Even Burton was half-assing it and thus was planted on the bench longer than ever.
Anyone who reads my posts knows that I'm not a "the sky is falling guys." That said, this is worse than Brey's final year. This is really worse than MacLeod's teams. They always hustled and played defense, no matter how awful they were offensively. It was Keystone Cops tonight on offense. The frightening thing is that the players seem no more clued into what they're supposed to be doing as I do.
I truly would not be disappointed if there was a total fresh start, total overhaul of personnel for next season, and I mean everyone. I like Burton, but the effort tonight from him and everyone else, save for Garrett Sundra, was piss-poor, and great players don't play like that. Shrews brought in this entire roster, save JR. His transfer guys have been completely overmatched. His first two recruiting classes have been revealed to be extremely weak. Their performances make me question if the incoming class will prove to be similarly overrated. This program will never be competitive if its transfer are mostly comprised of Ivy league and Patriot League transfers. Frankly, if underclassmen transfers are mostly verboten, I don't believe this program will ever be competitive.
Replies to: Even Burton was half-assing it and thus was planted on the bench longer than ever.
I'm not one to dis individual players but
While clearly the problems re: lack of talent/ lack of effort/poor coaching are a pervasive problem on this team, the "best" player, Burton, is not part of the solution, i.e., the program might be better off if he moves on at the end of the year.
When he went through his "evaluation" last year with the NBA, I thought he'd come back and be a better true point guard since I can count the number successful 5'10" shooting NBA guards with the fingers on one hand. But he hasn't gotten any better or any smarter as
a player after that feedback. That isn't to say the state of the team is at all on his shoulders ...that is all on the head coach...but it is absurd that in a game when we scored 97 points, there were only 10 assists and he is the lead ball handler on this team. The whole team seems to stand around and watch while Burton and Davis mindlessly dribbling while trying to get their own shots. Burton's incessant unsuccessful dive bombs through two defensive players seems to indicate, and I know that there are literally only two guys on this team that have any semblance of creating their own shot, that he hasn't learned a thing from his NBA eval.
While I was hoping this year would end up in an NIT bid but that was clearly looking at things through rose-colored glasses. Given that, I am confused why the current crop of freshmen who could serve as a base for the next team get little to no playing time and am worried that they will look for greener pastures. Does 2025-2026 become a 2024-2024 re-set and we are still 3 years away from an NCAA bid.
It has become more and more difficult to watch this team play and seem evidence of progress.
A divorce might be better for both parties.
You can'd overstate how worrisome it is that he mailed in a performance from the opening whistle last night. He didn't want to be out there and I fear he would just as soon the season be over. If true, then, yes, a divorce is in order. His skill set is similar to David Rivers, and even though Rivers averaged 23 a game as a senior, he also averaged 8 assists per game, and was always willing to forsake shots to involve his teammates. And he never mailed in a performance like Burton did last night.
There are really two players that I would like to have back: Mohammed and Sundra. Mohammed has one skill that Bruton does not: exceptional court vision. You see it even in limited minutes and I saw it when he was in high school. It really can't be taught. He just has it. I fear he will be a step slow at this level, but he does have good size. I don't think he will ever be a consistent shooter, but if he can develop his left hand dribble in traffic better, he can score driving to the hoop. Sundra could be a nice glue guy off the bench. I think he can grow into a 35% + three-point shooter. He has good length, and with muscle, I think he will be able to defend at the ACC level. Beyond those skills, he has shown me that he is probably the best team guy on the squad, and will develop into a team leader quite easily. He has a positive demeanor and he was the only ND player last night who played hard the entire time he was in the game. He has qualities you can't measure with statistics. I think Mohammed also could quickly grow into a leader. I will take that over talent that gives up.
It’s become a sad state of affairs quickly. The lack of effort is the most disturbing.
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Are you buying the Rick pitino hype yet?
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