AMHERST — At some point Monday, Matt McCall had to chase some of his players out of the gym and into the training room.
Less than 24 hours after an 83-80 overtime setback against Saint Louis, many of the UMass players were inside the Champions Centers getting back to work, including the trio of guys who played more than 40 minutes apiece against the Billikens. So the coach had to step in and make sure everyone would be fresh enough for Wednesday’s game against La Salle at the Mullins Center.
The same work ethic and attitude translated onto the court Tuesday in the Minutemen’s final preparation for the Explorers (10-4, 1-1 Atlantic 10). There was no self-pity or moping after yet another tough loss, just a desire to get back to work and correct the mistakes that have cost the Minutemen (6-8, 0-1) eight of their last nine games.
“The way we’re bouncing back right now after those heartbreaking losses, I really like that about our team,” graduate student center Djery Baptiste said. “… All of our guys, we want to learn, we want to get it together, and I really like that about our team. When you have that attitude component with the commitment that we have, it’s only a matter of time for us to get over this hump and start winning games. All we need is to get that one win then we’ll get on a winning streak.”
UMass has held second-half leads in five of its last six games, but only converted one of those contests into a victory. Yet, the demeanor on the practice court doesn’t reflect a team mired in a rut or concerned about the past. There are a lot reasons for hope and optimism within the program about the direction of the Minutemen.
Baptiste said the chemistry the team has built since July is a major reason UMass has stayed so positive over the last month as the losses piled up. Other players, like junior captain Carl Pierre, view all of the close games as a sign that UMass is on the verge of a breakthrough that will alter the course of the season. In the meantime, however, Pierre said he’s tried to keep his actions has consistent as possible as a way to outwardly send a message that no one should be panicking – even if no one is close to hitting the panic button.
“I try to come in with the same attitude and come in positive and joking with the guys regardless of what happened the night before,” Pierre said. “It’s not the time when things start going wrong to start to get overly serious where you start to nitpick everything and change the culture we’ve established.”
McCall used the past 48 hours to continue to emphasize the importance of small details in games. From Sunday’s loss, he highlighted times UMass didn’t have the necessary composure and tried to force things on offense that led to a turnover or bad possession.
But as much as McCall is harping on the mistakes that ultimately cost the Minutemen, he said he’s been impressed with the maturity his team has shown in response to the losses. He said he appreciates how the young players on the team are always striving for improvement and are willing to be coached. And most importantly, he’s happy to see how the Minutemen have improved in the little areas from the beginning of the season.
Now it’s about waiting for all of the pieces to come together for UMass at the same time.
“The good thing for us is we’ve put ourselves in a lot of close games this year, and we’ve gotten better,” McCall said. “There was a point in time where I questioned sometimes our competitive spirit, how hard we’re playing, and that’s been addressed. That gave us a chance against Saint Louis and that gave us a chance against Akron. Now we’ve got to put it all together and start winning some games.”
WEEKS UPDATE — McCall said he is hopeful he’ll know before tipoff Wednesday about the status of freshman guard T.J. Weeks moving forward. The sharpshooter has missed the past four games with a hernia, and he has a doctor’s appointment Wednesday that will give some clarity to the severity of the situation. McCall said it is possible that Weeks will need to miss the rest of the season, and that he is going to support the decision Weeks’ family makes about treatment.
“This is a decision that we support with him and his family, 100 percent,” McCall said. “T.J. wants to play, there’s no question about it … but he and his family need to do what’s best for his healthy going forward, which is also what’s best for our team and our program.”