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And Kim wonders why the students don't come to the games
bananasnblondes
Member Posts: 14,912
A poorly coached 11-0 team with boring, shitty players is still a poorly coached team with boring, shitty players.
Where does this one rank in the annals of Romar's embarrassing OOC home losses?
Where does this one rank in the annals of Romar's embarrassing OOC home losses?
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The rest is spot on though.
But none of that explains the students not coming. The vast majority of 19-20 year olds don't know enough to recognize that the team isn't that well coached. That is not why they're not coming. The student attendance issues have much more to do with the fucktarded athletic department marketing/rules/prices than anything to do with what's going on on the court.
I know we are suppose to demand every team we watch go undefeated every single year or the team and coach sucks but heading into this season I didn't see this coming.
As A Rodge would say "Relax". They weren't winning the national championship this year hate to be the bearer of bad news.
I have hope with Murray, Crisp, Thybule, and the other guys coming in.
I've seen us play 2x now in person - which is more than I normally watch in person during the year. I appreciate this team because of how they are able to grind it out and take advantage of what they can do well and minimize what they don't do well.
But let's be honest, this isn't an exciting team to watch at all. They really struggle to score the ball. As a defensive first team, they aren't going to be a team that lives in transition. With the exception of Upshaw, this isn't a team that is going to play above the rim. They really don't have a lot of slashers that get to the rim (most people don't really appreciate the mid-range game that NWG has).
You, me, and many of the basketball watchers on this board appreciate 30 seconds of good defense and a contested shot. But college kids aren't amused by that. They are amused by that when the rebound leads to a fast break going the other way and a dunk.
Bricking shot after shot isn't "fun to watch" no matter how good the defense is.
And for that matter, this team being a good defensive team is a bullshit meme and not true. AA and NWG are both awful defenders and get abused by opposing guards. The team gives up way too many wide open looks from 3, but most games have been fortunate to have them miss. The team also has way too much trouble keeping opponents off the boards, considering how the size inside is supposed to be the strength.
They play bad defense for the most part, but are simply bailed out by having Upshaw block or alter literally every shot taken near the rim after a defensive breakdown.
Goss is slow and a mediocre (at best) shooter. AA is just a dumb, bad, basketball player on both ends of the court with a streaky shot that can get hot at times. He has no business being a Pac 12 starter.
The basketball IQ of this group is through the floor, from Romar on down.
They might win enough in a poor conference to make it this year after that start, but they just as likely might drop 2 at Cal/Stan this week and drop immediately back to the bubble.
But keep telling us he's the best UW can hope for,
I agree that NWG isn't particularly a great defender or fast, but he's not a terrible defender. We sometimes confuse creating turnovers as a sign of great defense compared to just staying in front of your guy, moving him where you want him to go, and putting a hand up to contest a shot as a sign of good defense.
AA is the definition of irrational confidence. He can shoot you in and out of games. He's maddening, but given the way this team is comprised, it's actually not a bad guy to have on this team.
The bigs don't necessarily rebound as well as you would like them to, but the guards rebound a little better than most guards so it evens out. As long as the bigs are boxing out and taking care of their guys it isn't terrible.
I disagree that the IQ of this team is below the floor. This is a team that to me actually understands what they are and aren't good at. They tend to play to their strengths.
In the games that I've watched, we're a better defensive team than you are giving credit for. Oklahoma is a really good offensive team and they really struggled to score. Their best offense was putting Upshaw in pick and pop situations and pulling him away from the basket making him move his feet.
This is a 7-10 seed in the tournament, probably wins their first game because of how they play defense, and then will be a difficult, but in the end not that tough of an out for a 1, 2, or 3 seed provided that they show up and match intensity.
Everyone would have taken 11-1 before the year. I would love to have higher expectations, but this team was predicted to suck. Everyone knows this is not a championship team and they have limitations. I will be happy with a tournament appearance this year.
There are tons of reasons for the declining attendance. A couple years of shitty basketball is the biggest. Start winning and they come. Pretty basic shit.
Digging deeper, I think not having players from Washington also hurts. NWG is from Portland, Upshaw from Fresno. There isn't one local player in the starting line up and Dorsey is the only one who gets any minutes. And let's be honest, a kid from Olympia is different than a kid from Seattle or Tacoma (besides Gaddy).
I don't buy that fans come for the style of play. UConn and other teams in the former Big East were really fucking boring to watch, but they have staunch supporters. UW isn't a basketball school, so crowds will only come if they are good.