Chex
Active member
peauxrouge said:kcoolhand said:I'm going to offer a different perspective of how Travis DeCuire out coached Randy Rahe to give Montana the "W"
True Randy Rahe got out-coached by Travis DeCluire in this game again and did not make adequate adjustments in the second half. That being said, that is NOT where the game was lost tonight.
Tonight's loss was a full season in the making. The area where DeCuire out-coached Randy was throughout the season even in the games which were not against Montana. ??? you say??? How???
The first game against Montana in Mizzoula we were not ready for their defensive intensity and we got manhandled because of it. But Randy did make the necessary adjustments for the second game and we broke open a tight game going down the stretch. That was early in the conference season. Our guys' legs were still fresh. Randy from a strategic sense actually out-coached his Montana counterpart in that game.
But how many guys did Randy effectively use against Montana and all other opponents all season long. The same rotation of 7-8 guys despite having the deepest most talented bench he's ever had at Weber & far deeper than any other team in the Big Sky. But DeCuire used 10 or 11 guys in those games and had had a different starting lineup for at least six straight games before the second game against the Cats.
Why is that important??? Well, WSU has far more talent and experience than any other BSC team, yet Randy continues to rotate like he has only 6 or 7 players who are reliable. DeCuire has used a ten or eleven man rotation throughout the season and hence their players legs were fresh plus he developed players who could contribute giving his regulars more rest, developing talent and making more combinations possible as to fully utilize the talent they have. Randy had the most talent and deepest talent of any team in the BSC, but he continued to overuse and overwork the core - just as he has his entire career - despite having so much more talent this year than anybody else in the Sky.
Tonight's result actually began to reveal itself in Sacramento. Weber was first in the BSC in three point percentage and I believe third in the nation. Against Sac State we barely hit a three in either game. In the first game, the players still had fresh enough legs to drive (especially the guards) on them and shoot an incredible percentage from inside the arc and come away with a solid win. Along comes Northern Colorado in the Dee Center and the press was billing it as the best three point percentage shooting in the conference vs the best three point defense in the conference. Well, I was at that game and watched it. UNC's three point defense was pathetic at best that night yet Weber went 1-10 from downtown. By now, the players' legs were so worn out that they couldn't even hit easy layups and shots from inside the arc. The only thing that saved Weber is UNC could not capitalize on their layups or open jumpers including an open look from about 10-15 feet to win it. It didn't hurt that UNC committed an incredibly stupid foul after that shot [with the score tied] that gave Kozak the winning free throw.
Well, it's the same pattern we have suffered for so many years under Randy Rahe. Late season breakdowns because of not utilizing his bench the regulars get fatigued and tired legs and even though they are in excellent shape and great players, they tend to lose that tiny extra spark that gives them such a great edge over their competition. The decline in three point shooting came not because of great defense against it. It came because of tired and fatigued legs.
Many people will fault Isaiah Brown due to his incredibly bad game tonight. Yes, he struggled, but I fault not Isiah, but rather Randy Rahe for his demise at the end of the season. Brown is an incredible talent but Randy just rode him too much playing him for so many minutes each game throughout the season and especially down the stretch. Many games Isiah played a full 40 minutes and most times nearly the entire game. It wears your legs down and it affects performance at the end. Randy needed to use KJ Cunningham more and needed to give Hunter a chance to earn minutes early in the season. Had he used Hunter five minutes a game and given KJ another five or seven minutes over what he was already getting, then Brown & Segu could have gotten more rest saving their legs for the season end drive.
In tonight's game our guys had no answer for Montana's guards penetrating. Well, in the second game in Mizzoula, we successfully stopped their guards from penetrating. How did the Grizz's guards get so much faster in the month since we played them??? I say unto you, they didn't. Our guys were a step slower due to tired and fatigued legs. Whose fault is the tired and fatigued legs?? The players??? No!!! It's not the fault of the players. It's because there has been inadequate use of the bench by our coach during the entirety of the season. That is where DeCuire out-coached Randy Rahe and the results of tonight's game have been in the works for the past 12 weeks.
That being said, I was really proud of how our players dug down deep within their character and really outplayed Montana the last four minutes coming from 16 points down to get within one point. That took enormous energy and courage for our players to do that. It showed just how much better our talent is than Montana's or any other Big Sky team. Trouble is, when your legs are tired and body & mind is fatigued from not getting enough rest in games, you can do that for a short stretch but it is almost impossible to maintain that level of intensity the entire game or even an entire half.
Had Randy utilized the deepest and most talented bench of any team in the Big Sky, then his core & starters would have had fresh legs at the end of the season including tonight and we'd be previewing tomorrow night's game against Eastern Washington.hno:
Hey all, Griz fan here. Appreciate your insight but I think you're grasping at straws. We aren't a deep team, especially after losing multiple players throughout the season for one reason or another. Our main rotation is 7-8 players, as it is every year. That's always been how DeCuire rolls. You guys just got caught when the Griz had a solid night last night. We've been waiting for a game like that all year and our guys still almost blew it, just like they've done all year. I really thought you guys were about to have a "Anthony Johnson Game" to pay us back for a while at the end of this game.
I don't know what it is about Weber's inability to get passed the Griz lately, but I don't think it's Rahe's rotation and I certainly don't think the grind of the season wore your guys down. Especially when the Griz played four more total games than Weber did this year. Weber has fantastic athletes and they better be able to play a full 40-minute game come tournament time. I just don't buy that they were worn down.
Wish I had more insight into the why of Weber's inability to solve the Griz but I don't. Our guys just seem to get up for the games.
Best of luck to y'all next season. Weber's my second favorite team in the Big Sky by far and if the Griz aren't winning I would rather you guys win. I hope y'all get an invite to some other tourney this post-season assuming there will be others. Maybe there won't be. But it would be nice.
I am not thinking Weber State was tired either. They had extra rest on last game being canceled and were playing a Griz team that played the night before. For some reason they let the Griz dictate the pace until they fell down by 16 and had to change out of necessity.
Coach Tinkle and now Coach DeCuire play Rahe like a fiddle. Rahe is not the best Xs and Os coach or makes adjustments. The Griz are fired up for the games vs. Weber State and the Wildcats play tight. That is coaching in my opinion. It is what it is. It was a much better season, but the same story for the Tournament. They need to find a way to break out of their funk vs. Montana and Tournament play in general, which comes from coaching adjustments and motivation, if not, it will be the same story.
Congratulations on the win and good luck the rest of the Tournament.