ESPN Q&A w/ Coach Bz

[DaDeacs]

If we only win 5 or 6 games next year, I wouldn't count on there being a 4th year.

Next year we should be in mid-pack ACC, finishing with 8-9 wins. 2013-2014 then could be pretty special.

I would be ecstatic if that happens, but it would take some strong coaching - if we do go 3-13 this year (like most projections), getting to 9-7 next year is a 6 game swing - not many teams can do that.

 

[pourdeac]

Here's a chart that might foreshadow what 'progress' we'll see with the team this season:

I'm not sure what the take away is. IMO he "pruned" the Colorado team like he is doing to Wake, it just took 2 years instead of 1.

Of the 11 non-seniors on his 2007 team, 4 left in/after year 1 and a 5th left after year 2.

FR Caleb Patterson left after year 1
SO Xavier Silas was kicked off in year 1
SO Jeremy Williams left after year 1
SO Kyle Wright left after year 1
FR Andrew Zehnder left after year 2

In 2008-09, he had 1 senior on the team and only two juniors. Only Jr Dwight Thorne had much of an impact.

Sounds a lot like last year for us.

 

[TBR]

I would be ecstatic if that happens, but it would take some strong coaching - if we do go 3-13 this year (like most projections), getting to 9-7 next year is a 6 game swing - not many teams can do that.

I'm saying 4 games this year myself.

Regardless, I think the nature of our roster will make for a big improvement for 2012-2013. That extra year of experience could make a world of difference for our starting point guard and center. Our choices at power forward should be significantly better, and we should also have much better depth (a big weakness this year, as it was last).

 

[Sgt Hulka]

[Buzzzzz waiter\ If we only give him 6-7 years, we can get to maybe .500 in the acc! You guys are so short sighted!!!! Who would ever take this job if we got rid of him before then!!!!!/Buzzzz waiter]

Buzzzz waiters=roman senate
Buzzzzz=Nero

 

[Winkathomelygirl]

.500 season this year and contention the year after. Either you believe in Jeff's system or you don't. If you do, you anticipate improvement. If you don't, you live without hope.

 

[DaDeacs]

.500 season this year and contention the year after. Either you believe in Jeff's system or you don't. If you do, you anticipate improvement. If you don't, you live without hope.

.500 overall or .500 in the ACC? .500 overall is a chance, although that would mean finding at least 8 non-conference wins, probably 10 - we did schedule a ridiculously easy OOC, but still have games at Nebraska, at Seton Hall, home versus Richmond and Dayton - .500 is not going to be easy.

If you meant .500 in the ACC, you officially are Jeff from Charlotte.

 

[Sgt Hulka]

.500 season this year and contention the year after. Either you believe in Jeff's system or you don't. If you do, you anticipate improvement. If you don't, you live without hope.

"I have no hope." Colorado fan circa 2007, 8, 9. Me, circa 2011

 

[vtwhat etc]

Either you believe in Jeff's system or you don't. If you do, you anticipate improvement. If you don't, you live without hope.

:wtf:

I'll play along.

I don't believe in Jeff's system... I think he's a terrible coach and a poor representative of the university. Beyond the basketball court, his demeanor and choice of words (at times) are downright atrocious.

I really cannot imagine one reason (other than Mr. Wellman being in an extremely tight spot in terms of who else to hire) that we've handed the reigns of the program to this guy. His record at Colorado lent absolutely 0 reason for a 'promotion'.

Watching a person who I respect a tremendous amount go on a laughable and completely transparent PR blitz to save his (and Bz's) job last season was truly painful. The 'couldn't be happier with the direction of the program' quotes after +20 point losses (and with a handful of trouble-makers still in uniform) were sickening and left me feeling patronized and disrespected as a supporter of the team.

That being said; I hope the team comes together and plays their heart out for him this season and wins more games than we all expect. That's why I'll be in attendance and watching/listening to every game I can.

I would bet the farm that [Redacted] is not the best choice to lead the team; but the players are the ones on the court. They're the ones playing the game and I think its entirely possible for them to rally under less-than-stellar leadership from a coach... That's where my hope comes from; maybe Travis can channel his inner-Carmelo & make Bz look like he knows what he's doing.

 

[THE DEUCE]

This year will be bad too but IDK if I can pin it all on Buzz

 

[THE DEUCE]

my tone will change come December

 

[Winkathomelygirl]

.500 overall or .500 in the ACC? .500 overall is a chance, although that would mean finding at least 8 non-conference wins, probably 10 - we did schedule a ridiculously easy OOC, but still have games at Nebraska, at Seton Hall, home versus Richmond and Dayton - .500 is not going to be easy.

If you meant .500 in the ACC, you officially are Jeff from Charlotte.

.500 overall. I am not Jeff from Charlotte as I wear shoes when I play golf.

 

[pinochadeac]

We aren't going to sniff .500 in either. Not worth the argument.

I'm personally worried for Buzz. Who is he going to blame after each game now that he has convinced us all that all of the Bad Apples are gone?

That chart is depressing. The worst part is that the wins are sprinkled throughout very evenly. None of the teams improved or played closer games.

 

[DaDeacs]

We aren't going to sniff .500 in either. Not worth the argument.

I'm personally worried for Buzz. Who is he going to blame after each game now that he has convinced us all that all of the Bad Apples are gone?

That chart is depressing. The worst part is that the wins are sprinkled throughout very evenly. None of the teams improved or played closer games.

Ok, now I am a buzz outer - but this is just wrong. In year three he was much better - and he was coaching at a perennial sucky program against some decent teams. 6-10 is nothing to sneeze at and they clearly got better based on their average loss and they won the last three conference games that year.

The problem is 6-10 won't cut it at Wake, especially not in the 3rd year of a contract, if he is 6-10 next year, can't imagine he gets another year.

 

[Sgt Hulka]

We aren't going to sniff .500 in either. Not worth the argument.

I'm personally worried for Buzz. Who is he going to blame after each game now that he has convinced us all that all of the Bad Apples are gone?

That chart is depressing. The worst part is that the wins are sprinkled throughout very evenly. None of the teams improved or played closer games.

The guy is a bottomless well of excuses. Nothing is his fault.

 

[vtwhat etc]

Ok, now I am a buzz outer - but this is just wrong. In year three he was much better - and he was coaching at a perennial sucky program against some decent teams. 6-10 is nothing to sneeze at and they clearly got better based on their average loss and they won the last three conference games that year.

Take a look at those last 3 games you referenced in CU's 2009-2010 season... The 'run of success' had much more to do with favorable scheduling than it did a turn-a-round.

Iowa State : CU (at home) won by 3, ISU finished conference play 4-12... ISU was on a 1-8 skid going into the game.

Nebraska : Nebraska Finished last in the conference at 2-14 and were in the middle of a 1-12 stretch for the CU game.

Texas Tech : TT also finished the conference slate at 4-12. They also finished the regular season on a 1-8 slide. Oh, and they beat CU by 15 in the first round of the conference tournament (CU's next game- Post season success, woo!).

 

[pinochadeac]

Take a look at those last 3 games you referenced in CU's 2009-2010 season... The 'run of success' had much more to do with favorable scheduling than it did a turn-a-round.

Iowa State : CU (at home) won by 3, ISU finished conference play 4-12... ISU was on a 1-8 skid going into the game.

Nebraska : Nebraska Finished last in the conference at 2-14 and were in the middle of a 1-12 stretch for the CU game.

Texas Tech : TT also finished the conference slate at 4-12. They also finished the regular season on a 1-8 slide. Oh, and they beat CU by 15 in the first round of the conference tournament (CU's next game- Post season success, woo!).

Too funny! To me those 3 wins at the end of the season don't show a trend of improvement (though I agree they were an anomoly). 6 of 7 games before that were losses - and BIG losses.

You would expect a capable coach to have a nice upwards slope from the beginning to the end in each year.

 

[PhDeac]

Bz will coach for at least 2 more years after this one.

Whatever happens this year will have the knucklehead excuse and excitement about the 2012 class. The 2012-13 season will be "well they were just freshmen" and 2013-14 will be "the year". If we make the NCAAT in 2013-14, Bz will have bought himself as much time as he wants.

 

[vtwhat etc]

"My mistake was going to Colorado and inheriting a team that won seven games, that had a team GPA of 2.004, a team that the attendance was only about 3,000 people per game with a bunch of players that were doing some crazy stuff,'' he said. "So excuse me for three years later, then having the freshman of the year in the Big 12, another all-Big 12 player, only one senior on the team, attendance went up 40 percent. The team GPA went from 2.004 to 2.94, (there are) two potential draft picks in Alec Burks and Cory Higgins, next year Colorado has a chance to win 20 games and go to the NCAA Tournament.So I guess, yeah, my record wasn't very good there for a couple years as we transitioned into that process. So I guess that was my mistake. Because all people care about is how many games did you win. Had I been hired coming out of Air Force, I guess there might have been a different perception.''

All class.

 

[pourdeac]

That chart is depressing. The worst part is that the wins are sprinkled throughout very evenly. None of the teams improved or played closer games.

As depressing as it is, he did finish 4-2 his last year so they improved that year.

You also need to look at the makeup of the team as he pruned it. (BTW my numbers were wrong above).

In 07-08 he primarily played 6 players: 3 SRs, 1 JR and 2 FR so it was an upperclassman team but relied on two FR.

In 08-09 he played 1 SR, 1 JR, 2 SOs, and 2 FR so the team got significantly younger and with much less stable senior leadership like we had last year.

In 09-10 he had 1SR, 1 JR (Higgins), 3 SOs including a redshirt SO, and Burks as a FR. The team was more experienced than before and had a strong leader in Higgins and Burks as the young gun. One player who had significant minutes in 08-09 did not play nearly as much which sort of shows how much more improved the team was as a whole.

I think the 09-10 team looks a lot more like what we have going into this year...1SR, 1JR, 3SOs and a group of talented FR. I think we'll win between 3 and 6 conference games.

 

[RacerDeac]

"My mistake was going to Colorado and inheriting a team that won seven games, that had a team GPA of 2.004, a team that the attendance was only about 3,000 people per game with a bunch of players that were doing some crazy stuff,'' he said. "So excuse me for three years later, then having the freshman of the year in the Big 12, another all-Big 12 player, only one senior on the team, attendance went up 40 percent. The team GPA went from 2.004 to 2.94, (there are) two potential draft picks in Alec Burks and Cory Higgins, next year Colorado has a chance to win 20 games and go to the NCAA Tournament.So I guess, yeah, my record wasn't very good there for a couple years as we transitioned into that process. So I guess that was my mistake. Because all people care about is how many games did you win. Had I been hired coming out of Air Force, I guess there might have been a different perception.''

All class.

He really said that?