An open letter to the WSU freshmen
by Jeff Nusser on Feb 10, 2009 3:14 PM PST
in WSU Cougar Basketball
12 comments
Dear freshmen --
First of all, let me take a moment to introduce myself. My name is Jeff Nusser, and if you haven't been a frequent visitor to CougCenter, you might not know that I've been one of your biggest supporters this year. At every turn, I've stumped for your increased playing time, believing that we needed your superior athleticism on the floor to compete with the Pac-10's best night in and night out.
I even went so far last week as to call one of the most revered men in all of Cougar athletics -- your coach, Tony Bennett -- crazy for not playing you guys more. Now that's faith in your abilities, right?
But I have to admit that even my blind faith has its limitations.
Klay, you can stop reading at this point, unless you just want to provide some moral support for your classmates. You've been all we could have expected -- and more. Some might quibble about your seeming aversion to the rim, but you've already had the greatest impact of any freshman in the history of WSU basketball. While it hasn't always been a storied history, it's still a long one, so that's saying something.
Beyond that, you've provided the two most memorable moments of the entire year: That insane fastbreak dunk against Stanford and unreal shooting performance against Arizona State. You play like you've been in the program for years, and I don't want you to think we take that for granted. We don't.
But Marcus, DeAngelo and Mike ... I must admit that after this weekend, I'm feeling a little bit silly for having your back all year long.
Sure, there have been flashes of brilliance. DC, we won't soon forget your game changing defensive efforts against Stanford and Arizona State. Marcus, you don't exactly have a defining moment this year, but your defensive prowess -- which already has us drawing comparisons to a Coug favorite who's now playing in the NBA -- and rebounding ability hasn't gone unnoticed. And Mike ... well ... never mind. We'll just trust that there's a reason that you were once considered the jewel of that recruiting class, and leave it at that.
However, I feel as though my love has been unrequited, for the most part. Here we are, four months into the season, and you still haven't figured out a way to consistently wedge yourselves into the rotation. It's tempting to blame Coach Bennett for not giving you more of a leash -- and I'll be first in line to say that he hasn't always put you guys in the best possible position to succeed -- but any honest assessment of your performance to this point would find it lacking more often than not.
Look, everyone understands that you're freshmen. And we understand that there will be a certain amount of mistakes that come along with that. But those mistakes ought to be diminishing after 23 games, and Saturday was an absolute disaster on that front. Bennett put each of you in the game at different junctures, and each of you in turn made major mistakes that simply should not be happening in February -- freshmen or not.
At some point, you guys have to all prove that you belong out there -- not just because of your tantalizing athleticism and not just every once in a while, but every night for 20-plus minutes. At some point, you've got to force Coach Bennett to play you by making the right plays at the right time more often than not. At some point, you've got to take your playing time into your own hands.
That time came, but it certainly hasn't gone.
DC, you've got to concentrate on every pass that comes into your hands on offense, and you've got to stay in ready at all times on defense. Marcus, you've got to stop thinking so much on defense and just stay in front of people -- the guy you're guarding should be uncomfortable at all times. Oh, and looking to drive on offense once in a while wouldn't hurt, either, since we all know that jumpshot is still a couple of years away. And Mike, you've simply got to make a shot. Carry yourself like you actually belong out of there, because you do.
Guys, it's time to grow up. You're not kids anymore. You're veterans now, and its time to start playing that way. Reward the faith I've had in you this year by stepping up your game over these final eight or so contests. Because I hate to say it, but if this team is to have any aspirations of postseason play -- whether it be the NCAA Tournament, the NIT or otherwise -- it's on your backs. That much was made clear on Saturday.
We need you. Won't you bring it for us?
Sincerely,
Nuss
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Think so?
Maybe that’s how others feel, too, given the lack of comments on it. I just feel like at some point these guys have to force Tony’s hand, and for the most part they haven’t done it. Maybe that’s to be expected. Maybe we have too big of expectations. I don’t know.
Do I expect too much?
I didn't think it was harsh
Coming into the season I thought NIT was probably our destination, maaaaaaybe NCAA if all the freshmen were spectacular. Only Klay has fit that bill so far, with DC and Capers showing flashes. I’m not terribly disappointed overall with the season so far, and I don’t think it’s unreasonable to say that the freshmen are holding the team back. It is unreasonable to say that we are mad at them for not filling DLow and Weaver’s shoes. They’re just freshmen, and I think the letter says that for the most part.
I agree with Nuss in that the frustrating part is that the frosh haven’t noticeably improved over the course of the year. I think at year’s end we will look back and see that some of the freshmen had moments of brilliance (DC’s defense against Harden, Capers against Oregon) but didn’t steadily get better and force their way into the rotation. At this point each of them outside of Klay is a role player at best, getting minutes dictated by matchups, when we can see that DC and Capers have the potential to be starting. Part of our expecations this year were that we would struggle out of the gate but the freshmen would get enough experience to where we could finish strong, and we don’t seem to be doing that.
I’m not sure whose fault it is, but stupid fouls, sloppy defense and crucial turnovers have all been seen in too large amounts by our frosh. Maybe Tony isn’t doing that good of a coaching job (I think he’s better at improving players in the offseason than during the year), and maybe it’s just a typical confidence thing, I dunno.
Tony Bennett for Heisman!
by johnnycougar on Feb 11, 2009 9:31 AM PST up reply actions
That's my main gripe that I hope came through
I’m not mad. I just expected more improvement, and expected that they’d force their way in by the end of the year. Like I said, maybe I expected too much.
I don't think you expected too much
This was a “heralded” frosh class and they really don’t look much different now than they did in game one. Maybe it is due to inconsistent PT. I remember Weaver, Low, and Cowgill showed great improvement over the course of the season (also they learned to just make sure TK was shooting the ball every time down).
by Craig Powers on Feb 11, 2009 10:53 AM PST up reply actions
They also were relied upon to a ridiculous degree
They logged way more minutes than these guys have.
by Jeff Nusser on Feb 11, 2009 11:29 AM PST up reply actions
Yes they were
And at 4-7 in conference, I think it is time to give some of these freshman those extended minutes. Especially if upperclassmen (daven and nik) are underperforming.
by Craig Powers on Feb 11, 2009 12:36 PM PST up reply actions
I think that is the point right there.
If there is a letter to be written, it should be written to the underachieving upperclassmen who have gotten progressively worse over the course of the season.
Comparing the development over 20 games with class to the class four years ago isn’t really fair. There are too many differences. This team had a different expectation, the conference is no longer in Bennett ball shock (in fact many of the teams have adopted some of the style) and these guys aren’t getting the same kind of run that those guys got.
Many of the mistakes these kids have made haven’t been able to be reckoned because they are yanked off the court so fast and then you don’t see them for a week. Our lasting impression of them game is a mistake because they aren’t allowed to play through them. If you break down film, there is a lot that these kids do in the games that (in my opinion) are farther along than some of what Low, Weaver and Cowgill were doing as freshman. Hell, they’re already almost as good as guys that have been on this team for 3 or 4 years.
I'm not saying that I disagree with you
I just think it was harsh.
Throw some mud at the upperclassmen. Or guys like Lodwick who should be better than what he has performed.
I think, in general, the upperclassmen are who they are
The only guy I think who is playing vastly below his potential is Harmeling. You could make a similar argument about Koprivica, but I’d argue he’s playing pretty close to his true ability level. And Rochestie, Baynes and Forrest? Those guys are giving everything they humanly have.
Also, I’ve thrown plenty of mud at the upperclassmen this year — as has everyone else. I figured it was time I spread it around a little bit and show that the freshmen aren’t some kind of sacred cows that are immune from criticism.
by Jeff Nusser on Feb 12, 2009 11:35 AM PST up reply actions
By upperclassmen basically meant Harmeling and Koprivica.
and as for spreading it around; I can respect that.
Hopefully
The Ducks will give us a brief cure. This season has been a little maddening. I am hoping TB let’s the frosh have more time to make their mistakes and more importantly learn from them to help us down the road.
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