There was a lot of bad body language throughout the season ... but on paper it will look like a good season in a few years, and gets the drought off of RU’s back ... the hot start set very high expectations which didn’t help ... l sad to see JY leave ... he was my favorite player to watch and has elite speed and athleticism ... what bothers me now is with so many people leaving, how does RU not take a major step back next year ... recruiting, transfers, existing players?
Conjecture about team conflict
- Thread starter ImBadRU
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I agree with much of what you wrote. I'll never forget Geo's post-game interview after the first Iowa loss that the team felt OK after the loss because they knew they were good. Soon after the wheels started coming off the wagon...Last year's team was better and was peaking at the right time. When reality hit and the team most needed leadership it was missing from its veteran players Geo , Harper and Myles....Myles doesn't have the personality and fire to lead except by example and Harper is not very vocal . Unfortunately Geo could have provided leadership but was rehabbing his bad ankle and playing poorly at the time. Just bad timing for him and the team....
That’s some wild speculationI disagree. I saw a team lacking enthusiasm that for stretches looked like it didn't want to be on the court. Not everybody, but enough of the starters.
Does anyone remember the season (late in his career) when Don Mattingly was moved from #3 in the order to #2 in the order? And that seemingly unimportant move completely wrecked his confidence and sent him into a depression for months? It was all the beat writers talked about at the time ... and whenever they asked him about it, he gave them a dissertation on how the #2 hitter is expected to do completely different things (bunt, move runners over, etc) than the #3 hitter (drive in runs) and he was now having to change his approach at the plate. And overnight, he went from the team leader to a guy who moped and moped? And everyone else in the world was like, "No dude, he just moved you up a space because we don't have two natural fits for the top of the order." Well, sometimes a person wraps their identities around something nobody else realizes is uber-important to him.
My best guess is Baker was crushed when he found out Young was the "point" guard this year and it affected his approach the entire season. Young was the ball handler; Harper was the primary scorer; and Baker acted like his roles on the team had been taken from him. And he spent a huge portion of the season with body language like he didn't know what he was supposed to do and he didn't want to be there - especially every time Young was on the court.
Speculation? Sure. "Wild" speculation? Maybe; it doesn't seem that wild to me. But the re-distributed roles, regression in performance and poor body language are not speculation.
My speculation:
there was some bad body language, some giving up when games got off to very bad starts, and some minor conflict on the team
this was because they were stuck seeing only each other for months and dedicating their entire lives to basketball in a way that is unprecedented EVEN for top level D1 players.
none of this will carry over to next year
there was some bad body language, some giving up when games got off to very bad starts, and some minor conflict on the team
this was because they were stuck seeing only each other for months and dedicating their entire lives to basketball in a way that is unprecedented EVEN for top level D1 players.
none of this will carry over to next year
Actually so far NO one has left. Being in the portal doesn’t mean you can’t withdraw and stay.
What about all our senior laden teams in the last 38 years? How many made the big dance?
it was frustration, not lack of enthusiasm. Understandable given the Covid situation.