I get up on mornings like these and am just generally pissed. Mad at the refs. Mad at Cal. Mad that other teams’ no-stars continue to defeat our “NBA” players. I’m mad at myself for being mad. I just want to be numb but don’t know how. Anybody got any pointers for matching my emotion to the teams results? For those that are able to just go whistling, what’s the trick?
Great self-reflection question for the fan base.
I am pissed that we have a coach in a competitive sport that no longer will coach his team in a way that he knows gives it the best chance to win. By that I mean he deliberately puts the interest of particular players ahead of making the team the best it can be. Examples from this year:
(1) At the 1, 2 and 3, we could start and play 2 NBA first round picks and a 1st or 2nd Team AA all of whom are shooting 44%+ from 3 and and approx 50% overall. No other team in college basketball has anything near that. They should be playing 32+ minutes every game. Cal’s not stupid and knows that. Instead, he plays other guys at those positions for major minutes to protect their draft status, their egos, etc.
(2) With the above talent, instead of spreading the floor and letting these guys drive it or shoot it, he sticks a 7 footer that can’t score in the paint area that brings a help defender to shut off drives. Watch AL this coming Saturday - there will be nobody in the paint area on offense. Why does he do it? He has to protect draft status and egos.
(3) He has an absolute warrior that plays physical and plays to win but wasn’t highly-touted out of high school. He’s the guy to build a team around and be the example in terms of competitive and no fear attitude. He is the first guy Cal pulls from the lineup when other players are healthy.
I could go on but my main point is that Cal is grossly misusing this roster and it’s not because he doesn’t know better. It is because he has an agenda regarding certain players every year that is equally as important to him as winning. So that’s what I am pissed about.