SJM Slant on the 2016 Mosconi Cup

sjm · 2016-12-09T20:46:56+00:00

OK, this won’t be kind, but as the saying goes “you’ve gotta be cruel to be kind.” I didn’t go to the Mosconi, but I saw every minute of every match. In what ought to be viewed as the worst-ever performance by Team USA at the Mosconi, the pain was tough to bear. For those who might suggest that this was better than 2013, you are mistaken. Appleton, Souquet, Feijen, Immonen, and Boyes was a team consisting of four hall future of famers at the top of their games and the other had medaled that year in the World 9-ball Championships. That team’s play, which was good enough for an 11-2 win, was well above what we saw this year from Team Europe, and that Team might have beaten the 2016 Team USA 11-0. Congrats to Team Europe, but Team USA needs a major overhaul. 1. Same Old Same Old – USA Terrible at Singles Only Rodney Morris delivered a point in singles, in which the US was pathetic, going 1-5. Inadequacy in defense and kicking were the US team’s biggest problem and America’s big breakers, SVB and Dechaine, didn’t break and run many racks. 2. Terrible at Doubles and Lost the Team Game, Too We were 2-6 in team matches, 2-5 in doubles and 0-1 in the Team vs Team match, but only due to fluking Match 13, in which Bergman’s seemingly fatal miss was rescued by a fluked safety. Probably should have been 1-7. 3. Individual Members of Team USA Skyler Woodward After a respectable effort as Bergman’s partner on day one, Skyler’s play was pretty poor for the rest of the Mosconi. Still, his game is maturing and he looks like he’ll be a many-time member of Team USA. I’m bullish on Skyler and think he has a bright future at the Mosconi. Justin Bergman Bergman was solid most of the way, and was, by a mile, Team USA’s best player. To be fair, Justin does not break as well as some of the game’s top players and it threatens to hold him back from contention in the biggest events in pool. Still, Justin is the real deal, and he’s the only member of Team USA to whom onecan possibly say “well played.” Justin’s all around game should inspire other members and aspiring members of Team USA. Justin’s formula has been simple ---- he has become proficient in all the games, a dangerous opponent in all of pool’s major disciplines. He has a really nice blend of power and finesse. Two young players with a trajectory similar to that of Justin because of their all around skills are Skyler Woodward and, even more so, Billy Thorpe. Shane Van Boening Clearly the biggest disappointment on Team USA, Shane still can’t find his form in this event. He played in four of the first six matches, including the Team vs. Team match in which he lost two racks, and Team USA was 0-4 in those matches. His poor play turned this into an early rout, as we were down 5-1 by then. Shane is still an undisputed superstar and a future BCA Hall of Famer, but the Mosconi owns him and he’d likely be the first to admit it. Mike Dechaine Mike still can’t find his form at the Mosconi. He and Bergman were involved in what was surely the best match of the Mosconi, and he missed a two nine combo and another shot that cost Team USA a rack. Fueled by Bergman’s excellence, however, they got to double hill and Mike played an exquisite safe on the three and it looked like he’d redeemed himself. Appleton felt otherwise, kicking in the three and Ouschan followed with a superb four ball to earn the double hill win. Mike played respectably against Niels in singles, but ran into a man playing perfectly. Mike had no misses or tactical errors as Shane’s partner but Shane missed once and Mike scratched on the break once and those two errors sealed their fate. Fnally, Shaw beat Mike in a match in which Jayson came with a whole lot. Mike made some key errors at key moments and these shots added up to a poor Mosconi performance. Rodney Morris The one guy able to win at singles, Rodney got off to a good start, but his play fell off considerably afterward and he probably made as many bad errors as anyone on the team. Still, his singles win over Shaw was impressive. 4. Looking at the team as a whole A. What Team USA Did Well Don’t know Day 4 stats, but through Day 3, the US had 13 Break and Run racks to Europe’s 12. B. What USA did Just Passably I’d rate Team USA pattern play as passable, but inferior to that of Team Europe. Ball pocketing was just passable, well below that of Team Europe. C. What Team USA Did Poorly For the third straight year, that defense and kicking were pitiful, but this was the worst year of the three in this regard. Unlike Team Europe, the US rarely employed the two way shot. As I’ve noted in the past, it is impossible to win a Mosconi Cup playing this poorly in the moves game, and this is a big difference between Team USA and Team Europe. Poor defense and kicking ensure Europe many more good looks at the table than they deserve. The US didn’t pocket well at all and its speed control was pretty awful. Shot design/selection and shot execution were both terrible. European fundamentals seem a bit more solid than those of the American's, but I'm not a stroke mechanics guru and must leave more serious consideration of this matter to others. 5. The Coaching Mark Wilson is a credit to American pool and a man of great quality and class. His commitment to the Mosconi is unwavering, his goals lofty. I have second thoughts about sharing this, but in each of his first two years as coach I offered to make a substantial contribution to the team (I’d have likely donated $2,500 each year) but he turned me down, saying that he wanted to pursue a more sustainable financial model for the event. I can’t tell you how much this impressed me. Mark has a long-term view of this event, an ambitious one at that. All that said, he came up empty as a coach this year. His comment that the goal was “not to suck” rubbed me and some other serious fans of American pool the wrong way. It may have been meant to echo Cub manager Joe Maddon's sentiment of a couple of months ago, but if so, the moment was wrong, for Team USA had lost, consecutively, the last six Mosconi Cups in which it did, all too often, suck, and every member of the 2016 Team USA had contributed at least twice to the losing streak. In contrast, the Cubs were a team that hadn't played in a world series in the lifetime of its manager or any of its players. In fact, the player who would become 2016 World Series MVP , Ben Zobrist, was a Cub this year, after winning with the Kansas City Royals in 2015. The Cubs wanted to make their first appearance in sixty eight years count. The Cubs, in fact, did suck in the first four games of the the World Series, falling 3-1 behind, but memorably won the next three to capture the championship. There's no evidence of any kind that setting a goal of "not sucking" instantly fires up a team. He clearly failed to address the weaknesses of last year’s team, of which four players returned, as the weaknesses were exactly the same as last year. His comment in the post match interview that his team did everything asked of it was fairly shocking, but if so, he never asked them to address the weaknesses they displayed in 2015 and never asked them to play with more patience, the kind that Europe so often wins racks with. All this aside, thanks to Mark Wilson for his hard work. I think Mark’s return is improbable after losing all twelve daily sessions in his three year term as coach, but it will be OK with me if he returns, because he presents American pool with dignity time and time again. All five members of his team conducted themselves admirably in the arena of battle. 6. Sizing It Up for Next Year American pool has hit bottom and it’s usually around now that we hear from the American fans that live in denial about the size of the gap between American and European pool. One day, when we are smart enough to own the size of that gap, we can start doing something about it. Bergman is a complete player, and Skyler seems to be evolving into one, but for the most part, the US players of the past three years move so poorly that they are completely dependent on their break. Our players need to learn how to beat Team Europe to the shot. Why is it that we know how to beat them all to the shot in one pocket but not in nine ball? Yes, it’s partly because we play the game more, but to me, it evidences that US players have the finesse skills to be good moves game players if they really work on it. 7. The Bottom Line As the Greek philosopher Herodotus said, “the past is history,” so let's start fixing this tomorrow.