nothingbutnet

Coach? Perhaps you think you are responding to somebody's elses posts, I don't know. Anyway, my original questions were quick. And you still haven't answered them. Strategically, what would you have done differently? That's all I'm asking. I'm guessing congratulations would suffice in regards to the season and the job the Temple coaching staff did this season. Who really remembers the regular season anyway? How many people remember North Carolina State's record in 1983 or Villanova's in 1985. Or Kansas' in 1988. Thought so. Besides, your Temple team won 20-plus games and finished second in the district with just two losses to a very talented Grace team. My educated guess is that this was a learning experience for the coaching staff as well as the players. With all things considered, if I were a Temple fan, I would be very, very happy with what this year's team accomplished. I'm sure there was some disappointment among the Temple fans, coaches and team because Temple is so used to winning state titles. But this simply wasn't Temple's year. It was Union City's year. There's nothing wrong with that. It is what it is. I'm sure having Brandon Andrews would've made a difference, too. Having him healthy would've probably meant a couple of more wins. Temple really didn't have that many "bad" losses, though, when you think about it. The first CSAS loss was indeed a BAD loss. So, too, was the Ooltewah loss at home (Andrews' first game out). And Temple really didn't play that well in either McCallie game. But, other than that, Temple beat the teams it was supposed to beat. You may can make the argument for Pickett County at home, but again that was a very experienced Pickett County team, the same team that beat Temple the year before. Temple played great against Cleveland, beat a pretty good Bradley Central team, won on the road at Van Buren, won two games in the Dalton tournament against bigger schools and at the end of the year got on a roll and went further than most anybody realistically expected.

I'm not saying that the Grace coach and the CSAS coach were out-coached by Marcum. Others have said that, but I won't go that far. I'm not one to say one coach out-coached the other. Each person can make his own judgement on that issue. I am saying that Grace and CSAS had more talent, and much more experience! How you can argue that point is beyond me. Did Temple have a 6-10 or a 6-8? No. Even if you want to say that Herman and Sexton are a wash, then Grace has two players size-wise and talent-wise Temple didn't. And those guys played a lot last year. Same goes for CSAS. CSAS returned 7 players, 7, from last year's state runner-up team. It is a huge difference in playing and being counted on heavily and riding the bench as Kemp, Montgomery, Petersen and Co. That's a huge leap. That inexperience showed throughout the season, and after those guys had been battle-tested they became better players as the year went on. And, as a result, the team got better. True, someone who has been doing something for a long time should be better than someone who hasn't. But, that's not always the case. If you've got it, you got it. And Marcum has it. Besides, he's running the Temple system that has been very successful over the years and proved successful again this year. He's not re-inventing the wheel or something. Just because someone may have been, lets say, preaching for a long time. That doesn't necessarily mean he or she is a great preacher or a better preacher than someone younger or less experienced. And 27 is not a kid, 27 is a young man. I'm not saying Temple had no talent or very little talent. You don't win 20-something games with no talent. Sexton alone is enough to win some games, especially in Class A. I am saying it didn't have the talent that some Temple teams of the past did or the talent or experience that Grace and CSAS had this year. Marcum milked the most out of that team this year, especially at the end which is when you want your team playing the best basketball. How you see it any other way is beyond me. Underachieved? What? Temple won the district, won the region and then lost by just four points to Union City in the State Tournament. Union City, by the way, was the only undefeated team in the state (37-0 with Mr. Basketball M.J. Brown) and just the 15th in Tenn. history to finish undefeated. And Temple had a chance to tie or win the game in the final 20 seconds! That's despite their point guard turning it over 10 times and their big man mostly MIA. What would a more seasoned coach have accomplished with this team? What were you looking for? Three more wins and a state title? There's only so far you can go, ya know. Take those red and white glasses off and be real. Temple and Marcum got a bad draw plain and simple. A better draw would've almost surely led to another win or so in the tourney and who knows from that point. I'm not sure what other coach would've led Temple past Union City, or get Temple to the State tournament for that matter. Having watched all the Class A games at the tourney in person, Union City and Manassas were the two most talented teams hands down. Temple and Moore Co. were at the next level below and the other four teams were a level below that. And Union City hung 101 on Moore Co. 101! Temple was the only team this year to hold Union City to less than 60 points and was one of the few to play Union City close. Geeeeeez. Give it up, man.

Green Acres, got some quick questions for you. What makes you such a basketball expert? Have you ever coached before? Any background in the sport? Didn't think so. Obviously, you know absolutely nothing about basketball. Or sports, for that matter. Do you think your uninformed opinion matters or means more in regards to the job the Temple coaching staff did this year, or do you think the opinion of other high school and college coaches - people who are in the coaching profession - means more. The answer is obvious to everybody except you. I guess if 99 people said the sky was blue, you would be the one who would argue that it was a different color regardless. You seem to be one of those who has all the answers. If so, what would you have done different with this year's Temple team? In detail, tell all what you would have done differently. Or for that matter, what another coach would've done differently. Coach Marcum and his staff would probably love to know since they did such a poor job this year. Help them out. Quit hiding behind your computer, and your black beard, and show us what a basketball genious you are. Enlighten us all with your X's and O's and your coaching knowledge. There is no shame in winning the district and region titles, then advancing to State and losing to the eventual state champion, especially when no one other than you expected it. You act as if this Temple team was loaded with talent. THAT'S NOT TRUE! It's Sexton and everybody else. A superior team almost always trumps a superior player, and that's what happened in the first round of the State tournament. You tell me who had more talent, Grace, CSAS or Temple. Grace has three potential Div. 1 players, one of which has already signed with Liberty, another who is a 6-foot-8 beast who plays hard on every possession and the other has already scored over 1,000 points as a sophomore. Who other than Sexton will play college ball for Temple? Nobody, unless its at a very small school and that is highly doubtful. Yet, Temple beat Grace when it counted. CSAS had seven seniors coming back from last year's state championship team. Seven, including Hampton. Yet, Temple beat CSAS when it counted. And your going to come on this message board and diss the coaching staff? Makes no sense. Poll 100 people and ask them who had the most talented team this year and without fail every last one of them would say Grace. Grace's problem was it didn't always play together. And Temple, for the most part did, while riding Sexton's back. Again, that's a credit to the coaching staff. A coach, any coach, can draw up as many plays as he wants, but if the players don't show up and make plays his team is not going to win. Was it the coaches' fault that your point guard turned the ball over 10 times? Was it the coaches' fault that the tallest player on the court was overwhelmed by being in the state tournament and did very little? Was it the coaches' fault that the only other returning starter from last year's team injured his shoulder and was out for the year? Was it the coaches' fault that there was very little depth to speak of? Was it the coaches' fault that Temple drew the top-ranked team in the state? Since when does rolling in JV equate to a state title? That's about as insane as some of your other comments. Kemp, Montgomery, Petersen combined for about 1 or 2 points per game last year on the varsity and entered this season with little or no experience. Rector, meanwhile, was playing on the middle school team. Then, Andrews gets hurt. And Sexton, as good as he is, was the third or fourth option on last year's team. Wow! What coach worth his whistle couldn't take that team to the State tournament? Did you know that Temple was the ONLY returning champion at the State Tournament? The ONLY one, in any classification. What does that tell you? And with one, repeat one, returning starter. If you were at the State tournament and watched all the games, you would realize how important experience is in terms of getting to Murfreesboro and being successful once you get there. I guess you have an answer for that one, too. Right? I'm sure Coach Marcum and his staff would be the first to tell you they made mistakes. A lot of them. All coaches do, even the most experienced ones. You learn as a coach each and every year just as you do in any profession. But, as the record indicates, they also pushed a lot of right buttons. Talking to people in the know at Temple, they say the team practiced harder this year than they have in years. Why? That's Marcum's style, apparently. And, Temple couldn't just show up and win on talent alone like they have in some instances in the past. They had to work harder because they weren't nearly as talented as they have been in the past. Please continue to drag your school, Temple, down. With fans like you, who needs enemies like the rest of us who truly support our schools and coaches....especially when they enjoy a surprisingly successful season like the one Temple did this year. Instead of being so critical for no sane reason, perhaps you should stay positive and do what you can do to help out the athletic program.