So How Good or Bad are we This Year?

[wbtfg]

What the past 6 years have taught us, if anything, is that the Cats will never be better than mediocre with Huse at the helm. they will be middle of the pack in the Big Sky conference. That's the ceiling.

Everyone says that his weakness is recruiting, but that he's a good "x's and o's" coach. If that's true, why do his teams always collapse during the 2nd half of conference play? It seems to me that other BSC coaches must be making better adjustments the 2nd time through the conference schedule. How else do you explain going 6-2 in the first half, and then 1-7 in the 2nd round of conference games, year after year after year?

I've always thought the first half of the year you could out-scheme/surprise teams, but once everything is on film and teams have been scouted thoroughly, it becomes more about talent than scheme.

At least that's what I tell myself.

[ilovethecats]

What the past 6 years have taught us, if anything, is that the Cats will never be better than mediocre with Huse at the helm. they will be middle of the pack in the Big Sky conference. That's the ceiling.

Everyone says that his weakness is recruiting, but that he's a good "x's and o's" coach. If that's true, why do his teams always collapse during the 2nd half of conference play? It seems to me that other BSC coaches must be making better adjustments the 2nd time through the conference schedule. How else do you explain going 6-2 in the first half, and then 1-7 in the 2nd round of conference games, year after year after year?

I've always thought the first half of the year you could out-scheme/surprise teams, but once everything is on film and teams have been scouted thoroughly, it becomes more about talent than scheme.

At least that's what I tell myself.

i fall in this line of thought as well and think it's spot on. one other thing to consider is i don't think anyone is saying that huse is some sort of basketball genius with the way he can design sets and plays. i was just saying that he was far better at this aspect of coaching than the recruiting aspect.

you simply MUST have better talent than huse has shown he is able to get.

[John K]

What the past 6 years have taught us, if anything, is that the Cats will never be better than mediocre with Huse at the helm. they will be middle of the pack in the Big Sky conference. That's the ceiling.

Everyone says that his weakness is recruiting, but that he's a good "x's and o's" coach. If that's true, why do his teams always collapse during the 2nd half of conference play? It seems to me that other BSC coaches must be making better adjustments the 2nd time through the conference schedule. How else do you explain going 6-2 in the first half, and then 1-7 in the 2nd round of conference games, year after year after year?

I've always thought the first half of the year you could out-scheme/surprise teams, but once everything is on film and teams have been scouted thoroughly, it becomes more about talent than scheme.

At least that's what I tell myself.

OK....I can buy that. So you're saying that his "x's and o's" ability is more responsible for going 6-2 in the 1st half, than his lack thereof is responsible for going 1-7 in the 2nd half? That makes sense.

[John K]

What the past 6 years have taught us, if anything, is that the Cats will never be better than mediocre with Huse at the helm. they will be middle of the pack in the Big Sky conference. That's the ceiling.

Everyone says that his weakness is recruiting, but that he's a good "x's and o's" coach. If that's true, why do his teams always collapse during the 2nd half of conference play? It seems to me that other BSC coaches must be making better adjustments the 2nd time through the conference schedule. How else do you explain going 6-2 in the first half, and then 1-7 in the 2nd round of conference games, year after year after year?

I've always thought the first half of the year you could out-scheme/surprise teams, but once everything is on film and teams have been scouted thoroughly, it becomes more about talent than scheme.

At least that's what I tell myself.

i fall in this line of thought as well and think it's spot on. one other thing to consider is i don't think anyone is saying that huse is some sort of basketball genius with the way he can design sets and plays. i was just saying that he was far better at this aspect of coaching than the recruiting aspect.

you simply MUST have better talent than huse has shown he is able to get.

Any sport is a series of adjustments and counter adjustments as a game/season progresses. I still maintain that our annual 2nd half of the season meltdown in MBB is to some degree a reflection of our coaching staff not doing this as well as most of the other teams in the BSC. And remember that it's not just about making adjustments in how we prepare for our opponents. Probably even more important than that, is how a coaching staff makes adjustments with his own team as the season progresses...i.e. assessing their strenths and weaknesses and "tweaking" his schemes and rotations accordingly, to take the fullest advantage of his player's talents. I believe that Huse is very weak in this area, and that it is a significant facotor in the disparity between our results in the 1st half of the season versus the 2nd half.

[ilovethecats]

good post. i agree with everything you said.

[TomCat88]

I'm not one to say how good or bad we are this year, but I've talked to a few people lately that get to practices and they say Biglow is easily the best player on the team. As you know Biglow couldn't play in games this year, but I'm hearing he's a difference maker. Could he be the difference between being 7-9 and 11-5?

The second season starts in a few days. Four teams need three wins, two teams need two wins. All but one team will end their NCAA dreams with a loss.

[John K]

I'm not one to say how good or bad we are this year, but I've talked to a few people lately that get to practices and they say Biglow is easily the best player on the team. As you know Biglow couldn't play in games this year, but I'm hearing he's a difference maker. Could he be the difference between being 7-9 and 11-5?

The second season starts in a few days. Four teams need three wins, two teams need two wins. All but one team will end their NCAA dreams with a loss.

Biglow may be a very talented player, but it would take someone pretty special to single-handedly take a team from 7-9 to 11-5. Just for the sake of argument, what if you added a player like Damian Lilliard to MSU's roster...how many additional wins do you think he'd be worth?

[defensivearts]

John K makes excellent points. Our staff does not adjust as well as others do as the season progresses.

Re Bigelow- I seriously doubt that if Huse had a player of Lillard's ability that he would allow him to control the game enough to be that sort of dominating factor. Another thing to consider: If Damian Lillard played in MSU's scheme how would he fare in the 'three man weave-winding the clock down toward a last second three point shot-offense'? And would Lillard be forced to stand there and watch Hot Rod bounce the ball then drive to the hole?

[John K]

John K makes excellent points. Our staff does not adjust as well as others do as the season progresses.

Re Bigelow- I seriously doubt that if Huse had a player of Lillard's ability that he would allow him to control the game enough to be that sort of dominating factor. Another thing to consider: If Damian Lillard played in MSU's scheme how would he fare in the 'three man weave-winding the clock down toward a last second three point shot-offense'? And would Lillard be forced to stand there and watch Hot Rod bounce the ball then drive to the hole?

Yeah...it makes you wonder doesn't it? That's why I don't agree with those who give him credit for at least being a good "game" coach who gets the best out of the limited talent on the roster. I'm just not sure that's really true.

[TomCat88]

I'd say MSU might go 13-3 will Lillard on the team. Six of our nine losses are by 10 points or less. Put Lillard and his 24 ppg game and take out our least productive guard and that covers those games. I don't really see anything all that special about UM and WSU tonight. I thought I was going to tune into some kind of Clash of the Titans, but both teams looked a lot like us. Maybe they're both just tight. If not, it's anyone's tourney, as usual.

[BelgradeBobcat]

I'd say MSU might go 13-3 will Lillard on the team. Six of our nine losses are by 10 points or less. Put Lillard and his 24 ppg game and take out our least productive guard and that covers those games. I don't really see anything all that special about UM and WSU tonight. I thought I was going to tune into some kind of Clash of the Titans, but both teams looked a lot like us. Maybe they're both just tight. If not, it's anyone's tourney, as usual.

I don't think it's any coincidence that the two best teams in the league happen to have the two best point guards. Other players on both sides can disappear for long stretches but Lilliard and Cherry never do. I think Cherry could have a Lilliard type season next year-except Tinkle's system probably won't allow Lilliard type numbers.

The griz's smothering defense and deliberate offense makes it look ugly. Unless you're a fan of their team that system can be pretty brutal to watch. Unfortunately, Huse tries to run that same system at MSU-but with less talent-and we all know what that looks like.

[BLACKnBLUEnGOLD]

John K makes excellent points. Our staff does not adjust as well as others do as the season progresses.

Re Bigelow- I seriously doubt that if Huse had a player of Lillard's ability that he would allow him to control the game enough to be that sort of dominating factor. Another thing to consider: If Damian Lillard played in MSU's scheme how would he fare in the 'three man weave-winding the clock down toward a last second three point shot-offense'? And would Lillard be forced to stand there and watch Hot Rod bounce the ball then drive to the hole?

Why would the starting point guard be forced to watch the backup point guard while he's on the floor? That makes no sense.

[DicTater]

Huse is too much of a control freak to allow the team to play with any freedom. I think one of the reasons the shooting can be so poor at times is that Huse has little confidence in the players. The other reason is that the Cats slow it down so much that it's tough to get off a good shot. Really, with Colbert, Shannon, and Bigelow coming in and Dison coming back, I'd really like to see a different philosophy brought into the program, which means a different coach.

[bpcats]

I don't know how long Coach Huse can hold onto his job after the end of his current contract. At least in the short-term it seems like we finally have enough talent to play with the rest of league this year and next year.

The difference will be coaching and player development. If you can't do those two things then your in trouble.

That is one reason why I respect the job that Coach Binford is doing on the ladies side. She recruits the type of players that fit her system, and you can see their progression from year to year. She is also good at making adjustments, her teams have consistently gotten better at defense each year.

With Coach Huse, I am still wondering what is going on overall.

[Helcat72]

I don't know how long Coach Huse can hold onto his job after the end of his current contract. At least in the short-term it seems like we finally have enough talent to play with the rest of league this year and next year.

The difference will be coaching and player development. If you can't do those two things then your in trouble.

That is one reason why I respect the job that Coach Binford is doing on the ladies side. She recruits the type of players that fit her system, and you can see their progression from year to year. She is also good at making adjustments, her teams have consistently gotten better at defense each year.

With Coach Huse, I am still wondering what is going on overall.

I am 100% a Binford fan...but it was frustrating to see us lose 6 conference games and 4 of them at home

[Eastcoastgriz]

I don't know how long Coach Huse can hold onto his job after the end of his current contract. At least in the short-term it seems like we finally have enough talent to play with the rest of league this year and next year.

The difference will be coaching and player development. If you can't do those two things then your in trouble.

That is one reason why I respect the job that Coach Binford is doing on the ladies side. She recruits the type of players that fit her system, and you can see their progression from year to year. She is also good at making adjustments, her teams have consistently gotten better at defense each year.

With Coach Huse, I am still wondering what is going on overall.

I am 100% a Binford fan...but it was frustrating to see us lose 6 conference games and 4 of them at home

And 2 of them against the GRIZ.

[[cat_bracket]]

I don't know how long Coach Huse can hold onto his job after the end of his current contract. At least in the short-term it seems like we finally have enough talent to play with the rest of league this year and next year.

The difference will be coaching and player development. If you can't do those two things then your in trouble.

That is one reason why I respect the job that Coach Binford is doing on the ladies side. She recruits the type of players that fit her system, and you can see their progression from year to year. She is also good at making adjustments, her teams have consistently gotten better at defense each year.

With Coach Huse, I am still wondering what is going on overall.

Huse really has his work cut out for him in terms of getting the fans back on his side. A majority of the fans don't believe in him, which means it won't take as much for the players to bail. He's got a solid cast coming back next year and his back is against the wall. I remember Bobby Howard coming on the board and defending Huse. He could really use that now. I hope he gets another year, because he's really set up well. If he can't turn the corner next year with this group, then I'm afraid he probably never will.

When Huse came here the first time MSU had some of its best years, he went to Dickinson and they've never had a better team than they had in his 8 years...few teams have. He went to UM with Krysko and the Griz went to the tourney two or three times. It's really a stumper that he hasn't been able to get it done yet.

[John K]

I don't know how long Coach Huse can hold onto his job after the end of his current contract. At least in the short-term it seems like we finally have enough talent to play with the rest of league this year and next year.

The difference will be coaching and player development. If you can't do those two things then your in trouble.

That is one reason why I respect the job that Coach Binford is doing on the ladies side. She recruits the type of players that fit her system, and you can see their progression from year to year. She is also good at making adjustments, her teams have consistently gotten better at defense each year.

With Coach Huse, I am still wondering what is going on overall.

I am 100% a Binford fan...but it was frustrating to see us lose 6 conference games and 4 of them at home

And 2 of them against the GRIZ.

Yeah, it was very disappointing that we got swept by UM. With their loss to PSU last night, if we had just split, we would have had a chance to gain the #2 seed and a first round bye in the tourney, but now we're likely to be seeded 5th, with UM probably at #4, giving us a chance to avenge the regular season sweep in the 1st round of the tourney. There's a jumble behind ISU, with EWU and UNC at 10-5, and MSU and UM at 9-6. I suppose theoretically any of those 4 teams could finish anywhere from 2nd to 5th, although getting swept by both EWU and UM won't help us any with the tie-breakers. We swept UNC though...sort of odd that we didn't split with any of the other teams in that group. If things play out the way I expect, and if I've analyzed the tie-breakers correctly, the final standings and seedings should look like this. The only one I'm not sure about is EWU vs. UM for #3, since they would end up with identical results against every other team. I made the assumption that it would then come down to head to head point differential, but I'm not sure if that's correct. I know one thing for certain...I'm a lot more excited about our women's chances in the tourney, than I am about the men's.

1. ISU 14-2
2. UNC 11-5
3. EWU 10-6
4. UM 10-6
5. MSU 10-6
6. Sac 7-9
7. PSU 7-9
8. NAU 3-13
9. WSU 0-16

The first round pairings would be EWU vs. Sac, and MSU vs. UM. I really believe any of the 6 teams could win the tourney. Even though ISU easily won the regular season title, they're certainly not unbeatable, and we've already beaten them once. Either PSU or Sac could realistically get hot and win it from the #6 seed. After all, PSU just beat UM, and Sac has been as hot as anyone in the past few weeks, having won 4 straight games, including a huge win over ISU last week. All in all, I think the women's tourney will be far more entertaining than the men's, where it's hard to imagine anyone but UM or WSU winning the title.

[bpcats]

In regards to our losses vs the Lady Griz, it has a lot more to do with that the fact that the Lady Griz seem to have better scoring balance especially at the post play. Carly Selvig, Jordon Sullivan, and Katie Baker are very talented and developed post players.

The Lady Cats are still looking for that consistent scoring threat besides Bussey. Ashley Albert's play will be pivotal during the playoffs.

Should be a great tournament. We swept UNC, they swept the Griz. PSU beats the Griz, we beat PSU by 20...

I don't think that there is a clear favorite...

[Evil_Empire]

I love this thread.

And I agree with you guys' assesment of Huse. I can tell you guys know your team well and can see the problems as well as the potential players to turn it around. One of my friends who is a big Bobcat supporter said it this way: "I like Huse, I like his personality, I like his system, I think he is generally bringing in good kids. My only problem is that his teams don't win any games." I don't think Huse is a "bad" coach but he certainly hasn't done a very good job at MSU so far.

The only thing I don't understand in this thread is when Tom88 said he doesn't think there is a noticable talent difference between Weber and UM versus MSU. I personally do not think there is that big of a gap between Huse and Tinkle and Raye. I think the talent gap between players like Cherry, Lillard, Jamar, and Bamforth versus players that MSU has is much greater.