Who Is To Blame For Inconsistent Season?

[BaltimoreTerp]

I agree. Does he do any single thing good enough to play in the NBA? He doesn't have a good enough handle or near smart enough to play the point. He can't shoot good enough to be of any use at the 2. He isn't big enough to play the 3 and obviously wouldn't play the 4 or 5. The only way he'll ever play pro is if it's over in Europe........ and when was the last time a kid who wasn't in trouble grade-wise bolted school to play pro over seas?

John Gilchrist?

I mean, he was TRYING to get drafted, but...

[BaltimoreTerp]

As I've said before, its very reasonable to be both unhappy with the state and direction of the program and still think that Gary is the best guy for the job of turning things around.

Fantastic point.

Nobody is happy with missing the tournament, but Gary turned things around once, so he should get the opportunity to do it again.

[Dr. FLK]

Fantastic point.

Nobody is happy with missing the tournament, but Gary turned things around once, so he should get the opportunity to do it again.

Well, that would be admitting that he has "turned it around" twice already. Once from bad to good, and most recently from good to bad...if he hadn't, there wouldn't be an opportunity to "right the ship" yet again.

[Mackus]

Well, that would be admitting that he has "turned it around" twice already. Once from bad to good, and most recently from good to bad...if he hadn't, there wouldn't be an opportunity to "right the ship" yet again.

I don't think it was your intention, but you can in no way state that our current situation and our situation when Gary arrived are even within the same sport, yet alone ballpark.

[Dr. FLK]

I don't think it was your intention, but you can in no way state that our current situation and our situation when Gary arrived are even within the same sport, yet alone ballpark.

I don't. He said that Gary can turn it around again. I just made an inference as to why it needs to be turned around again. But they are obviously "turning around" for a different reason.

[section18]

I have heard that some NBA scouts have told Vasquez he will be drafted in the second round. His family reportedly is not well off financially and he will go to Europe if he isn't drafted by the NBA.

We have 4 star 6'4" shooting guard Sean Mosley and 3 star 6'2" point guard Bobby Maze, the Alan Iverson look alike, coming in to go with Adrian Bowie and Eric Hayes. If we want more team play it's probably better if Vasquez leaves. His remaining games with the team should be interesting. Will he play for the contract and shoot more and stop passing or will he try to distribute the ball and get the team more TV coverage with a few more wins?

If he distributes the ball and stops throwing it away we may play three or four more games counting the NIT. I think I heard when GV's turnovers are under 5 we usually win but lately he has exceeded that number. Are turnovers and sloppy play a result of players being tired? That's what the experts say. If that is the case then Vasquez should not play more than 32-34 minutes in future games.

[Oriole4Life]

^I was reading about our incoming class today. Not to mention 6'10 Gus Gilchrist. I would like to see Mosley start with Bowie next year, but we all know Gary will go with Vasquez and Hayes because they will be upperclassmen.

I'm not an NBA scout, but I would be amazed if Vasquez gets drafted. He can't shoot(how many threes did he clank this year), he turns it over and makes bad decisions. I'm not saying it is impossible, but maybe a late second at the most. Unless his family is starving, I would advise him to stay another year and tighten up his game. But hey, I would actually prefer he leaves so Maze, Bowie, and Mosley get more playing time as you insinuated.

[inmn]

Vasquez is a all ACC second team player, and the most talented player on the team. He is the only creative offensive player on the current roster so he often tries too hard to force plays (he doesn't have a lot to work with).

If you pair Mosley and Bowie together you won't even get the ball past half court under pressure. Bowie may turn out to be a nice change of pace player but he is a 6 foot guard without the ability to handle the ball, he is wonderful in transition but makes a lot of mistakes in half court sets. He will provide some good minutes off the bench next year but will likely be the 5th option behind Vasquez, Mayes, Mosley, and Hayes. Although the points he scored against UVA were nice, he wasn't guarded on the perimeter and didn't exactly slow down UVA's penetration.

Vasquez is not under any financial pressure that I am aware of, why would he leave for non-guaranteed money when he could play his way into the first round? Little risk but a very big reward. The rumors are just that.

[ccbird]

Vasquez is a all ACC second team player, and the most talented player on the team. He is the only creative offensive player on the current roster so he often tries too hard to force plays (he doesn't have a lot to work with).

If you pair Mosley and Bowie together you won't even get the ball past half court under pressure. Bowie may turn out to be a nice change of pace player but he is a 6 foot guard without the ability to handle the ball, he is wonderful in transition but makes a lot of mistakes in half court sets. He will provide some good minutes off the bench next year but will likely be the 5th option behind Vasquez, Mayes, Mosley, and Hayes. Although the points he scored against UVA were nice, he wasn't guarded on the perimeter and didn't exactly slow down UVA's penetration.

Vasquez is not under any financial pressure that I am aware of, why would he leave for non-guaranteed money when he could play his way into the first round? Little risk but a very big reward. The rumors are just that.

Disagree here. He won't be behind Mosley or Maze to start the year. Maze might pass him and I hope he does honestly because it will mean he most likely is starting at the PG. However, I can easily see him taking up a lot of Hayes's minutes. As the 2G, he does everytihng better than Hayes except shoot the 3 pt shot. Heck, he was the one on the floor in crunch time in the Virginia game.

As far as Vasquez leaving I haven't heard anything and I suspect he will be back. However, when you realize we will have 6 guys that can play 2 guard positions next year you start to wonder if somebody will be leaving. Now I know both Grievas and Tucker can play the 3 position so that spreads things out a little more. Still, as things stand now we will have a guard or two who pretty much will be getting no minutes next year.

[inmn]

Disagree here. He won't be behind Mosley or Maze to start the year. Maze might pass him and I hope he does honestly because it will mean he most likely is starting at the PG. However, I can easily see him taking up a lot of Hayes's minutes. As the 2G, he does everytihng better than Hayes except shoot the 3 pt shot. Heck, he was the one on the floor in crunch time in the Virginia game.

As far as Vasquez leaving I haven't heard anything and I suspect he will be back. However, when you realize we will have 6 guys that can play 2 guard positions next year you start to wonder if somebody will be leaving. Now I know both Grievas and Tucker can play the 3 position so that spreads things out a little more. Still, as things stand now we will have a guard or two who pretty much will be getting no minutes next year.

CC,

Don't want to beat up on Bowie too much but if you remember he actually wasn't in there for crunch time because he picked up a bad fourth four on a reach in-he got back in after the damage was done. They were a better team Sun with him on the floor, but I am going to have to disagree with you on a couple of points. Hayes is not as athletic as Bowie but he is a much better ball handler, knows how to create spacing and makes a nice entry pass-all things Bowie struggles with as he has never been a lead guard. He got a lot of minutes Sun because Hayes could not stop penetration and Bowie wasn't all that much better. IMO he's great in run/press situations but not real good in half court defense-Paulus, Singletary and the guards from Ill and UCLA killed him. Everyone seems excited because Bowie had a couple good offensive games but remember basketball is a game of adjustments. Md was playing great until teams just collapsed inside against Gist and Osby-no one plays Bowie on the perimeter because the scouting report is that he has no range-his man was helping in the lane on the last 3 he made!!

Bowie's big problem next year is that Maze has a similar game but can handle the ball and pass much better and Mosley is a much more accomplished and larger player. GW would not offer Maze to have him sit on the bench-not with all the interest in next year's class. Hayes will not have the same pressures that he has this year and all the other guards essentially bring more to the table than Bowie. But he's not a bad guy to have as a fifth guard. This will be a deep and talented team next year if everything goes right.

[Eight]

Bowie has his (glaring) flaws, but so do Hayes, Tucker, and Milbourne (and Maze and Mosley). He has shown himself to be a dynamic scorer (4 double digit games in ACC play despite limited time). Bowie can't shoot, but he can get by his man and into the lane well, and when he does, there are very few that have the talent to finish around the rim the way he does. He is not going to run the point, but he has experience there and has a solid handle. His decision making has also seemed to improve recently. If he can knock down the open three as he has in a few recent games, he will be a VERY valuable offensive player.

I suspect that he might be the fifth perimeter player in the rotation next year, but he has the talent to play 15-20 mins next season IMO.

[ccbird]

CC,

Don't want to beat up on Bowie too much but if you remember he actually wasn't in there for crunch time because he picked up a bad fourth four on a reach in-he got back in after the damage was done. They were a better team Sun with him on the floor, but I am going to have to disagree with you on a couple of points. Hayes is not as athletic as Bowie but he is a much better ball handler, knows how to create spacing and makes a nice entry pass-all things Bowie struggles with as he has never been a lead guard. He got a lot of minutes Sun because Hayes could not stop penetration and Bowie wasn't all that much better. IMO he's great in run/press situations but not real good in half court defense-Paulus, Singletary and the guards from Ill and UCLA killed him. Everyone seems excited because Bowie had a couple good offensive games but remember basketball is a game of adjustments. Md was playing great until teams just collapsed inside against Gist and Osby-no one plays Bowie on the perimeter because the scouting report is that he has no range-his man was helping in the lane on the last 3 he made!!

Bowie's big problem next year is that Maze has a similar game but can handle the ball and pass much better and Mosley is a much more accomplished and larger player. GW would not offer Maze to have him sit on the bench-not with all the interest in next year's class. Hayes will not have the same pressures that he has this year and all the other guards essentially bring more to the table than Bowie. But he's not a bad guy to have as a fifth guard. This will be a deep and talented team next year if everything goes right.

No doubt Bowie has flaws. He is like all the other recruits Gary brings in now days in that he doesn't have anywhere near a complete game. I'm just saying he isn't going to be the 5th guard next year. He will get playing time and it will be at the expense of one or two of the guys you got listed above him on your depth chart. Again, with all guys we got to play the guard position next year I'm really starting to wonder if Bowman is going to be here because of a guard that transfers and not a big man.

[Great 2BA FL Gator]

The last mentally tough/clutch player we have had was John Gilchrist. He believed in himself, and wanted the ball at the end of games to close it out. Since then, we have had guys who seem scared at the end of games, especially this year. Maybe our team needs to spend the summer with Tiger Woods to build some mental toughness, because we would be in the NCAAT if our guys could have just relaxed and made free throws/open shots at the end of games. Vasquez seems to have the swagger of a guy who wants to carry his team, but his actions at the end of games: missing free throws he would make any other time/turning the ball over at crucial times, speak otherwise.

[Great 2BA FL Gator]

^^^ Lack of mental toughness led to our inconsistent season.. Even games we won like Wake/Ga Tech, we couldn't do anything down the stretch, because nobody could step up... we need to get clutch this off season, I don't know how that happens, but it needs to..

[BaltimoreTerp]

The last mentally tough/clutch player we have had was John Gilchrist.

I think that I would put him further down the mental scale towards "bats*** insane" then "mentally tough", but he definitely was clutch.