I have been POMA (Pissing Out My Ass) for the last 4 days so I have been in and out of consciousnessā¦but I came to long enough to see and appreciate something we havenāt had enough of at all lately.
Attitude.
Not punk-ass attitude but I GIVE A SH!T attitude.
Watching Gerry McNamara this weekend. Now, even though I thought it was a little too 3rd grade parent -āquit making fun of my kidā- that Boeheim made a spectacle out of the criticismā¦I thought it was a defining moment in what Gerry did.
He took criticismā¦used it as a motivatorā¦AND PLAYED HIS @SS OFF AND CARRIED HIS TEAM ON HIS BACK!!!
How many players have we had like that in the last decade? Really.
Weāve had more pouters than anything else - if they didnāt get the ball, or didnāt get the minutes, etc
We have some kids with great work ethic (Lee) which is a start but I want kids that CAREā¦about everything.
I want kids that get ABSOLUTELY PISSED if we lose (how many players can you say that about?).
I want kids that get literally SICK if they get beat on defense (same question).
I want kids that play EVERY play with a personal pride that they REFUSE to let their teammates down but if they doā¦they come back stronger and more determined (instead of pouting or simply not caring enough for it to matter).
Gerry Mac could have poutedā¦but his pride wouldnāt allow it. He proved to everyone what he was all about because of his determination and WILL to win.
THAT, my friends, is what we were missing this year. I dare say we donāt average but 1 of these players per year. I think we ought to find a Wonderlick test for Pride and recruit ONLY those playersā¦period.
Sorry for the ventā¦itās been a loooooooooooooong and I mean loooooooooooong 4 days.
We need leadership BADLY. I am simply amazed though at the apparent lack of pride by some of our kids. It used to piss me off if I got beat on Defense, or made a bone-head turn-over or took a bad shot. I would lose sleep over things like that and it made me more determined to improve.
It seems like our guys mimic our student body when it comes to pride (Iām not talking about the loyal few that come on here and go support the team). The 20K+ student base that would rather watch an ACC game on TV than go support their home school. The students that wear other schoolās gear on OUR campus.
Student base of 22K and maybe 2K on average attend each gameā¦
Our players seem to adopt that apathetic characteristic that the bulk of our students have displayed. I hope this changesā¦on BOTH sides.
We definently need leadership. I miss Basden and even Plavich in part because they really seemed to give their all. Lutz described this team as the most unemotional he had ever had.
[QUOTE=switchfoot;161466]We definently need leadership. I miss Basden and even Plavich in part because they really seemed to give their all. Lutz described this team as the most unemotional he had ever had.[/QUOTE]
Someone needs to tell lutz that unemotional doesnāt mean apathetic.
[QUOTE=Powerbait;161469]Someone needs to tell lutz that unemotional doesnāt mean apathetic.[/QUOTE]
By definition maybe youāre rightā¦but I believe that people always get emotional about things they care about. Some get more emotional than othersā¦and some may express emotion in different forms. But I would almost guarantee that EVERYONE gets emotional about something they care alot aboutā¦especially in the world of competitive sports.
At this level of competition, these kids by nature are more determined and more competitive than others with similar skills. So, can you be HIGHLY competitive without emotion? I find that hard to believe. I think they ARE emotionalā¦but arenāt here. Why is the question. Do they not care about the schoolā¦the coachā¦their teammates?
Againā¦I want kids that are emotional and highly competitive 24/7. It doesnāt matter where they play or what uniform theyāre wearingā¦I want kids that play for pride and with determination simply because someone rolled a ball onto a court.
Lutz lets the inmates run the asylum. Once Chris Nance started wandering out and taking 15-18 footers, he should have said, āstay near the basket like last year, get rebounds and tip ins, or your ass is on the bench.ā
Jobey Thomas and Kevin Price hated to lose. Diego had heart. Cam Stephans had a look like he wanted to jamb the ball down someones neck. That the type of player I like. I think Leemire has some of those qualities.
Its called intangibles and mental toughness. Although not the most āathleticā guys ever, 49ers like Diego, Jobey, Tremaine, DeMarco, Galen, and Kelvin had it.
This groupā¦doesnāt. But, hey, Lutz canāt get pissed. You recruit it, just like you recruit running and jumping ability.
I do believe Goldwire is a winner and is hungry. I like guys who lead their team to championships like him and Anjuan.
With the exception of a few of Plavichās 40 footers last year, Iāve never said anything negative about any of our playersā¦ but Iāve had about all I can take with the āunemotionalismā on this yearās team.
Iām not against an unemotional teamā¦in fact I prefer my team to be level headed. However unemotional and apathetic are two different things. You can be unemotional and yet still take pride in everything you do.
I think too many players have the Adam Morrison school of thought. He had a T shirt that said āI could play defenseā¦but I like offense better.ā
All the kids want to be scorers. Very few want to be complete players. We need the ones who want to be complete players.
I talked to Lutz a few weeks ago about Dewhurst, and he told me Charles plays with incredible passion, and HATES losing. He said if Dewhurst had any flaw, it may be that he gets down on himself too much when he messes up. Hah, hows that for a flaw. I cant wait to see this kid play. If he is anything like the type of player that Bobby described him as, we will be in for a treat.
