Are the Hoyas Soft?

[dreamhoya]

Too finesse? I'm debating as to whether i think that although it's all relative. A lot of people would've said each year that San Antonio was too "soft". Either way just NOT a loss that should have happened.

cw

[PopeJohn2]

mentally inconsistent. perhaps due to fatigue. perhaps due to weak team leadership. on the bright side, this type of thing likely wont happen next year if team stays together. syracuse lost this year to a division II and then to louisville at home. its a process.

[lichoya68]

sometimes very soft sometimes much much harder depends on which hoyas come out to play NEED TO BE FORTY MINUTES OF HELL EVERY GAME YUP EVERY GAME FROM THE BEGINNING TO THE VERY VERY END go hoyas beat cuse please

[NCHoya]

Yes. The team is soft when compared to the 80s and early 90s version of GU, but relative to everyone else in today's BE and NCAA, the Hoyas are probably about average in terms of tough vs soft.

I guess you could say the team has been "soft" for a while. I know there are a lot of long-time fans of the Hoyas on here that remember the "Old Hoyas" and their tough style of play that was more physical dominance than skill under JT2. But times have changed in college basketball and JT3 is a new generation of coaches that simply look at the game differently. Could you imagine, in this day and age of CBB, the BE going to the 6 foul rule for league games like it did back in the old days?

It is just a different time, I think sometimes we get caught up in comparisons to an era that is over.

Also, although it is clear their mental toughness is usually the reason for losing, you could probably say that for almost every Top 25 team. Good teams lose when they are not focused, motivated, etc. That is true with the Hoyas, Cuse (look at the UL game) and even mighty Kentucky after being ranked #1. We are no different.

[hoyaheaven]

Let's try Occam's razor (def): A rule in science and philosophy stating that entities should not be multiplied needlessly. This rule is interpreted to mean that the simplest of two or more competing theories is preferable and that an explanation for unknown phenomena should first be attempted in terms of what is already known...)

Fatigue (emotional and physical)...no bench (recruiting failure)...yesteryear offense.

Voila! Middle of the pack Georgetown.

[OldHoyafan]

To be honest yes if you mean a strong physical front line. None of the Hoya big men are naturally physical. Vaughn through hard work has made his game be more physical this year but he is not a naturally physical player. Monroe and Sims are to thin to be and Benimon is too short to be consistantly effective down low. The good thing is there is no team, other than Syracuse, that has a physically dominant frontline in BE. That is why I think many thought the BE would be down this year. The BE was a tough league in prior years because the teams in the league were tough throughout each teams roster not just at frontline position and played tough defense. That is still true today, other than the elite teams this year like Kentucky, Kansas, Syracuse who have strong frontlines and guard play most top BE teams would match up favorably with any team in NCAA.,

[bmartin]

No. In the 2nd half, GU outscored RU 30-14 in the paint, mostly because of Monroe on both ends, yet lost the half because of poor defense giving up open jumpers and committing fouls.

The perimeter defense was not necessarily soft, it just was not good team defense. Rutgers ran very simple stuff, yet someone was almost always wide open.

[DanMcQ]

Feb 15, 2010 10:25:00 GMT -5 hoyaheaven said:

yesteryear offense.

I'll take the "yesteryear" offense:



It was the defense and particularly the defensive rebounding that let the team down yesterday.

[3xhoya]

Feb 15, 2010 11:08:05 GMT -5 DanMcQ said:

Feb 15, 2010 10:25:00 GMT -5 hoyaheaven said:

yesteryear offense.

I'll take the "yesteryear" offense:

Hoyaheaven,

I am not sure how you can come here and talk about a "yesteryear offense". Did you not watch the game where they scored 103 vs Villanova, a top 5 team in the country, or when they lit up Duke?

This game was lost due to a lack of mental focus and poor defense.

[hoyaalf]

I'll take the offense too.

The team let themselves down.

CW's sideline itchiness and ill-considered launch may not be immature but this team does succomb to pressure.

Forgetting to box out, turn-overs - all part of the same loop.

I pray nightly that Greg Monroe will learn how to make a statement dunk to generate some heat.

[tashoya]

Feb 15, 2010 11:10:28 GMT -5 3xhoya said:

Feb 15, 2010 11:08:05 GMT -5 DanMcQ said:

I'll take the "yesteryear" offense:

Hoyaheaven,

I am not sure how you can come here and talk about a "yesteryear offense". Did you not watch the game where they scored 103 vs Villanova, a top 5 team in the country, or when they lit up Duke?

This game was lost due to a lack of mental focus and poor defense.

Facts = hoyaheaven's kryptonite

[strummer8526]

Yes, when they play bad teams, they are soft. When they play good teams, they're one of the best teams in the country.

Prediction: if we make it through the second round of the tournament, we'll make it to the Final 4. I'd rather play Ohio St. or Purdue right now than Belmont.

[PushyGuyFanClub]

At least one sign points to "yes": Sims is thinking about buying Oliver and Company:

[Just Cos]

Feb 15, 2010 15:24:58 GMT -5 PushyGuyFanClub said:

At least one sign points to "yes": Sims is thinking about buying Oliver and Company:

Is he referring to the cartoon movie?

[uptownathlete]

We're not going to do this whole leadership thing again this year. This fairweather stuff has to stop. Now back to the thread topic.....physically, this team is tough. Mentally...they've got to get it together..at least be consistent with it. far superior team than Rutgers....rutgers just wanted that game....South Florida wanted it...ODU wanted it.

[MassHoya]

IMHO, the loss of focus is due to the relative youth of this team. According to KenPom, they are 293 in that category. Although Chris, Austin and Greg may be leaders, their experience is still short and they may not yet be able to convey the urgency needed to paly in the BE every single night. Things are better, but they are not there yet.

That, and the ESPN 360 curse!

[dreamhoya]

Is this team having fun? I just can't stop thinking for the past couple years the statement made by Steph Curry after their tourney win vs. Gtown. We were up 11 in second half. Coach McKillop asked if Davidson was having fun. Then they were loose. Are the Hoyas too business-like?

[PushyGuyFanClub]

Feb 15, 2010 15:44:58 GMT -5 Just Cos said:

Feb 15, 2010 15:24:58 GMT -5 PushyGuyFanClub said:

At least one sign points to "yes": Sims is thinking about buying Oliver and Company:

Is he referring to the cartoon movie?

Is there another Oliver & Company? (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oliver_&_Company)

But it a positive development for Hoya toughness, he decided not to purchase a Disney flick about a kitten:

Catastrophe aborted. Bring on Syracuse!

[swhoya]

Feb 15, 2010 16:22:52 GMT -5 dreamhoya said:

Is this team having fun? I just can't stop thinking for the past couple years the statement made by Steph Curry after their tourney win vs. Gtown. We were up 11 in second half. Coach McKillop asked if Davidson was having fun. Then they were loose. Are the Hoyas too business-like?

Yes. We don't smile enough.

[hoyaalf]

Musing on JTIII and the cerebral approach

Ya know, maybe the 'toughness' thing is what Pops was referring to last year when he made remarks using the controversial 'thug' word.

He might have been speaking about his life experience relative to his son's. We all know where Pops came from compared to the afluence in which his own kids were raised. He keeps telling them and us. He's a funny man in all senses. He was hungry. He recruited hungry kids.

JTIII seems in large part to recruit middle-class kids with no issues. Same type of kids he went after at Princeton. Same type of kid he was. Good at everything. Cerebral types.

They also seem to be in awe of him, most of them. I recall an absolutelly terror-filled peak Henry S. shot at the bench one game after making an error.

His dad said III doesn't use a whistle in practice. An article about his international gig with the Davidson coach emphasized his composure and quiet corrections. I don't think he imposes his personality on his teams as many coaches do including his father. I suspect he wants his players to take from the experience what they will.

His standard of excellence is of the highest order. Never forget [he certainly can't] that from his conception 'til now he has been surrounded by practictioners of the art of basketball of the very highest level. From Red Auerbach to Pete Carril, he has processed them all through his Jesuit-trained P'ton colored lens.

He is also an upper middle class college basketball coach perfecting the family brand name. The Mannings and the Thompsons both know what they're doing. It's a great thing to watch.

Maybe he wants his recruits to find their own way through the maze.

Perhaps I am naive, starry eyed, or even cynical.

It may not often win championships but its great sports-opera.