"Sometimes fans see things before the coaches"
No, they don’t. I thought you were more aware, 222, and not so naïve. How you could possibly think that you, or any fan, would see things coaches don’t is beyond comprehension. When do you think you see these things? Where did you learn to evaluate players? Do you even ever consider it is a long season and a career for most players that is 4 times longer than the 30+ game season each year? You think maybe the coaches consider more than just an eye test as to talent? Think maybe they are teaching for the long haul? Do you realize these coaches start with these guys in April preparing for the season? They intensify individual and small group workouts all through June and then go out and scan the countryside for talent during July when they compare their guys (and their developmental needs) to the guys they have on the roster. Then, when school starts they have dozens of practices (2+ hours each) until the first game in mid November. Not to mention, they FILM every practice and the coaches pick apart and analyze each player and his strengths and deficiencies by watching and re-watching the practice tapes. They sit with players and talk about their development, show the guys pertinent film clips and work up practice plans for each days practice to ensure they are working on areas that require improvement. Then the games start and each coach watches multiple games of each opponent (usually at least 5 with clips from as many others as possible). They look at match-ups to determine what they can exploit in the opponent and what each NIU guy brings to those matchups, offensively and defensively. They also consider who is playing as hard as they need to, who is working on their game on their own (getting in the gym for extra shots, etc) and what needs to be done to motivate each individual guy to perform at his highest level and to grow and get better. Sometimes there may be lessons taught through watching from the bench or being rewarded with playing time for executing what has been taught, what has been stressed, what is demanded of each player, each drill in practice, each possession in the game and each day in the classroom.
How you or any fan could actually believe you know more about a team or an individual player and their needs and ability to help win a game much less get ready for March than the professional coaches know, is beyond me. You seem to discount or are not aware of the thousands of hours these coaches put in during the off season and all season long Let’s look at what these coaches, with nearly 100 years combined of playing and coaching basketball at the highest levels under some of the best coaches ever, bring to the and compare that to your puny resume of watching some basketball sometimes:
MM: 4 year starter on NCAA teams at MSU. 5 years as professional basketball player in Europe (averaged 25 per game). 4 years assistant coach at Central Michigan.10 years as assistant to Tom Izzo at MSU with the last few being the Associate Head Coach. 4 years as Head Coach at NIU. Prior to his arrival at NIU, Montgomery was named one of the top five high-major assistant coaches in the country by FoxSports.com in 2010, while Rivals.com put him on its list of "10 Assistant Coaches Ready to Move Up." In addition, FoxSports.com national college basketball writer Jeff Goodman named Montgomery the top assistant coach in the Big Ten Conference based on a poll of league coaches.
Jon Borovich: Associate Head Coach at NIU: Played at CMU for 4 years—recruited by Monty. 2 years as Graduate Assistant at MSU where he did video analysis. 2 years as Director of Basketball Operations at Dayton. assistant coach at Oakland University for two years, 4 years Assistant Coach at Dayton and 4 years as Asst at NIU.
Lou Dawkins: Played 4 years for J.D. Barnett and Tubby Smith at Tulsa. Coached 13 years in High School where his record was 261-38 including 2 state championships in 7 years as Head Coach at Saginaw H.S. His Trojans finished 2007 ranked second nationally by MaxPreps and in 2008 they were fourth in the USA Today Super 25. Dawkins was named the national coach of the year in 2007. He was also the Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan Coach of the Year in 2007 and the Michigan AP Coach of the Year in 2007 and 2008. 4 years as assistant at NIU.
Jason Larson: began his collegiate coaching career as a student assistant at Grand Valley before being promoted to a full-time assistant coaching role for the 2004-05 season, Following that season, Larson moved on to Western Michigan where he spent two seasons as the Coordinator of Basketball Operations under Steve Hawkins. Prior to coming to NIU, Larson was a member of the basketball staff at the University of Utah for four years. He began his time with the Utes as Video Coordinator in 2007-08 before becoming Director of Player Development for his final three seasons in Salt Lake City under head coach Jim Boylen. Jason spent 2 years at NIU as Director of Basketball Operations; his primary responsibilities included scheduling, budgeting, travel, camps and on-campus recruiting. He has been an NIU assistant for 2 years.
Chad Pecka: in his fourth season as a member of the NIU men's basketball staff in 2015-16. Pecka was promoted to Director of Player Development/Operations in 2013-14 after working as Video Coordinator in 2012-13. Chad was a graduate assistant at the University of Texas-Pan American, working under former NIU assistant coach Ryan Marks for two seasons. Pecka was in charge of film break down, opponent scouting, in-and-out of season strength and conditioning programs and also served as the Camp Director while at UTPA.
During the 2007-08 season, Pecka worked for the NBA's Indiana Pacers. Pecka assisted the basketball coaching staff as well as the head strength coach with all practices, games and player workouts. Pecka has also had work experience as a strength and skill development coach for the following organizations: Athletes Performance Institute, Impact Basketball Academy, and Joy of the Game.
Sean Sims: In his first season as a graduate assistant with the NIU men’s basketball program in 2015-16. Sims is responsible for video breakdown, assists in scouting, player development and day-to-day operations of Huskie basketball.
Sims joins the Huskies following four seasons as a student manager at Ohio University, including the last two as the Bobcats’ head manager. During his time at Ohio, Sims worked under current Illinois head coach John Groce, current Boston College head coach Jim Christian and Saul Phillips.
So please stop with the ridiculous notion that you, or any fan, knows more about the game much less any individual player’s skills and ability to contribute to a winning program.
(This post was last modified: 12-23-2015 10:57 AM by cagy cager.)
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