Pride in the jersey...and an assassin's mentality

I put forth a comment yesterday, in the context of pointing to the lack of an emerging big at the 5 spot:

This is going to be the most interesting aspect to watch as the weeks ahead unfold, in my view. That and the question of whether our most experienced players are going to discover the necessary yet sometimes-elusive killer instinct in their game. We have talent and winners, but you have to have an assassin mentality--one that says "only one team is coming off this floor alive (i.e., as the winner), and it's mine."

I underscored how this was missing on this team, and I held up our more seasoned vets (Selden, Ellis, Mason) in asking why that was the case. Tonight truly demonstrated this, unfortunately, in spades... We not only fail to demonstrate adequate "want-to" when it comes to winning, but we also don't have anyone who seems to genuinely HATE to lose. We get punked and just take it, with zero reaction. Where is the fight, the fire, the huevos, with this team and its players? Will anyone stand up and breathe some fire into the squad?

I'd say the boys are long overdue for their players-only meeting at Henry T's or wherever...

“I’ve always questioned whether or not this team from a mental standpoint was tough enough to fight through some stuff. To be honest, we haven’t shown that we are, but we aren’t going to go anywhere if we don’t show that we are. If there’s anything positive out of this is we’ll find out who we really are. I know we’re capable of being much better.”

Source: Bedore's game recap story, LJW.