Warning: You're Probably Not Tough Enough to Read This

Toughness is bullshit. I'm tired of hearing about, I'm tired of getting "whipped," and I'm tired of everyone telling me to give Gillispie a fucking chance. He's had his chance. He's had lots of chances.

That's it. I don't know what's going on with that team, and, worse yet, neither does he. His player rotations, his buzzwords, his game plan (or lack of), and his overall demeanor is just getting tired and annoying. I've been firmly planted on both sides of the fence with this guy, so take everything I'm about to say with caution--because it could get pretty ugly.

First of all, we've been outcoached in each of the last three games. For some reason, we can't mimic other teams' ability to a) rebound (more on that later), and b) guard good players. What Ole Miss and MSU did to Meeks wasn't revolutionary. Shading another defender is dangerous, but when Meeks' only option is a kick-out three to Harris, the Rebs will take their chances. Which brings us to the Devan Downey situation. Zam Fredrick was going off, so we went with a no-touch approach with him, and he was sufficiently face-guarded. Therefore, basically, he and Harris were out of the game, and it was down to 4 v. 4. Downey, the All-conference guard, starts hitting, as most good players do. However, on the game's last play, man to man defense is not going to work. Downey will get to the lane on anyone. I know this is MMQ'ing, but force an outside shot, for chrissakes. Make Zam hit another, or make Downey fade away from 22', not 10'. If you allow an area of the floor for him to dribble, he's going to beat you every time. They didn't need rebounders, so they cleared the lane and let him work. It was way too easy, and it had nothing to do with Meeks not taking it personally.

Oh, but Meeks wasn't tough enough. Jay Bilas wrote a blog post on ESPN Insider about "toughness." Basically, his description of a tough player was a good, smart player. Coaches call them tough because they're stupid. Anyway, tough players: defend well, go through screens, rebound, go after loose balls, work hard on both ends, play with a positive attitude, and they never blame their teammates. So we have two tough players, and they are our good players.

Not Tough, and why---

Perry: He weighs 90 fucking pounds. Plus, he gets himself out of position for rebounds when he rotates over to swat shots. Not like it matters, though, because he can't rebound anyway.

Porter: He's 6'1'' and he's often expected to chase 6'4'' guys that can shoot. It's not really his fault, I guess, but he can't go through screens, or over them, and even if he does, guys will just shoot over him (ask Vaden and Fredrick).

Ramon: He dribbles like he's running over hot coals, and then he throws his body parallel and throws up a volleyball for defenders to spike. He is our opponent's best offense. He does play pretty good defense, but it's more than canceled out by his offense.

D. Miller: Miller is good, but terrified, with good reason. He's getting more playing time, which is good, but he and Galloway are on a short leash. They actually would be tough players if their coach wasn't an erratic moron.

Harrellson: He's too slow. He'll get better, in the event of a coaching change.

Liggins: I don't know, really. He plays defense pretty well and he'll make good passes, but his attitude sucks.

OK, I'm finished libeling college kids. For the record, I don't blame the players at all. I think they try as hard as they can, and that they are going through hell right now. They don't really know how to please their coach, and it seems like whatever they do is wrong. Additionally, they're all really good at basketball; they just need direction.

Gillispie for the rest of the week.