Jared Wilson-Frame Benched by HOF Windsor Coach Ken Smith

[BLUEDOGHOUSE]

for the final six minutes against Wethersfield tonight. It was one of those nights that hopefully JWF will learn and grow from. After scoring 50 points in games against Everett and New Mission from Mass. JWF scored 10 points tonight against Wethersfield all in the first half while watching his team blow a 12 point lead in the second half and almost lose to a feisty and spirited Wethersfield team at Wethersfield High School.

I can certainly confirm JWF has high major D1 physical attributes. Unfortunately tonight his mental makeup was less than stellar frustrating his New England Hall of Fame coach to the point he benched his star player while watching Wethersfield fight and claw its way to what was almost an improbable victory. The final score was 75-70 but don't let that score fool you. With the score 71-68 a Wethersfield player was fouled while shooting a 3 pointer with just 6 seconds left. He made the first 2 cutting the lead to 71-70 and then missed the third free throw after coach Smith called a timeout to freeze the shooter. Wethersfield fouled immediately and Windsor sank 2 free throws with 4 seconds left making the score 73-70. Windsor then stole the in bounds pass and made a layup for the final score of 75-70.

I sat directly behind the Windsor bench tonight. Some of the comments directed at JWF from coach Smith were "You want to fight with me yet you can't go out there and fight the other team" "Why don't you take it to the basket nobody can stop you except yourself" and finally a very heated comment during a timeout in which coach Smith stated "This is about team not..." the rest left out. We never saw JWF again after that timeout. Coach Smith won the game with his other players and after the game it was hard not to let him know what a great game he coached for Windsor. One of the more memorable parts of the game came when Wethersfield came back and cut the lead from 12 to 5 in the last quarter and during a time out JWF looked up into the stands to make eye contact with someone while his coach was talking to his team. JWF then took his hand palm up and put it towards the back of his coach as if to tell the person in the stands my coach is the reason I'm not playing.

JWF made 1 three pointer and missed several others and went 1-2 from the line unofficially. He is a very strong kid and made several quality passes while turning it over about 3 times also. His on court demeanor was one of excessive deference tonight. At first it made a good impression as he came across very unselfish. As the game progressed however it was noticeable he just wasn't mentally into the game at all. There was never any overt outbursts by JWF towards his coach as his personality did not lend itself to that. His coach was frustrated with him and it ended up with a benching in crunch time.

It appears I had the bad luck of watching this kid play on a night where his mind was elsewhere. He did not look like a top talent at all especially mentally. It is safe to say however he has a Big East body and with more maturity and good coaching could develop into a solid player at the next level. This kid will have to get in the right hands as he is VERY fragile and needs the right buttons pushed. Of course this is a 1 game assessment which certainly does not take into account his whole body of work from previous games.

A lot of RED flags with JWF tonight BUT the potential is still there and he has proved that on other nights.

For the record his academics are also a potential issue per a good source.

He does seem like a very good kid. Just a high school Junior.

 

[Dann]

sounds like a tough night. if thats the worst sotry that can be fed on him as a recruit, then hes the cleaneast recruit to lands on a d1 bball team since tebow went to florida for fball. i think JWF will be ok...

 

[BLUEDOGHOUSE]

sounds like a tough night. if thats the worst sotry that can be fed on him as a recruit, then hes the cleaneast recruit to lands on a d1 bball team since tebow went to florida for fball. i think JWF will be ok...

I guess we have to remember these are just young kids. Tough love tonight by the Windsor coach. Coach Smith has a reputation for preparing kids for life. I know what he is trying to do is develop character.

 

[CTBasketball]

He better develop some character quick, its a huge turnoff for some schools.

 

[mauconnfan]

Last night he sounded like a Cuse recruit!!!

 

[ctchamps]

I guess we have to remember these are just young kids. Tough love tonight by the Windsor coach. Coach Smith has a reputation for preparing kids for life. I know what he is trying to do is develop character.

Wish more hs and aau coaches did this.

 

[Chief00]

I hope not but fear we are on a trend of over-reacting on the academics side. Understandable given recent history, but can't the school get its act together and put together some major programs of study like they do in the SEC and ACC - so athletes can stay eligible without being rocket scientists.

 

[CTBasketball]

I hope not but fear we are on a trend of over-reacting on the academics side. Understandable given recent history, but can't the school get its act together and put together some major programs of study like they do in the SEC and ACC - so athletes can stay eligible without being rocket scientists.

Our athletes have never, and will never be rocket scientists. There is a huge difference between lets say an engineering major and a basketball player who is a communications major.

 

[BLUEDOGHOUSE]

He better develop some character quick, its a huge turnoff for some schools.

I agree the intangibles are a question mark but he has put up big #'s in other games. Wethersfield guard/forward Pierce Weatherspoon schooled him big time scoring 23 points and playing with passion. Wethersfield is a good home court venue for a high school game and Windsor was in the house making it very loud.

With kids this age you just never know. If he learns to bring his A game mentally he could be a solid D1 BCS player. What was surprising was the interaction with his coach. That was the red flag considering Smith really is one of the best high school coaches in New England. He is fun to watch on the sidelines.

 

[BLUEDOGHOUSE]

I hope not but fear we are on a trend of over-reacting on the academics side. Understandable given recent history, but can't the school get its act together and put together some major programs of study like they do in the SEC and ACC - so athletes can stay eligible without being rocket scientists.

UConn may be a bit hypersensitive on the academic side of things but it is prudent considering our circumstances. Changing the academic culture for players at any university is always a viable option though.

 

[CTBasketball]

I agree the intangibles are a question mark but he has put up big #'s in other games. Wethersfield guard/forward Pierce Weatherspoon schooled him big time scoring 23 points and playing with passion. Wethersfield is a good home court venue for a high school game and Windsor was in the house making it very loud.

With kids this age you just never know. If he learns to bring his A game mentally he could be a solid D1 BCS player. What was surprising was the interaction with his coach. That was the red flag considering Smith really is one of the best high school coaches in New England. He is fun to watch on the sidelines.

That's the biggest problem for me. If you score 30pts and talk a little trash I'm fine with that. If you scream after a huge dunk, okay I get it. But if you belittle your head coach and undermine him, then that's a huge turnoff in my opinion. Apparently this kid doesn't get it, which is sad by now. He's 17.

 

[BLUEDOGHOUSE]

Wish more hs and aau coaches did this.

Have you ever done any coaching at any level fleud?

 

[BLUEDOGHOUSE]

Last night he sounded like a Cuse recruit!!!

Funny but true!

 

[BLUEDOGHOUSE]

sounds like a tough night. if thats the worst sotry that can be fed on him as a recruit, then hes the cleaneast recruit to lands on a d1 bball team since tebow went to florida for fball. i think JWF will be ok...

It was a very tough night for JWF. It is my hope he surrounds himself with the right people who will have a positive influence on him. Where he plays next year should be interesting.

 

[upstater]

Harvard had a below the cut-off APR score last year.

That tells you everything you need to know about where other schools are. Most are either cheating or already at the bare minimum acceptable level for academic standards.

 

[BLUEDOGHOUSE]

Harvard had a below the cut-off APR score last year.

That tells you everything you need to know about where other schools are. Most are either cheating or already at the bare minimum acceptable level for academic standards.

That's always interesting information.

 

[uconnforlife]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but couldn't every school pull the same crap that UNC did and get away with it? The NCAA basically said that it's not against the rules to give kids A's for classes that don't exist so what's stopping more schools from doing it? Morals is just about the only reason I could think of.

 

[ctchamps]

Have you ever done any coaching at any level fleud?

Regional soccer 7-10 year olds. We knew how to kick butt, literally. Talk about getting kids heads in the game. Some 7 year olds are already at the stage where winning is everything. These kids will cry at the end of games with a loss. Other 7 year olds, on the same team, could be observed laying on the ground and looking at bugs while the ball and the scrum was moving around them.

That was the easiest part of coaching. Parents were typically the problem. I was smart. I had my lineups set before the game. I put the kids positionally on a schematic of the field so the parents would know where their kids would be in a game for each of the four periods. Every parent got a copy of the lineups. Every kid played a minimal of 1/2 the game. The two best kids I had played 3/4's to a full game. I lined up kids so that there was always one good player with one who was there for ??! Taught the kids to stay in basic areas and to pass the ball. My kid was on the team. He played 1/2 to 3/4 of a game. He was the third best player. No one ever accused me of being a homer.

Because of the diversity of needs of the kids, some wanting to win badly, others who couldn't wait for the treats at the end of the game (same with parents), we played everyone and moved players into positions to take advantage of defense, passing and dribbling. I was thrown into coaching because someone left and I volunteered to be an assistant. Then someone else left and they said unless someone would be a head coach, kids might not play.

So I took the HC position. Found out after all the players for the town were divided into two teams, the other team was chosen to win it all and I was given the "bad news bears". We ended up beating that team and coming second in our region. Loved watching the kids play. Loved it more to work with developing the kids and melding them into a team. Practices were almost always fun. All in all, considering my soccer experience was limited and my assistant coach's experience was non existent, the team did quite well.

 

[BLUEDOGHOUSE]

Regional soccer 7-10 year olds. We knew how to kick butt, literally. Talk about getting kids heads in the game. Some 7 year olds are already at the stage where winning is everything. These kids will cry at the end of games with a loss. Other 7 year olds, on the same team, could be observed laying on the ground and looking at bugs while the ball and the scrum was moving around them.

That was the easiest part of coaching. Parents were typically the problem. I was smart. I had my lineups set before the game. I put the kids positionally on a schematic of the field so the parents would know where their kids would be in a game for each of the four periods. Every parent got a copy of the lineups. Every kid played a minimal of 1/2 the game. The two best kids I had played 3/4's to a full game. I lined up kids so that there was always one good player with one who was there for ??! Taught the kids to stay in basic areas and to pass the ball. My kid was on the team. He played 1/2 to 3/4 of a game. He was the third best player. No one ever accused me of being a homer.

Because of the diversity of needs of the kids, some wanting to win badly, others who couldn't wait for the treats at the end of the game (same with parents), we played everyone and moved players into positions to take advantage of defense, passing and dribbling. I was thrown into coaching because someone left and I volunteered to be an assistant. Then someone else left and they said unless someone would be a head coach, kids might not play.

So I took the HC position. Found out after all the players for the town were divided into two teams, the other team was chosen to win it all and I was given the "bad news bears". We ended up beating that team and coming second in our region. Loved watching the kids play. Loved it more to work with developing the kids and melding them into a team. Practices were almost always fun. All in all, considering my soccer experience was limited and my assistant coach's experience was non existent, the team did quite well.

You had a cerebral approach to coaching even with this age group . Not surprising. My dad coached a state championship soccer team in the state of CT many years ago. I was a two time All-Conference soccer player in high school and was devastated when I didn't make All-State my senior year. We lost in the state semi-finals after upsetting soccer power Farmington. I was not offered a scholarship at UConn for soccer but I met Joe Morrone at his office in Storrs and he invited me to walk on.

You not only taught ball skills and fair play but also tactics. Seven year old kids can be a very very chaotic and challenging group to coach I would think. Trying to teach the simple "send to space" concept could be difficult for 7 year old's but I'm sure your son picked up all these instructions easily due to his intelligence.

Congrats on your second in region accomplishment. More important being a great father and spending such quality time with your son during this time frame must have created so many lasting memories.

 

[pinchy]

I was at the game also. During warm ups it looked to me that Frame was hobbled.Some Windsor JV players sat in front of me and they confirmed to me that he had a bad ankle

The kid clearly was not playing full out and I assumed it was b/c he was hurt.To me he really seemed to defer to his teammates. I watched it from the beginning from the perspective (only to be confirmed after half time)that the kid was hurt so it appeared to me that he was playing unselfishly b/c he could not do the things he wanted to but could still help his team win by doing things other than scoring.

I can't speak to the interaction with his coach only to say his coach did push him during a time out, to the extent it pushed him along a step or two.

No indictment on the coach however, just an observation.

I think Frame is to be judged more clearly on another day. He may be some of the thinks we fear in an elite player but for me it was not clear to me this night

 

[superjohn]

Yup he had a sprained ankle, he sounds like a good kid to me.

 

[HuskyWarrior611]

Coach Smith and Jared bump heads a lot. That goes on with a lot of his other great players. That's just how it is. But it's okay because Coach Smith is really like a father to Jared.

 

[BLUEDOGHOUSE]

I was at the game also. During warm ups it looked to me that Frame was hobbled.Some Windsor JV players sat in front of me and they confirmed to me that he had a bad ankle

The kid clearly was not playing full out and I assumed it was b/c he was hurt.To me he really seemed to defer to his teammates. I watched it from the beginning from the perspective (only to be confirmed after half time)that the kid was hurt so it appeared to me that he was playing unselfishly b/c he could not do the things he wanted to but could still help his team win by doing things other than scoring.

I can't speak to the interaction with his coach only to say his coach did push him during a time out, to the extent it pushed him along a step or two.

No indictment on the coach however, just an observation.

I think Frame is to be judged more clearly on another day. He may be some of the thinks we fear in an elite player but for me it was not clear to me this night

I wasn't going to go down the road of the shirt grab and push during a time out. My mother attended the game with us and she was like "did you see that" in reference to the push. I saw it and was not affected by it at all. That's just me taking into consideration the circumstances. Windsor's starting center is out for 6 weeks with a broken ankle. My dad and I were talking to him. He had 13 rebounds against Ollie and Glastonbury in the previous game. My recollection doesn't recall any favoring or injury related issues with JWF. It is a distinct possibility though based on his performance. Your sources seem pretty strong. That Windsor JV team was very good. They blew out Wethersfield by at least 20 and were up 30 at one point. Not sure who #50 was but he has game and dressed for varsity but didn't play.

 

[pinchy]

Blue, perhaps it was better left unsaid. It did not bother me either and I did not say it to pass judgement but to agree that there was something happenings on the sidelines as you had mentioned.

Their coach does a great job with those kids and i am sure they need tough love at times

I caught some of the second half of the JV game and Windsor did not score much while I was there. They were up about 23 when I got there and probable let some of the younger players in.

While Windsor Varsity was warming up I was watching Frame. He winced a couple of times and walked with a very slight limp on occasion. That is what got me thinking it was a problem.

After watching the first 5 min of the game I was hoping it was an injury b/c he was not asserting himself much at all. That's why I asked the JV player.

 

[BLUEDOGHOUSE]

Blue, perhaps it was better left unsaid. It did not bother me either and I did not say it to pass judgement but to agree that there was something happenings on the sidelines as you had mentioned.

Their coach does a great job with those kids and i am sure they need tough love at times

I caught some of the second half of the JV game and Windsor did not score much while I was there. They were up about 23 when I got there and probable let some of the younger players in.

While Windsor Varsity was warming up I was watching Frame. He winced a couple of times and walked with a very slight limp on occasion. That is what got me thinking it was a problem.

After watching the first 5 min of the game I was hoping it was an injury b/c he was not asserting himself much at all. That's why I asked the JV player.

I think you are providing some highly credible info on JWF/injury status via your JV team sources and JWF wincing. My expectations were a lot higher and a potential injury would be a determinative factor in his performance. Coach Smith wanted no part of it but he is a tough coach. I would love to see Frame do great in school the next 2 years and wind up playing for KO. Glastonbury/Ollie travel to Windsor on 1/28 so I am thinking that may be a good time to watch JWF again. Thanks for your contributions and information on JWF.