Fort Collins – Colorado State’s annual losing streak is on, and there’s no change in men’s basketball coach Dale Layer at practice from when the Rams startled everyone by opening Mountain West Conference play 4-2.
Layer, in his seventh season, keeps challenging his players. He high-fives or knuckle-punches players for good baskets. There’s a sense of urgency, but not panic.
With a five-game losing streak and just one year left on his contract, Layer is not afraid to talk about his future, but won’t hazard a guess on what it might bring.
“It’s no different than any other coach in the country,” Layer said Monday. “Coaching is probably the least secure profession of any. It’s part of our jobs. It’s part of our lives. It’s unfortunate that it gets to be part of your loved ones’ lives.
“Typically coaches know the deal when they get into this profession, but it’s unfair to wives and assistant coaches’ kids. No one understands how many people are affected by the normal pressures of our jobs. All we can do is handle the moment.”
Unlike previous streaks that stretched to seven or eight games every season since 2003, this losing skid stands at five. The Rams’ promising start has fallen to 14-9 overall and a 4-7 MWC record.
If it doesn’t end tonight against TCU, which is riding a nine-game losing streak, there might not be an end in sight.
In past years there were long-term injuries, a mid-year player defection or adverse scheduling. None applies this time.
One has to look no further than the University of Colorado’s struggle for what can go wrong when a coach enters a season in the final year of his contract.
In his first year at CSU, athletic director Paul Kowalczyk has observed most of the games at Moby Arena a few rows up behind the scorer’s table, just to the side of the Rams’ bench.
“At the end of the year I’ll sit down with Dale as I do all our coaches and discuss the program and its direction,” Kowal- czyk said Monday.
It is an athletic director’s stock answer, regardless of the school and the sport.
But for the moment, every ounce of staff and player energy is directed at ending the streak.
Layer has solved one problem with forward Jason Smith’s foul trouble by sitting the 7-footer to start each half so the Rams will have their top scorer/rebounder for the final three minutes.
Instead of chafing, Smith said: “If that’s what Coach thinks is best for the team, it doesn’t bug me.”
But there’s always another area in need of a fix. The only consistent glaring weakness has been 3-point field-goal defense, in which CSU trails the MWC at 43.6 percent in league games.
Kowalczyk isn’t showing his hand. He said Monday he likes the players’ effort. At a recent fan forum, the athletic director pointed to the likelihood of a good team next season with predominately seniors. His only criticism of the program has been the need to upgrade the nonleague schedule.
Layer meanwhile, is looking at now, not the end-of-season review.
“We always found a way to get a little bit better every day,” Layer said of ending past streaks. “This team keeps working hard. I’m confident we’re going to win.”
