|
Post by 23won on Mar 9, 2019 20:35:48 GMT -5
O-10 to 10-10
Final grades are a work in process but I’d give him a B. I weight heavily the final grade based on post- season success
I don’t see less than a B but could bump to B+ or A- grades in Brooklyn
I don’t discount an A with a dance ticket. You get what you earn. Will be interesting to watch.
|
|
|
Post by victoriouslasalle on Mar 9, 2019 21:17:23 GMT -5
I might be a little stingy, C+ for overall season outcome- wins and loses considering the ingredients he had to work with. But I am inclined to push it to B- giving extra credit to coach Ash for never losing his guys particularly with such a dreadful start. Guys seem to almost always play hard looked up to their coaches and team and individual guys got significantly better.
|
|
|
Post by GlitterBro #2 on Mar 15, 2019 18:29:42 GMT -5
Let's break this up into trimesters like my youngest's school does - 10 games per trimester with the Final Exam being the conference tourney - 30% weighting for each trimester and 10% for the final
1st Trimester: F Sorry...there's no way to spin 0-10 any other way. I know they didn't have Saul, but I'm guessing that was known early on in the fall and losses in winnable games like Layafette and Drexel shouldn't happen even without him (we beat Davidson without Pookie, so we should've been able to handle Lafayette without Saul).
2nd Trimester: B Saul back and going 6-4 winning the games we should have won against some really bad teams (Alabama A&M has the lowest RPI in D1), but a home loss to GW puts a stain on this trimester. Team started to come together, and there were stretches of basketball where I thought...OK...the seeds are here.
3rd Trimester: C This was the most frustrating stretch. 4-6 with big home wins against Davidson, Duquesne, and the Hawks, but ...home loss to a bad Richmond team, and horrible losses at SLU and Dayton where we shot a combined 9-54 from 3. The team looked worse in terms of playing as a team than they did in the 2nd trimester. Too many back door cuts given up and too much poor shooting.
Final Exam: F It's one loss...to a streaking Rhode Island team...and we played some of the worst basketball of the season. In game 31 of the season, we could not figure out how to contain the bigs and could not figure out how to play when 3's weren't falling.
Overall Grade: D+ Yeah, it was going to be hard for Ash to make the Dean's List after an 0-10 start, but if they are competitive against Rhode island in the tourney, and don't shoot so poorly in the final stretch of the season, this probably jumps to a solid C which I think we'd expect for his first season. Yeah, these aren't "his guys", but you have to coach the hand you're dealt. By season's end, the improvement unfortunately wasn't there the way it needed to be, and I didn't see the X's and O's adjustments that I thought we would see by season's end. His grade is his grade...let's hope the grades go up each year.
|
|
MisterD
The Baptist Himself
Voted Most Popular Poster 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2022, 2023
Posts: 8,394
Likes: 6,325
|
Post by MisterD on Mar 15, 2019 18:57:42 GMT -5
Incomplete.
|
|
|
Post by festushagan on Mar 15, 2019 21:27:03 GMT -5
Agree completely on D grade, 10-21 overall record doesn't warrant anything higher! I' m sold on Coach Howard, really like the way he interacts with his players, think he'll do well in the long term!
|
|
|
Post by GlitterBro #2 on Mar 15, 2019 21:50:31 GMT -5
You waiting to see if the selection committee looks favorably on our tough OOC schedule before passing final judgment?
|
|
|
Post by jimmywhispers on Mar 16, 2019 5:06:09 GMT -5
Let's break this up into trimesters like my youngest's school does - 10 games per trimester with the Final Exam being the conference tourney - 30% weighting for each trimester and 10% for the final 1st Trimester: F
Sorry...there's no way to spin 0-10 any other way. I know they didn't have Saul, but I'm guessing that was known early on in the fall and losses in winnable games like Layafette and Drexel shouldn't happen even without him (we beat Davidson without Pookie, so we should've been able to handle Lafayette without Saul). 2nd Trimester: BSaul back and going 6-4 winning the games we should have won against some really bad teams (Alabama A&M has the lowest RPI in D1), but a home loss to GW puts a stain on this trimester. Team started to come together, and there were stretches of basketball where I thought...OK...the seeds are here. 3rd Trimester: CThis was the most frustrating stretch. 4-6 with big home wins against Davidson, Duquesne, and the Hawks, but ...home loss to a bad Richmond team, and horrible losses at SLU and Dayton where we shot a combined 9-54 from 3. The team looked worse in terms of playing as a team than they did in the 2nd trimester. Too many back door cuts given up and too much poor shooting. Final Exam: FIt's one loss...to a streaking Rhode Island team...and we played some of the worst basketball of the season. In game 31 of the season, we could not figure out how to contain the bigs and could not figure out how to play when 3's weren't falling. Overall Grade: D+Yeah, it was going to be hard for Ash to make the Dean's List after an 0-10 start, but if they are competitive against Rhode island in the tourney, and don't shoot so poorly in the final stretch of the season, this probably jumps to a solid C which I think we'd expect for his first season. Yeah, these aren't "his guys", but you have to coach the hand you're dealt. By season's end, the improvement unfortunately wasn't there the way it needed to be, and I didn't see the X's and O's adjustments that I thought we would see by season's end. His grade is his grade...let's hope the grades go up each year.
|
|
|
Post by walkon on Mar 16, 2019 5:55:17 GMT -5
For the first time in a long time, players listen to what our coach has to say. One of the things I like most about his style is that he will get on the guys for mistakes, but he moves on. Timeouts aren’t wasted for screaming at one player for a mistake. He addresses issues the way a coach should and carries on. We lost that a long time ago. Guys seem to really want to play for him and it is good to see.
|
|
|
Post by JoeFedorowicz on Mar 16, 2019 6:45:36 GMT -5
For the first time in a long time, players listen to what our coach has to say. And are playing for him. Talked to someone in the know recently and they said the difference between last year and this year is amazing.
|
|
|
Post by durenduren on Mar 16, 2019 8:37:45 GMT -5
For the first time in a long time, players listen to what our coach has to say. And are playing for him. Talked to someone in the know recently and they said the difference between last year and this year is amazing. That alone is worthy of celebration. Still don't get how some of you had expectations that he'd change this almost-identical roster overnight. He did as good of a job as I could have expected. Sure, 0-10 sucked, but nothing regarding our record was expected to matter this year.
|
|
|
Post by GlitterBro #2 on Mar 16, 2019 9:35:00 GMT -5
He did as good of a job as I could have expected. I expected us not to be making the same mistakes at the end of the season that we made in the beginning. I expected us to adapt our offense and drive more if 3's weren't falling. I expected that by season's end, the opponent's back door lay-ups and pick-and-rolls would be defended better. Those things can all be taught. I expected us not to lose by 30+ in the second to last game of the season and almost 20 in the 8/9 tourney game.
|
|
|
Post by talkinbball on Mar 16, 2019 9:51:38 GMT -5
This. I think the roster was just too limited in talent. Tough for a coach when you never know who is going to give you offense (other than Pookie) every game on a consistent basis. Liked the overall defensive intensity we tried to maintain. If you can sell guys to play that hard defensively all the time it's a step in the right direction.
|
|
|
Post by 23won on Mar 16, 2019 10:10:12 GMT -5
For the first time in a long time, players listen to what our coach has to say. And are playing for him. Talked to someone in the know recently and they said the difference between last year and this year is amazing. I posted that after watching the tip-off scrimmage. The thing that really impressed me was that guys listened more as the year went on. I hear a good bit of what Glitter is saying but my response is ... you can lead a horse to water. Ash can’t make these guys do some of the fundamentals I am sure he teaches.
|
|
|
Post by JoeFedorowicz on Mar 16, 2019 10:13:47 GMT -5
And are playing for him. Talked to someone in the know recently and they said the difference between last year and this year is amazing. I posted that after watching the tip-off scrimmage. The thing that really impressed me was that guys listened more as the year went on. I hear a good bit of what Glitter is saying but my response is ... you can lead a horse to water. Ash can’t make these guys do some of the fundamentals I am sure he teaches. Some of these guys also have years of bad habits that need to be unlearned. Both at La Salle and before.
|
|
|
Post by durenduren on Mar 16, 2019 13:06:58 GMT -5
He did as good of a job as I could have expected. I expected us not to be making the same mistakes at the end of the season that we made in the beginning. I expected us to adapt our offense and drive more if 3's weren't falling. I expected that by season's end, the opponent's back door lay-ups and pick-and-rolls would be defended better. Those things can all be taught. I expected us not to lose by 30+ in the second to last game of the season and almost 20 in the 8/9 tourney game. Do you really think he never coached them to not defend the backdoor or pick-and-rolls? Do you really credit Ash with their inability to put together two consistent games? Because this same roster was really bad last year, also. They just weren't any good. Players just need to execute, and these one's weren't good enough to do that regularly.
|
|
|
Post by GlitterBro #2 on Mar 16, 2019 15:57:38 GMT -5
Do you really think he never coached them to not defend the backdoor or pick-and-rolls? Do you really credit Ash with their inability to put together two consistent games? Because this same roster was really bad last year, also. They just weren't any good. Players just need to execute, and these one's weren't good enough to do that regularly. I think he tried to coach them to do it but couldn't coach them effectively. It's not the same roster as last season at all. By game 31, Rhode Island was able to do the same things on them that teams did in December and it still couldn't be stopped, it's incumbent on the coach to try something different and come up with some different Xs and Os to make it work. It's incumbent on the coach to have them ready to play and not get blown out of the gym in the 8/9 game looking like the return of G-ball. Listen to the presser - what he says and what Saul says. Ash had no counter punch in that game when Rhody forced them off the line. We all said we'd be happy if the team showed improvement and some semblance of a system being put in place by the end of the season. I saw improvement, and then regression, and couldn't really spot a system by the end of the year. You can blame the players I guess for the results, but the coach gets the grade as well. Hence the D+ grade for him on the season. Objectively, that's where it stands.
|
|
|
Post by 23won on Mar 16, 2019 17:17:35 GMT -5
Guys what are not good scorers and who have a low BB IQ are going to be inconsistent because when you don’t score and get behind it is a totally different ball game.
Glitter, that is not evidence of regression due to a failure to coach.
Not very long ago we beat the #2 team without Pookie because we grabbed the lead and despite a run by a good team we held on and won. Again, that is not regression.
|
|
|
Ash Grades
Mar 16, 2019 19:47:31 GMT -5
via mobile
Post by coachd on Mar 16, 2019 19:47:31 GMT -5
Guys what are not good scorers and who have a low BB IQ are going to be inconsistent because when you don’t score and get behind it is a totally different ball game. Glitter, that is not evidence of regression due to a failure to coach. Not very long ago we beat the #2 team without Pookie because we grabbed the lead and despite a run by a good team we held on and won. Again, that is not regression. I agree with Glitter that you cannot, come hell or high water, get blown out in the 8/9 game... you lose on a buzzer beater we live with it. You get blown out we demand better... Ash doesn’t get a 10 year deal... if next season looks anything like this one the alums will be asking “what can we do to return to glory?”
|
|
|
Post by 23won on Mar 16, 2019 20:14:46 GMT -5
Did somebody slip you some outside meds at the Nursing home?
|
|
|
Post by durenduren on Mar 16, 2019 22:37:57 GMT -5
You get blown out we demand better... Ash doesn’t get a 10 year deal... if next season looks anything like this one the alums will be asking “what can we do to return to glory?” Let's all panic, because jumping to rash conclusions never goes out of style. Why is so difficult to accept that the players just weren't good enough? So - what would the Ash critics recommend he do different? Try harder?
|
|
|
Post by broderickpresident on Mar 17, 2019 8:59:50 GMT -5
You get blown out we demand better... Ash doesn’t get a 10 year deal... if next season looks anything like this one the alums will be asking “what can we do to return to glory?” Let's all panic, because jumping to rash conclusions never goes out of style. Why is so difficult to accept that the players just weren't good enough? So - what would the Ash critics recommend he do different? Try harder? Something resembling a cogent offense, for starters At least the team generally played hard and the defense, which was utterly disastrous to start the season, improved over time. A lot of folks have said he's installing a "system", and had to work through it even if not ideal for the current roster. I saw no "system" offensively, though. It looked like something that could be installed in a timeout, tbh. Furthermore, I think the most important thing a coach can do is be pragmatic and be able to make adjustments. You coach the team you have in front of you that night. This ability was not in evidence to me this season. Ash's purported strength is as a recruiter, and if he can recruit well enough, other things won't tend to matter as much, I suppose. But we haven't hit any HRs on that front yet, either. I hope he brings back the glory days, but I've yet to see anything that indicates to me that this thing is getting turned around.
|
|
|
Post by JoeFedorowicz on Mar 17, 2019 9:07:43 GMT -5
Considering he has had 0 of his high school recruits play a single minute, you saying he’s had not success thus far carries no weight.
|
|
|
Post by thelasallelunatic on Mar 17, 2019 9:17:11 GMT -5
The only thing I will say at this point is I wish we would drive the basketball more. I don't have the numbers in front of me, but I would almost guarantee you that we took a couple of hundred more three's than our opponents and were outscored on the foul line by almost 200 as well.
So when the three isn't falling, should we just call it an early night? Pookie Powell is a perfect example. He was 1-14 the other day and shot 2 free throws.... Because of a tech. Our best shooter couldn't throw the ball into the ocean, yet didn't get to the foul line ONCE on his on accord.
Bad shooting nights are going to happen. An automatic loss can't be the results of an ebb and flow thing such as jump shooting.
|
|
|
Post by belfieldhappyhour on Mar 17, 2019 9:33:38 GMT -5
Let's all panic, because jumping to rash conclusions never goes out of style. Why is so difficult to accept that the players just weren't good enough? So - what would the Ash critics recommend he do different? Try harder? Something resembling a cogent offense, for starters A lot of folks have said he's installing a "system", and had to work through it even if not ideal for the current roster. I saw no "system" offensively, though. I'm not gonna argue this point, but I watched the entire Nova game last night, and I didn't see much of a system there either. Ball screens, the occasional drive and kick, and more than enough 1-on-1 stuff with the shot clock winding down. The biggest difference since we had flashes of those three things this season? Nova guys make shots. For the season, Nova was 43.9% from the field, 35.3% from 3 and 72.7% from FT line. In comparison, we were 40%, 33.1% and 77%. In three less games, we had 121 less FGM, 102 less 3s made, 97 less FTM, 94 less assists against 51 MORE TURNOVERS and 75 MORE FOULS. Tough to compare apples and oranges, but those are the hard numbers.
|
|
|
Post by belfieldhappyhour on Mar 17, 2019 9:39:57 GMT -5
The only thing I will say at this point is I wish we would drive the basketball more. I don't have the numbers in front of me, but I would almost guarantee you that we took a couple of hundred more three's than our opponents and were outscored on the foul line by almost 200 as well. Since I had the stats up for my last post, here ya go FG LAS 719-1798 .400 OPP 774-1698 .456 3PT FG LAS 259-783 .331 OPP 193-564 .342 FT LAS 394-512 .770 OPP 502-702 .715
|
|
|
Post by GlitterBro #2 on Mar 17, 2019 10:00:38 GMT -5
So do we give him an A or a B because he didn't have his guys and did the best he could and tried hard? Sorry...it doesn't work like that..this is D1 basketball and he's one of the highest paid employees of the University. This season and next aren't participation trophy seasons where we wait for year 3 when "his guys" mature. Had he tried some different things or had the team not gotten embarrassed by Rhode Island, he's be up to a C. Despite the Davidson win, I thought the team looked like less of a "team" in the 2nd half of the A10 season than in the first. They were more competitive in games in the first half...second half when 3's weren't falling, they didn't adjust and had a couple of ugly games. Coach needs to adjust to that.
We can be disappointed in the season and the lack of improvement but still want Ash coaching. D+ doesn't mean get rid of him...it just means this was his first head coaching gig and hopefully he learns some things too and improves for season 2.
|
|
|
Post by explorer88 on Mar 17, 2019 10:54:27 GMT -5
Interesting takes from everyone. Overall the board seems to be tough graders which surprise me. I really though Ash would have a longer leash from some posters.
I will say the 0-10 start scared me. I kept telling myself he needs time but I did not like what I saw. Then we went 10-10 and have some real bright spots but I do not like what I saw at the end of the year.
I still think our talent level is the problem. Take Saul for instance. He is our most improved player but far from a upper level A10 player. No one can tell me any different. We have no upper echelon A-10 players.
What I saw was this year was plenty of open shots we missed. Installed offense or not we had shots and missed them an awful lot. I agree Ash should force the team to drive the ball more but part of that is our talent deficiency. There are others things that I wish Ash did different but he will live and die on one thing........Recruiting.
Ash simply needs to find better players. I watch the A-10 tournament and the teams remaining hit shots and defend. We need tougher and more physical players. Bob McKillop or any other coach in the conference could not win with our roster.
For me, Ash’s evaluation starts next year with 5 players he brought in and whatever additional recruits he brings in.
We need Ash to be the recruiter we all thought he would be. The school desperately needs to get the terrible home court addressed soon. I really hope that project starts not long after it is approved.
|
|
|
Post by las71 on Mar 17, 2019 11:26:06 GMT -5
Without movement on the new facility it's not fair to expect Ash to have more success than G. The obstacles are just as large now as they were when Ash was named head coach. A picture of a new arena won't convince recruits that it will be completed during their career. They need to approve it, start work on it and announce a target opening date. Once that project actually begins we have to step up and attend more games. I admit that I only attended 3 games this year so I'M as guilty as anyone but poor attendance can't be attractive to a recruit and coaches must cringe when a recruit comes to a game. Students may have to be convinced to "trust the process" and support the team and finally as many of us who can should mention the jellybean challenge when we make a day of giving donation regardless of the amount. We need to prove to the school that we do in fact believe.
|
|
|
Post by luhoopsfan on Mar 17, 2019 14:16:38 GMT -5
Hard to sell recruits on how well they fit the system you play if..... you’re not playing the system.
I would give Ash a C- with the chance to have a C+ had they not been horrible against URI. the 10-10 stretch is reason enough for me to have hope. I do believe he can change the culture at La Salle from expecting/assuming a let down to expecting to win every night. He will get an A+ before he’s done at La Salle.
|
|
|
Ash Grades
Mar 17, 2019 14:27:22 GMT -5
via mobile
Post by JoeFedorowicz on Mar 17, 2019 14:27:22 GMT -5
Bob McKillop who went 4-24 and then 10-19 in his first two years at Davidson.
|
|