Words from the Sideline

Communication is important no matter the profession; however, in athletics it is even more critical. In order for a team to win, they must execute the plays from the sideline and the given game plan. Throughout the game coaches communicate relentlessly to their players in hopes of giving them an edge in the contest. This past weekend I was able to focus on some of the verbal exchanges between coaches and players.

Mark Gottfried:

Throughout the game Coach Gottfried can be seen standing carefully watching the game for any area of weakness that the opponent presents offensively or defensively. He has a great relationship with Cat Barber, frequently during free throws or as Cat comes out of the game Gottfried can be heard giving Cat reminders. For example versus Queens, Gottfried frequently gave Cat encouragement to use his strengths. He told Cat to use his elite quickness to get into the paint, and cut hard off the high post. I could tell that Cat responds well to Gottfried who is very positive in his approach with his young point guard. The second half Cat really settled down and looked much more comfortable.

Another phrase that I heard throughout the game from Coach Gottfried was to not be casual in their approach. He really let Ralston know that he was not pleased with the way he was too casual with ripping the ball through on offense, which resulted in a weak turnover. Ralston responded well to Gottfried’s criticism and played much tougher the rest of the night.

One last thing that caught my ear was just how emphatic Coach Gottfried was about defense. First off I think he has a bad rap as not being a defensive minded coach. I was a part of his practices for two years; he definitely spends a considerable amount of time on defense. However I think for a team to be great defensively there has to be a desire. I am not sure in past years that desire burned throughout the whole 40 minutes. Yet as I watched Gottfried pleading with his guys to get up and pressure they were more than willing to oblige. You could see it in their eyes that they wanted to embarrass who ever they were defending!

Coach Lutz:

He is one of my favorite coaches to listen to during games. He has an incredible amount of knowledge and experience. He is great at creating the matchups defensively for our team. Periodically he makes adjustments on the fly to find the correct players to stop the opposing players strengths. He spends a great deal of time studying habits and plays of the opposing team. Even in the exhibition versus Queens, I could tell that he knew the opposing personnel, which resulted in putting our players in good positions defensively. 

Coach Early:

 Orlando Early is an excellent motivator. He’s responsible for the power forwards and centers on the team. He is their positions coach and works with them exclusively throughout the season. Coach O can constantly be heard shouting, “make them score over you not around you!” This is a simple phrase yet one of great importance. If you are making opposing players score over the top, this mean you are not getting beat to the rim. Bad things happen when guys get beat, this causes other guys to scramble into help defense, which means someone is open. If our post players can keep their man from going around them things stay airtight in the interior! Especially with BeeJay, its pretty difficult to score over the top of him, many players have been an unwilling guest to his block parties!

Coach Moxley:

 Just as Coach O is the positions coach for the forwards and centers, Coach Moxley works exclusively with the guards. Toughness is a staple with Coach Moxley as is effort and pride. Few coaches can match Rob Moxley in toughness and energy. He is constantly pushing the guards to be aggressive offensively. Throughout the season Rob puts the players through intense drills that push the players to their limits. His whole thing is to make sure he is matching the stresses that players will encounter in an ACC game. Confidence is a must with him; he makes the players feel confident in their abilities and is one of the first to give players a pat on the back, quickly followed by a get back on defense.

There will be countless lessons and opportunities for improvement this season, and I am confident that our battle-tested staff will maximize the talent and abilities within this team. The season officially kicks off tomorrow, November 14^th at 7PM in the PNC. Game can be seen on ESPN 3 and the WatchESPN App.