Observation on Warmups

[NewJerseyHawk]

Wait, so now our dumpster fire of a season is the football team's fault?!?

There's no accountability from the Top of the football program (Schiano) and now its spread to Pike and the hoops program. Neither is leading by example and it's based on how accountable the players are (or are not). At least it is clear to me watching pretty much the games and knowing some of the ins and outs of how the programs conduct daily/weekly/monthly business.

It is not a buttoned up product or does not reflect that with results. I am not even discussing "winning ", just looking at how things are handled on a player basis and other factors that lead into preparation for games.

 

[newell138]

This team obviously has warts and deficiencies….but they also just never wanted it enough.

I got blasted for starting a thread after the Kennesaw State game because I was pissed when I saw J Will giggling multiple times while losing in the final minutes and also after the game with Ace.

The lack of consistent focus, effort, and desire to win just isn’t there across the board and it was a huge red flag early.

Could be because its all about the money? Of course pro's like to win and they get paid but remember these are 18-19 year old kids who all of a sudden have a lot of cash at their disposal. Maybe they are playing to get paid instead of playing to win. When guys are changing schools every year chasing $$, there is no pride in the school or the uniform or tradition.

 

[Joey Bags]

The biggest crime here is that our game offense is NOT exclusively windmill dunks

 

[S_Janowski]

Wait, so now our dumpster fire of a season is the football team's fault?!?

Just when you think you’ve seen it all from
Hawk he delivers that gem.

Can’t make this stuff up if I tried.

 

[RW90]

Just when you think you’ve seen it all from
Hawk he delivers that gem.

Can’t make this stuff up if I tried.

Nah, I fully understood what Hawk was saying, but was just looking for some brevity after a brutal night.

 

[S_Janowski]

Nah, I fully understood what Hawk was saying, but was just looking for some brevity after a brutal night.

Interesting.

I fail to understand how anything in football would impact, or “carry over” to basketball.

Unless it’s about the lack of an AD, which I don’t think was the point.

 

[RW90]

Interesting.

I fail to understand how anything in football would impact, or “carry over” to basketball.

Unless it’s about the lack of an AD, which I don’t think was the point.

I understood it to imply equating the lack of player accountability in the programs, not literally saying the former directly caused the latter.

 

[BigRnj]

Love you guys, all of you (mostly) 😉… but implying a few minutes of warmups with dunks as the reason we miss foul shots, shoot poorly, don’t close out on jump shooters, don’t box out, or leave the seat up after taking a leak … then you have LOST YOUR COLLECTIVE MINDS😂.

Yeah, I get it some of you think this is a sure sign of lack of discipline 🙄. Ask that in a press conference and see what response you get from any coach or any player. They have been busting their ass all week prior to any game. Sometimes the other team is better.

In my coaching days (only up to middle school level) I always told my players to IGNORE the other team during warm ups (I had players staring with their mouths open looking at the opponents warming up and thinking “we’re doomed “). What a player is doing in warmups HAS ZERO to do with how they play in the game. If an individual is ready, they’re ready, if they’re not, they’re not … regardless if they’re doing Maravich drills, praying, meditating, reading motivational quotes, or god forbid dunking!

I scratch my head whenever I hear a fan say, after a player’s poor shooting performance, “but they made every shot in practice” 😬. Simply put there is a little bit of a difference between practice/warmups and an actual game. You’re grasping at straws folks!

 

[RU84]

Love you guys, all of you (mostly) 😉… but implying a few minutes of warmups with dunks as the reason we miss foul shots, shoot poorly, don’t close out on jump shooters, don’t box out, or leave the seat up after taking a leak … then you have LOST YOUR COLLECTIVE MINDS😂.

Yeah, I get it some of you think this is a sure sign of lack of discipline 🙄. Ask that in a press conference and see what response you get from any coach or any player. They have been busting their ass all week prior to any game. Sometimes the other team is better.

In my coaching days (only up to middle school level) I always told my players to IGNORE the other team during warm ups (I had players staring with their mouths open looking at the opponents warming up and thinking “we’re doomed “). What a player is doing in warmups HAS ZERO to do with how they play in the game. If an individual is ready, they’re ready, if they’re not, they’re not … regardless if they’re doing Maravich drills, praying, meditating, reading motivational quotes, or god forbid dunking!

I scratch my head whenever I hear a fan say, after a player’s poor shooting performance, “but they made every shot in practice” 😬. Simply put there is a little bit of a difference between practice/warmups and an actual game. You’re grasping at straws folks!

Good points. I’ve seen teams with sloppy warmups crush their opponent in a game and teams with structured warmups get blown out. A lot of players are lights out shooters in practice but wilt on the big stage … see Martini and Hayes.

 

[RutgersClassof2004]

Could be because its all about the money? Of course pro's like to win and they get paid but remember these are 18-19 year old kids who all of a sudden have a lot of cash at their disposal. Maybe they are playing to get paid instead of playing to win. When guys are changing schools every year chasing $$, there is no pride in the school or the uniform or tradition.

Wouldn't be surprised to see 2 or even less guys return like last year.

 

[RUSCFORMERLYRULOU]

Wouldn't be surprised to see 2 or even less guys return like last year.

There is more than a slight possibility that NO scholarship player returns.

 

[BigRnj]

There is more than a slight possibility that NO scholarship player returns.

Do you promise to go with them?

 

[RUSCFORMERLYRULOU]

Do you promise to go with them?

Nope. But you’re welcome to use the ignore button.

 

[ScarletDog]

You make it seem as if Sommerville is an obvious choice. We don't need our 5 to score! We don't want Somerville getting touches against most B1G centers. He is very skilled, but is too small and unathletic and over matched. You are the same guy blasting Cliff for needing low post touches.

Somerville plays extremely small, esp on offense.

 

[ScarletDog]

I have noticed this multiple times this year, but in pregame warmups, pretty much all of the RU players make it a dunk contest. Balls off the backboard, between the legs, etc.

Meanwhile, I watch other teams out there shooting, doing layups, etc.

I am fine if the kids want to be loose and do some dunks, but don't make it the entire warmup. Get yourself ready to play. The lack of focus showed tonight and has showed in other games when we get off to slow starts.

I felt the same way watching warmups at Wisconsin game. Team looked like a pack of 3rd graders during warmups. Looked like they were almost purely goofing around with the stupid dunks they can’t even execute. Felt like we would get our asses whooped well before start of game.

 

[AdventureHasAName]

Yeah, I get it some of you think this is a sure sign of lack of discipline 🙄.

This is exactly what I think. I blame the coach, not the players.

 

[DHajekRC84]

I scratch my head whenever I hear a fan say, after a player’s poor shooting performance, “but they made every shot in practice” 😬. Simply put there is a little bit of a difference between practice/warmups and an actual game. You’re grasping at straws folks!

And as someone who has a similar coaching resume (but all recreational over 11 years boys and girls) I disagree with what you say. You play like you practice (in general). In this particular case I believe this is not just about warm-ups but about it being an indicator of overall focus and play and discipline. For a team that plays such Ad Hoc offense perhaps some structure would help with the mindset of passing and cutting.

 

[RUBlackout]

And as someone who has a similar coaching resume (but all recreational over 11 years boys and girls) I disagree with what you say. You play like you practice (in general). In this particular case I believe this is not just about warm-ups but about it being an indicator of overall focus and play and discipline. For a team that plays such Ad Hoc offense perhaps some structure would help with the mindset of passing and cutting.

Especially when our team shoots like Shit in games from all over the court. Maybe if they practiced during warmups a bit they would be better off.
Guys like Jmike may be the worst layup producer I have ever seen. He should be out there during warmups intentionally going hard at the rim for layups to get that discipline in place.

 

[RU84]

And as someone who has a similar coaching resume (but all recreational over 11 years boys and girls) I disagree with what you say. You play like you practice (in general). In this particular case I believe this is not just about warm-ups but about it being an indicator of overall focus and play and discipline. For a team that plays such Ad Hoc offense perhaps some structure would help with the mindset of passing and cutting.

In a perfect world having more structure in warmups is preferred but certainly no an indicator of how a team will perform in games. I coached my 3 kids for 10 years in youth basketball as well. We always ran structured drills during warmups but, at the end of the day what mattered more was talent. If the team we were playing had loose informal unstructured warmups but better, more skilled players we lost. Talent, skills, athleticism, bball IQ, etc. matter a lot more than how structured or unstructured the pregame warmups are.

 

[FastMJ]

There's no accountability from the Top of the football program (Schiano) and now its spread to Pike and the hoops program. Neither is leading by example and it's based on how accountable the players are (or are not). At least it is clear to me watching pretty much the games and knowing some of the ins and outs of how the programs conduct daily/weekly/monthly business.

It is not a buttoned up product or does not reflect that with results. I am not even discussing "winning ", just looking at how things are handled on a player basis and other factors that lead into preparation for games.

Wow that’s a stretch

 

[DHajekRC84]

In a perfect world having more structure in warmups is preferred but certainly no an indicator of how a team will perform in games. I coached my 3 kids for 10 years in youth basketball as well. We always ran structured drills during warmups but, at the end of the day what mattered more was talent. If the team we were playing had loose informal unstructured warmups but better, more skilled players we lost. Talent, skills, athleticism, bball IQ, etc. matter a lot more than how structured or unstructured the pregame warmups are.

of course but it is part of the tool box. does it add value? That is the question. If so, then why not? I remember Rutgers used to run some drills for a bit then go into open individual shooting where guys went to their spots. Guys even used to go to the free throw line.

I also would like to believe that the items you listed above were/are a bit closer at this level then what they are for youth/teen ball where you could get stuck with that one superstar always on the other team that just dominated the play/outcome.

One of my 2 favorite teams was my first one. The band of mis-fits that I got because I didn't know any of the kids but my own and the other coaches took advantage of me. We went 0-12 during the season but lost to the #1 Team and champion when 1 kid missed a layup at the buzzer for us. Damn warm-ups! (no seriously the smiles and satisfaction of team and player development and parents pride was priceless. That and scaring the crap out of the other overly confident coach)

 

[RutgersChow]

This team obviously has warts and deficiencies….but they also just never wanted it enough.

I got blasted for starting a thread after the Kennesaw State game because I was pissed when I saw J Will giggling multiple times while losing in the final minutes and also after the game with Ace.

The lack of consistent focus, effort, and desire to win just isn’t there across the board and it was a huge red flag early.

But Cam Spencer and Paul Mulcahy were too intense. I understand now why it took Pike forever to land a big job.

I know all of us are extremely frustrated, and we have a right to be. That being said I'm usually there when the doors open, and I'm not really seeing a dunk contest (granted was not there yesterday). Could they be doing more? Maybe. But, if they were winning nobody would be saying 'boop' about this. And more to the point - I really don't think it matters all that much. Bottom line is we don't have good players or good schemes - number of times you will be successful with that combo in the history of sports is about ZERO - whether we have focused warmups or not!

It's just another example of lack of discipline. Discipline wins games.

 

[Mr_Twister]

I was astounded by Wisconsin’s accuracy firing up 3’s in pre-game warmups. Everyone on the team was filling up the basket. Excellent shooting form. And watching individual players rotate to different spots on the 3-point line. Managers fired passes to players who caught the balls with feet positioned so they could catch and shoot in rhythm. Astounding precision. I hope our staff had someone taping the pre-game Wisconsin warmup. Impressive, focused, all business.

 

[RU84]

of course but it is part of the tool box. does it add value? That is the question. If so, then why not? I remember Rutgers used to run some drills for a bit then go into open individual shooting where guys went to their spots. Guys even used to go to the free throw line.

I also would like to believe that the items you listed above were/are a bit closer at this level then what they are for youth/teen ball where you could get stuck with that one superstar always on the other team that just dominated the play/outcome.

One of my 2 favorite teams was my first one. The band of mis-fits that I got because I didn't know any of the kids but my own and the other coaches took advantage of me. We went 0-12 during the season but lost to the #1 Team and champion when 1 kid missed a layup at the buzzer for us. Damn warm-ups! (no seriously the smiles and satisfaction of team and player development and parents pride was priceless. That and scaring the crap out of the other overly confident coach)

Good times! Doesn't get any better than that.

 

[Nycrusupporter]

I was astounded by Wisconsin’s accuracy firing up 3’s in pre-game warmups. Everyone on the team was filling up the basket. Excellent shooting form. And watching individual players rotate to different spots on the 3-point line. Managers fired passes to players who caught the balls with feet positioned so they could catch and shoot in rhythm. Astounding precision. I hope our staff had someone taping the pre-game Wisconsin warmup. Impressive, focused, all business.

Wisconsin has always recruited guys who can shoot . . .

 

[WW HEISENBERG]

I have noticed this multiple times this year, but in pregame warmups, pretty much all of the RU players make it a dunk contest. Balls off the backboard, between the legs, etc.

Meanwhile, I watch other teams out there shooting, doing layups, etc.

I am fine if the kids want to be loose and do some dunks, but don't make it the entire warmup. Get yourself ready to play. The lack of focus showed tonight and has showed in other games when we get off to slow starts.

Yes, I’ve noticed the same thing. Kinda hard to miss. Spending 30 minutes off warmup time trying ridiculous circus shots ( that have a .0000000001% of ever being attempted in a game) is a complete charade and a waste of time.