Mosconi Cup - My 2 cents

iusedtoberich

iusedtoberich

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I want to say that I thoroughly enjoyed watching the 2015 Mosconi cup. It was exciting as all hell. I was betting on most of the matches. I lost, but they were amazing sweats.

Since everyone has an opinion, here is mine ;) :

I would not change a single thing from the USA side. I could not imagine any team from our current players that could possibly be stronger than the one Mark assembled for this year. Yes, the US lost, but we were very competitive. I would like this exact team to stay the same for the next 3 years. Let them all play together and get stronger as a team.

I unfortunately don't see any monster 16 to 20 year olds that are up and coming to replace any 2015 member. And forget about Archer/Hatch/Morris/Earl. They were top tier in their time, but their time was 10 to 20 years ago. And then the youngish other pros, like Oscar, Saez, Frost, Compton, etc, are simply not as good as any guy on our 2015 team. No offense to them, but they are a ball lower.

Keep the team exactly the same, from top to bottom for 3 years. Work together during the 3 years to build it stronger.

After the 3 years, there might emerge a superstar teenager in the US, that could replace a member.
 
iusedtoberich said:
I unfortunately don't see any monster 16 to 20 year olds that are up and coming to replace any 2015 member. And forget about Archer/Hatch/Morris/Earl. They were top tier in their time, but their time was 10 to 20 years ago. And then the youngish other pros, like Oscar, Saez, Frost, Compton, etc, are simply not as good as any guy on our 2015 team. No offense to them, but they are a ball lower.
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What you say is very true. As long as the US cannot bring a full 5 competitive players team, it will be very hard to overcome Europe. But I find very hard to believe that you folks can't find a better player to replace such an embarrassing player like Deuel...
 
Sorry but I have to disagree. Deuel is not a team player and never will be, I know this first hand from working with him and being around the guy for around a year. Dechaine just doesn't have it at Mosconi. Pool at the pro level is not really a team sport, Europe is a team though and they get along so well. The US players are are team of individuals, its their personalities and many of the old guard are similar. I would like to see Deuel and Dechaine replaced with Morris and Justin Hall.
 
Fast Lenny said:
... Deuel is not a team player and never will be ...
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And, yet, going into this year's event, he had one of the best USA career Cup records: 6-6 in singles, 13-9 in doubles, 2-0 in trebles, and 4-2 in teams matches.
 
Keep the team the same....for 1 yr.....because of the following...

Have the team travel the country putting on exhibitions similar to the Ballpark Village event that was held in St Louis the week before the Cup. Do 6 or 8 of them in cities across the country. Showcase pool in venues not normally known to pool. For example....in St Louis....the Billiards at Ballpark Village was part of a large radio stations Karaoke contest. If there were 1000 people there it was probably half for pool and half for Karaoke....or maybe 60/40 Karaoke....BUT.....500-600 people who have never been exposed to pool were exposed. Promote pool. Promote the Cup. Get big name celebrities/athletes from each city to show up....maybe even have a pro/am event....to get a crowd. Let it crescendo into hysteria the week before the Cup.

Make it an annual series of events that each city can build.

Have the point tournaments going across the country like we did this year...to select the following years team.
 
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iusedtoberich said:
I want to say that I thoroughly enjoyed watching the 2015 Mosconi cup. It was exciting as all hell. I was betting on most of the matches. I lost, but they were amazing sweats.

Since everyone has an opinion, here is mine ;) :

I would not change a single thing from the USA side. I could not imagine any team from our current players that could possibly be stronger than the one Mark assembled for this year. Yes, the US lost, but we were very competitive. I would like this exact team to stay the same for the next 3 years. Let them all play together and get stronger as a team.

I unfortunately don't see any monster 16 to 20 year olds that are up and coming to replace any 2015 member. And forget about Archer/Hatch/Morris/Earl. They were top tier in their time, but their time was 10 to 20 years ago. And then the youngish other pros, like Oscar, Saez, Frost, Compton, etc, are simply not as good as any guy on our 2015 team. No offense to them, but they are a ball lower.

Keep the team exactly the same, from top to bottom for 3 years. Work together during the 3 years to build it stronger.

After the 3 years, there might emerge a superstar teenager in the US, that could replace a member.
Click to expand...

I'd like to see young Jesse Engel get back to playing. He had a lot of potential to be a top player and was pretty solid under pressure already at 20.
 
Teacherman...We may disagree on some other topics, but I'm right there with ya on this one. Mark and I talked about this very thing early this year, and a few times throughout the year. The reason it could happen in St. Louis is because it was local for Mark, and he had an "in" with his DJ son. It would take a ton of $$$ to do what you're suggesting, and sadly there just isn't a revenue stream to pay for it.

Scott Lee
http://poolknowledge.com

Teacherman said:
Keep the team the same....for 1 yr.....because of the following...

Have the team travel the country putting on exhibitions similar to the Ballpark Village event that was held in St Louis the week before the Cup. Do 6 or 8 of them in cities across the country. Showcase pool in venues not normally known to pool. For example....in St Louis....the Billiards at Ballpark Village was part of a large radio stations Karaoke contest. If there were 1000 people there it was probably half for pool and half for Karaoke....or maybe 60/40 Karaoke....BUT.....500-600 people who have never been exposed to pool were exposed. Promote pool. Promote the Cup. Get big name celebrities/athletes from each city to show up....maybe even have a pro/am event....to get a crowd. Let it crescendo into hysteria the week before the Cup.

Make it an annual series of events that each city can build.

Have the point tournaments going across the country like we did this year...to select the following years team.
Click to expand...
 
Morris is never playing for the team again, people need to get over that. You can't threaten to take people outside and fight at an event like this and be invited back.

There is no team that was built. It was the top 5 from the qualifying system. (yes 2 captains picks technically) Next year 3 other players might EARN their way onto the team. (ok technically 2 others) :D

I don't understand how Hall, who imo was the best player last year was not considered this year..... did his game go downhill that much? Although Sky getting the chance to play on US soil I think was 100% the right idea.

What I suggested last year and still think is the right idea is to have a couple tournaments throughout the year with the same format as this. Race to 5 single elimination. Get a couple qualifiers like that @other big events. Winning races to 100 don't mean shit in this format. :/

Who knows, at the end of the day we're all nobodies who post on AZ and have no control over it. Which is part of the problem with pool that no one ever seems to address. It's the same *old guard* who think things are the same as it was in 1975.

**I'll still enjoy watching!**
 
Fast Lenny said:
Sorry but I have to disagree. Deuel is not a team player and never will be, I know this first hand from working with him and being around the guy for around a year. Dechaine just doesn't have it at Mosconi. Pool at the pro level is not really a team sport, Europe is a team though and they get along so well. The US players are are team of individuals, its their personalities and many of the old guard are similar. I would like to see Deuel and Dechaine replaced with Morris and Justin Hall.
Click to expand...

Tap, tap, tap...

I agree...
 
Teacherman said:
Keep the team the same....for 1 yr.....because of the following...

Have the team travel the country putting on exhibitions similar to the Ballpark Village event that was held in St Louis the week before the Cup. Do 6 or 8 of them in cities across the country. Showcase pool in venues not normally known to pool. For example....in St Louis....the Billiards at Ballpark Village was part of a large radio stations Karaoke contest. If there were 1000 people there it was probably half for pool and half for Karaoke....or maybe 60/40 Karaoke....BUT.....500-600 people who have never been exposed to pool were exposed. Promote pool. Promote the Cup. Get big name celebrities/athletes from each city to show up....maybe even have a pro/am event....to get a crowd. Let it crescendo into hysteria the week before the Cup.

Make it an annual series of events that each city can build.

Have the point tournaments going across the country like we did this year...to select the following years team.
Click to expand...

I'm not trying to be a hater at all… but there are a LOT of players that would be better for the team then Corey. Rodney is playing a level above Corey for sure, and if you want to go younger Justin Hall is an obvious choice, he was the best player last year and would fit in wonderfully with the team dynamic.
 
Mezz'd up said:
Tap, tap, tap...

I agree...
Click to expand...

I agree 100% with this post, the best team we could have taken this year would have added Hall and Morris. I hope they both get a chance for next years team. I think Hall if he plays a lot this year should be a fixture for years to come…
 
the qualifying system we used this year seemed to work pretty well, IMO. The one improvement that could be made is to announce which tournaments are going to have qualifying points far enough in advance so that players who want to try for the team can make the proper arrangements. Last year as I recall, the derby was used, but it was announced on very short notice. Let the players compete for the spots.
 
My 2 cents

I thought this team did ok considering the experience & personality factors. Twas the opposite of what everyone thought: the young players shot solid under the pressure, the older players faltered. I don't know what is going on with Dechaine; he should have been the star of the Cup ! SVB ???? Has the talent but after the last 3 MC's I gotta think USA needs a TEAM, not 5 guys playing together.
I like the idea of players having to EARN their way onto MC roster. Keeps them humble & hungry!

I also agree with others that last year Justin Hall was the best player for USA team. This year itsa tie between Woodward and Bergman. (Great play by BOTH under the pressure of MC). I would have said Woodward as best for this year except I didn't like how he played like an absolute SHARK in the Boyes match, then CAVED when he hooked himself on the 3 ball at 4-3 Boyes. (I knew that was the end of the match right there!) I guess that was inexperience, but he honestly should have kicked that 3 ball up table and hoped for a good spot for it to stop. Boyes was very strong!

Keep 3 young guns and anchor the team with 2 seasoned PRO's that are TEAM oriented. I am not sold on Shane or Cory as team players in that regard.

Bring back Justin Hall & Jeremy Sossei. :thumbup:
 
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iusedtoberich said:
I want to say that I thoroughly enjoyed watching the 2015 Mosconi cup. It was exciting as all hell. I was betting on most of the matches. I lost, but they were amazing sweats.

Since everyone has an opinion, here is mine ;) :

I would not change a single thing from the USA side. I could not imagine any team from our current players that could possibly be stronger than the one Mark assembled for this year. Yes, the US lost, but we were very competitive. I would like this exact team to stay the same for the next 3 years. Let them all play together and get stronger as a team.

I unfortunately don't see any monster 16 to 20 year olds that are up and coming to replace any 2015 member. And forget about Archer/Hatch/Morris/Earl. They were top tier in their time, but their time was 10 to 20 years ago. And then the youngish other pros, like Oscar, Saez, Frost, Compton, etc, are simply not as good as any guy on our 2015 team. No offense to them, but they are a ball lower.

Keep the team exactly the same, from top to bottom for 3 years. Work together during the 3 years to build it stronger.

After the 3 years, there might emerge a superstar teenager in the US, that could replace a member.
Click to expand...

Great thread. I agree.
 
Cory is part of the old guard as far as I am concerned and I would play Justin Hall in his place. But Cory qualified so good for him, but not the team.

I think Shane doesn't play as well when he can hear the roars of the crowd. He can't just turn off the hearing aide and ignore what is going on around him at the Mosconi cup. He plays best in an ideal quiet setting.

Dechaine had that glazed honey ham look from the start. I think he had the most pressure on him and felt it. I think the more he plays in this event the better he will get.

But they made it competitive and I really enjoyed watching.
 
I think the qualification points should start with the Mosconi Cup based on performance there.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N910A using Tapatalk
 
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