A Simple Q for Robert Lee

[Cajunsmike]

_ I think you are correct. I know coaching is the main issue here as the trickle down effect from a coach's responsibilities and decisions effect so many things that lead to success or failure. Many here now question the overall talent level on this team but they hardly questioned it 3 years ago when they were winning the West as freshmen. Now they blame the coaches for these players. Some of this is valid however. Gradnigo and Bureau are our two most talented players but among the most inconsistent and also the laziest. Tyren Johnson is our best player and did struggle this past game. However, I disagree that you pull him to get together. A lot of times, it requires a player finding a rhythm in the game to get out of a funk he's in. Gradnigo struggled mightily this season early on but you have to play him in hopes that he finds his game and he's amongst your most talented guys so its hard not to ride him. The problem is simple. When you have guys that aren't giving it their all, it would be great to bench them and play someone else but we have little quality depth and its hard to justify putting in an inferior player. We are not in a good place right now. I feel for coach Lee as I know he doesn't want to be fired but he has failed in unifying this team. The players are also equally to blame as you mentioned, they are playing with little heart and leadership. I also blame the players as it seems obvious that they do little in the offseason to improve their individual game by itself. They have not grown physically and I've heard from several close to the program that they do little to no offseason conditioning to improve. We need hungry players who want to win. I can take a brief period of losing if we have guys who are willing to sacrifice and get better and contribute to this program. At least we would have guys that we can cheer. _

Regarding the West title from 2 years ago. That team had Elijah Milsap and David Dees on it. Although they did not play together well, they were two guys who could get to the basket and finish plays. No one on the team now can do that. Milsap had 22 points the other night when UAB won at Arkansas. Although the kid had problems fitting the system here, he is now the leading scorer for the Blazers in almost every game. When he left, I thought it was for the best but looking back perhaps he would have matured had he stayed. It appears he has done so in Birmingham.

[playincajun]

I think you were mistaken by my comment on Tyren and the MTSU game. I by no means said to bench him. Tyren right now is the best player on the team night in and out. I watched the game on line and he was trying to hard. He was 1-5 from the free throw line at the time I thought Lee should take him out and let him refocus. He has the ablilty to sit down and watch what is going on during the game and then go back in and help himself. Free throws are mental when someone is struggling like he was he need a little breather. I am talking 2-3 minutes not bench him. And while he was on the bench one of the 4 coaches on the bench could of talked to him about what they saw going on. Hopefully they could actually coach. I think the reason Grandigo played so well is that he got the fouls he did and had to sit back and watch for a few to see what was going on. He would be a much better player if he did not have to try to create shots. He is not good off the dribble as noted by his at least one offensive fould or more a game. There should be set plays to get him off screeens and open. Again if there are plays and they run the plays. I do feel the freshmen that they have Mitchell and Andrews will be great players for UL if they are coached. They along with the rest of the team are frustrated. You want to talk about heart. It is difficult for players to know what is expected from them from game to game when they do not even know thier role on the team. There is no consistant starters and role players. Every team has 2-3 stars and then role players who do the dirtywork. Depending on what day of the week it is any player could be a starter, play 30 minutes, play 10 minutes or not play at all. None of them can tell you why they start or why they dont play at all. I agree that there is a need for structure on the team. Kids need to know their place is on the team. It amazes me that they get along as well as they do the way they are shuffled around.

The comment about them not be committed is also off. These players have not had two consecutive days of rest since October. That includes the holidays. They spent Christmas day on a bus from Dallas and were expeceted back in Lafayette for a Saturday evening practice. After the Cetenary loss they were at practice for Midnight until 2 am. Are some of them not living up to the expectations of them. Yes. Do they know it. Yes. Maybe some of the people on this board should venture to practice because something is not working and that is where it needs to be fixed. It might lead us to some insight. I remember in high school playing ball when my coach told us practice does not make perfect. PERFECT PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT.....

[duggie85]

The comment about them not be committed is also off. These players have not had two consecutive days of rest since October. That includes the holidays. They spent Christmas day on a bus from Dallas and were expeceted back in Lafayette for a Saturday evening practice. After the Cetenary loss they were at practice for Midnight until 2 am. Are some of them not living up to the expectations of them. Yes. Do they know it. Yes. Maybe some of the people on this board should venture to practice because something is not working and that is where it needs to be fixed. It might lead us to some insight. I remember in high school playing ball when my coach told us practice does not make perfect. PERFECT PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT.....

Maybe thats the problem. What if coach Lee is working them too hard and they are getting burnt out??

[Cajunsmike]

_ I think you were mistaken by my comment on Tyren and the MTSU game. I by no means said to bench him. Tyren right now is the best player on the team night in and out. I watched the game on line and he was trying to hard. He was 1-5 from the free throw line at the time I thought Lee should take him out and let him refocus. He has the ablilty to sit down and watch what is going on during the game and then go back in and help himself. Free throws are mental when someone is struggling like he was he need a little breather. I am talking 2-3 minutes not bench him. And while he was on the bench one of the 4 coaches on the bench could of talked to him about what they saw going on. Hopefully they could actually coach. I think the reason Grandigo played so well is that he got the fouls he did and had to sit back and watch for a few to see what was going on. He would be a much better player if he did not have to try to create shots. He is not good off the dribble as noted by his at least one offensive fould or more a game. There should be set plays to get him off screeens and open. Again if there are plays and they run the plays. I do feel the freshmen that they have Mitchell and Andrews will be great players for UL if they are coached. They along with the rest of the team are frustrated. You want to talk about heart. It is difficult for players to know what is expected from them from game to game when they do not even know thier role on the team. There is no consistant starters and role players. Every team has 2-3 stars and then role players who do the dirtywork. Depending on what day of the week it is any player could be a starter, play 30 minutes, play 10 minutes or not play at all. None of them can tell you why they start or why they dont play at all. I agree that there is a need for structure on the team. Kids need to know their place is on the team. It amazes me that they get along as well as they do the way they are shuffled around.

The comment about them not be committed is also off. These players have not had two consecutive days of rest since October. That includes the holidays. They spent Christmas day on a bus from Dallas and were expeceted back in Lafayette for a Saturday evening practice. After the Cetenary loss they were at practice for Midnight until 2 am. Are some of them not living up to the expectations of them. Yes. Do they know it. Yes. Maybe some of the people on this board should venture to practice because something is not working and that is where it needs to be fixed. It might lead us to some insight. I remember in high school playing ball when my coach told us practice does not make perfect. PERFECT PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT..... _

PlayinCajun seems to have inside knowledge about the Cajun basketball team. My question to him is how did he acquire this info. Regardless, his insight is appreciated.

[Parrott]

Perhaps some of those issues were why Robert Lee closed practice at the end of the spring and again this season. But hey, some people in the media just blew that out of proportion, right?

[zephyr]

_ I think you were mistaken by my comment on Tyren and the MTSU game. I by no means said to bench him. Tyren right now is the best player on the team night in and out. I watched the game on line and he was trying to hard. He was 1-5 from the free throw line at the time I thought Lee should take him out and let him refocus. He has the ablilty to sit down and watch what is going on during the game and then go back in and help himself. Free throws are mental when someone is struggling like he was he need a little breather. I am talking 2-3 minutes not bench him. And while he was on the bench one of the 4 coaches on the bench could of talked to him about what they saw going on. Hopefully they could actually coach. I think the reason Grandigo played so well is that he got the fouls he did and had to sit back and watch for a few to see what was going on. He would be a much better player if he did not have to try to create shots. He is not good off the dribble as noted by his at least one offensive fould or more a game. There should be set plays to get him off screeens and open. Again if there are plays and they run the plays. I do feel the freshmen that they have Mitchell and Andrews will be great players for UL if they are coached. They along with the rest of the team are frustrated. You want to talk about heart. It is difficult for players to know what is expected from them from game to game when they do not even know thier role on the team. There is no consistant starters and role players. Every team has 2-3 stars and then role players who do the dirtywork. Depending on what day of the week it is any player could be a starter, play 30 minutes, play 10 minutes or not play at all. None of them can tell you why they start or why they dont play at all. I agree that there is a need for structure on the team. Kids need to know their place is on the team. It amazes me that they get along as well as they do the way they are shuffled around.

The comment about them not be committed is also off. These players have not had two consecutive days of rest since October. That includes the holidays. They spent Christmas day on a bus from Dallas and were expeceted back in Lafayette for a Saturday evening practice. After the Cetenary loss they were at practice for Midnight until 2 am. Are some of them not living up to the expectations of them. Yes. Do they know it. Yes. Maybe some of the people on this board should venture to practice because something is not working and that is where it needs to be fixed. It might lead us to some insight. I remember in high school playing ball when my coach told us practice does not make perfect. PERFECT PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT..... _

I wasn't necessarily disagreeing with you but rather, just trying to offer another perspective. Tyren was struggling for whatever reasons against MTSU. There's no doubt about it. However many coaches prefer to allow their players to get into a rhythm on the court and work out their issues in the game versus taking them out. For example, Roy Williams rarely calls a timeout in the middle of a long run against his team and he tends to allow his players to work through their struggles on the court. If you are missing foul shots and rushing your jumper, there is often little that you can say that will change what the player is doing wrong and let them settle down during the game. As a good coach, you have to be able to identify when to let them stay in and when to remove them, especially if their emotions are taking over and they are not relaxing.

You can talk about practice all you want but the bottom line is that Bureau and Gradnigo or arguably our two most talented players but they are also our laziest. If things are not going well on the offensive end, they are a liability on the defensive end as well. We don't carry the tough rebounders mentality that "every ball is mine" and we don't have defensive toughness or discipline which is to be blamed on the player and coach.

In regards to practice, you are exactly right. However, the players are the one's who practice. If there is no effort and focus in practice, how can they do it perfectly. When I played, there were just days where we were unfocused and our energy was zapped, there was nothing our coach could do about it so we had to know when to restructure. I sometimes think that people put too much blame and too much praise on the coach.

[zephyr]

_ Perhaps some of those issues were why Robert Lee closed practice at the end of the spring and again this season. But hey, some people in the media just blew that out of proportion, right? _

And how would those issues have been resolved by allowing the media in?

[zephyr]

_ Regarding the West title from 2 years ago. That team had Elijah Milsap and David Dees on it. Although they did not play together well, they were two guys who could get to the basket and finish plays. No one on the team now can do that. Milsap had 22 points the other night when UAB won at Arkansas. Although the kid had problems fitting the system here, he is now the leading scorer for the Blazers in almost every game. When he left, I thought it was for the best but looking back perhaps he would have matured had he stayed. It appears he has done so in Birmingham. _

Mike, my opinion would differ on Millsap at that time. While he had enormous potential, you stated it yourself that he was immature during his time here. Also, part of that immaturity was his play out of control, especially in the open court when trying to finish. He turned the ball over so much drawing senseless charging fouls, errant passing and bad ball handling to go with poor shot selection that I find that he didn't finish very well at all. At times, he was a major liability. Sure, I look back and would love to see what he could have become here but at the time, I was not sad to see him gone like you. Also, that year that we speak of when this team won the West, that was Millsap's worst year and Dees had actually left the team for a brief moment to come back and accept a much more diminished role. It was this group that brought us to that championship, not those two players.

[MetryCajun]

In regards to practice, you are exactly right. However, the players are the one's who practice. If there is no effort and focus in practice, how can they do it perfectly. When I played, there were just days where we were unfocused and our energy was zapped, there was nothing our coach could do about it so we had to know when to restructure. I sometimes think that people put too much blame and too much praise on the coach. _

I am getting confused by your arguments. You say we have great talent, but then say we have lazy players who do not defend, no rebounders, and no toughness or discipline. You cannot have talent and be deficient in so many areas.

[MetryCajun]

_ Mike, my opinion would differ on Millsap at that time. While he had enormous potential, you stated it yourself that he was immature during his time here. Also, part of that immaturity was his play out of control, especially in the open court when trying to finish. He turned the ball over so much drawing senseless charging fouls, errant passing and bad ball handling to go with poor shot selection that I find that he didn't finish very well at all. At times, he was a major liability. Sure, I look back and would love to see what he could have become here but at the time, I was not sad to see him gone like you. Also, that year that we speak of when this team won the West, that was Millsap's worst year and Dees had actually left the team for a brief moment to come back and accept a much more diminished role. It was this group that brought us to that championship, not those two players. _

We now know that immaturity was a two way street. "The General" is not much more mature than his players.