Each sport has its defining characteristics that set it apart from other sports. But one of the things that all sports have in common is the fact that they can’t be predicted. That’s why they play the game, because anything can happen. There may be a favorite and an underdog, but any team has a chance to win on any given night.
Did the LA Kings win the Stanley Cup last year by being the best team in the NHL? I don’t believe so. But they sure were able to put things together once the playoffs rolled around.
Before Duquesne played VCU, I would be shocked if Coach Ferry told his players and coaching staff that VCU was simply the better team and that it would take some kind of gargantuan effort to win. Whatever his attitude was before the game, it seemed as though that is exactly how he approached things, judging by his post-game commentary. Sure, Duquesne would have had to play well to win, but much crazier things have happened in sports.
After big losses, Coach Ferry often likes to resort to the reductionist attitude that the other team was simply better. Unfortunately, this is not what fans and critics want to hear. Why? Because a game isn’t about who the better team was overall. It’s about who the better team was that day. Coach Ferry needs to tell us why Duquesne wasn’t the better team that day, not that they didn’t have enough talent to win the game.
“I thought we got completely outplayed in every aspect of this game tonight by a better team than us at every position, including coaching,” Coach Ferry said after his team’s first home loss to North Dakota State.
“That’s a far superior team than we are in every aspect,” were Ferry’s words after the VCU game.
In reality, Ferry may be right. But that can’t be the main reason a coach gives for a loss, because it neither excuses nor helps people understand the loss. What it may do is diminish the respect people have for your team or cause the players on the team to lose confidence.
Ferry typically does a good job of addressing the media, and he always has other reasons besides the fact that the other team was better. But admitting he lost because the other team was simply better is something Jim Ferry shouldn’t be doing at all. And when he keeps going back to this reason, like he did after the VCU game, it can make the whole program look bad. Sure, Duquesne may be able to compete against teams like VCU once Ferry gets the right recruits in. But what about the players that are there now? Is he willing to just tell them that they don’t stand a chance against Saint Louis, Xavier and Butler this year?
Obviously this is the last thing Coach Ferry would tell his team. But he needs to realize that it is not always the best team that wins games, and it will take more than just bringing in good players to be a top team in the Atlantic 10 one day.
Photo Credit: Justin M Voccola
