Brad Underwood season wrap press conference

#26      
With 7 months until the next game, I think he has some time. I'd rather him spend time putting together a complete roster again, then dig into the tape.
Of course there is plenty of time, but not doing it right away is more indicative of someone more likely to chalk it up as mostly an “off game” rather than something that could have been overcome with in-game adjustments and learned from.

The shorter the time frame between review and the game means he can better recall his thoughts/emotions during the game that lead to the decisions made. And the errors, imo, were mainly in the in-game adjustments which I view as distinct from normal game planning because you have to rely on reaction (“thinking fast” for my Kahneman heads). The further away you are from the event, the harder it is to assess your emotional state and thought process. We all naturally let our own psychology rewrite the story of our feelings and for BU the tape becomes less useful going forward. Reviewing it quickly to close the book on the season could also potentially inform how you approach rebuild your roster although I wouldn’t make my argument based on that aspect alone.

I am fully a BU believer, for the record - I just feel that deferring the tape and takeaways from it is not optimal. Learn fast from failure and put that information to work asap if you want to get to the top and stay there.
 
#27      

JFGsCoffeeMug

BU:1 Trash cans:0
Chicago
Unless I misunderstood, I think it bears repeating that the no-sit transfer is a one-time deal for each player. So, while coaching staffs need to continue recruiting their incoming freshmen, any new transfers in will be disincentivized from entering the transfer portal a second time. This year seems particularly crazy because literally the entire roster can transfer out, but rosters should naturally begin to stabilize again after this year.
 
#29      
If you don't look for a mistake, you won't find one.
Think About It Reaction GIF by Identity
 
#30      
"Still needs to process why it happened. Said they were 'emotionally flat' and he doesn't know why."

This is an unsatisfying response. We could all see that the team was emotionally flat, and we all don't know why. I'd like for the head coach to have more insight than I do.
He got a team with individual pieces with lots of obvious flaws and got them to win 16 out of 17 very tough games plus the BTT, despite those team flaws.

LUC managed to take advantage of that where the other 16 teams could not (MSU model) It's the truth, IMO, but BU's not going to say that. Instead he talks about us being "emotionally flat" and takes the blame.
 
#31      
Easy to point out negative because thst is last thing we remember. I choose to look at fact that we have the best two year record in the Big Ten after Underwood took over a dumpster fire just a short time ago. Keep knocking on the door and you will bust through eventually.
Self: "Naw I was finished as a coach after Bradley and Bucknell." LOL
 
#32      

illini80

Forgottonia
He got a team with individual pieces with lots of obvious flaws and got them to win 16 out of 17 very tough games plus the BTT, despite those team flaws.

LUC managed to take advantage of that where the other 16 teams could not (MSU model) It's the truth, IMO, but BU's not going to say that. Instead he talks about us being "emotionally flat" and takes the blame.
He’s not wrong about being flat. Whether it was physical or mental we weren’t sharp and didnt make good decisions. I’m sure that game will haunt him, but looking forward is the smart thing to do right now. Frankly after the stress of the season and tourney, to have to jump 110% into recruiting immediately has to be a little rough. Everyone needs a little down time once in a while.
 
#35      

illini80

Forgottonia
Our best player had a broken face, maybe that had something to do with it?
I think it had a lot to do with it, but no one’s going to use that as an excuse. Behind the scenes I’d guess they are still fuming about it.
 
#43      
He got a team with individual pieces with lots of obvious flaws and got them to win 16 out of 17 very tough games plus the BTT, despite those team flaws.

LUC managed to take advantage of that where the other 16 teams could not (MSU model) It's the truth, IMO, but BU's not going to say that. Instead he talks about us being "emotionally flat" and takes the blame.
Despite flaws we were a superior team to LUC.

Regardless of spin...."flat" or whatever, I believe BU believed our talent would eventually overcome in LUC game.

In our last game... the players maybe were "flat" but coaching was extremely "flat" too in that game.
 
#44      
Yeah, that was just a poorly coached game. It happens. Every coach that’s won a championship has been bounced early at some point.

Another thing to consider is that it can be difficult as a player to play with energy when the gameplan is poor and you know it; it’s frustrating.

I am curious how these games get scouted. Do the assistants take turns? Is the same coach who scouted and developed the gameplan vs MI the one the did Loyola? Do they collaborate?

Edit: I still wonder how Groce would’ve done had Brandon Miller stuck around.
 
#45      
The responses might have been a bit unsatisfying, but after the team's regular season, and the tournament championship, I'll give Brad a mulligan on this one.

When he talked about the guys being "emotionally flat" against the Ramblers he could have been thinking "Jeez, I never expected Ayo, Trent and Da'Monte to go 5-23 from the field." But he's a class guy and didn't go there, which is good.
 
#46      
Yeah, that was just a poorly coached game. It happens. Every coach that’s won a championship has been bounced early at some point.

Another thing to consider is that it can be difficult as a player to play with energy when the gameplan is poor and you know it; it’s frustrating.

I am curious how these games get scouted. Do the assistants take turns? Is the same coach who scouted and developed the gameplan vs MI the one the did Loyola? Do they collaborate?

Edit: I still wonder how Groce would’ve done had Brandon Miller stuck around.
Yeah..scouting/plan seemed to be deficient,....but ultimately they doubled us and created alot of turnovers and we had no answer. We lost both halves with alot of turnovers and they shot 51% and we had no answer after being down 9 at half. We should have changed something at half or tried zone D, but we seemed to try nothing novel. I will never be able to rationalize the "flat" coaching that happened in this game against an inferior team.
 
#48      
So if we came back and won that game, how many people here would be saying “great job by BU and staff for sticking with the game plan!”

My guess? Everybody.

When you do feel like you out-talent a team, and can win individual offensive and defensive matchups, and you’ve seen your guys do it over and over again, you generally won’t deviate too much from what you’ve done. You expect to break through because you’ve done it before. It’s literally what got you there. Hindsight is 20/20.
 
#50      

altgeld88

Arlington, Virginia
I think the best way I have been able to process that is by comparing to my own life. I am feeling mega burnout in most aspect of my life. The realities of this pandemic have been crushing for basically everyone, and this is no doubt true of the team who hadn't seen their families in months. There are days when I finish work and then wonder what I did to be so unproductive for 8 hours (and the answer is not always simply Loyalty ;)). I wouldn't at all be surprised if the team had lapses like that, too, and moods like that can be contagious.
This. All of this. Plus the existing four-season data set that shows clearly that BU (1) is dedicated to building a program that can win a championship; and (2) learns and adapts quickly, and without hesitating to subordinate his ego, in order to succeed.

Don't forget how many games this team played in late Feb and early March, what it takes for a coach and his staff to prepare serially on 2-3 day turnarounds for BT games, let alone under the awful current circumstances in which we all exist, and the fact that all of the guys, not just the HC, needed a break. I'm glad he took the remainder of March off from looking backward and focused only on next year's roster. If he hadn't I would have questioned his judgment.

Onward and upward. I don't have any reservations that BU is the guy for us.