Hoops

Marty: Not distracted by W & L

The NBL competition is very tight. One expects that all top tier national sports competitions to be that way. Wins and losses is the measurement of a coach. A 50% win rate is the benchmark. Marty is at 30%. In the AFL, what pressure would a coach yielding 30% be under?

1. What is the win rate of the other current NBL coaches?
2. Could any of those other guys get better win % with the Sixers?
3. How does this win % compare against other Sixers coaches?
4. Is there a correlation between a rookie coaches win % and his win % after 10 years?
5. Does Marty just need time?

25 years ago the 36ers management sacked coach Ken Cole after he had taken the team to a Grand Final the previous season and up until him being removed as coach he had taken the team to a 22-2 record in 1986. Even though he was brought back to coach in the finals and indeed coached our first championship team that year he was still let go at the end of the season. Ok, sure, I know the reason he was sacked was because of the marijuana incident but still, the club sacked the coach who had turned the club from a possible contender to dominating champions.

Fast forward to November 2011. Marty Clarke has now coached the 36ers in 36 games and has a 11-25 record with little sign that things will get better. Yet there seems to be little the clubs management want to do about it.

Ok, I know today's club management is totally different to those who ran the 36ers in 1986 but seriously, if the teams record under a coach is 11-25 (a lousy 44%) then something definitely needs to be looked at. Although I get the feeling that the club still has faith in Clarke's ability to recruit the cream of the AIS crop to the club, as mis-guided as that faith may or may not be. That faith may be what is keeping his job safe.....

Scotty Ninnis was let go for less.....at least he got us to the 2008-09 Elimination Finals.

Not at all an unexpected comment from a coach who's pro record is a dismal 11-25. Sounds to me like Clarke's trying to distract those who make the decisions (club management/owners) from the real issue which is that this once proud club who continues to have the best fan support in the league is going nowhere fast under his coaching.

Hendo is dead right. On offense, while not perfect, the team has enough talent to post a winning score every game and they seem to do a lot of it more on their own individual talent rather than any set plays. However, there is no point in posting a would-be winning score if your defense lets the opposition score more points than you do. And right now our defense basically sucks. Poor options and turnstile one on one defense is killing us right now. About the only thing we're doing well in for once is rebounds and that is mostly down to Simpson and DJ.

Maybe during time outs Clarke could get on them about defense rather than giving them offensive plays they never seem to run? Do something different. And maybe having less player rotations wouldn't be a bad thing either. If a player gets on a roll leave him out there. If he's not doing much other than taking up space then sub him out with someone who will do something. Right now Clarke seems to be doing the opposite. A player gets on a roll he gets subbed. A player is little more than a passenger and he's left on. It's beyond belief sometimes.

And as for Boti.....he might well have his own agenda about things but being realistic I think that when it comes down to it, just like the rest of us, he has the best interests of the 36ers at heart. Difference is that he is in a position to be able to put his point of view out there in print to a much greater audience.

Weigh would have a change a coach in his contract of course.
No one else is signed.
Hearing Joey about Simpson , I imagine he'll getta lot of offers.

It was about this time last season , Marty had mentioned something similar .

"The players are showing hustle that wasn't there a couple of years ago..."
I agree with Isaac on this one except I would change "years" to "weeks".
They have come a long way since that Sydney belting at home. I feel like they are playing better basketball and defence has picked up but there are definitely holes still there. I think sometimes as good as DJ can be at one end he can kill us at the other end. He seems like he is naturally quiet and that will kill you on defence. I also noticed the group called out a zone and Ballinger told DJ to go to the foul line from the baseline, then he had Weigh tell him to go down under the basket.
It seems that some of the players have no idea what they are doing on the defensive end. And breakdowns like that and lack of communication is when you don't get the right rotations and guys like Petrie waltz into the keyway without a defender near him.
But On a positive I have noticed the last 2 weeks DJ getting slightly more aggresive, especially going after defensive rebounds and that's a great thing to finally see.
I think Simpson is a great player for this team and if he could get himself fit, I would hardly take that kid off. He brings so much to the team. Defensively he is a presence in the keyway and looks like he's been schooled well. He's smart but at the moment just a little too slow. He also brings great energy which is 'real' energy.
It would also be great to see Chris Warren talking more out on the court, that's what a point guard should do. That's why Crosswell fits in well, he is very much unappreciated for what he brings in leadership. I would like to know why he only played 10 minutes on saturday. Yes Ng fired up and so did Warren but that was late in the game.
There are some positive signs their but I just think it's coming too late. This season is done already.

Booooti is a tool with a hidden agenda. Blind Freddie can see what they are trying to do.
Well said Anon!!

Clarke : " It (the loss) didn't have anything to do with the character or the desire or hustle. "

I personally think Marty is an excellent coach, just not as a "Head Coach".

I think Marty is good for the program and the club in regards to developing these players, but needs to be assistant to a tried and tested coach. Leave the head coach for psyching them up for the game night and steering the ship; leave Marty to get their heads out of that mindset during practice and focus on dev.

This begs the question, who would be a good head coach to not only steer the Sixers but who'd also serve as a good mentor for Marty?

Moses, I was thinking the exact same thing this morning when I read the article.

At NBL level isn't it all about W&L's