:horse:
Tonight we play ALA..Prominent?...No...Unless you factor in what they have done to us in the last three meetings....Then, is it prominent?
Every win is prominent because each one we don't have is a drop in the standings.
As a coach, I can see flaws in wins. And I can see growth in defeats. And I often point both out.
This team this year is the closest thing that our program has had to players continuously maturing and growing. (Both staff and players).
For me, that is why the Bama loss has more sting than others this season (and the meltdown against ND was pretty painful). Essentially it was a replay of the LSU debacle. Bama used the same formula of high energy, attack the boards, and press the ball. And for most of the game, the LVs were not matching Bama's effort. Had Bama not missed a score of easy buckets at the rim, the Lvs could have easily been down 10 at half. Now, the game changed in the 3rd quarter--when led by Meme--the LVs changed gears and showed they could dominate Bama with skill, speed, and athleticism.
But, once they got the game "in control", they fell back into something that looked like a lethargic complacency. Their mindset seemed to be "okay, we asserted ourselves and now Bama will just slink away". But Bama kept grinding and fighting and then due to fatigue or nerves or something else, the LVs once again collapsed down the stretch. It was like Bama's "body blows" eventually took them out, to use a boxing analogy.
I am NOT in the fire Holly camp but she bears responsibility for this tendency. I don't think it is just about when she does or does not take time-outs.
My new pet theory is that this LV team (for all their positive qualities) are more interested in show time flash than the down and dirty side of the game. They have shown "grit" in periodic moments but they do not seem fully committed to the CPS mantra of "defense and rebounding win championships." Perhaps, they believe that a win can be pulled off down the stretch with highlight reel passes and flashy one-one-one plays.
A great team has to have the offensive spark AND the proverbial "blue collar" work ethic. We have seen some games where the LVs put both sides together and then they look a potential Final Four team.
But, teams like LSU and Bama who are a bit smaller, very quick (and least when they play us) are willing to hustle for 40 minutes, force the issue. It is hard to stay after such "pesky" teams for 4 quarters and at some point, the LVs, as CPS would have said, do the one thing you can never do-- "give into fatigue" (mental or physical).
In the early season, Green often provided the blue collar energy spark when she came off the bench but that has not been doing that of late. Dunbar is just not physically built to be that kind of player. Annie could (and should) play that role but her defensive play is often subpar and half hearted, so she perpetuates the problem.
I am not sure what the solution is but Meme is the one LV player who seems to be carrying the CPS mindset forward game in and game out. CHW needs to get the rest of the team following her example.
