Another tough one last night. Had to be a great experience though.
Lets cut to the chase. It's not a secret that some of you read the site. I'm sure you've read things that have been harsh and tough to swallow. I won't say it's all been inaccurate, but I will note it's easy for us fans to sit here behind our computers and tear you apart.
That said, it's time to toughen up a little bit and I don't think this can be disputed. If you really go watch your individual and team performances this season, I firmly believe you'll see in a decent share of the games, the other team has been tougher. You have shown flashes as individuals and a team that you can man up against anyone - including the game in Chicago last night. I firmly believe each of you have the potential to go up against that team, or other great teams, and out dual them. An example is how last night, Duke jumped out to an early lead, looking to completely dominate the game, and you fought right back with a run of your own. You can out muscle and out perform.
But do you want to? That's the key. We can't want it for you, neither can your coaching staff. Is that rebound the most important thing to you at that very moment? Will you sacrifice to go get it from the other player? As soon as a shot goes up, are you immediately thinking "box out!"? And then executing it to the fullest of your abilities?
When you make a mistake on the court, are you pointing fingers at someone else or knowing it was your mistake and learning from it? When a teammate makes a mistake - do you chastise him or give 100% to help on that play and then pick him up after?
I'm hopeful you're hearing these probing questions already from your coaches and peers. But it's time to look within yourselves and decide - how good to we want to be?
Are you content with just so-so'ing it through the season and an NIT invite? Or do you have aspirations to be in the top half of your conference and earn a bid to the NCAA tournament? We as fans can't decide this for you. Neither can your coaches, families and friends. It's up to you as individuals and most importantly - a team.
Your effort ultimately decide where you end up this season and beyond. I firmly believe this group is a very talented unit with the ability to be feared by teams both in your talent and toughness. But it's merely potential until you show it - consistently. Maintain the individual egos and suffer as a group? Or swallow the pride and become one team with one goal?
It's yours to decide - we (fans) want to be part of that team. Good luck.
Lets cut to the chase. It's not a secret that some of you read the site. I'm sure you've read things that have been harsh and tough to swallow. I won't say it's all been inaccurate, but I will note it's easy for us fans to sit here behind our computers and tear you apart.
That said, it's time to toughen up a little bit and I don't think this can be disputed. If you really go watch your individual and team performances this season, I firmly believe you'll see in a decent share of the games, the other team has been tougher. You have shown flashes as individuals and a team that you can man up against anyone - including the game in Chicago last night. I firmly believe each of you have the potential to go up against that team, or other great teams, and out dual them. An example is how last night, Duke jumped out to an early lead, looking to completely dominate the game, and you fought right back with a run of your own. You can out muscle and out perform.
But do you want to? That's the key. We can't want it for you, neither can your coaching staff. Is that rebound the most important thing to you at that very moment? Will you sacrifice to go get it from the other player? As soon as a shot goes up, are you immediately thinking "box out!"? And then executing it to the fullest of your abilities?
When you make a mistake on the court, are you pointing fingers at someone else or knowing it was your mistake and learning from it? When a teammate makes a mistake - do you chastise him or give 100% to help on that play and then pick him up after?
I'm hopeful you're hearing these probing questions already from your coaches and peers. But it's time to look within yourselves and decide - how good to we want to be?
Are you content with just so-so'ing it through the season and an NIT invite? Or do you have aspirations to be in the top half of your conference and earn a bid to the NCAA tournament? We as fans can't decide this for you. Neither can your coaches, families and friends. It's up to you as individuals and most importantly - a team.
Your effort ultimately decide where you end up this season and beyond. I firmly believe this group is a very talented unit with the ability to be feared by teams both in your talent and toughness. But it's merely potential until you show it - consistently. Maintain the individual egos and suffer as a group? Or swallow the pride and become one team with one goal?
It's yours to decide - we (fans) want to be part of that team. Good luck.
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