MVC Coaches on the Hot Seat

[DUBulldog]

I like Ray G but this season has been disappointing. Bradley is bad but has clearly gotten better as the season has gone along. Drake has arguably gotten worse--or at least stayed the same.

Timmer, OG, and the Polish center are decent building blocks but I don't see much after that.

I like Abrahamson more than Drake fans but that dude is one of the worst defenders I've ever seen. He tried to guard everyone Bradley had in the game the other night and that player immediately went at him and scored. Antoine Pittman--who isn't a scoring machine--had 16 second half points and 10 in a three minute stretch when Abrahamson was "guarding" him.

Drakey beat me to it, but here goes.....

You saw what was, by far, Abrahamson's best offensive game of the conference season. Coming into the game, his Kenpom offensive rating in MVC games was 78, which represents a really bad offensive player. Add that to his clearly atrocious defense, and you can begin to see why Drake fans are not enamored of him.

On top of that, you add in the team's woeful record, the fact that Giacoletti spent all of last season telling Drake fans how great Abrahamson and Woodward were, and then throw in the fact that he's still starting and playing 30 minutes per game, and you can probably see where Drake fans' attitude comes from.

And, he pouts a lot on the court. One fan on Drakenation described his attitude as "detached arrogance", and I think that might be pretty accurate.

[tribecalledquest]

I like Ray G but this season has been disappointing. Bradley is bad but has clearly gotten better as the season has gone along. Drake has arguably gotten worse--or at least stayed the same.

Timmer, OG, and the Polish center are decent building blocks but I don't see much after that.

I like Abrahamson more than Drake fans but that dude is one of the worst defenders I've ever seen. He tried to guard everyone Bradley had in the game the other night and that player immediately went at him and scored. Antoine Pittman--who isn't a scoring machine--had 16 second half points and 10 in a three minute stretch when Abrahamson was "guarding" him.

Drakey beat me to it, but here goes.....

You saw what was, by far, Abrahamson's best offensive game of the conference season. Coming into the game, his Kenpom offensive rating in MVC games was 78, which represents a really bad offensive player. Add that to his clearly atrocious defense, and you can begin to see why Drake fans are not enamored of him.

On top of that, you add in the team's woeful record, the fact that Giacoletti spent all of last season telling Drake fans how great Abrahamson and Woodward were, and then throw in the fact that he's still starting and playing 30 minutes per game, and you can probably see where Drake fans' attitude comes from.

And, he pouts a lot on the court. One fan on Drakenation described his attitude as "detached arrogance", and I think that might be pretty accurate.

I thought of you (weird I know) during the first half of the game. Every time Abrahamson made a shot I said to me dad "Drake fans hate this guy. He hasn't made a shot all year." After his quick 13 he didn't do a whole lot after that except get offensive goaltending on a missed dunk and missed two huge FTs late in the game.

Woodward had a good game the first time against BU but Im not sure about him. Oregunde I like but they never get him the ball. I can't decide on Timmer. I want to like him but if he has to go right at all he is rendered ineffective.

[uniftw]

Bradley has a first year head coach and eleven billion freshman on the roster yet they have a 2 game lead on last place with 2 to play over Drake.

Meanwhile Drake has a coach in his third year, a year which he admitted was the year to judge him and his program, a roster with experience:
CJ Rivers played in 29 games last year
Madison is in his third year seeing playing time and played 28 games last year
Woodward played in 31 games for a B10 team before transfering
Enevold-Jensen is in his third year as a full time starter
Timmer was on the all-freshman team last year and averaged double digits in scoring
Arogundade played in 29 games last season
Abrahamson played 2 years at Northwestern before transfering
Kuenstling played in 30 games last season


That, honestly, is completely unacceptable if I'm a Drake fan. I'd give him next year because his team is still pretty young, in terms of grade, but they all had a full year of playing coming into this year. To be in years 2 or 3 and playing this poorly isn't a good look for the player, or coach.

If I'm a Bulldog fan I'm telling the athletic administration if he can't avoid Drake night next year..and honestly top half given that he'll have a roster completely full of 3rd and 4th year players... he shouldn't be the coach anymore.

The development just doesn't seem to be there. Enevold being at the end of his JR year and is still pretty much non-existent. He's 7' tall and only averages 5.1 ppg (only been in double digits twice), 5 rebounds and is only on the floor 17 mpg.

Bradley actually looks like it has upside, and they are playing eleventy billion freshman. Drake, looks like they have for over a decade with the exception of the one year



Schlatter

[DUBulldog]

Drake, looks like they have for over a decade with the exception of the one year

It's actually worse than that. Despite how bad Drake has been, this is the first time they have finished in last place since 1999-2000. This is incredibly low, even by Drake's standards.

It all comes down to lack of athleticism, lack of a point guard and complete inability to play defense (which ties in with the lack of athleticism). To Giacoletti's credit, he has accepted the blame, which is something I never heard Phelps or Kanaskie do.

[bleach]

Let me be clear, I don't think where Drake is at is acceptable in ANY way. I do think coaching at Drake is a handicap that warrants more patience than other places though. I do see SOME building blocks there but don't really expect Ray to turn it around quickly.

[Drakey]

I just can't see any justification for keeping a coach who has decreased the victory total in each of his three seasons and who will likely post the worst conference record of any Valley team this century. He obviously can't judge talent, plays a boring style of basketball and has turned the Knapp Center into a morgue.

[uniftw]

Let me be clear, I don't think where Drake is at is acceptable in ANY way. I do think coaching at Drake is a handicap that warrants more patience than other places though. I do see SOME building blocks there but don't really expect Ray to turn it around quickly.

That's the thing that gets me. Enevold could be a real force if coached correction - think Egelseder and Mock lite... Abrahamson has the skill set to build off of to be real good. Timmer has promise.

There are some pieces there. Maybe not top half pieces, but more than 1 conference win.

It's like the players are regressing the more they play under Giacoletti. At this point they are all between 60 and 90 games played. It just looks like a poorly coached team.

I'd give him next year but if he doesn't get to 7 conference wins (that's my number) he has to go. 7 may seem like a big jump from this year, and it is, but as I've pointed out he'll have a team just loaded with guys who will be their third and fourth years playing, plus redshirt years.

I meant to mention Schlatter in my last post, which is why his name is randomly at the bottom of it...it was supposed to be a reminder and it didn't work. I remember Drake fans being all worked up about grabbing him from being a UNI commit, even though he no longer had a UNI offer at that point, because of how dominate he was in high school....even though it was against the smallest schools (in enrollment and height...I don't think he played anyone taller than 6'4 his senior year)...and there has been zero improvement to Schlatter under Giacoletti.

He's 6'10, shooting 38% from the field, 48% from the free throw line, has just 1 double digit scoring game (against a D3 made up of players like he played in HS), and has more than 5 rebounds in a game just twice (one against that same D3 team). Outside of that game he is at 33% from the floor.

I'll admit to not seeing a ton of him play for Drake this year, so can a Drake fan fill me in on him? Is there something there that i'm missing? Is it a lack of coaching with him right now? I'd have to guess it's coaching because I see the same issues with Enevold

[DUBulldog]

Let me be clear, I don't think where Drake is at is acceptable in ANY way. I do think coaching at Drake is a handicap that warrants more patience than other places though. I do see SOME building blocks there but don't really expect Ray to turn it around quickly.

That's the thing that gets me. Enevold could be a real force if coached correction - think Egelseder and Mock lite... Abrahamson has the skill set to build off of to be real good. Timmer has promise.

There are some pieces there. Maybe not top half pieces, but more than 1 conference win.

It's like the players are regressing the more they play under Giacoletti. At this point they are all between 60 and 90 games played. It just looks like a poorly coached team.

I'd give him next year but if he doesn't get to 7 conference wins (that's my number) he has to go. 7 may seem like a big jump from this year, and it is, but as I've pointed out he'll have a team just loaded with guys who will be their third and fourth years playing, plus redshirt years.

I meant to mention Schlatter in my last post, which is why his name is randomly at the bottom of it...it was supposed to be a reminder and it didn't work. I remember Drake fans being all worked up about grabbing him from being a UNI commit, even though he no longer had a UNI offer at that point, because of how dominate he was in high school....even though it was against the smallest schools (in enrollment and height...I don't think he played anyone taller than 6'4 his senior year)...and there has been zero improvement to Schlatter under Giacoletti.

He's 6'10, shooting 38% from the field, 48% from the free throw line, has just 1 double digit scoring game (against a D3 made up of players like he played in HS), and has more than 5 rebounds in a game just twice (one against that same D3 team). Outside of that game he is at 33% from the floor.

I'll admit to not seeing a ton of him play for Drake this year, so can a Drake fan fill me in on him? Is there something there that i'm missing? Is it a lack of coaching with him right now? I'd have to guess it's coaching because I see the same issues with Enevold

To me, it's too early to judge Schlatter. He moved into the starting lineup 3 games ago, and has averaged 5.3 ppg and 5.3 rpg in those games. Not stellar numbers, but not terrible for a redshirt freshman. He's by far the best passer among Drake's big men, and possibly the best passer on the whole team. Right now, he's just too skinny, despite putting on 25-30 pounds since he's been at Drake. He's a hard worker and a great teammate....I'm just not sure he has the kind of frame that will allow him to put on a lot more weight. But, I guess Uthoff on Iowa is really, really skinny, and he's done alright. Not comparing the two players, just pointing out that it's possible to be successful while still being very slightly built.

As far as Enevold, I think his heart just isn't in the game. He had some real good games last season as a sophomore, but this season has been a definite step back. He has a real hard time catching the ball, and is just so slow to decide what to do when he does catch it. He has already lost his starting job, and is currently 3rd string center at DU, behind two freshmen....didn't even get into the Bradley game.

[Drakey]

I don't see any player development at Drake either. Oregundade decided he wanted to play defense this year, but still has no offensive game despite excellent shooting percentages. I don't think players are put in a position to succeed. I do think Schlatter has some potential, as do a lot of the players, if they were surrounded with a different supporting cast.

[DUBulldog]

I like Ray G but this season has been disappointing. Bradley is bad but has clearly gotten better as the season has gone along. Drake has arguably gotten worse--or at least stayed the same.

Timmer, OG, and the Polish center are decent building blocks but I don't see much after that.

I like Abrahamson more than Drake fans but that dude is one of the worst defenders I've ever seen. He tried to guard everyone Bradley had in the game the other night and that player immediately went at him and scored. Antoine Pittman--who isn't a scoring machine--had 16 second half points and 10 in a three minute stretch when Abrahamson was "guarding" him.

Drakey beat me to it, but here goes.....

You saw what was, by far, Abrahamson's best offensive game of the conference season. Coming into the game, his Kenpom offensive rating in MVC games was 78, which represents a really bad offensive player. Add that to his clearly atrocious defense, and you can begin to see why Drake fans are not enamored of him.

On top of that, you add in the team's woeful record, the fact that Giacoletti spent all of last season telling Drake fans how great Abrahamson and Woodward were, and then throw in the fact that he's still starting and playing 30 minutes per game, and you can probably see where Drake fans' attitude comes from.

And, he pouts a lot on the court. One fan on Drakenation described his attitude as "detached arrogance", and I think that might be pretty accurate.

I thought of you (weird I know) during the first half of the game. Every time Abrahamson made a shot I said to me dad "Drake fans hate this guy. He hasn't made a shot all year." After his quick 13 he didn't do a whole lot after that except get offensive goaltending on a missed dunk and missed two huge FTs late in the game.

Woodward had a good game the first time against BU but Im not sure about him. Oregunde I like but they never get him the ball. I can't decide on Timmer. I want to like him but if he has to go right at all he is rendered ineffective.

Abrahamson back to his usual self today....0-7 from the field and none of them were close. 2 rebounds in 20+ minutes and his usual stellar defense.