(11-01-2018 11:43 AM)Purple Pilgrim Wrote: (10-30-2018 10:30 PM)NJDuke97 Wrote: (10-30-2018 05:55 PM)2Buck Wrote: (10-30-2018 04:15 PM)PGJMU2 Wrote: (10-30-2018 04:00 PM)Duke Dawg Wrote: I’d be shocked if HCLR is not here next season, barring a season of <5 wins.
You can kiss Lewis, banks and those top recruits goodbye if Rowe is not back.
And then it’s just starting over........again.
exactly. the core of this team is going to be sophmores and freshman, with a great class coming in next year. You gotta see what Lou can do with them as jrs and sophs.
It is going to be a moot point. Big things for dukes hoops this year.
I have no doubts about the recruits and the talent. I have no doubts his players will be energized to do their best to win. But can Coach Rowe coach? I'm not just talking about motivating the players and assembling a balanced team- can he improve their skills, can he introduce schemes and plays that leverage player strengths, can he plan and make adjustments for opponents, etc?
Basically, can he make the whole better than the sum of its parts? I'm not qualified to judge that, but what I did see in the last 2 years were flashes of good performances off-set by too many blown leads and late-game meltdowns. The teams seemed to under-perform a bit. Maybe now they he's got "his guys" and can do things his way there will be a difference. I want to believe that.
Who out there can give a good assessment of LR's coaching ability? Sure he has to grow with experience, but is this something he can do on his own with the skill set he has? If he's truly a bright young basketball mind that just needs some guidance I'd feel much better about giving him a much longer leash.
Wins and Losses are the barometer- there are plenty of examples of coaches who started poorly Jay Wright, Ed Cooley, Bill Self, etc. in their first 2 years only to turn it around- less precedent for guys who struggled in their first 3 years.
I believe Rowe has shown signs of being a good coach (not just a good recruiter) but ultimately it's wins and losses in terms of how will be judged. Player development- heck even the development of Jackson Kent and Lukic the first year or how Banks, Lewis and some of the younger bigs improved throughout their freshman season.
If kids show they want to improve and be better Rowe has the ability to help them in that journey. He knows basketball. Getting better as a team (sum better than the individual parts) more assists, less turnovers, better team defense as the year went on last year and year 2 vs. year 1.
Things are looking up and there are reasons to be optimistic for this season.
NJDuke97, I am curious what you are seeing or hearing that has led you to feel that HCLR is showing signs of being a good coach.
I think that some of the things that are more obvious to fans - late game game management and play calls out of timeouts - have shown a good deal of room for growth in Lou. However, I am a big believer that much of coaching should (and better) occur before game time.
Is it the improvement of players on the roster? The team’s seeming cohesiveness and lack of off court problems? The respect that the players seem to have for Lou? Other things?
Purple Pilgrim- I'll caveat my post by saying that we all have biases and mine is toward rooting for Coach Rowe and giving him the benefit of the doubt as a young/emerging head coach.
Others may have biases against Coach Rowe- whether it was him being hired in the first place, liking the past coach/thinking he was good, to Coach Rowe's style, to his demeanor on the sidelines or even how he handles the press. With all this said, I believe if you closely watch the program the last few years and are somewhat fair about assessing Coach Rowe you can come away believing that he possesses the traits of a good coach.
Ultimately, you are your record and his record thus far has been poor but I look at not only the final score but how the team plays, their development, and other variables. Here are a few:
Rapport with Players and Staff- based on sitting behind the bench multiple games- Coach Rowe while a young coach commands respect from his players and coaches. He has a quiet confidence about him and you can tell the players like playing for him. He lets the players play but gives feedback throughout the games.
Team cohesion- the team despite ample opportunities to get down on themselves and each other play together and are cohesive in the huddle.
Defense- the metrics support that Coach Rowe's teams play sound defense. This is a tenant of his coaching philosophy. I believe it will only get better as the players develop more maturity and raise their IQ.
Energy/Effort/Fight- his teams have played with consistent effort which shows that he continues to motivate his players despite some bad results.
I believe Coach Rowe is a leader who has instilled a culture and system at JMU. The young men he is recruiting to JMU seem like good kids on and off the floor who have their heads screwed on straight and are hungry to prove themselves and to win together.
Some will point to late game losses as an indictment of his coaching acumen. I believe his teams fight and execute relatively well given their youth to stay in these games. They will learn to execute better at the end of games to turn these close losses into wins.
He isn't without fault for some of the losses but the convenient thing is to blame the coach during close losses (especially if you just look at the box score and don't watch the entire game) but I believe with maturity those losses will turn to wins- it already started trending that way late last year.