BG vs Ball State

[Hockey John]

The last two seasons were greatly impacted by injuries. Freshman post Lauren Webb and Junior Erica Donavan blew out their knees in the same game and were lost for the season. We were 6 -2 at the time. We later had 3 more season ending injuries before the end of that season. We finished that season with no post players, only 7 players on the roster including one volleyball player and a couple of those players were not in the best of shape. NO COACH, not even Coach Miller could have won that season. Remember that Erica Donavan was a preseason first team all MAC player and playing like a star.

Those injuries also impacted last season as Lauren Webb did not return to school from her injury weakening the current junior class. More impacting was that Erica Donavan never recovered from her injury and left the team. Without that one injury we have a potential all MAC player helping the team.

I admit that this season is frustrating, but I will continue to back Coach Roos and believe that she and her staff can turn it around.

I wonder how some of you would respond if people constantly discussing your job performance in public and on the internet.

To GMartin and other, if you are unhappy stay home. I have supported BG athletics for 41 years and will continue to support BG by attending as many games as possible both at BG and on the road.

[gmartin]

I wasn't negative two years ago with all the injuries. But that has been two years ago. The Juniors and seniors this year should have developed. They haven't. You can't blame those on injuries. I strongly believe that Coach Roos is a great recruiter and a great associate coach, just not head coach. You have a few players that have left the program over the last few years. You have players that have not developed from their freshman season. You have the incident with assistant coach Ali Man. All of that unfortunately falls on the head coach. A coach can not worry about rumors that they may hear or read on the internet. Every coach whether it is high school college or professional will be criticized and judged. I donate over $40,000 per year to the Falcon Club. I buy a total of 24 season tickets for 4 sports, many of the basketball tickets I give away because I do not make it up from Indianapolis every game. I feel I have every right to express my opinion. I appreciate the hard work that the coach has put in over her last five years at the head coach and the time as an associate coach under Miller but I strongly believe we need to look a different direction.

[elmrfudd]

True, injuries are very unfortunate. But the time for using past injuries as an excuse for today's problems is over. I, too, have supported BGSU athletics for many years, but we, as fans, should never have to settle for programs continually in the cellar, and neither should the university. As far as staying home, many times we feel like it, rather than sitting through the punishment our team is taking on the floor, but we go because they deserve our support, regardless if we like the outcome. Also, any time our coaches take over a high profile position, they subject themselves to the scrutiny of the public eye, whether their performance is worthy of praise or criticism. It's all part of the job, like it or not. And I, for one, along with many others who are seeing the same thing I see, do NOT believe that Roos and her staff can, or will, for that matter, turn this ship around. I simply believe it "ain't gonna happen"! Time for a change!

[fredthefalcon]

I think it is telling in Hockey John's post that the downfall of the program started with Erica Donovan's injury and it is also telling that Donovan was basically the last Miller recruit and yes I know that there was at least one other Miller recruit still on the roster. However, Donovan was an All-MAC potential player. So without any Miller recruits left, Roos has struggled greatly. I will again say that in Roos' recruiting we have not concentrated on urban hot beds of basketball or any foreign players. Compare our rosters to any other MAC teams that comes into town and there is a definite difference in the speed and physicality shown.

[Flipper]

Injuries from two years ago are an excuse for today's losing? That's a stretch....and didn't we have a schollie or two open when this injuries happened? Maybe 9-21 wouldn't have happened with a full roster

[gmartin]

Don't you think the current Juniors and seniors would have developed a little bit more with more playing time a few years ago with all the other injuries??

[Hockey John]

Abby was also being recruited by Miller as the recruiting process is more than a one year process. Also I am not using the injuries as an excuse for this season, but it is my opinion that they did impact us for two seasons as a healthy Donavan and Webb would have brought a much better record with them.

[Flipper]

Much better? Donovan would have helped...projecting much from Webb when the rest of her class flattened out here so badly is a HUGE stretch

[elmrfudd]

gmartin, as I firmly believe more playing time helps in the development of a player, I also believe that most of a player's development comes from the work put in during the off-season, along with hard work during practice to hone their individual skills. That's where you notice a player's progression from season to season. Coach Roos cannot continue to even hope to make her team better until her players get better individually. That means spending lots of time with all the players, and separating their strengths from their weaknesses. Then they need to fine-tune their strengths and work to eliminate their weaknesses to make their individual skill sets more rounded. I've said all along that where this coaching staff has dropped the ball all along is their lack of player development, not in recruiting, and not in in-game coaching skills. Our coaches must prepare EVERY player mentally, physically, and bring them to the appropriate skill level to be able to not only compete, but to excel at the D1 level. The last three seasons, our BGSU women's basketball team has not been prepared on ANY of those levels. Bottom line is, we must recruit good players, THEN turn them into great players, then blend them together to make them a GREAT TEAM, and success will follow. Once the players are confident that their basketball skills have been maximized, then it becomes so much easier to play with heart, with tenacity, and with much resolve! Just my honest opinion.....

[threestooges]

I think it is telling in Hockey John's post that the downfall of the program started with Erica Donovan's injury and it is also telling that Donovan was basically the last Miller recruit and yes I know that there was at least one other Miller recruit still on the roster. However, Donovan was an All-MAC potential player. So without any Miller recruits left, Roos has struggled greatly. I will again say that in Roos' recruiting we have not concentrated on urban hot beds of basketball or any foreign players. Compare our rosters to any other MAC teams that comes into town and there is a definite difference in the speed and physicality shown.

For what it's worth, Donovan was not a Miller recruit. He left in March of 2012, and Roos added Donovan to the roster sometime in the summer of 2012. Regardless of which coach brought her in, her injury (2014-15) and her quitting the team (2015-16) obviously had a profound impact on BG's success, or lack thereof, in the last two years.