Time to Fire Billy Wright and Rebuild the Basketball Program

vatusay
Posts: 962
Joined: Mon Apr 28, 2014 2:14 pm

I'm no elite basketball mind, but 90% of the games were painful to watch this year. Was all one on one with the four other guys standing watching. Well Brandon would come out set a screen every now and again then some forced shot with shot clock running down. Ball movement was beyond minimal.
#ALLIN #YOLO
wiu2013
Posts: 165
Joined: Thu Dec 04, 2014 8:16 pm

That one person is graduating, so that problem in your eyes is eliminated. Yes, there were some painful games, but the last 4-5 games were painful because they were painful because they could not pull out a win.
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sealhall74
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Joined: Fri Apr 18, 2014 1:18 pm
Location: Wherever, Windblows

I always show up at games when the gates open and watch what players do before official warmups begin (you usually get a view of upper body mass because they are out of uniform wearing skin tight earmup gear).It would take two of our bigs to equal the USD Flack kid's upper body strength and lower body explosiveness. We are getting killed in the weight room. I know I said the same thing last year. Probably be saying it again next year. We need more emphasis on this in all sports not just basketball.
Embrace the pace of the race.
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Neckfansince71
Posts: 1181
Joined: Sat Apr 19, 2014 7:06 pm

I would bet that the number of offensive possessions by driving the lane decreased as the year went on due to the fact that we lost Jabari and only had a hobbled Delo. MikeM seemed to be the only starter who worked to penetrate and there were times when he really got good looks at the hole but could not finish. GC tried too but seemed to have a habit of turning the ball over. I also think that the men actually got the ball inside more and more but BG had some trouble finishing also. I am a firm believer that the back board is a "bank" board and should be used that way ala "George Mikan!" The high screen pick and roll worked at times but with all the hedging, you got to have the quickness to get around that switch. I said this in a post earlier. There was a point on Saturday with the men leading late where WIU executed a well designed play around the horn for a wide open three that would have been the "dagger!" Unfortunately the shot was missed and USD quickly ran the floor, scoring a three in transition! You gotta make shots to win games! Oh, the defense and rebounding got better too. As 2013 stated, I am also looking forward to a more "wolf pack" mentality!😎jc
wiu2013
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Joined: Thu Dec 04, 2014 8:16 pm

Do we even have a certified strength and conditioning person since Kramer left months ago, or are Graduate Assistants in charge of this?
wiu2013
Posts: 165
Joined: Thu Dec 04, 2014 8:16 pm

If you were at the tournament you would have noticed South Dakota's "muscle-bound" trainer out leading stretches before the game. WIU has assistant coaches leading stretches. I know in years past a strength and conditioning coach would travel with the team.
vatusay
Posts: 962
Joined: Mon Apr 28, 2014 2:14 pm

wiu2013 wrote: Wed Mar 08, 2017 2:34 pm That one person is graduating, so that problem in your eyes is eliminated. Yes, there were some painful games, but the last 4-5 games were painful because they were painful because they could not pull out a win.
The offense seemed one on one no matter who had the ball. That's what that worries me.
#ALLIN #YOLO
meganeck
Posts: 1896
Joined: Wed Apr 16, 2014 10:23 pm

I know a majority of people on here thought Covington was more of a minus to the team than a plus, they did play fairly well when he was out. So not sure how next year will go without him, but I think they do have the pieces.Gilbeck has improved by leaps and bounds. Duff and Delo look like they will be players. Hopefully Dalan takes that next step as a senior. Jeremiah showed good potential late in the year when given a chance. Plus if given a chance I think some of the other bigs could develop into something good. So i think the future does look good if they can just put it all together. I have been saying for a couple years I would like to see them go after some grad transfers. They have 3 seniors and have signed 3 players, so don't know if they are done signing players or not. Anyway I think Billy does deserve another year, but he definitely should be on the hot seat.
loyalfan
Posts: 129
Joined: Fri Apr 25, 2014 8:13 pm

looks like the coaching staff is still out pursuing players, as we have offered up Eddie Reese Juco PG...Im guessing we might have some guys not coming back next year...
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WIUSuperFan
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Joined: Sat Mar 11, 2017 4:23 pm

I find it interesting that Scott posted the attendance information. During my 4 years at WIU as the "Super Fan," I've noticed that attendance was normally higher for men's games and lower for women's games despite the women being better than the men during that same amount of time. I've noticed that with other schools, but it is unfortunate that women don't get the same amount of love for basketball attendance or viewership that the men do (for any school). For WIU, that changed this year with higher attendance at the end of the season for the women's team.

I know that isn't the topic at hand here, but wanted to mention that. I've personally wondered if we should have fired Coach Wright too. However, seeing the performance from the men's team at The Summit League Tournament and seeing that a lot of the games this year were relatively close makes me want to ask for more. I want to see if Coach Wright is just now getting things to start turning for the better. I guess it took JD 6 years or so to get the women's program going and look at this year, it's amazing and historical. The women's team have been fun to watch this year. I'd say, give the men's team more time. If we see improvement, great! I'd say keep going. Any improvement is improvement.
Devin Biggs
BS, Meteorology (2017)
Alumnus of Western Illinois University
Email: dm-biggs@wiu.edu
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