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[n.ogdencat]

Occasionally, Brett Hein gets fried on this forum. Far too often, I either roll my eyes at him or shake my head disbelievingly at some of the things he says or opportunities he misses to either report on or push. However, he has penned a fairly decent and thought provoking article. His article with Coach Rahe made me really think, and I'm sure Randy was asked some good questions that finally got him out of the coach speak -somewhat- and which gave us, the fans, deeper understanding. After a grueling season like this one, I'm happily optimistic about our coaches demeanor in this article. You can almost sense the frustration Randy went through with this team this past season.

It wasn't a good defensive team
This team lacked toughness and togetherness (Chemistry)
Selfish "hero ball" team
Offensively inconsistent

Randy's teams can definitely frustrate the crap out of me, but at the end of the day, I always love going back to the Dee. You can always count on a Randy Rahe Basketball Team being tough. Not this year. This years rendition was really hard to watch. Guys just didn't care, or weren't willing to do those things that they were supposed to do. I hate selfish "hero" basketball. There are 5 guys on the court. You've got to use your team. There wasn't much of that this year. Coach mentioned that the guys do get along. That there weren't any off the court issues, and that that wasn't the problem. The issue was, some guys weren't prepared or ready to go? Hate to admit it, but I agree with coach. You could tell which guys were ready and which ones weren't. What ticks me off, is that, I don't understand why these players were rewarded with playing time if they weren't consistent, tough, and focused. Yes, good players, but playing very inconsistent. Maybe that led to some more hero ball since guys like Harding couldn't trust players who weren't dialed in every night. He didn't know who was going to play hard or not. Who knows...

Regardless, after reading the article, I'm a little more optimistic about next season and look forward to seeing the new guys take the floor. After all, the slate is clean and next year, is another year.

 

[WSUfan1]

Occasionally, Brett Hein gets fried on this forum. Far too often, I either roll my eyes at him or shake my head disbelievingly at some of the things he says or opportunities he misses to either report on or push. However, he has penned a fairly decent and thought provoking article. His article with Coach Rahe made me really think, and I'm sure Randy was asked some good questions that finally got him out of the coach speak -somewhat- and which gave us, the fans, deeper understanding. After a grueling season like this one, I'm happily optimistic about our coaches demeanor in this article. You can almost sense the frustration Randy went through with this team this past season.

It wasn't a good defensive team
This team lacked toughness and togetherness (Chemistry)
Selfish "hero ball" team
Offensively inconsistent

Coach mentioned that the guys do get along. That there weren't really any off the court issues, and that that wasn't really the problem. That the issue was, some guys weren't prepared or ready to go? Hate to admit it, but you can tell who the guys were who weren't ready to go. Frankly, I don't understand why they were rewarded with playing time if they weren't consistent, tough, and focused. Randy's teams can definitely frustrate the crap out of me, but at the end of the day, I always love going back to the Dee. You can always count on a Randy Rahe Basketball Team being tough. Not this year. This years rendition was really hard to watch. Guys just didn't care, or weren't willing to do those things that they were supposed to do. I hate selfish "hero" basketball. There are 5 guys on the court. You've got to use your team. There wasn't much of that this year. Maybe that led to some more hero ball since guys like Harding couldn't trust players who weren't dialed in every night. He didn't know who was going to play hard or not. Who knows...

Regardless, after reading the article, I'm a little more optimistic about next season and look forward to seeing the new guys take the floor. After all, the slate is clean and next year, is another year.

College ball is like politics. You never get the real story, promises are never kept, things are made out to be better than they really are, coaches lobbying for themselves, broken promises, and a general sense of let down. Look, Rahe is a good talker (see his recruits), but his record and he has done (or hasnt done) with that talent is far more telling. This is just another part of his job that he has learned to do well, and that is to speak well. He basically is saying what fans and administrating want to hear.

Our needs for next year have to be a player who is like 6-10" and freaky athletic, and can move. Our bigs have always been lead footed, and unable to shot the ball.

 

[UtahPirate]

We started the year with a new offense that really encouraged what is being called "hero" ball. One of the things that offense required to work was we be very good shooting 3's. I was actually encouraged that we were trying something different. But we weren't a good 3 point team, shooting a paltry 36 percent. This also closed down any interior spacing we might have hoped for to let Harding do his thing (and John as well). I think that added to this "hero" idea as we seemed desperate at times to get to the rim even when we were double and even triple-teamed. Being able to kick the ball out to an open guy and actually hitting 3's would have made us so much better.

If we didn't defend well, the offensive rebounds we gave up were worse. I don't know how many games an opponent had a lower shooting percentage only to win because we were beat on the offensive boards so badly. More than anything I couldn't take getting beat like that on the boards game after game.

I'm always careful to be non-critical of players as I know how hard they work. But I have to say something about Chapman. Man did he tease us with his talent. He was #1 in 3-point % at 43%, but I kept waiting for them to play him in a more traditional 4 spot at times -- with his back to the basket and given some room to operate underneath. The few times he did that, he could usually destroy his defender with superior quickness ... the few times he did it. I don't know whether there was an agreement for him to only play like a 3 all the time, but I feel his height and quickness were wasted in a big way not getting him posted at times. He averaged 12.5 points, but I feel like if we had just taken advantage of his talent that should have been more like 17 a game. Between Rahe and Chapman (and it might have been Chapman wanting to only play as a 3), something really got wasted there.

Havent read the article. I think Rahe's back is to the fire right now. It will be interesting to see if next year's team comes out playing at a higher level. I hope so, but I remain hugely disappointed with this year.

 

[Chex]

Weber State basketball used to be so entertaining that I would brave blizzards to make it to the Purple Palace. Then it got less entertaining that I would stay at home for bad weather, then I missed a few for lack of interest. This year I made it to about half the games. The lack of energy and enthusiasm is taking a toll. Add to that SATOG yelling on the mic, and it has actually become a chore to go to some games.

I love the Dee and will always make it out to some games, but Rahe needs to get some energy back, or fans like me are going to go through the motions too until some new blood and energy comes back.

A team with less talent that hustles and fights is way better than this year’s version that took on a church ball feel.

 

[Wildcat_Fan]

Weber State basketball used to be so entertaining that I would brave blizzards to make it to the Purple Palace. Then it got less entertaining that I would stay at home for bad weather, then I missed a few for lack of interest. This year I made it to about half the games. The lack of energy and enthusiasm is taking a toll. Add to that SATOG yelling on the mic, and it has actually become a chore to go to some games.

I love the Dee and will always make it out to some games, but Rahe needs to get some energy back, or fans like me are going to go through the motions too until some new blood and energy comes back.

A team with less talent that hustles and fights is way better than this year’s version that took on a church ball feel.

Well with Ron out of marketing SATOG may be moving on. I'll admit I did enjoy the different take on promotions when SATOG started doing things. But the same things over and over, just like Rahes coaching, it gets old.
I agree Rahe could be feeling the heat. Not from the athletic department, but maybe his own standards or the lack of enthusiasm and declining crowds we have grown accustomed to.

We are tired of coach speak, tired of excuses. Win QUALITY games Rahe.

 

[WSUWildcat]

Weber State basketball used to be so entertaining that I would brave blizzards to make it to the Purple Palace. Then it got less entertaining that I would stay at home for bad weather, then I missed a few for lack of interest. This year I made it to about half the games. The lack of energy and enthusiasm is taking a toll. Add to that SATOG yelling on the mic, and it has actually become a chore to go to some games.

I love the Dee and will always make it out to some games, but Rahe needs to get some energy back, or fans like me are going to go through the motions too until some new blood and energy comes back.

A team with less talent that hustles and fights is way better than this year’s version that took on a church ball feel.

We are tired of coach speak, tired of excuses. Win QUALITY games Rahe.

This. I have yet to hear Rahe take any accountability for the team under performing this year.

" I know how to fix it and it’s going to get fixed."

"I told this team before we got here, if anybody should have something to prove, it’s our team. We’ve been up and down and all over the place, and we know the reasons why,"

"We practice well, we do what we're supposed to do ... I thought we played with good effort tonight, we just have to focus, guys have to pay attention more," Rahe said. "We were a better rebounding team and it slipped the last couple weeks. We've got to get it back."

“We’ve got to go back to fighting. We’ve got to fight,” Rahe said Monday night. “I thought our kids played hard tonight and were on the same page with each other but, bottom line is, we’ve got to fight harder. That’s what we’re going to do Thursday, we’re going to go fight.”

“They had their way with us and it was really disappointing,” WSU head coach Randy Rahe said. “We came out and just did not have that same energy we’d been having ... our guys didn’t want to be like that, but they were ... That’s a good basketball team we played; obviously, we helped them out quite a bit.”

“It can’t happen. I told the guys we play to a certain standard around here, that didn’t meet our standard and we can’t see that again.”

Ad Nauseum. Rahe is all talk, very little results.

 

[weberwildcat]

i have no clue what to think or expect. it wasnt a yr where injuries were the obvious reason for the blunders. the way we ended the last 2 seasons seemed really pathetic, blown out big both yrs in final game. both yrs we were supposed to be top 2 team. while we are only 2 yrs removed from playing in the big sky title game what should be expected for 2020?

 

[Webergrad02]

I bet we finish 4th or 5th next season.

 

[weberwildcat]

I bet we finish 4th or 5th next season.

lets ask talhad or wazzu what place. i hope u are wrong.

 

[n.ogdencat]

Next year is tricky. For the Cats it really depends on development and growth of our players. I really feel we need another Big who can play with his back toward the basket and can rebound, but that is me. Our guard line could be the best in the Sky. It isn't just about scoring points though, it is about playing defense, rebounding, and assists. Three things the two starters struggled at times to do well. If at all. Our bigs...well, there are some definite concerns. These kids need to make some huge leaps to compete at a high level. Out of our freshmen, we need, at least, one to be able to contribute next season. I hope Randy doesn't waste eligibility, but I'm sure it will happen and I'm really hopeful the JC 4 can play some by conference. If not, we will desperately need depth and hope that Morris is up to the task.

It really isn't how bad we are, but who is better? Are there really 4 teams better than the Cats in the Sky? And if so, who are they?

 

[wazzuwildcat03]

I agree with Tal. Next year will depend on the development on our big guys. We should be the best in the league with Harding and John returning and you got to think Barnes, Nero and Neilson will be improved. I think Zdor could be really good and Kozak will be steady. I heard that Fuller was solid in practice. Kupsas showed flashes and the JC guy obviously has potential. If I had to pick the top 4 right now I would go with.
1. Montana,
2. Eastern Washington
3. SUU
4. Weber State.
I'm not ripping us, but just knowing what the above schools have coming back and the uncertainty of our post players I have to put us 4th. We are due for an awesome season. Next year. :rockon:

 

[oldrunner]

UM loses 4 starters and will be the biggest unknown next year. They should still be a top team, but they are the biggest question mark. I would still rank them #1 simply due to their being the defending champs. They deserve that.

SUU is intriguing. They may well have the best post players in the BSC. The question will be their guard play, and can they be consistent.

EWU could be anywhere from top four to bottom four.

UNCO will not be the same without Davis, but they should be competitive with what they return.

WSU will have the best guard line in the BSC, but untested front court players. If history tells us anything, the BSC is a guard dominated league. Guard lines win championships in the BSC more years than not. I can't see us finishing less than 3rd.

The rest of the league is a dumpster fire. Some burning hotter than others.

I would list it this way:

1. UM
2. WSU
3. SUU
4. UNCO
5. EWU

 

[WSUWildcat]

I agree with Tal. Next year will depend on the development on our big guys. We should be the best in the league with Harding and John returning and you got to think Barnes, Nero and Neilson will be improved. I think Zdor could be really good and Kozak will be steady. I heard that Fuller was solid in practice. Kupsas showed flashes and the JC guy obviously has potential. If I had to pick the top 4 right now I would go with.
1. Montana,
2. Eastern Washington
3. SUU
4. Weber State.
I'm not ripping us, but just knowing what the above schools have coming back and the uncertainty of our post players I have to put us 4th. We are due for an awesome season. Next year. :rockon:

4th is not an awesome season. We must have very different expectations for Weber State Basketball. If Rahe coaches this team to another 4th place finish or lower, he should resign.

 

[wazzuwildcat03]

Really?? 4th is not awesome????? Are you sure???? No Shit!!!!!! :blah: I don't want to finish 4th. I think we can and are due to be better. I was just basing my predictions now in April knowing what I know about us and the other teams personal. Ya, I really think 4th is awesome... :rofl: