Wednesday, January 19, 2011
By Jon Moffett
Youngstown
There have been some major improvements for the Youngstown State women’s basketball team this year.
For one, they’ve won a few games. And for as simple as that sounds, it has been a problem for the program in recent years. The three wins this season match the total number for the 2008 and 2009 seasons combined.
But the person in charge of heading the turnaround isn’t satisfied with just being better than last year. He just wants to be better.
Period.
Bob Boldon said he sees the progress his team has made since he took over in April. And while the win column may not show it directly, the team is headed in the right direction.
And that might be what is most frustrating to Boldon.
“I think if we were just getting blown out, it would be easy to say, ‘Forget it, we’re just not very good. We’ll get them next year,’ type of thing,” he said. “But to see us compete and do things correctly, and see all those things work, and not see those things consistently is frustrating. That’s probably my biggest frustration.”
Boldon has never made excuses.
It would be easy for him to simply hold up his hands and say he’s doing the best with what he inherited. Or to say this year is considered a wash in his first season in the rebuild. But Boldon has never did or said that.
Boldon expects his players to give 100 percent in every practice and on every play. And he believes the team has the talent and ability to be successful. In his mind, the only team holding the Penguins back may be the Penguins themselves.
Boldon said the team’s mental makeup needs, well, a makeover. He said it’s natural for a team that is used to losing to accept it as the norm.
But Boldon won’t accept it.
“To be able to do what is right on a consistent basis, to get to there, I think we’ll be a pretty good team,” Boldon said. “And I hope we’re there tomorrow. We’re not there today. I don’t know if it will be tomorrow, next week, next month or next year. But as soon as we have the mental wherewithal to make the right play consistently, you’re going to start seeing us winning these games.”
The Penguins (3-14, 1-4 Horizon League) have been playing catch-up for much of the season. Boldon said once the team gets past the mental hurdle of playing to win instead of not to lose, it will be a different story.
“So now when you go on a 10-point run it’s to go up by 10 rather than cutting the [opponent’s] lead to eight,” he said. “There is a little bit of frustration, but I think there is also a little bit of excitement to know that maybe it isn’t as far away as it may seem.
“It’s both frustrating and exciting,” he said. “And I think that’s just the makeup of coaching.”
Boldon stressed how one possession in a game could be of great importance. A turnover or a missed shot can make all the difference. The Penguins have two losses that have been within five points. One of those games was an overtime loss to Western Michigan where Boldon said the team may have played its best half of basketball yet.
The Penguins will open a critical three-game homestand against conference opponents this week. The first is a showdown with Wright State, which has defeated the Penguins the past six outings. The Raiders are 10-6 and 3-2 in the conference. After that are Detroit (8-8,. 2-3) and Cleveland State (10-7, 3-3).
“It’s huge,” Boldon said of the homestand. “If you’re going to do any kind of standing in the conference, you have to be able to win home games. Road wins are tough to come by. But you’ve got to be able to do something at home. This is where we practice and spend all of our time.”