Coach Edwards

[poke_addict]

Im excited for year two of the Edwards era to unfold. Last season had plenty of up and downs but for a first year head coach I'll take 23 wins no matter how they come.

I know some of you guys were frustrated with some of the on court decisions also with the way minutes were distributed.

I believe Coach Edwards is a very intelligent guy and a man of high character. The perfect guy to be running your basketball program. He was groomed from some best minds in college basketball and is a champion himself.

Last season was Edwards first year to experiment with ideas he hasn't had the authority to do since his coaching career began. Not all things are going to work but you'll never know if you don't test the waters of legitimate competition. I also heard coach say numerous times now that last season was a trial run for the program.

As for some of the line up issues. I can tell you exactly why Dalton and JJ didn't start the majority of the year. Now this is total speculation but Edwards basically told JJ and Dalton they would not start during the season even though they were our best players. This was the final stipulation Coach layed out for the High 5 situation. Both of these guys passed the test with flying colors.

I don't even need to talk about recruiting. Edwards and staff know what they are looking for and are competing with a lot of the big boys for recruits.

With that being said I believe this year we see Coach take a step forward. I think we see a more focused team. Edwards is a true players coach I know his players think very highly of him. But at the end of the day It says a lot about a coach that gets out there and runs sprints with his players.

Can't wait for the season to start how do you guys feel about Coach heading into year two?

[NowherePoke]

Really good topic and post.

I would say my feelings about Coach Edwards so far are...complicated. Like you, I think highly of him on a personal level. I believe he represents the program very well publicly and runs the program the "right way".

Also, for a program that is most definitely not a "destination job", I appreciate that Edwards has been part of the program now going on his 7th year. He and his family are part of the community and have really built a family atmosphere.

I do believe he has the respect of his players and you can see that in the relatively low turnover we have experienced with the coaching change. We really have only had two players depart the program since he took over and they were simply looking for some additional playing time to finish their college careers and both were very respectful in their comments after departing. Obviously, he is not soft on the players (as anyone with functional hearing who has seen UW in action under his tenure can attest), but it doesn't appear to be disrespectful or demeaning and the players seem to respond pretty well.

Justin James can play anywhere in the country and I guarantee you with the way College Basketball works today that there were folks out there making sure that his family and he knew he would have opportunities elsewhere if he wanted to transfer. First after the coaching change, and second a year in which he was clearly the best player but had to come off the bench. Instead, he has stuck with the program and continued to grow as a player and leader and two years from now we will add him to the list of all-time Cowboy greats. That speaks volumes regarding James' respect for the coaching staff.


Having said all of that great stuff, I keep coming back to what I saw on the floor last year and I have to say I was not impressed in many ways. The message board hot button was lineup decisions and minute distribution (which I was critical of as well), but to me the bigger concern was what I saw as a lack of structure and creativity on offense (did Vigen coordinate our hoops offense as well? Sorry, I digress). We played fast, which helped to mask just how poor we were on offense. From an efficiency standpoint, we were really mediocre last year. We did not generate enough high percentage looks from our offense and we really struggled with live ball turnovers which are absolute killers.

I didn't see lack of effort (and the fact that we were a pretty solid defensive team considering our lack of ideal personnel on defense really speaks to the continued commitment on that end), but I did see a lack of structure and execution and that is directly tied to coaching.

Still, it was his first year and we were implementing a whole new style. He certainly deserves the benefit of the doubt and while I always want a UW coach to succeed, I really want Coach Edwards to succeed. This type of continuity where we move from successful coach to one of their assistants is the type of sustained program we have rarely had at UW. I am excited for this year, but remain nervous about the long term success.


On a somewhat side note, what is up with 2018 recruiting? 5 scholarships to fill and only one commitment thus far from a fairly modestly recruiting prospect. Somewhat surprising considering the talent Edwards brought in his first 1.5 classes and his previous work at UW.

[seattlecowboy]

With that being said I believe this year we see Coach take a step forward. I think we see a more focused team. Edwards is a true players coach I know his players think very highly of him. But at the end of the day It says a lot about a coach that gets out there and runs sprints with his players.

Can't wait for the season to start how do you guys feel about Coach heading into year two?

Is that you Coach Edwards?

[laxwyo]

At media days, coach Edwards said the he himself learned a lot and it sounded like it was in reference to yelling and such


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[FarmerPoke]

With that being said I believe this year we see Coach take a step forward. I think we see a more focused team. Edwards is a true players coach I know his players think very highly of him. But at the end of the day It says a lot about a coach that gets out there and runs sprints with his players.

Can't wait for the season to start how do you guys feel about Coach heading into year two?

Is that you Coach Edwards?

Lol you beat me to it!

[TSpoke]

I believe the sky is the limit for Coach Edwards. I am a big fan. He doesn't have the same personality as Coach Shyatt that made him such a loveable guy but I think Edwards has a higher ceiling as a coach. The kids seem to respond to him and he has been able so far to attract some good players here. I didn't agree with all of his moves last year but I think I understood why he was making the decisions he made(at least most of the time) and as others have said I expect that he learned a lot about being a head coach last year and we will see a progression this year. Very excited to start this year.

[Cowboy Junky]

I would say his first season has to be considered a success since it was a rebuilding year with a complete overhaul of team philosophies.

I think we can all agree on certain things that are huge positives:

1. Recruiting is going very well. He stuck with Hunter, uncovered a gem in Maldonado, and won a battle vs. the defending national champion Villanova. Part of that is probably system. Kids are more excited to jack up a bunch of shots, run the floor, and play high tempo then they are to control the clock, lock down on defense, and finish the game in the low 50's if things go to plan. Either way, Edwards and staff are recruiting at a higher level than any coach in recent memory and managed to get a commit from the highest profile in-state product in a long, long time.

2. Finishing the season with a win is massive. Not many programs win out to close the season. We did. Post-season experience and confidence is a huge plus. Our guys got that last year, even though it was only the CBI. It's always good to put a trophy in the trophy case.

3. Although it's a limited sample size, we didn't have any off court issues last year and the team g.p.a. is good.

4. He balanced our roster and removed the 6 man senior class we had coming up this season. Schroyer left us a team with 6 guys in back to back seasons, trying to load up on upper classmen to jump ship to a bigger job. Shyatt never managed to balance the classes, although he did make progress. Edwards got it done the first year he was in charge. I'm guessing he had an honest talk with Lieberman and Barnes and let them know that they might be better off somewhere else. He managed to get rid of two of the biggest talent anchors on our roster and did it in a classy way that allowed them to remain part of the Cowboy family. This might have been his BEST move of his first season.

Like many Wyoming fans, my concerns last year we're about the offense, defense, and the rotation.

1. I still don't understand how he decides on minutes. A lot of guys I didn't think should play as much did, and a couple of guys that I thought should have started, didn't start. If it's true that he punished members of the "high five" by not letting start last year, then I totally support that. His rotation did leave a lot of questions. We were fresh and our players had game experience during a deep run in the post-season. I'm guessing that was by design. By giving lots of guys minutes during the regular season, they didn't look like deer in headlights in the post-season, and the key players on our team were fresh down the stretch. Regardless, I'm hoping that we rely on fewer players this year, and establish an 8/9 man rotation that gives us the best chance of winning the most games.

2. It was shocking to me to see our defense and rebounding so poor, after Shyatt had it cranked up to 10 during his tenure. Part of that is system, we don't run the clock down and take a lot of outside shots when there isn't an offensive rebounder in the lane. We have many more possessions to deal with because of Edwards coaching guys to shoot whenever they're open and balanced. Either way, it hurt me to see our defense and rebounding last year. Hopefully that will improve.

3. Offensively, I'm still not sure about an offense that relies so heavily on the three point shot. It's extremely difficult to shoot on the road, especially in some of the hostile environments in the MWC. When we got into shooting slumps we didn't have enough slashers to attack the rack and generate fouls. When our slashers got in foul trouble(which they're likely to do when attacking the rim) and we weren't shooting well, we didn't have an offense at all. I'll give him a pass on the offense until he recruits more guys that fit his system, but I would like to see an improvement on our ability to generate offense on the road, or at least limit the other teams scoring on the road. Until we get that fixed, we're not going to be a very good road team. Shyatt's system worked better on the road, because we were almost always in every game with a couple of minutes left on the clock.

We'll know more after this season. He has a roster he should be able to challenge with, barring key injuries. If we finish 5th-7h, I'll say we under-achieved. If we can finish 1st-4th, I would say that's about right with a team with a substantial amount of upperclassmen, length, and athleticism.

[rich22]

I would say his first season has to be considered a success since it was a rebuilding year with a complete overhaul of team philosophies.

I think we can all agree on certain things that are huge positives:

1. Recruiting is going very well. He stuck with Hunter, uncovered a gem in Maldonado, and won a battle vs. the defending national champion Villanova. Part of that is probably system. Kids are more excited to jack up a bunch of shots, run the floor, and play high tempo then they are to control the clock, lock down on defense, and finish the game in the low 50's if things go to plan. Either way, Edwards and staff are recruiting at a higher level than any coach in recent memory and managed to get a commit from the highest profile in-state product in a long, long time.

2. Finishing the season with a win is massive. Not many programs win out to close the season. We did. Post-season experience and confidence is a huge plus. Our guys got that last year, even though it was only the CBI. It's always good to put a trophy in the trophy case.

3. Although it's a limited sample size, we didn't have any off court issues last year and the team g.p.a. is good.

4. He balanced our roster and removed the 6 man senior class we had coming up this season. Schroyer left us a team with 6 guys in back to back seasons, trying to load up on upper classmen to jump ship to a bigger job. Shyatt never managed to balance the classes, although he did make progress. Edwards got it done the first year he was in charge. I'm guessing he had an honest talk with Lieberman and Barnes and let them know that they might be better off somewhere else. He managed to get rid of two of the biggest talent anchors on our roster and did it in a classy way that allowed them to remain part of the Cowboy family. This might have been his BEST move of his first season.

Like many Wyoming fans, my concerns last year we're about the offense, defense, and the rotation.

1. I still don't understand how he decides on minutes. A lot of guys I didn't think should play as much did, and a couple of guys that I thought should have started, didn't start. If it's true that he punished members of the "high five" by not letting start last year, then I totally support that. His rotation did leave a lot of questions. We were fresh and our players had game experience during a deep run in the post-season. I'm guessing that was by design. By giving lots of guys minutes during the regular season, they didn't look like deer in headlights in the post-season, and the key players on our team were fresh down the stretch. Regardless, I'm hoping that we rely on fewer players this year, and establish an 8/9 man rotation that gives us the best chance of winning the most games.

2. If was shocking to me to see our defense and rebounding so poor, after Shyatt had it cranked up to 10 during his tenure. Part of that is system, we don't run the clock down and take a lot of outside shots when there isn't an offensive rebounder in the lane. We have many more possessions to deal with because of Edwards coaching guys to shoot whenever they're open and balanced. Either way, it hurt me to see our defense and rebounding last year. Hopefully that will improve.

3. Offensively, I'm still not sure about an offense that relies so heavily on the three point shot. It's extremely difficult to shoot on the road, especially in some of the hostile environments in the MWC. When we got into shooting slumps we didn't have enough slashers to attack the rack and generate fouls. When our slashers got in foul trouble(which they're likely to do when attacking the rim) and we weren't shooting well, we didn't have an offense at all. I'll give him a pass on the offense until he recruits more guys that fit his system, but I would like to see an improvement on our ability to generate offense on the road, or at least limit the other teams scoring on the road. Until we get that fixed, we're not going to be a very good road team. Shyatt's system worked better on the road, because we were almost always in every game with a couple of minutes left on the clock.

We'll know more after this season. He has a roster he should be able to challenge with, barring key injuries. If we finish 5th-7h, I'll say we under-achieved. If we can finish 1st-4th, I would say that's about right with a team with a substantial amount of upperclassmen, length, and athleticism.

There is an article on ESPN that talks about Steve Kerr's Philosophy the first few years of coaching Golden State that I think matches what Coach Edwards is trying to do here. The article is called "How Steve Kerr Revolutionized the Golden state warriors on a charcuterie board". This is a quote from it

"It wasn't just play your best five guys to death," Kerr says. "It was play everybody. You go deep into your rotation, even if it means losing a couple of games in the regular season, just empower everybody. It's kind of the beauty of basketball, the old cliché about the total being greater than the sum of its parts -- I believe in all of that. Five guys have to operate together, but the other seven on the bench, or nine, however many, they've got to feel part of it."

http://www.espn.com/espn/feature/story/ ... erie-board

[Cowboy Junky]

I would say his first season has to be considered a success since it was a rebuilding year with a complete overhaul of team philosophies.

I think we can all agree on certain things that are huge positives:

1. Recruiting is going very well. He stuck with Hunter, uncovered a gem in Maldonado, and won a battle vs. the defending national champion Villanova. Part of that is probably system. Kids are more excited to jack up a bunch of shots, run the floor, and play high tempo then they are to control the clock, lock down on defense, and finish the game in the low 50's if things go to plan. Either way, Edwards and staff are recruiting at a higher level than any coach in recent memory and managed to get a commit from the highest profile in-state product in a long, long time.

2. Finishing the season with a win is massive. Not many programs win out to close the season. We did. Post-season experience and confidence is a huge plus. Our guys got that last year, even though it was only the CBI. It's always good to put a trophy in the trophy case.

3. Although it's a limited sample size, we didn't have any off court issues last year and the team g.p.a. is good.

4. He balanced our roster and removed the 6 man senior class we had coming up this season. Schroyer left us a team with 6 guys in back to back seasons, trying to load up on upper classmen to jump ship to a bigger job. Shyatt never managed to balance the classes, although he did make progress. Edwards got it done the first year he was in charge. I'm guessing he had an honest talk with Lieberman and Barnes and let them know that they might be better off somewhere else. He managed to get rid of two of the biggest talent anchors on our roster and did it in a classy way that allowed them to remain part of the Cowboy family. This might have been his BEST move of his first season.

Like many Wyoming fans, my concerns last year we're about the offense, defense, and the rotation.

1. I still don't understand how he decides on minutes. A lot of guys I didn't think should play as much did, and a couple of guys that I thought should have started, didn't start. If it's true that he punished members of the "high five" by not letting start last year, then I totally support that. His rotation did leave a lot of questions. We were fresh and our players had game experience during a deep run in the post-season. I'm guessing that was by design. By giving lots of guys minutes during the regular season, they didn't look like deer in headlights in the post-season, and the key players on our team were fresh down the stretch. Regardless, I'm hoping that we rely on fewer players this year, and establish an 8/9 man rotation that gives us the best chance of winning the most games.

2. If was shocking to me to see our defense and rebounding so poor, after Shyatt had it cranked up to 10 during his tenure. Part of that is system, we don't run the clock down and take a lot of outside shots when there isn't an offensive rebounder in the lane. We have many more possessions to deal with because of Edwards coaching guys to shoot whenever they're open and balanced. Either way, it hurt me to see our defense and rebounding last year. Hopefully that will improve.

3. Offensively, I'm still not sure about an offense that relies so heavily on the three point shot. It's extremely difficult to shoot on the road, especially in some of the hostile environments in the MWC. When we got into shooting slumps we didn't have enough slashers to attack the rack and generate fouls. When our slashers got in foul trouble(which they're likely to do when attacking the rim) and we weren't shooting well, we didn't have an offense at all. I'll give him a pass on the offense until he recruits more guys that fit his system, but I would like to see an improvement on our ability to generate offense on the road, or at least limit the other teams scoring on the road. Until we get that fixed, we're not going to be a very good road team. Shyatt's system worked better on the road, because we were almost always in every game with a couple of minutes left on the clock.

We'll know more after this season. He has a roster he should be able to challenge with, barring key injuries. If we finish 5th-7h, I'll say we under-achieved. If we can finish 1st-4th, I would say that's about right with a team with a substantial amount of upperclassmen, length, and athleticism.

There is an article on ESPN that talks about Steve Kerr's Philosophy the first few years of coaching Golden State that I think matches what Coach Edwards is trying to do here. The article is called "How Steve Kerr Revolutionized the Golden state warriors on a charcuterie board". This is a quote from it

"It wasn't just play your best five guys to death," Kerr says. "It was play everybody. You go deep into your rotation, even if it means losing a couple of games in the regular season, just empower everybody. It's kind of the beauty of basketball, the old cliché about the total being greater than the sum of its parts -- I believe in all of that. Five guys have to operate together, but the other seven on the bench, or nine, however many, they've got to feel part of it."

http://www.espn.com/espn/feature/story/ ... erie-board

That makes sense. You can see Steve Kerr's finger prints all over our team already: stretch fours all over the floor, 6'10" guys bringing the ball up, no post guys in the paint(5 out motion), everybody plays from the outside in.

It wouldn't surprise me if Allen Edwards is following Kerr's philosophy with the rotation as well.

I guess the good news: if we play 12 deep this year it won't be Barnes, Lieberman, or Morris Marshall. We have a lot more depth in those situational spots towards the bottom of the rotation. The roster has a lot more talent, length, and athleticism from top to bottom.

[rich22]

I would say his first season has to be considered a success since it was a rebuilding year with a complete overhaul of team philosophies.

I think we can all agree on certain things that are huge positives:

1. Recruiting is going very well. He stuck with Hunter, uncovered a gem in Maldonado, and won a battle vs. the defending national champion Villanova. Part of that is probably system. Kids are more excited to jack up a bunch of shots, run the floor, and play high tempo then they are to control the clock, lock down on defense, and finish the game in the low 50's if things go to plan. Either way, Edwards and staff are recruiting at a higher level than any coach in recent memory and managed to get a commit from the highest profile in-state product in a long, long time.

2. Finishing the season with a win is massive. Not many programs win out to close the season. We did. Post-season experience and confidence is a huge plus. Our guys got that last year, even though it was only the CBI. It's always good to put a trophy in the trophy case.

3. Although it's a limited sample size, we didn't have any off court issues last year and the team g.p.a. is good.

4. He balanced our roster and removed the 6 man senior class we had coming up this season. Schroyer left us a team with 6 guys in back to back seasons, trying to load up on upper classmen to jump ship to a bigger job. Shyatt never managed to balance the classes, although he did make progress. Edwards got it done the first year he was in charge. I'm guessing he had an honest talk with Lieberman and Barnes and let them know that they might be better off somewhere else. He managed to get rid of two of the biggest talent anchors on our roster and did it in a classy way that allowed them to remain part of the Cowboy family. This might have been his BEST move of his first season.

Like many Wyoming fans, my concerns last year we're about the offense, defense, and the rotation.

1. I still don't understand how he decides on minutes. A lot of guys I didn't think should play as much did, and a couple of guys that I thought should have started, didn't start. If it's true that he punished members of the "high five" by not letting start last year, then I totally support that. His rotation did leave a lot of questions. We were fresh and our players had game experience during a deep run in the post-season. I'm guessing that was by design. By giving lots of guys minutes during the regular season, they didn't look like deer in headlights in the post-season, and the key players on our team were fresh down the stretch. Regardless, I'm hoping that we rely on fewer players this year, and establish an 8/9 man rotation that gives us the best chance of winning the most games.

2. If was shocking to me to see our defense and rebounding so poor, after Shyatt had it cranked up to 10 during his tenure. Part of that is system, we don't run the clock down and take a lot of outside shots when there isn't an offensive rebounder in the lane. We have many more possessions to deal with because of Edwards coaching guys to shoot whenever they're open and balanced. Either way, it hurt me to see our defense and rebounding last year. Hopefully that will improve.

3. Offensively, I'm still not sure about an offense that relies so heavily on the three point shot. It's extremely difficult to shoot on the road, especially in some of the hostile environments in the MWC. When we got into shooting slumps we didn't have enough slashers to attack the rack and generate fouls. When our slashers got in foul trouble(which they're likely to do when attacking the rim) and we weren't shooting well, we didn't have an offense at all. I'll give him a pass on the offense until he recruits more guys that fit his system, but I would like to see an improvement on our ability to generate offense on the road, or at least limit the other teams scoring on the road. Until we get that fixed, we're not going to be a very good road team. Shyatt's system worked better on the road, because we were almost always in every game with a couple of minutes left on the clock.

We'll know more after this season. He has a roster he should be able to challenge with, barring key injuries. If we finish 5th-7h, I'll say we under-achieved. If we can finish 1st-4th, I would say that's about right with a team with a substantial amount of upperclassmen, length, and athleticism.

There is an article on ESPN that talks about Steve Kerr's Philosophy the first few years of coaching Golden State that I think matches what Coach Edwards is trying to do here. The article is called "How Steve Kerr Revolutionized the Golden state warriors on a charcuterie board". This is a quote from it

"It wasn't just play your best five guys to death," Kerr says. "It was play everybody. You go deep into your rotation, even if it means losing a couple of games in the regular season, just empower everybody. It's kind of the beauty of basketball, the old cliché about the total being greater than the sum of its parts -- I believe in all of that. Five guys have to operate together, but the other seven on the bench, or nine, however many, they've got to feel part of it."

http://www.espn.com/espn/feature/story/ ... erie-board

That makes sense. You can see Steve Kerr's finger prints all over our team already: stretch fours all over the floor, 6'10" guys bringing the ball up, no post guys in the paint(5 out motion), everybody plays from the outside in.

It wouldn't surprise me if Allen Edwards is following Kerr's philosophy with the rotation as well.

I guess the good news: if we play 12 deep this year it won't be Barnes, Lieberman, or Morris Marshall. We have a lot more depth in those situational spots towards the bottom of the rotation. The roster has a lot more talent, length, and athleticism from top to bottom.

Amen! Those 3 were great kids but I couldn't stand watching them play by the end of the year. I always thought Lieberman would turn into a Grabau type but I was wrong.