11-14-2014, 10:40 AM
Glenn--
Yep, I did. Mick Haley has been a great coach (only coach other than Dunning to win the NCAA title at two different schools, I think). But he's definitely getting a bit bitter. That interview after the second set was a new exemplar of throwing your own team under the bus. For those who didn't see it, he essentially said "We know what they're going to do. It would be nice if our players could follow the game plan. We have a good plan. We do." about 4 different ways, not mentioning any strategy in particular. And with a particularly acidic tone and expression.
Um, coach, if they're not following the game plan, shouldn't you be coaching them up?
More generally, the volleyball cognoscenti who I read have been saying for a few years that $C's offense is really antiquated. They rely on high sets to the outside far too much, allowing the block and defense to adjust and making hitting that much harder. I look at one of their current stars, Samantha Bricio, a smaller outside hitter, and think what she could do with her athleticism in a quicker system - not having to always try to hit over or around the block, but being able to hit before the middles could close. And that's really on Mick Haley. They have talent, especially now that their best second option Nwanebu is getting healthy again.
But again, the surprising result is Colorado beating UW, basically on the strength of their blocking. The game at Maples next Saturday (in front of no band or a potentially anemic crowd because of the conflict with Big Game in Berkeley) could be more difficult than I thought. Hoping the game ends up scheduled on the early end of the range of possibilities, so people will come out for Senior Night.
VG
Yep, I did. Mick Haley has been a great coach (only coach other than Dunning to win the NCAA title at two different schools, I think). But he's definitely getting a bit bitter. That interview after the second set was a new exemplar of throwing your own team under the bus. For those who didn't see it, he essentially said "We know what they're going to do. It would be nice if our players could follow the game plan. We have a good plan. We do." about 4 different ways, not mentioning any strategy in particular. And with a particularly acidic tone and expression.
Um, coach, if they're not following the game plan, shouldn't you be coaching them up?
More generally, the volleyball cognoscenti who I read have been saying for a few years that $C's offense is really antiquated. They rely on high sets to the outside far too much, allowing the block and defense to adjust and making hitting that much harder. I look at one of their current stars, Samantha Bricio, a smaller outside hitter, and think what she could do with her athleticism in a quicker system - not having to always try to hit over or around the block, but being able to hit before the middles could close. And that's really on Mick Haley. They have talent, especially now that their best second option Nwanebu is getting healthy again.
But again, the surprising result is Colorado beating UW, basically on the strength of their blocking. The game at Maples next Saturday (in front of no band or a potentially anemic crowd because of the conflict with Big Game in Berkeley) could be more difficult than I thought. Hoping the game ends up scheduled on the early end of the range of possibilities, so people will come out for Senior Night.
VG