WBB: Empire 8

[EC-Fan]

I've been waiting patiently for some new posts in this thread, but I haven't seen any such thing since the last several EC games have come and gone.  I guess I'll take the opportunity to break the ice and hopefully spur some further discussion.  I will begin by saying that any transition to a new coaching staff will have its trials and tribulations, however I personally don't see Coach Howley building much at all for the future of the Women Soaring Eagles.  For the first year, I remained mute and opted to give her a legitimate chance to show what she had in the way of coaching ability and/or desire.  As this second year of her coaching winds deeply into the season, I feel that the time to stand mute has indeed passed.  Instead, I now see the team as regressing despite all the talent that many of the players possess.  It sure seems as though the Team has no desire to play to win and I cannot help but feel that this is largely the fault of poor coaching ability in combination with the girls' lack of incentive to play the game.  Although I, and others, feel that poor decisions are continually being made in the way of improper game-time player usage and/or substitutions as well as the lack of proper adjustment during game-time situations, "Coaching" is much more than game management.  In the same regard, continually losing games is not, in itself, a sign of poor coaching.  However, breeding dissention within the team may very well be a sign of the same.  There seems to be no unified harmony on the court and we have players whom had once loved the game now considering walking away from it.  This post is truly not intended to be a "coach-bashing" session, however some changes need to be made for the future of the program, and even more so, for the sake of the young women involved.          

[EC-Fan]

...I think you and I are the only E8 people interested in expressing views on this years teams.I hope we start getting views from other fans about their favorite team and how they are fairing...

EC remains MY TEAM...and I am very much looking forward to any reply/rebuttal from "sotier" and "TheNextLevel" in regard to their thoughts as well !

[sotier]

EC-FAN, hello and thank you for your post. I totally agree with your view on how things are shaking out. I guess my biggest dissatisfaction with the coaching is the lack of any structure on the offense.I do not think the players have any guidance or plan on what to do when they have the ball. For instance, when was the last time you saw the point, or any other ball handler,call for any certain play to be run(answer is never). When was the last time you saw a pick set for the hot player so that she would have another scoring opportunity? I feel frustrated,I can only imagine how frustrated the girls are,over the lack of direction. And since I am at it,I will comment on the Ithaca Game.She gave up(I mean the coach). Sitting your starters for nearly the entire second have will not win you many games.And Coach Howley sittin on the bench with folded arms sends what message? It was not your players who gave up coach,IT WAS YOUR PLAYERS TAKIN ON THE COACHES DEMEANOR.
These girls love the game, and they know it well. They know when a player who is shooting a good percentage of shots ( all hard earned) in the first half, Gets no play time in the second, that something aint right. They know that a player who continues to play ,and continues to not convert, and never looks to help another player,by pass or pick,that somethin aint right.I got nothing against the replacement players, they are great girls, but look at the facts they shot 3 for 17. Coach Howley just plain dont know her players,she dont know who is havin the good game and who is not.She will read  the next days paper to find that out.
I have been watching EC basketball for awhile now, and its the first time I have seen any dissent on the players faces. They are sick of loosing,when they KNOW they are better.They are sick of inconsistant messages.
Like you EC-FAN, I will continue to go to the games and cheer whenever possible.But that dont mean I like whats going on.

[EC-Fan]

I missed the Ithaca game, but from what I heard, it was one of the poorest games yet.  I did, however, take a look at the box scores for the game and the stats really are sickening.  According to the stats, I'm assuming that you're referring to Kent as being the one shooting a good percentage of her shots in the first half (3-5 with 13 min of playing time) and then only 3 additional minutes of playing time in the second half ?  What's the deal with that ?...Like I said, a vast majority of the substitutions made by Howley are ridiculous at best !  It sure seems as though if you're hitting, you're pulled out and if the team gets on a run, she calls a time-out and ends up breaking the momentum.  I've seen this on several occasions over the past few games.  I'm really beginning to wonder if she really wants to WIN.  You are also correct on the issue of seldomly ever hearing any offensive play being called out.  It's the same player motion on nearly every offensive possession.  In regard to some of the other issues you have pointed out, I will say this...I truly feel that there are obviously some "head-games" being played by Howley so as to further breed the lack of harmony amongst the players.  I could go on and on with other issues of concern, but for now I guess I should just keep my mouth shut and try to be "politically correct."  I just hope that someone else in a higher place sees what's going on as well and takes some steps to change it.  It's a shame, for the girls' sake !!!

[sotier]

EC-FAN, wow posting at 4:11 ...AM!!! Now thats serious fan behavior....LOL.
Ithaca stats:
   1- Fretz was 1-4 w/ 5-5 at ft line in first...2-3 in  (5 minutes) of second.Sit her WHY?
   2- Lawlor was 2-4(2-3 at 3 pt) and 3-4 at ft line in first.Was 2-3 in (7minutes) of second. Is 5th in shooting % in E8. Sit her WHY?
   3-Kent was 3-5 in first.Was 1-1 w/1 assist in 3 minutes of second. Is 6th in shooting % in E8. Sit her Why?
   4- Kaczynski. You are down by a big amount so sit the person who is second in 3pt % in E8. Why?
   5- No problem substituting if subs play better. But  they are not  cutting the deficit by shooting 2-15(Not calling Peterman, Lawlor subs...they should be starters but thats another matter).
   6-Unwillingness to try different defenses....try a zone they seem to play it well. But Howley likes man-man so we play that.

All that negative said...Its not too late to salvage the season.E8 play is only beginning. Its fine to play Cortland and Marymount, but the games I care the most about are E8 games.

[sotier]

A win for EC!! Does that mean problems no longer exsist? No, it means that a few players put in an outstanding effort to stop the loosing. It showed that when Peterman plays well and aggressive, when Ruppell puts shots IN the hoop,and when Kent is getting looks, a win is FAR more likely.The starting group was on the floor together for most of the game.No overcoaching with wholesale subs and untimely time-outs. Just put your best players(that day) on the floor,and let em play.
That said.....aw the heck with it....... they won!!

[EC-Fan]

...All that negative said...Its not too late to salvage the season...

Well...Hopefully the outcome of, and the intra-team cooperation shown in, the Clarkson game is a sign of better things to come for the Ladies of Elmira !!!   I concertedly hope that the salvation sotier referred to is forthcoming.  The EC women finally played well TOGETHER.  Even the spectators in the bleachers seemed less hostile and cheered positively for ALL of the players on the court.  In my humble opinion, again, some minor substitution decisions as well as a time-out or two which seemed to temporarily break the offensive momentum could have been an issue, but it all played out well.  Regardless of the known outcome of this game with the checkmark being placed in the "win-column," this game, whether it had been a win or a loss, is a WIN for EC.  As I mentioned before, the blame cannot be placed upon one, or even several, individuals for past poor performance; this is a team-sport and everyone needs to recognize their respective role in it.  Coach Howley seemed to me to be actually "In This Game."  Being the skeptic that I am, I will say this; I hope that the fact that there were four recruits present to watch the game had no bearing on the Coaches demeanor and efforts during this contest.    I also truly feel that every game for EC is an important one, whether it be an E8 contest or not.  Let's first get the winning attitude, and perhaps the conference wins will follow.  However, on this occasion, Congratulations to Coach Howley and to the Lady Soaring Eagles for a step in the right direction.  As sotier put it, hopefully "Its not too late to salvage the season..."  Hopefully, even more so, it's not too late to salvage the TEAM.    

[Bombers798891]

I lurk on this board, but don't post much, really because it doesn't ever seem to lead to a discussion. But what the hey

Ithaca up 46-36 at the half against Utica. The winner takes the early inside track for the top spot in the conference as both teams currently sit at 4-0.

Bixby has 14 for Ithaca and Berry 16 for Utica in the shootout.

These two teams look to be the class of the conference so far. Ithaca at 9-4 (Which includes a loss to D-1 Cornell) and Utica at 10-2.

I'd have to like the Bombers chances at the top seed with a win because they'll have won on the road against Utica and Fisher. Of course, we'd still need to see what Stevens is about, but a 2-4 OOC record and a loss to Utica suggests maybe they're not quite at that level.

Berry looks to be the top player in the conference, and the Pioneers have a nice 1-2 punch with her and Croll.

[Bombers798891]

Ithaca holds off Utica 68-63. Pioneers took the lead in the 2nd half, but Bombers do just enough to win. Bixby leads IC with 19 and Berry goes for 29 in the loss.

I thought Utica made an interesting decision to not foul after missing a shot with 59 seconds to go down five. I don't know if Ithaca was in the double bonus at the time, but the Pioneers elected to play defense despite Ithaca going a mere 7-13 from the line. Although they got a stop, they didn't get the ball back until there were 29 seconds remaining, which forced two quick three pointers, both of which were missed.

I might have tried to foul to extend the game, hoped Ithaca missed and saved myself as much time as possible. It would have been unlikely, but I thought it was strange.

Regardless, the Bombers move to 10-4 overall and 5-0 in conference play. Good stuff.

[sotier]

Thank you bombers for the info. Utica and Ithaca certainly are two very good teams.They have multiple ways of scoring and both have good team speed. They are a pleasure to watch.

[sotier]

Watching Alfred last night was like watching EC of 3 seasons ago.Quick on both ends of the floor,crisp passing,offensive flow,defensive pressure. They played with confidence and swagger.I commend their coaching staff for turning around a program that was recently looked at as a quick win for opposing teams.
Just the opposite for the EC program.I will not go into the many reasons why ( see earlier posts ). Coach Howleys pregame Radio interview said all I needed to know. When she basicly blames the lackluster season on the inconsistant guard play, while saying consistant post play is their strength, tells me alot. She may be right,but to throw your players under the bus.... not good.

[jakhogan]

WHOA !!!  I missed any such Pre-game Radio interview of Howley. What exactly did she say? You wouldn't know where I could find a copy of the interview, would ya' ?  Now I'm interested.

[jakhogan]

Elmira needs to make Donahue an offer he can't refuse and get him back here yesterday already!

[TheNextLevel]

Congrats to the girls on their win over Clarkson...but unfortunately it did not translate to a win over Alfred...a team the should be able to compete with.
We gave Coach Howely a break the first year because was hired late and no chance to recruit...but she failed to bring in anything this year either.  Recruiting is everything in college hoops.  As we all know, she was not the schools first choice,  so maybe the search should begin early to get a better pool of candidates.  Donahue was a very good recruiter and manipulated the schedule, which made up for his other shortcomings.  But remember he had losing seasons 3 of his 5 years at Elmira and underachieved in all of them.  The only time he won were the 2 seasons with Erika DeSanty as the assistant coach.  She was a better coach then he was.  When she left, even with the weaker schedule, he went back to a sub 500 season with some very good players.  Again, there a very few quality coaches in D3, the few that are move up the ladder quickly, thus the abilty to recruit quality student athletes is everything. A coach like Jim Scheible doesn't come around very often.

[TheNextLevel]

I agree, it wil come down to Ithaca and Utica with Berry as PoY.  With the road win by Ithaca they have the inside track on the regular season title, but I  look for Utica to win the tournament.

Ithaca holds off Utica 68-63. Pioneers took the lead in the 2nd half, but Bombers do just enough to win. Bixby leads IC with 19 and Berry goes for 29 in the loss.

I thought Utica made an interesting decision to not foul after missing a shot with 59 seconds to go down five. I don't know if Ithaca was in the double bonus at the time, but the Pioneers elected to play defense despite Ithaca going a mere 7-13 from the line. Although they got a stop, they didn't get the ball back until there were 29 seconds remaining, which forced two quick three pointers, both of which were missed.

I might have tried to foul to extend the game, hoped Ithaca missed and saved myself as much time as possible. It would have been unlikely, but I thought it was strange.

Regardless, the Bombers move to 10-4 overall and 5-0 in conference play. Good stuff.

I agr