MBB: Great South Athletic Conference

Spencer Beaty · December 25, 2007, 09:31:15 AM

All of this may be so but the bottom line is we had already beat them. Emory is not the best team we have played this year. I wish all the posters a merry Christmas and a happy New Year.

scottiedoug · December 27, 2007, 10:37:54 AM

http://thedailytimes.com/article/20071226/SPORTS0104/541288964 links to Marcus' latest piece about the Scots.

Pat Coleman · December 28, 2007, 09:06:41 AM

Heading out to Atlanta. Hope to see some good basketball this weekend!

MCScotsFan · December 29, 2007, 11:41:29 AM

Great article on The Killer:

http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=19153406&BRD=1211&PAG=461&dept_id=169688&rfi=6

Looking good in G-P!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AND another one today January 2nd--

http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?BRD=1211&dept_id=169692&newsid=19160503&PAG=461&rfi=9

Basicly says much the same thing but a bit more personal toward the end.
Congrats on the good press, Raul. Keep up the good work and make us proud!

Thanks for the new link! I have modified the post for formatting for the screen. Ralph Turner

Ralph Turner · December 29, 2007, 12:13:44 PM

Quote from: MCScotsFan on December 29, 2007, 11:41:29 AM
Great article on The Killer:

http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=19153406&BRD=1211&PAG=461&dept_id=169688&rfi=6

Looking good in G-P!

Very good article about Placeres.

I noticed one thing about Florida ~~public~~*** schools versus Texas public schools. Coach Placeres was the JV coach, with only a high school diploma. In Texas, no coach or teacher is permitted to act in an official capacity* in a UIL (University Interscholastic League) school. (* Don't quote me on the exact legal wording of that. Coaches in Texas public schools must be teachers, first!)

Good luck, Coach Placeres.

Keystone College has now become a four-year institution and is D-3 and a member of the NEAC this year.

*** Correction -- Thanks to MCScotsFan. LaSalle is Catholic.

MCScotsFan · December 29, 2007, 05:10:38 PM

I found that comment interesting and when I looked up LaSalle HS I see that it is a Catholic private HS. Usually private schools can hire anyone they want compared to public schools (at least here in TN). And for coaching, you can hire someone who was a reputable player with no degree in a private school. I've known a few coaches here who were just tremendous athletetes who obvisously had good coaches in their lives who influenced them to also be good coaches and they did not have a degree. TN public schools would not be hiring a coach who didn't have a degree I'm almost sure of that.

Reading that article just reminds me of the tremendous influence Raul Placeres will have in those kids' lives and the kids within the system he comes in contact with. Most of us would name a coach and /or teacher who made a difference in our lives (could be good or bad, sadly). Keep up the great work Placeres. MC is proud of you!

old_lion · December 30, 2007, 01:48:38 AM

Quote from: MCScotsFan on December 29, 2007, 11:41:29 AM
Great article on The Killer:

http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=19153406&BRD=1211&PAG=461&dept_id=169688&rfi=6

Looking good in G-P!

Here's wishing you the best, Killer.

I know you understand the game and bring passion to your coaching style.

I'm betting you establish great rapport and bring a lot of empathy to your relationships with your players ... IMHO, a greatly underrated aspect of being a successful coach.

Spencer Beaty · December 30, 2007, 04:11:53 PM

tough 4-point loss to a team the scots had already beaten. We missed several shots that we had no bussiness missing. Not a good showing by the scots.

mattgrubb · December 31, 2007, 10:22:58 AM

it is never good to hear the scots are getting out hustled

Great Coverage Pat

Ralph Turner · January 01, 2008, 08:42:35 PM

Now here is a fine example of coaching at the best.

Ralph Turner · January 01, 2008, 11:38:42 PM

Great interview with Coach Haynes in the Daily Dose from January 1. I encourage everyone to hear all of the podcasts that he recorded.

Thanks to Pat Coleman for coming to the Deep South!

coachwgh · January 02, 2008, 08:19:14 AM

Ralph, thanks for bringing attention to one of my finer moments of indecision. That picture looks like a coach who was down 20 and didn't have an answer.

Pat deserves some kind of national Division 3 recognition for the advancement of D3 basketball. Pat loves this stuff but it is still work and time consuming. I can't say enough about having the opportunity to have him come southward. One of these days maybe he can interview me after a final four game. We talked for about an hour before the interview even started. I guess Pat likes to hear me talk as much as I do.

HSC is good. The game just tip toed away from us. We weren't as aggressive as we had been in the past few games. We missed a bunch of lay-ups and post moves. The biggest issue after watching the film was screening. We didn't lay meat on anybody at all. When we play soft we can't get the looks we want. I say all of this knowing full well that HSC had a big hand in all of this. They did a good job of being disciplined on Render's left hand, and they attacked our smaller posts on the offensive end. It is a good game plan and it worked. Playing this game and our upcoming game with Methodist has given me new perspective on scheduling and who I want to compete against. After a loss to Hampden-Sydney or on the road to Methodist, I feel like I get an honest view of what we need to do better. I enjoy playing tough competition. I don't enjoy losing to tough competition but I feel like it will ultimatly build our program to where we want to be.

old_lion · January 02, 2008, 11:13:25 PM

Excellent tax planning!

http://www.piedmontlions.com/

Congratulations!

mattgrubb · January 03, 2008, 02:40:39 PM

congrats coach glenn
you all will see the offspring of another GSAC coach next year, it is the beginning of another level when Wes Lambert lights up the scoreboard for the scots.

I am still thoroughly disappointed in the GSAC performance this weekend against the USA-South, that is a disgrace, if the scots don't rebound in Florida the grubby one will have to handle this situation in his own special way.

Old Lion, i am disturbed by PC's 2 losses this weekend, they don't even have a winning record. I will give you they have some talent (Baldwin and Green), but here is my observation. Baldwin has the #'s of an All American, but not the results. If he truly was one of the best players in the country, then he could lead his team. I understand you will argue numbers all day, but there is just something about the intangibles that is so special. Guys that just know how to win. Piedmont had the talent to win both of those games at home, so i ask, what was not in the right place, their hearts or their minds. When they play in a GSAC event they represent the scots as much as themselves, so i need more out of the lions, just not against the scots, but every other time.

old_lion · January 03, 2008, 05:37:39 PM

Quote from: mattgrubb on January 03, 2008, 02:40:39 PM
Old Lion, i am disturbed by PC's 2 losses this weekend, (You think you're disturbed ... imagine how we feel ...) they don't even have a winning record. I will give you they have some talent (Baldwin and Green), but here is my observation. Baldwin has the #'s of an All American, but not the results. If he truly was one of the best players in the country, then he could lead his team. I understand you will argue numbers all day, but there is just something about the intangibles that is so special. (Not at all ... I'm probably a bigger intangibles guy than you are ... I've been arguing for years that scoring is way over-emphasized in the GSAC, at the expense of the other stuff) Guys that just know how to win. Piedmont had the talent to win both of those games at home, so i ask, what was not in the right place, their hearts or their minds. (It's certainly not their hearts ... more on that later.) When they play in a GSAC event they represent the scots as much as themselves, so i need more out of the lions, just not against the scots, but every other time.

OK, you asked ... so here is my opinion ...

There are many facets to Piedmont's current struggles ... so I'll try to keep it brief. But I'm not making any promises, brevity is not one of my strengths ...

A few of the primary factors:
* There is nothing wrong with the talent we do have ... it's what we don't have. Sadly, we just don't have all the basic pieces you typically find in 99% of successful basketball teams. Basketball is the ultimate "synergy game" ... we just don't have all the pieces to fit together properly.
* We are ridiculously small.
* One of our key guys off the bench (McCoy) has been hurt for the last month.
* We don't have the depth, particularly at the big man spots. Typically, you'd like 4 or 5 big guys you could rotate at two spots ... staying fresh, hustling all out, and occasionally hammering opponents inside. Personally, I keep hoping Sloan can become more of a factor ... if for no other reason than to keep Baldwin fresher and give us 5 more fouls to use inside. Seems to me we go through dry spells at times partly because Baldwin is exhausted.
* There is an insidious ripple effect to the combination of the above factors ...
* We are small, so we have to play pressure defense.
* We lack depth so it's tough to play pressure defense.
* We have to pressure the ball ... if you pressure the ball you're going to give up more drives to the bucket ... that's
OK if you have the depth and fouls to give with guys stepping over to block shots and/or draw charges ... we
don't.
* We get killed on the glass. Sometimes, particularly if the officiating is inconsistent, the only appropriate response
is to aggressively battle and not worry about fouls ... again, no depth.
* If you are small, and lack depth ... you may be forced to play zone ... then it just gets tougher to box out.

So to your question ... Is it their hearts or their minds? It may be their minds from this perspective ... Our players are not stupid. They realize the short comings they have to overcome each and every game. So I think, subconsciously, they may feel they have to "play perfectly", avoid all mistakes to win. We both know you can't play that way.

There was a great line from the movie "Risky Business", that I think epitomizes the attitude we have to play with. "Sometimes you just have to say, what the f*%k." ... IMHO, that's our best chance for success ... we just have to play balls to the walls ... still play smart, but not worry about making mistakes.

Baldwin is going to score. If we can take some of the focus off of him by more consistently getting the ball to Green in the transition game and getting some easy buckets and/or shooting with more confidence when he drives and dishes ... I still think we can cause problems for a lot of teams.