I think we're too hard on Edwards

[.44caliberkiller]

Don't get me wrong his player rotations aggravate me to no end. And I would argue that his game day coaching is holding the team back.

However we're doing better than most expected and Edwards team has already out performed last years team, minus the 1.5 (1 Josh Adams/.5 Mcmanamen) best players from the year before. And the only real addition is Lou Adam.

I think what is so frustrating is it just seems that Edwards isn't doing things that you learn in basketball 101. Like playing your best players the most minutes/playing your best players together/find a rotation that works and stick with it/if something is working (Naugton down low/James or Adams slashing) keep doing it until the other team stops it. And if we did these things we would be SIGNIFICANTLY better.

But I think some of us, myself included sometimes forget he is a first year coach. And it's more than reasonable to expect him to make ROOKIE mistakes and improve over time. So although I don't agree with everything he does and I get FRUSTRATED too, I'm happy we hired him and I believe the future is BRIGHT.

 

[LanderPoke]

He's the worst game day coach I've seen at Wyoming. If you can't master the simple task of identifying your best players and playing them then how can you master the finer aspects of the game?

JJ 14 min tonight is atrocious. Cody f@$%*ng Kelly played more. A 5'8'' walk on played more than your leading scorer and one of the most talented players in the conference. That's asinine. I'm done with him. We've got the talent to be contending and he's blowing it with these bullsh*t rotations. incredibly bad.

 

[.44caliberkiller]

I agree that he plays bad rotations. But to be "done with him" at this point in his tenure is ridiculous. He hasn't even finished one season yet. Not to mention this is far from one of the worst seasons in recent Wyoming history. How soon people forget how bad we were under Schroyer.

 

[kdwrightuwyo]

He's the worst game day coach I've seen at Wyoming. If you can't master the simple task of identifying your best players and playing them then how can you master the finer aspects of the game?

JJ 14 min tonight is atrocious. Cody f@$%*ng Kelly played more. A 5'8'' walk on played more than your leading scorer and one of the most talented players in the conference. That's asinine. I'm done with him. We've got the talent to be contending and he's blowing it with these bullsh*t rotations. incredibly bad.

Then quit bitching and stop talking about him

 

[wyokoke]

He's the worst game day coach I've seen at Wyoming. If you can't master the simple task of identifying your best players and playing them then how can you master the finer aspects of the game?

JJ 14 min tonight is atrocious. Cody f@$%*ng Kelly played more. A 5'8'' walk on played more than your leading scorer and one of the most talented players in the conference. That's asinine. I'm done with him. We've got the talent to be contending and he's blowing it with these bullsh*t rotations. incredibly bad.

Then quit bitching and stop talking about him

:thumb:

 

[Cosmic Cowboy]

I honestly think we're about spot on with our critique of Edwards. Half of us say give him more time and half of us have legit beefs already. I'm def in sort of both camps myself. Just seeing the limited playing time of JJ last night bugs me. I firmly believe he needs to be on the court until he fouls out period. He gets buckets and can get HOT :fuel: He has flaws too but our whole team has warts. I can see why Adams gets pulled out at times for sure, sometimes he just goes too fast. I sure would like to see him in more crunch time. He's one of our upperclass dudes and I think he plays with fire.

Flipside I can see why Edwards goes with some of the guys he does. The JMcMan situation has rode itself out fairly nicely (we took lumps and L's), still maybe he's saying something to his players about dudes that stick out the program. This is also a Wyoming kid and that's home state pride shit, we don't get that often as fans. Getting Mo and JB some time in is fine by me too. Mo plays hard and was just clutch for us. I mean I've always wondered about just getting JB in there to bang a few minutes, he's fast I think he could do some dirty work mins. Liebs keeps a steady hand even though he'll never win this board over. Players have developed this year too! You guys can't deny our player development right now. Think if the staff develops them all the same step up next year???? This team could be fucking scary :shock:

 

[Wyo2dal]

He's the worst game day coach I've seen at Wyoming. If you can't master the simple task of identifying your best players and playing them then how can you master the finer aspects of the game?

JJ 14 min tonight is atrocious. Cody f@$%*ng Kelly played more. A 5'8'' walk on played more than your leading scorer and one of the most talented players in the conference. That's asinine. I'm done with him. We've got the talent to be contending and he's blowing it with these bullsh*t rotations. incredibly bad.

:deadhorse1: :deadhorse1: :deadhorse1:

 

[LanderPoke]

He's the worst game day coach I've seen at Wyoming. If you can't master the simple task of identifying your best players and playing them then how can you master the finer aspects of the game?

JJ 14 min tonight is atrocious. Cody f@$%*ng Kelly played more. A 5'8'' walk on played more than your leading scorer and one of the most talented players in the conference. That's asinine. I'm done with him. We've got the talent to be contending and he's blowing it with these bullsh*t rotations. incredibly bad.

Then quit bitching and stop talking about him

Defend his reason for playing JJ 14 min then

 

[kdwrightuwyo]

He's the worst game day coach I've seen at Wyoming. If you can't master the simple task of identifying your best players and playing them then how can you master the finer aspects of the game?

JJ 14 min tonight is atrocious. Cody f@$%*ng Kelly played more. A 5'8'' walk on played more than your leading scorer and one of the most talented players in the conference. That's asinine. I'm done with him. We've got the talent to be contending and he's blowing it with these bullsh*t rotations. incredibly bad.

Then quit bitching and stop talking about him

Defend his reason for playing JJ 14 min then

I don't have to...I never said that I agreed. I'm just not going to say "I've had it" and "I'm done" and keep bitching every chance I get. Either man up and say you're going to bitch and moan non-stop (which is fine, I guess) or say you're done with it and freakin be done with it.

 

[wiley wapiti]

He's the worst game day coach I've seen at Wyoming. If you can't master the simple task of identifying your best players and playing them then how can you master the finer aspects of the game?

JJ 14 min tonight is atrocious. Cody f@$%*ng Kelly played more. A 5'8'' walk on played more than your leading scorer and one of the most talented players in the conference. That's asinine. I'm done with him. We've got the talent to be contending and he's blowing it with these bullsh*t rotations. incredibly bad.

Then quit bitching and stop talking about him

Defend his reason for playing JJ 14 min then

So, to make sure everyone knows...THIS COMMENT THAT IS ABOUT TO COME IS SPECULATION AND ONLY MY OPINION!!!!!!!!!

I have no idea why JJ sits as much as he does, but being a coach, I can think of many reasons why a talented player is lacking playing time.

1. His attitude towards coaching (is he coachable)
2. Work ethic at practice
3. Work ethic in school
4. His attitude in general
5. etc......

Those are a few reasons I could think of...and I have done the same. I actually finished a game with 4 players because of foul problems and an attitude problem. Maybe JJ doesn't have any problems and coach just hates him, but I'm sure there is a valid reason why our best player is not playing the minutes most on here think he should. I just don't believe that Edwards could get to this level of coach being that inept. Doesn't make sense....

 

[HomeOnTheRange]

There are plenty of legitimate criticisms of Edwards:

- Not playing James enough is a major issue. He is one of the best players in the MWC yet often finds himself playing as much as walk-on Kelley. That is asinine.

- Enabling Dalton to take 44% of his shots from 3-pt range despite the fact he only makes 29% of them makes no sense to me. He is great when he is driving to the rim or slashing through the paint. Yet he seems to want to live behind the 3-pt line. Why?? He converts on nearly 70% of his attempts at the rim and is capable of getting to the line at a high rate. To pass up those attempts at the rim makes no sense when he is choosing to settle for 3-pt looks that simply are not falling. He could really help space the floor for better shooters but he does not do so often enough.

- Playing McManamen the minutes he does hurts the team. It may make people from Wyoming beam with pride that one of our own plays major minutes but it hurts the team, bottom line. 72% of his shots come from 3-pt range yet he only makes 32% of them. With bad defense and little offered in the way of rebounding, the fact he plays so much is a drain on this team's potential.

- Herndon converts on nearly 65% of his attempts at the rim yet only 38% of his shots come at the rim. He is similar to Dalton in that he thinks he is a much better 3-pt shooter than he really is. Keep him in the paint where he can clean up the glass and get more looks at the rim. I bet our guards would get better looks from 3-pt range if opponents weren't constantly defending Dalton/Herndon out behind the 3-pt line and were instead chasing cutters through the paint or bodying them up near the rim.

- The rotation needs to be trimmed down considerably. If we were a team loaded with 4* and 5* talents it would make sense to play as many guys as we do. But we are simply not that kind of team. Yet we routinely see nearly 10 guys play each night and that comes at the expense of our best players getting the minutes they should be getting.

- As a team we do not shoot the 3-pt shot well enough to be taking nearly half of our shots from deep. It results in empty possessions and easy transition opportunities for our opponents. I like the idea of running and gunning like the Warriors, especially at our elevation. However, we do not have the personnel to do this right now. Recruit more shooters or develop the current guys into better shooters and maybe it will work. But right now KenPom has our offense ranked 209th in the nation. Yet we have the 11th most possessions per 40 minutes. We should be trying to minimize the number of possessions we have given our offensive woes...not maximize them. It reminds me of a college football team like San Jose State trying to run the ball down Alabama's throat despite the fact they are simply not suited to have success that way.

This team has played one of the easiest schedules in the nation. Hopefully they continue to schedule like this going forward because if they try to beef up the schedule in the future then we could be in for some really tough times.

 

[PorkerPoke]

All I can say about Edwards is that he was the hand picked selection of Shyatt who also made sure his little boy Jeremy got to stay on.

What does it say about the guidance of the AD when you go with the same gig that produced 4 non-winning MWC records out of 5 years instead of going out and getting a proven best?

We have to now wait to see what happens in Edwards year 2 and will likely have to wait to year 3 to really get a true evaluation of whether he can lead this team to a winning MWC record and build the program. I am resolved to wait because in Wyoming that is the TRADITION. Maybe NEXT YEAR! At least the recruits look more promising than several of the previous classes.

The reasons for so many empty seats are numerous with the most significant cause - LOSING in the MWC on a routine basis. Wyoming has managed to barely stay ahead of the absolute worse MWC records, but struggles mightily for middle of the pack. Who really gives a crap if we can win 100% of our home games OOC when the games that really matter are filled with losses?

This program has now failed to win a MWC game against a team over .500 in MWC play to date.

 

[WestWYOPoke]

He's the worst game day coach I've seen at Wyoming. If you can't master the simple task of identifying your best players and playing them then how can you master the finer aspects of the game?

JJ 14 min tonight is atrocious. Cody f@$%*ng Kelly played more. A 5'8'' walk on played more than your leading scorer and one of the most talented players in the conference. That's asinine. I'm done with him. We've got the talent to be contending and he's blowing it with these bullsh*t rotations. incredibly bad.

Then quit bitching and stop talking about him

Defend his reason for playing JJ 14 min then

So, to make sure everyone knows...THIS COMMENT THAT IS ABOUT TO COME IS SPECULATION AND ONLY MY OPINION!!!!!!!!!

I have no idea why JJ sits as much as he does, but being a coach, I can think of many reasons why a talented player is lacking playing time.

1. His attitude towards coaching (is he coachable)
2. Work ethic at practice
3. Work ethic in school
4. His attitude in general
5. etc......

Those are a few reasons I could think of...and I have done the same. I actually finished a game with 4 players because of foul problems and an attitude problem. Maybe JJ doesn't have any problems and coach just hates him, but I'm sure there is a valid reason why our best player is not playing the minutes most on here think he should. I just don't believe that Edwards could get to this level of coach being that inept. Doesn't make sense....

THIS + 1000

There are plenty of people on here that seem perplexed as to why JJ isn't playing more. I'm sorry, but to me it is VERY obvious at this point that his lack in playing time isn't a talent issue or a mental error on the coaches. It is a behavioral one. There is something going on here that we as fans don't have the inside info to, but the coaches are very aware of. I'm sorry LanderPoke, but to truly think that you know more than Edwards in regards to this is both insulting and ignorant. YOU DON'T KNOW THE WHOLE STORY. Neither do I, but to suggest that not playing him is solely based on rotation is absurd; something else is going on.

 

[nwpoke]

Total speculation: maybe it's related to smoking dope last spring, or more recently?

That still doesn't answer all the questions regarding player rotations, which is confusing regardless of my/our respect for where this team is at.

Hoping/expecting fresh legs and total domination of the sheep! My new glasses should be in tomorrow, so that might be the end of my brown and gold vision

 

[wyokoke]

Total speculation: maybe it's related to smoking dope last spring, or more recently?

That still doesn't answer all the questions regarding player rotations, which is confusing regardless of my/our respect for where this team is at.

Hoping/expecting fresh legs and total domination of the sheep! My new glasses should be in tomorrow, so that might be the end of my brown and gold vision

If it was from last spring Dalton would also ride the pine. I think it was a more recent issue

 

[Wyolie Coyote]

He's the worst game day coach I've seen at Wyoming. If you can't master the simple task of identifying your best players and playing them then how can you master the finer aspects of the game?

JJ 14 min tonight is atrocious. Cody f@$%*ng Kelly played more. A 5'8'' walk on played more than your leading scorer and one of the most talented players in the conference. That's asinine. I'm done with him. We've got the talent to be contending and he's blowing it with these bullsh*t rotations. incredibly bad.

Then quit bitching and stop talking about him

Defend his reason for playing JJ 14 min then

So, to make sure everyone knows...THIS COMMENT THAT IS ABOUT TO COME IS SPECULATION AND ONLY MY OPINION!!!!!!!!!

I have no idea why JJ sits as much as he does, but being a coach, I can think of many reasons why a talented player is lacking playing time.

1. His attitude towards coaching (is he coachable)
2. Work ethic at practice
3. Work ethic in school
4. His attitude in general
5. etc......

Those are a few reasons I could think of...and I have done the same. I actually finished a game with 4 players because of foul problems and an attitude problem. Maybe JJ doesn't have any problems and coach just hates him, but I'm sure there is a valid reason why our best player is not playing the minutes most on here think he should. I just don't believe that Edwards could get to this level of coach being that inept. Doesn't make sense....

THIS + 1000

There are plenty of people on here that seem perplexed as to why JJ isn't playing more. I'm sorry, but to me it is VERY obvious at this point that his lack in playing time isn't a talent issue or a mental error on the coaches. It is a behavioral one. There is something going on here that we as fans don't have the inside info to, but the coaches are very aware of. I'm sorry LanderPoke, but to truly think that you know more than Edwards in regards to this is both insulting and ignorant. YOU DON'T KNOW THE WHOLE STORY. Neither do I, but to suggest that not playing him is solely based on rotation is absurd; something else is going on.

I call bullshit. Edwards has done this all season and it isn't isolated to JJ's time. Look at what he did with Adams just last week against Fresno. No, there is something that we don't know but has more to do with Edwards than JJ or any other player. His refusal to put Adams, Dalton and JJ on the floor at the same time should speak volumes.

 

[ItSucksToBeACSURam]

He's the worst game day coach I've seen at Wyoming. If you can't master the simple task of identifying your best players and playing them then how can you master the finer aspects of the game?

JJ 14 min tonight is atrocious. Cody f@$%*ng Kelly played more. A 5'8'' walk on played more than your leading scorer and one of the most talented players in the conference. That's asinine. I'm done with him. We've got the talent to be contending and he's blowing it with these bullsh*t rotations. incredibly bad.

Then quit bitching and stop talking about him

Defend his reason for playing JJ 14 min then

So, to make sure everyone knows...THIS COMMENT THAT IS ABOUT TO COME IS SPECULATION AND ONLY MY OPINION!!!!!!!!!

I have no idea why JJ sits as much as he does, but being a coach, I can think of many reasons why a talented player is lacking playing time.

1. His attitude towards coaching (is he coachable)
2. Work ethic at practice
3. Work ethic in school
4. His attitude in general
5. etc......

Those are a few reasons I could think of...and I have done the same. I actually finished a game with 4 players because of foul problems and an attitude problem. Maybe JJ doesn't have any problems and coach just hates him, but I'm sure there is a valid reason why our best player is not playing the minutes most on here think he should. I just don't believe that Edwards could get to this level of coach being that inept. Doesn't make sense....

THIS + 1000

There are plenty of people on here that seem perplexed as to why JJ isn't playing more. I'm sorry, but to me it is VERY obvious at this point that his lack in playing time isn't a talent issue or a mental error on the coaches. It is a behavioral one. There is something going on here that we as fans don't have the inside info to, but the coaches are very aware of. I'm sorry LanderPoke, but to truly think that you know more than Edwards in regards to this is both insulting and ignorant. YOU DON'T KNOW THE WHOLE STORY. Neither do I, but to suggest that not playing him is solely based on rotation is absurd; something else is going on.

Its not obvious, or this conversation would have quelled weeks ago. My view of this is this. JJ doesnt seem like a kid who can't be coached but I am not at practice. If he is, I don't know how you overcome that. If he is having issues related to Grades, Conduct, Drugs, etc. suspend him. To keep playing this limbo game is infuriating and unfair to the team. Either play him consistent minutes or bench him until he gets it figured out.

 

[seattlecowboy]

If you watch the post game interview with Edwards this is what he says.....

"Again I substituted off of feel and I thought Morris Marshall came out with some great energy, and I thought McManamen was playing well also. And then I just made a decision between putting James in at the 1 or putting Cody Kelley in at the 1 and I went with Cody early."

So Edwards basically is by his own admission is subbing based on feel of the game and he decided that Cody Kelley would give the team a better chance then JJ would. So not sure what to think .

 

[SDPokeFan]

If you watch the post game interview with Edwards this is what he says.....

"Again I substituted off of feel and I thought Morris Marshall came out with some great energy, and I thought McManamen was playing well also. And then I just made a decision between putting James in at the 1 or putting Cody Kelley in at the 1 and I went with Cody early."

So Edwards basically is by his own admission is subbing based on feel of the game and he decided that Cody Kelley would give the team a better chance then JJ would. So not sure what to think .

On what planet does Kelley give them a better chance than James?

 

[TSpoke]

He's the worst game day coach I've seen at Wyoming. If you can't master the simple task of identifying your best players and playing them then how can you master the finer aspects of the game?

JJ 14 min tonight is atrocious. Cody f@$%*ng Kelly played more. A 5'8'' walk on played more than your leading scorer and one of the most talented players in the conference. That's asinine. I'm done with him. We've got the talent to be contending and he's blowing it with these bullsh*t rotations. incredibly bad.

Then quit bitching and stop talking about him

Defend his reason for playing JJ 14 min then

So, to make sure everyone knows...THIS COMMENT THAT IS ABOUT TO COME IS SPECULATION AND ONLY MY OPINION!!!!!!!!!

I have no idea why JJ sits as much as he does, but being a coach, I can think of many reasons why a talented player is lacking playing time.

1. His attitude towards coaching (is he coachable)
2. Work ethic at practice
3. Work ethic in school
4. His attitude in general
5. etc......

Those are a few reasons I could think of...and I have done the same. I actually finished a game with 4 players because of foul problems and an attitude problem. Maybe JJ doesn't have any problems and coach just hates him, but I'm sure there is a valid reason why our best player is not playing the minutes most on here think he should. I just don't believe that Edwards could get to this level of coach being that inept. Doesn't make sense....

THIS + 1000

There are plenty of people on here that seem perplexed as to why JJ isn't playing more. I'm sorry, but to me it is VERY obvious at this point that his lack in playing time isn't a talent issue or a mental error on the coaches. It is a behavioral one. There is something going on here that we as fans don't have the inside info to, but the coaches are very aware of. I'm sorry LanderPoke, but to truly think that you know more than Edwards in regards to this is both insulting and ignorant. YOU DON'T KNOW THE WHOLE STORY. Neither do I, but to suggest that not playing him is solely based on rotation is absurd; something else is going on.

I call bullshit. Edwards has done this all season and it isn't isolated to JJ's time. Look at what he did with Adams just last week against Fresno. No, there is something that we don't know but has more to do with Edwards than JJ or any other player. His refusal to put Adams, Dalton and JJ on the floor at the same time should speak volumes.

And after the Fresno game there were people here claiming that Adams was going to give up on this team(or at least should) after his treatment at the hands of the staff and the playing time he got, then this game he came out on fire and played great. No signs of being upset. My point with that is that sometimes I think w as fans can make more out of some of thses things than the players themselves. Who knows.

As far as Edwards not playing Dalton, Adams, and JJ at the same time. He has stated he doesn't like playing JJ and Adams together. Or more accurately he made a comment when he moved to start Adams over Gorski that they liked having a slasher(Adams, James) on the courth with a shooter(Mcmanmen, Gorski) than stting with the 2 shooters then bringing in both slashers. I think that is solid reasoning. Not saying I would make the same moves but I understand why he does that.