Great Season for Temple in 09?

[Green_Acres]

Green Acres, got some quick questions for you.

 

 

Coach, I tried to reply and answer your quick questions and respond to what really were not quick questions but a diatribe. Every time I did my reply was turning out to be more of a diatribe than your original post.

 

Would it help if I just said "Congratulations on leading a mediocre, low talented team so far this season?" "No one thought they would make it out of region, including you, but my compliments on making it to the first round of the state tournament." Does that make it better and take away some of the sting?

 

By the way, I did not think the coaching staff did a poor job of coaching, actually, they did a good job of coaching for a group of kids who had no real coaching experience. I think the one coach, the older one, may have had some real experience, I do not know. However, I did think, from watching good coaches at Temple coach over the past so many years, that a more experienced coach would have had his team better prepared for games. It is just my honest opinion. I was taking a different opinion than the original poster who said that team was well prepared. I have seen well prepared Temple teams in the past, and this year's team was not a well prepared team to me and that falls on the coach. If you think they were well prepared, then we disagree and that is okay. We had way too much talent and ability to lose as many games as we did during the season and lose in the first round of the state tournament. I personally thought that Temple was better than all the other teams at state this year. I think a coach who had coached at the Murphy Center before would have done a better job preparing his team. There is no way a first year head coach can transform an untalented group of players into a state tournament caliber team when he is in his first year of any real coaching, especially when he has never coached a winning team in his few short years of trying. I thought all this was obvious, but maybe I am living in some far out fantasy world for pointing out what seemed to me to be right in front of your face. I was trying to insult or put down, just put things in perspective.

[winning1]

So, are you saying that Grace and CSAS, whose coaches have been in the saddle for 20 years, were outcoached by a 27 year old kid who has never head coached varsity basketball in his life? Does it not make more sense to believe that you got beat by a better team than to insult your coaches by saying they got out coached by a kid?

 

Greenacre you have to be one of two people ,you are eithier coach Chastain working at Burger King or you are .Mr Walls the one who started bad Rumors about Markum tryig to keep him from getting this job. If I knew who you were talking about a very good friend of mine you would have problem, So keep running your mouth we will find out who you are and than you will know who we are. And far as the other coaches coach Alexzander is one of the best coaches I know who it would be a honor to stand beside him and coach,I believe he should be our Head Football coach,why pay someone else outside when we have a great coach already at Temple. He would have that football beating up on people in 2 years. Temple give this man a shot it will be one of the greatest Decision that you have made.

[nothingbutnet]

So, are you saying that Grace and CSAS, whose coaches have been in the saddle for 20 years each, were outcoached by a 27 year old kid who, has only been coaching for four years or so, coached Silverdale's baseball team to 5-14 record last year, Temple's football team to a 2-8 record this year, and is coaching varsity basketball for the first time ever? Does it sound reasonable to you that he has the ability to take low talent level teams and cause them to play beyond their ability, something he has never done before that we know of? Is that what you are saying? What I am saying is that the team under achieved because they did have the coaching to bring out of them what they were really capable of. I am not saying that Caleb did not do a good job this year, I am saying the team should have done better, and I think a seasoned, experienced, veteran coach would have accomplished more. Am I wrong?

 

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.

[nothingbutnet]

Coach, I tried to reply and answer your quick questions and respond to what really were not quick questions but a diatribe. Every time I did my reply was turning out to be more of a diatribe than your original post.

 

Would it help if I just said "Congratulations on leading a mediocre, low talented team so far this season?" "No one thought they would make it out of region, including you, but my compliments on making it to the first round of the state tournament." Does that make it better and take away some of the sting?

 

By the way, I did not think the coaching staff did a poor job of coaching, actually, they did a good job of coaching for a group of kids who had no real coaching experience. I think the one coach, the older one, may have had some real experience, I do not know. However, I did think, from watching good coaches at Temple coach over the past so many years, that a more experienced coach would have had his team better prepared for games. It is just my honest opinion. I was taking a different opinion than the original poster who said that team was well prepared. I have seen well prepared Temple teams in the past, and this year's team was not a well prepared team to me and that falls on the coach. If you think they were well prepared, then we disagree and that is okay. We had way too much talent and ability to lose as many games as we did during the season and lose in the first round of the state tournament. I personally thought that Temple was better than all the other teams at state this year. I think a coach who had coached at the Murphy Center before would have done a better job preparing his team. There is no way a first year head coach can transform an untalented group of players into a state tournament caliber team when he is in his first year of any real coaching, especially when he has never coached a winning team in his few short years of trying. I thought all this was obvious, but maybe I am living in some far out fantasy world for pointing out what seemed to me to be right in front of your face. I was trying to insult or put down, just put things in perspective.

[nothingbutnet]

Coach, I tried to reply and answer your quick questions and respond to what really were not quick questions but a diatribe. Every time I did my reply was turning out to be more of a diatribe than your original post.

 

Would it help if I just said "Congratulations on leading a mediocre, low talented team so far this season?" "No one thought they would make it out of region, including you, but my compliments on making it to the first round of the state tournament." Does that make it better and take away some of the sting?

 

By the way, I did not think the coaching staff did a poor job of coaching, actually, they did a good job of coaching for a group of kids who had no real coaching experience. I think the one coach, the older one, may have had some real experience, I do not know. However, I did think, from watching good coaches at Temple coach over the past so many years, that a more experienced coach would have had his team better prepared for games. It is just my honest opinion. I was taking a different opinion than the original poster who said that team was well prepared. I have seen well prepared Temple teams in the past, and this year's team was not a well prepared team to me and that falls on the coach. If you think they were well prepared, then we disagree and that is okay. We had way too much talent and ability to lose as many games as we did during the season and lose in the first round of the state tournament. I personally thought that Temple was better than all the other teams at state this year. I think a coach who had coached at the Murphy Center before would have done a better job preparing his team. There is no way a first year head coach can transform an untalented group of players into a state tournament caliber team when he is in his first year of any real coaching, especially when he has never coached a winning team in his few short years of trying. I thought all this was obvious, but maybe I am living in some far out fantasy world for pointing out what seemed to me to be right in front of your face. I was trying to insult or put down, just put things in perspective.

 

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.

[dadoffour]

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 agree with everything you've said, but are you sure you're not a Temple fan? You sure know a lot about them!

[GBA_Athletics]

We can all now reasonably conclude that greenacres doesn't have a clue, but what about the topic of this thread: the 08-09 season?

 

Temple should be the region3-A favorite and for good reason. They bring all but one player (Petersen) back and his position should be taken by Andrews, who missed most of this year. So really it's the same team, but probably better. But don't count out my Golden Eagles. We will have Brandon Herman, Fuquan Harper, Patrick Shaughnessy, and Terrell Church. All we need is a fifth man and a decent bench and we should challenge Temple for the region title. Remember, we did beat them two out of three times this year.

 

CSAS should be down because they lose so much and their JV team didn't look very promising. Also Silverdale and 21st Century lose a lot of seniors. So I will give the nod to Temple to win region and return to State-possibly to win it all-but I predict Grace will be a strong contender for a trip to the boro also.

[dadoffour]

We can all now reasonably conclude that greenacres doesn't have a clue, but what about the topic of this thread: the 08-09 season?

 

Temple should be the region3-A favorite and for good reason. They bring all but one player (Petersen) back and his position should be taken by Andrews, who missed most of this year. So really it's the same team, but probably better. But don't count out my Golden Eagles. We will have Brandon Herman, Fuquan Harper, Patrick Shaughnessy, and Terrell Church. All we need is a fifth man and a decent bench and we should challenge Temple for the region title. Remember, we did beat them two out of three times this year.

 

CSAS should be down because they lose so much and their JV team didn't look very promising. Also Silverdale and 21st Century lose a lot of seniors. So I will give the nod to Temple to win region and return to State-possibly to win it all-but I predict Grace will be a strong contender for a trip to the boro also.

 

Remember 2 years ago when Grace/Temple was so evenly matched. I know, Grace won 4 out of 5 games ,but almost every game went down to the wire. Anyway, that's the kind of match-up I envision next year. I think Temple will have a little easier time getting shots off in the paint, without Carter being down there. But, depending on how good Harper turns out to be, Grace may be a better ball club next year.

 

What seniors, besides Carter, is Grace graduating that played many minutes this year? And, do you expect Grace's quarterback to play B-ball again next year?

[temple4life]

Green Acres.... you are clueless about high school basketball and clueless about Temple athletics.. Coach Marcum is the man! He did a great job in the basketball season and is already proving himself of being a great baseball coach here at Temple. He will put Temple football, basketball, and baseball back on the map... He played college basketball and baseball and really knows his stuff. I respect him for the way he has handled all of the drama and crap that he came into.

 

P.S. Sexton is Mr. Basketball in 09!!!!

[GBA_Athletics]

What seniors, besides Carter, is Grace graduating that played many minutes this year? And, do you expect Grace's quarterback to play B-ball again next year?

 

 

Wallace Foster and JT Turner started most of the year for Grace and they will graduate. So will Chris George, who played quite a bit off the bench. Josh Blake (the QB) I believe will play basketball his senior year. He just took this year off to prepare for his senior year of football because he wants to get a football scholarship. He will be another athletic addition to Grace on the court next year. He's not a natural basketball player, but he is a tremendous athlete with good quickness. Jonathan Brown could also compete for a starting spot. He's about 6-3 so he could play a post opposite Shaughnessy. He saw pretty good minutes this year and even hit some big outside shots for us occasionally.

[Green_Acres]

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.

 

 

Well, no one has ever guessed my identity, though many have tried, but I figured I would go out on a limb and try a guess on yours. Oh well.

 

Regardless of who you are, I do respect your opinion and your well thought out, logical responses. It is hard to keep it short once you get going, is it not? If we do not see eye to eye on every detail, does that necessarily mean that I am wrong because you or others disagree. Could it be that you simply do not get what I am trying to say? Rather than thinking about my perspective objectively, people want to immediately take offense and start attacking me in defense of the coach. I do realize that at times my statements are a little spicy, but I intend for them to be. I like the dialogue. I like honest discussion and if some want to call me names and insult me along the way, I can handle it with a grin and a chuckle.

 

You asked about what I would do different and there really are only a few things that I think would have made the season better. Remember, you asked for it, so do not get worked up whenever you disagree with me.

 

I would not have pulled the basketball players out of the gym to play football. They were a bunch of juniors who, except for Brandon and Jeremy, were seeing their real varsity time. I think that hurt them as to their chemistry and conditioning. While I do agree with the poster who talked about football helping out basketball, it was bad timing and in this particular situation, it hurt and did not help. I also think it illustrates the lack of experience on the coach's part. I would not have called any timeouts after big plays, especially ones that were generating momentum. I saw that many times and I honestly do not know what the strategy is for hamstringing your own team. If you get momentum, the other coach will call a time out for you. There were a number of times that Jeremy Sexton was in motion to the basket and an offensive play would be called. In my opinion, this group of boys do not need a coach to call plays that often, especially when they are actually going to the paint to score. When we played weaker teams that we were expected to beat, I would have left my starters in and made them give me all they had for the first half, regardless of the score and then start taking them out several minutes into the third quarter once the momentum was established again. You have to get in your opponents head and take away his hope and resolve. Did you notice that earlier in the season when we would get up on someone quick in the first quarter, that Jeremy Sexton would get pulled? Did you notice that later in the season When we would get up on someone quick in the game, the boys would slow it down? I would have worked harder at getting the players mentally prepared for games. I did think our boys were well prepared physically for each game, just not mentally. I think you know as well as I that mental preparation is really more important than physical preparation. Someone who can out think his opponent and get in his head can beat him even if the other is more athletic. I would have saved my discipline for practices. If someone makes a mistake in the game, I would not sit him down unless he just does not have it. There were too many times that our best players were sitting on the bench during games because they were not doing things that way the coach wanted them done but it was not hurting the game. It hurt the team more for them to sit on the bench. I understand that you want players to buy into what ever system you have, but save the discipline issues for after the game. That is what pracitce is for. I understand that you need to pull a player if he is hurting the team and its chances of winning but just pull him, explain what he did wrong, and get him back in the game. I would have been more careful to control my emotions and act like an adult. I heard about and have seen for myself too many screaming fits, temper tantrums, kicking kids out of practice, out of the gym, getting in people's faces, etc. Just so you know I was at the Grace footbal game briefly, but long enough to see the shouting match with Kell, and was in ear shot of the away Grace basketball game when he said something hateful to an assistant coach. Now I honestly did not hear what he said but from his demeanor and tone, it was an inappropriate way to address anyone. I would have believed and coached my team like they were the most talented, best team in the state and never have allowed myself to ever to be overheard saying that the team is just not very good or we will never be able to beat them (not direct quotes).

 

One of my favorite basketball movies is "Glory Road" and one of my favorite scenes is where Rupp says that basketball is just about putting the ball in the basket. That is not entirely true, is it? Whereas, you may have been looking for me to tell you more nuts and bolts, fundamentals, what I would have done differently, the truth is I would not have done much differently at all as far as the basics. He did a wonderful job in those categories. My philosophies, strategies, and people skills would have been different and I think it would have made a difference from the beginning.

 

Thank you for the statements you made in your two most recent posts, agreeing that Temple had talent and also that this year was a learning experience for the coaches and players. Are you not basically saying the same thing I was, just in a different way and maybe not as direct? People were talking like Temple had no talent other than Jeremy, that we were not going to make it out of region, and that we had the best coaches in the region, or the state. I have said all along that the team was very talented, that we were going to state, and recently, that the coaches could have done a better job if they had more experience.

 

By the way, one area among many that we disagree on is that being tall does mean you are talented. People have been posting on here for the last couple of years actually about how untalented Carter was and Grace does not have 3 DI players. If you are from Grace, it is easy to entertain yourself with those ideas but Brandon Herman looks to be the only DI player derived purely from skill. Carter went DI because of his height but take six inches off him and his best hope is juco. Patrick is in the same boat. He is a good hustler but, take away six inches... Yes, I know, you disagree. No problem.

[Green_Acres]

Green Acres.... you are clueless about high school basketball and clueless about Temple athletics.. Coach Marcum is the man! He did a great job in the basketball season and is already proving himself of being a great baseball coach here at Temple. He will put Temple football, basketball, and baseball back on the map... He played college basketball and baseball and really knows his stuff. I respect him for the way he has handled all of the drama and crap that he came into.

 

P.S. Sexton is Mr. Basketball in 09!!!!

 

 

 

How is that I am clueless, yet I predicted before the season started that our boys would make it out of region and go to the state tournament. I am clueless, yet I predicted that it would be CSAS and Temple for the championship game. I was clueless when I said that Temple was going to beat CSAS. Am I clueless because I thought Temple could have won more games during the season than they did. Was I clueless when I posted that Sexton was THE Mr. Basketball, a statement that you obviously agree with? Yes, I was clueless when I said that Temple would beat Union City by a basket at the buzzer. You cannot be right all the time, I guess.

 

I was wondering, how is he going to put basketball back on the map. Three state titles in the last six years, six upset wins at the state, seven(?) trips out of the last eight(?) years or so, and a strong showing at state this year. I could go on but is it not a little clueless to say that he is going to put basketball back on the map? Then there is that baseball thing. If you think Marcum is going to put baseball back on the map, then you are clueless. Baseball has never been on the map to start with and never will unless a committment to it changes. If he was able to put a baseball team on the map, then why did he not do it last year at Silverdale? I would not call a 5-14 record getting put on the map. He may very well be able to put football back on the map even though I did not really think it was taken off the map. I hope he has more success getting the support and backing he needs then the previous coaches did or football will continue its slide off the page. It may be that I may not be as clueless as you would like to believe and you may be more clueless than you care to admit.