Shaq Roland: Poor Work Ethic??

[sandstorm2001]

Originally Posted by BruceAlmighty

If he's going to wear number 4, he needs to be the best wide receiver on the team. Not only on our team, but he needs to be the best WR in the conference or he shouldn't be wearing number 4 at the University of South Carolina. That's Sidney's.

That seems like a ridiculous criteria for jersey number selection.

[Schecter]

Originally Posted by Sugedatdude

Jason Barnes wore #4 post Sidney Rice...

And he probably wasn't the best wide receiver in his own house... to the whole "not wearing number 4" argument should go out the window.

[Next Year]

Originally Posted by CockTail

This is exactly why recruiting is so important. You can get a very good high school player, but unless you consistently bring in the NEXT one, your roster can become complacent. Without competition on the roster, players can not put in the effort but still be the best at their position, and see the field. This ultimately holds the team back against other SEC powerhouses.

Schools like FLA, ALA ect, don't worry about the work ethic issue because they have the NEXT guy in waiting, player A does not want to work, player B plays just as well.

Yes, players do come on later in their careers, but in the mean time, the entire team suffers if you do not have another guy to replace him so to speak. Melvin is a great example of that, where was the team when he was a Freshman and Sophomore?

For good examples of your theory we have the Clemson Tigers (team level) and Stephen Garcia (individual level). I am not putting Garcia down in any way. My point is that he was our best option for most of his time here and he wanted to relax and enjoy the total college experience. I do not think he had any real motivation to continually push himself as a player (and stay out of trouble) because he was the best qb we had just being who he was. Football wasn't life for him but rather he enjoyed L-I-V-I-N (in my opinion).

I put Clemson University on this list because they recruit incredibly well and then the highschool superstars on their team run the team and the town. That is way they fold like paper when the going gets tough. I would say even with the hated Tigers it is easy to see who loafs and who works. In my cheapseats observation post, I see how tajh boyd loafed early in his time at Clemson before he got serious and really stepped up. I saw the same with Deandre Hopkins. It will be interesting to see what road Sammy chooses-Will he continue to coast next season or will he give effort he is capable of?

[Sugedatdude]

Originally Posted by Schecter

And he probably wasn't the best wide receiver in his own house... to the whole "not wearing number 4" argument should go out the window.

Not saying all that about JB...but yeah, that was kind of my point.

[2000grad]

Originally Posted by LakeMonticelloCock

I have a hard time believing that any kid who spent his HS career playing for Scott Earley has worth ethic issues.

Roland might be having a hard time adjusting to college and maybe isn't versed well in the USC offense, but I've never known Scott Earley to produce kids who didn't work their butts off

He spent one year playing for Earley...not his career

[2000grad]

Originally Posted by Sugedatdude

Jason Barnes wore #4 post Sidney Rice...

Boyd and Pinnock wore #4 too...just throwing that out there

[HeadCockFan]

I don't think it was poor ethic per se. I think he just had trouble staying in the moment with irregular playing time. He'll be fine once he knows what to expect on gameday. He will eventually be a truly exciting receiver.

I can't imagine trying to go in for a few plays per game and trying to calm my nerves and make a long catch. Especially when I was 19. He's going to be a brand new man once he can earn regular starts and start to feel comfortable when the ball is in the air. Playing WR can be very tough if you can't find a groove.

[Acockolypse Now]

I'm not a huge fan of threads like these just because if weren't there watching you have no idea what type of work ethic someone has, so calling someone out second-hand isn't really helpful.

That being said, a Mr. Football and top ten WR coming out of HS should not be second on the depth chart for his slot going into his second Spring.

Clearly there's work to be done here.

[Garnet girl]

One of our coaches said Alshon had been prepping and pushing his little brother. Shamire can see what his brother has wants to make money in the NFL. I hope that is a good incentive and will drive him.
I am eager to see Shaq because I did not see him in high school. Both of these receivers were touted as being fantastic athletes. It took one of our other great athletes a while to get started. Now Bruce is the man. I love watching Bruce play basketball but he is much better in football.

[LegalCock]

The good thing with where our program is now and how spurrier runs his program is that you don't have to do a whole lot of begging guys to give a crap. Not talking about any player in particular, but if someone doesn't put out the effort they can sit on the pine and watch the other guys play because we have plenty of guys coming in who can play football now. They can all watch nick, bruce and byrd play ball if they aren't up to par.

[elcid99]

He will be okay. The kid is learning & will either figure it out or ride the pine. My money is on him figuring it out.

[Evilchicken2]

Originally Posted by Acockolypse Now

I'm not a huge fan of threads like these just because if weren't there watching you have no idea what type of work ethic someone has, so calling someone out second-hand isn't really helpful.

That being said, a Mr. Football and top ten WR coming out of HS should not be second on the depth chart for his slot going into his second Spring.

Clearly there's work to be done here.

I understand where you're coming from, and I wouldn't have posted this if it weren't posted on ESPN from Chris Low. Obviously someone is passing info to Chris from inside the team...perhaps Steve? I wonder if Chris or another reporter had asked Steve about Shaq and Steve said something honest like, "He needs to work harder", or something to that effect.

Like I said, I had NEVER heard anything negative about Roland, and this highlight about him on ESPN was a little surprising. No worries though; I hope he comes around.

[GamecockSuperFan]

Originally Posted by CockTail

This is exactly why recruiting is so important. You can get a very good high school player, but unless you consistently bring in the NEXT one, your roster can become complacent. Without competition on the roster, players can not put in the effort but still be the best at their position, and see the field. This ultimately holds the team back against other SEC powerhouses.

Schools like FLA, ALA ect, don't worry about the work ethic issue because they have the NEXT guy in waiting, player A does not want to work, player B plays just as well.

Yes, players do come on later in their careers, but in the mean time, the entire team suffers if you do not have another guy to replace him so to speak. Melvin is a great example of that, where was the team when he was a Freshman and Sophomore?

I get what your saying but I think the teams attitude and discipline got better as a whole. When melvin was a freshman or sophomore, he could have been the hardest worker out there. Dosen't mean we would be where we are now. It's a collective effort. From assistants to players to equipment managers.

[Nassau Gamecock]

Originally Posted by chi3fcocksman

FTW =for the win

and circle gets the square

[b381l]

Originally Posted by elcid99

He will be okay. The kid is learning & will either figure it out or ride the pine. My money is on him figuring it out.

Who does he look up to on the team. That would seem to be the logical person to explain it to him. But in the end, he has to figure it out himself.

[LegalCock]

I know lawing said all this stuff about melvin's work ethic improving is why his PT went up, but I distinctly recall that Spurrier threatening to take him and play him on offense if he didn't play more reps on defense immediately preceded this dramatic improvement in his production.

[Glamcock]

Originally Posted by Dizzy01

A lot of these guys get by in HS on raw ability alone. When you're the best player on your HS team you get treated different and don't have to put forth the effort. Once you get into college everyone is the best player from their HS team so coasting doesn't always work any longer.

This guy nailed it. It is not a matter of Shaq having a poor work ethic, or being lazy. He has never had to worry about making himself better before, and just doesn't know how to work quite yet. He's overwhelmed, and is probably questioning himself. Not everybody is like Alshon. A lot of kids just need to mature mentally, and figure out how to work in the off season. Shaq will go run extra routes, and catch extra passes all day, more than willingly.

Thing is, I doubt he has ever been in any semblance of a weight training program. He HAS to get a LOT stronger. He's skinny as a rail. He's just learning what it means to work. He's not lazy, and does not have a bad attitude.

[Flameout12]

Originally Posted by Glamcock

Not everybody is like Alshon.

...and I think it's safe to say that Alshon loves football!

[Glamcock]

Originally Posted by CockTail

This is exactly why recruiting is so important. You can get a very good high school player, but unless you consistently bring in the NEXT one, your roster can become complacent. Without competition on the roster, players can not put in the effort but still be the best at their position, and see the field. This ultimately holds the team back against other SEC powerhouses.

Schools like FLA, ALA ect, don't worry about the work ethic issue because they have the NEXT guy in waiting, player A does not want to work, player B plays just as well.

Yes, players do come on later in their careers, but in the mean time, the entire team suffers if you do not have another guy to replace him so to speak. Melvin is a great example of that, where was the team when he was a Freshman and Sophomore?

Melvin was not lazy. Melvin had a LOT of injuries early in his career, and moved around to different positions all of the time. He just needed time to develop, and come to terms with being a lineman. I never heard about work ethic issues with Melvin. He resisted playing on the DL, and would beg to play TE, RB, LB, and all the skill positions. Spurrier told Lawing to either convince him that DL was his spot, or he would put him on offense. The rest was history. Melvin was alway enthusiastic and willing to work. Spurrier was also intrigued at the many things Melvin could do on offense. It takes time for many players to settle in to CFB. Does not mean they are lazy.