Meyer on Morris Link
 
Moon Township, Pa. – Dec. 4, 2013 – Robert Morris coach Andrew Toole last week endured the excruciating process of having a kidney stone removed.
 
"I'm feeling much better,'' Toole said a few days after Thanksgiving. "I'm thankful they were able to go in and get it out. I feel light years better.''
 
However, there's another stone that's still bothering Toole. It's the millstone that is the RMU defense that's grinding down his team and its record.
 
"Our program has been predicated on defense,'' Toole said, "and right now there is no D with the Colonials.''
 
And that letter -- "D'' -- is just about the grade one might give to the defense after eight games.
 
"It's beyond a major concern,'' Toole said. "I don't know how to convey how important it is to our team without them really understanding it yet. Giving up 80 points as many times as we have given up 80 points, the breakdowns that we have, it's extremely frustrating from a coaching perspective about how we're not grasping the importance of defending. We're trying to put our finger on why. We'll keep trying to find answers, but it's frustrating.''
 
Here's why.
 
Last season, the Colonials led the Northeast Conference in points allowed per game with an average of 65.7. The season before, Robert Morris yielded just 63.5 points per game. And in 2010-11, Toole's first season as head coach, The Colonials allowed 65.5 points per game.
 
This season the Colonials are permitting an average of 79.8 points per game.
 
Six of their eight opponents have scored at least 80 points against the Colonials. That includes each of the past five, which ties a Robert Morris "record.'' In only two other seasons (1977-78 and 1994-95) did the Colonials allowed 80-plus points in five consecutive games.
 
For what it's worth -- which could be a lot -- that 1977-78 team (RMU's second in Division I) finished 4-19. The 1994-95 team finished 4-23.
 
The current Colonials stand 3-5 following last Saturday's 86-67 loss at Delaware. And they'll lug a three-game losing streak into their game at Youngstown State tonight.
 
Not to belabor the point, but as we've stated before there are six newcomers on this team, so perhaps some of the problem is that the new guys haven't yet grasped the intricacies of Toole's defense.
 
"Understanding what needs to be done is part of it, for sure,'' Toole said. "There are some guys who are new to it and are learning it. My concern is the effort that we're bringing to it. Even when you're aggressive and playing hard and trying to do all the things we work at on a daily basis, there are still going to be mistakes. But bringing it into the game with the proper amount of urgency and intensity it takes to get stops at this level, it's not just the new guys. We have breakdowns from returners as often as we have breakdowns from newcomers."
 
No question this is perplexing to Toole and his staff.
 
"We've thrown a lot of ideas around about how to get guys' attention -- whether it's film, whether it's statistics, whether it's individual (film) edits, whether it's motivational tactics,'' Toole said. "Nothing really seems to be catching their attention or turning that light bulb on.''
 
Toole has considered playing fewer people in games.
 
"In years past, we've always played as many guys as we can who can contribute,'' he said. "Usually that's been in the nine or 10 range. If now we only get to the six or seven range, well, that might be what we have to do. We can't allow people to be on the floor who are not able to contribute to us being successful. We have guys coming on the floor now who are not producing for us from an offensive perspective and then creating breakdowns on the defensive end. You can't have that.
 
"We're going to try some new ways to get people to buy in to what it takes. Unfortunately, the thing that we might have to do is limit guys' roles until they're able to grasp it. Maybe that will create a sense of urgency to come to practice with the proper mindset to get better.''
 
However, if Toole shortens his bench and uses only seven players in games, that would mean those seven each have to play more minutes than Toole would like. Each person playing more minutes could result in added fatigue, which could result in the defensive performance still being sub-par.
 
"That's the hard part,'' Toole acknowledged. "Maybe eight and nine only come in for a minute. I don't know. We have to look at it and we have to see. I just know that something has to change, or it's going to be a very long year for us because we're not as gifted as we seem to believe in the locker room from an offensive standpoint.''
 
Given his team's defensive prowess in his first three seasons as head coach and the fact there are players who returned from last season's team, are the current defensive problems surprising?
 
"I don't know if it's a surprise,'' Toole said. "I think we knew we were going to have some defensive issues. I think when we tried to format our roster we were looking for guys who could contribute and maybe help some of our offense and maybe we were mistaken in trying to do that. And some of the guys who we need to rely on defensively and some of the guys we thought we were bringing in who were going to provide great energy and help us on the defensive end haven't done it yet. I'm not saying they won't be able to, but they haven't really grasped how difficult it is and how important it is and how detailed you have to be and how disciplined you have to be.
 
"We have possessions where we have guys who defend incredibly well for 30 seconds and then one guys breaks down. Or we defend well for 35 seconds and then (the opponents) get (an offensive) rebound.''
 
And the 35-second clock rewinds for another possession.
 
"It's extremely deflating,'' Toole said. "I still believe the only way that we can truly become a very good team or become a competitive team is to not let people score as frequently as they are.''
 
In light of that, perhaps Youngstown State, which is averaging 83.3 points per game, isn't the best team for Robert Morris to be playing next.
 
"I don't know who the best team is for us to be playing right now, to be honest with you,'' Toole said. "Every team we've played has scored. It's not like it's a select few that have been able to score. It's been everyone we've played, and Youngstown State is no different.''
 
The Penguins are 6-3 following losses in their past two games at Kent State and Austin Peay at home.
 
"They have a very dynamic backcourt,'' Toole said. "They have some very good shooters. They have guys who are experienced. Kendrick Perry's the Horizon League preseason Player of the Year.''
 
Perry, a 6'0" senior guard from Ocoee, Fla., is averaging a team-high 18.7 points per game. Four other Penguins average in double figures. The Penguins are shooting 44.8 percent from the field and 77.6 percent from the free throw line.
 
"They're going to provide a ton of challenges,'' Toole said, "and until we respond well to challenges it's going to be a free-for-all for (the opposition) to get shots and score.''
 
The Penguins have three victories over non-Division I teams -- Warren Wilson College (104-58), Thiel (82-58) and Westminster (108-57) -- which helped boost their offensive averages.
 
Is it a bit difficult to get a true line on the Penguins because of those games?
 
"They had a great start to their year with their three wins in the tournament at Kennesaw State,'' Toole said. "Beating Eastern Kentucky on the road is a really good win for them. Florida International has seven wins already. So they've beaten some good teams. It's hard to get a lot from the tape of the non-DI games, but over the nine games they've played there's more than enough there to get a handle on their strengths and their weaknesses -- and they have a lot of strengths.''