Ryle has drawn the eventual region champ each of the past 2 years in the first round - one year as district champion and the other as district runner up. Even though they got blown out by Newport in the second half last year, Holmes got totally blown out from the opening tip. At least Ryle hung around for a half against a team that got hot at the right time. Sometimes there is a bit of luck in the draw. If they lose the first round this year, I won't be too quick to saddle the loss on Coach Mullins if the loss was to one of the top teams in the region.

I have known Alan 34yrs and you are flat out wrong (frmwaydwntwn1212) . Fan frustration always exists when that individual fan’s expectations are not achieved. It is easy and safe to talk expectations from the stands. To actually step up and deliver results from the bench is a much different challenge.

Nice win Raiders! As for Conner? What were the supposed gurus of basketball thinking when they voted Conner #1 in the Pre-season? They have disappointing, to say the least.

Don't take the posts out of context. Players should be benched when they don't perform. But a benching should be an opportunity to coach the player as to what needs to be done. Especially when he should be one of your best assets. You don't bury your 6'8" guy.

 

 

I didn't take anything out of context. My comment still stands. How many games has the 6'8" guy been benched, and how has he responded? How long does it take before you "bury" him (as you say)? If the player isn't responding, it isn't all on the coach. You'd think a little bit of self motivation would kick in after a while..........or maybe not.

IMO Player were not properly utilized. Hodges saw very limited minutes in the second half. He could have been a serious mismatch, but I don't believe he was properly instructed on what was needed from him. I beleive it is the coaches job to motivate the players. If a player isn't performing, by all means take him out. But make sure you coach him as to what he needs to do and get him back in. Hodges was too good to be sitting.

 

Hodges didn't play much because Conner needed a prescence inside to help with Stauffer and he continued (as he's done all year) to hang out beyond the 3 pt line, take ill-advised (fading away) shots, and not play with the strength and length that a 6'8 player should. He needs to score inside (as well as outside) but I can't remember him shooting one shot from inside the lane. Hicks benched him mid-year and he seemed to have gotten the message and was playing with a renewed effort, but for some reason the last few games he's reverted to old habits.

 

To address some of the other threads regarding effort--I believe it is the coaches' AND player's responsibility to inspire and produce max effort all the time. This game seemed very typical of the several I have seen from Conner this year. That is, be in a close game at halftime, only to come out and get buried in the 3rd qtr. IMO it doesn't have so much to do with adjustments as it does with the players stepping up and learning how to handle adversity. This team lacked someone who would step up and refuse to lose and lead by example when things got a little tight or tough. They seemed to accept losing or getting beat too easily. I do agree they were overrated talent-wise, but their year is still very disappointing. I wonder if Coach Hicks used last night's post-game speech as a life lesson to not take things for granted and that you need to work hard to achieve your goals. In reading some of the other threads it sounds like something Coach Sullivan might have offered up to his players. I feel for the seniors. There has to be some level of regret that they were not able to have a more successful season as far as W's and L's go.

I didn't take anything out of context. My comment still stands. How many games has the 6'8" guy been benched, and how has he responded? How long does it take before you "bury" him (as you say)? If the player isn't responding, it isn't all on the coach. You'd think a little bit of self motivation would kick in after a while..........or maybe not.

 

 

Ohhh Nooo ..... Rational logic just entered this thread!

Finally something that makes sense in this thread.

As a coach ... I continue to find it to be hilarious that people think think that motivation is only the coaches job.

It's a two way street ... And in this case ... I have watched this coach with my own eyes for years.

I am sure Jim could do things differently ... But motivation is not something he doesn't pass along.

Before long ... There will be no decent coaches left at Conner ... Because of the whining from the "chosen few"

I didn't take anything out of context. My comment still stands. How many games has the 6'8" guy been benched, and how has he responded? How long does it take before you "bury" him (as you say)? If the player isn't responding, it isn't all on the coach. You'd think a little bit of self motivation would kick in after a while..........or maybe not.

 

Hodges was benched after a 2 point performance against Ryle in the Lloyd invitational tournament. He responded with a 11 , 13, and 20 point games. When does he get his spot back. Was the rationale that it worked once so lets keep him coming off the bench? If there were internal problems, couldn't they had been worked out in practice? You would think that you could use a guy like Hodges on the floor.

Ohhh Nooo ..... Rational logic just entered this thread!

Finally something that makes sense in this thread.

As a coach ... I continue to find it to be hilarious that people think think that motivation is only the coaches job.

It's a two way street ... And in this case ... I have watched this coach with my own eyes for years.

I am sure Jim could do things differently ... But motivation is not something he doesn't pass along.

Before long ... There will be no decent coaches left at Conner ... Because of the whining from the "chosen few"

 

Are there any there now?

Hodges didn't play much because Conner needed a prescence inside to help with Stauffer and he continued (as he's done all year) to hang out beyond the 3 pt line, take ill-advised (fading away) shots, and not play with the strength and length that a 6'8 player should. He needs to score inside (as well as outside) but I can't remember him shooting one shot from inside the lane. Hicks benched him mid-year and he seemed to have gotten the message and was playing with a renewed effort, but for some reason the last few games he's reverted to old habits.

 

To address some of the other threads regarding effort--I believe it is the coaches' AND player's responsibility to inspire and produce max effort all the time. This game seemed very typical of the several I have seen from Conner this year. That is, be in a close game at halftime, only to come out and get buried in the 3rd qtr. IMO it doesn't have so much to do with adjustments as it does with the players stepping up and learning how to handle adversity. This team lacked someone who would step up and refuse to lose and lead by example when things got a little tight or tough. They seemed to accept losing or getting beat too easily. I do agree they were overrated talent-wise, but their year is still very disappointing. I wonder if Coach Hicks used last night's post-game speech as a life lesson to not take things for granted and that you need to work hard to achieve your goals. In reading some of the other threads it sounds like something Coach Sullivan might have offered up to his players. I feel for the seniors. There has to be some level of regret that they were not able to have a more successful season as far as W's and L's go.

 

Ok. Conner needed someone to contain Stauffer. How did that work out? Why not try to play to your own strengths and not just try to counter your opponents. There have not been many teams that have been able to contain Stauffer. Conner hadn't done it 3 games, what makes anyone think they could do it in the fourth. Stauffer has 40 - 45 pounds on Hodges, Hodges has probably 6 inches in wingspan. Maybe play some denial? Maybe you play three bigs and force Ryle to match up with you since Conner had a problem scoring. I will attest that Hodges was not putting up numbers like a 6'8" center should, but that is mainly because he is a 6'8" wing.

I think it's time to stop the complaining here and all of the negativity in this thread. Give credit where credit is due. Ryle proved 4 times this year that they are a better team than Conner, it's just that simple. Any given coach is only as good as their talent. Conner's talent just didn't stack up with Ryle's. Why can't everyone just see that? I would be curious to see how many times Conner's class of 2011 has beaten Ryle and Boone going back to middle school. I don't think they have had much success against them, have they? Let's just stop the coach bashing and move on. Just wasn't a good year for the Cougars. I can remember a cycle when Conner was winning their share of 33rd District games, it will cycle back to that in the future.

I think it's time to stop the complaining here and all of the negativity in this thread. Give credit where credit is due. Ryle proved 4 times this year that they are a better team than Conner, it's just that simple. Any given coach is only as good as their talent. Conner's talent just didn't stack up with Ryle's. Why can't everyone just see that? I would be curious to see how many times Conner's class of 2011 has beaten Ryle and Boone going back to middle school. I don't think they have had much success against them, have they? Let's just stop the coach bashing and move on. Just wasn't a good year for the Cougars. I can remember a cycle when Conner was winning their share of 33rd District games, it will cycle back to that in the future.

 

Several in a row if memory serves me correctly?

Hodges was benched after a 2 point performance against Ryle in the Lloyd invitational tournament. He responded with a 11 , 13, and 20 point games. When does he get his spot back. Was the rationale that it worked once so lets keep him coming off the bench? If there were internal problems, couldn't they had been worked out in practice? You would think that you could use a guy like Hodges on the floor.

 

I don't think anyone was benched because of an isolated game, I'm sure it was a pattern, and as you state, he seemed to do fine, maybe even better coming off of the bench? So if a player wasn't performing to satisfaction as a starter (as a pattern), and does well coming off of the bench (as a pattern), you would then go back to starting him? Honestly, starts don't matter, it's minutes and performance that matter. How did the player in question perform in the minutes they were given during the district game?

I think it's time to stop the complaining here and all of the negativity in this thread. Give credit where credit is due. Ryle proved 4 times this year that they are a better team than Conner, it's just that simple. Any given coach is only as good as their talent. Conner's talent just didn't stack up with Ryle's. Why can't everyone just see that? I would be curious to see how many times Conner's class of 2011 has beaten Ryle and Boone going back to middle school. I don't think they have had much success against them, have they? Let's just stop the coach bashing and move on. Just wasn't a good year for the Cougars. I can remember a cycle when Conner was winning their share of 33rd District games, it will cycle back to that in the future.

 

I only remember one really good year at Conner under Coach Hicks 6 seasons ago back in 04-05 where they went 4-1 in tourney play and finished runner up in the region. So, Conner has only had good talent 1 year of the last 8 because you said that any given coach is only as good as their talent? Throw out the successful 04-05 season and the Cougars are 4-11 under Coach Hicks in year-end tourney play against varsity competition (6-11 if you count those 2 big wins vs. Heritage). Don't let the facts be confused with coach bashing. Just don't see where there is much talent difference at the Boone county schools and I believe it is valid to question the coaching. I personally thought they had some talented players this year and the team never got in sync.

I only remember one really good year at Conner under Coach Hicks 6 seasons ago back in 04-05 where they went 4-1 in tourney play and finished runner up in the region. So, Conner has only had good talent 1 year of the last 8 because you said that any given coach is only as good as their talent? Throw out the successful 04-05 season and the Cougars are 4-11 under Coach Hicks in year-end tourney play against varsity competition (6-11 if you count those 2 big wins vs. Heritage). Don't let the facts be confused with coach bashing. Just don't see where there is much talent difference at the Boone county schools and I believe it is valid to question the coaching. I personally thought they had some talented players this year and the team never got in sync.

 

So you're judging coach's based only on post season tournament play, and they only have good years when they make the region finals? I'm just getting the criteria straight here.........

I only remember one really good year at Conner under Coach Hicks 6 seasons ago back in 04-05 where they went 4-1 in tourney play and finished runner up in the region. So, Conner has only had good talent 1 year of the last 8 because you said that any given coach is only as good as their talent? Throw out the successful 04-05 season and the Cougars are 4-11 under Coach Hicks in year-end tourney play against varsity competition (6-11 if you count those 2 big wins vs. Heritage). Don't let the facts be confused with coach bashing. Just don't see where there is much talent difference at the Boone county schools and I believe it is valid to question the coaching. I personally thought they had some talented players this year and the team never got in sync.

 

Guess we will agree to disagree here SS. I can't recall the last time Conner had a POY candidate, can you? I do agree that when a team struggles, you cannot lay blame exclusive to one area, it's a combination of factors. If I was coaching Conner, I would institute a player grading system that heavily rewards assists. I think the TO/Assist ratio is the key to a winning team. I would require a minimum of 15 assists/game. I would love to see the assist totals for both teams from last night. Good luck to Ryle tomorrow night vs. Boone. Should be a good game.