Strike One: For starters, it’s way too soon to have reached any fair conclusion about the issues that surround the Colorado State Rams football program at the moment. There’s a lot flying around – accusations AND statements for the defense – and we don’t know everything that’s happened. To vilify or condemn Head Coach Steve Addazio and/or members of his coaching staff right now is very premature, to say the least.
Not following COVID-19 protocols to the letter? Not a great look, but that would be easy to see and is probably the norm around most programs if we’re being honest. Remember, this is the first time anyone has ever gone through anything like this. To expect all the new safety protocols to have been handled perfectly is unrealistic. We’re all living and learning about coping with the virus on a daily basis. Have any of us handled this stuff perfectly? Plus, this is easily fixable and something that can be moved on from quickly.
However…
Racist, insensitive, even abusive treatment of players? Far less forgivable, if true. We don’t know the validity of these accusations yet. Let’s remember too that it was Addazio’s program that was at the forefront of a stand taken for racial justice in NoCo after an unnamed African-American CSU player was racially profiled and held at gunpoint earlier in the summer by a crazy dude with a rifle – simply because the player was out doing his summer job. The CSU program handled that episode flawlessly.
So the purpose here is not to condemn Addazio or anyone on his coaching staff just yet. Let’s find out all the facts before we pass final judgment. It could be – as many players have stated – that the accusations lack merit. We’ll see.
But it’s also fair to look back at CSU’s decision last winter to select the long time, veteran head coach to replace Mike Bobo, rather than taking a chance on highly qualified alum Tony Alford. That decision was based, we were told, largely on the fact that Alford, currently the assistant head coach at Ohio State, had no prior head coaching experience, while Addazio has nine years as a head man.
But is all coaching experience created equal? Could it be that maybe being a long time veteran coach – set in his “old school” ways and unaccustomed to some of the newer coaching methods being used today – wasn’t a great fit after all?
IF…and this is a huge IF…it’s determined that Addazio’s program has fostered any sort of abusive culture, it should immediately remind CSU followers of the Larry Eustachy saga. Eustachy, if you recall, was a long time veteran head basketball coach with a very solid resume who’s “old school” approach to coaching didn’t mesh with this generation of student-athletes. He was found to be verbally abusive, insensitive, etc. Despite going 121-74 with three post season appearances in six seasons, Eustachy got fired for his treatment of players.
Eustachy’s replacement, Niko Medved, had a little bit of head coaching experience, but CSU was his first big time gig. It would have been much the same for the former Ram Alford. He’s got a terrific track record as an assistant, is African-American and probably a little more in touch with today’s coaching methods.
It obviously stands to reason that Alford wouldn’t have had all the same issues that have led to the suspension and an investigation of Addazio’s program.
Having experience is only valuable if it’s the right kind of experience.
Strike Two: Most of us didn’t know what to expect when the seasons started/resumed and we turned on either a radio or TV broadcast (or both) to consume a Major League Baseball, NBA or NHL game. No fans, no sound coming from the stands…and broadcasters stuck in a booth back in their home city, commenting on the game they were watching on big screen TV’s like you and me.
What would it look and sound like?
To be honest, it’s been pretty damn…normal. Which is to say, very good.
We should be tipping our caps to those who’ve been tasked with putting on top quality game broadcasts, because they’ve succeeded big time. Listen to a Colorado Rockies game on the radio for instance, and it’s almost impossible to tell the difference from last season to this one.
It’s even more impressive on TV, where the cardboard cutout MLB fans DO actually add to the entertainment value. There are spells where you’re watching the action and you almost forget they aren’t real people. And the NBA has taken it up a notch, with the virtual moving fans in the background in the Orlando bubble. It’s a great touch.
Whomever came up with the idea of piping in crowd noise…and being able to turn it up and down, depending on the situation…is a genius. It makes watching and listening seamless. Sure, the sound of the ball hitting the bat in a baseball game is amplified (and for a former pitcher, stress inducing) but that isn’t a bad thing for viewers/listeners, is it?
In short, our pro sports leagues went to great lengths to provide us with game broadcasts that are as close to normal as possible. And since we can’t attend, they’re that much more important. Sure, there’s a greater presence of sponsor mentions (on the back of the pitchers mound, for instance) which can be intrusive, but considering the loss of ticket revenue, it’s a smart business move…and it’s probably here to stay to be honest. No putting that toothpaste back in the tube, as they say.
I only have one, small, trivial gripe. As a former Rockie and hometown product, I was kinda hoping to see my cardboard cut out in the stands at Coors Field with the other Rockies alumni. It’s not like they don’t have the empty seats available, right? I wasn’t expecting to be in the front row or anything, but I was just hoping to be in their somewhere. And, most importantly, I promise the Rockies that my mom would have purchased the cut out after the season.
Oh well. Maybe next pandemic.
Strike Three: The emergence of Michael Porter Jr as the standout player many of us have been counting on him to become has been welcomed by everyone who follows the Denver Nuggets… with the possible exception of Jamal Murray. If you judge solely by the way in which Murray played against Utah in his return from a hamstring injury, it sure looks like Murray isn’t ready to give up his status as the second part of the Nuggets “one-two punch.”
Make no mistake: The Nuggets won’t win a title of any sort until Porter becomes either the best or second best player on the team. Murray needs to accept that he’ll be most effective – and the team will be far better off – when he’s the third part of Denver’s “Big Three.” They need to blend.
Murray made – and missed – several important shots in the double overtime win over the Jazz. He ended up going 10-for-25 from the floor, 2-for-8 from three point land, finishing with 23 points (the same as MPJ.) It was a gutsy roller coaster ride that ended up on the high side. The same two teams are likely to see each other in a rematch during the first round of the upcoming play-offs.
The point is, it was pretty much just Murray and Jokic shooting the ball down the stretch in regulation and both OT periods. When Murray was on the floor with MPJ and Nikola Jokic, and the Nuggets point guard had the ball was in his hands, he all but ignored the standout rookie, constantly reverting back to the same ol’ “two man game” with Joker that he’s done so often over the past couple of seasons. The final result was a two point Denver win…but that ball movement and offensive flow that Nuggets fans saw while Murray was nursing his injured leg and Porter was working with Jokic? Totally evaporated.
If Denver was a smooth running offense with Murray at the helm, that’d be one thing. They aren’t. They’re herkie jerky. While Murray can be an effective catch and shoot shot maker, he’s not good at creating his own shot, which he has to do frequently when all he’s doing is handing off to Joker, and the rest of the guys on the court are standing around watching. If there’s consistent ball movement, and all three guys touch the ball, that’s three legit scoring threats, and the Nuggets offense won’t stagnate like it did so badly in the last post season (way back in the spring of 2019.)
If Murray is willing, the blending process needs to get underway now, with three games left before the play-offs.
Porter can do things on offense that no one else on this Nuggets roster can do physically. When his outside shot isn’t falling, the 6’10” rookie can get to the rim even better than Jokic – and faaaar better than the 6’4” Murray, who’s actually a point guard in name only. MPJ can be a big time scorer in the NBA, capable of carrying his team to new heights.
In a perfect world, Monte Morris would be Denver’s point guard and facilitator (as he was during Murray’s absence) and Murray would slide over to his natural spot as the shooting guard. He’d get plenty of open jump shot opportunities, and the team – and MPJ – would benefit.
Denver will need to shoot the ball a whole lot better than they did on Saturday if they’re going to take down Donovan Mitchell and the Jazz in a seven game series. While Utah hit 22 threes, the Nuggets managed to make only nine, shooting a dismal 24% from deep. You don’t win more often than you lose putting up those numbers.
Porter can be a difference maker if Murray involves him. Otherwise, we could be looking at a repeat of the last post season, which didn’t end up on the high side for Denver.
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