The Cal State San Bernardino men’s basketball team is in trouble. Big trouble.
The Coyotes (13-5, 11-5) were ranked eighth in the last West Region poll, exactly where they need to be to qualify for the postseason. But that was before losses last week to Cal Poly Pomona and UC San Diego. When the next poll is released Wednesday they will probably be out of the top 10.
That spells trouble because there isn’t a whole lot of season left – just four games. And there are a whole lot of teams in contention, some of whom play easier schedules and aren’t likely to lose.
It has been a puzzling season for coach Jeff Oliver who usually knows what buttons to push and gets the most out of his team. This one is different.
It isn’t that the Coyotes don’t have talent. They have far more than most of the teams to whom they have lost. Team chemistry and selfish play seem to be the issues.
Take the first half of Saturday’s game at San Diego. The Coyotes had one assist, eight turnovers and zero offensive rebounds. That means they aren’t playing good team basketball. And with this team it seems that they finish how they start. That was again the case. They didn’t get better.
Selfish team play has been the rule rather than the exception. They Coyotes are rushing the ball up the floor and whoever has it about midcourt is keeping it and jacking up a shot, most of the time, from 3-point land. Forget making the extra pass or working for a shot in the framework of the offense. That just isn’t happening.
Oliver admitted after the game this could well be his most underachieving team since the 13-13 debacle of 2005-06. He had to kick four players off the team that year. This team’s failure would be an even bigger disappointment because it has way more talent than that one.
One would think this group of players has learned by now that playing selfish doesn’t win games. Sure there is potential. The team played perhaps its most brilliant game of the season against a very talented Cal State Dominguez Hills squad. But for every step forward this team takes, it follows with two backward.
This team hasn’t been able to string together enough good wins to make the braintrust believe an extended run is possible. It’s a shame! Until the Coyotes learn to play together they will continue to lose to less athletic teams that are more team-oriented and fundamentally sound.
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