Player Development Under Gates

[Lightning Rod]

Has anyone really gotten better or stronger under Dennis Gates? Sure players improve from year to year, but who has made that jump from year one that sets them apart? Robinson is supposed to be the poster child, but he really hasn't established himself from year one to this year. Boateng looks as bad as he did last year. I like T.O., but you can't say he's much better than last year. Does Burns look like he's made big gains, Pierce? Where is the player development? It's bad enough the guy is a poor game coach, and to this point a lousy recruiter. What does he bring to the table that makes him more than an over paid pedestrian coach?

[icon]

Has anyone really gotten better or stronger under Dennis Gates? Sure players improve from year to year, but who has made that jump from year one that sets them apart? Robinson is supposed to be the poster child, but he really hasn't established himself from year one to this year. Boateng looks as bad as he did last year. I like T.O., but you can't say he's much better than last year. Does Burns look like he's made big gains, Pierce? Where is the player development? It's bad enough the guy is a poor game coach, and to this point a lousy recruiter. What does he bring to the table that makes him more than an over paid pedestrian coach?

Something is not right with this coaching staff. Your observations are spot on. Or maybe some of the guys recruited were overrated? But all of them?

[zuck698]

Has anyone really gotten better or stronger under Dennis Gates? Sure players improve from year to year, but who has made that jump from year one that sets them apart? Robinson is supposed to be the poster child, but he really hasn't established himself from year one to this year. Boateng looks as bad as he did last year. I like T.O., but you can't say he's much better than last year. Does Burns look like he's made big gains, Pierce? Where is the player development? It's bad enough the guy is a poor game coach, and to this point a lousy recruiter. What does he bring to the table that makes him more than an over paid pedestrian coach?

Kobe Brown maybe? He did have a great final year under Gates. Now whether that was Gates induced or natural progression, who knows? It could certainly be debated. I would classify Gates as a great recruiter with mediocre coaching results thus far. The defense, or the lack there of, is really a question mark for me.

[Armchair QB]

I think most college coaches, in every sport, really put the onus of player development on the player. They’re given tools, facilities, personal drills, a weight program etc but they don’t supervise player development. If players don’t push themselves enough, then they don’t develop. There are differing degrees of this and maybe Gates’ staff prefers to spend its time on recruiting and not as much on development. He fills the roster with talent so I’d say that’s working. If he could also develop, then holy smokes he could become good. He’s very young so hopefully he learns its value. I wonder if most coaches these days are thinking they’re 1 off season away from players leaving so why invest in development.

I think what made Pinkel special was he made development a huge priority. It’s what allowed him to recruit at a much lower level but still compete with the big boys.

[Whatashame]

Robinson is one of the most frustrating players to come along in a while. He has lots of talent but his game hasn’t progressed much and his emotions seem to either get the best of him or are holding him back. I keep waiting for him to take control of a game, to take the next step and it just never happens. He’s constantly in foul trouble. Never seems to know when to take a step back and control his emotions. It is possible to play hard and play smart.

Also, I don’t always understand Coach’s player choices. His rotations and his choice of players to use. Coach knows a whole lot more about the team than I do but Crews is just a guy to me. A volume shooter. Porter doesn’t bring to the table what his brothers did. We don’t defend like I think we can. We get after it in spurts but it’s not sustainable.

Coach seems to bring in good talent but the growth just isn’t there.

[Armchair QB]

Robinson is one of the most frustrating players to come along in a while. He has lots of talent but his game hasn’t progressed much and his emotions seem to either get the best of him or are holding him back. I keep waiting for him to take control of a game, to take the next step and it just never happens. He’s constantly in foul trouble. Never seems to know when to take a step back and control his emotions. It is possible to play hard and play smart.

Also, I don’t always understand Coach’s player choices. His rotations and his choice of players to use. Coach knows a whole lot more about the team than I do but Crews is just a guy to me. A volume shooter. Porter doesn’t bring to the table what his brothers did. We don’t defend like I think we can. We get after it in spurts but it’s not sustainable.

Coach seems to bring in good talent but the growth just isn’t there.

Besides his emotions being a problem, I think Robinson just isn’t strong enough. I think that’s part of why he hasn’t improved since last year. I really thought he was on his way to being a pro, but he’s not strong enough for that yet.

[Mizzoufan443]

Has anyone really gotten better or stronger under Dennis Gates? Sure players improve from year to year, but who has made that jump from year one that sets them apart? Robinson is supposed to be the poster child, but he really hasn't established himself from year one to this year. Boateng looks as bad as he did last year. I like T.O., but you can't say he's much better than last year. Does Burns look like he's made big gains, Pierce? Where is the player development? It's bad enough the guy is a poor game coach, and to this point a lousy recruiter. What does he bring to the table that makes him more than an over paid pedestrian coach?

Kobe Brown maybe? He did have a great final year under Gates. Now whether that was Gates induced or natural progression, who knows? It could certainly be debated. I would classify Gates as a great recruiter with mediocre coaching results thus far. The defense, or the lack there of, is really a question mark for me.

Agree on Gates, as to Kobe, he had three years under an extremely disciplined coach and when Gates got here, he opened him up offensively, and he shined. But the three years of fierce defense and discipline undoubtedly helped build the player he is today. I think Caleb Grill is a successful example of a guy developed under Gates. But as to big guys, there’s really no one. Mitchell is marvelous offensively in the post, but he’s always done that and his defense is not imrpvong much. I’m not giving up on Ant. The problem with him is that he’s a defensive star and Gates’s North Star is not about defense, which is interesting because he’s also not a very good X -and O guy, nor in discipline, and his lineups are very inconsistent