It's probably been a while since we have had enough for 5-on-5 practices, too.
We might be okay there now - remember that we brought in the new Center and also have a transfer PG on the roster, plus the obligatory walk-on or two.
The Charleston paper had an article that talked about how poorly the PGs played, and I think they are the ones most impacted by the lack of practice. If they do not have a feel for the Offense and where the open players are going to be, they tend to devolve into one on one play. Which seldom works unless it is in the flow of the game.
The glaring issue to me this year has been Cousinard's play, but I don't attribute it to practice (or lack thereof). He's wildly inconsistent with his shooting, AND he's forcing the ball when he doesn't have to. Look at the way he charges toward the basket (no passes) with a full 18-20 seconds on the shot clock. Much of Cousinard's problems, however, I blame on Coach Martin. (Everyone in this forum should know that I'm a pretty big Coach Martin apologist, so that statement is NOT typical of what I would say normally).
Thus far on the season, Coach Martin has been yanking the chain on players (particularly his PGs) WAAAY to quickly... not allowing them to settle into the rhythm of the game, and get in sync with teammates. The flip side of that coin is that guys like Keyshawn have been given enough continual minutes to begin to find their rhythm and to find their "spots" on the floor.
Cousinard, right now, doesn't seem to be comfortable with his shooting, unless he's camped beyond the 3 point line and he's given time to get set. He's even struggled badly from the FT line this season... simply does not seem to have confidence in his shooting touch right now.
If I'm put in the HC seat, I'm using every available timeout in the first half to settle Jermaine down... to get the jitters out of him, and to remind him how good he actually is (and how valuable of a shooter and passer he was last season). I don't yank him... I give him every opportunity to turn on his brain & let his courtmates challenge him to do so.
I see something similar in Seventh Woods as well... he's often not given enough time to self-correct, before Coach Martin gets frustrated and pulls him in favor of Cousinard or Trae Hannibal, or sometimes even TJ Moss.
My assessment of the woes of this season's VERY talented team is that Coach Martin's difficulties in adjusting to COVID-induced problems (lack of time on the court together, lack of time to build team camaraderie, etc.) have cost us dearly in at least 2 games, and possibly 3 games. I'm still struggling with the LSU loss because we outperformed LSU in every aspect of the game except the number of FTs shot (and their advantage there gave them the W), yet we lost the game.
My sincere hope is that Coach Frank Martin will realize that his leadership of this team is what makes the backbone of everything our student-athletes do. The team takes on his persona in just about everything we do offensively and defensively. His inability to adjust to the strange season and his continuing to show that he does not have the answers, at least in my mind, is adding to the struggles of guys like Jermaine Cousinard and Seventh Woods. We shall see if he can "course correct" within the next two games. If not, it's going to be a difficult season.
