I posted previously that perhaps the biggest shortcoming of this team - even more than its lack of perimeter athleticism - is lack of leadership. It's beyond frustrating to watch, but that deficiency probably has more impact on wins and losses than lateral quickness, leaping ability, outside shooting accuracy, etc. It's like a cancer on a team.
Just watch them after negative plays. Unlike most teams, there's no immediate huddle, no rallying cry, no eye contact, no clapping. Bohannon walks around and chews on his mouthpiece, while the rest of the players stare at the floor or at the rafters and say nothing. About the only players I see occasionally try to rally them are Baer, Pemsl and Dailey, but none truly appear comfortable in that role.
Leaders are born, not made, and unfortunately right now it just doesn't appear that we have any natural leaders on this team. Unfortunately, it's not something you can simply manufacture, and so I'm not sure the coaches are culpable here. One could make the argument, though, that since the coaching staff failed to develop our upperclassmen, namely Uhl, Wagner and Ellingson, that they share at least some of the blame. Of course, that's assuming that if they were better more confident players they would be better leaders, but that's not always the case.
