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By Patrick McManamon
Beacon Journal sports columnist
POSTED: 08:44 p.m. EST, Feb 25, 2009
KENT: Geno Ford's first season as the coach of the Kent State men's basketball team has taught him valued lessons.
Unexpected ones, too.
''I've learned a great diet — and that's coaching our team,'' he said this week as the key game tonight at Bowling Green approached. ''I lost 24 pounds this year.''
And it had nothing to do with the treadmill in his office.
''That thing hasn't gotten any use,'' Ford scoffed. ''There's dust collecting on it.''
A Golden Flashes team that heads into a key Mid-American Conference East Division game with an eight-game winning streak wouldn't seem to have its coach talking that way.
But Kent State started poorly this season, and though there were no moments of crisis, there were moments when it seemed the team would never reach its potential.
Now . . . it might be a favorite when the MAC Tournament is held in March.
Making changes
Along the way, Ford learned the move from assistant coach, where he always was the good guy, to being the coach, where he sometimes had to be the bad guy, was an adjustment for his team.
And he learned that his team needed some more concrete direction, because it wasn't like last season's team.
''Last year, we needed to let them know that the game started at 7, they needed to be on time and they needed to play hard,'' Ford said. ''And if they did that last year, we were good enough to beat people.''
So after a Jan. 24 loss at the University of Akron that dropped KSU to 8-11 and 1-4 in the MAC, Ford called a ''major team meeting.''
Something needed to be done or a season would disintegrate.
Ford asked his seniors to run the meeting, and he asked for information. Ford wanted to know what his team expected to accomplish, and he asked them for five goals.
Specific goals.
Not things like ''win the MAC'' or ''win every road game.''
He wanted the team to tell him how they were going to accomplish the big picture, what it would take in each game to win. Things dealing with opposing field-goal percentage, rebounding, turnovers.
''I didn't want to see 'win the MAC' because that really has no meaning,'' he said. ''That's a fine thing to say, but I felt this group spent all their time talking about winning 20 games, winning a championship, going to the NCAA.
''That's not going to happen unless we have an idea of how the hell that's going to go down. What's it going to take?''
The secret list
Players see the list so often they might as well put it under their pillows when they sleep.
It's written on poster board, and two players hold it in the huddle during every timeout. It's on the bench during warmups, it's on the floor at practice, it hangs in the locker room and it even rides the bus to road games.
Ford would not reveal the list of five except to say one item was to hold the opposition to fewer than 60 points per game.
Opponents have since scored 46, 47, 56, 53, 83, 57, 51 and 76 points — a 58.6 average. Had Northern Illinois not scored 83 in double overtime, the average would be lower.
''Of the five things listed, four of them are ongoing, and none of them are we even close to not accomplishing,'' Ford said.
He hinted at some of the things that might be on the list when he said his team has to avoid turnovers, has to shoot the 3-pointer well and defend it well, and has to rebound well.
During the winning streak, KSU (16-11, 8-4) has shot 38.2 percent from 3-point range, opponents 27.8 percent. Kent State's 3-point shooting is better than the season average, its opponents' worse. And a team that was near the bottom of the MAC in rebounding is now third.
Ford also gives much credit to seniors Julian Sullinger and Jordan Mincy, who both have played much better during the winning streak.
''I'm certainly not going to insinuate we're on a winning streak because of anything I'm doing,'' he said.
Evidently, though, pointing out the specifics has helped, and it showed in winning a difficult game against Morehead State.
''We hadn't shown enough toughness that we could win in a tough game, (or) that we could go on the road to a good opponent and beat them,'' Ford said.
Ford said the seniors finally realized where the loss at UA left them, and they understood they did not want to be the team to end KSU's streak of 10 20-win seasons in a row and nine postseason appearances in the past 10 years.
It might have been a lesson learned late — at least as far as basketball seasons go.
But it was a lesson learned well.
Patrick McManamon can be reached at pmcmanamon@thebeaconjournal.com. Read his blog at http://www.ohiomm.com/blogs/mcmanamon/
KENT: Geno Ford's first season as the coach of the Kent State men's basketball team has taught him valued lessons.
Unexpected ones, too.
''I've learned a great diet — and that's coaching our team,'' he said this week as the key game tonight at Bowling Green approached. ''I lost 24 pounds this year.''
And it had nothing to do with the treadmill in his office.
''That thing hasn't gotten any use,'' Ford scoffed. ''There's dust collecting on it.''
A Golden Flashes team that heads into a key Mid-American Conference East Division game with an eight-game winning streak wouldn't seem to have its coach talking that way.
But Kent State started poorly this season, and though there were no moments of crisis, there were moments when it seemed the team would never reach its potential.
Now . . . it might be a favorite when the MAC Tournament is held in March.
Making changes
Along the way, Ford learned the move from assistant coach, where he always was the good guy, to being the coach, where he sometimes had to be the bad guy, was an adjustment for his team.
And he learned that his team needed some more concrete direction, because it wasn't like last season's team.
''Last year, we needed to let them know that the game started at 7, they needed to be on time and they needed to play hard,'' Ford said. ''And if they did that last year, we were good enough to beat people.''
So after a Jan. 24 loss at the University of Akron that dropped KSU to 8-11 and 1-4 in the MAC, Ford called a ''major team meeting.''
Something needed to be done or a season would disintegrate.
Ford asked his seniors to run the meeting, and he asked for information. Ford wanted to know what his team expected to accomplish, and he asked them for five goals.
Specific goals.
Not things like ''win the MAC'' or ''win every road game.''
He wanted the team to tell him how they were going to accomplish the big picture, what it would take in each game to win. Things dealing with opposing field-goal percentage, rebounding, turnovers.
''I didn't want to see 'win the MAC' because that really has no meaning,'' he said. ''That's a fine thing to say, but I felt this group spent all their time talking about winning 20 games, winning a championship, going to the NCAA.
''That's not going to happen unless we have an idea of how the hell that's going to go down. What's it going to take?''
The secret list
Players see the list so often they might as well put it under their pillows when they sleep.
It's written on poster board, and two players hold it in the huddle during every timeout. It's on the bench during warmups, it's on the floor at practice, it hangs in the locker room and it even rides the bus to road games.
Ford would not reveal the list of five except to say one item was to hold the opposition to fewer than 60 points per game.
Opponents have since scored 46, 47, 56, 53, 83, 57, 51 and 76 points — a 58.6 average. Had Northern Illinois not scored 83 in double overtime, the average would be lower.
''Of the five things listed, four of them are ongoing, and none of them are we even close to not accomplishing,'' Ford said.
He hinted at some of the things that might be on the list when he said his team has to avoid turnovers, has to shoot the 3-pointer well and defend it well, and has to rebound well.
During the winning streak, KSU (16-11, 8-4) has shot 38.2 percent from 3-point range, opponents 27.8 percent. Kent State's 3-point shooting is better than the season average, its opponents' worse. And a team that was near the bottom of the MAC in rebounding is now third.
Ford also gives much credit to seniors Julian Sullinger and Jordan Mincy, who both have played much better during the winning streak.
''I'm certainly not going to insinuate we're on a winning streak because of anything I'm doing,'' he said.
Evidently, though, pointing out the specifics has helped, and it showed in winning a difficult game against Morehead State.
''We hadn't shown enough toughness that we could win in a tough game, (or) that we could go on the road to a good opponent and beat them,'' Ford said.
Ford said the seniors finally realized where the loss at UA left them, and they understood they did not want to be the team to end KSU's streak of 10 20-win seasons in a row and nine postseason appearances in the past 10 years.
It might have been a lesson learned late — at least as far as basketball seasons go.
But it was a lesson learned well.
Patrick McManamon can be reached at pmcmanamon@thebeaconjournal.com. Read his blog at http://www.ohiomm.com/blogs/mcmanamon/
Comments
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Posted 08:09 AM, 02/26/2009
C'mon Dan - that's your cue to come in here w/ some ridiculous minutia that you picked up on at a game, something you think is symptomatic of a larger, more dark downside to Ford and call for his firing!
Too much sunshine and lollipops in this article for you!!
Posted 09:17 AM, 02/26/2009
Kent State did not play Morehead State on the road, so Ford's quote about going "on the road to a good opponent and beat them" must have been about a different opponent.
Posted 09:29 AM, 02/26/2009
thought the same thing - good catch clover
Posted 10:34 AM, 02/26/2009
At least Geno recognizes he has nothing to do with the streak. What was Laing thinking about hiring this guy. Kent isn't a place to learn the ropes- Geno Must Go!
Posted 11:25 AM, 02/26/2009
Wasn't expecting THAT response, Dan...
palmetto, FL
Posted 03:02 PM, 02/26/2009
First of all Dan, for one you don't have a clue what you are talking about. Its easy for you guys to sit around and criticize without actually knowing what's going on. In the middle of a 8 game winning streak, with a chance to possibly win the conference after a tough season you say "Geno must go." what an idiot. Coach Ford was being modest. He and his coaching staff has everything to do with the team winning these games(IM SURE WHEN THEY WERE LOSING YOU WERE ONE OF THE FIRST TO GIVE HIM FULL CREDIT). I doubt that coach Christian, or any other coach would be doing much better in his situation! Coach christian didn't win 28 games every year he had a 20-13 year this is Geno first year with a team with some problems, cut him some slack im getting sick and tired of this from people who don't have a clue!
Posted 03:41 PM, 02/26/2009
Q go back and read all of my former repsonses- Geno and Senderoff are pitiful- Yes Christian would've brought this team together sooner- these guys are playing hard for each other- in spite of the lack of coaching and leadership from their staff. Dump Geno now, this year is a mirage- albeit a nice one, but their are deeper problems and Kent deserves a coach who is not learning the ropes.
Posted 03:51 PM, 02/26/2009
Dan - that's it. shut up!! if that truly is Q, he know more about hoops than you could ever possibly know & he knows more about the inter-workings of that team also.
just shut up man - whether we like it or not, Kent IS a place where coaches will learn the ropes. I don't know how you can possibly believe otherwise. I mean, I know they raised ticket prices but they are no where near paying enough money to be anything but a job on the way up.
I need to see you in person so that every time I hear the phrase "better to keep your mouth shut & have people think you are an idiot than open your mouth and erase all doubt" i can picture you.
i'll just look out for the guy in a pink jump suit at the next game i go to.
Posted 03:59 PM, 02/26/2009
Yeah and I'm Trevor Huffman
Posted 05:13 PM, 02/26/2009
either way, you are still a numbskull
palmetto, FL
Posted 09:22 PM, 02/26/2009
Like i said Dan you really don't know what's going on. Coach ford is doing a good job with these guys. Coach ford is developing guys that Christian didn't even have to put in the game. Look at the progress he is getting out of Mincy. He lost Ike who would have probably been starting.I love kent but did u think we were gong to get Bobby Knight I mean seriously. like Mark said Kent is a place where coaches learn the ropes, and when they do they leave. I didn't know this thing was going to post my full name but i really didn't care, but i will not go back and forth with you. I know what coach Ford is doing and i talk to him every time I am home,as well as all my old teammates every other day. I just wish you guys pay a little more attention to whats going on before you start making statements like that because they are truely ridiculous. Another thing coach Sendy is a good guy the hardest working coach i have ever been around. I think he is one of the best at developing talent. Thats why i still come to kent to workout with him whenever im home.
Posted 09:49 PM, 02/26/2009
Guess the jump shots didn't fall tonight- 8 free throws? 11 fouls against BG- must be that great offense- guess 4 side wasn't working tonight. Evans- 3-12? Great offensive effort. Well, at least Geno is developing Mincy into a scorer.
Posted 12:14 AM, 02/27/2009
really Dan, shut your fat pie hole. you sound like more of a horses rear end every time you open your mouth. Go root for Akron you idiot.
you are so that wise guy that has an answer for everything - except that answer comes far after the results and is only based on half truths that you think you observe from the back row of the bleachers, where you probably have lived your entire sports career. you don't know any of the people you lob grenades at from afar. believe it or not there is more to the every story than face value.
i can listen to well thought out, reasonable objections - but you are a simple minded contrarian. some one says up, you say down. moronic.
