Post Game: McDermott on Iowa Win

[Stewo]

It's PAINFULLY obvious by reading the responses in this thread that you folks have no clue. I'm not going to lecture, but what GMac did was EXACTLY what the team and coaches needed. This coming from someone who used to work with juvenile delinquents and used these same practices. The idea behind it isn't to have a crying session, rather come together and really let everyone have their chance to let out their frustrations and to figure out misunderstandings.

This probably still doesn't seem acceptable to most of you, but until you've actually seen this large group 'therapy' in action and what it can/will do in the long run, you'll continue to sit back and criticize. That's fine because you have no bearing on what this team does, but before you continue to throw GMac under the bus, try and actually understand the process.

 

[bos]

I personally like the fact he held a meeting so everyone can air out their concerns. Communication is key and it will help them understand each other on and off the court.

 

[sodakjoe]

I personally like the fact he held a meeting so everyone can air out their concerns. Communication is key and it will help them understand each other on and off the court.

Exactly. Team Chemistry is hard to find early in the season. These are the kinds of things that LEAD to team chemistry.

 

[Tornado man]

Gmac is a BIG fan of the book "How Full is Your Bucket?", which is about positive psychology and kindness. The main concept is that we all have a bucket within us than needs to be "filled" with recognition and praise. And if we're negative towards others, it's as if we're using a dipper to take from the bucket, and we diminish their postive outlook.
He talks about "filling the bucket" of his team all the time...

 

[cygrads]

show me where, in Chris's article, it says anything to suggest that G-Mac has done anything other than this.

No there is nothing stated directly in the interview and maybe GMac was just using the "I’m not perfect. I make mistakes. I make mistakes in the way I treat players sometimes." as an example or it could be that he got some complaints in the way he treats some of the players - I don't know.

I have supported GMac since his hire and will continue to support him - I want him to win more than ever because he is a good man and a good example for young men.

 

[DRCHIRO]

Its something that needed to be done and I'm glad it happened. I would have loved to been a fly on the wall. I wonder who has issues? It seems that they all know there roles on the offensive end but defensively and on the boards are still not on par.

 

[clone136]

Am I the only one that read this and was somewhat encouraged? Maybe I am just not as mentally tough as some of you:wink: But Good Lord, can GMAC do anything right? He
saw an issue with the state of HIS team and addressed it, and some of you are upset?
I honestly don't understand some of you. All the GMAC haters complaining about the offense, did you notice that when Craig decides to take over the game (which he can do whenever he wants, not just Iowa) the offense runs better. Craig is the leader on the court and the rest of the team and offensive production reflects that. When Craig demands the ball whether he takes the shot or not it makes everyone on the floor better.

PS Sorry if Larry E would have thought this message was too nice for CF!

 

[Angie]

Am I the only one that read this and was somewhat encouraged? Maybe I am just not as mentally tough as some of you:wink: But Good Lord, can GMAC do anything right? He
saw an issue with the state of HIS team and addressed it, and some of you are upset?
I honestly don't understand some of you. All the GMAC haters complaining about the offense, did you notice that when Craig decides to take over the game (which he can do whenever he wants, not just Iowa) the offense runs better. Craig is the leader on the court and the rest of the team and offensive production reflects that. When Craig demands the ball whether he takes the shot or not it makes everyone on the floor better.

PS Sorry if Larry E would have thought this message was too nice for CF!

Ahem. I'm sorry, but your mental toughness is nowhere near enough for CF. We eat iron and crap steel here. :wink:

There is a reason that there is a profession called sports psychology. The dymanic of the team and the relations of the players to each other can relate directly to the team play on the court. I get that the naysayers in this thread either want to bag on GMac or act like they're all "internet tough," but it's really foolish to think that somehow dynamic and momentum aren't important to college sports. We are the team that touted Hilton Magic as the sixth player on the floor, people complain about the crowd's attitude hurting the team - and somehow they don't think that the players' attitudes are important, too? :no:

 

[cyclonenum1]

Interesting Q&A and interesting thread.

One thing is clear from his comments in the Q&A...McDermott is reading / hearing about the criticisms of both him and his team...whether he himself is out here on CF or not, he is aware of these criticisms...some of his answers seemed as though he was specifically addressing critics on this site. It also appears that he is in fact feeling pressure from these criticisms.

I've criticized McDermott as much as anybody but I really cannot find fault in having a team meeting to try and hash things out if there are problems. You have to try and do something since chemistry and teamwork is so vital in the game of basketball.

Ultimately, anyone (including McDermott) has to be genuine and "be who they are". McDermott cannot try to be a Bob Knight hardass and have success...it just won't work. And as some have said, I believe this hardass school of coaching is clearly being replaced by the zen master school of coaching...at all levels.

I do think that there are some key traits that the most successful coaches possess...whether they are a hardass type or not. Some of these include:

+ They command respect
+ They are disciplined and organized
+ They are consistent
+ They are driven and always think proactively in terms of both strategy and tactics
+ They are good communicators and find ways to relate to coaches, parents, recruits, their players, the press, etc.

Looking at it from the outside, it would seem that McDermott is having trouble communicating with his players (the WJ debacle was a clear sign of this). I also wonder about his strategic and tactical thought process in terms of how he has run the program from recruiting to style of play.

One thing I know for sure is the best collection of players does not necessarily make the best team. If that were the case, the US would never have failed to win the Gold medal in Olympic BB. Again, looking from the outside, it appears to me that we have a problem because our two best players are short-timers looking to cash in on the riches of the NBA in a few short months. Make no mistake, both of these guys want to position themselves as best they can while not getting hurt in the process. Unfortunately, it seems clear that McDermott, having never had to deal with this sort of "issue", does not know how to handle it to keep everyone happy and the team on track.

I hope they can get it figured out and we avoid another bottom quartile finish in the Big 12.

 

[HititHard]

What I like about this interview is the "working on us" comment. They have another week to work on themselves and hopefully we see improvement again. He is right they did play pretty good basketball for stretches of the game. However, he could have said the same thing about 2 of the three games we played against competitive teams this season.

The part that concerns me is the "finding themselves" comment. I'm concerned how a team "finding themselves" 10 games into the season will handle the adversity of the Big 12. It sounds like a tough problem to fix.

I hope they do find themselves and the finished product is as good as the talent potential of this team.

 

[clone136]

I think finding themselves is about learning to win. No one knows more than they do that they let 2 if not 3 games slip away and I dont think they expected to lose those games. After a 3 game losing streak with expectations they had it probably hurt bad, but they will regroup and press on. Last night helped. Regardless this team will be fine, better to have those losses in Dec than in Feb. Beat Bradley. One game at a time.

 

[Cyclones01]

It's pretty clear that, again, the people complaining are the vocal minority

 

[benjay]

It's more about attitude than "hurt feelings". They need to get pumped up, find some desire. It's a group effort. Nothing wrong with a team meeting to light some fires.

 

[cyismydog]

you guys are so right. The mental state, confidence, and motivation of individual players have absolutely no place in Division I college basketball coaching, and any coach who is attempting to address issues like these with his team is obviously terrible.

I'm assuming you forgot this?

 

[kingcy]

Mac cannot win. WJ leaves town because he and Mac had issues. Other players leave because some say Mac doesnt know what is going on. You blaim Mac because he should be more involved and know what is going on with these kids and what is going through their head. Then he reaches out to players and tries to figure out what is wrong with this team and put out fires and he is being to nice to the team.

 

[ChrisMWilliams]

Mac cannot win. WJ leaves town because he and Mac had issues. Other players leave because some say Mac doesnt know what is going on. You blaim Mac because he should be more involved and know what is going on with these kids and what is going through their head. Then he reaches out to players and tries to figure out what is wrong with this team and put out fires and he is being to nice to the team.

Great post there.

I honestly thought that the overwhelming majority would love reading what Greg had to say last night. I come on here after a day of Christmas shopping with my family and see that once again, the guy cannot win.

That's fine if that is some of your opinions. That's why message boards exist. But some of these criticisms are completely uninformed.

Again, I love opinion. But by saying that "LE was more hardcore" or "Mac is too soft in practice" blows my mind, unless you've actually witnessed an LE or Mac practice first hand.

I've seen a Mac practice...haven't seen an LE...so it's kind of hard to make a statement like that you know?

Personally, I loved hearing about that closed door meeting. I've seen a lot of talk about no chemistry on the team. What better way to build chemistry than to get everybody on the same page?

These guys are D-1 athletes, yes but they are also young men with real life parents, real life problems, real life girlfriends, you get the point.

These guys all have feelings and if they needed to talk, I applaud the coaches for getting everything out in the open.

 

[clone136]

Mac cannot win. WJ leaves town because he and Mac had issues. Other players leave because some say Mac doesnt know what is going on. You blaim Mac because he should be more involved and know what is going on with these kids and what is going through their head. Then he reaches out to players and tries to figure out what is wrong with this team and put out fires and he is being to nice to the team.

People have their minds made up, which is sad. Its almost like some people want us to lose. Regardless i will be in the front two rows of Cyclone Alley cheering as loud as humanly possible...

 

[aauummm]

Great post there.

I honestly thought that the overwhelming majority would love reading what Greg had to say last night. I come on here after a day of Christmas shopping with my family and see that once again, the guy cannot win.

That's fine if that is some of your opinions. That's why message boards exist. But some of these criticisms are completely uninformed.

Again, I love opinion. But by saying that "LE was more hardcore" or "Mac is too soft in practice" blows my mind, unless you've actually witnessed an LE or Mac practice first hand.

I've seen a Mac practice...haven't seen an LE...so it's kind of hard to make a statement like that you know?

Personally, I loved hearing about that closed door meeting. I've seen a lot of talk about no chemistry on the team. What better way to build chemistry than to get everybody on the same page?

These guys are D-1 athletes, yes but they are also young men with real life parents, real life problems, real life girlfriends, you get the point.

These guys all have feelings and if they needed to talk, I applaud the coaches for getting everything out in the open.

I agree. My feeling is that there are a certain few people who can't let go of the past and want to continually tear down most anything to do with certain coaches and certain management of ISU athletics. I put them on "ignore" because they don't deserve my time reading their crap.

 

[jhill]

Great post there.

I honestly thought that the overwhelming majority would love reading what Greg had to say last night. I come on here after a day of Christmas shopping with my family and see that once again, the guy cannot win.

That's fine if that is some of your opinions. That's why message boards exist. But some of these criticisms are completely uninformed.

Again, I love opinion. But by saying that "LE was more hardcore" or "Mac is too soft in practice" blows my mind, unless you've actually witnessed an LE or Mac practice first hand.

I've seen a Mac practice...haven't seen an LE...so it's kind of hard to make a statement like that you know?

Personally, I loved hearing about that closed door meeting. I've seen a lot of talk about no chemistry on the team. What better way to build chemistry than to get everybody on the same page?

These guys are D-1 athletes, yes but they are also young men with real life parents, real life problems, real life girlfriends, you get the point.

These guys all have feelings and if they needed to talk, I applaud the coaches for getting everything out in the open.

Until/unless McDermott wins, it won't matter what he does or how he does it. I understand some of the frustration with a fan base hungry for a return to Hilton Magic and the great times that entailed. I don't understand the apparent hatred for a guy that is trying to build a program the best he can and doing it in such a class manner with what appears to be a team full of good kids.

 

[CycloneErik]

It's PAINFULLY obvious by reading the responses in this thread that you folks have no clue. I'm not going to lecture, but what GMac did was EXACTLY what the team and coaches needed. This coming from someone who used to work with juvenile delinquents and used these same practices. The idea behind it isn't to have a crying session, rather come together and really let everyone have their chance to let out their frustrations and to figure out misunderstandings.

This probably still doesn't seem acceptable to most of you, but until you've actually seen this large group 'therapy' in action and what it can/will do in the long run, you'll continue to sit back and criticize. That's fine because you have no bearing on what this team does, but before you continue to throw GMac under the bus, try and actually understand the process.

It's kind of like a leader let them know they would be respected, and gave them a chance to grow up. That kind of thing can really bring a team together.