Was yesterday III's Iowa?

[Elvado]

Not actually comparing the games themselves, but does the bitter sting of letting a beaten team off the mat do for III what it helped do for JT? In both instances the pedal came inexplicably off the metal.

Are Wallace and Hibbert this year's BaBa and Big Sky?

Perhaps more importantly, who steps up as Sleepy and is Monroe the new Pat?

Discuss amongst yourselves.

[SFHoya99]

Did Pops start coaching differently or did the personnel just change?

[Elvado]

I think the urgency was upticked after Iowa. Not sure he coached any differently.

[FrazierFanatic]

Mar 24, 2008 15:22:25 GMT -5 Elvado said:

Not actually comparing the games themselves, but does the bitter sting of letting a beaten team off the mat do for III what it helped do for JT? In both instances the pedal came inexplicably off the metal.

Are Wallace and Hibbert this year's BaBa and Big Sky?

Perhaps more importantly, who steps up as Sleepy and is Monroe the new Pat?

Discuss amongst yourselves.

Most importantly - does it mean we are going to get whacked by James Madison in the first round next year? Say it ain't so, 'vad!

[Elvado]

I'm hoping the son learns and adapts faster than the father. Plus in '80, Pat was still a year away. Monroe comes now (hopefully with significant assistance from Clark, Braswell and Sims, playing the roles of Martin, jones and Dalton).

[jld54]

I think that yesterday was eerily like Iowa -- I was there and watched a comfortable lead inexplicably and helplessly slip away. I think this can be a valuable learning experience for JT3.

[Hoya Rich]

Since JTIII has never really lost a game like this before, it can only help him in the long run. It's one of the few things he hadn't experienced, and those are the sorts of things that go into the memory bank and help you coach a little better in the future.

[The Stig]

From the post-game quotes it sounded like JTIII was taking this loss pretty hard.

I think he's the sort of person who will respond to this by working even harder than he already is to make sure nothing like this ever happens again.

[cebuhoya]

Didn't we lose a game in the same fashion to the Cuse in the 2005 (or was it 2006) BET? If I recall correctly, we were up by a big margin (20?) at halftime. Then the wheels came off the wagon after McNamara went unconscious in the second half.

Just found the WP article on that game. Here's the link. We were up by 15 at halftime: www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/10/AR2006031001978.html

[vamosalaplaya]

I was at the Syracuse game in 2006, the Hoyas did blow a big lead. They had just beaten ND to clinch an NCAA berth and then Marquette in the quarters; Syracuse had upset UConn.

Similarities in that Hoya fans were outnumbered badly, place was going nuts for Syracuse, including opposing fans as GU was favored. McNamara taking the place of Curry. And GU"s game plan completely fell apart as Syracuse got really hot. A team with alot of seniors - Bowman, Cook, Owens - let it slip.

There were some similarities actually in that sense. But GU hadn't played an NCAA game at that point in JT III's tenure, or for that matter any of the players on the floor. You could argue they put that game to use over the next two years.

So I will run with that analogy a little bit.

But it all fell apart yesterday.

And - sorry, can't let this go - I don't recall thinking the refs played a role back then.

[HoyaChris]

I am not convinced that the Iowa loss changed anything that Pops did. As I mentioned on another thread, we shot well in the second half and did not turn the ball over a lot in the second half. the only plausible coaching criticism is that we were not as aggressive in trying to score in the second half. Pops continued to play this modified stall ball right up until the end of the shot clock - see the national championship game against Nova - with continued negative results.

The 1981 team had a lot less overall talent than the team we will have next year, although in Sleepy Floyd we had a star, a leader, and a scorer who could get his own shot. The only recruit of note was Fred Brown.

The subsequent recruiting class had Patrick, Bill Martin, Anthony Jones and Ralph Dalton. I don't believe that it reflected a dramatic change in JT Jr.'s recruiting philosophy, rather I think that our recruiting was made easier by the validation that an elite eight appearance provided to the program.

[jacko]

Mar 24, 2008 15:22:25 GMT -5 Elvado said:

Are Wallace and Hibbert this year's BaBa and Big Sky?

Perhaps more importantly, who steps up as Sleepy and is Monroe the new Pat?

You're not being serious, right? I mean, it's Monroe if David Stern decides to up the age minimum from 19 to 22 this year or next year. Otherwise I think we're done seeing dominant four year players.

[michaelgrahamfan]

Great analogy. They must be similar as I feel just as nauseous.

[town05]

Mar 24, 2008 18:53:05 GMT -5 jacko said:

Mar 24, 2008 15:22:25 GMT -5 Elvado said:

Are Wallace and Hibbert this year's BaBa and Big Sky?

Perhaps more importantly, who steps up as Sleepy and is Monroe the new Pat?

You're not being serious, right? I mean, it's Monroe if David Stern decides to up the age minimum from 19 to 22 this year or next year. Otherwise I think we're done seeing dominant four year players.

Sad but true.

[Madgesdiq]

I have read several times over the last day that JT3 had never lost a game like this before. I am not sure if I agree with this. In a lot of ways, the game reminded me of the 2006 BE semis against Syracuse.