Some of you people are seeing a Lick-bash even where none is evident. What I see is an attitude in Cole that I really admire and applaud him for. That's what a good leader does!
Hard to interpet Jarryds definition of ''buying in''.
He could mean that the players are still not proficient enough at running the offense and defense...or that they are not totally committed to the program...or he might just be trying to find another way to explain the losses without admitting that Iowa just does not have the talent to beat the top 6-7 teams in the league.
Anyone catch this today in the PressCitizen?
"Iowa's struggles this season have been blamed largely on the team's youth, although, Cole now seems tired of hearing that. 'We're really not that young,' Cole said. 'We do have some freshmen on the team and some sophomores. But I think it's more buying into the system than anything.'"
Entire article:
'The time is now' for Hawkeyes | press-citizen.com | Iowa City Press Citizen
I am not trying to start any controversy. I am genuinely curious.
So Cole seems to be saying that some players still haven't bought into the system and that is why the Hawks have struggled. Given that Cole and Gatens are the only players currently on the roster who weren't recruited by Lickliter (correct?) my curiousity is this:
During the recruiting process is it more the responsibility of the coach/staff to articulate their system? or the recruit's to recognize how his style of play would fit into said system thus resulting in a happy marriage? How long should it take for a player to buy into a system especially if they were fully aware of the system they would be playing in? Is there a former player out there who has gone through the recruiting process that can enlighten me? What is the typical conversation between recruit and coach? Could it be that recruits are more excited about playing in a Big Ten program for instance and aren't as concerned about the style or system until they get here? I find it a little perplexing that Lickliter's players apparently still haven't bought into it.
Hard to interpet Jarryds definition of ''buying in''.
He could mean that the players are still not proficient enough at running the offense and defense...or that they are not totally committed to the program...or he might just be trying to find another way to explain the losses without admitting that Iowa just does not have the talent to beat the top 6-7 teams in the league.
If you go back to the comments of remaining players (I'm thinking maybe Gatens in particular, perhaps others) in the wake of the transfers last spring, there were references to the idea that they'd be fine because the guys that were still here "buy into the system"--the implication being that one or more of those who left did not "buy in."
I wonder if Coach uses that phrase a lot and that may contribute to its use by players. However, I wouldn't read too much into Cole's use of that particular phrase. He's not a PR guy carefully crafting a statement, he's a young man speaking off the cuff to a reporter. I just think he's trying to say to his teammates, "Let's not give ourselves any excuses. We can play good basketball now!" Again, that's just good leadership.
I would guess that "buying into the system" is a pretty general phrase, one that he could say to cover a lot of different things. It's not that the players hate it, it just needs to be better executed. Hell, if I wanted to be really cynical, I could say that he's taking a subtle shot at fans who are constantly b*tching about it. But that's not the attitude that the players have. They aren't making excuses for themselves, which is another reason why I think we're going to be better next year. They aren't going to sit around all offseason and say "we'll be better automatically, since we were just young last year". They're going to bust their a**es to improve their game because they believe that it's the correctable flaws in their game that is keeping them from winning.
OK let me tell you once again that "not buying in" is not a general phrase up for your interpretation. Let me break it down for you:
Synonyms: don't believe in, don't want to purchase, not interested
Antonyms: believe in it, want to purchase, like what they see
Example: "I went to Toyota the other day to get a new car. The salesman assured me that the product was top notch A+ great awesome. The next day I read on the interweb that millions of Toyota's were recalled. At that point I was NOT BUYING IN to what the salesman told me."
Except that Cole is not a salesman, and he can't just come out and something like "we don't have much talent" or something like that. But when he's asked a direct question, he has to give some kind of answer.
OK let me tell you once again that "not buying in" is not a general phrase up for your interpretation. Let me break it down for you:
Synonyms: don't believe in, don't want to purchase, not interested
Antonyms: believe in it, want to purchase, like what they see
Example: "I went to Toyota the other day to get a new car. The salesman assured me that the product was top notch A+ great awesome. The next day I read on the interweb that millions of Toyota's were recalled. At that point I was NOT BUYING IN to what the salesman told me."