Re-creating 2006

[GIGAFAN99]

What we'll need.

Center: True center, multi-skilled, long and able to disrupt traffic.
It wouldn't hurt if; He were a little quicker
Status: TBD. Will this be Henry? He's young and shows flashes, but he also doesn't play much anymore these days. Is that a freshman Hibbert DNP or a freshman Macklin DNP?

PF: Multi-dimensional, runs the offense, top 2 on the team in every facet of the game.
It wouldn't hurt if; He looked for his shot more
Status: Looking good. Greg Monroe as a freshman is reminiscent of Jeff as a frosh. He has flaws (bulk, right hand aggressiveness) but so did Jeff. Will he stay?

SF: Freshman, highly-skilled role player, needs to score and complement the PF's all-around game
It wouldn't hurt if; He were better on defense
Status: Probable. Actually the complementary SF could be our easiest to fill between Summers, Nikita, or Hollis. This is clearly the easiest of these positions to recruit and boy have we recruited a bunch.

SG: Knock-down shooter. Set his feet and it's in. Steady in all other aspects.
It wouldn't hurt if; He were more athletic
Status: Who knows? Freeman should be our starting 2 and looked to be clearly a super shooter last year. Is he a victim of the inexperience around him or is this a long-term trend?

PG: Tough, hard-nosed combo guard with Onions!
It wouldn't hurt if; He were better going towards the basket
Status: Check. If there's one thing I'm confident in, it's Chris Wright will develop into a good point guard and will stay.

Bench: Energy bunch. Defensive all-arounder, defensive specialist, and solid players to spell the starters.
It wouldn't hurt if; They could score more
Status: Incomplete but close. Clark, Vaughn, and the SF brigade are a pretty good bench actually and will only get better. But they need ENERGY. Might there be a JuCo to play the Ewing role? We have the schollies.

So how close are we? Not that far really on paper. Our refusal to develop Sims is as concerning as it is puzzling since we seem weak on D without two bigs. We also have stuck Dajuan out of position. If he returns, he should return to the 3.

While I don't necessarily think we need to re-create 2006 to succeed, it's not a bad blueprint if you ask me. Here's to hoping we can get a JuCo 4/5 and the guys hit the weights.

[FLHoya]

I mean, we play Duke at Verizon next year...that's what most people remember about 2006 anyways.

So that's a start.

If we're scheduled for a road game in Tampa, I'd start worrying now.

[prhoya]

What we'll need: more emphasis on defense and boards from all positions.
Wouldn't hurt if: the team was more aggressive and some players didn't disappear for parts of the game.
Status: TBD. Will the staff get another recruit? Who will stay or go?

[SirSaxa]

Very interesting post Giga, with both interesting insights and a nice touch of style to get your points across.

Does the coach have the smarts, creativity and leadership qualities to accomplish the turnaround this team needs?
For me, there is absolutely no question about that. Given all he has achieved in his first 8 years as head coach, against seemingly overwhelming odds... there is not a doubt in my mind that he will get it turned around. JT3 is the ideal coach for the Hoyas. No one in the country comes close.

[the_way]

I think for next year, JTIII has to start from scratch offensively and defensively.

With defense, practicing on fundamentals, because we lack those. the scheme means nothing if the team does not have basica fundamentals in order.

with the offense, i think the kids need a refresher course on the Princeton because we don't run it. we just jack up 3's. just learning how to share the ball and moving without the ball needs to be stressed because it seems the guys just aren't buying into it or have totally scrapped the concept.

We lose one senior, so this is our group. We can't change the players. Gotta go back to the fundamentals.

I like to see the guys function as a unit, instead of a collectin of 5 players on the floor. On offense and defense, communication and discipline is the key. I don't see that either. guys want to win. but the trust in each isn't there. Each individaul panics when things don't work and try to do it all themselves with rush shots, bad passes, etc.

Playing as a team, on both ends on of the floor has been the thing that is missing, and needs to be addressed, imo.

[FrazierFanatic]

Way - absolutely agree about the defense, we have real problems with fundamentals like positioning, over-reacting, reaching instead of moving, and functioning as a unit. These things can be learned, but require commitment by players and emphasis by staff.
On offense, we do need to function together. The interesting thing will be to see whether JTIII can make some adjustments in the offense to utilize the strengths of the guys we have. They do have to re-commit to things like cutting, screening, etc., but I think some adjustments to the scheme are also needed. I continue to have faith that Coach will be able to do this, and that he has recruited players who have the smarts, the abilities, and the dedication to do what is necessary. Only time will tell.

[hoyaclap]

Our team made major strides once Jeff became a bonafide three point threat (during his sophomore year). It opened up the offense the way it was supposed to be run. I personally think that the key to this will hinge on 2 (more like 2 1/2) options.

Either Sims or Vaughn developing consistent post games, coupled with Greg developing a consistent outside shot, allowing him to cause matchup problems anywhere on the O

or

Greg focused on banging around the post, and developing Henry to reliably knock down open threes from the 4 slot.


Clearly the main problem with this tean is poor defense, which I honestly don't see changing too much in the next year. But another concern which can be filled is by running the offense more crisply, which depends on consistent outside shooting.

[TBird41]

Feb 25, 2009 14:59:46 GMT -5 hoyaclap said:

Our team made major strides once Jeff became a bonafide three point threat (during his sophomore year). It opened up the offense the way it was supposed to be run. I personally think that the key to this will hinge on 2 (more like 2 1/2) options.

Either Sims or Vaughn developing consistent post games, coupled with Greg developing a consistent outside shot, allowing him to cause matchup problems anywhere on the O

or

Greg focused on banging around the post, and developing Henry to reliably knock down open threes from the 4 slot.


Clearly the main problem with this tean is poor defense, which I honestly don't see changing too much in the next year. But another concern which can be filled is by running the offense more crisply, which depends on consistent outside shooting.

Hoyas went from 66th in defense efficiency in 2004-2005 to 38th in 2005-2006. Going from freshmen to sophomores makes a difference--players get bigger/stronger and get to spend an entire offseason in the collegiate atmosphere. I wouldn't be surprised to see the defense get better just for that reason alone. I mean, if Greg and Henry and Julian get bigger/stronger, they'll be able to rebound and play post defense a lot better, which would make a big difference for our defense.

[prhoya]

Didn't we have one of the top FG defenses in the nation this year before the January debacle? I seem to recall we were around #3 in the nation. Not sure, though...

[Buckets]

statsheet.com/chart/2009-02-25_opp-efg-game-vs-opp-efg-total-to-date

Tennessee is the big early season spike. Maryland and Memphis were both legitimate defensive efforts against legitimate (okay maybe not UMCP) teams. The three big drops during Big East play are Seton Hall, Rutgers, and USF. I don't recall where we were ranked, but we did have excellent defensive stats until we stepped into the Big East, but we haven't had a really great defensive effort since, and that's the problem.

[hoyarooter]

Feb 25, 2009 13:49:27 GMT -5 the_way said:

I think for next year, JTIII has to start from scratch offensively and defensively.

With defense, practicing on fundamentals, because we lack those. the scheme means nothing if the team does not have basica fundamentals in order.

with the offense, i think the kids need a refresher course on the Princeton because we don't run it. we just jack up 3's. just learning how to share the ball and moving without the ball needs to be stressed because it seems the guys just aren't buying into it or have totally scrapped the concept.

We lose one senior, so this is our group. We can't change the players. Gotta go back to the fundamentals.

I like to see the guys function as a unit, instead of a collectin of 5 players on the floor. On offense and defense, communication and discipline is the key. I don't see that either. guys want to win. but the trust in each isn't there. Each individaul panics when things don't work and try to do it all themselves with rush shots, bad passes, etc.

Playing as a team, on both ends on of the floor has been the thing that is missing, and needs to be addressed, imo.

Now this I agree with. Fundamentals absolutely need to be stressed on both ends of the floor.