Stephens: CSU basketball has disconnect between Eustachy, players

Show Caption Hide Caption CSU coach Larry Eustachy after loss to Long Beach State Colorado State basketball coach Larry Eustachy after loss to Long Beach State.

One non-quote from Gian Clavell summed up everything wrong with CSU basketball.

Following the Rams’ 88-77 loss to the University of Colorado at Moby Arena, I asked Clavell what adjustments, if any, they made at halftime. His response?

“Uhhhhhhh. IIIIIIII-I really can’t answer that question right now.”

Yeah. About that.

Other than abandoning the 3-pointer, which Colorado State University shot at a 70 percent clip in the first half, and settling for circus shots against one of the three best interior defenders the Rams will see this year in Josh Scott, no one wearing green made any adjustments. And the result was a CSU special: implosion.

The 13-point lead the Rams held at halftime?

Gone in less than 4 minutes.

That 20-12 advantage for points in the paint in the first half?

Flipped to a 40-22 disadvantage.

The best offensive first half the Rams (5-3) had played during the young season became moot in the final 20 minutes, and we finally saw this team for what it is: inexperienced, confused and stubborn.

Oh so stubborn.

Senior guard Joe De Ciman calls it complacent. But complacent suggests the Rams have actually achieved something, and the last time I checked, it’s been three years since they were in the NCAA tournament. If CSU is already complacent, then this season is over after eight games. And to be honest, that’s what it feels like.

The Rams are now in the midst of a three-game losing streak, blowing a 17-point lead to UTEP, getting out-everything-ed against Long Beach State and whatever that was Sunday against the Buffs.

Eustachy warned his team at halftime that CU came back from 15 points down at Auburn and won. He reminded players of what happened the week before to UTEP. Didn’t matter. CSU fell into what’s become an all-too-familiar routine.

“Joe’s answer to me was, ‘We just thought we had the game won,’” Eustachy said. “That’s a real concern of mine. We have to get that fixed. This team has to do what the coaches say to reach its potential, and we did the exact opposite in this game.

“This was maybe the most frustrating game I’ve ever coached.”

So that prompts the question: Has Eustachy lost his team?

I asked. He swears the answer is no. That he’s never lost a team. And that this squad will get there, eventually. Everyone is in new roles, you know? But then he says maybe this team will never buy in. And that he’s never had a team that doesn’t listen, until this one. Which sure seems to a layman like myself like a sign that if he hasn’t lost it yet, he’s damn well on the verge.

But not all blame can be placed on Eustachy. Guys know what they’re getting themselves into when they sign to play at CSU. They’re going to play for a no-nonsense coach who they’ll go through stretches of disagreement with. Might even hate the man for days at a time. But they committed to this, and when you have five teammates on a court who all want to do their own thing, it looks bad on a coach.

“The disconnect is our fault. He’s been doing this for 25 years. I’m 21 years old,” De Ciman said. “He hasn’t changed. I’ve been here for four years and it’s been the same message. Guys have been able to go on the court and do it, we’re just having problems doing it. This isn’t a coach problem. They’re not out there playing CU or UTEP.”

Owning it doesn’t matter if nothing changes. If, come two weeks against Kansas State, you still get beat on the boards and in the paint, then taking the fault is a gesture that renders itself obsolete.

There were 8,745 fans that came to Moby Arena on Sunday afternoon to watch a good basketball team. They saw one, but it wasn’t wearing green.

So what if the Rams have won on the road at Northern Iowa and gutted one out against Oakland? Don’t be fooled by early-season heroics. CSU, during yet another rebuilding year, is a mid-level Mountain West program on its way to another first-round exit from the NIT.

Anyone care to change the course?

For insight and analysis on athletics around Northern Colorado and the Mountain West, follow sports columnist Matt L. Stephens at twitter.com/mattstephens and facebook.com/stephensreporting.