Louisiana Tops Tulane, 68-61

[Cajunfanatico]

My question still stands. Is that an odd thing for a coach to say about his team under the circumstances?

[LaCajunsFan]

My question still stands. Is that an odd thing for a coach to say about his team under the circumstances?

Well, not so odd....lots of coaches throw their team under the bus after a loss.

[CajunVic]

Well, not so odd....lots of coaches throw their team under the bus after a loss.

Well, what he really said is they failed to "get under the bus"

[Cajunfanatico]

Well, what he really said is they failed to "get under the bus"

Or in front of it.

[zephyr]

Is this an odd thing for a coach to say about his team?

“The fact that we didn’t take any charges,” the third-year Tulane basketball coach said. “As many times as they drove to the basket, nobody stepped in to take a charge. That has me questioning how tough my team is.”

https://www.nola.com/tulane/2018/11/...rt_river_index

No, not at all

[zephyr]

Well, not so odd....lots of coaches throw their team under the bus after a loss.

It's not throwing your team under the bus. Its trying to motivate them. When you have a reporter asking what your team could have done better or what didn't they do that could have help you win that game what are they supposed to say? I saw Coach K mention the same thing in postgame comments after Duke lost to Gonzaga saying his team wasn't as tough as they thought they were and it showed. These things can motivate players without throwing them under the bus.

[CajunVic]

It's not throwing your team under the bus. Its trying to motivate them. When you have a reporter asking what your team could have done better or what didn't they do that could have help you win that game what are they supposed to say? I saw Coach K mention the same thing in postgame comments after Duke lost to Gonzaga saying his team wasn't as tough as they thought they were and it showed. These things can motivate players without throwing them under the bus.

Can't get better without a bus!!!!

[Cajunfanatico]

It's not throwing your team under the bus. Its trying to motivate them. When you have a reporter asking what your team could have done better or what didn't they do that could have help you win that game what are they supposed to say? I saw Coach K mention the same thing in postgame comments after Duke lost to Gonzaga saying his team wasn't as tough as they thought they were and it showed. These things can motivate players without throwing them under the bus.

Guess we'll have to agree to disagree on the approach.

I've never been a coach but if I were I'd probably reserve my criticism of our play to private conversations with the players as opposed to expressing my frustrations to the press.

Again the quote:

"The fact that we didn't take any charges," the third-year Tulane basketball coach said. "As many times as they drove to the basket, nobody stepped in to take a charge. That has me questioning how tough my team is."

To me, if you're unhappy that no one is stepping to draw a charge to stop the other team from ramming it down your throat, then call a time out and tell the players they'd damn-well better start taking charges to change the other team's strategy....or else. And if that still doesn't work, then sit one or two of them on the bench and put someone in who will take the charge. I'd think a starter cooling his heels on the bench would likely "toughen up" more quickly that way than reading about it in the newspapers.

Just my personal opinion though.

[zephyr]

Guess we'll have to agree to disagree on the approach.

I've never been a coach but if I were I'd probably reserve my criticism of our play to private conversations with the players as opposed to expressing my frustrations to the press.

Again the quote:

"The fact that we didn't take any charges," the third-year Tulane basketball coach said. "As many times as they drove to the basket, nobody stepped in to take a charge. That has me questioning how tough my team is."

To me, if you're unhappy that no one is stepping to draw a charge to stop the other team from ramming it down your throat, then call a time out and tell the players they'd damn-well better start taking charges to change the other team's strategy....or else. And if that still doesn't work, then sit one or two of them on the bench and put someone in who will take the charge. I'd think a starter cooling his heels on the bench would likely "toughen up" more quickly that way than reading about it in the newspapers.

Just my personal opinion though.

I watch a lot of basketball. I see this differently. You can watch any typical NBA telecast and comments like this are made frequently. So, someone will say "yes but this is college and these kids are not being paid". Fair enough. But if you watch enough basketball across the country, this is not uncommon at all, particularly by the guys with the top programs. Coaches make these comments for a reason. Players may not always respond with your directly criticizing them. Some coaches may feel that they are constantly in their players' faces and continuing to do so, even if in private, starts to lose effect. IDK. The thing is players don't like to have their toughness questioned in public and I'd think this motivates them more without a coach having to yell in their faces. If a coach was naming individuals, I'd get the push back but he's making general comments about his team. I think its done for a reason.