Travis Ford Balancing Tough Love
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Travis Ford, still clearly agitated by Saturday’s lopsided loss at Baylor, reiterated his stance Monday that he doesn’t believe in brushing off such performances as simply a bad day at the office.
Ford said the Cowboys shouldn’t forget, but rather remind themselves of how bad that 106-65 beating felt and tasted, using the stat sheet as a reference, perhaps taped prominently in their lockers as “a challenge and fuel.”
And he said that extends to him, too.
“I got it home on my mirror,” Ford said. “I put it right where I brush my teeth.”
School was out at OSU on Monday, in recognition of the MLK holiday, but it was no off day for the Cowboys. They practiced – twice – and spent extra time reviewing the video.
Ford called it a “spirited film session.”
Clarifying later, Ford said he raised his voice frequently, “something I haven’t done a whole lot with this group.”
Freshman forward Michael Cobbins confirmed: “It was pretty intense. Film doesn’t lie, I can tell you that. A lot of mistakes made from everybody on the team.”
The fourth-year coach is treading carefully with what remains of this team – five freshmen among an eight-man rotation – trying to balance encouragement and hard-edged teaching techniques with such a young squad.
He doesn’t want to squash their confidence, yet must push and press them to make progress. There are no shortcuts.
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