NewTimes
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Coastal, Liberty gamesmanship?
Chris Lang, in the N&A game report said:
"Liberty coach Dale Layer was none too happy about the dunk, which led to a bizarre sequence. As soon as Ray-St. Cyr threw it down, Layer walked to the mid-court line on the sideline, extended his hand, and walked down the bench shaking the hands of every Coastal coach and player as the closing seconds played out on the floor.
And then for a final bit of gamesmanship, Ron Trapps hit a 3-pointer with one second left to push the margin to 40.
Layer declined comment about the closing seconds afterward."
I watched most all of the game except the last 8 minutes as the Flames were getting clobbered. Was the gamesmanship that Layer shook hands with the Coastal bench before the game was over? If so, did that spark Trapps to shoot a 3-pointer? And then for Layer to decline to comment sounds like he let the moments get the best of him.
Why would Lang mention it unless it was a contentious time?
(This post was last modified: 02-15-2015 10:12 AM by NewTimes.)
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02-15-2015 10:09 AM |
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GE and MTS
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RE: Coastal, Liberty gamesmanship?
I didn't watch it but the exchange on Lang's Twitter made it sound like Layer was on cruise control for the second half as the team didn't show up to play and then he called a random timeout which makes it look like he still thinks they are close enough to possibly win. So Coastal turned it back up a notch or two and slammed a dunk down and further ran up the score.
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02-15-2015 10:25 AM |
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NewTimes
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RE: Coastal, Liberty gamesmanship?
(02-15-2015 10:25 AM)GE and MTS Wrote: I didn't watch it but the exchange on Lang's Twitter made it sound like Layer was on cruise control for the second half as the team didn't show up to play and then he called a random timeout which makes it look like he still thinks they are close enough to possibly win. So Coastal turned it back up a notch or two and slammed a dunk down and further ran up the score.
Layer had better keep his cool and not display his frustrations to the team. I've played on teams where we lost most all of our games.
As a player you feel angry and when another team disrespects you, one can almost feel justified in making an unwise and silly, stupid action. When you're down and another teams comes in with an attitude, that they want to do more than win the game by embarrassing you, it's easy to feel justified to retaliate. In a split second, a cheap hard foul can be the opening to release lots of anger and frustration when losing has become the norm.
A sneer, taunting or trash talking can be the final straw when a player says enough is enough and makes an impulsive, unwise action that causes problems. This is a factor Layer as HC must guard against and prepare for. It's part of being the HC and preparing the players.
Leaving one's bench and shaking hand with the opposing team 15 seconds before the game is over is being overtaken by emotions and not wise leadership. If the 2 timeouts were called when down by 36+ to remind the team to play hard and accept the reality, that's commendable. If they were called in spite, that's unwise and another emotional reaction versus a wise game time decision. Keep the ship steady now coach Layer. Continue to be a good example to the players and don't let the inevitability of personally what is going to happen to you influence your team in a negative manner.
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02-15-2015 12:17 PM |
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Libertygrad01
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RE: Coastal, Liberty gamesmanship?
The strange thing to me is he took two timeouts with a minute left to play. What's the deal with that? You're down 37 and you call 2 to's. Made no sense to me.
Posted from my mobile device using the CSNbbs App
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02-15-2015 12:29 PM |
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NewTimes
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RE: Coastal, Liberty gamesmanship?
(02-15-2015 12:29 PM)Libertygrad01 Wrote: The strange thing to me is he took two timeouts with a minute left to play. What's the deal with that? You're down 37 and you call 2 to's. Made no sense to me.
Posted from my mobile device using the CSNbbs App
If he called those timeouts to calm and reassure his team, that's quality coaching. If he did it to "stick it in the eye' of Coastal, that would explain their reaction to take 3's and keep pounding it on. This concerns me and I'll be watching closer.
Could this be a little pay-back, from Coastal's perspective from us beating them in FB and ending their not-perfect season? If so, it's how rivalries are developed. One cannot blame Coastal for playing hard to the end and one has to wonder what is going on with LU.
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02-15-2015 12:38 PM |
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GE and MTS
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RE: Coastal, Liberty gamesmanship?
I don't think it was payback for our football team. I think it was the kids who never play getting a chance to play and trying to make the most of it.
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02-15-2015 02:19 PM |
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