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What's wrong with Rider? ... Dempsey's take
I didn't get around to posting these quotes yesterday. Given that Rider lost, maybe now is just as good a time as any to put them up.
Tommy Dempsey has had various takes on his team's play throughout the year. He's been dejected at times. He's been defiant, vowing to prove his and his team's critics wrong.
I met with him in his office Thursday to talk about the Loyola game, and as far as I'm concerned, he made his best effort yet to simply tell it how it is. Since our conversation came when Rider was on a three-game winning streak, most of this is in the context of looking back at what HAD gone wrong before the Broncs began what looked like a turnaround.
After Friday's loss, he made it a point to say he didn't feel the same way about the game that had just taken place as he had felt two weeks ago. But nevertheless, he had some interesting things to say about how the season drifted off course. Here are some highlights:
I don't think we were playing hard enough. I attribute a lot of it to that. I think they thought they were playing harder than they were. I was screaming and yelling at every halftime and before every game that you need to play harder, you need to play harder.
There was a sense of 'it's not that coach, we're playing hard.' I think that there was that sense there, and I think that's changed a little bit. I think they've actually played harder, and I think they know that now. I think if they were to look back on it now, they would think 'you know what, we're playing harder now than we were two weeks ago. Yet two weeks ago they thought they were playing hard. Everyone's giving a little bit more of themselves, and I think when you play hard, you get that rhythm, you get some easy baskets, you create some offense with your defense.
... I said to the team at halftime (of the Fairfield game), I got in front of the team and said 'I used to coach a team that played like that.' And I think there was a sense from them too that 'yeah, that felt different. We were playing harder, we were sharing the ball more. Then it started to be that sense of, you hear them talking amongst each other, saying 'yeah, let's share the ball, yeah let's keep playing hard.' I've been preaching to them those things but it hasn't naturally been ticking with this group as well.
I think the light went on in the second half against Manhattan. It was a heated halftime discussion. Not that we haven't had those before, but I pretty much told the team, you're about to get booed off your home court and I didn't necessarily say it in those words. ... I thought that hit them hard, because I didn't think our effort was anywhere near where it needed to be in that game. To let a guy (Rico Pickett) get 28 points and talk to your crowd and talk to your bench, I really challenged some guys' manhood at halftime. I was embarrassed that he had 28. I was embarrassed at the way he acted. I was embarrassed that we couldn't get our crowd into the game because they seemed to be looking at a team that was lethargic.
I told them how disappointed the building was in the way that they were playing and that if they booed us off the court, I wouldn't blame them. It was an animated discussion. That was pretty much the theme of it.
... That first half against Manhattan I considered to be our worst half of the year amongst a lot of bad halves, because they were getting run-out dunks. We weren't getting back on transition defense a couple times. They were dunking the ball. You had the ninth-place team in the league dunking the ball, yapping at your crowd, yapping at your bench, and I was like 'wait a minute, is this where we are?' That's pretty much where I took a lot of frustration into the locker room, thinking 'I can't watch my team play like this for one more minute. Fortunately, from that point on, I haven't had to.'
... I expect to play better (against Loyola). I expect to be in a better place. To me, my approach to these guys is 'don't just talk, go out there and back it up.' I don't want to go out there and have the game go live and be down by 14 points. They don't have, they haven't built my trust yet that that can't happen to us again, because it happened too frequently during that stretch. I think if we go and play really well, they have to get me believing a little bit too. Not that I don't believe in them. I know it's there, but I feel like I've poured more into this team than any other year that I've been here emotionally, and I haven't been rewarded up until, rewarded from a standpoint of them taking ownership of it.
That's what I want. I don't want it to be me constantly preaching to them. I want them to hold each other accountable to play hard. ... It's not about me screaming at (them) all the time, and that's kind of what it turned into for a while. Every day in practice, I was screaming at them to play harder, to rebound harder, to block out, and until they start to get it, to try to be more demanding of each other, it's almost like I feel that I'm banging my head against the wall at times.
Tommy Dempsey has had various takes on his team's play throughout the year. He's been dejected at times. He's been defiant, vowing to prove his and his team's critics wrong.
I met with him in his office Thursday to talk about the Loyola game, and as far as I'm concerned, he made his best effort yet to simply tell it how it is. Since our conversation came when Rider was on a three-game winning streak, most of this is in the context of looking back at what HAD gone wrong before the Broncs began what looked like a turnaround.
After Friday's loss, he made it a point to say he didn't feel the same way about the game that had just taken place as he had felt two weeks ago. But nevertheless, he had some interesting things to say about how the season drifted off course. Here are some highlights:
I don't think we were playing hard enough. I attribute a lot of it to that. I think they thought they were playing harder than they were. I was screaming and yelling at every halftime and before every game that you need to play harder, you need to play harder.
There was a sense of 'it's not that coach, we're playing hard.' I think that there was that sense there, and I think that's changed a little bit. I think they've actually played harder, and I think they know that now. I think if they were to look back on it now, they would think 'you know what, we're playing harder now than we were two weeks ago. Yet two weeks ago they thought they were playing hard. Everyone's giving a little bit more of themselves, and I think when you play hard, you get that rhythm, you get some easy baskets, you create some offense with your defense.
... I said to the team at halftime (of the Fairfield game), I got in front of the team and said 'I used to coach a team that played like that.' And I think there was a sense from them too that 'yeah, that felt different. We were playing harder, we were sharing the ball more. Then it started to be that sense of, you hear them talking amongst each other, saying 'yeah, let's share the ball, yeah let's keep playing hard.' I've been preaching to them those things but it hasn't naturally been ticking with this group as well.
I think the light went on in the second half against Manhattan. It was a heated halftime discussion. Not that we haven't had those before, but I pretty much told the team, you're about to get booed off your home court and I didn't necessarily say it in those words. ... I thought that hit them hard, because I didn't think our effort was anywhere near where it needed to be in that game. To let a guy (Rico Pickett) get 28 points and talk to your crowd and talk to your bench, I really challenged some guys' manhood at halftime. I was embarrassed that he had 28. I was embarrassed at the way he acted. I was embarrassed that we couldn't get our crowd into the game because they seemed to be looking at a team that was lethargic.
I told them how disappointed the building was in the way that they were playing and that if they booed us off the court, I wouldn't blame them. It was an animated discussion. That was pretty much the theme of it.
... That first half against Manhattan I considered to be our worst half of the year amongst a lot of bad halves, because they were getting run-out dunks. We weren't getting back on transition defense a couple times. They were dunking the ball. You had the ninth-place team in the league dunking the ball, yapping at your crowd, yapping at your bench, and I was like 'wait a minute, is this where we are?' That's pretty much where I took a lot of frustration into the locker room, thinking 'I can't watch my team play like this for one more minute. Fortunately, from that point on, I haven't had to.'
... I expect to play better (against Loyola). I expect to be in a better place. To me, my approach to these guys is 'don't just talk, go out there and back it up.' I don't want to go out there and have the game go live and be down by 14 points. They don't have, they haven't built my trust yet that that can't happen to us again, because it happened too frequently during that stretch. I think if we go and play really well, they have to get me believing a little bit too. Not that I don't believe in them. I know it's there, but I feel like I've poured more into this team than any other year that I've been here emotionally, and I haven't been rewarded up until, rewarded from a standpoint of them taking ownership of it.
That's what I want. I don't want it to be me constantly preaching to them. I want them to hold each other accountable to play hard. ... It's not about me screaming at (them) all the time, and that's kind of what it turned into for a while. Every day in practice, I was screaming at them to play harder, to rebound harder, to block out, and until they start to get it, to try to be more demanding of each other, it's almost like I feel that I'm banging my head against the wall at times.
posted by Kyle Franko at
4:08 AM
14 Comments:
In other words, "It's the players fault, not mine." Way to go, Tommy Boy. Donnie should fire you on the spot for publicly shifting the blame to the players. A real coach, even if he thinks it's the players fault, would publicly take the blame, so as to take some pressure off the players. But not Tommy Boy. I always felt the Siena fans who still talk about the disowning of his 8-20 first season were making too big a deal about it. But looking at it, along with these quotes, it seems that Tommy Boy will do or say anything to make himself look better.
Finally, a Rider fan seeing the light on Dempsey lying about his W-L record.
Couldn't happen to a better guy Tommy. How do you feel flushing Ryan Thompson's once possible NBA chance down the drain?
Tmd, get a clue. RT has no guts and no onions. He hid from the action Friday when rider had a shot at getting to the 3 seed. It seems to me like the coach has protected his players ......including the preseason player of year.....for the past couple weeks....while these guys have refused to play defense and rebound.
Anon, you get a clue (and a sack and use an id). RT played on Friday after attending a funeral. He clearly wasn't himself. For you to continue to go after a kid, while giving Tommy Boy a pass, is sad. And I don't hear the players passing the buck onto the coach, just the other way around.
I think its amazing how you people make excuses for Ryan Thompson. UCONN football played a game after a f&%ing teammate was stabbed and killed. They showed more heart in that game than Ryan Thompson has shown in his own life.
Here is Ryan Thompson life:
1) Big brother protected him.
2) Father Protected him.
When he is bagging groceries next year in Lawrencville instead of playing in the NBA, you guys can go pat him on the back and tell him how Tommy Dempsey ruined his career.
Hey no sack, what did RT ever do to you?
Reading this, I would question what RT not being himself means. Playing with a lack of intensity and not being assertive seems to be the rule and not the exception this year.
TMD39, you job as public relations manager for RT is going to take a severe hit when he is unemployed following the NBA draft in June.
Maybe you guys can room together, check the classifieds, and watch the late Sportscenter to see Jason Thompson, a REAL NBA player.
Faz - I think that RT was starting to get his game in order over the last two weeks. He gets a pass on Friday from me. The loss of a family member is painfull and I can't fault him for not having a good game.
No Sack - In my original post, I make no mention of RT individually. Just the shifting of blame from Tommy Boy to the players. His use of "they", instead of "us" or "we", when discussing this team is disgraceful.
I think your obsession with RT is very troubling and maybe you need to get some mental help.
I assume you call me no sack because I have an anonymous handle. Well you inspired me. I came up with one.
You jumped up and said RT didn't play well because he went to a funeral?????? You are not mentioning RT????
For all I know you date RT, which is probably the case. You know his emotional state Friday night after the funeral, so you two must be very close. But if I have to read for 6 months how he is an NBA prospect, how great he is, etc. the fans can't call out his performance.
No one was calling Tommy Dempsey an NBA coach off last year, but they certainly were calling RT an NBA player. I heard people suggest he should leave early for the NBA. Can't go left and can't score against Loyola MD, but he should leave early?
You asked why I don't like RT. Simple. He is a fraud. If he was in such "bad shape" emotionally as you claim, don't take the floor. Let someone else take the shots you missed. He couldn't lose in your book. If he had played great I would have had to read how well he dealt with the tradedy. Played bad, "Give him a pass."
When he shoots 3 for 20 against Niagara, I assume you will give him a pass because he had a tough test that morning.
When he shoots 3 for 20 against Fairfield, I will assume you will give him a pass because he had a fight with his girlfriend.
Does the POY and the next Magic Johnson share in any of the blame for this season?
You said it best, "take pressure off the players." Great players thrive under pressure. Players with heart thrive under pressure. None of those on the Rider roster this year.
No Sack - You're all over the place. Find something I've written where I suggest that RT should have left eary or that I think he's going to be some great NBA player. But to not give RT his props as one of the top 5 players to ever play at Rider shows your ignorance.
It doesn't take a close personal relationship to know that people have a hard time after the death of a family member. But you have such a hard-on for RT, it's blinded you from seeing basic human emotions.
To me, great coaches make it easier for players to play. Tommy has done the opposite. By laying the blame for this season at the feet of his players and then whine that he'll "be left answering the questions", Tommy Boy has proven to me what I always knew: he's small-time.
anon/no sack: You clearly are of limited intelligence, probably a siena grad, or dropout, so I'm going to put this is simple terms that you understand. These are your words, "Great players thrive under pressure. Players with heart thrive under pressure. None of those on the Rider roster this year."
So, exactly whose fault is that the roster is filed with these kind of players players? Who recruited them? Who is responsible for for putting choosing this exact collection of players to play for this team?
and before you make some snarky comment about the two mistakes in my previous post, I am aware of them. Just answer the questions. Who recruited these players with no heart? Who is it that chose these specific players to play for him?
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