Spring Break
That's teamwork
Nick Lilja
Issue date: 2/28/07 Section: Sports
John Wooden might be the smartest man ever. Screw Einstein, Newton and Pythagoras. When are math and physics ever going to do me any good anyway?
Just kidding, Professor Coffin.
Wooden was the man who preached the concepts of team over player and mind over matter. The Beavers might want to give Mr. Wooden a jingle on the phone and ask for some advice, because the men's basketball team has trouble playing as a team.
When this team does play as a team and doesn't care who gets in double figures, who scores the most or who gets the credit, they win. And when individuals try to take over a game and single-handedly win, they lose.
As far back as I can remember in the NCAA, no single man has ever defeated an opposing team of five players. And the Beavers' problem starts there: team unity and faith in fellow teammates is lackluster at best.
I can't tell you how obvious it is that certain guys don't trust other players with the ball. Maybe I'm wrong, and maybe the locker room is one big happy family. If that's the case, then why over the course of the last few weeks have I watched players get looked over when they had wide open shot opportunities on multiple occasions?
Disagree? Hit up the game film and watch players like Marcel Jones and Sasa Cuic look off a pass to an open teammate to take a shot in between two or three defenders. If they really do teach to always give up the good shot for a better shot, then why do I see this every game?
It's very easy mathematics, guys. A higher percentage shot will result in a higher percentage that the score keeper will add points to your score and eventually a higher percentage that you will win the game. Maybe math is important.
Don't get it twisted: Jones and Cuic are good players, and it doesn't just stop with them. It trickles down to the entire team.
I've watched Wesley Washington fly down the lane and end up horizontal only to throw the ball between a few defenders. Meanwhile Roeland Schaftenaar is wide open 10 feet away. I have watched Cuic try to draw the foul under the basket against three defenders with 15 seconds left on the shot clock instead of passing the ball out to Josh Tarver to set up for a better shot.
Just kidding, Professor Coffin.
Wooden was the man who preached the concepts of team over player and mind over matter. The Beavers might want to give Mr. Wooden a jingle on the phone and ask for some advice, because the men's basketball team has trouble playing as a team.
When this team does play as a team and doesn't care who gets in double figures, who scores the most or who gets the credit, they win. And when individuals try to take over a game and single-handedly win, they lose.
As far back as I can remember in the NCAA, no single man has ever defeated an opposing team of five players. And the Beavers' problem starts there: team unity and faith in fellow teammates is lackluster at best.
I can't tell you how obvious it is that certain guys don't trust other players with the ball. Maybe I'm wrong, and maybe the locker room is one big happy family. If that's the case, then why over the course of the last few weeks have I watched players get looked over when they had wide open shot opportunities on multiple occasions?
Disagree? Hit up the game film and watch players like Marcel Jones and Sasa Cuic look off a pass to an open teammate to take a shot in between two or three defenders. If they really do teach to always give up the good shot for a better shot, then why do I see this every game?
It's very easy mathematics, guys. A higher percentage shot will result in a higher percentage that the score keeper will add points to your score and eventually a higher percentage that you will win the game. Maybe math is important.
Don't get it twisted: Jones and Cuic are good players, and it doesn't just stop with them. It trickles down to the entire team.
I've watched Wesley Washington fly down the lane and end up horizontal only to throw the ball between a few defenders. Meanwhile Roeland Schaftenaar is wide open 10 feet away. I have watched Cuic try to draw the foul under the basket against three defenders with 15 seconds left on the shot clock instead of passing the ball out to Josh Tarver to set up for a better shot.
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