Bluebasketball01 wrote:im a bystander just watching and the sophomores from last year are not any better than they were last year. i wonder if they all just played video games over the summer or golfed. because i can tell they sure didnt play basketball . the point guard keeps dribbling behind his back when it is not necessary and goes east and west only. the other guard keeps carrying the ball and the other sophomore likes giving elbows. everybody thinks these guys have so much talent because of there junior high record. the other teams got better and they didnt. its called work ethic and they dont have it. ballhandling is on the individual when they dont work on their ball skills. they turn the ball over and thats the problem . no coaching change can cure that problem.
I am a parent that has watched these Clay Varsity and J.V. boys play since they were all in biddy-ball, their all wonderful boys. Watching them play East and New Boston, the boys from the starters to the ones sitting on the bench, came out with their heads held high and full of confidence. But watching them against Minford & Eastern you could see they are intimidated by the larger schools. Love the boys, but they do need to work harder over the summer. And we might not agree with all that Coach T. does, but he can not play for the boys, and like everyone else I do my fair share of coaching from the stands. These are a great group of boys that will go on to be great dads and husbands, but there is no future college or NBA players on this team. I've read on here where Arnold King has been mentioned about parents wanting him to be the next H.S. coach, Arnold is a great man, I know him personally, but some parents might not be so eager because if your boy is not able to help the team, he will be riding the pine! Then you all will be against him and wanting ANOTHER coach. Good Luck Boys and have a great season, looking forward to Fridays game! GO PANTHERS!!!!!!!!
Bluebasketball01 wrote:im a bystander just watching and the sophomores from last year are not any better than they were last year. i wonder if they all just played video games over the summer or golfed. because i can tell they sure didnt play basketball . the point guard keeps dribbling behind his back when it is not necessary and goes east and west only. the other guard keeps carrying the ball and the other sophomore likes giving elbows. everybody thinks these guys have so much talent because of there junior high record. the other teams got better and they didnt. its called work ethic and they dont have it. ballhandling is on the individual when they dont work on their ball skills. they turn the ball over and thats the problem . no coaching change can cure that problem.
That just great Opie and WWH. You both get on here and tell us to quit complaining about the coach because the "kids read this stuff " (your quote) and then turn around and say they don't have any talent or work ethic. Do you actually know what each and every kid on that team did over the summer or would you rather down the kids to save face for the coach.
A good HS basketball coach is able to take whatever talent (or lack of talent) he has and use each player to the best of his ability. Coach T has not been able to make any adjustments to match the talent he has since he has came. Like it has been said on here many time, he's a nice guy and could coach at a small college or large HS where there are plenty of players, but he hasn't adjusted to small HS ball yet. I don't think Clay has cut a player from the team since he has came, so you can't even pick and choose who you want, you get whoever trys out.
Since when was Eastern considered a big school? lol Clay and Eastern are about the same......not enough difference to be considered a big to to be intimidated by
I haven't seen Clay play this year at all and am in no way affiliated with the administration, coaching staff, or any player. From what I can gather, there seems to be plenty of blame to go around. I agree that the coach cannot play in the game and essentially cannot be blamed for how the players play, but the team should be practicing certain situations that will occur in games (breaking a press, for example). It sounds like the squad does not have the "know how" to handle those game situations. Turning the ball over is a result of lack of experience handling pressure as well as poor fundamentals. Fundamentals should be practiced everyday. It is the coaches' responsibility to manage practice time to ensure that these fundamentals are being practiced. That, IMHO, is a coaching problem.
However, if the team has no true point guard, and the young men on the team did not work on individual fundamentals to make themselves better, they have no one to blame but themselves. The coach cannot want the team to succeed more than the players want to succeed. If the players do not want to put in the time to make themselves better, no miracle play calling or "magic" defense is going to help. That, IMHO, is a desire/ work ethic/ player's problem.
Like it or not, High School Basketball is a year round sport for the players AND the coaches. But they have to work together. A coach can only help players in the summer if the players show a desire to get better. A player can get better by working on their own, but will get much better if they have proper instruction from a coach that wants their team and individual pieces to be better. It's a two way street. I've learned over the years that if you have a coach that is willing to put in the hours, the players will as well.
Now I'll play devil's advocate! If a coaching change is made, there is a guy who moved into the Clay School district who was a coach on a State Championship team. I have no idea if he would coach or not though!
callingtheshots wrote:am I missing something here, I don't remember seeing intimidation mentioned..
Noexcuses wrote:I am a parent that has watched these Clay Varsity and J.V. boys play since they were all in biddy-ball, their all wonderful boys. Watching them play East and New Boston, the boys from the starters to the ones sitting on the bench, came out with their heads held high and full of confidence. But watching them against Minford & Eastern you could see they are intimidated by the larger schools. Love the boys, but they do need to work harder over the summer. And we might not agree with all that Coach T. does, but he can not play for the boys, and like everyone else I do my fair share of coaching from the stands. These are a great group of boys that will go on to be great dads and husbands, but there is no future college or NBA players on this team. I've read on here where Arnold King has been mentioned about parents wanting him to be the next H.S. coach, Arnold is a great man, I know him personally, but some parents might not be so eager because if your boy is not able to help the team, he will be riding the pine! Then you all will be against him and wanting ANOTHER coach. Good Luck Boys and have a great season, looking forward to Fridays game! GO PANTHERS!!!!!!!!
Actually many people are unaware of enrollment size of schools and are influenced by the size of the facility. For anyone wanting to know the enrollment number for 2009 - 2011 use this link to the OHSAA website. It list every school in the State of Ohio and their boys and girls enrollment numbers.
Do you actually know what each and every kid on that team did over the summer or would you rather down the kids to save face for the coach. 
