Re: bu off-season - #1
Was he fully invested at BU? Guys around him couldn't keep up? Have no idea but **** he was impressive.
Here's what I think is a really comparable analogy. You have to use your imagination a little, but I believe it's applicable none the less. I remember watching Rebecca Lobo in the Division 3 Massachusetts State Championship game at the Centrum (now the DCU Center). She played for Southwick High (a tiny little town south of Springfield in that little "nook" that sticks out of Massachusetts into Connecticut). She was dribbling behind her back, between her legs, bringing the ball up and generally doing everything while her teammates (who, and I'm being as respectful as possible, were four stiffs) stood and watched. But here's the difference. She would INVOLVE them. Every time down the floor she would draw three defenders who would completely surround her. I mean, they were all over her. But, being 6-4, she could easily see and pass over them. So after they surrounded her, she would immediately dish the ball to one of them, who, of course, wouldn't have anybody within ten feet of her. And they would invariably either drop the ball, dribble it off their foot, lose it off their knee, kick it out of bounds, miss the layup, or fall down. It would have been comical if it wasn't sad. Southwick lost the game, but I came away with this impression about her: she NEVER ONCE got upset with her teammates. She didn't yell at them, make faces, throw tantrums, make gestures, or anything else. She just encouraged them, ran down the other end and kept playing. It amazed me because there is no way I could have ever done that. And I'm betting not too many other people can, either. Hence my point. Yeah, it's easy to say "reign him in." It's easy to say he was "not invested." But sometimes when your talent level exceeds others on your team, it puts you in a tough situation. Lobo handled it by trying to involve her teammates so that they wouldn't feel reticent or intimidated around her. But the reality is, she probably would have been better off in some private school where she would have been surrounded by better talent. But maybe she liked it there and didn't want to leave her friends. Who knows? But the OTHER way to handle it is to just do everything yourself. Didn't you (not "you" specifically) ever play on a team, like in 7th grade or something, where one person was obviously WAY above everyone else? How easy do you think it was for them? I think the "gap" in talent on this team between guys like McAvoy, Keller, Greenway, etc and the others was just something that was never resolved. Maybe they didn't really "trust" their teammates. Perhaps you could say it's the coach's job to "get them to" do that. But that's easier said than done.
So for all those people who are saying, "Gee, he didn't play like this at BU." Well, it seems clear now that BU was the exception. Because he was dominant in the World Juniors and obviously he showed something at Providence or the Bruins wouldn't have risked burning a year and bringing him up when they could still have him for three. Also, when you are surrounded by all that comparable talent, it's easier to stay "within yourself" and not try to do too much. It's almost as if because he was so talented, the spotlight was on him and he was blamed for the misfortune of the team.
I have no idea, but my guess is that it's not so much that he wasn't "trying" as much as he put himself in a position to be second-guessed. Moving on was definitely the right decision for HIM. (and before someone says it, yes, I know it's been ONE GAME and I'm not getting giddy about it - but it's clear that, even if he has a bad remainder of the series, which is possible because now he is on Ottawa's radar - he is probably up to stay)
So to answer in a very convoluted and long-winded way (my trademark), I think he WAS fully invested. I just don't think he knew the best way to handle the situation he was in. Which is why I brought up the Lobo analogy, because some would say she handled it "better" by letting her teammates feel as though they were contributing and not being shunned. But that's a subjective judgment. And remember, he DID score the winning goal in their last win of the year and they did get within one OT period of the Frozen Four.
Here's another one (since we're talking college). Did you ever have a professor who was brilliant but couldn't teach worth a dam? Because I had plenty of them (especially at BU, being a research school). It was because (and this is the same reason most great players make lousy coaches) they can't comprehend how people don't "get it" as easily as they do. So they quickly lose patience. Their attitude is "Jeez...why don't they GET this? Why can't they do what I tell them to do. It's so EASY!!!!!" Well, it is for THEM but everyone doesn't have that ability.
