Was the BSU game an anamoly or peak behind the curtain to the next act to play out this season?

I think it is more likely that latter.

So buckle your chin strap kiddies you are likely going to experience a bumpy ride that will elicit the typical Bronco fan's bedeviling demons from the past. Please store away and lock up any sharp items. Latch windows on elevated floors and break out the Depends.

Expect to see the "Fire Hawk" thread bumped too.

But really, it's that time of year.

Teams have been toiling and grinding with a variety of results. At this level everyone has a core competency and hole in their swing. The key is mental. Fatigue and confidence. These usually separate the fluff from the real stuff and you can see without rose colored glasses what really exists and to what extent.

So it begs the question raised every year as the buckets season begins to slide into March. "Are we peaking or have we peaked?"

In other words, teams generally play in cycles that if plotted on a graph would look like rolling hills. The length of these rises and dips depend on a host of variables. However, these variables are not responded to the same way by different people.

BSU and Scaife is one example. Instead of laying down and rolling over with Berry out, Scaife's internal pliot light is re lit and he generates enough heat that the up draft pulls his teammates along. (For one game).

Hawk was quoted the other day that he wasnt superstitous just wanted to be careful as it pertained to "not changing things up" for fear that would screw things up.

That singular thought and that process is a clear "sell" signal. If you are worried that you may screw things up by doing your job that indicates that you don't feel you can do anything to continue the desired performance and sense that it is out of your hands.

That may be an accurate statement as it pertains to real time on the floor performance, but it begs the question "What are you preparing to do in the near future when this "ride" is over?" Because you know the "wave" always rolls into shore and peters out.

This time of year many coaches begin to pare back on practice floor time in an attempt to save legs and keep people mentally fresh. Others change some things up by introducing something new, something fresh, something that will stimulate, kind of like rebooting a program. Almost every Joe, Dick and Harry shortens the bench because they feel the pressure of the choke collar they are wearing.

For time immemorial, coaches have wrestled with this predictable event and no one has found the cure.

However, I have a couple suggestions. Keeping in mind, pun intended, that most of this is mental, I would do the following subtle things:
- Play Jared more and encourage him continue to be offensive minded.
- Play Austin less but reframe his thinking and positioning to finish himself
- Play Taylor Perry a minimum of 15 minutes a game. Encourage him to put the ball in the hole not just fit the stopper/passer role.
- Play AJ Avery for some extended minutes. He can be on the floor with Tava, Paul or Whittington. He was putting in some good minutes and then Hawk got alligator arms.

These four kids will be needed come Cleveland. And they will be needed in these roles. You don't throw them out at the last minute hoping they'll deliver. You give them the time to get their feet wet and established.

None of the above means that you dont run your O inside out and minimize Whit. It doenst mean DB isnt someone that you continue to ride (but you have to ask yourself - with a 1 1/2 years off do you want to ride him into Cleveland and have him only with fumes in his tank?). It doesnt mean you turn to Hutch and ask for another 30 pt. nite.

It simply means you have to have confidence and show it for an extended period to the talent you recruited that you will need at some point.

The next several games may be rocky. Maybe not. But there is still plenty of game left BEFORE Cleveland. You want that graph curve to be trending up with a little mo behind it so that the wave can catch a little of the wind to it's back to keep it rolling.

However, that takes time. Why wait. Start it now.

Quote:That singular thought and that process is a clear "sell" signal. If you are worried that you may screw things up by doing your job that indicates that you don't feel you can do anything to continue the desired performance and sense that it is out of your hands.

Neither Jim nor John Harbaugh bought into that philosophy this year, did they?

NO!

LOL. It is one loss. I would bump the "Fire Hawk" thread regardless of Wins/Losses. IMO he isn't the guy to take WMU to the next level.
I still think WMU will be fine this year. The MAC, especially the MAC-West, sucks. WMU is at a level higher than "sucks".

You can't talk about firing a guy who finishes first or second in his division every year.

Edit: I can't...

(02-10-2013 01:56 PM)DesertBronco Wrote:  You can't talk about firing a guy who finishes first or second in his division every year.

Edit: I can't...

Winning the west is like getting a "Winner" ribbon after losing a little league game.

Ok, this is or was it an ant-hawk thread.

All teams play cyclically, I noted before the BSU game that I sensed the kids and staff providing great effort winning some games when they weren't playing their best.

Simply said, not playing your best over a course of time simply means your on the downward trend. Hopefully BSU is the bottom but only time will tell.

Winning during that time can mask some of the things that need amending. A loss simply "codifies" what some were thinking.

So the obvious exists. What now?

Not panic time, just time to look in the mirror, be honest with yourself and make the necessary tweaks.

Can a team take too steep a dive that they can't pull out of it. Yeah, just last year.

This year, there is more talent and is deeper.

I say freshin things up a little bit. Better now then too much later.

Toledo will have the more favorable schedule for the rest of the year and will end up with the best record in the West. EMU is out of it. Would WMU be the MAC West "Champs" in this situation?

(02-10-2013 02:31 PM)realistEagle Wrote:  Toledo will have the more favorable schedule for the rest of the year and will end up with the best record in the West. EMU is out of it.

Makes a good point.

If Toledo wins the West, I think they'll still be crowned MAC West division champs. I believe it's just post-season play that they are deemed ineligible for.

Toledo is rested, they only practice three days a week. Hawk's probably running them ragged.

I thing we should call the league and ask to play all remaining games on the road.

That will be a good challenge and when we win we can bring home their heads on a pike and the committee will know we are not afraid nothing or nobody.

Now is not the time to be backing down.

(02-10-2013 05:39 PM)Chipdip Wrote:  Toledo is rested, they only practice three days a week. Hawk's probably running them ragged.

Actually the NCAA allows Toledo five days of practice and two rest days.
That gives them four extra hours a week to study to help the APR

West champs or not I'm just wondering if we can get to the barn with a 10-6 record. That would probably wrap up a 3rd seed in Cleveland, and an opening game on Thurs. after finishing with 2 home games vs Ball State and CMU. If we win those 2 at home we could have some decent mo for the Thurs start in Cleveland.
Assuming Akron and Ohio finish 1 and 2 seeds we won't face them immediately.
Did this loss at BSU 'expose' us? I don't think so. I think we are what we are. I think we are a good team down low, for the most part, and young and a little shaky at the guard position. David Brown gives us some props there. Has Austin and Jarod hit a wall or is there another level they can get to lift us up? Big question. Not good to have any quesions heading into tourney time.
Maybe the time is now to make changes and see the results before the pressure of the tourney comes.
Maybe move DB to point, spelled by AR and JK, or even just JK and see how AR could handle the 2. Something I have wondered about all year. He was a big scorer in high school, but maybe not in college. Maybe Hawk will play it all too close to the vest to find these things out. And maybe not, we'll see. I think as a 3 seed we have a chance to do something THIS year.
We've proven we can beat teams from the East this year, but there are still doubts about beating the 'big boys' in Cleveland. Hawk needs to correctly assimilate his troops, maybe take some chances with the line-ups to find and build the proper mo to take it all at the Q. To me it is not out of the question, but everything will have fall right for our boys to make it happen. And our coaches have to pull the right strings at the right times.

On a scale of 1 to 10, string pulling has never been a strong point.

It's crazy to think that a 9-7 record probably gets a 3 seed in the tournament.