Kent State

[Hockey John]

I'm not downplaying any wins we can get, but I've mentioned to others that if Curt Miller were coaching this team, we'd be leading the MAC. I believe Jennifer Roos has recruited well, but what bothers me the most is to see so many very talented players not even coming close to realizing their full potential as basketball players. Does anyone here know if this team even practices with a men's practice squad anymore? If not, they should. I believe this team, and others to come in the future, would greatly benefit from a basketball skills and drills camp like one taught by Stephen Cramer. I've talked to this guy and have seen him in action, and he is the real deal! http://cramerbasketball.com/" target="_blank I really believe that if our coaching staff would implement Mr. Cramer's teachings, our program would go to the next level in a short time.

The curse of Coach Roos is having to follow in Curt Miller's shoes. You are comparing her against someone who is considered one of the greatest basketball coaches in the world. Of course she's going to have a hard time living up to that standard. We were so, so lucky to have Curt Miller. Comparing her to Curt just isn't fair.

That being said, I've been frustrated by the program the last few years. Bringing up injuries that happened three years ago just isn't an excuse anymore. It was a horrible rash of injuries then, but the program is not feeling the affects of those injuries anymore. That's not a decent excuse. But this program is taking small steps in the right direction. Hopefully, we will continue to see those steps (I don't expect to see big steps anytime soon, but small ones are good enough right now) and not giant steps backwards again.

I bring up the injuries because they were directly related to two losing seasons that I believe would have been winning seasons. We were 7 - 2 when we lost two players in the same game including Erica Donovan who playing at an all league level at the time of that injury. Her injury also affected the next season when she was unable to return to her previous level. With a healthy Erica Donovan we have two winning seasons and the complainers would have two less seasons to complain about.

[elmrfudd]

Although I believe Erica Donovan was a good player, I do not believe that she was the lone answer to a winning season. A good player can make a positive impact, but Donovan was not the super hero who could carry the team on her back every game on the way to victory. Remember, basketball is a team sport. It's true that the rest of the MAC has gotten better, and we have not. As I said previously, we have very good players whose skills are vastly undeveloped. We have five players this year that have scored twenty or more points in at least one game, namely Cecil, Lambert, Puk, Santoro, and Rion Thompson. They are all good players, but not fundamentally consistent enough to put up those kind of numbers on a regular basis. It's players who can put it all together consistently who will have the privilege of getting named to the All-MAC teams. We are nowhere near that point yet. The time for excuses for the lackluster play we've been seeing for four years has long past. I've watched and played basketball all my life. I watch game after game, and see that we are a very undisciplined team. And I'm not talking about discipline from their coaches. I'm referring to the discipline of the game, which is the quality of shot selection, passing, rebounding, defense, shot clock management, screens, and leadership. We are nowhere near being the well-oiled machine that I believe we are capable of being. And SOMEBODY needs to step up and make that happen!