STYLE OF PLAY

[richfame]

One thing I was impressed with is how well we played in the half court offense. We were patient, found the hot hand and limited the turnovers to an acceptable mininum. (2ND HALF)

Teams like UCONN feed on tempo, fast breaking, pressing, and putting quick runs on you. But in the tournment you have to be able to play the half court game. Uconn really doesnt have anyone to make consistent jump shots. This is why there not going to go far in the tournament.

To make a football anagoly were like a football team that can play great Defense and run the ball. Those are the teams that win games.

The hoyas showed me a toughness and togetherness that i havent seen in a few years. Great win! Just my 2 cents...

[FrazierFanatic]

I agree that those are our strengths - obviously accentuated when we shoot well. We can run a little in the right situation, but we're not turning into a fast-break team. It can be awfully hard for young guys to develop the patience and discipline needed to play this way, but we seem to be gettign there. We'll see if we keep improving the next few games, with some huge challenges. Hopefully they see the need to stay the course even if we have a bad stretch or even a half.

[Cambridge]

Jan 11, 2010 16:27:04 GMT -5 richfame said:

One thing I was impressed with is how well we played in the half court offense. We were patient, found the hot hand and limited the turnovers to an acceptable mininum. (2ND HALF)

Teams like UCONN feed on tempo, fast breaking, pressing, and putting quick runs on you. But in the tournment you have to be able to play the half court game. Uconn really doesnt have anyone to make consistent jump shots. This is why there not going to go far in the tournament.

To make a football anagoly were like a football team that can play great Defense and run the ball. Those are the teams that win games.

The hoyas showed me a toughness and togetherness that i havent seen in a few years. Great win! Just my 2 cents...

I agree and would like to add that UConn might be the worst half court team I've ever seen. I don't think they scored a basket that wasn't a fast break.

[hometownhoya89]

i'd also point out we had a lot of success when we were able to push the ball immediately off of rebounds and prevent uconn from getting set on defense. Particularly during the meat of the comeback, we drastically reduced the deficit by those quick outlet passes from the rebound and attacking the first huskies back on D.

Admittedly, forcing those quick shots will be our ruin, but we can always pull back on the fast break if nothing materializes. I just want to see some variety in our attack. THAT'S when we're most dangerous.

Regardless, while i'd like to see a little more of that pressure offense, that's largely a function of their conditioning & we struggling just to get back down the court to defend. Maybe the fatties just need more conditioning.

[daytonahoya31]

We run a lot more than people think. We scored in the halfcourt a ton against UConn to be sure. But we also scored alot in transition. Chris, Austin, Greg and Jason thrive in transition. The best thing is that we run with a purpose

[GIGAFAN99]

Jan 11, 2010 22:06:46 GMT -5 daytonahoya31 said:

We run a lot more than people think. We scored in the halfcourt a ton against UConn to be sure. But we also scored alot in transition. Chris, Austin, Greg and Jason thrive in transition. The best thing is that we run with a purpose

And slow does not equal lazy. That's what this team did in the second half. You can play methodical basketball at fever pitch intensity. In many ways it kills an opponent more than running if you're smart and efficient.

[michaelgrahamfan]

Correct obervations. An additional point is that Greg needs to be more efficient around the basket for the Hoyas to be a complete half court team. There is time.....

[GIGAFAN99]

Jan 11, 2010 22:12:01 GMT -5 michaelgrahamfan said:

Correct obervations. An additional point is that Greg needs to be more efficient around the basket for the Hoyas to be a complete half court team. There is time.....

Can you imagine if Greg just gets his footwork down enough to make a hook or a daytona-approved Tim Duncan bank off the glass? And he's talented enough to make these kinds of strides even against high-level competition.

[daytonahoya31]

Daytona approved?

What's that supposed to mean?

[jacko]

Jan 11, 2010 22:09:55 GMT -5 GIGAFAN99 said:

And slow does not equal lazy. That's what this team did in the second half. You can play methodical basketball at fever pitch intensity. In many ways it kills an opponent more than running if you're smart and efficient.

This is what I was hoping for all last year that I see more of from this team. It was one of the things I marveled at most about the 2005-2007 teams after watching them up close. They played slow on offense and conservatively on defense, but there was an underlying maniacal desire to grab every loose ball and rebound and do all the little scrappy things, which somehow didn't obstruct their offensive execution. This was epitomized by Green, Wallace and Owens, but I think Ewing was also a great example (remember how big a deal it was when he got his shooting/fouling under control in conference play his first year?). I saw the stoicism from Monroe, Freeman, Wright, Sapp and Summers last year, but without the scrappiness. Lots more scrappiness out there this year.

[GIGAFAN99]

Jan 11, 2010 23:12:29 GMT -5 daytonahoya31 said:

Daytona approved?

What's that supposed to mean?

You've been comparing Greg to Tim Duncan. I would assume you wouldn't mind him getting the footwork and soft bank shot Timmy has as well.

[RDF]

Why do people consider halfcourt basketball "slow"? Honestly it's just a misconception that too many kids buy into. What type of basketball do you HAVE TO PLAY if you ever want to win a National Championship or NBA title? You've got to be a solid halfcourt team. That does NOT MEAN SLOW--it means EFFICIENT AND PRODUCTIVE.

The one thing I think too many players/fans get caught up in is "Georgetown plays slow, methodical....." which is complete bullcrap. If you watch the 2nd Half--it was a case of running the offense--which meant guys moving/cutting and getting ball pushed into frontcourt and taking GREAT SHOTS--instead of hoisting deep 3's after 1-2 passes.

If anything--since Chris Wright has been a Hoya--the team has for the most part tried to get out in open floor more and it's shown--Freeman had 3-4 hoops where he just beat UConn to hoop and were "quick shots" but they were there.

I love the halfcourt approach we're seeing from III's team this year due to:

1. Jason Clark and Chris pushing ball into frontcourt to get team into the offense faster-giving them more time but also gives Hoyas chance to get quick hoop if it's there

2. More fastbreaks then any Hoya team I've seen under III. Austin's skill set has grown to point he plays point, so does Chris, as does Jason.

3. PUNISHING PRESSURE--that last hoop of game--wouldn't have happened in past years. That is how you beat pressure defense and how you close a game out. Austin Freeman has repeatedly done this in games I've watched--he's looked to get team hoops late--which is smart. By doing that-he assured Hoyas of OT at worst-instead of holding the ball/hoping to get fouled, and letting UConn potentially win game or run set play. Chris tried to do same and his hustle helped--but always punish a team when you have numbers--and past III teams didn't do this.

Just baffles me how people watch games and think a team is "uptempo" when they run, take stupid shots, and don't score--but if you are efficient in halfcourt and score 70-80--you are "slow".

[hoyainspirit]

Jan 12, 2010 12:10:43 GMT -5 RDF said:

Why do people consider halfcourt basketball "slow"? Honestly it's just a misconception that too many kids buy into. What type of basketball do you HAVE TO PLAY if you ever want to win a National Championship or NBA title? You've got to be a solid halfcourt team. That does NOT MEAN SLOW--it means EFFICIENT AND PRODUCTIVE.

The one thing I think too many players/fans get caught up in is "Georgetown plays slow, methodical....." which is complete bullcrap. If you watch the 2nd Half--it was a case of running the offense--which meant guys moving/cutting and getting ball pushed into frontcourt and taking GREAT SHOTS--instead of hoisting deep 3's after 1-2 passes.

If anything--since Chris Wright has been a Hoya--the team has for the most part tried to get out in open floor more and it's shown--Freeman had 3-4 hoops where he just beat UConn to hoop and were "quick shots" but they were there.

I love the halfcourt approach we're seeing from III's team this year due to:

1. Jason Clark and Chris pushing ball into frontcourt to get team into the offense faster-giving them more time but also gives Hoyas chance to get quick hoop if it's there

2. More fastbreaks then any Hoya team I've seen under III. Austin's skill set has grown to point he plays point, so does Chris, as does Jason.

3. PUNISHING PRESSURE--that last hoop of game--wouldn't have happened in past years. That is how you beat pressure defense and how you close a game out. Austin Freeman has repeatedly done this in games I've watched--he's looked to get team hoops late--which is smart. By doing that-he assured Hoyas of OT at worst-instead of holding the ball/hoping to get fouled, and letting UConn potentially win game or run set play. Chris tried to do same and his hustle helped--but always punish a team when you have numbers--and past III teams didn't do this.

Just baffles me how people watch games and think a team is "uptempo" when they run, take stupid shots, and don't score--but if you are efficient in halfcourt and score 70-80--you are "slow".

And to corroborate RDF's point, pace in 1st half:37. Pace in 2nd half:33. In the post game press conference, III said something to the effect that to get back into the game we had to slow down and run the offense. What's that Wooden maxim, "Be quick but don't hurry"?

[SSHoya]

JTIII said play slower and we'll score more points. Seems counterintuitive but absolutely correct. Another way of saying take better shots. `

[daytonahoya31]

@ Giga,

I understand.....Yeah, I agree with you there.

[hometownhoya89]

i'm most concerned about our speed getting back on defense - our play against UCONN would not indicate we're playing defense at the same caliber that Ty Lawson identified as the only team in the country his squad COULDN'T outrun.