College officials are bad and A-10 officials just may be the worst of the lot.

Never thought I'd even wonder about this but yesterday's effort was extraordinary against a very good team and a somewhat mythic program. Having said that and looking at the remaining schedule it is not inconceivable that if Gaston can play at the same level the Rams could win out and in doing so add a loss to the teams between them and #12 except for Dayton. Could 7-9 be good enough for the 12th spot ? Could the final game of the season at St. Bonaventure end up being huge ?

From this morning's Cincinnati Enquirer:

“Bipolar,” Pecora said. “We can practice at a very high level, we can compete at a very high level against some of the better teams in the conference, and then I’m not sure what to expect the next night. Very often that toughness, that enthusiasm, that competitive nature is gone. I’m not quite sure where it goes.”

As a player that's the guy I want to play really hard for tonight in front of 13,000+  hostile fans in an arena that intimidates me to the point of actually believing I'm part of a D III program. Same scenario as Dayton an hour to the south. That's the true RHG effect: intimidated by a large arena and crowd and disoriented because the shooting background is so different from a gym.

TP's job is to know "where it goes." Is he so inept that he doesn't realize this. You would think that someone capable of diagnosing a group as bipolar would at least know what his job actually is.

Finally analysts and play by play guys are calling attention to the fact that most college teams have gone to the same ineffective offensive systems. On the part of the coaches it's classic "risk aversion." "But we're running good stuff. It must be good because everyone else is doing it." SEC football before the "Ball Coach" showed up (Gladwell). The result is mostly mind numbingly dull exercises that end up with scoring in the 50's. On PTI this past week Jay Bilas commented on the situation and the poor inconsistent officiating. Digger referenced it on College Game Day and Dicky V pleaded with coaches during the ND/Louisville game to make the game more spontaneous and less predicatble. Only Wisconsin seemed to escape the new criticism yesterday.

To play this way makes little sense for any team unless you have a decided talent advantage: can rebound bad misses, can hit the contested three, can penetrate and dish. If you have none of that you need better coaching: Creative, innovative, insightful, motivating.

Ram opponents can prepare a defensive game plan in about five minutes. "Well guys, they pretty much do what you did in junior high, high school, AAU and open gym. But, they never throw it to the screener. They never curl the big guy to the block. They can't really split the defenders. They never throw skip passes, and if they did they're not good spot up shooters. Oh, and they never have more than two rebounders on the floor at any given time. Now go out there and have some fun. You guys at the end of the bench text your Moms and girl friends and tell them to watch." It's difficult to defend Wisconsin and difficult to run offense against Syracuse because they do different things differently.

If you're playing with less talent, you occasionally play a less than focused opponent and it appears you have improved but you lose anyway; or you run into a more talented team who realizes it's time to "pad their stats" and have some fun and you get crushed.

Given the current, and long-standing, state of affairs Fordham will not get better players and the players we have will not get better.

I sat with Frank during the conference tournament in Cinicnnati and he told me that he had flown in early to tour the Cintas Center because it was the kind of facility we were going to build on campus.He told me exactly where it was to be located, when construction would start and how excited he was about how it would change the program and the university. The fact that it didn't happen has nothing to do with Frank's vision. It may have something to do with his ability to build consensus, finish off a campaign etc. but I doubt we could name one person who when confronted by the will of the Jesuits would win the argument. Raising money for a football stadium that turned into Keating Hall may be the stuff of urban campus legend or not. The fact remains U2 played on the steps of an academic building not in a football stadium.

As for Frank's opportunities most on this board are far too young to remember that he was the only high school player to be on the same number of All City teams as the then Lew Alcindor, that he was a very successful college player on what was then at least a mid-major program, that he was Digger's assistant at the age of 24-25, that he was part of Digger's highly visible turn around of Notre Dame's program when Johnny Dee left the cupboard bare, that he did coach/administrate at Harvard and that returning to Rose Hill was; indeed, an act of loyalty. People not blinded by their own loyalty to the Maroon know quite well the challenges he faced and there is no question he could have gone elsewhere. Do I have specifics ? No,but I do know that if anything he was/is loyal to a fault to an institution that does not return the respect he gives to it.

 I have seen probably 30 high school games in Ohio this year - not  the over recruited marquee teams. On those teams I believe there are at least five players who could play successfully as a Ram. One, a junior,a 6'2"/6'3" shooting guard who has appeared on the Top 10 plays on ESPN could start in two years.

There should be a process in place where an alumnus such as I should be able, and encouraged, to call or e-mail the basketball office about those kids. But knowing what I do about the recruiting "plan" it would seem fruitless. It wouldn't be that difficult to do a quick follow up and if I ( or anyone else) proves that he doesn't have the ability to judge talent; then ignore me. I know for a fact that's how many players were discovered - but that was a long time ago.

In all probability an entire "free" network of reliable former players, alumni who coach etc. could be created in a very short period of time and completely in compliance with NCAA regulations.

To say nothing of the good will and potential revenue generation that might result from a successful alumnus living in, let's just say Indianapolis, who now can watch a kid wear maroon and white that he watched/knew of in high school.

Don't get the Marquette '71 reference that team was #2 in the nation, way bigger than the Rams 6'11", 6'8" and 6'6" up front vs. 6'5", 6'2", 6'2" and we had a one and one with the score tied and 13 seconds which we missed. Marquette missed at the buzzer and Jim Chones at 6'11" dominated the OT. Any association between this team and '71 is inappropriate. Pretty sure the '71 team would beat these guys by 40 as well while wearing Chuck Taylos.

Benching your starters only makes sense if you are 100% convinced they are not trying. Any other reason is unacceptable and will not be productive leading only to resentment by the players. If they believe they are not prepared to compete or are simply outmatched or have run into a hot team they will not respond positively to being benched. One thing is always true: the players know if they're being prepared and coached. This will only get worse...not unprecedented in Ram history. As a matter of fact, multiple times.
And...if a player can't get motivated to play in front of a Dayton crowd he is not a competitor. Same goes for the coach.
And...there are no "must win" games when you're this bad.
Long flight home. Sad for the players.

If Dayton does not score in 2nd half they win 52-51. Wow.

Pecora is a total failure. Should be let go tomorrow if not tonight.

This doesn't really fit this thread but I have to vent it somewhere. Recruiting: Have you seen Butler play ? Yeah, let's only recruit NYC and NJ because that's where all the players are. Stupid is what you call that plan.

There has to be something wrong with CG. A player with his experience cannot be this inconsistent. There is a physical/attitude/motivation issue of some sort that is causing him to "leave" his 'mates when they most need him. I don't believe he's a coward, or a quitter, or selfish so it must be something else. In time we will know. As for now, it's disappointing and sad. Even a below average game
from him and the Rams have a significant road win. What happened tonight can't even be considered "below" average.

There has to be something wrong with CG. A player with his experience cannot be this inconsistent. There is a physical/attitude/motivation issue of some sort that is causing him to "leave" his 'mates when they most need him. I don't believe he's a coward, or a quitter, or selfish so it must be something else. In time we will know. As for now, it's disappointing and sad. Even a below average game
from him and the Rams have a significant road win. What happened tonight can't even be considered "below" average.

Too bad we can't give him the same notice.

TP is clueless. RC has 11 of Rams' 22 so he takes him out and leaves him standing on the sideline stretching trying to keep his back loose leaving Rams with no inside presence on either end. Guards can't guard anyone. Seriously, Coach has no clue who can play.

Game ball to Ryan Canty.

Rhoomes for Canty...brilliant.

Canty has energized the team, even Gaston is working hard. They cannot guard Canty but our guards are either selfish or inept. When they do throw it to him they've waited a count too long and he's not comfortable receiving the ball. He could completely dominate inside if we were smart enough to get him the ball.

Nice start - can't make a layup. Why doesn't that ball get dunked so hard the basket is still shaking ? Bad players.

Why run a high screen if you never look at the screener. It turns into a double team created by the offense. Stupid. This team has the lowest basketball IQ of any college team I've ever seen - in 52 years of watching. Gaston has regressed into a bad player.

Typical non-call play: As CG came out to set the screen the Tech guy had two, not one, but two hand full of his jersey trying to hold him back. No call, open floor, clear view.

If the high pick and roll is an integral part of your offense you must be able to either get to the rim or hit the jumper off the half roll. If you can't do either why run it at all. Because everyone else does ?

STUPID !!! Now RC and CG have both tried to slap passes away while standing directly behind their man. Are you kidding me ? Either they're basketball IQ is really low or they're not coached at all.

Not news: we are a terrible shooting team and do not seem to understand the basics of when to use the glass. Rams will not get a call tonight. It's really hard to understand how officials can be so biased and consider themselves professional. Prediction: Canty will have fewer than 10 minutes.

Let's take a look at some PJ facts:

I believe he earned 8 Block F's while at Fordham,  his SH Pirates came within an admittedly bad foul call of winning a National Championship, he was an assistant coach on the Dream Team and 1990 Goodwill Games and 1988 Olympic Trials,  was head coach of the 1991 gold medal World University Games, led the Trailblazers to three playoffs and coached a not very good Clippers team which set franchise records for lowest fg% and the fewest points allowed, a member of the Spurs staff for three Championships, is in the USAB Hall of Fame, the Pennsylvania Hall of Fame, the Wagner Hall of Fame, the Seton Hall Coach of the Century, and NCAA Coach of the Year in 1989, and a member of the most successful team Fordham has had or probably will ever have.

Do some research before you call a hall of famer names.

Challenge: Find a worse game coach. Right...not possible. Should have been a 20 point blowout.

Recruit shooters. Simple enough. Start with that. 2 or 3 guys who can bury it from thee change everything.Then recruit someone who can actually dribble, penetrate and pass and a guy who can rebound and stay out of foul trouble. That's it - you have an entire year to find four guys with specific skills and a nation full of alums to help the search. We can't defend anyway so that's a non-issue. Don't recruit the same guy with limited skill.

Watched Xavier/Butler today - Rams are not even playing the same game. Hopefully, the A-10 experiment is nearing an end. It's pretty obvious that in spite of how fond we may be of the Fordham, players who want to go there are not A-10 talented. All you have to do is visit  any other A-10 venue to realize we cannot attract the talent needed to compete: arena, weight room, locker room, fan base, tradition, recent history, etc. The kids we need are not concerned with the "quality" of the education - as if a Fordham degree carries any more weight beyond the Hudson than several of the other A-10 schools. Coaching could make some difference but not enough. It's not a player's fault if he is recruited into a situation in which he cannot succeed. It's bad coaching.

Imagine what it must be like to be in that locker room right now. This is sad for us as fans, but we don't have to live this experience every moment, being a player is what they know, it's who they are. They have to go to practice, walk through airports,go to class, play in hostile environments, deal with disappointment, deal with their families and friends, answer the same questions hundreds of times, consider their options, know that they have 20+ losses left to endure, be painfully aware that their dream is not going to be realized any time soon, knowing that their team has little chance of getting better quickly enough.

As a result of 10 years of Jesuit education, I'm not sure there's not a moral imperative that demands an institution either find a way to adequately support these student athletes or not ask them to compete against insurmountable odds.

After 45 years of following and supporting the Rams I have to look away. To do otherwise is far too painful.

It's not the result. It's the total lack of effort and the sight of bench guys dunking on us at will while the real players sit on the bench laughing.

This team has no heart - again - no pride - again. Dunkfest and open 3's. TP just smiled at Coach Dixon - That's ridiculous. A team's personality usually reflects the coach's. Loss tomorrow night is guaranteed.