Rockne's Roundtable

Great article. I was just talking abou this last night. But I'll settle just for playing to expectations rather than consistent underperformance.

Good article Lou. I am tired of you bring right all the time...

Win the games you're supposed to win and then give me that one moment. I'm not asking for much, just one. I want one "Holy Shit" moment in 2012. Brey has given me about 3 or 4 already this season.......I just want one from Kelly. Be like Mike.

Awesome!!

Frase,

Good point — and that's why few things in sports put a greater burr in my saddle than that incessant "we're only three plays away from 9-2 instead of 6-5" that has gone on the last 18 years."

You didn't reach 9-2 (or 10-1 or 11-0) because the mental toughness to finish was not present. That's not a sin, because it's extremely difficult to finish so well, and often not appreciated enough. In other cases it might be complacency.

The trouble is with ND it comes against inferior opponents, not superior ones. ND lost to USF because it couldn't rebound from a 14-point swing four minutes into the game. If you're a top team, you shrug it off, and can be up 17-10 or 20-10 by halftime. You had the games won against Michigan and FSU with 24-7 and 14-0 leads, but found ways to lose them.

It's not about "losing only by four" or being "one play away." It's about slamming the door and winning by a couple of scores when it was there for the taking. Most every team in the country can talk about being three or four plays away from a better record (or worse).

When BK was hired, you and a couple of others at Blue Gold pointed out that excessive expectations was part of the problem and that early success could be anathema to long term success. We saw Willingham and Weiss both proclaimed as the guy who led a "return to glory" only to falter, fizzle and fade. The message you guys warned the fan base was to be patient and one of you, I think it was you, Lou, said you hoped that BK wasn't too successful too early. As much as I am disappointed with the results of the past couple of seasons, I still think those points are valid. I do see some positive signs but I also see the concerns, and I think your analysis above is pertinent. What I see as the difference between the football and b-ball teams is between the ears. With the football team, there is a sense that they will find a way to lose, that they lack confidence, and in particular that they can't close out and that they wilt in the extreme of last minute pressure. But this isn't a BK phenomenon. I remember too many successful long desperation passes by the oponent whether Davie, Willingham, Weiss or even Holtz was coach. The long completion right before the "Bush Push" being a recent example. I think getting past the "prevent defense" mind set, where you worry so much about playing not to lose that you get beat, is a recurring theme. The thing that I thought would be different with BK is that his offense would be able to erase a mistake by the defense and thereby allow them to play looser and not feel that a single mistake was game set match. Clearly BK can create offense and it appears to me that the play calls are sound. What he has been missing is consistent QB play and once he solves that, we will be on track back to the top.

marklawrence,

That would be accurate — not that I would have objected to a Ara-like resurrection campaign in 2010 the way he did in 1964. Holtz always joked the best way to last 11 years in the job is to go 5-6, 6-5, 7-4, 8-3, 9-2, 10-1, 11-0 etc., because that might give you several years of grace period afterwards.

I agree and have mentioned several times it seems to be between the ears. That's what I mean by "coaching equity" for Brey. He's proven time and again that he doesn't need the McDonald's All-Americans to be successful, so when he doesn't sign highly rated recruiting classes, your reaction is "so what else is new? He knows what he wants, the players who fit into his scheme, and he'll keep going to the NCAA Tournament." It takes a while, though, to build that type of confidence in a coach.

Good read Lou.

I remember like it was yesterday when Holtz spoke of "reestablishing the home field here at ND". Its huge. Not only that, but it is tough to think that for ND hoops, we have a great environment. The noise filters out through the concourse, the students arent very visible, and the remaining crowd isnt very alive(unless #1 is in town).

There's much to say, alot of which Ive read in your article and follow up comments by your posters here. I really and truly think that there is one crucial difference between BK and MB. In each of the 3 big wins(UL, SU, UConn) there were key moments late in the second half when the lead shrunk, and fast. So fast that it seemed like the Miami Heat snuck into the opponents jerseys or that the Dillon Hall intramural team snuck into ours.

But Brey remained cool. He clapped, his voice tone remained constant, he put his palms facing out and down to signal "Its all good guys, mistakes happen... stay with it" and reverses the energy and momentum back in our direction. In sum, HE HAS FUN OUT THERE!

Mike Brey is a Morgan Wooten descendant(yes I know he served under Coach K, but I mean BEFORE that, he started as Morgan Wooten's frosh coach in HS). Morgan Wooten is a JOHN WOODEN descendant. Both(JW and MW) HEAVILY DEEMPHASIZED talking about victories and unnecessary pressure to WIN. Did they want to win and hate to lose? Of course. I coached at MW's camps(and Breys for that matter), and MW stressed that he felt players' performance was best when pressure was at its lowest. Dont add to the already existing pressure, but rather decrease it. Play as hard as you can but stay loose and have fun. I believe our guys at ND Hoops reflect that.