Why Things Went Horribly Wrong Last Season, Part 1: CHEMISTRY
by CasualHoya on Jul 1, 2009 9:00 AM EDT
in Random Ramblings
7 comments
With June now behind us and July bringing the annual HoyaFest that is the Kenner League, we would be remiss if we didn't point out one of the biggest problems the Hoyas faced last season, framed perfectly in the FanPost below.
This post kicks off Casual Hoya's 1st of 4 in the series of Why Things Went Horribly Wrong Last Season (or, WTWHWLS for short). Each will be divulged on the 1st of each month leading up to Midnight Madness at the end of October:
by GrittyCrusader
Every time I attempt to break down the reasons for last season's limp to the finish, I always come back to one thing - chemistry - or the lack thereof. That team had the talent to play with, and beat, the top teams in the country. The coaching staff didn't forget how to coach and I am not buying the idea that teams have figured out how to defend the Princeton Offense. I just don't think these guys liked each other. Summers was all about the NBA and getting face time at various elite camps. Jessie was too busy resting on his reputation from the previous three years and did nothing to improve. Chris Wright was hell bent on proving that this was his team and Greg Monroe seemed more worried about fitting in than quickly establishing himself as THE leader.
As the season progressed, all of the themes that began in the summer revealed themselves in very ugly ways. Jessie was quickly exposed, not as a senior leader but as a pouting, step-slow has been. (Nothing was more telling than the fact that JT3 did not start Jessie on Senior Day against the worst team in the league). DaJuan attempted all of the big shots over the course of the season and failed to convert any. By mid-February, he was well on his way to the 2nd round of the draft. Chris apparently exerts his leadership on the team by being selective about who he throws the ball to and Greg Monroe had to be wondering why on earth someone of his caliber was in the trenches with this group of guys.
So why rehash a painful winter? Because as we prepare (or at least I think we are preparing) for another Kenner season, I think we will know quickly whether last year was an anomaly or if we are quickly returning to the realm of irrelevent on the national college basketball scene. Georgetown will never have first pick of McD all-Americans. We will be lucky to have one or two at a time. We currently have three. If those three can get beyond their egos and figure out how to work with each other, we may be pretty good. But chemistry starts now. Learn a lesson from last year. Stop parading around the country and get in the gym with your mates. Chemistry matters. Those guys should be able to figure that out.
(Editor's Note: It's posts like the above that make us so happy we didn't impose that 406 word minimum requirement for the FanPost section.)
(Editor's Note 2: Feel free to add a comment below or utilize that the FanPost section on the right. Maybe someday we'll use your insight as a Main Event Post, and you can become as Casual as 'GrittyCrusader'.)
Dare to dream. Michael Jackson would have wanted it that way.
Casually.
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Yes, yes, yes
That team last year just could not pull it all together chemistry wise. Like Crusader said, they certainly had the talent. You don’t take down UConn at home without talent, but you also lose to St. John’s twice without chemistry. Hopefully, everyone gets some Kenner League time in between these camps because it starts in the summer.
Without Jesse and DaJuan, this is Chris’ team and the chemistry depends on him.
Speaking of Kenner, when does it start?
"Hope is a good thing, maybe even the best of things, and no good thing ever dies." - At this point it's all we have.
by Paging Victor Page on Jul 1, 2009 9:26 AM EDT reply actions
As we have come to expect from everything related to Georgetown...
The start of Kenner won’t be announced until after the first game.
Good talk.
by Hire Esherick on Jul 1, 2009 10:35 AM EDT up reply actions
Austin
It is interesting that this breakdown of why we sucked last year doesn’t mention Austin Freeman at all. He is one guy that I am hoping will step up to the line and live up to his potential. He could be a great player, i’m hoping he will emerge from this summer leaner meaner and ready to score some friggin points. Greg and Chris would probably appreciate someone else to shoulder the scoring load.
maybe parts 2, 3 and 4 will address this particular aspect of last seasons failures. I look forward to reading them
by TheYellofAllYells on Jul 1, 2009 1:38 PM EDT reply actions
No, No, No
“Chemistry” is a highly subjective concept that all too often is relied on to explain the seemingly inexplicable. In all of the P’ing and M’ing over last year’s “collapse,” it’s rarely mentioned that pre-season expectations for this crew were relatively low. Then they torched the Terps, then they cruised through overconfident UConn on the road…and all of a sudden, a team that was picked seventh in the BE is a contendah.
Well….no. Having an inexperienced PG who thinks shot first is not a “chemistry” issue. Having a “senior leader” who excels only as a compliment to much better players is not a “chemistry” issue. Having a weight-challenged 2/3 with non-existent verticals is not a “chemistry” issue, and neither is having your lynchpin freshmen be….a freshman. Is having to move a young shooter whose shot came and went into the starting lineup a matter of chemistry? And as for whether relying on one no-longer Hoya (transfer out) and one brand new Hoya (transfer in) for significant minutes off the bench is a matter of “chemistry” or talent, you know where I come down.
I concur
As famed scholar and philosopher Craig Esherick often explained to hostile fans: “If you expect the worst – you can never be disappointed.”
Good talk.
by Hire Esherick on Jul 2, 2009 9:10 AM EDT up reply actions
Those things count too
I’m not dismissing the shortcomings of the team talent-wise and I certainly agree that expectations got inflated after the UConn game. Remember though, even using seventh in the BE as the expectation, this was a collapse that should not have happened given the talent on the floor or the expectations of the team. We finished 12th and lost to St. John’s twice. Even with all the shortcomings you mentioned above (which all were definitely shortcomings), they should not have finished 12th or lost a lot of the games they lost.
Too often, chemistry gets thrown around as an excuse, I agree with that, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t a real problem sometimes. When players are fighting in locker rooms at halftime, checking out mentally to prepare for NBA draft camps and generally not playing as a team, that is lack of chemistry. It was not the only problem, but it was a problem. It looked for much of the season that they didn’t enjoy playing basketball together (especially the upperclassmen). That is chemistry.
"Hope is a good thing, maybe even the best of things, and no good thing ever dies." - At this point it's all we have.
by Paging Victor Page on Jul 2, 2009 9:57 AM EDT up reply actions
Agree to disagree...
You are right that chemistry is often an excuse but not in this case. That team had talent. But Chris not having confidence in certain players and not passing the ball is a chemistry issue. Fighting in the locker room is a chemistry issue. Austin’s lack of intensity is a chemistry issue. The team captain getting relegated to 7th man for half the season is a chemistry issue. DaJuan’s “my stats first” mentality is a chemistry issue. Did you see any of those issues (they may have been there but they were certainly kept under wraps) with the previous team where chemistry was often cited as the reason they had the success they did?
by GrittyCrusader on Jul 2, 2009 10:14 AM EDT up reply actions
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