Get To Work Hoyas

[angus]

OK, pretend for a minute you are Coach III. Based upon your observations, what one thing would you ask each player to focus on during the off-season. Here's my stab:

BB -- three point shot. If he added a consistent three to his game, his drives to the basket would be even more devastating.

JG -- hit the weights, and develop one "go-to," low post move.

Roy -- mobility and endurance so you play offense and defense with your feet instead of your hands.

Ashanti -- intermediate, stop and pop jumper

Wallace -- ballhandling to avoid steals

DJ -- (if you return) remember the blow-by dunk against Duke? He needs to reincorporate that into his offensive repertoire to compliment the three.

Reed -- watch tapes of Gene Smith and become him. You are every bit as good a defensive player. Become the mistake-free, steading force Smith was on the offensive end too.

Crawford -- continue to work on the handle and shot

Amadou -- get stronger too, and focus on defensive rebounding

I did not see enough of the returning players to comment.

Thoughts?

[FormerHoya]

Is it just me, or does Ashanti get a bit of a free pass for his on-court decision-making? For all the Good Brandon-Bad Brandon talk (and I admit I don't see as many games as you locals) it seemed like decisions from Ashanti when he ran the "point" led to a good number of those terrible scoreless stretches.

Anyway, I don't really know how you can work on that, but that would be my no. 1 issue.

Also get Roy into the weightroom. He is too big to be pushed around as he was.

[SFHoya99]

My thoughts (only one thing):

Jeff: muscle
Brandon: a left hand
Darrel: the mindset from the SC game
Jon: handle
Ashanti: crisp passes
Tyler: handle
Roy: keeping hands high
Ray: 3 pt shot
Sead: pom poms (okay, a summer of shuttle runs)
Cornelio: attitude
Me: less posting, more working

[jerseyhoya34]

Jeff: dribbling, on-the-ball defense, strength
Brandon: left hand
DJ: aggression
JW: handle
Ashanti: passing and intermediate game
Tyler: handle and shooting
Roy: quickness, coordination, low post moves
RR: shooting and learning a role

[PDRHoya99]

SFHoya99 said:

My thoughts (only one thing):

Jeff: muscle
Brandon: a left hand
Darrel: the mindset from the SC game
Jon: handle
Ashanti: crisp passes
Tyler: handle
Roy: keeping hands high
Ray: 3 pt shot
Sead: pom poms (okay, a summer of shuttle runs)
Cornelio: attitude
Me: less posting, more working

AG, I see all of the above being possibilities, except the last one.

[EasyEd]

Entire team: footwork on defense, blocking out on rebounds.
Guards: penetration, penetration, penetration.
Green: movements to the basket.
DJ: keep shooting.
Wallace and Ashanti: mid-range jump shots.
Hibbert: work on coordination and handle.
Bowman: intensity for 40 minutes.
Reed and Crawford: shooting.

[HoyasSkins]

Here’s my list....

Bowman: Mid-range shot, 3 point shot, aggressiveness. Next year Brandon is going to have to solidify his position as one of the elite players of the Big East.

Green: Add muscle, Mid-range shot, drop step and baby hook, left hand. I have complete faith in Jeff to make himself a great player. I think he will improve incredibly fast, much like sweetney.

Ashanti: Leadership, catch the ball ready to shoot, defense. Become that player from the Pitt game, become the guy who can consistently score from the outside.

Wallace: improve athleticism; make the jump shot automatic, ball handling, defense. Be a solid role player who does all of the little things.

Owens?: Leadership, Confidence/swagger, aggressiveness. Prove that you are the player we saw this postseason. Get 10ppg and give us leadership.

Roy: put on some muscle, post moves, footwork and hands. Roy has tremendous upside, I don't expect him to be great next year, but I think he will steadily improve into a great player.

Reed: decision making, shooting. Don't lose your minutes to incoming freshman, contribute as a solid backup.

Crawford: ball handling, shooting. The biggest thing for him is ball handling, he cannot play the three, we get killed on the boards. Earn your playing time at the 2.

AKD/Sead/Guibunda: Become rebounders and shut down defenders, find a way to contribute. I am confident that one of these players will be able to step up. If we wind up without a new big man next year, one of these guys will have to contribute much more.

Overall team improvements: As I look at my list, the main improvements that seem necessary are
1.Shooting
2.Defending
3.Rebounding
4.Agressiveness

I think if we can substantially improve in at least 3 of these areas, we can make it to the NCAA's next year. I hope that the players and coaches really dedicate themselves in the off season to improve themselves personally, and rebuild this program. Although disappointed that the season is over, especially without a Maryland win , I remain confident that next year will be just as exciting. I proud to be a Hoya fan and I can't wait until next year.

Hoya Saxa.

[TBird41]

Here are my thoughts:

Jeff: Work on defense (mainly avoiding the stupid fouls) and develop a go to move so he can take over during the mid-game siestas.

Roy: Hit the weight room and practice the hook shot til it's automatic.

Wallace: Work on penetrating and conditioning so he doesn't hit the wall again (so his 3 pt. shooting doesn't suffer)

Ashanti: Mid-Range Jumper.

Bowman: Learn how to take over a game. We didn't have a player capable of dominating consistently when we needed it and if Bowman and Jeff take their game to the next level, we'll be dominate next year.

Reed: Learn how to drive and still be in control. That and learn how to shoot again.

Owens: Figure out how to play an entire season the way he did the last few games. (Or find a real job, depending on if he comes back)

AKD/Dizzy/Cornelio: Become a viable big man defensively and one that can catch the ball (AKD), bang inside (Dizzy), and develop a move that won't get rejected (Giubunda)

[Deleted]

Cornelio: are you still alive?

[Nevada Hoya]

angus said:

OK, pretend for a minute you are Coach III. Based upon your observations, what one thing would you ask each player to focus on during the off-season. Here's my stab:


Reed -- watch tapes of Gene Smith and become him. You are every bit as good a defensive player. Become the mistake-free, steading force Smith was on the offensive end too.


Thoughts?

Is this the Gene Smith, who led the charge to hold Kentucky to 11 points in the 2nd half? RR must be some defensive wiz.

[RBHoya]

Tough to limit myself to just 1, so Ill just say what Id advise the player to improve weakness, not necessarily limited to one:

Jeff: Rebounding. He's a great all around player but we've given up way too many rebounds down the stretch this year, ever since Villanova part 2. We cant let that happen. He's definitely athletic enough, he just needs to work on positioning and boxing out. Very fixable. Other areas to work on: strength, outside shot (opens up Princeton), go-to post up move, and stop getting tickytack fouls/play under control.

Brandon: Just dominate. He's going to be one of the best players in the league next year. Needs to come hard every night and play like the superstar hes capable of being. Use both hands, play hard at both ends, and just simply be omnipresent. Dominate.

Ashanti: Handle. He's likely going to spend a good amount of time in the backcourt next year with any of Tyler, Marc, Sapp, or Thornton (just 4 of the guys vying for backcourt time with him). Since thats the case, hes going to have to take on more of a "true point" status, breaking the press and bringing the ball up. No more dribbling off his foot. Needs to handle and pass well. I already trust his outside shot. Maybe work on shooting off the dribble as well.

Owens: Just try to stay as hot as hes been now. If he can keep hitting the outside shot as he has, hed be well served to add a dribble drive as well. Also, needs to be the vocal leader of the team.

Jonathan: 2 major improvements need to be made. He needs to become a better passer. He's made too many bad decisions this year, trying to pass through traffic and stuff like that. Those are freshman mistakes, which is fine as long as they dont become sophomore mistakes as well. The other big area he needs to work on is his D. He needs to improve his quickness and play D with his feet not his hands. Its a tough thing to work on, but he needs to improve defensively if he wants to continue to be anything more than an off-the-bench offensive spark. Consistency in his outside shot would be good too.

Roy: Roy needs help in many areas. He needs to play a lot of ball to get more game sense. He needs to improve his footwork and footspeed. He needs to develop a hook shot, by taking about 50,000 hook shots this offseason. He needs to work on keeping the basketball up high near his head rather than his chest. Dont look so afraid when you get the ball--make a crisp pass, and look to get position in the paint.

RayRay: Play under control offensively. Realize youre our defensive stopper, and in there for to be tough and agressive, not an offensive threat. Nonethless, if he can just work on some offensive fundamentals hell be ok. He was a solid shooter in high school, so if he can develop to the point where hes an average offensive player rather than a poor one, thatd be great.

Tyler: Needs to develop more guard skills, because his minutes will be at the 2 not the 3. That means consistent 3pt shooting and better ball handling/passing. (For the record, I think Egerson takes almost all of his minutes next year, but thats just a hunch.)

Sead/Cornelio/Amadou: Ok, one of these guys is still going to be averageing a few minutes per game next year. Who it is is anyones guess. Sead needs to improve his footspeed and his defense (hes a solid offensive player IMO). Diaw needs to work on being a better rebounder, itd be great if he becomes a good offensive rebounder/put back player. Cornelio needs a lot of work, in the weightroom and on the court. He needs to eat a lot and try very hard to bulk up over the next 6 months, hitting the weight room hard. But even more than that, he needs to just get a lot of experience playing against big east or better level competition. He's a solid athlete, he just needs to get more accustomed to the high level game. I believe in him, and hope hell work out a few minutes/game next year before becoming a solid contributor and member of the rotation off the bench as a junior.

JT3: Develop a full court press. We've got so many guards, we should be able to do it without getting tired. I just hope it works with Roy in the game. Also, develop some alternative offensive sets that are designed to GET JEFF THE BALL, as an occasional changeup from the motion O.

[SFHoya99]

Here's two more:

Students - develop a plan within/without HB to get even more students out to the games next year and be ready to execute it.

Alumni and other fans- put pressure on the admin to start the convocation center work.

[EasyEd]

I'd like to add: every member of the team, including the incoming freshmen, should participate in the Kenner League.

[McBricks]

Agree with SF - let's get to work and figure out how to make the Convocation Center happen. Value of the NIT? We got to see what another meaningful game at McD means. And I'm thinking that our players deserve that kind of atmosphere. The administration and alums need to make this happen. We need a publicly announced plan before the start of next season.