Is Otto wearing down

[Deleted]

Hi Guys!!

I noticed that lately, Otto's shooting has tailed off. Against Syracuse, I don't remember him being off the floor. In addition to guarding Syracuse's best player (CJ Fair) and doing a great job, he was running around in the middle of the zone, trying to get free. I don't care how good you are, you need some time off.

The problem is that we are not deep and all of the last 4-5 games have been big games. Our guys are trying so hard, and in doing so, their legs and arms may be getting a little tired. I feel that this problem may be one of the reasons we have been not doing well in the NCAA tourney in recent years. Without depth, we have to be especially wary of foul trouble. You can't press for very long. I don't feel that this is the only reason for our NCAA performance, but is a major factorl

The value of depth was never more apparent than in last night's Syracuse Louisville game. Louisville just wore them down. MCW was the only guard with the skills to bring the ball up against the press, and when he got fatigued, Syracuse was done. When you go 10 deep like Louisville, you can press the entire game.

What do you guys think?

[nychoya3]

I don't think he's wearing down. I think he's fine. But he was shooting the ball at such a crazy level, especially from three, that he was inevitably going to come down to earth a little bit. And plus everyone is going to key on stopping him from now on.

He's got a few days now to rest up, as do the rest of the guys. Everyone in the country has some bumps and bruises at this point, and I just don't think whether he plays 38 minutes or 33 minutes a game was really going to change that a whole lot.

[FrazierFanatic]

Otto is drawing even more attention from defenses since the first SU game, and seems to be forcing a few off-balance short jumpers. But the defensive effort he gave against Fair would seem to indicate he has plenty left. From here on in we play twice a week. He'll be fine.

[bmartin]

No.

[hoyas1995]

Interesting thought, but no. He's 19 years old

[bicentennial]

I thought that the problem for Otto this time is that we did not exploit the baseline we also did not dribble drive into the zone like jabril did at cuse to get open looks. We settled back into the pass around the zone and to the free throw line and did not switch up the attack enough to make them play all the way to the baseline. There were lots of times when Ayegba was wide open within 2 feet of the basket and we did not even look to get him the ball. While getting the ball to Hopkins was more successful, anytime Hopkins was off the floor, neither Nate nor Ayegba got the ball despite being open when the D collapsed on other players.

[professorhoya]

I read an interview just last week where someone was saying that the one advantage of AAU ball was that it prepared you for tournament setups, back to back games etc. hopefully that's not completely true but Otto is in a slump with his 3pt shot. Of course the constant triple teams are tiring so other guys have to step up and finish since they will be wide open.

[hoyainspirit]

Uh, that would be a negative.

[wahoohoya]

I don't think he's wearing down but he played a bit tight these past couple of games. I believe all this closing out Cuse/the conference nonsense put a lot of extra pressure on our guys. Hoping the change of scenery in the NCAAs will put Otto back to playing at first team All American level.

[Deleted]

No…. He’s 19

[hoya95]

It's too small a sample size to know, but it's obviously not ideal that we've needed him to play basically every minute of the last few games. He's going to need some more help.

[Deleted]

Good thing he has almost a full week off before the next game...

[crashdavis]

He's not wearing down. And his jumper is not off, its just that shots aren't going down right now. I liken it to a good hitter who went 0-8 in his last 2 games causing most people to think something is wrong. However, in reality he is seeing and hitting the ball well.... but right at people.

[sleepy]

I thought he rushed his shot this week. He is usually good at collecting himself and setting his shot properly but he seemed to be letting it go a beat to early and either his feet wouldn't be completely set or his body wasn't completly square. Probably a function of being the focus of the defense and playing a little tight.

[wahoohoya]

Mar 17, 2013 12:20:51 GMT -5 crashdavis said:

He's not wearing down. And his jumper is not off, its just that shots aren't going down right now. I liken it to a good hitter who went 0-8 in his last 2 games causing most people to think something is wrong. However, in reality he is seeing and hitting the ball well.... but right at people.

Wasn't simply the case of shots not falling - or at least not with all of his misses. There were several times where he definitely looked a little tight with his shot. I'm not overly concerned as I have faith he will work it out this week.

[profquigley]

He's fine. This team is fine. They'd be more fine with Whitt (any chance him playing?). But I like this team more than any of our last 4-5 NCAA teams. Why? THEY DON'T QUIT! I don't know how many games I've been to or watched where I thought we were toast only to see them come back, e.g. UCONN. Otto doesn't have to score 20+ for us to win. He does so much more.

[Deleted]

Thanks guys. Your comments are reassuring. Anyway, I like this team's chances because of their defense. I think that this is the best defense at Georgetown in recent history

[prhoya]

Jerry, IMO it has something to do with what you suggest. He's been playing almost every minute of an offense and defense that require moving all the time. Contrary to Austin and others, Otto is constantly moving and playing it correctly (cliche: bought into the system). Plus, he's the focus of the other team, so he has to deal with getting away from double and triple teams. Also, he's an all-out defender and rebounder. No one can go at full speed all the time and not get tired, not even a 19 yo. Ideally, we would have a bigger rotation to give the players more breathers, but without GW that is not the case. That said, the team and Otto should be rested and ready to go this week.

[DanMcQ]

Playing nearly 40 minutes a game didn't seem to slow Kemba Walker down through the BET and NCAA tourney.

[calhoya]

Problem is entirely related to the way the game is called, not wearing down. If the officials allow the grabbing, bumping, holding then he will struggle to get his shot whether he plays 40 or 20 minutes.