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Post by raiders93 on Feb 2, 2014 15:05:47 GMT -5
Exactly what I was going to say there at the end. The fact that he blames his players and doesn't take responsibility, a poor expression of leadership
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Post by BasketBallJones on Feb 3, 2014 1:15:15 GMT -5
Without a doubt this is the most disappointing season for me personally since I started following the program 20 years ago. I fully expected this team to be in a dogfight with Green Bay for 1st place in the HL, not a team floundering around with a .500 record at this point in the season. Last year's team was a joy to watch. All the same players are back except Bramanti. The chemistry that last year's team had is gone and their record reflects that. Somethings wrong and it's up to BD to fix it.
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Post by hhgreen on Feb 3, 2014 8:17:23 GMT -5
I agree totally with you on that. It has been a big let down. We still have the Horizon League tourney to start our play at Youngstown, Oakland, Milwaukee or Valpo. We won't be playing at Green Bay or CSU unless we run through the league with wins.
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Post by Raider Alumni on Feb 14, 2014 20:53:26 GMT -5
I was reading some of the comments over on rrb and I have a hard time understanding some of the blind loyalty a few of our fans have towards Billy Donlon. Roadtrip for example thinks that Donlon has done a good job at Wright State because he runs a clean program and graduates his players. I think there is much more involved with being a good coach, but even if you use that simple criteria I can make a darn good argument that Donlon is a pretty crappy head coach. Billy Donlon was hired by Wright State on April 14, 2010. So he has been our head coach for just under 4 years. In that time span he has done a good job running a clean program in regards to not committing any NCAA rules violation, but he hasn't done a good job keeping his players out of trouble. Less than a month after he was hired, Paul Darkwa was arrested for stealing condoms. Earlier this year, Tavares Sledge was arrested for domestic violence. Two arrests in under 4 years is not my idea of running a clean program. The other criteria Roadtrip brought up was that he graduates players. That is also not close to being true. Almost twice as many players have transferred out of Wright State than have graduated from Wright State since he took over. Seven players have earned their degree so far under Donlon. Troy Tabler, Johann Mpondo, N'Gai Evans, Cooper Land, and Vaughn Duggins all graduated and used up their eligibility at WSU. Scott Grote and Julius Mays also both graduated from WSU but neither used up their eligibility at WSU. Mays graduated and then left to play his final year at UK. Grote gave up playing basketball with one year of eligibility remaining. Twelve players have transferred since Donlon was hired as coach: Paul Darkwa, Darian Cartharn, Walter Offutt, Kegan Clark, Armond Battle, Vance Hall, John Balwigaire, Jason Cuffee, Alex Pritchett, Bobo Drummond, Joe Bramanti, and Jacoby Roddy. Nine of those players were recruited to Wright State by Donlon after he became head coach. That number goes up to 10 if you want to count Mays in the discussion.
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Post by keithfromxenia on Feb 15, 2014 11:25:01 GMT -5
Alum, I think I understand that "loyalty" for bd. Some of the fans view the program, the coach's and the administration as one single unit, "the program". Loyalty to the program requires loyalty to all parts of the unit. I do not agree with that. when I was a season ticket holder I felt loyalty and passion for the program and viewed all the rest as tools to make the program successful. As long as I felt a coach was taking us to the next level I would support them. If it reaches a point where I do not believe the coach or administrator is leading the program to new heights then I will not. At this point I am not sure what I think about bd taking us to new heights (shoot I would be happy if he could get us back to the heights we were 6-7 years ago). But supporting a coach you do not believe in makes no sense to me. I wish I saw better things coming next year but right now I do not.
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Post by Dr J on Feb 15, 2014 12:38:17 GMT -5
I started the thread because I wanted to see if others felt that BD has taken a group of good players with speed and developed them into a mediocre team with his game plan. If his plan of defense, defense, defense had won games none of this would be going on. But it wasn't and he wasn't willing to change things. He did make a change for CSU. Even though we lost it was a more exciting game than most previous games. Again, many games we have no offense in the first five minutes of each half but he keeps doing the same things with line up and offensive strategy. We need a coach that emphasizes all aspects of the game and especially developers good players into better players. I haven't seen this as much as I would like. Coaches success is measured by wins and losses and academic achievements of players.
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Post by uptempo on Feb 16, 2014 0:07:05 GMT -5
Here is another reason why Donlon needs to go and this season has been wasted…WSU is number 344 out of 351 schools in rebounding per ESPN. Yuck!
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Post by wsutommygun on Feb 16, 2014 0:40:10 GMT -5
That isn't very good, uptempo. You can hang your hat on that stat but, it didn't prevent us from having a winning record when the stat came out. It also was about 125 spots or more different than the RPI ranking at the same time. So, I'm not sure how important it is but, if you notice how we play then you might be able to see that rebounding isn't our number one priority. I'd prefer the players never miss on the offensive end and I'll take my chances on getting enough on the defensive end. Billy had a birthday earlier in the week, hope it was a good one.
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Post by raiderfan14 on Feb 16, 2014 10:27:23 GMT -5
I remember listening to BD after a game say its all about getting more possessions then your opponent. He said turn over difference and offensive rebound difference are the two factors he looks at. As an example if we have 8 turnovers and create 15 then we are plus 7. Conversely if we get 6 offensive rebounds and give up 12 then it's -6. So a game like this would be a net difference of +1 possession. It's obvious BD stresses turnovers, it's clear he wants absolutely zero offensive rebounds. It's frustrating to watch a game and never see our guys crash the boards. Rebounding isn't about height, it's about a desire to want the ball. When I watch us I do not see a team that wants to rebound, and this is a reflection of BD.
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Post by hhgreen on Feb 16, 2014 11:11:52 GMT -5
I really believe BD does play that type of numbers game. You know what though I do believe when your so predictable during a game it gives the opponent an edge. Think about it. You get to practice your game plan around a team that don't hit the glass, plays only a half court man to man defense, holds the ball until there is 10 seconds on the shot clock, guard against two potential 3 point shooters. If I were the other team my goal is to start the first half and 2nd half with stifling defense and score as much as possible before the bench comes in.
Here are a couple stats.
Team Effective Possession Ratio .898 Rank 337 Opponent Effective Possession Ratio .878 Rank 4 Points per game 66.0 Rank 276 Possessions per game 67.2 Rank 269 Free Throw shooting % 74.6 Rank 29 Free Throw attempts 21.2 Rank 238
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Post by raiderfan14 on Feb 16, 2014 11:42:35 GMT -5
To add to my post I'm not disagreeing with the idea that more possessions leads to wins, I just wish we had some resemblance of a desire to rebound.
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Post by wsutommygun on Feb 16, 2014 11:46:00 GMT -5
This wasn't what we did last year when we won 23? Luckily the game is played on the court rather than on paper. If the other team could play stifling defense, are you going on the other message boards to tell them what their coaches are doing wrong? I think we play more zone than you think but, if you think everything is so predictable how could we possibly ever win?
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Post by raiderfan14 on Feb 16, 2014 11:51:07 GMT -5
I'm worried about one number:wins! My point is BD looks at numbers and if he puts so much emphasis on offensive rebounds then why does HIS team not rebound? We all see it, no one is rebounding or crashing the boards.
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Post by hhgreen on Feb 16, 2014 11:56:10 GMT -5
The reason we win is because we have superior talent on the team. If you don't have the athletes and you have your opponents play book it gives you a heads up of what to look for. It don't mean you will win but it gives you a better chance. Now if you have athletes on par with your opponent that gives you the edge if you have the play book.
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Post by keithfromxenia on Feb 16, 2014 12:12:20 GMT -5
You are right tg, we have a winning record....14-13. Thank goodness we scheduled two div iii teams or you probably would not be able to say that. And I guess you want to "hang your hat" on that rpi thing. Let me see...344-125 or so....that puts your hat on about 220. Hmm a great place to hang your hat. Obvious problem is this record and this rpi is not even close to what most fans expected. I know, I know. You are all about gpa, not rpi or w-l. But most fans want their team to do well and are disappointed when it does not. That is what you are hearing.
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