .)

 

That was my attempt at a positive spin. Cannot/will not contest either comment.

 

Hearing that our problems may be "coaching" - and from reputable persons who know more than the casual fan - gives me pause.

 

god damn it. The Hamilton Effect.

 

I certainly don't intend to say that all of our problems are coaching. I just don't right now see any area where we are well coached, and that could be a function of the guys. I don't know, but I don't like the signs.

Further, I flat don't like our strategy. I'm not sure we have any idea what it is we do to beat people on a nightly basis.

 

BPV is a negaMartin.

 

A couple things I see with Cuonzo that I question. He wants his team to be tough and disciplined. Sometimes I see nothing close to this. They will play tough at times, have to give them that, but other times they seem like they had little interest in playing. For a guy who comes off very in charge of his players, he seems to let many things go on the court, standing and watching and hoping they play better. Just like the Bama game when they are outside the arc bombing away while the game slips away. Martin stood and watched like he had no control over what was going on. He may make it, hope he does, but I have major doubts.

 

one thing that has definitely bothered me is there were several games where (IMO) there's clearly been a guy on the other team that Cuonzo should put Richardson on and tell him to go wherever he goes, be it the bathroom or the dentist or wherever, and this hasn't been the case.

 

Other that putting McBee on the other teams primary scorer for too much of an extended period of time, it annoys the heck out of me that we have no idea how to attack a zone defense.

Other gripes would be how we play the pick and roll 20 feet from the basket.

 

I'm actually a huge fan. He's not a coach speak douchebag. I'd love to see him grow into the guy that gets to stay at UT for a couple decades. No nonsense is my approach to the world. Appears to be CCMs too.

 

I am still watching the ESPN ticker and cussing because I keep thinking the Middle would disappear from the St.Mary's/Middle Tennessee bracket.

 

Im just messin.

I feel the same way. He's easier to get behind than some coaches because of how he carries himself.
Your points are legit in regards to his coaching. He has to makes strides no different than his players. Being young I still have some faith he will grow into the job.

 

Some of the match ups with McBee were hard to figure. McBee in general was hard to figure. I spent many games wondering why he was pulling the minuets he was, much less who he was asked to guard. He's one of those types you give a chance to hit a couple shots early and proved an extra threat (while you hide him as best you can on D) and if he doesn't you move on to the next option.

It wasn't just McBee he had 2 or 3 more guys that were liabilities on one end or the other. Hopefully hes able to maximizes what he has and bring in guys that are not geared that way in the future.

 

There have been some head scratching decisions, but I believe Cuonzo will do good things at UT.

 

I don't know. We finished strong but didn't win the 2 games, GA and AL, that we needed to win. With Hubbs replacing Hall and Maymon's return, I expect no less than 13 conference wins, 25 regular season wins, and a 6-8 seed in the AAs, at the least. Also really excited about the Davis kid. The eternal optimist in me sees only good things in the future of the program. We've had great success in the last decade with good players and ho hum coaching....

 

I agree with most of what everyone is saying. Pulling for CCM personally but not sure what we do well. That being said I'll take 20 wins with this roster all day long.

I've been to a couple of practices at UT and like his approach. Not the best practices I've been to but certainly not the worst either.