We started the year 18-4 and we are now playing very poor basketball. What happened? Is it talent, coaching, tougher schedule and/or opponents with better coaches? Offensively we struggle and have for a large part of the year. Defensively, we shined early in the year and have played well at home but defense has not traveled with us. We are simply poor defensively away from home.
My guess is that early in the year, opponents struggled against our size and Matthews and McBride were playing very well. Our schedule was difficult but not Big 12 difficult. And opposing coaches were simply not as good as Big 12 coaches and opposing teams did not have Big 12 talent (even though the Big 12 is down this year even with the two top teams in the country). Our confidence grew with each win and we were giving maximum effort. And opposing teams did not have as much time to scout us and devise game plans to take away our strengths.
But now we see the warts on this team that were masked earlier. Very poor shooting, very poor free throw shooting, poor ball movement, and an offense that runs through Culver, who is inconsistent inside and can't hit free throws. At the end of the day, this is a coaching issue. If it is an effort issue on the part of the players, then we recruited the wrong players. If it is a talent issue, we first scouted and then recruited the wrong players. If it is a shooting issue, we scouted and then recruited the wrong players. If it is a scheme issue, it is coaching. If it is a line-up issue, it is coaching. So we either recruited the wrong players or our schemes don't match the skills we do possess or we are playing the wrong guys at different points in time during the game.
Huggs has tried to mix it up. First playing big, then going smaller. Moving players around to different positions (Haley to the 4, Matthews to the 4, Taz to the 3, etc.). Nothing is working.
Huggs is a legend and a huge asset for WVU. We get players in large part because of Huggs. I hope, finally, Huggs, who is very loyal to his staff, decides that his loyalty must first go to the fans, the state and the University. We need fresh blood, new ideas, new schemes and scouting and recruiting help, and we need to recruit talent that matches what we want to do. The Big 12 has some outstanding coaches. Self, Drew, and Beard are as good as any in the country. If we want to be more than an average Big 12 team, we need to adapt.
My suggestions are to turn the team over to McCabe and let him know that (he is quite limited but the best PG on the team). Play him 35 minutes a game. Use McBride or Haley as his back-up. Play McNeil (catch and shoot guy only) and Sherman a lot (at the 2 and the 3 to give us some sort of outside threat and let them know they won't be yanked when they make a mistake. Stop running the offense through the post. Let the bigs do what they do best, rebound the basketball and score inside. Mix and match the rest based on the game situation and how they are playing.
We will be better next year even if Culver leaves (assuming Oscar stays). But we need a makeover (not as big as last year's). We desperately need a true PG and we need scorers. It's very late in the recruiting cycle. Hopefully, we can use the transfer portal for immediate help. Texas Tech used it and got to the final four. It can be done but it all starts with Huggs.
My guess is that early in the year, opponents struggled against our size and Matthews and McBride were playing very well. Our schedule was difficult but not Big 12 difficult. And opposing coaches were simply not as good as Big 12 coaches and opposing teams did not have Big 12 talent (even though the Big 12 is down this year even with the two top teams in the country). Our confidence grew with each win and we were giving maximum effort. And opposing teams did not have as much time to scout us and devise game plans to take away our strengths.
But now we see the warts on this team that were masked earlier. Very poor shooting, very poor free throw shooting, poor ball movement, and an offense that runs through Culver, who is inconsistent inside and can't hit free throws. At the end of the day, this is a coaching issue. If it is an effort issue on the part of the players, then we recruited the wrong players. If it is a talent issue, we first scouted and then recruited the wrong players. If it is a shooting issue, we scouted and then recruited the wrong players. If it is a scheme issue, it is coaching. If it is a line-up issue, it is coaching. So we either recruited the wrong players or our schemes don't match the skills we do possess or we are playing the wrong guys at different points in time during the game.
Huggs has tried to mix it up. First playing big, then going smaller. Moving players around to different positions (Haley to the 4, Matthews to the 4, Taz to the 3, etc.). Nothing is working.
Huggs is a legend and a huge asset for WVU. We get players in large part because of Huggs. I hope, finally, Huggs, who is very loyal to his staff, decides that his loyalty must first go to the fans, the state and the University. We need fresh blood, new ideas, new schemes and scouting and recruiting help, and we need to recruit talent that matches what we want to do. The Big 12 has some outstanding coaches. Self, Drew, and Beard are as good as any in the country. If we want to be more than an average Big 12 team, we need to adapt.
My suggestions are to turn the team over to McCabe and let him know that (he is quite limited but the best PG on the team). Play him 35 minutes a game. Use McBride or Haley as his back-up. Play McNeil (catch and shoot guy only) and Sherman a lot (at the 2 and the 3 to give us some sort of outside threat and let them know they won't be yanked when they make a mistake. Stop running the offense through the post. Let the bigs do what they do best, rebound the basketball and score inside. Mix and match the rest based on the game situation and how they are playing.
We will be better next year even if Culver leaves (assuming Oscar stays). But we need a makeover (not as big as last year's). We desperately need a true PG and we need scorers. It's very late in the recruiting cycle. Hopefully, we can use the transfer portal for immediate help. Texas Tech used it and got to the final four. It can be done but it all starts with Huggs.
