You can throw in the towel....

[Wizard of Westroads]

In the last 2 games if Creighton...
- had hit late key free throws,
- or late key under-10-seconds-left 3-pointers,
- or if their shooting guards didn't go a combined 0-12 from the field.
- or if Loyola's backup SG, averaging 4 minutes a game, didn't hit three 3-ptrs (the 1st of his college career)...

if any one of these improbable things hadn't happened, then the Jays would've won each game...
and then McDermott would be in conversations for Coach of the Year.

I know, "if, if, if...", but you can't talk about firing a coach based on couple-few razor thin close losses.

My opinion here, but I thought 5 Big East teams would make the NCAA's, and the 5th would be one of Providence, Marquette or Creighton... whichever team works in their new players best... whichever team can avoid dumb losses due to players not having enough court time together... PC lucked out vs Illinois and Rhody... a missed layup, a missed dunk, a missed 3 pointer... and a tip in with 0.2 on the clock. Hey, last year we lost to freakin Brown and BC.

With Creighton, they should look at their blowout win vs a good UMass team as what to expect going forward. Again, just my opinion, but in the games I've seen Creighton play, I've thought that Watson needs to slow down and play at a more sensible pace... sometimes it's better to go at 90% speed... the guy sometimes plays out of control.

As far as the talent goes, Creighton looks noticeably better than in the past. They look more athletic, muscular, and look to have more raw talent and a higher ceilings. They just need more time. Huff looks like a stud. Thomas is only a freshman and is fantastic. I hope CU continues being a running, 3-point shooting group, rather than falling too much in love with Groselle's post up game, cuz (my opinion) that slower pace can sometimes affect outside shooters' rhythms.

Oh yeah, one last thing... I was never a fan of the thought that "Coach X has never won without Player X"... or "Coach X has never recruited a stud that didn't live within 50 miles of campus"... that type of thing... usually it involves small samples sizes and a zillion other issues. McDermott's last 3 years at Northern Iowa (which he built from nothing) he went like 65-31 with 3 NCAA bids. Then he was like at .500 at Iowa State in a stacked Big 12. I don't see the problem.

Anyway, I talk too much...

You're a wise man. But we have some fans who don't understand things like process and patience. And also the idea that sometimes games turn on small things that can be corrected.

[cu blujs]

Truth be told only a few Creighton fans who can't yet shake the MTV "if we have one bad game we are screwed" mentality are throwing in the towel. There is no wide spread panic by most who understand we are still working to make pieces fit. ASU was a lost opportunity to get a quality win. It is not a season killer. Loyola wasn't good, but there is a reason power conference schools don't like to go on the road against mid-majors. We did the same to almost every power conference team we managed to get to come to Omaha in our MVC days. Looks like Huff will miss the Nebraska game, which will hurt. But we should have enough depth to get that one and then let her all hang out against OU and see what happens.

Top four finish in BE gets us in the dance regardless of a few noncon losses(I know but until it's over there is always hope) and if we can't quite get there, a top 6 finish puts us in the NIT. I still think we are right in the thick of a 4-6 finish before it's all said and done. So it isn't over yet.

[HoosierPal]

Is McDermott a good coach or did he have a great son?

At N. Iowa, ISU and Creighton without son = 168 - 153
At Creighton with son = 107-38

Extremely misleading since McDermott built Northern Iowa from absolutely nothing to a perennial NCAA team in 3 years.

168-153 is misleading? Numbers don't lie.

At ISU and Creighton without son = 78-90. That is a 46% winning percentage in the last two gigs without Doug.

[billyjack]

Hoosier,
McD took over Northern Iowa when the program was horrible. By year 3 they went on a 3 year NCAA run. So it's unfair to count his first 2 years at No Iowa against him.

Iowa State he was around 500 in a stacked Big 12.

With Creighton he graduated a ton of seniors in 2014, so 2015 was naturally a down year. Here in 2016 they'll improve.

Why is it relevant about his son being on the team?
Chuck Noll made no Super Bowls and only 1 AFC Title Game without Franco Harris and Terry Bradshaw... so... Chuck Noll was a bad coach?
Casey Stengel's record as manager is below 500 and he never made a World Series without Yogi Berra on his team... so... Casey Stengel was a bad manager?

Is there anything specific that McDermott does with strategies or roster building that you don't like?

[cu blujs]

IMO, the one thing that he probably could have and should have done different in hindsight is to not start the season out by just handing the keys to Mo Watson and telling him to go run the offense. It appears they decided that with Mo they could leave it to Mo to direct a more unstructured motion offense, rather than more controlled offensive sets as they have done in the past. With a bunch of fellas that have spent little time on the floor together against outside competition, that strategy hasn't worked. It has been harder for guys like IZ and Hegner to get open looks against more athletic teams, and we are spending too much time with the ball stuck in Mo's hands without much flow to the offense. Yes, we have scored well against lesser opponents. But, when we run into athleticism that can take away Mo's drives and can keep up with cutting players, the offense has stagnated at times. And, I do think there has to be more emphasis toward better one on one defense, to at least impede the guys movement toward the basket.

But, I think they will get things straightened out. I am not in the sky is falling, can Mac now crowd by any stretch.

[mel ott]

In the last 2 games if Creighton...
- had hit late key free throws,
- or late key under-10-seconds-left 3-pointers,
- or if their shooting guards didn't go a combined 0-12 from the field.
- or if Loyola's backup SG, averaging 4 minutes a game, didn't hit three 3-ptrs (the 1st of his college career)...

if any one of these improbable things hadn't happened, then the Jays would've won each game...
and then McDermott would be in conversations for Coach of the Year.

I know, "if, if, if...", but you can't talk about firing a coach based on couple-few razor thin close losses.

My opinion here, but I thought 5 Big East teams would make the NCAA's, and the 5th would be one of Providence, Marquette or Creighton... whichever team works in their new players best... whichever team can avoid dumb losses due to players not having enough court time together... PC lucked out vs Illinois and Rhody... a missed layup, a missed dunk, a missed 3 pointer... and a tip in with 0.2 on the clock. Hey, last year we lost to freakin Brown and BC.

With Creighton, they should look at their blowout win vs a good UMass team as what to expect going forward. Again, just my opinion, but in the games I've seen Creighton play, I've thought that Watson needs to slow down and play at a more sensible pace... sometimes it's better to go at 90% speed... the guy sometimes plays out of control.

As far as the talent goes, Creighton looks noticeably better than in the past. They look more athletic, muscular, and look to have more raw talent and a higher ceilings. They just need more time. Huff looks like a stud. Thomas is only a freshman and is fantastic. I hope CU continues being a running, 3-point shooting group, rather than falling too much in love with Groselle's post up game, cuz (my opinion) that slower pace can sometimes affect outside shooters' rhythms.

Oh yeah, one last thing... I was never a fan of the thought that "Coach X has never won without Player X"... or "Coach X has never recruited a stud that didn't live within 50 miles of campus"... that type of thing... usually it involves small samples sizes and a zillion other issues. McDermott's last 3 years at Northern Iowa (which he built from nothing) he went like 65-31 with 3 NCAA bids. Then he was like at .500 at Iowa State in a stacked Big 12. I don't see the problem.

Anyway, I talk too much...

You're a wise man. But we have some fans who don't understand things like process and patience. And also the idea that sometimes games turn on small things that can be corrected.

Great post billyjack

[gtmoBlue]

Hey Mel, Wiz, cu blujys, other team posters:

Nice speech Billyjack...email me a copy to use over on Bluenotes Blog.

I just looked over on BJ Underground and Bluejay Banter (Rivals). There does seem to be a small, but building groundswell of negative posts against Coach and the team on the Underground. Which is amazing since only a handful of us Bluejay fans predicted better than 17-18 W's for this team. (In my August official gtmoBlue predictions ONLY had the Jays winning 23 in the regular season.)

What's the problem here folks? If you expect the team to be middlin' and they prove you out...is that a "problem"? Fact is many on our boards (not Mel, Wiz, or CU Blujys) consider themselves "analysts" and like to pick the team apart, some attack players as they have no lives aside from being message board members, and many are just run of the mill whiners. All boards and fanbases have them...it just seems we (Creighton) have a few more than our share.

Yes. I without a doubt imbibe the Creighton Koolaid - proudly. I have done so for decades and my liver is still good. The conference is good - we have to improve. I am of the opinion we can compete and finish in the top half of the conference and dance. I am sticking with both my prognostication and my opinion. Could I be wrong? possibly. However, my predictions are generally better than 90% of other predictions cast over the last 10 years on Creighton boards. I'll roll the dice and take my chances - on both gtmo predictions and Bluejay performance.

+1 on the previews of 2016-17, forecasts of better recruiting, et. al. I like it here, in the here and now. Next season will show up on schedule in Nov. 2016. Creighton still surprises folks - this season - and finishes well dancing!

gtmoBlue

[HoosierPal]

Hoosier,
McD took over Northern Iowa when the program was horrible. By year 3 they went on a 3 year NCAA run. So it's unfair to count his first 2 years at No Iowa against him.

Iowa State he was around 500 in a stacked Big 12.

With Creighton he graduated a ton of seniors in 2014, so 2015 was naturally a down year. Here in 2016 they'll improve.

Why is it relevant about his son being on the team?
Chuck Noll made no Super Bowls and only 1 AFC Title Game without Franco Harris and Terry Bradshaw... so... Chuck Noll was a bad coach?
Casey Stengel's record as manager is below 500 and he never made a World Series without Yogi Berra on his team... so... Casey Stengel was a bad manager?

Is there anything specific that McDermott does with strategies or roster building that you don't like?

I have simply listed numbers relative to the thread topic. You commented that the historical numbers are misleading. Pretty simple in my book, wins are wins and losses are losses. You are free to interpret the numbers as you wish. With Doug, his record at the major schools is around .737. Without Doug his record is 0.523. That's not relevant? Whatever....

And just for the record, Casey Stengel was 1905-1842 as a manager. My math puts that above .500.

[billyjack]

Hoosier,
McD took over Northern Iowa when the program was horrible. By year 3 they went on a 3 year NCAA run. So it's unfair to count his first 2 years at No Iowa against him.

Iowa State he was around 500 in a stacked Big 12.

With Creighton he graduated a ton of seniors in 2014, so 2015 was naturally a down year. Here in 2016 they'll improve.

Why is it relevant about his son being on the team?
Chuck Noll made no Super Bowls and only 1 AFC Title Game without Franco Harris and Terry Bradshaw... so... Chuck Noll was a bad coach?
Casey Stengel's record as manager is below 500 and he never made a World Series without Yogi Berra on his team... so... Casey Stengel was a bad manager?

Is there anything specific that McDermott does with strategies or roster building that you don't like?

I have simply listed numbers relative to the thread topic. You commented that the historical numbers are misleading. Pretty simple in my book, wins are wins and losses are losses. You are free to interpret the numbers as you wish. With Doug, his record at the major schools is around .737. Without Doug his record is 0.523. That's not relevant? Whatever....

And just for the record, Casey Stengel was 1905-1842 as a manager. My math puts that above .500.

We're not going to agree on the McDermott thing. No biggie.

Casey Stengel Managerial Record:
With Yogi Berra on his team: 1149 - 696 = .623 winning percentage.
Without Yogi on his team: 756 - 1146 = .397 winning percentage.

Without Yogi he won only 39.7% of his games.

Quotes on his Wikipedia page from "Ball Four" etc...

Warren Spahn played for him in 1942 and 1965...
"I'm probably the only guy who worked for Stengel before and after he was a genius."

By the way, love this quote from him:
Referring to the rookies Ed Kranepool and Greg Goossen [who he didn't think gave enough effort] in 1965, Stengel observed, "See that fellow over there? He's 20 years old. In 10 years he has a chance to be a star. Now, that fellow over there, he's 20, too. In 10 years he has a chance to be 30..."