The importance of good coaching
posted by LW, Wednesday, March 03, 2010
The other day, someone on the board referred to Paul Hewitt as "Paul Blewitt."
Cracked me the heck up, and it still does just thinking about it.
If I were a Georgia Tech fan, I'd think it's funny too ... if it weren't so true.
The man has three McDonald's All-Americans and he's 7-8 in the ACC -- and on the verge of missing out on the NCAA Tournament.
I don't know whether Hewitt is a bad coach. But at this point we can probably conclusively say he's not a good coach.
A good coach was standing not far from Hewitt during Tuesday night's beatdown in Littlejohn Coliseum, wearing a burnt-orange blazer.
Oliver Purnell still has that NCAA Tournament thing to address, and next year should be a challenge without Trevor Booker.
But Purnell has proved he's a good coach. He's able to do more with less. He's able to galvanize a team to the point that it's able to completely blitz a fresher team on just one day's rest (and the term "rest" is used loosely, given that the Tigers actually practiced Monday).
Three straight winning ACC records? At Clemson? After losing K.C. Rivers and Terrence Oglesby? Yeah, good coach.
I didn't like the body language and mannerisms I saw from Georgia Tech's players last night. They certainly weren't mailing it in, but it also never really looked like they were bound together by a common purpose and determination.
Clemson certainly had something to do with that. And maybe this is one of the main problems when you're stocked with the one-and-done types that have populated Hewitt's rosters in recent years. It's a lot harder to get those guys completely invested in your message.
But still ... if this team doesn't even make it to the NCAA Tournament, it's almost criminal.
The Yellow Jackets have been far from bad this year. Three of their road defeats (Miami, Maryland, Florida State) were just plain bad luck.
But since reaching the Final Four in 2004, Hewitt has amassed a 36-59 record in ACC play. If I'm a Georgia Tech fan and my team doesn't make the NCAAs this season with all that talent, I'm done with Hewitt.
Wonder what Purnell would've done with all that talent?
Jeff Schultz of the AJC says this story is getting old.
The Jackets have gone though this season without significant injuries to wreck the lineup. They’ve gone without anything that could be construed as a major incident that would disrupt team chemistry — unless you count coach Paul Hewitt momentarily going postal on Twitter. But still, they’re erratic. Still, they turn the ball over. Still they look great on offense one minute and completely lost the next.
They had some fine moments in the first half against Clemson on Tuesday. “Some” is not nearly enough in March. This is supposed to be the time when good teams come together, not leave you guessing.
Stat of the week: Clemson misses 16 of its first 18 shots at Florida State and shoots 33 percent in the 53-50 win. Two days later, the Tigers shoot 55 percent and become Georgia Tech's first opponent to surpass 50 percent shooting this season.
The Jackets have lost five of their last eight overall and finished 1-7 in ACC road games. Better finish 8-8 and make an extended run in the ACC Tournament.
Last week, Hewitt said he thought the Jackets were "on the verge of something big."
He was right. A big butt-kicking.
Bart Wright writes about the tears Purnell shed before the game. You'd be crying too if you lost Trevor Booker.
He is to the Clemson basketball team what C.J. Spiller was to the football team in the sense that Booker has helped Clemson win in a variety of ways ever since he was a freshman.
He’s almost always playing against bigger defenders, but he makes up for the few inches in height he usually gives away with a non-stop motor.
“What he’s got that others don’t have,” said Clemson associate head coach Ron Bradley, “is something special deep down inside. There’s a place in there he can go and turn on a switch or something that the rest of these guys just don’t have.”
Here's the game story from the Post and Courier.
Gene Sapakoff talks about the merits of a 96-team NCAA Tournament. Ugh.
I'll go ahead and nominate this for most bizarre story of the week.
Remember Guy Morriss? Well, now he's the head coach at something called Texas A&M University-Commerce.
And he doesn't appear to be a proponent of freedom of the press:
Texas A&M University-Commerce football Head Coach Guy Morris admitted to police that his team was responsible for the removal of student newspapers distributed on campus Wednesday.
The East Texan published a story on Wednesday titled “Football Player Arrested in Drug Bust.”
Lt. Jason Bone, crime information officer, later interviewed Morris, who admitted to his team members’ involvement in the theft and said he supported their actions.
“I am proud of my players for doing that,” Morris said. “This was the best team building exercise we have ever done.”
And if you thought that was funny, check this out:
Morris, former head football coach for Baylor, said he was not in agreement with the act being classified as theft because it is a free newspaper.
In Alabama, Paul Finebaum wonders if the exorbitant salaries being paid to football assistants are worth it.
In Miami, the Hurricanes' football team boasts some serious track speed.
N.C. State's coaching staff observes Duke's practice. Not a big deal, since they don't face each other the next three seasons.
But could you picture something like that going down in the SEC?
Back to some basketball: Wake Forest tries to rediscover its lost shooting stroke heading into tonight's game at Florida State.
Over the last 93 minutes of play, the Deacons have made 53 of 161 shots (33 percent) from the floor and 9 of 43 (21 percent) from 3-point range.
"You've got to put the ball in the basket," Gaudio said. "That's what you get points for."
Tonight's Duke-Maryland showdown is the hottest ticket in years in College Park.
The ad possessed a hopeful tone with a hint of desperation.
"I am a Terp fanatic, but as a law student I am in the unfortunate position of not being able to afford tickets to Wednesday night's game against Duke," said the posting on Craigslist, the online classifieds site. "In exchange for tickets, I am willing to sign a contract that will guarantee a TBD number of billable hours of attorney services fully redeemable upon my passing of the Maryland bar. Please contact me as soon as possible."
First-year law student Burke Miller's creative ad is testament to the extraordinary demand for tickets to see the streaking University of Maryland men's basketball team play Duke in a game that recalls meaningful past encounters between the schools surrounding the Terrapins' 2002 national championship.
The game could decide ACC player of the year honors. Not that Jon Scheyer or Greivis Vasquez care.
Major scheduling conflict tonight: Watch Duke-Maryland on the tube, or go check out the North Mississippi All-Stars in Greenville?
DVR is a beautiful thing.
LW
Click here for the "Eye On The Tigers" blog archive.
Link to this entry - Discuss this entry - Return to Blog Home
The other day, someone on the board referred to Paul Hewitt as "Paul Blewitt."
Cracked me the heck up, and it still does just thinking about it.
If I were a Georgia Tech fan, I'd think it's funny too ... if it weren't so true.
The man has three McDonald's All-Americans and he's 7-8 in the ACC -- and on the verge of missing out on the NCAA Tournament.
I don't know whether Hewitt is a bad coach. But at this point we can probably conclusively say he's not a good coach.
A good coach was standing not far from Hewitt during Tuesday night's beatdown in Littlejohn Coliseum, wearing a burnt-orange blazer.
Oliver Purnell still has that NCAA Tournament thing to address, and next year should be a challenge without Trevor Booker.
But Purnell has proved he's a good coach. He's able to do more with less. He's able to galvanize a team to the point that it's able to completely blitz a fresher team on just one day's rest (and the term "rest" is used loosely, given that the Tigers actually practiced Monday).
Three straight winning ACC records? At Clemson? After losing K.C. Rivers and Terrence Oglesby? Yeah, good coach.
I didn't like the body language and mannerisms I saw from Georgia Tech's players last night. They certainly weren't mailing it in, but it also never really looked like they were bound together by a common purpose and determination.
Clemson certainly had something to do with that. And maybe this is one of the main problems when you're stocked with the one-and-done types that have populated Hewitt's rosters in recent years. It's a lot harder to get those guys completely invested in your message.
But still ... if this team doesn't even make it to the NCAA Tournament, it's almost criminal.
The Yellow Jackets have been far from bad this year. Three of their road defeats (Miami, Maryland, Florida State) were just plain bad luck.
But since reaching the Final Four in 2004, Hewitt has amassed a 36-59 record in ACC play. If I'm a Georgia Tech fan and my team doesn't make the NCAAs this season with all that talent, I'm done with Hewitt.
Wonder what Purnell would've done with all that talent?
Jeff Schultz of the AJC says this story is getting old.
The Jackets have gone though this season without significant injuries to wreck the lineup. They’ve gone without anything that could be construed as a major incident that would disrupt team chemistry — unless you count coach Paul Hewitt momentarily going postal on Twitter. But still, they’re erratic. Still, they turn the ball over. Still they look great on offense one minute and completely lost the next.
They had some fine moments in the first half against Clemson on Tuesday. “Some” is not nearly enough in March. This is supposed to be the time when good teams come together, not leave you guessing.
Stat of the week: Clemson misses 16 of its first 18 shots at Florida State and shoots 33 percent in the 53-50 win. Two days later, the Tigers shoot 55 percent and become Georgia Tech's first opponent to surpass 50 percent shooting this season.
The Jackets have lost five of their last eight overall and finished 1-7 in ACC road games. Better finish 8-8 and make an extended run in the ACC Tournament.
Last week, Hewitt said he thought the Jackets were "on the verge of something big."
He was right. A big butt-kicking.
Bart Wright writes about the tears Purnell shed before the game. You'd be crying too if you lost Trevor Booker.
He is to the Clemson basketball team what C.J. Spiller was to the football team in the sense that Booker has helped Clemson win in a variety of ways ever since he was a freshman.
He’s almost always playing against bigger defenders, but he makes up for the few inches in height he usually gives away with a non-stop motor.
“What he’s got that others don’t have,” said Clemson associate head coach Ron Bradley, “is something special deep down inside. There’s a place in there he can go and turn on a switch or something that the rest of these guys just don’t have.”
Here's the game story from the Post and Courier.
Gene Sapakoff talks about the merits of a 96-team NCAA Tournament. Ugh.
I'll go ahead and nominate this for most bizarre story of the week.
Remember Guy Morriss? Well, now he's the head coach at something called Texas A&M University-Commerce.
And he doesn't appear to be a proponent of freedom of the press:
Texas A&M University-Commerce football Head Coach Guy Morris admitted to police that his team was responsible for the removal of student newspapers distributed on campus Wednesday.
The East Texan published a story on Wednesday titled “Football Player Arrested in Drug Bust.”
Lt. Jason Bone, crime information officer, later interviewed Morris, who admitted to his team members’ involvement in the theft and said he supported their actions.
“I am proud of my players for doing that,” Morris said. “This was the best team building exercise we have ever done.”
And if you thought that was funny, check this out:
Morris, former head football coach for Baylor, said he was not in agreement with the act being classified as theft because it is a free newspaper.
In Alabama, Paul Finebaum wonders if the exorbitant salaries being paid to football assistants are worth it.
In Miami, the Hurricanes' football team boasts some serious track speed.
N.C. State's coaching staff observes Duke's practice. Not a big deal, since they don't face each other the next three seasons.
But could you picture something like that going down in the SEC?
Back to some basketball: Wake Forest tries to rediscover its lost shooting stroke heading into tonight's game at Florida State.
Over the last 93 minutes of play, the Deacons have made 53 of 161 shots (33 percent) from the floor and 9 of 43 (21 percent) from 3-point range.
"You've got to put the ball in the basket," Gaudio said. "That's what you get points for."
Tonight's Duke-Maryland showdown is the hottest ticket in years in College Park.
The ad possessed a hopeful tone with a hint of desperation.
"I am a Terp fanatic, but as a law student I am in the unfortunate position of not being able to afford tickets to Wednesday night's game against Duke," said the posting on Craigslist, the online classifieds site. "In exchange for tickets, I am willing to sign a contract that will guarantee a TBD number of billable hours of attorney services fully redeemable upon my passing of the Maryland bar. Please contact me as soon as possible."
First-year law student Burke Miller's creative ad is testament to the extraordinary demand for tickets to see the streaking University of Maryland men's basketball team play Duke in a game that recalls meaningful past encounters between the schools surrounding the Terrapins' 2002 national championship.
The game could decide ACC player of the year honors. Not that Jon Scheyer or Greivis Vasquez care.
Major scheduling conflict tonight: Watch Duke-Maryland on the tube, or go check out the North Mississippi All-Stars in Greenville?
DVR is a beautiful thing.
LW
Click here for the "Eye On The Tigers" blog archive.
Link to this entry - Discuss this entry - Return to Blog Home
Donnie Patterson. Donnie Patterson is the founder of Patterson Tax Service, located in Easley, S.C. He has been active in tax preparation since 1970, and offers a full range of tax and bookkeeping services.
Larry Williams. Larry has covered the daily beat at Clemson since 2004. Williams, who worked for the Charleston Post & Courier from 2004-08, joined Tigerillustrated.com in November of 2008. He may be reached by email at ldubya08(at)gmail.com. Replace (at) with @.