The main thing is--
---These are good players--best group we have had in YEARS--

Some things are radically wrong , obviously

What might they be and can they be cured ??

---Too many second half collapses--one might happen--but four or is it FIVE ??
--Lack of proper conditioning ? Perhaps
--Not enough "bench" ?? I doubt this--If true though, why did we recruit those who sit ??
---I know only five can play at once--but , if bench is good enough to be recruited--USE THEM--I feel that is what Pre=con games are for.
---We have one Leader and that is the Coach--but he had best be better than he has been showing me--an amateur--
--It does no good to punish players on court--in public--eg, pulling a man after one shot. I feel a team MUST play to its strengths first within in a system --IF it fits. If not whay was the player recruited. In the case of Turk--I feel his head is 'mixed up" at the moment--His job as I see it is to SHOOT--Get into position and SHOOT. The kid looks to me from afar to be a nervous wreck--Whose fault ??

Now then , the Leaders on this team MUST lead !! Keke, Milton and Christian--although Thomas has his hands full out dueling guys four to five inches taller--BUT the other two MUST get down to business. These three can lead in practice--they must--AND on court as well.
There are others whoo can fill the "Leader " bill--but need to produce as well. OR they should not have been recruited.

--PM--I did not see his discussion after the last clunker--BUT his saying what some of you reported , would be in my opinion--out of line--especially where he said it--That stuff is for the locker room.

Now then , we have one more game to go before the MVC games start in--His record at Ill ST now is a worry to me.

The bottom line for me is--This team is far better Than what we have shown---WE should have been ub=ndefeated or have but one loss to date---That is on Coach Moser , I think---

Hate to say this but we may see some transfers at year's end , if these collapses do not cease.

Sorry about the length of this rant--BUT PLAY THE BIGS !!!!

I have been deliberately trying to be less directly critical than I was in my last go 'round with administering the site. I was thinking about some of the issues you brought up earlier today, but didn't initiate a post about it. But since you brought it up....

I think the rotations, gameplans, and player minutes are going to have to be radically adjusted. We currently have only 7 players who have played in every game, and only 7 players who average more than 8 minutes who have played in more than half our games. We have three players averaging 32 minutes per game or more, and five players averaging more than 25. That pace simply can't be sustained. Some players are going to have to be added to the mix and/or play more minutes-- that's clear.

Complicating this issue is the fact that some players need to have certain complementary players on the floor at the same time-- you don't want to have four or five non-scorers on the court at the same time, and you need to have at least one natural floor leader on the court at all times. For instance, I think King and O'Leary wouldn't work so well together in the frontcourt, but the combos of King and Thomas or King and Osborne would be OK. Likewise, I think Johnson and O'Leary or Thomas work better together than Johnson and Osborne-- especially if Johnson is reigned in from shooting from more than 10 feet from the basket. I think White, Crisman, or Thomas must be on the court at all times because of their court leadership, and Doyle and Osborne need to develop in that role.

Another thing that has to be developed is backing Thomas off from the 4 to the 3-- or even the 2-- on some rotations against certain teams. I don't think we've ever seen White, Doyle, Thomas, Osborne and King out on the floor at the same time (maybe a minute or two against Miss. St.?), let alone White, Thomas, O'Leary, Osborne and King. I have no idea what this would look like in a real game, but you have to believe these and other sets have been looked at in practice. It would be hard for me to imagine that this could be even more unworkable than four guys playing 30-37 minutes against a much taller, more versatile, better-rested team that's annihilating us on the boards on our own court as NIU did.

I mostly agree about your assessment of the team in terms of talent, especially if Christian Thomas is allowed to play more minutes in a more natural role (at the 3 or even the 2). Unfortunately, this means the coach is going to have to trust King and/or Johnson to play up to 8 minutes a game. Maybe this means they don't play against frontcourt starters, but most frontcourt starters are off the court for 12-15 minutes a game. Maybe it requires Doyle to experiment a little at the point. The bottom line is, it appears to me, that we don't have nearly enough versatility in the gameplan for players who look like they have enough talent and ability to be much more versatile. The rigidity in the gameplan is constraining the ability to create mismatches, and insisting that some players have to work much harder in unfamiliar, unnatural roles.

It's too bad we're this far into the season before we have the chance to make these adjustments. The best place to test this in actual game situations with all the players healthy was the tournament in Portland. The collapses in the Tennessee Tech, Tulane, and Portland State games should have pointed out the need for adjustments. Now we have only one more game before the MVC slate begins.