Impact of Wright

[PopeJohn2]

So theres been a lot of talk about how CW has changed our offense and our shooting 61% from 3 was somehow related to his playing again.

For a guy who only played 15 minutes, I wonder if he was really the difference maker and if our offense from here on out will be that much improved with him in the lineup.

Thoughts?

[SFHoya99]

Our shooting from three was mostly related to non-Chris Wright things. We were shooting lights out before he came in and we kept doing it.

One, we hit open shots. Two, everyone was more aggressive and active in getting open shots.

That said, Chris immediately had two drive and dishes for wide open threes. He hit two open threes of his own -- one on a fast break where he beat the D down the floor -- and would have had a nice floater if not for a Pat goaltend.

He also had four assists to one(?) turnover in fifteen minutes.

So, take that out to 30 minutes, and the guy might've had something like a 6-8 shooting, 16 points, 8 assists, 2 TO kind of day. That's darn effective.

[hoyasexy]

I think the floater that you reference was Wallace's, not Wright's.

[I Bleed Hoya Gray]

0 turnovers I believe

[alleninxis]

It wasn't just Chris..

it was everyone, and our mentality.

We were aggressive.

[SFHoya99]

Mar 14, 2008 12:36:08 GMT -5 hoyasexy said:

I think the floater that you reference was Wallace's, not Wright's.

You're right.

Still, a pretty good game.

[jarninwashere]

My two cents...

I don't think CW has the major reason we shot 61% from 3 pt land y-day, but I think he has the potential to add or shore up various elements to our guard play that have been a little sketchy or even non-existent this year: (1) dribble penetration; (2) fast break ball distribution (his pass back to Ewing on the break was precise, quick and decisive); (3) press breaking (he can dribble through double teams, his passes are crisp, he's very hard to steal from because he's sure-handed and low to the ground). These added elements--combined with the fact that the extra guard gives Jesse and Jon more rest-- ratchet up the pressure on the opposition defense tremendously.

[jgalt]

in this game it was directly him. but in a grind it out OT game, having an extra guard is of course a great asset

[Dhall]

He'll be valuable if Sapp or Wallace get in foul trouble and against zone defenses and pressing teams. Rivers is still a much better defender and rebounder. A nice luxury to have 4 good guards. Yesterday was clearly Wright's best game - he wasn't too impressive early in the year in my opinion.

[jld54]

CW seemed 100% healthy, confident, aggressive, in shape, and he clearly knows the offense. You can tell by watching that he is a natural player. He will have to learn but is a key additonal weapon for this year. He does change the dynamic of the backcourt in terms of another quality guard, a different look, and shoring up our weak areas.

I was not buying into the CW as savior talk, but he changed my mind in terms of being a valuable contributor this year.

When he hit the 3 off of the PE kick ahed the ESN camera panned to Jay Wright, who had a sick look on his face, like "who was that'? Quite funny.

[HoyaNyr320]

Wright was also a key part of our ability to bring the ball up the floor against their 1-2-1-1 3-quarter-court press. Chris looked very confident dribbling the ball up quickly and making the pass across the zone press to Ewing or Summers on the other end of the court. When Villanova attempted to trap Chris, he was able to split the D and pass it off- this is something that Rivers and Wallace both struggle with.

[vamosalaplaya]

If he plays like that every game he will be a massive difference for us. While a big Hoya fan, I just couldn't see us making the Final Four - now I absolutely can. The three point barrage started before he got in but he did nothing to take away from it.

I believe he drove twice and kicked out for threes, hit two threes himself, and had the pass to Ewing. He cut through the Nova half court defense like a knife through butter on several occasions - he is a very big missing element to the offense. He is the best penetrator on the team.

I saw Wright against Memphis, but otherwise not alot in the early season - it seemed an issue for him would be fitting into the offense and not forcing things. Given that the book on beating Georgetown for the competition GU plays now - as opposed to some of the weaker non-conference foes - is to presure the guards, this is tailor made for Wright's game.

Villanova may have been the perfect opponent for Wright - a quick perimeter team where he could meet their strengths and then some.

He seemed to take time from Rivers; I don't know how his defense stacks up versus JR and what the trade-offs there are. But I think Wright is more than a nice-to-have who adds depth. He is a weapon who could win a game for Georgetown against the top opponents that they will face in the next few weeks.

[DanMcQ]

As we watched the Hoyas "advance" horizontally against Louisville's press in the second half a week ago, I half jokingly told the people I was with that Coach Thompson was clearly holding the Hoyas' REAL press break back in order to break it out in the post-season when other teams would not be prepared for it.

Turns out I was right Wright.

[jarninwashere]

Mar 14, 2008 13:27:23 GMT -5 vamosalaplaya said:

He seemed to take time from Rivers; I don't know how his defense stacks up versus JR and what the trade-offs there are. But I think Wright is more than a nice-to-have who adds depth. He is a weapon who could win a game for Georgetown against the top opponents that they will face in the next few weeks.

My sense is CW is quicker so he can keep up better with the little water-bug guards (like johnny flynn and scottie reynolds) and cut off passes but JR is longer so they have to shoot over him. I still prefer JR in the last two minutes on defense.

[hoyas4life]

scottie wanted nothing to do with chris yesterday. chris got low had his hands out and scottie never tried to drive on him whereas scottie did go at jon and jessie. maybe scottie has bad memories from trying to score on chris when they played on boo williams together. and as barker noted yesterday holding a schollie for chris was the reason scottie isn't a hoya

[hoyas4life]

i love rivers defense and his length is particularly troublesome. i have more confidence in chris in creating turnovers or getting steals if we need that in a late game situation. in the memphis game, chris picked derrick rose's pocket clean when he tried to cross CW over.

i also love chris's dribble penetration which adds a new dimension offensively. i haven't seen us drive and kick almost at all this season until chris did it a few times yesterday, and against a team with good guards

[RDF]

If you can't see the impact-- hope this post helps. His presence allowed the starters to play much more aggressive knowing they had some help--didn't have to do everything. When you can take a few possessions off in terms of ball handling, running the team and focus on scoring, or you can check a lesser player on other end instead of ragging the opposing PG--it allows the entire team to be more aggressive--but especially the backcourt.

Wright's quickness/penetration skills almost took Nova by surprise--he carved them up and then everyone else followed with drive/draw/kick game--and with Hoyas shooters open--that is a great asset to the offense, makes the spacing on court better/opens up more for team in terms of driving in lane. Georgetown's best zone offense all year has been with Wright on the court--he provides another shooting threat, he can beat teams off dribble, and he moves the ball quickly. Ball movement is how you get great looks and can play with tempo--which is what I've preached on here since III has taken over-when Hoyas play like they did yesterday--they are unbeatable. Not just in shooting percentage--approach. Ball movement, guys touching the ball/looking for best shot available--not first open shot or taking forced shots. Problem with Roy--he'd get ball and kill the ball movement--he was just a step behind yesterday-he'll adjust to them tonight--just watch.

Jay Wright knows who Chris is--he tried to recruit him, but elected to pursue Scotty instead--and for those of us who never wanted Reynolds--yesterday was a taste of why we preferred Wright. Chris makes others better/can create offense--Scotty gets shots for himself and can't handle the ball, isn't as quick, and isn't a good defensive player. Wright showed everyone a taste yesterday of what the future is--both in the rest of this season and following 3 years.

Best comment--Jon Wallace telling media that "Chris is like Pat--he brings energy to the team--you feel his presence on court"--and that is great to have as an addition. Nobody was saying Wright would be savior and that current guys are stiffs--they were saying his addition/presence will only make THEM STRONGER--and the team deeper/stronger.

[FromTheBeginning]

What yesterday did is make me feel so much better about next year as we try to replace JW - the combo of Chris & Jason Clark so do so nicely.

[kchoya]

Mar 14, 2008 13:57:12 GMT -5 RDF said:

If you can't see the impact-- hope this post helps. His presence allowed the starters to play much more aggressive knowing they had some help--didn't have to do everything. When you can take a few possessions off in terms of ball handling, running the team and focus on scoring, or you can check a lesser player on other end instead of ragging the opposing PG--it allows the entire team to be more aggressive--but especially the backcourt.

Wright's quickness/penetration skills almost took Nova by surprise--he carved them up and then everyone else followed with drive/draw/kick game--and with Hoyas shooters open--that is a great asset to the offense, makes the spacing on court better/opens up more for team in terms of driving in lane. Georgetown's best zone offense all year has been with Wright on the court--he provides another shooting threat, he can beat teams off dribble, and he moves the ball quickly. Ball movement is how you get great looks and can play with tempo--which is what I've preached on here since III has taken over-when Hoyas play like they did yesterday--they are unbeatable. Not just in shooting percentage--approach. Ball movement, guys touching the ball/looking for best shot available--not first open shot or taking forced shots. Problem with Roy--he'd get ball and kill the ball movement--he was just a step behind yesterday-he'll adjust to them tonight--just watch.

Jay Wright knows who Chris is--he tried to recruit him, but elected to pursue Scotty instead--and for those of us who never wanted Reynolds--yesterday was a taste of why we preferred Wright. Chris makes others better/can create offense--Scotty gets shots for himself and can't handle the ball, isn't as quick, and isn't a good defensive player. Wright showed everyone a taste yesterday of what the future is--both in the rest of this season and following 3 years.

Best comment--Jon Wallace telling media that "Chris is like Pat--he brings energy to the team--you feel his presence on court"--and that is great to have as an addition. Nobody was saying Wright would be savior and that current guys are stiffs--they were saying his addition/presence will only make THEM STRONGER--and the team deeper/stronger.

RDF is exactly right. You can't point to specific plays Wright made, other than when he would drive in and dish out. However, his presence, ball-handling and the threat that he could hit the three or, more importantly, break Nova down off the dribble made the offense run much better.

Obviously we only have a one game sample, but the increased assertiveness/agressiveness yesterday by the team as whole, while still remaining under control, was what a lot of us have been waiting for for a long time. Maybe that was coaching by JT3, maybe that was Wright's presence, who knows. But I hope it continues because that is when GU is at it's most dangerous. And for it to happen against Nova - a small team that's given us fits with their pressure - is a good sign. As others have indicated before, I think what we saw yesterday was much closer to what our offense is going to look like in the next few years with Wright & Freeman outside and Monroe/Macklin/Summers/etc. up front.

Did Wright single-handedly lead to the team shooting 61% from downtown, no, but that's because nothing will lead to shooting that well except for everyone being on fire. Is he the answer to all of the team's woes? Maybe not, but his presence and his play immediately helps some of the team's weaknesses - dealing with pressure, attacking a zone defense, and guarding small guards.

[Big Dog]

One disappointing aspect of yesterday is that we still wound up with 16 turnovers. I'd like to cut that to a dozen or fewer going forward, and more minutes for CW might be the trick.