Coogs' Disappointing Season Continues

Before the 2011-2012 college basketball season began, the Houston Cougars men's basketball team was tabbed to finish 11th in Conference USA by Basketball Times. Based on the few practices I had seen and the incoming talent, I didn't believe there was even a remote chance that the 11th place prediction would ring true.

Oops.

As of today, the Coogs are one half-game out of 12th place. Their 3-8 conference record ties them with East Carolina; however, since the Coogs' 11-13 overall record is worse than the Pirates' 12-12 overall record, the Houston Cougars reside in 11th place.

What's wrong with the Coogs?

Personally, I do believe this year's team has talent and athleticism. However, it's clear to me the team lacks toughness (mental and physical) to be successful. Plus, the team's youth and inexperience (eight newcomers) do not mask an apparent lack of high basketball IQ. Players simply do not make good basketball decisions in key moments of ball games.

In 11 C-USA games, the Coogs are 0-6 on the road. None of the six road losses has been by less than double digits. Opponents are shooting 48.3% from the field including 37.3% from the three-point line which indicates the team's defense needs an awful lot of work.

Good team defense is based on good communication, trust, and an individual mindset of 'my man isn't going to beat me'. Trust enters the picture when, even if your man does get by you, your teammates will have your back and be in position for the help defense.

In this Houston Chronicle article from February 9, head coach James Dickey, senior Darian Thibodeaux, and sophomore Alandise Harris are quoted stating what needs to be done to improve the team and salvage this season.

"We've got to continue to fight," Dickey said. "We still have a lot to play for. We have six games left. We've got to gain some momentum and continue to try to improve every day in practice, be ready for every game and go into the conference tournament on a positive note. Talent-wise and when we guard and we play like we're capable, our guys know that we can compete at a very high level, and we've got to do that."


"It starts at practice," sophomore forward Alandise Harris said. "We have to get tougher there and then carry it over to the game."

"The good thing about that is mostly everyone is always positive," senior guard Darian Thibodeaux said.

"Last year, I don't think the guys were always (operating) as one. Not to take anything away from last year's team, but there was a lot of negative in the locker room or on the court. This year's guys - we're a family. We just have to bring that family on the court, stay together and play as one."

Saturday evening, the Coogs got blasted 72-48 at Tulsa. So much for the words of toughness and togetherness leading to a victory.

Let me be clear, I did not expect this year's team to reach the NCAA Tournament; however, I did expect them to be more competitive than the 2010-2011 team (12-18, 4-12) and instill hope for the 2012-2013 season which would propel the Coogs into competing in their inaugural season in the Big East in 2013-2014.

The 3-8 conference record and the 11-13 record overall have been big disappointments. Being competitive in the Big East seems light years away.

NBA is back

Nothing very profound in the next few words I type. (Some of you may think I haven't written anything profound for a while if ever; but, I digress.)

Assuming the NBA owners and the NBA players ratify the new collective bargaining agreement, the 2011-2012 NBA season will begin on Christmas Day.

I enjoy covering college basketball -- men's and women's college hoops; but, nothing beats the NBA.

Welcome back.

Let the Kevin McHale head coaching era begin.

For the betterment of the league going forward

"David Stern told me three years ago – and I keep reiterating that because people keep pulling up their cup on it – that they were going to lock out [the players] in order to get what it was they wanted."

Those words were spoken by Billy Hunter, the executive director of the National Basketball Players' Association, nearly three weeks ago.

I'm confused. Since Hunter said David Stern told him three years ago the owners would lock out the players, why didn't Hunter choose the players' best form of leverage -- to decertify the union -- in July of this year? 

New Jersey Nets' guard Deron Williams wondered the same thing. Williams tweeted he wanted to sign a decertification petition in July. 

Rather than decertify the union in July, Hunter opted to file a case with the National Labor Relations Board in hopes the NLRB would rule in the players' favor and declare the lockout illegal. The NLRB has not yet ruled on the case.

Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.

Weeks ago, Amare Stoudemire said he believed the players should form their own basketball league. 

"It's very, very serious. It's just a matter of us strategically coming up with a plan, a blueprint and putting it together," he said. "So we'll see how this lockout goes. If it goes one or two years, then we've got to start our own league."

Obviously, forming a new league and running the league effectively, efficiently, and logistically is a lot easier said than done; however, if the players had been told to prepare to be lockout for at least two years, why didn't they use those 730 days to contemplate and consider forming a new league rather than say it now?

Saturday night David Stern issued an ultimatum to the players to accept the owner's latest deal (a 50-50 split of the Basketball Related Income, with a chance to reach 51 percent) by Wednesday, November 9, or the owners' next offer will be a 47 percent BRI with a flex salary cap. Take it or leave it. 

After's Stern ultimatum, the decision to decertify the union gained momentum and may be inevitable. However, first things first, at least 130 players must sign a petition to vote on decertification. Once the petition is filed, the NLRB would need to determine whether a decertification vote should occur. That determination would take approximately 45 days. Apparently, the threat of decertification is supposed to make the owners fearful enough of losing in court, to spur the owners to return to the bargaining table, during that 45 day window, and negotiate in good faith and reach a "fair deal" which the players will accept.

Please explain to me why the players believe the owners will suddenly have epiphanies and start making concessions?

I'm befuddled at players saying they are prepared to miss an entire season in order to get a fair deal. Heck, New York Knicks guard, Chauncey Billups, has been quoted saying he's willing to give up his entire 2011-2012 salary (all $14.3 M) "for the betterment of the league going forward". 

Billups said, "I'm willing to fight with the union. Do I want to lose $14 million or whatever it might be? I don't want to lose a dime. My career is almost over. I want all of that. But at the same time, I was in that other lockout (in 1998-99) and I know what those older guys were willing to do for me. ... I'm in that position now and that's where I stand."

Why does Billups believe missing an entire NBA season is going to result in a better deal for the players? What planet is Billups and other NBA players living? 

I am not questioning the players' resolve to stand united for a fair deal. I'm questioning their common sense.

In 2004, the National Hockey League players stood united and fought the owners in the negotiations. The NHL players did not believe the owners would cancel an entire season. Oops. The 2004-2005 season was wiped out. The players did not receive one dime of their salaries. If any NHL player is asked whether missing an entire season was worth the fight, the answer will be the same: No.

Bill Guerin, former player for the NHL's Dallas Stars, said, "It's not worth it. Get a deal done. I learned a big lesson: It’s not a partnership. It’s their league, and you are going to play when they want."

Guerin added, "It is not worth it to any of them to burn games or to burn an entire year. Burning a year was ridiculous. "It wasn’t worth me giving up $9 million a year, or 82 games plus the playoffs, then having a crappy year and being bought out."

I'm agreeing with Guerin. Unless the NBA players can convince me the owners will give them a better deal than the one currently on the proverbial table, I cannot understand the players' willingness to lose an entire season simply because of pride and principles.

A reduced paycheck is better than no paycheck.

Deal Day or Doomsday?

Today, the NBA owners and the National Basketball Players Association is scheduled to meet. Today's meeting may go a long way in determining whether there will be a 2011-2012 season at all. Considering the rhetoric (letters from union president Derek Fisher as well as players' association executive director Billy Hunter) tossed around earlier this week and gems like this: "The league is facing an equal threat from a group of 10 to 14 owners — led by Charlotte’s Michael Jordan — who are determined to cap the players at 50 percent, according to a person who has spoken with the owners.", this meeting may not last  longer than five minutes.

Pressure? Nah. Not at all.

Neither side seems willing to budge; however, both sides seem willing to fiddle while the 2011-2012 NBA season burns away.

Earlier this week, 50 players met Tuesday and Thursday to discuss and learn the details about possibly decertifying (dissolving) the union unless the owners agree to union's demand of 52.5 percent basketball related income (BRI) rather than the 50 percent the majority (not all) the owners seek.

The players, led by Boston Celtics forward Paul Pierce, and seven big-time agents believe decertification is the players' best leverage against the owners to get a fair deal. Said one player on the calls: “If nothing else, this takes us off our heels.”

Hardly a boring week in the NBA, right?

If / when today's meeting ends with no agreement, this week will appear uneventful compared to future weeks if the players decide to decertify the union; and, the owners decide to cancel the 2011-2012 NBA season.

NBA...Where canceled games happen...Again.

I haven't written anything regarding the NBA lockout because, I suppose, in the back of my mind, I always believed the owners and the players would reach a new agreement and avoid the cancellation of any regular season games.

I was wrong. For the first time since the 1998-1999 season, NBA regular season games have been canceled.  

Monday night, NBA Commissioner David Stern said, "I'm sorry to report, particularly for the thousands of people that depend on our industry for their livelihood, that the first two weeks of the season have been canceled," Stern said. "We certainly hoped it would never come to this. I think that both sides worked hard to get to a better solution. We think that we made very fair proposals. I'm sure the players think the same thing. But the gap is so significant that we just can't bridge it at this time."

The cancellation includes all games originally scheduled to be played through November 14.

Games have been canceled. Both sides blame the other. Blah. Blah. Blah.

David Stern has always maintained if a new collective bargaining agreement were not reached before games were canceled, the owners' proposals / offers would become worse as time passes in order for the owners to recoup the money they lose.

Case in point, Commissioner Stern have now backed away from their "50-50 BRI (basketball related income) split" to expecting the players to accept 47 percent rather than the 57 percent the players received in the previous collective bargaining agreement and the 53 percent today's players say is their "bottom line".

Billy Hunter, National Basketball Players Association Executive, cautions the owners to not question the resolve of the players. Hunter says the players will remain united as long as it takes in order for them to get what the players believe is a fair deal.

"I think it goes back to a comment that David made to me several years ago when he said, 'Look, this is what my owners have to have.' And I said, 'The only way you're going to get that is if you're prepared to lock us out for a year or two, and (this) indicated to me that they're willing to do it," Hunter said. "So my belief, my contention is that everything he's done has kind of demonstrated that he's following that script."

Hunter added, "I think everybody's waiting for the players to cave," Hunter said. "They figure that once a player misses a check or two, it's all over. And I'm saying to you that that would be a horrible mistake if they think that's going to happen, because it's not going to happen."

Don't those words give you a warm, fuzzy feeling inside?

The NBA's slogan has been: "The NBA...Where Amazing Happens."
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I guess that slogan is still accurate if you believe it's amazing the NBA owners and players could not reach an agreement and avoid games being canceled.

College basketball season starts in a few weeks.

Conference shuffling and Pat Summitt

I haven't posted a new commentary in almost one month. However, the fact I've been remiss in posting new thoughts does not mean my mind has been without thoughts or opinions these last few weeks. Basically, I'm trying to figure out a reasonable balance among blog posts, tweeting on Twitter, and podcasts.

First, with ALL of the conference shuffling discussed in NCAA Division I football -- Texas A&M's decision to leave the Big 12; Oklahoma may decide to leave the Big 12 and head west to an expanded Pac-16 (which became the Pac-12 two months ago); etc. -- here's my two cents: the Big 12 (minus 3) should add BYU, TCU, and Houston to form a new Big 12. If the league decides not to make that happen, then the Big 12 is doomed to implosion within a year.

Mark Cuban, owner of the reigning NBA champions - Dallas Mavericks, wrote on his blog on Sunday reasons why the current teams in the Big 12 should stay in the Big 12. His reasons for maintaining the status quo of nine teams makes some sense. Check it out. 

Plus, with the discussions of super / mega-conferences spreading across the college landscape at a rapid pace, perhaps a few of those "people in the know" should take a few minutes and remember that, in 1995, the Western Athletic Conference tried and failed with 16 member schools spread across a huge geographical landscape.

Conference shuffling / realignment is happening because of football. Hardly any college presidents, athletic directors, wealthy alumni, involved in these talks are considering the "other" sports such as basketball nor the "Olympic sports". Clearly, football drives the bus in big-time college athletics; however, the non-football student -athletes will be impacted more by the conference shake-ups because they will travel more as well as longer distances. (So much for the NCAA's noble gesture of keeping students first.)

On August 23, Pat Summitt, iconic head coach of the Tennessee Lady Vols, announced she has early onset dementia, Alzheimer type. The news stunned and saddened countless people; however, coaches, colleagues, friends, supporters, etc. each believe Coach Summitt will commit to battling dementia with everything she can and continue coaching to the best of her legendary ability.

I admire and respect Coach Summitt a great deal; and, her decision to publicly announce she has dementia will bring attention to the disease. Realistically, barring a miracle medical cure, this battle against Alzheimer's is unwinnable for her; but, the courage Coach Summitt has shown and will continue to show will inspire numerous people.

The 'Houston Sports Review'?

With each passing day, it seems the NBA owners and the National Basketball Players Association are intent on not trying to reach a new collective bargaining agreement.

Combine the lack of meetings with no progress made in the handful of meetings which have actually been held plus a pithy comment such as this: "the owners are tired of making these guys rich", the 2011-2012 NBA season is headed towards cancellation.

I'm not surprised the NBA owners have locked out the players. The decision to lockout the players was expected nearly two years ago. However, I am surprised at the apparent willingness of the owners to risk cancelling an entire season.

David Aldridge, highly respected basketball reporter and columnist for NBA TV and TNT, wrote in his current "Morning Tip" a specific paragraph regarding the lockout which left me flabbergasted.

DA wrote: A source who deals with owners on a regular basis said that they remain determined to, if not break the union, break its current salary structure. The source said owners frequently speak of "being tired of making these guys rich" and are even contemplating asking for more, such as including income the players receive from their commercial endorsements and sponsorship money into the BRI pot -- the theory being the players wouldn't become famous and able to make such deals if not for the NBA infrastructure that puts them on television and other media. (Good luck with that one. And, yes, I asked my source if that were the case, why not cut players in for a slice of the action when owners sell their teams? I got something about there being a difference between the risks the players assume on the court and the risks owners take in financing their teams, got a headache in my eye and stopped listening.)

Many basketball people (including me) believe the owners are trying to break the union; so, the first sentence isn't a shocker. However, the second sentence caused me to roll my eyes in disbelief: Owners speak of "being tired of making these guys rich" and contemplating asking for more, such as including income the players receive from their commercial endorsements and sponsorship money...

WHAT THE HELL?!

If there are NBA owners who have those draconian and asinine expectations, then NBA fans might as well as switch their support to FIBA and NCAA hoops because there will definitely NOT be a 2011-2012 NBA season.

I've already been asked by a colleague what will I do if the '11-'12 NBA season is wiped out. I told him "I'll cover college basketball." And more. 

I've covered college hoops for years; but, this season may be different because I may broaden my sports spectrum and spend time covering college and pro football and hockey (Go Red Wings!), too. In fact, I've already started discussing football in a few of the podcasts.

The "Houston Sports Review" doesn't have as good a flow as the "Houston Roundball Review"; but, sometimes, adjustments need to be made.

The NBA ... where the '11-'12 season may be canceled.