Coach needs to have a talk with Matt

WestCoastHawk

WestCoastHawk

Well-Known Member
If anyone of you follow my posts, I predicted Matt Gatens to have a drop off in productivity in this new system. I have never been that impressed with Matt to begin with, even in Lickliter's system. That being said I think it is time for coach to sit down with Matt and tell him something he doesn't want to hear. That he is a role player, and needs to act like one.

There is no reason Matt Gatens should be driving to the basket during our last possession to take the lead. NO REASON. He is slow and can not create his own shots. Yes he can shoot free throws, but he is not shifty enough to draw the foul and will be easily blocked. If I'm Coach Fran I tell Matt he is only allowed to shoot on the perimeter and that he is coming to the bench if he does otherwise and causes a turnover.
 
Kinda have to agree.. If we have someone driving to the basket, I'd rather it be Marble, Cartwright or May. I'd rather see Gatens as a perimeter spot-up type shooter.
 
Agree Gatens is not good with driving into the lane and doesn't have good ball handling skills. He is a catch and shoot guy.
 
Totally disagree if the refs had any clue on Matt's last drive they would have called a foul cause the guy hit him on the wrist/hand when he blocked the shot.
 
Matt could be very effective in this offense if used the correct way. His shot has not been all that great since he came back, so sitting him in the 2nd half was a good decision by Fran.
 
Marble or Cartwright need to be driving on that play. Gatens and shooters should be on the perimeter as kick-out options if Wake collapses. Gatens needs to realize that shot will get blocked 99.99999% of the time against major conference opponents.
 
In this offense I think Matt is great for the kick and shoot. There are some good guys that can drive it and pull defenders with them leaving Matt and McCabe on the perimeter for 3's. He also does a good job of getting to the lane for a little 10 footer, but it didn't fall tonight on 2 occasions.
 
knighthawk13 said:
Matt could be very effective in this offense if used the correct way. His shot has not been all that great since he came back, so sitting him in the 2nd half was a good decision by Fran.
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Sitting him in the 2nd half is a fine decision, but the fact that he got the shots in the final two possessions was not a good decision.
 
WestCoastHawk said:
If anyone of you follow my posts, I predicted Matt Gatens to have a drop off in productivity in this new system. I have never been that impressed with Matt to begin with, even in Lickliter's system. That being said I think it is time for coach to sit down with Matt and tell him something he doesn't want to hear. That he is a role player, and needs to act like one.

There is no reason Matt Gatens should be driving to the basket during our last possession to take the lead. NO REASON. He is slow and can not create his own shots. Yes he can shoot free throws, but he is not shifty enough to draw the foul and will be easily blocked. If I'm Coach Fran I tell Matt he is only allowed to shoot on the perimeter and that he is coming to the bench if he does otherwise and causes a turnover.
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First, you have no idea what kind of conversations they have had. Fran made it clear that he sat down with each and every player in the offseason and explained to them what was expected and what their roles would be. He didn't ask Gatens to loose 15lbs to be a spot up shooter only. He has confidence in Gatens' athletic ability and his apparent ability to get to the rim.

I am not saying that Gatens should have taken that shot, but there is nothing wrong driving the ball to the rim and trying to draw the foul. We have no idea if Gatens was the first option or not. I think I will wait to hear from coach Fran before I start making demands about any type of sitdown with Matt!
 
If he tells Gatens he's a role player and that he has to fire from the outside only guess who's going to make a call to coach to complain?
 
WestCoastHawk said:
I liked the set play where he had the open 3 at the end, that is Matt's game. It's a shame it didn't fall.
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I almost like that the least because you were asking a guy to shoot who had been sitting on the bench for 12 minutes of gametime! Strange ending, but I think Gatens will be fine. I don't think he is 100% back and his shot will improve and I don't think he will be one of our slasher type players as the season moves on!
 
The only thing I really disagree with is the last sentence. You can't tell Gatens he's only allowed to be a perimeter player. Do your really want another Bawinkel. What Fran should be telling Gatens is he'd better learn the jump stop or he's going to be seeing the bench. No point in driving the lane and trying a fade away lay up at that point of the game. That kind of play is not going to, nor should be, called a foul. He needs to be coming to a jump stop off his drives and going up strong for a ten footer. Something tells me that Fran has already had this talk with Matt. Old habits are sometimes hard to break I guess.
 
Totally agree. I didnt like when Gatens came in for Marble at the end there, he had been sitting for a long time. At this point that lineup they had in before Gatens came in Basabe, McCabe, May, Marble, and Cartwright is our best one it seems. I know its a small lineup and Gatens is recovering from an injury, but that lineup is fun to watch and got them back in the game at the end. Hard not to be excited about that freshmen class to go with May as a great core for the next few years.
 
burky247 said:
The only thing I really disagree with is the last sentence. You can't tell Gatens he's only allowed to be a perimeter player. Do your really want another Bawinkel. What Fran should be telling Gatens is he'd better learn the jump stop or he's going to be seeing the bench. No point in driving the lane and trying a fade away lay up at that point of the game. That kind of play is not going to, nor should be, called a foul. He needs to be coming to a jump stop off his drives and going up strong for a ten footer. Something tells me that Fran has already had this talk with Matt. Old habits are sometimes hard to break I guess.
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This is what I don't like about refs. There was definitely contact there. I understand why refs don't make that call. However, contact is contact. What makes that any less of a foul because it happens inside the last 30 seconds and not some other time during the game? Nothing wrong with trying to draw the foul by going to the rim with your best free throw shooter bar none! With that being said, Matt has not been a very good finisher at the rim the past two seasons. If that was the play, Fran made it and he had his reasons.
 
In fairness, the coaching staff have also been drilling Matt to go hard to the bucket and try to get to the line where he hardly misses. If Matt is 100% and playing within the flow of the game, I see no reason for him not to take the shot but in this case you essentially asked him to play the role of a DH and try to hit one out of the park which just didn't go the Hawks way.
 
The play out of the timeout that Fran had called was great. Who wouldn't have signed up for a wide open three by Matt for a chance to go by up by three?

2nd... I don't really see anybody on the floor calling for the ball or wanting the ball for the last shot. On the possession where we had multiple looks from offensive rebounds, Cartwright was dribbling around for what seemed like forever while the rest of team was standing flat footed.
 
ForeverHawk said:
This is what I don't like about refs. There was definitely contact there. I understand why refs don't make that call. However, contact is contact. What makes that any less of a foul because it happens inside the last 30 seconds and not some other time during the game? Nothing wrong with trying to draw the foul by going to the rim with your best free throw shooter bar none! With that being said, Matt has not been a very good finisher at the rim the past two seasons. If that was the play, Fran made it and he had his reasons.
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I see your point. Right or wrong, games tend to be called a little different towards the end of the game. I was less upset about the no call on Gatens than I was about the palming of the ball that WF was guilty of right before the game winning three.
 
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