Rating the 2017-18 Season

[n.ogdencat]

Fellas of the forum! The end has arrived. I'm sure if we are invited, that we pay to play in a post-season tournament. Regardless, I consider the season done. We could win the CIT, which would be really shocking, and it might be fun to watch and participate, but to me, we are done. Everything from here on out is extra-curricular.

So, with that being said. It might be fun to rate our season. To me, I feel this team really over-achieved and earned 20 wins (fan and I, on another thread, can agree that 20 is subjective due to level of competition, but the university will record 20 and that is what I will go with, even though I definitely don't consider West Coast Baptist and Presentation College, Duft and his funding of religious programs, as true competition).

Ratings:
Overall Season: B+ (this team wasn't very good. Guys playing out of position, no point guard, defense sloppy and soft, injuries, and a terrible offensive system) because this team really overachieved. In December I felt that this team would be a .500 team in conference and after the Idaho State loss, I thought .500 was somewhat unrealistic. Well, 13-5 was definitely better than .500, so gotta hand it to this team. However, one glaring issue with this team, too much individualism and not enough team. This has got to be the most selfish team Randy has ever coached. I mean your starting PG averages less than 2 assists a game??

Coaching (Head Coach): C. Randy just didn't seem to have much magic this year. He still hasn't learned how to beat a zone or press, create an actual in bounds play, and switch up things on the court. Randy is a superb recruiter. He is excellent at preparing his guys, but is an average in game coach. Even in games the Cats won, he routinely got out coached. However, the true reason for this C started back last January. He thought the grass was greener and it definitely wasn't. You don't EVER counsel out a 5th year senior who contributes. 10, 5, and 2 are a lot better than 0, 0, and 0; and this isn't even looking at his defensive abilities.

Assistant Coaching: D-. These guys just aren't good. Starts with the Associate Head Coach and continues down. I'll give it to Lever who does an okay job developing in the off-season, and Marek seems like he can find some diamonds in the rough in Europe, but other than that, this group doesn't really help the team. Rahe needs to get over his Napoleon Complex and hire a real big man's coach. Our bigs looked really bad to finish the season. Zach isn't getting better and actually regressed as the season went on. Kozak was exciting to watch and same thing, he regressed. Dallas just isn't a DI guy. Stew was at the game yesterday and on video is seen shaking his head after a Braxton play where he missed twice right under the hoop. No moves Braxton really needs help and the oompa loompa committee is lost. Smiley, Linder, Beckner are all better coaches, but yet, Duft is still here. If Randy left, you all now JE Bovee would take the easiest path and hire Duft and kill the program.

Offense: C+ we were one of the top teams in the country, but as the season progressed, we looked stale and off. You can't run a flex motion offense without a pass first point guard. Motion offenses need movement, passing, and cutting. Our offense far too often was either someone jacking a 3 or someone trying to take it to the rim. Look at the wins and losses and see how many assists occurred in each game and you will see the biggest issue to why our team was successful and why it wasn't.

Defense: B- The Cats can still limit teams from 3, but interior D was awful. Also, our rebounding was absurd to watch. Our bigs don't know how to box out and Randy is playing our best rebounder as a 3 and so he isn't even close to the bucket. WTF? Yesterday is another prime example of one of the Cats biggest issues. Giving up second chance opportunities and not creating enough second chance opportunities. Randy still hasn't figured out what to do without Bolomboy. Hill helped fill the gap somewhat last year, but this year...UGH!

Bench: D. Other than Baker, our bench was terrible. Doc is fine but went back to his bad habits to end the season. He can be good, but he can't finish at the rim and didn't have the moxy to go against a lot of the guards in our guard heavy conference.

Recruiting (16-17): C- a year after, Court lost a year of eligibility when he never should have touched the court this season, Trevon Ary is probably gone, Doc played a lot of mins but contributed minimally, Kozak is the only real hope from this class and by the end of the season he looked lost and totally out of gas.

Another 5 newbs will be with us next year too!! Randy can keep his excuses flowing: Young and inexperienced.

YES, I'm pretty ticked off about yesterdays game.

 

[Webergrad02]

You give the overall season a B+ but then go total negative. The season was like a C or C+ at best. It was like a bad comedian. Starts off with a weak opening, has some funny stuff in the middle but the closing was so damn bad that you forget all of the good stuff.

 

[WSUfan1]

Yeah, I would rate this season on a C-/C grade, and thats on a curve! :lol: :lol:
But seriously, what a dumpster fire this turned into. The worst thing to happen to Rahe, was going dancing in 06/07. That should have set the bar, and the program standards, but it didnt happen. Look, I appreciate what Rahe has done here, but his time and energy are done.

Rahe is now 25% at getting to the dance. It would be interesting to the percentages of other coaches, and getting to the dance. Regardless, with 8 more years of Rahe, we can statically bank on two more trips to the dance. :wall:

 

[n.ogdencat]

You give the overall season a B+ but then go total negative. The season was like a C or C+ at best. It was like a bad comedian. Starts off with a weak opening, has some funny stuff in the middle but the closing was so damn bad that you forget all of the good stuff.

Grad, I give my reasoning for a B+. This team was bad in December, and was bad to end the season. They were bad at their holiday tournament and were even bad against bad DI teams. This team won 20 games, they completely over-achieved (mostly on the back of Harding) for two months in conference and so, since they were sooooo bad, it makes sense to give them more love overall, because they totally over-achieved. Am I grading on a curve? YES...its like a college chemistry class, they end up with a B+ when their highest test score was a 74%. :lol:

 

[WILDCAT]

C

The good

20 win season
Overachieving team that finished higher than they probably should have.
Harding
And the progression of Kozak.

Bad

Soft OOC schedule.
Losing 3 conf home games
7 man rotation
Braxton and Chapman were practically non factors

 

[WSUfan1]

C

The good

20 win season
Overachieving team that finished higher than they probably should have.
Harding
And the progression of Kozak.

Bad

Soft OOC schedule.
Losing 3 conf home games
7 man rotation
Braxton and Chapman were practically non factors

Something we agree on.

 

[n.ogdencat]

C

The good

20 win season
Overachieving team that finished higher than they probably should have.
Harding
And the progression of Kozak.

Bad

Soft OOC schedule.
Losing 3 conf home games
7 man rotation
Braxton and Chapman were practically non factors

Hell, I should have had you write this thread. Beautiful!

 

[SWeberCat02]

C

The good

20 win season
Overachieving team that finished higher than they probably should have.
Harding
And the progression of Kozak.

Bad

Soft OOC schedule.
Losing 3 conf home games
7 man rotation
Braxton and Chapman were practically non factors

I don't consider it a 20 win season.

They were picked to finish 2nd and finished 4th. Why are we calling this overachieving?

How did Kozak progress? He averaged 4 pts a game while shooting 35% from the field over the last 10 games. And half of his FG attempts were 3 pt attempts. Not what you need from a starting big. Watching games I honestly forgot he was on the floor at times. Kozak will progress much like all other big men in the program, including Braxton. Rahe and his staff do not know how to develop a big man. Kozak would be better off transferring somewhere that could help him develop.

 

[WSUfan1]

Went back and checked on last years grading at the end of the season. Majority said B-/C+ range. This year its looking like C year. Overall, we got worse. Problem I am seeing, is that Rahe is missing the mark in recruiting. How many kids are actually beginning their FR year and finishing their SR year here? This year, Ryan is, but that doesnt seem to be the norm...

 

[Webergrad02]

C

The good

20 win season
Overachieving team that finished higher than they probably should have.
Harding
And the progression of Kozak.

Bad

Soft OOC schedule.
Losing 3 conf home games
7 man rotation
Braxton and Chapman were practically non factors

Holy crap. We mostly agree. I think there was games where Zach was a factor. Braxton played his guts out most nights and really needed a player that could come in and support him off the bench.

 

[Chex]

I am new to the forum and loving reading your thoughts. Other than Harding, this season was tough to watch. So hard to see them turn the ball over so much and to watch opponents go through them like a hot knife through butter. The rebounding was awful, too.

I miss the times when Abegglin would stamp his feet, call timeout and yell the team down when needed. Beckner seemed to get the team to play intense on defense...that’s way gone now.

It’s a C- for me. I like Rahe in some ways, and in other ways he annoys me to no end. He is terrible at Xs and Os...and he cannot beat a press or zone to save his life. How many times do you purposely inbound to the coffin corner? I’d rather see them pass on a CIT invite if last night’s game is any indicator.

Football is around the bend! Until then, Cubs baseball will have to keep hope alive!

 

[UtahPirate]

B

There are several threads going that are essentially about the same thing, so I've picked this one for some thoughts. And this is long ...

1) Breaking the press. This team successfully broke the press all year. Rivers in particular was really good at it and Harding didn't struggle much either. The problem was it totally slowed us down and put us in our half-court offense. From what I could see, that is exactly what other coaches wanted us to do. So one after another put on a soft press. It wasn't beating it that was the problem, it was making other teams really pay for using it.

2) JC kids. First off, the success we've had with transfers are usually soph season kids -- Berry (D2), Baker and Bam all came in as sophs and that helped lead to their success. And we've had other DI program transfers. JC kids are a freaking nightmare! I still have restless nights thinking about Sessions. And you don't have to look to very many programs to see the plethora of problems most JC kids cause -- usually poor character kids and terrible student athletes (and I'm being nice just naming those two).

3) Counseling kids out. I've seen 5 names. WTF. Court and Ary-Turner were both Freshman who had their moments. A normal 2-star freshman can't be expected to come in and contribute right away. He has to be developed. I think that's the reason Rahe likes to RS so many. Court will get Baker's spot in the rotation. I think we might see Barnes replace Richardson (if the reports of his talent are correct), but it's easy to plug Ary-Turner into the rotation (see below). I think we might see two as Dallas needs to take some huge steps forward and one of the RS (Lang or Patton) may find a greener pasture.

4) Sports boards. The sky is always falling (I go to another MLB one and it's the same, sports boards are a place that people come to grouse). I guess you get used to it, but wow, the negativity of sports boards can just be overwhelming. This team was a train wreck for the last 5 games -- and it was a huge let down. But they went on a nice 9-game winning streak that was impressive. They ended up #3 in the nation in 3 pt %; #17 in FG % and we had the #13 scorer in the nation -- who was a freakin soph. I was greatly entertained through most of the season because our offense could really get rolling at times, even though I'm licking my wounds right now (and part of that was because they looked like a really good team through the middle of the season).

5) Misc. Randy needs some new assistants -- and somebody who can really teach defense. Randy needs to play a zone once and awhile (see losses to EWash and Idaho at home). Weber needs to upgrade our preseason schedule. The conference was much better this year and loaded with some impressive seniors. The rotation (my biggest complaint for years now) needs to be expanded to 9 during conference and more during the preseason. We need to find more game minutes to better develop some kids. We have to rebound on defense better. Randy needs to shake some of the Stew out of his style -- some good assistants might help.

B. We weren't as quite as good as I thought we might be, but I didn't think we were going to be world beaters when the season started. They played well enough for awhile and then just petered out.

Next year. Hey, I drink the Purple Stuff. I think I'll end up being pretty excited once I get over this year-end letdown. I'm excited to see Barnes play. I think we'll have more depth. I think the result rests on Chapman and if we get the 15 pt 10 rebound player, or the 5 pt 5 rebounds and foul trouble one.

 

[SWWeatherCat]

I am new to the forum and loving reading your thoughts. Other than Harding, this season was tough to watch. So hard to see them turn the ball over so much and to watch opponents go through them like a hot knife through butter. The rebounding was awful, too.

I miss the times when Abegglin would stamp his feet, call timeout and yell the team down when needed. Beckner seemed to get the team to play intense on defense...that’s way gone now.

It’s a C- for me. I like Rahe in some ways, and in other ways he annoys me to no end. He is terrible at Xs and Os...and he cannot beat a press or zone to save his life. How many times do you purposely inbound to the coffin corner? I’d rather see them pass on a CIT invite if last night’s game is any indicator.

Football is around the bend! Until then, Cubs baseball will have to keep hope alive!

:agree: with all of your post, except Cubs baseball-- Go Cards!

@UtahPirate

I really like most of your take as well. Even though Weber was handling the press better this season by not turning the ball over and over, they certainly weren't what I would call beating the press. The press-- for the most part-- still had a desired effect on the 'Cats by completely disrupting the offense. Rahe and Co. should be able to teach this team to be able to frequently attack and beat the press. I couldn't agree more with item #5. I'm not real high on Rahe but don't think much of his assistants-- at all! Overall, the defense was poor this year and I don't see an elite defense happening without much more instances of zones mixed in throughout games. A press of their own should be mixed in vs certain teams as well. This is all unlikely with a 7-man rotation and lack of a strong defensive-minded coach.

 

[Wildcat_Fan]

Im wondering if that is why our D & rebounding was so bad is because our guys were dog tired. Defense is more effort than skill and rebounding is toughness. When your exhausted you dont have either.

 

[weberwildcat]

Rahe is now 25% at getting to the dance. It would be interesting to the percentages of other coaches, and getting to the dance. Regardless, with 8 more years of Rahe, we can statically bank on two more trips to the dance. :wall:

hi wsufan,
long time not see. ill start a new thread for this but i wonder if it would turn out to be a big attribute of rahe compared to many other coaches. lets see. might be interesting to look at. but of course there are other factors to consider, program size, pay, facilties...etc.

 

[UtahPirate]

I am new to the forum and loving reading your thoughts. Other than Harding, this season was tough to watch. So hard to see them turn the ball over so much and to watch opponents go through them like a hot knife through butter. The rebounding was awful, too.

I miss the times when Abegglin would stamp his feet, call timeout and yell the team down when needed. Beckner seemed to get the team to play intense on defense...that’s way gone now.

It’s a C- for me. I like Rahe in some ways, and in other ways he annoys me to no end. He is terrible at Xs and Os...and he cannot beat a press or zone to save his life. How many times do you purposely inbound to the coffin corner? I’d rather see them pass on a CIT invite if last night’s game is any indicator.

Football is around the bend! Until then, Cubs baseball will have to keep hope alive!

:agree: with all of your post, except Cubs baseball-- Go Cards!

@UtahPirate

I really like most of your take as well. Even though Weber was handling the press better this season by not turning the ball over and over, they certainly weren't what I would call beating the press. The press-- for the most part-- still had a desired effect on the 'Cats by completely disrupting the offense. Rahe and Co. should be able to teach this team to be able to frequently attack and beat the press. I couldn't agree more with item #5. I'm not real high on Rahe but don't think much of his assistants-- at all! Overall, the defense was poor this year and I don't see an elite defense happening without much more instances of zones mixed in throughout games. A press of their own should be mixed in vs certain teams as well. This is all unlikely with a 7-man rotation and lack of a strong defensive-minded coach.

Well the 3 of us are keeping our baseball passion in the NL Central at least. My "Pirate" refers to my passion for the baseball team in Pittsburgh.

 

[WSUWildcat]

Ratings:
Overall Season: C- I just can't get over the inconsistent play. They played well mostly, except when they looked like an uncoached gym rat team.

Coaching (Head Coach): C Coach seems unable to prepare for any big game. We beat most teams we should have. We lost to some we shouldn't. If he wasn't such a great recruiter we would be acompletely average team.

Assistant Coaching: C- Not sure I have a great feel for our assistant coaches. I don't see much player progression and I don't see any of them making an impact.

Offense: D Jerrick Harding always seemed to get his. But we looked lost on how to involve anyone else. Everyone seemed to need to create their own shots. That didn't work out well against the upper half of the conference.

Defense: B- We should have been able to dominate on the interior defensively. Rebounds were so hot and cold. Might be a coaching thing, might be a lack of desire.

Bench: INC Can't play a 7 man rotation and hope for much of a bench.

Recruiting (16-17): UNK See the comment on the bench. Unfortunately we seem to run off a lot of players from the freshman year to the Junior year.

 

[Chex]

I am new to the forum and loving reading your thoughts. Other than Harding, this season was tough to watch. So hard to see them turn the ball over so much and to watch opponents go through them like a hot knife through butter. The rebounding was awful, too.

I miss the times when Abegglin would stamp his feet, call timeout and yell the team down when needed. Beckner seemed to get the team to play intense on defense...that’s way gone now.

It’s a C- for me. I like Rahe in some ways, and in other ways he annoys me to no end. He is terrible at Xs and Os...and he cannot beat a press or zone to save his life. How many times do you purposely inbound to the coffin corner? I’d rather see them pass on a CIT invite if last night’s game is any indicator.

Football is around the bend! Until then, Cubs baseball will have to keep hope alive!

:agree: with all of your post, except Cubs baseball-- Go Cards!

@UtahPirate

I really like most of your take as well. Even though Weber was handling the press better this season by not turning the ball over and over, they certainly weren't what I would call beating the press. The press-- for the most part-- still had a desired effect on the 'Cats by completely disrupting the offense. Rahe and Co. should be able to teach this team to be able to frequently attack and beat the press. I couldn't agree more with item #5. I'm not real high on Rahe but don't think much of his assistants-- at all! Overall, the defense was poor this year and I don't see an elite defense happening without much more instances of zones mixed in throughout games. A press of their own should be mixed in vs certain teams as well. This is all unlikely with a 7-man rotation and lack of a strong defensive-minded coach.

Well the 3 of us are keeping our baseball passion in the NL Central at least. My "Pirate" refers to my passion for the baseball team in Pittsburgh.

Good to know three baseball fans I can share a few posts with during the summer.

Usually, I am pretty patient and am pretty laid back with expectations. Being a Cubs fan taught me that. With WSU basketball, they have the best arena in the Big Sky by far. They almost double the attendance of the second Big Sky team, beat 1/2 the MWC teams and about a third of PAC-12, so I expect them to be at or near the top consistently.

It will be interesting to see what unfolds in the offseason. In the meantime, let’s play ball!

 

[WILDCAT]

I am new to the forum and loving reading your thoughts. Other than Harding, this season was tough to watch. So hard to see them turn the ball over so much and to watch opponents go through them like a hot knife through butter. The rebounding was awful, too.

I miss the times when Abegglin would stamp his feet, call timeout and yell the team down when needed. Beckner seemed to get the team to play intense on defense...that’s way gone now.

It’s a C- for me. I like Rahe in some ways, and in other ways he annoys me to no end. He is terrible at Xs and Os...and he cannot beat a press or zone to save his life. How many times do you purposely inbound to the coffin corner? I’d rather see them pass on a CIT invite if last night’s game is any indicator.

Football is around the bend! Until then, Cubs baseball will have to keep hope alive!

:agree: with all of your post, except Cubs baseball-- Go Cards!

@UtahPirate

I really like most of your take as well. Even though Weber was handling the press better this season by not turning the ball over and over, they certainly weren't what I would call beating the press. The press-- for the most part-- still had a desired effect on the 'Cats by completely disrupting the offense. Rahe and Co. should be able to teach this team to be able to frequently attack and beat the press. I couldn't agree more with item #5. I'm not real high on Rahe but don't think much of his assistants-- at all! Overall, the defense was poor this year and I don't see an elite defense happening without much more instances of zones mixed in throughout games. A press of their own should be mixed in vs certain teams as well. This is all unlikely with a 7-man rotation and lack of a strong defensive-minded coach.

Well the 3 of us are keeping our baseball passion in the NL Central at least. My "Pirate" refers to my passion for the baseball team in Pittsburgh.

Good to know three baseball fans I can share a few posts with during the summer.

Usually, I am pretty patient and am pretty laid back with expectations. Being a Cubs fan taught me that. With WSU basketball, they have the best arena in the Big Sky by far. They almost double the attendance of the second Big Sky team, beat 1/2 the MWC teams and about a third of PAC-12, so I expect them to be at or near the top consistently.

It will be interesting to see what unfolds in the offseason. In the meantime, let’s play ball!

:thumb:

 

[n.ogdencat]

If we have to talk baseball, it is all about the Braves. But, one thing we all have in common is that we are all true baseball fans (NO DH Shiz that sir.velo gets all jizzy about). No fake baseball for us. NL > AL...Pitcher's gotta hit.