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Lol. This is a little more my speed although I wasn’t for this one.
About 1999 or 2000 was my last trip to merlefest after many a year. I like the more traditional tunes and am drawn to the lyricists but I practically grew up watching Thile there
LRM, I, too, hail from the land of brushies and the cool, cool, waters of the yadkin! But I lived on both sides of the river. Used to do a lot of taping at shows in the 90s and had lots of friends that did as well. Need to find those wilkesbor recordings and convert before they go bad
^rhetorical question or not, I’ll take the bait. Early signing ended in mid-November. Next spring, after the season ends, the final signing period begins and ends.
I think that’s probably a bad thing this year. If we struggle, and some our competitors don’t, I think we lose out on some more top recruits. Top players aren’t intimidated from competing for pt. the whole instant pt selling point only goes so far. We’re in the running still for a few gems supposedly but I think the loss of Bam, which shouldn’t have been a shocker given the absence of a verbal, likely foreshadows the spring period, wouldn’t be surprised to see the staff scrambling and in search of more transfers and juniors who reclassify
To gotts credit, he’s done a pretty good job filling needs, at least up until this year. Even those who see some of his deficiencies hoped hoped he’d be able to overcome those by stocking the cupboard with prize recruits. That’s where I disagree. I think he hurts himself in this area over the long haul. I fear his best classes are behind him
Been meaning to chime in for a while..Think I’ve got some old GC footage or audio from Merlefest in my personal vault. Will try to dig up and share if I can find. Didn’t know our musical tastes swayed this direction
^This is a problem for Gottfried, much in the same way it’s a problem for DD. It’s much easier for a basketball coach to fill in holes and turn the ship around with recruits than a FB coach, but some of the constants are true for both sports.
1. After a coaching change, there is generally a renewal in program excitement, and an uptick in recruiting that comes with it, especially locally or regionally where kids may have grown up fans. Look at our past history. The brand and the conference recruit for itself in basketball. The coach and results propel you forward and take you over the top.
2. If you don’t show results or fairly linear improvement in all that matters to top recruits (wins, rankings, scheduling, professional draft), then the recruiting stagnates or declines. I’m not saying it’s fair, it’s just the way it is. It’s a double edged sword. Win to recruit, recruit to win. Better be able to do both if you want to survive, and you better be able to do both better than your piers if you want to achieve consistently excellent results. Dennis Smith is an anomaly. He grew up a fan.
The transfer route isn’t sustainable over the long term in basketball. Correct my if I’m wrong, but the new graduate transfer rule goes into effect soon, if not already. That eliminates one source. JUCO can help. But depending on kids who were overlooked out of high school and want to try their luck at a different level creates long-term problems in scholarship spacing and sustainable results. If you’re losing kids to transfer at a fairly rapid and consistent clip, that presents its own problem. Either you did a poor job assessing talent and character, representing the program, being honest with the kid about development, strengths and weaknesses, or you do a poor job developing that talent, putting it in schemes that successful, or fairly rewarding kids. Don’t call me naive, I realize kids transfer these days. But if it’s epidemic and routine, then it signifies bigger problems, perceived or real, or both. In the gym, it’s a bigger issue than football, and we’re seeing it this year. With Gottfried, his track record speaks volumes.
DD is very different but he, too, must win against the middle of the road teams, and particularly against regional rivals and other competitors, if he wants to seriously upgrade talent. Gotta get the high school coaches on board, show them you can develop, and win. Lots of measurable prior to his hire that suggested he may struggle.
Hope because there’s at least an unknown in the potential. Plus, I think dd is smart, a hard worker, driven, a motivator, and a risk taker. I don’t see the same qualities in gott. He’s hit his ceiling. Known it since second season here.
Some think because smart is a saban protege, he’s a lock for success. I’m not so sure. He’ll either pull a Dabo and make noise early and become the second coming of Vince Dooley or he’ll pull a muschamp. Kirby is smart but a first gig in Athens where you played ain’t no joke, even for a Ga boy. Will be interesting to see what kind of staff he puts together
Boy are you disappointed if you expected something uplifting tonight after Saturday. Putrid basketball. Win or lose, we play like stinkers. No, I don’t want to fire gott but the possibility of Doeren achieving something remarkable with football at ncsu still seems more likely than our basketball squad.
We’ve never done a lot of the little things well since gott arrived on a consistent basis. More bothersome though is the coaches and players don’t seem to recognize what they do well individually and collectively. Rowan looks off balance coming off screens. Our collective shot selection is just bad. we desperately need to play faster and push tempo, attack other teams off the dribble with cat, but we run really slow sets and stand around. If you rolled the ball out on the court and no coached on the sideline, the result wouldn’t have been worse. Zoning Michigan? Why? Their pg out and you wait to press until it’s too late. Substitutions were donkey like. I have hope for Doeren. None here
^ I’ve said all year that the defensive recruiting outside of the D-line hadn’t improved much. He hasn’t been able to close the talent gap in 3 years, and he hasn’t been able to beat teams with similar talent levels. That’s a problem for him. I’m not giving up on DD but I know plenty of high school coaches and talent in NC, and unfortunately, we aren’t getting enough. When the boom comes down on UNC, that will help some, but I fear not enough. You gotta win.
With that said, I have no idea what the over-under was for Saturday, but I fully expected UNC to put up at least 35. Just not in one quarter. Two of the plays resulting in TD’s could’ve gone for losses but the players didn’t make the play. We also didn’t score enough TD’s in red zone. Some of the playcalling on the offensive side of the ball was bad. The knock on Canada is that he gets away from what works. I HATE THE JET SWEEP. ESPECIALLY INSIDE THE 10-15. Especially against teams that have good speed and lateral quickness. If you know you’re in 4 down territory, then you certainly don’t run side on first or second, then pound up the middle on 3rd.
I’ve read or heard that Hux or DD or both want to go back to a traditional 4-3. That’s scary. If you look back at DD’s days at WI, they weren’t a defensive juggernaut. Slow. It’s what kept them from being elite while they had dominating offenses and run games. The Big 10 was slow. Still is outside a few teams. We look like a Big 10 team minus the power run game.
I hung out with a k. Smart a time or two when he was a dawg. My impression is he’ll either be a great hire and it’ll show early on, or he’ll be a muschamp like hire and flame out fast.
Good win. Didn’t see tonight’s game. Glad we pulled it out. Johnny jones vs gott is a classic matchup for so many reasons. Both teams underperform. Someone had to lose
Good effort. Not surprised we lost. Outplayed and outcoached. Bright spots at times but outweighed by the ugliness overall. Coaches get the applause for going zone momentarily in the second half and mixing in the press in the second half. Coaches get criticism for going away from the zone after ASU banked in 2 3-pointers, and for pulling Cat after he picked up his 4th at the approximately 4 minute mark when we had a 3 point lead and all the momentum, and no capable backup. This, after he propelled us from down 10 to up 3. GO WITH WHO BRUNG YOU. Don’t lag putts. Don’t punt on 4th and 1 when you’re in the drivers seat.
No surprises on the poor last shot with no timeouts. No surprise we got absolutely demolished on the backboard by a smaller team. I mean hammered. No surprise our shot selection is ever lacking. No surprise our collective coaching and team IQ’s were on full display. When we’re trying to run the high post, settling for early shot clock jump shots, and playing small when we’re a big team, we look mediocre to bad.
The good, when we can actually get stops on defense and rebound the ball, and Cat pushes it up the court, we look quite good on the break. When CAT gets into the lane and attacks the basket, we look quite good. The press looked effective. Our length in the zone and movement was better than I expected. The defense is still atrocious but the help, at times, was better than the last 3 games.
All in all not a bad loss since ASU is likely a team that will be competing for a bubble spot come March. But better to win these types for that reason.
^PIR, if you’re old enough to remember what the game looked like in the 1970s and 1980s, I think there’s this notion that you can suddenly return, or purify the game, get it back to how it was played. This has nothing to do with whether the players are more athletic now or not. Sure they are. But are they more skilled? Passing, shooting, defending and rebounding without fouling.
I’m of the opinion that you can’t go back. At some point, and I don’t know when, the game turned into a mugging. The ACC has long been considered more of a finesse league, probably with more fouls called on average, but there’s still plenty of wrestling.
BJD956, I don’t disagree with you. But I think that’s stating the obvious. Which is my point. That isn’t really learning anything that anybody who watches a little college ball doesn’t already know. But under that line of thinking, a negative outcome suggests you didn’t have enough talent. When UK stunk a few years ago, it wasn’t because they didn’t have talent. They were deficient in some pieces, yes, but there was loads of talent. Conversely, there are plenty of examples to the contrary where teams of lesser talent (pretty much by any definition you want to use–NBA, stahs, etc) advance further in the tournament. And there are examples of coaches who take said lesser talent and advance further. It’s simply not a game anomaly. My point is, some people are better coaches and better assessors of talent. His remark imo suggests an arrogance and an unwillingess to look critically at what you can do better, and places blame on “talent” when the results aren’t what you want.
^Tex, I remember that as well. I think that’s the lazy man’s answer. It’s no different than a business. Sure you want the top talent. But there’s a limited supply. Unfortunately, it’s also just not that accurate that the top talent usually wins. Usually wins what? How is talent measured these days? Is it measured in NBA players? Number of stars coming out of high school? Wins and losses?
What Gott should’ve learned is that talent, plus really hard work on both ends of the court, along with successful schemes, leads to success barring no injury. Say what you want about Cal and his 1 and done philosophy but nobody’s kids play any harder on both ends of the court or are coached as well. You don’t produce, you don’t play. He doesn’t care how many stars you have beside your name or whether you played in the McD game. His offenses are usually balanced and can score and his defenses are tough and sound. They do the little things really well. And I can guarantee you that a lot of those kids didn’t learn that on the AAU circuit. It ain’t just talent that keeps UK in the rankings. They play with a mission and attack, attack, attack. It’s really quite amazing what he’s been able to do with 18-19 year old kids.
There are only so many of the kids that Cal wants out there. If you don’t get them, you better have a backup plan. You better be able to coach em up, motivate, drill, and out scheme your opponent if you want to be the best. Having a few burger boys helps, but it isn’t salvation.
I”m pretty much convinced Gottfried needs a team of veteran 4-5 stars to make a a big run in the NCAA. There’s been a lot here said over the years about the magical jobs he’s done to get some of these teams into the tournament but that’s a crock. Don’t get me wrong, he’s a good coach but he’s coasting. Who couldn’t recruit to Raleigh?
In you want a good synopsis of our defense, or lack thereof, read phoenix’s posts this year and last. There is no zone that cures our ills. Maybe a 1-3-1 for now, with a mix of Cat and somebody else not in foul trouble at the top, Anya in the middle, and a Martin on the baseline. All other zones will be destroyed. Not that we can guard in man, but any encouragement to stand around and not have active hands or feet will destroy any incentive for this team to guard. Like BJD says, what is painfully obvious is not only that we have no backup PG, we have no backup SG. We may enter conference play with a losing record. THat’s how bad we look.
^Agree PW, a staple of Gottfried’s offense is the lack of penetration and dish, and not getting to the line. Plays in the half court, which requires better defense since we don’t generate turnovers or more shots…Go figure. I no longer get worked up about the Gott. It is what it is, and it’s much better than what we’ve had a long time.
Unlike our like football schedule, this is what can happen when you schedule a decent opponent and don’t play well. Cat played horribly. I think Gott said it during preseason, if Terry Henderson scores 5pg, we won’t be very good. He played 7 minutes, went to locker room, and was scoreless. With no 2G on court, the defense was more atrocious than usual. And it was no shocker that it was horrendous.
Lots of good points here. Improvement, progress, call it what you want. 4-4 or5-3 provides better evidence of a solid foundation with creative architects and hardworking craftsmen at the helm.
Progress may not me linear but in today’s landscape, it can’t be so incremental that you wonder about, or strain to see that improvement.
Progress. I think so. Win out and nobody has a doubt. Take 2 of 3 and a bowl game and nobody complains. I thought 4-4 or 5-3 in conference were attainable. But I think if we run into a healthy fsu run game, we don’t win there. Unc is a toss up for me. Always was. Syracuse is a must win.
The area of concern for me is still on the defensive side. Where dd has brought in some nice pieces and transfers on offense, the speed element and athleticism on d seem to be coming along slower. Some nice recruits on the d-line but we has lagged in other areas.
^Rye, I’m really not blitz happy although it may sound that way. I don’t think the scheme and packages and disguises and personnel complement one another. I also honestly don’t know what the staff is trying to do. They say the goal is to stop the run and win the turnover battle but that’s just coach speak. Who doesn’t want to do that? We’re running a 4-2-5. That requires a lot of pieces if you’re gonna play soft on the outside and a lot of zone. It think it requires a little more creativity in the blitz packages as well.
Say what you want about the Amato years, and there was certainly plenty to criticize, but we had speed on that side of the ball along with size. To me, it’s glaring we’re just not there on that side, and I honestly expected more speed. I think with Amato’s approach, the aggression, it’s easier to attract athleticism and speed.
It’s understood that the CB’s and safeties are going to get a lot of one-on-one match ups in today’s game given the spread looks. In Doeren’s first season, and last year, it looked to me like the defensive staff made a concerted effort to bring more pressure out of the 4-2-5. In TOB’s next to last season, a similar decision was made. He went away from it in his final season. We were thin but he moved Johnson to the corner, and we were cooked. We were the most successful defensively in those stretches where we brought the kitchen sink.
Pressure defense is risky but in my mind, that philosophy yields dividends for a couple of reasons. On the recruiting trail, it’s what young athletes slated to play defense want to hear. If I’m a LB, I want to come after the QB. If I’m a DB, I want a mix of coverages but I want to know I’ll get the chance to line up and get in the face of a receiver, and bring a little heat off the edge or up the gut. Just like on the offensive end, there are more of these guys available than D-lineman who can generate pressure up the middle or off the edge.
Top notch QB’s like Watson eat up soft zones at the college level. It’s a slow death. Pick your poison.
I like the player development thus far but I’m not sold on scheme for the above reasons. I doubt he’s trying to hide personnel deficiencies. I think its philosophy.
Agree that DD is a thinker and a learner and have no problem with the onsides kicks. Still think Primewolf makes a good point. As I’ve said before, you either have to outcoach and outscheme or outtalent, or a combination of both, to have staying power. You have a limited amount of time to demonstrate that progress in today’s college game. The VT and Louisville losses hurt.
Still question clock management and defensive schemes, not because of the Clemson game, but 3 years worth of watching. I don’t recall seeing a lot of dink and dunk in the Clemson game, with lateral passes or slants with big runs. There were a few. But deep throws over the sideline and in the middle seemed too easy and too frequent. There was too much time for the QB. Unless we have 4-5 that can bring pressure, then you have to bring more against Watson. You acknowledge that you’ll likely get burned. But what happened anyway? We got torched. What bothers me most is I don’t see a clear, consistent, defensive philosophy. The offensive philosophy has been clearly stated: spread to run, stretch the field. What exactly is our defensive philosophy? I understand we adapt to personnel but at some point, you have to have a philosophy. And it has to get results.
