Playing Mind Games

(St. Louis, MO) – Watching Cam Newton implode at a press conference reminded me that elite level, athletically gifted young men are still just that …. young men. Missouri Valley Conference coaches work day after to day to encourage, discipline, support and build up their young men. It is too easy for one loss to become three, or one bad shot turns into a poor defensive effort at the other end of the floor.

How do MVC coaches fill the role or psychologist, advocate, father figure and disciplinarian? The answers are as different as the coaches or the needs or each individual player. For Loyola’s Porter Moser, it was individual conversations with his veteran players and benching most of them.

 

 

Moser’s best player, Milton Doyle has begun to play better since being removed from the starting lineup. Doyle is shooting better, and playing more relaxed. Moser says the Ramblers need his abilities and his leadership to be successful.

 

 

For Bradley’s Brian Wardle it has been an emphasis on offense, unlike any he’s ever done. With the youngest team in college basketball, the Braves have many life and basketball lessons to learn. Wardle says his young players are starting to get a better grasp of the college game.

 

 

Southern Illinois Carbondale has lost four straight after racing out and 18-3 start. Head Coach Barry Hinson says making some shots will heal a lot of what ails his team. Meanwhile, he’s trying to fill all those mental and emotional roles and his players are learning the difference between being an underdog and a favorite.

 

 

Missouri State’s team is the second youngest in the Valley and after a slow start, is playing well in league play. Head Coach Paul Lusk’s team is 6-6, but his youthful team has the additional dilemma of learning how to win and what successful basketball looks like.

 

 

Illinois State is coming off an upset of 21^st ranked Wichita State and they’ve won five of their last six games. In Valley play, the Redbirds are 8-4 as they won the first four, then dropped three-in-a-row before this current streak. Head Coach Dan Muller says keeping his players in a consistent mind-set is one of the most important jobs he has.

 

 

There will be significant shifts in the standings this week as three of the mid-week Valley games feature teams with identical league marks. Since there are only two games separating six teams for spots 2-through-7, the abilities of these coaches to maximize the abilities of their ‘young men’ will be paramount.

Do Good