The BG News

BGSU Basketball Reality

By Colin Wilson on January 19th, 2007

I think the fact that the BGSU men’s basketball team played a weak schedule to start the season blew a little smoke up a few people’s behinds.

They’ve just begun their MAC season and are 1-3, their only win coming against Buffalo at the buzzer. While they were 9-4 heading into conference play, people were really excited about their potential for the year. I can’t really say I was one of those people but I will say that I was pleasantly surprised by their record.

I don’t really see many of their games because I cover the women, but I see the numbers they put up, it seems as though every game has a run in every game in which their opponent gains 15 points, their starting lineup is never the same, their shooting guard is third on the team in rebounds and they can only play their biggest player for 15 minutes a game.

No one was expecting a huge season out of these kids—they were picked to finish last in the conference. They seem to be a hard working group and they’ve got a great deal of raw talent, but it doesn’t seem like they have a great TEAM.

In the MAC, a team succeeds by having one great player (Martin Samarco) a go to guy down low (Erik Marschall) and a secondary scorer (Nate Miller/Ryne Hamblet). From what I’ve seen, the team really wants their offense to go through Samarco every time down the floor. Whether it is coaching or lack of execution, I’m not really sure. There are good shooters on the team, they may not have a stellar inside game, but it just seems as though the amount of talent on the floor is being projected onto the scoreboard.

BG fans know that Dan Dakich can succeed, but the sports world is ever-changing. Players have run the show in the professional ranks for a few years now and the way kids are switching schools nowadays, it has reflected upon tough love coaches and the amount of transfers. I’m not saying this is an epidemic throughout all of college basketball, but a few talented guys have left BG in the past two seasons.

I’m all for a tough coaching style. Players should listen to their coach, the college game has a much greater team concept than the pros. The thing is, if players are changing with the current trends, shouldn’t coaches try to ease up a little bit? If an Ohio player has a choice to play for a Thad Matta or even a guy like Gary Waters at Cleveland State, Dakich’s hard-nosed attitude may not be as appealing for a kid who knows he’s got enough talent to go wherever he wants.

This entry was posted on Friday, January 19th, 2007 at 2:30 pm and is filed under Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

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