Siena basketball deals with another off-court issue

Siena basketball deals with another off-court issue

Patsos draws connection between incidents and losing games

Siena men's basketball coach Jimmy Patsos handed out the latest discipline to one of his players on Monday morning.

Maybe all these little things that have gone wrong off the court are affecting our ability to close (games),'' Patsos said.

Patsos removed senior guard/forward Lavon Long and freshman guard Ahsante Shivers from the starting lineup after they were seven minutes late for the team bus going to the shootaround at Monmouth University.

Both he and sophomore guard Nico Clareth have served separate three-game suspensions this season for what the school described as violations of athletic department rules.

[...] Patsos wasn't happy in the postgame news conference when Long was asked why he was late for the bus.

Patsos suggested that it's on his veteran players to police themselves, whether it's about being on time or about making the subtle plays that are costing the Saints games.

There's nothing you can do about that kind of stuff until the team wants to clean up some little stuff, including whether it's taking a bad shot, including who gets the ball, including little things like cross-screening on a free throw, and including everyone rebounding.