(01-02-2016 09:25 PM)450bench Wrote: Just a hypothetical question, would we have had that many fouls if Dana Kirk or Cal or Bartow been running the show? Obviously not since today was a record but you get my drift.
No way. Most coaches realize they must take up for their team and players to keep them from getting screwed like this. It should be a natural coaching instinct and at some point the coach is going to draw attention to it so that it stops. Pastner lacks that instinct.
I know folks here wont believe this but I promise you my youngest daughters 5th grade basketball team is better coached than any of Josh Pastners teams. I don't know how this is possible, but I watch that girls team execute after time outs, or run clock when they need to, and the girls know where they are supposed to be offensively and defensively in several sets. They know how to pass over a press and the are 9-10 years old.
I believe Pastner has great leadership qualities and can be a great example for young men, but he does not command any respect from the officials on the court.
A less than ethical officiating crew, when they see they are calling a Memphis game, could have their close friends bet on any number of oddball scenarios and the officiating crew could easily deliver any number of calls without the first peep out of CJP. I know this occurred vs Louisville at the forum, not sure about tonight, but tonight it was very strange for South Carolina to shoot 63 free throws against a team ranked #5 in the nation at getting to the FT line. We committed 14 more personal fouls than South Carolina and had 5 players foul out and 3 more finish with four fouls.
South Carolina made 46 Fts. The record for most FTs made in a NCAA game is 56 from 1999. The most attempts by one team is 79, record way back in 1953. The 76 free throws made by both teams combined is only 12 behind the record 88, also in the books for over 65 years now. This was a very strange game and Memphis is now #1 in the nation at FTA per game. South Carolina after shooting inexplicably 63 free throws tripled their average FTA per game against Memphis and is now 12th nationally in FTA per game.
Anybody who says this game was not unusually officiated, or does not question the effect coaching had on the disparity present in this game only need look at the NCAA all time record books. 8 Tigers with 4 or more fouls. 2 Gamecocks with 4 fouls and 0 Gamecocks fouled out. South Carolina almost shot twice as many free throws as Memphis who now leads the nation in FTA per game (1.75x more)
This game was a definite head scratcher, I'm sure some of the folks who keep stats (I miss JMS Tiger) can better elaborate on these statistics but it safe to say we saw records set for Div 1 games this year, particularly it FTA by any one team in a game with South Carolinas 63. That is mind boggling when we are now the current #1 rated team in the NCAA at FTA per game.
Yes there was something strange going on tonight and anyone who didn't see it during the game, need only look up the record books. That CJP barely uttered a peep and failed to even pick up a T becomes even more telling in light of these stats and Kirk or Cal would have both probably been tossed from this game due to the obvious inconsistent way the game was called in favor of the Gamecocks.
IMO, coaching made all the difference in this game. Once Frank Martin began to work the officials, Pastners team did not come close to getting a fair shake from the officials. It is Pastners team and responsibility to stand up for his players and tonight, the stats would seem to point out a real problem our bench failed to even attempt to correct.
This would not have happened with Cal or Kirk coaching, of course those days are gone but nonetheless this echoes something several have pointed out (including myself) for the last few years. Pastner does not have his players backs in the game and it affects their effort on the court and our record, especially in the big games. Make of it what you will, despite all this I thought our team played valiantly.
/
41 Team Fouls
