Larry talks today about some issues with the team

[PorterRockwell]

http://www.sltrib.com/sports/4967605-155/utah-basketball-as-losses-mount-utes

 

 Interesting read 

[Tony (admin)]

Thanks for the link. Chemistry I guess, and the players don’t seem so care as much about winning if they’re having so much fun after the loss on the bus.

[PorterRockwell]

I’ve thought there was some sort of disconnect and issue with the chemistry  I didn’t suspect it was this deep.  I suspect that if Majerus had caught someone laughing on the bus on the way to airport they’d be benched for the next game at the very least 

[Minnesota Ute]

Not sure I agree.  Majerus was very pragmatic in his approach.  I could just as easily see him thinking that some levity might be productive in that case.  Really what does moaning and sulking do after a loss anyway?  And if you find it inappropriate to laugh in that situation, and you’ve made that known, then you’ve already lost the team, so what is the point.

I’ve changed my thinking on stuff like this a huge amount in the last 3 years after watching how different high school coaches and college coaches handle their teams.  And I compare that to a bunch of work training I do, and new information I’ve been seeing about positive coaching styles.  I’ve come to the conclusion that negative reinforcement is both short term and a net energy suck, while positive reinforcement sticks and is an energy builder.  So if you want your team, whether work or sports, to gain energy and develop in a positive direction, then build them up with compliments, and teach them to build each other up with compliments.  I say ‘teach’ because there is a right way and wrong way to do it, if you do it right it’s pretty damn effective.

So to the bus example, when he chewed them out, all he did was make them feel bad and perhaps a little resentful.  Hell, they just lost to Oregon State, how much worse can he really make them feel, and what do you accomplish??  His assumption is that they don’t care, but he doesn’t allow for the possibility that it’s a defense or coping mechanism.  What he might have done is compliment their mental toughness that even after a really bad loss like that, they are trying to pick each other up with some humor.  Tell them that OSU is over, no amount of sulking will change that, and there isn’t much season left, so they have to stay positive and pull together to cross the finish line. Relax, come to practice next week refocused and ready to look in the mirror and fix what needs to be fixed.  

Now that is some leadership they can get behind.

[loyter]

It starts at the top. Larry has not done a good job of getting these guys together, and more importantly, getting them prepared for crunch time situations.

[cjd1]

I think the biggest problem is the whole team does not have a high Basketball IQ.

[Minnesota Ute]

 “…I don’t think you gain much confidence by starting,” he [Larry] said. “That’s a cop-out. If any of our guys are lacking confidence because they’ve been yo-yoed around and ‘Oh my God, they’re not starting,’ — No, sorry. Maybe in high school, but not here.”

Got news for you Larry, people are people, and these are kids only a few years or less removed from High School.  In fact, if you want them to start acting like adults, then maybe you should start treating them that way.  And that means no chewing them out on the bus for not showing sufficient remorse.  If they aren’t talking, if they aren’t bought in, if they are rattled by changes in the lineups, etc etc that is ON YOU.

I think you are a good coach and recruiting is improving, but for you to get where you (and we) want to go, I think you need a little personnel management upgrade.  Players that make the plays you want them to make down the stretch are players with confidence.  Right now, your players lack confidence, it’s up to you to bring them back.  To show Akot the kind of program you run when he is down next week.

[Anonymous]

Starting is always a big deal in basketball. Even NBA player who get paid millions to sit on the pine and watch amazing basketball up close want to start. 

[Minnesota Ute]

Totally agree, and I used to get so frustrated at our coach that would jack around with the starting lineups, then punish a kid if he reacted the least bit negative.  But that was par for the course with this coach, because he was all about trying to make the kids what he wanted them to be rather than focusing on helping them be the best “them” they could be.  

His point was that he wanted to make them not care about starting, but all he succeeded in doing is confirming that he had no understanding nor interest in how they felt and why.  I see too many coaches playing that card, that old “if I have to care about how you feel, then you aren’t the player I need”.  But Hall of Fame coaches are the first to tell you that they have to coach each player as an individual, and to do that, you have to care and try to understand what makes each player tick.  Larry needs to improve here I think.

[Author]

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