Random Thoughts on the UCSB Loss

[.44caliberkiller]

1. I've been a firm believer in giving Edwards time to develop his program at Wyoming and his first two years although not spectacular were solid enough for a first time head coach. But many more games like the UCSB game and I may quickly change my tune. Losses happen and I can handle them but many of the decisions Edwards makes continue to be mind numbing. I understand that we have a few injuries but there is no reason we need to be playing iron man basketball. Justin James should not be playing 40min in the first game of the season. Austin Mueller should not be on the court for more than 20min a night (he played 36). You can't recruit Junior College transfers who can't beat out or even spell a solid but unspectacular walk-on PG (Redding) and a undersized under skilled positionless sophomore (Mueller). Don't get me wrong I have no doubt in my mind that A.J. Banks and Luwal Dung are superior players than Redding and Mueller but they don't do us much good sitting on the bench. The ironic thing is it seems like a massive over correction from Edwards first year as head coach. He went from playing a deep rotation full of mediocre players and then bringing his two best players off the bench(James/Dalton), to only playing what he considers his 6-7 best players. And if were going to be a mediocre or bad team why not play the younger more athletic players who seemingly have a much higher upside? Edwards rotations seem to be very short sighted, this is the time of year to play inexperienced players who have upside and let them find their way at the D1 level.

2. Justin James looked like a guy who could have really used a warm-up game. He was very rusty in the first half and struggled finding his jump shot all night long. I love JJ as much as the next guy but Wyoming doesn't stand much chance of winning when the opposing team has two players (McLaughlin/Ramsey) who out perform him, much less inside the cozy confines of the AA. James was by no means bad in this one (20pts/11reb/4asst) but we will need him to be better if were going to be what we want to be.

3. One thing I would have liked to have seen was our two leading returning scorer's from a season ago (James/Maldonado) be more aggressive to begin the game. I don't believe either player attempted a shot in the first 5min of the game. If things were going well offensively I could see them being patient and waiting for the game to come to them. But when you have a young inexperienced team who is struggling, you need your star players to step in and lead.

4. I don't want to berate the kid but at this point it is absolutely unacceptable to have Austin Mueller playing 36min in a meaningful basketball game. Before I go too far let me preface this by saying I hope Mueller makes me look like an idiot and goes on to be a great player. And I do believe that he has some abilities but right now he doesn't seem to fit with what Edwards is trying to do and it seems obvious than he has no confidence on the offensive side of ball. Time after time he passes up open shots, and it's not only three's he's passing up. Late in the game he had a wide open layup but he hesitated and eventually missed. It boggles my mind how Johnson/Porter/Dung didn't even get a chance to play when Mueller was such a clear liability, especially on the offensive side.

5. A.J. Banks looked quite promising but unfortunately he didn't play much. In his 6min he managed to log 4pts/1stl and what should have been a offensive rebound and foul call but the refs "missed it." He clearly has some ability and play making potential, hopefully he along with Dung/Johnson/Porter get the opportunity to either sink or swim.

6. Jake Hendricks looked very promising and should definitely be starting. Although his shooting percentage for the game wasn't good he looks to be a very capable shooter. And as Edwards has said he has surprising athleticism, his three steals were quite impressive. Truthfully I liked about everything I saw from Hendricks in his first action for the Pokes.

7. At the end of the day the game of basketball comes down to putting the actual basketball in the hoop. A crazy concept I know, and UCSB was just much better at that than Wyoming was. We still had our chances to be sure, but we need to drastically improve on the offensive side of the ball. But all hope isn't lost, I think there is some potential lineups that could be very effective offensively for Wyoming. One lineup I would love to see more of would be Banks/James/Hendricks/Maldonado/Thompson, that seems to be a strong offensive team and for a team that struggles to score this lineup could provide a much needed boost.

8. Hunter Thompson looks like everything we could hope for in local boy staying and playing for his hometown team. He's a hard nosed player with size and immense talent. He started his Wyoming career like gang busters, scoring the first 5pts for Wyoming in the game. But unfortunately he got in early foul trouble then ultimately got knocked out of the game with a concussion and possible broken jaw. In a night full of disappointments the injury to Thompson and possible missed time is by far the most disappointing. If Thompson misses significant time it will not only stunt his development but it could cripple Wyoming's backcourt. Hopefully he makes a speedy recover and "Big Country" can get his promising UW career rolling.

9. I know many were happy to see Alan Herndon leave but with him gone we seemingly have no rim protection. Even a healthy Jordan Naugton doesn't seem to be the answer as he has never been much of a shot blocker. Thompson certainly could development into a rim protector but as of right now he doesn't seem suited for it either. The one guy on the roster who may have some rim protecting capabilities is Luwal Dung. But to protect the rim one needs to be on the court and so far that hasn't been the case.

[FarmerPoke]

Great write-up as always .44! One of the more head scratching things about wyoming basketball the last several years going back to shyatt..... is that players who have more time in the program get playing time over players with less time in the program, usually with seemingly no thought towards maximizing player combinations or rotations.

I understand you want your most experienced players to lead and you want to reward those that have been with the program....... but its beyond absurd, as has been mentioned to refuse to even see what you have on your bench which then leads to the team being completely gassed as we saw last night. UCSB played at least 11 guys and rotated players a lot and looked like the far better conditioned team, which may or may not be true.... but an 11 man rotation is going to run circles around 6 guys unless your 6 guys are all superhuman.

I desperately hoped to be wrong, but unfortunately at the end of last season, we could name Edward's starting 5 for this season without knowing or factoring in a single newcomer player...... it's as tho edwards doesn't pay any attention in practice and just says who has been here the longest? Ok you 5 are who I'm riding this year...... What do the pokes have, something like 8 or 9 newcomers this season? Is Edwards trying to say that out of all those players, no one is good enough to contribute? Obviously Hendricks played a lot, and deservedly so, but again he's an upperclassman with experience coming in as a transfer.....
It seems according to edwards, if you are a freshman that is in your first year with the team, you have less talent, ability, and feel for the game than anyone who's been with the team longer, and the only way you can learn what it takes to play is by sitting on the bench all game, every game, learning how it's done by watching your team struggle to breathe.
I was so pissed off last night for the most part I just had to refrain from posting on here because I just wanted to rip Edwards up and down and throw profanity all over the place......
Credit to UCSB because they were better than I anticipated for sure, athletic, VERY WELL COACHED team. The entire game I was wishing our offense looked like theirs instead of the other way around.

To sum up my rant and get out a bit of my frustration.... Edwards has his head so far buried in the sand and his ass so high up in the air that the team we saw last night will struggle to finish better than 9th in the conference unless somebody takes the opportunity to give said ass a giant kick that might get Edwards head dislodged from the sand.

[Coeur d' Alene]

Banks- you have to try him big minutes. He is so dynamic and this team has big problems creating shots


Jake Hendricks- stud. Offense needs to be jj and banks w the ball and Maldonado and Hendricks as the guys to run plays for


Hunter Thompson is the key. Hopefully that wasn't a season derailing injury because his development is the most important part of the team

Mueller- I think he's a really solid role player. The role they need out of him is just too much. If both centers are hurt he is going to get a lot of hate around here but it's not his fault. I think this guy is a great member of this team and will be a key guy for 2 more after this. Maybe he can settle into a more fitting role

[TSpoke]

Banks- you have to try him big minutes. He is so dynamic and this team has big problems creating shots


Jake Hendricks- stud. Offense needs to be jj and banks w the ball and Maldonado and Hendricks as the guys to run plays for


Hunter Thompson is the key. Hopefully that wasn't a season derailing injury because his development is the most important part of the team

Mueller- I think he's a really solid role player. The role they need out of him is just too much. If both centers are hurt he is going to get a lot of hate around here but it's not his fault. I think this guy is a great member of this team and will be a key guy for 2 more after this. Maybe he can settle into a more fitting role

I agree with this. Especially about Mueller. He was forced to play him that much with first the injury to Naughton then with Thompson out he had to play there. Mueller is a guy who can play multiple positions but isn't great at any of them. Playing post isn't where he is best but he was needed there.

As far as the other player getting in. Coach said after the game that he would have loved to play Porter and Dung but they need to show him defensive intensity in practice. I can get behind that. He is showing them and the team that he is serious about playing defense and you have to prove that you are not just focusing on the offensive end. Get to work on the defensive end in practice and they will see the court.

Banks should have played more and Edwards even admitted that post game. I think Redding has improved over last year and I like him but Banks should be taking quite a few of his minutes(I think he will eventually start).

This was a bad loss to a good team but I don't think the team we saw last night is the team we are going to see at the end of the year. Its a process with a new team and way to early to form opinions on them yet.

Get better Hunter. We need you.

[McPeachy]

Love these posts / recaps. Always well done - thank you .44.

That said, we looked like poop IMO. 36% FG, 17% 3 Point, 70% FT, and out-rebounded 40-29. I guess the bright side is we had 7 steals to their 3, and only 9 turnovers to their 18.

With all that "talent" on the bench, I just can't help but wonder if Edwards knows WTF he is doing.

[ItSucksToBeACSURam]

Banks- you have to try him big minutes. He is so dynamic and this team has big problems creating shots


Jake Hendricks- stud. Offense needs to be jj and banks w the ball and Maldonado and Hendricks as the guys to run plays for


Hunter Thompson is the key. Hopefully that wasn't a season derailing injury because his development is the most important part of the team

Mueller- I think he's a really solid role player. The role they need out of him is just too much. If both centers are hurt he is going to get a lot of hate around here but it's not his fault. I think this guy is a great member of this team and will be a key guy for 2 more after this. Maybe he can settle into a more fitting role

I agree with this. Especially about Mueller. He was forced to play him that much with first the injury to Naughton then with Thompson out he had to play there. Mueller is a guy who can play multiple positions but isn't great at any of them. Playing post isn't where he is best but he was needed there.

As far as the other player getting in. Coach said after the game that he would have loved to play Porter and Dung but they need to show him defensive intensity in practice. I can get behind that. He is showing them and the team that he is serious about playing defense and you have to prove that you are not just focusing on the offensive end. Get to work on the defensive end in practice and they will see the court.

Banks should have played more and Edwards even admitted that post game. I think Redding has improved over last year and I like him but Banks should be taking quite a few of his minutes(I think he will eventually start).

This was a bad loss to a good team but I don't think the team we saw last night is the team we are going to see at the end of the year. Its a process with a new team and way to early to form opinions on them yet.

Get better Hunter. We need you.

Who's responsibility is it to get his players to state where he feels comfortable playing them in games? Isn't the coaches responsibility? He offered them scholarships. He believed they were a fit for his schemes. He worked them all summer and all fall camp. If they aren't prepared to play then its as much a condemnation of him and his staff as it is of the players. I find Edwards has no issue airing dirty laundry of players when pressed into a corner. I hate that. They're 18, of course they're raw and need some help. Thats why you're the coach... To get them to a point of being ready to play.

[WilyWapiti]

Hendricks/Banks >> Redding/Mueller

Banks looked soooo much better than Redding last night in his abbreviated minutes, but appeared to make one defensive mistake, got chewed out, and never saw the floor again.

Great move there, Edwards. Does Redding have some dirty laundry on you or something?

WW

[WilyWapiti]

The crowd was overwhelmingly (as overwhelming as 3500 people can be) in support of Banks; I think it was that obvious to everyone in attendance who our PG should be moving forward.

ww

[TSpoke]

Banks- you have to try him big minutes. He is so dynamic and this team has big problems creating shots


Jake Hendricks- stud. Offense needs to be jj and banks w the ball and Maldonado and Hendricks as the guys to run plays for


Hunter Thompson is the key. Hopefully that wasn't a season derailing injury because his development is the most important part of the team

Mueller- I think he's a really solid role player. The role they need out of him is just too much. If both centers are hurt he is going to get a lot of hate around here but it's not his fault. I think this guy is a great member of this team and will be a key guy for 2 more after this. Maybe he can settle into a more fitting role

I agree with this. Especially about Mueller. He was forced to play him that much with first the injury to Naughton then with Thompson out he had to play there. Mueller is a guy who can play multiple positions but isn't great at any of them. Playing post isn't where he is best but he was needed there.

As far as the other player getting in. Coach said after the game that he would have loved to play Porter and Dung but they need to show him defensive intensity in practice. I can get behind that. He is showing them and the team that he is serious about playing defense and you have to prove that you are not just focusing on the offensive end. Get to work on the defensive end in practice and they will see the court.

Banks should have played more and Edwards even admitted that post game. I think Redding has improved over last year and I like him but Banks should be taking quite a few of his minutes(I think he will eventually start).

This was a bad loss to a good team but I don't think the team we saw last night is the team we are going to see at the end of the year. Its a process with a new team and way to early to form opinions on them yet.

Get better Hunter. We need you.

Who's responsibility is it to get his players to state where he feels comfortable playing them in games? Isn't the coaches responsibility? He offered them scholarships. He believed they were a fit for his schemes. He worked them all summer and all fall camp. If they aren't prepared to play then its as much a condemnation of him and his staff as it is of the players. I find Edwards has no issue airing dirty laundry of players when pressed into a corner. I hate that. They're 18, of course they're raw and need some help. Thats why you're the coach... To get them to a point of being ready to play.

I see this as part of that process of getting them ready to play. Of course they are young and new to the system so they need to learn to play in it before they get time on the court. If they aren't on the level he expects on the defensive end he shouldn't play them just because. So you are right it is his responsibility to get them ready to play and I see it as that is what he is doing. I suspect they will get in the game soon and will show some defensive ability. This is about more than this one game its about the whole season and developing these players beyond it.

If he hadn't said anything then we would be bitching about him not explaining why they didn't play. Idefinately was confused why Porter wasn't in when he looked good in the exhibition.

I haven't been to practice so I don't know how big of an issue they are on the defensive side so I gotta take the coaches word for it. There are plenty of things to criticize but I don't see an issue with this. If they aren't performing to where you feel you can put them in the game then you shouldn't put them in.

[ItSucksToBeACSURam]

Banks- you have to try him big minutes. He is so dynamic and this team has big problems creating shots


Jake Hendricks- stud. Offense needs to be jj and banks w the ball and Maldonado and Hendricks as the guys to run plays for


Hunter Thompson is the key. Hopefully that wasn't a season derailing injury because his development is the most important part of the team

Mueller- I think he's a really solid role player. The role they need out of him is just too much. If both centers are hurt he is going to get a lot of hate around here but it's not his fault. I think this guy is a great member of this team and will be a key guy for 2 more after this. Maybe he can settle into a more fitting role

I agree with this. Especially about Mueller. He was forced to play him that much with first the injury to Naughton then with Thompson out he had to play there. Mueller is a guy who can play multiple positions but isn't great at any of them. Playing post isn't where he is best but he was needed there.

As far as the other player getting in. Coach said after the game that he would have loved to play Porter and Dung but they need to show him defensive intensity in practice. I can get behind that. He is showing them and the team that he is serious about playing defense and you have to prove that you are not just focusing on the offensive end. Get to work on the defensive end in practice and they will see the court.

Banks should have played more and Edwards even admitted that post game. I think Redding has improved over last year and I like him but Banks should be taking quite a few of his minutes(I think he will eventually start).

This was a bad loss to a good team but I don't think the team we saw last night is the team we are going to see at the end of the year. Its a process with a new team and way to early to form opinions on them yet.

Get better Hunter. We need you.

Who's responsibility is it to get his players to state where he feels comfortable playing them in games? Isn't the coaches responsibility? He offered them scholarships. He believed they were a fit for his schemes. He worked them all summer and all fall camp. If they aren't prepared to play then its as much a condemnation of him and his staff as it is of the players. I find Edwards has no issue airing dirty laundry of players when pressed into a corner. I hate that. They're 18, of course they're raw and need some help. Thats why you're the coach... To get them to a point of being ready to play.

I see this as part of that process of getting them ready to play. Of course they are young and new to the system so they need to learn to play in it before they get time on the court. If they aren't on the level he expects on the defensive end he shouldn't play them just because. So you are right it is his responsibility to get them ready to play and I see it as that is what he is doing. I suspect they will get in the game soon and will show some defensive ability. This is about more than this one game its about the whole season and developing these players beyond it.

If he hadn't said anything then we would be bitching about him not explaining why they didn't play. Idefinately was confused why Porter wasn't in when he looked good in the exhibition.

I haven't been to practice so I don't know how big of an issue they are on the defensive side so I gotta take the coaches word for it. There are plenty of things to criticize but I don't see an issue with this. If they aren't performing to where you feel you can put them in the game then you shouldn't put them in.

I am of the opinion that you learn a lot more in ugly game time than pretty practice time. I get that they may not look great in practice but what could it have hurt to play them last night? Look at the football team. For whatever reason Chambers hadn't convinced the coaches through practice that he was they guy then blossomed during actual game time. Theres no reason to think they would have hurt the team last night any more than exhausted Mueller did.

Other than that, you and I are in agreement.

[LanderPoke]

Hendricks/Banks >> Redding/Mueller

Banks looked soooo much better than Redding last night in his abbreviated minutes, but appeared to make one defensive mistake, got chewed out, and never saw the floor again.

Great move there, Edwards. Does Redding have some dirty laundry on you or something?

WW

Typical Edwards. Focus on one seemingly minuscule mistake and ride the guy that is inferior. Hallmark of a great coach

[TSpoke]

Banks- you have to try him big minutes. He is so dynamic and this team has big problems creating shots


Jake Hendricks- stud. Offense needs to be jj and banks w the ball and Maldonado and Hendricks as the guys to run plays for


Hunter Thompson is the key. Hopefully that wasn't a season derailing injury because his development is the most important part of the team

Mueller- I think he's a really solid role player. The role they need out of him is just too much. If both centers are hurt he is going to get a lot of hate around here but it's not his fault. I think this guy is a great member of this team and will be a key guy for 2 more after this. Maybe he can settle into a more fitting role

I agree with this. Especially about Mueller. He was forced to play him that much with first the injury to Naughton then with Thompson out he had to play there. Mueller is a guy who can play multiple positions but isn't great at any of them. Playing post isn't where he is best but he was needed there.

As far as the other player getting in. Coach said after the game that he would have loved to play Porter and Dung but they need to show him defensive intensity in practice. I can get behind that. He is showing them and the team that he is serious about playing defense and you have to prove that you are not just focusing on the offensive end. Get to work on the defensive end in practice and they will see the court.

Banks should have played more and Edwards even admitted that post game. I think Redding has improved over last year and I like him but Banks should be taking quite a few of his minutes(I think he will eventually start).

This was a bad loss to a good team but I don't think the team we saw last night is the team we are going to see at the end of the year. Its a process with a new team and way to early to form opinions on them yet.

Get better Hunter. We need you.

Who's responsibility is it to get his players to state where he feels comfortable playing them in games? Isn't the coaches responsibility? He offered them scholarships. He believed they were a fit for his schemes. He worked them all summer and all fall camp. If they aren't prepared to play then its as much a condemnation of him and his staff as it is of the players. I find Edwards has no issue airing dirty laundry of players when pressed into a corner. I hate that. They're 18, of course they're raw and need some help. Thats why you're the coach... To get them to a point of being ready to play.

I see this as part of that process of getting them ready to play. Of course they are young and new to the system so they need to learn to play in it before they get time on the court. If they aren't on the level he expects on the defensive end he shouldn't play them just because. So you are right it is his responsibility to get them ready to play and I see it as that is what he is doing. I suspect they will get in the game soon and will show some defensive ability. This is about more than this one game its about the whole season and developing these players beyond it.

If he hadn't said anything then we would be bitching about him not explaining why they didn't play. Idefinately was confused why Porter wasn't in when he looked good in the exhibition.

I haven't been to practice so I don't know how big of an issue they are on the defensive side so I gotta take the coaches word for it. There are plenty of things to criticize but I don't see an issue with this. If they aren't performing to where you feel you can put them in the game then you shouldn't put them in.

I am of the opinion that you learn a lot more in ugly game time than pretty practice time. I get that they may not look great in practice but what could it have hurt to play them last night? Look at the football team. For whatever reason Chambers hadn't convinced the coaches through practice that he was they guy then blossomed during actual game time. Theres no reason to think they would have hurt the team last night any more than exhausted Mueller did.

Other than that, you and I are in agreement.

Or Chambers didn't show things in practice at the beginning of the season then as he became more familiar with the system he started showing what he could do in practice and earned his chance to get in the game. I don't know.

I see Edwards as proving a point about how important he considers defense and it would undermine his point if he played them. Is it the right move? Again Idon't know but I understand the thought process.

[Vapoke]

I felt so bad for Austin last night. The kid plays well, but you can't expect him to play 36 minutes. He had 3 rebounds pretty quick into the game, but he was providing no better defense exhausted than POrter or Dung would have.

[bullpoke]

GREAT thoughts everyone.. esp 44 I agree with you on all accounts.

[LanderPoke]

Mueller is a good player for 15 - 20 a game. And only when he's the third biggest on the floor. Not fair to ask him to bang with people much bigger than him for 36 min. Mueller can probably score on guys his size and smaller very well.