Something is wrong with Team USA
- Thread starter jokrswylde
- Start date
I agree. Its a freakin' haircut. After a year of covid driven lunacy i don't see a problem with it.
CaptainBly
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For everyone knocking SVB, how long do you expect him to show up being the only player that is of the same caliber as the Europeans? He is the only American over 800. Not knocking the other guy's but the talent level is not the same and hasn't been for awhile. I can only imagine how old it must be for Shane to look across the table and know the team you came with just isn't up to the same level. That has to get old, having all the pressure on your shoulders. This is a team event and they didn't win until another player stepped up to the level of the Europeans. Not knocking the other guy's at all, it's just reality. Right now we can't field a comparable team.
Except Shane doesn't win very often
Shane is very quiet, private guy and i've never thought that the rah-rah team stuff was his cup of tea. He also puts a ton of pressure on himself to perform. The US will be the underdog in this event for the foreseeable future. Just the way it is.
CaptainBly
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I never said he did. I was referring to him coming in every year with an underdog team and the mindset that must create.
The8BallPoolPod
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For those who are close to the amateur scene, where is the next breed of US players coming from? Barring a complete miracle, I can't see the US winning the Mosconi for at least 3 or 4 years.
What must be a worry was the lack of discipline in that US Team. Players on their mobile phones during matches, players laughing when getting beat etc. A shadow of the great American Teams I've seen over the years.
What must be a worry was the lack of discipline in that US Team. Players on their mobile phones during matches, players laughing when getting beat etc. A shadow of the great American Teams I've seen over the years.
Not much can be said. Congrats to Thorpe/Robinson for their win in Match 13, but this was another woeful day for Team USA. In fact, Chris is probably the only player on Team USA that exceeded expectations, so props to him on a solid debut. SVB had an absolutely awful day, as did Skyler. Well played Europe. This was an ass whooping of the highest order.
Remarkably, we'll soon hear from those American fans who live in denial about the size of the gap between Team Europe and Team USA right now. I suspect Jeremy Jones will be wise enough to own the size of the gap, and if he does, he can put these players on the right track. When you lose 11-3, there's no need to point to any particular match or moment. Team USA just didn't play very well, and against a talented Team Europe they needed their "A" games to keep it close.
Thanks to these ten fine players for their efforts to entertain us, and props to Matchroom for making the event happen, but this way a truly forgettable Mosconi in almost every respect.
Remarkably, we'll soon hear from those American fans who live in denial about the size of the gap between Team Europe and Team USA right now. I suspect Jeremy Jones will be wise enough to own the size of the gap, and if he does, he can put these players on the right track. When you lose 11-3, there's no need to point to any particular match or moment. Team USA just didn't play very well, and against a talented Team Europe they needed their "A" games to keep it close.
Thanks to these ten fine players for their efforts to entertain us, and props to Matchroom for making the event happen, but this way a truly forgettable Mosconi in almost every respect.
CaptainBly
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The Europe team was all straight killers. Team USA wasn't supposed to win and they didn't. I seriously don't see the talent level in our country being able to stack up right now. Pool is shit here and way more professional in Europe and most of Asia.
Not a knock on our guy's at all, just reality.
Not a knock on our guy's at all, just reality.
3 or 4 years? I’d say more like a generation, unless some major things change with the current American pool scene. Particularly the need to revamp and develop junior programs to discover and foster young talented players to maximize their potential. They have to be really really good (virtually professional level players playing against professional level competition) by the time they are 16/17, which is/was the case with all the top Euro players like Filler, Gorst, Kaci, etc.
So my next question is...will matchroom and Emily Frazier make some adjustments to make it more competitive going forward?
Long win streaks are only good for 1/2 of the audience. I would wager that MR wants a competitive, back and forth competition.
Obviously a few years ago they brought Johan in because they thought he could make our side more competitive, which he did. And when we win a couple in a row, he is removed.
BTW, I remember reading that he was originally given the team on a 3 year deal, but I could have sworn that after last year he was lobbying to stay on as the coach. If so, why remove him, unless you were concerned he would make it 3 in a row and some of the Euro fans start to lose interest, much as some US fans were starting to do.
MR has the ability to tweak how teams are chosen, wildcards, etc. I imagine Emily and her bosses at matchroom are not thrilled with the lopsided event this year. I just wonder if they will make any changes to make it more competitive.
Ha, maybe they will limit each team to only 1 world champion
Long win streaks are only good for 1/2 of the audience. I would wager that MR wants a competitive, back and forth competition.
Obviously a few years ago they brought Johan in because they thought he could make our side more competitive, which he did. And when we win a couple in a row, he is removed.
BTW, I remember reading that he was originally given the team on a 3 year deal, but I could have sworn that after last year he was lobbying to stay on as the coach. If so, why remove him, unless you were concerned he would make it 3 in a row and some of the Euro fans start to lose interest, much as some US fans were starting to do.
MR has the ability to tweak how teams are chosen, wildcards, etc. I imagine Emily and her bosses at matchroom are not thrilled with the lopsided event this year. I just wonder if they will make any changes to make it more competitive.
Ha, maybe they will limit each team to only 1 world champion
I agree the lag made a big differance ,the break was critical.Having said that i do believe we got out played.We really need to work on the shot clock play .I believe we shot way to many times with a 5 second ding dong.I personally paid to watch it ,wish we done better but i have one real problem with guys who take advantage of living in are snake infested country and bad mouthing it. If i lived in Conn. i would reward his buisness accordingly!
How about a Senior 50-and-over version of the Mosconi Cup? We could field a formidable team - Earl, Johnny, CJ, Rodney and Ernesto to go up against Souquet, Ortman, Drago, Engert, and Chamat.So my next question is...will matchroom and Emily Frazier make some adjustments to make it more competitive going forward?
Long win streaks are only good for 1/2 of the audience. I would wager that MR wants a competitive, back and forth competition.
Obviously a few years ago they brought Johan in because they thought he could make our side more competitive, which he did. And when we win a couple in a row, he is removed.
BTW, I remember reading that he was originally given the team on a 3 year deal, but I could have sworn that after last year he was lobbying to stay on as the coach. If so, why remove him, unless you were concerned he would make it 3 in a row and some of the Euro fans start to lose interest, much as some US fans were starting to do.
MR has the ability to tweak how teams are chosen, wildcards, etc. I imagine Emily and her bosses at matchroom are not thrilled with the lopsided event this year. I just wonder if they will make any changes to make it more competitive.
Ha, maybe they will limit each team to only 1 world champion
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Win or lose, still a good exhibition. The jump shots seemed to be huge this year. I just enjoy seeing shooters play good. The score mlght not of been close, but there were still good matches. Wish players would be more respectful towards each other for the good of the game.
Were the teams flipping the bird at each other off camera or something...? Maybe it was because I was always just behind the live action, but I never witnessed any of this bad sportsmanship some have commented on.
The States got out played by a considerably stronger team. I thought it would have been more competitive, but it really boiled down to converting those hill/hill games. Could have very easily been a nail biter into tomorrow if the USA did better at the lag.
The States got out played by a considerably stronger team. I thought it would have been more competitive, but it really boiled down to converting those hill/hill games. Could have very easily been a nail biter into tomorrow if the USA did better at the lag.
Unfortunately, Chris, you've got this right, The truly great players nearly always show world championship level potential at an early age.
A generation ago, America had (at least) four young players that were world beaters at a young age, namely Earl Strickland, Johnny Archer, Mike Sigel and Allen Hopkins. Earl Strickland won the US Open 9-ball at 23. Mike Sigel won the US Open 9-ball at 23 and the World 14.1 Championship at 27, Johnny Archer was World 9-ball Champion by the age of 24. Allen Hopkins won both the US Open 9-ball and the World 14.1 Championship by the age of 26.
In this generation of American players, only Shane Van Boening showed this kind of form in his early 20s, winning the US Open 9-ball by age 24. Billy Thorpe, I believe, is 25. Skyler Woodward is 27. Tyler Styer will turn 26 in a few weeks. While Thorpe and Woodward are magnificent all-around players, each dangerous in one pocket, banks and nine ball, neither is counted as top 30 in the world in 9-ball based on Fargo rate. It's very early in the pool life of 22 year old Chris Robinson, but while he looks solid enough, he doesn't look like he'll challenge the world's most elite anytime soon. Justin Bergman is rock solid, but he's not that young anymore, and I think of him as a veteran player at this point.
Great young American players on the horizon are awfully hard to find, and just as you suggest, it doesn't bode well for America as they try to beat a European team that will feature Filler (23), Gorst (20), and Kaci (21) for many years to come, with loads of veteran and emerging talent to round out the rest of their squad in the foreseeable future. The European talent pool is so deep that players carrying a Fargo of 800+ will not always make the team.
Team USA will win the Mosconi Cup occasionally in the coming years, but there's every reason to suspect that they'll enter the next ten Mosconi Cups as underdogs.
As sad as that is for Team USA’s prospects, it is a good sign for pool in general. I’m looking forward to watching the careers of these players. While I don’t root for them this week, I’ll be rooting for them in other events.
Because I just want to see what pool looks like at the highest level of play possible.
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The technology distraction this young generation has grown up with has really hurt in developing young pool players. I attended the junior BCA nationals with my son nearly 20 years ago in the early 2000s and the level of young talent at that time was unbelievable - Justin Bergman, Justin Hall, Joey Gray, Shane McMinn, and the late Tyler Straun are five that come to mind. I’m sure there may be a few exceptions, but my guess is the junior nationals are nothing resembling that depth of young talent in recent years.
The8BallPoolPod
Registered
So my next question is...will matchroom and Emily Frazier make some adjustments to make it more competitive going forward?
Long win streaks are only good for 1/2 of the audience. I would wager that MR wants a competitive, back and forth competition.
Obviously a few years ago they brought Johan in because they thought he could make our side more competitive, which he did. And when we win a couple in a row, he is removed.
BTW, I remember reading that he was originally given the team on a 3 year deal, but I could have sworn that after last year he was lobbying to stay on as the coach. If so, why remove him, unless you were concerned he would make it 3 in a row and some of the Euro fans start to lose interest, much as some US fans were starting to do.
MR has the ability to tweak how teams are chosen, wildcards, etc. I imagine Emily and her bosses at matchroom are not thrilled with the lopsided event this year. I just wonder if they will make any changes to make it more competitive.
Ha, maybe they will limit each team to only 1 world champion
We had Emily on our Mosconi Preview show, let me say this hand on heart, she wants that American team to be as competitive as it can be. Believe me, she genuinely has a love for pool and enhanced prize money for Matchroom Events may make more American players take the game more seriously, or if Europe/Asia is where the best players are, maybe that's where they should head. In the Snooker world, no overseas player succeeded until they made the move to the UK. In days gone by, no European player succeeded in Pool until they played in the US.
Facts are facts though and that European line up was formidable, I was actually shocked when I saw the odds online, as I thought Europe would be a heavier favourite.
I genuinely think that if you start tweaking the event to put limits on who can be on the teams etc, it goes back to what it was when it started.
Although I'm obviously a Europe supporter, I was desperate for the USA to make it closer and take it into a fourth day.
For me, Team USA didn't look right from the Press Conference. Corey was a strange replacement pick for me, which was compounded even more when he said he wasn't really prepared.
Look down the list of WPA 9 Ball World Champs, the USA haven't had a winner in a very long time. Maybe the time is right to create a US/Asian team, remember, the Ryder Cup was historically USA vs GB before it got so lopsided they had to include Europe. It would be a real shame if this event stopped being consistently competitive, it has become (for me) a must watch since the very first tournament back in 1994.
I’d totally watch that actually. Call it the Metamucil Cup.