I agree with some of what you say, but disagree with some of the other things. However, to be fair, I have an advantage. I’m able to attend games live, and see a lot more. Good luck on leaving the left coast.
In another thread on this board, tweed7 talks about CDW sitting down the whole 4th quarter. Unfortunately, this is the norm for CDW, not an anomaly. I’ve even suspected him of having “sundowners.” I’ve called him “dead coach walking,” and believe he is a cause of the “losing mentality” to which you referred. In fairness, CDW inherited a program from a coach worse than him, and in his first two years, team defense improved, as did his offensive spacing; however, I’ve seen no appreciable improvement since then, despite an upgrade in talent.
I only criticize CDW on coaching, not recruiting. I like to sit opposite the benches, so I can observe coach/player interactions. I also like to observe post timeout adjustments made by coaches, and how they are executed. CDW is very lacking in this regard.
After not playing for five games, Camp broke out for 29-points against Elon. One of the apparently unnoticed things about that game, was that Camp played at the 3 vice the 1 or 2 for most of that game. I think you remarked that Camp has had diminished playing time because of the number of guards (i.e., Hicks, Panoussis, Hill, etc.). But I’ve been saying all along that Camp should be playing inside instead of out front. I would argue that by playing Camp at the 3 plays into her strengths. Also, Camp likes to “go to the hole,” and playing her at the 3 allows her to use her quickness/speed against usually slower 3’s defending her. Also, I think she rebounds beyond her measurables. I don’t think CDW has the ability to recognize the strengths of each players’ individual game, and is totally incapable of implementing a game plan to accentuate a player’s strengths, and minimize their weaknesses. In short, I just don’t think he can coach.
I also think CDW is a bully. Others on this board have alluded to this, and watching the coach/player interactions at games live, I believe this to be the case. I also think this plays into the midseason collapses of Panoussis and Young. CDW’s offensive sets accentuate the need for consistent 3-point shooting, while Cook’s and Camp’s abilities to go into the paint takes some of the pressure off the necessity for 3-point shooting.
I could go on a lot longer, but posting length limitations preclude. I do appreciate you taking the time to respond to me, and now I more fully understand some of your postings. As you said, you really don’t care who’s on the bench, CDW, Smith or Jones. I just believe that retaining CDW is only going to set the program back further,. The rumor I heard was that if CDW is retained, not only Camp would leave, but two others as well. I think the talent is there for improvement over what CDW can accomplish. I think CDW has underperformed in coaching (x’s and o’s), player development, and diminishing the “losing mentality” I think the players have. I think CDW has lost the team, and this occurred a few years ago. Retaining him (let alone extending him) would be a death knell for WBB at VT. CBD mortally wounded the program, CDW exacerbated the injury, and retaining/extending CDW would only serve to put the few remaining, attending fans out of our misery.