Georgetown @ DePaul 1/13/15 Discussion

[DanMcQ]

Time for a road win.

[calhoya]

Who would ever have thought that this game would be so important--to both teams? DePaul is streaky and despite yesterday's loss and some early season hiccups are a greatly improved team, particularly at home. They take alot of 3s and Garrett is a legitimate star in the making. They have size and quickness down low and shoot FTs at a 75% clip. They are not a particularly good rebounding team, despite some big kids that play alot. Garrett and Robinson both shoot the 3 well, with Robinson at 6' 10" shooting the 3 better than anyone on the Hoyas, other than Bowen/Trawick and White, none of whom are expected to shoot much. Garrett is hitting 43% of his 3s. In addition to being an average rebounding team they commit alot of turnovers.

It's becoming a broken record to say that this is another game that the Hoyas can easily win, but also that it is another game that the Hoyas can easily lose.

[GIGAFAN99]

I'd say this is the first big week for this team. You’re hanging out in the mid-30s RPI, no top 50 wins, no road wins, and even the close games you've won (Florida and Indiana) you've coughed up leads late.

Have a chance to remedy all of those this week and simultaneously build confidence and your resume heading into Villanova.

[FLHoya]

Jan 11, 2015 8:54:21 GMT -5 calhoya said:

It's becoming a broken record to say that this is another game that the Hoyas can easily win, but also that it is another game that the Hoyas can easily lose.

We can probably go ahead and assume this for every remaining BE game, save maybe at Nova for the "easily win" part.

But hey, we got what we all wanted: the conference got much better and deeper this season. The minus side is we get the added stress of being concerned about even the DePaul games. The plus side is, I'm pretty sure our RPI went up from 37 to 35 despite our loss yesterday.

[Deleted]

Josh will be the difference here...

[FrazierFanatic]

Gotta have this one. No excuses. No prisoners. Just win.

[jester]

this year we are 6-0 in games where we commit fewer fouls than opponent, 6-1 when committing fewer turnovers, 4-0 when shooting better free throw percentage than opponent. lets do this.

[njhoya78]

Some more numbers to ponder:

GU's season-long field goal percentage is better than DePaul's (46.7% to 44.9%), and on a per game basis GU out rebounds DePaul (36 to 31) and out-blocks DePaul (5 to 4); assists per game, turnovers per game and steals per game are equal (13 assists, 14 turnovers and 8 steals). The Hoyas take 6 more shots and 1 more free throw per game than do the Blue Demons.

DePaul has the advantage in three point shooting (37.0% to 33.6%) and free throw shooting (75.2% to 68.6%). DePaul takes 6 more three-point shots per game, and hits 3 more three-pointers per game, than do the Hoyas. Finally, the Blue Demons are averaging 73 points per game, compared to 72 for GU.

Tighten up the perimeter defense to deny the extra three-point attempts, and success should follow.

[KHoyaNYC]

Here's the good news - the loss at Providence was not damaging to our NCAA resume. The bad news? A loss at Depaul would be. We are better, we are favored, and we should win.

[lichoya68]

MUST WIN MUST HIT FOUL SHOTS nuf said go hoyas hustle for forty minutes OR MORE SIX AM

[lichoya68]

One point or ot hmmm thats what i said LAST GAME need a WIN hoyas NEED A WIN. MUST GAME hit foul shots and SOME threes rebbies and hustle for forty minutes OR MORE>

[aristides]

I'd like to see another 30+ minutes of Paul White in this game. Even though his shots didn't fall against Provi, he took some smart shots and seemed the most competent at attacking the zone. Those shots will fall for him sooner or later.

And whoever was working with Josh Smith on his free throws, I hope he's switched over to Hop. Poor guy looked miserable on Saturday... hang in there big fella.

[Deleted]

Jan 12, 2015 13:17:41 GMT -5 aristides said:

I'd like to see another 30+ minutes of Paul White in this game. Even though his shots didn't fall against Provi, he took some smart shots and seemed the most competent at attacking the zone. Those shots will fall for him sooner or later.

And whoever was working with Josh Smith on his free throws, I hope he's switched over to Hop. Poor guy looked miserable on Saturday... hang in there big fella.

His shots werent completely off. most misses were back iron or in and out, although his form is not good at all. I think the last couple were 100% mental.....Either way, the dude is in a very very bad place offensively.....unbelievable he' was a top 100 player coming out of Dematha, is in his 4th year here, and a two-year starter. For his own benefit I think he'll be a much more productive player with about 10 minutes of playing time per game....

[Nevada Hoya]

Let's live up to our potential, play well, and win going away. We can do this.

[FrazierFanatic]

Jan 12, 2015 13:33:49 GMT -5 @denny said:

Jan 12, 2015 13:17:41 GMT -5 aristides said:

I'd like to see another 30+ minutes of Paul White in this game. Even though his shots didn't fall against Provi, he took some smart shots and seemed the most competent at attacking the zone. Those shots will fall for him sooner or later.

And whoever was working with Josh Smith on his free throws, I hope he's switched over to Hop. Poor guy looked miserable on Saturday... hang in there big fella.

His shots werent completely off. most misses were back iron or in and out, although his form is not good at all. I think the last couple were 100% mental.....Either way, the dude is in a very very bad place offensively.....unbelievable he' was a top 100 player coming out of Dematha, is in his 4th year here, and a two-year starter. For his own benefit I think he'll be a much more productive player with about 10 minutes of playing time per game....

The problem, of course - who is going play the 5 on defense the other 30 minutes? Josh's endurance and foul problems limit his minutes. Bradley is basically just a large body out there right now. Very frustrating.

[Deleted]

Jan 12, 2015 15:40:04 GMT -5 FrazierFanatic said:

Jan 12, 2015 13:33:49 GMT -5 @denny said:

His shots werent completely off. most misses were back iron or in and out, although his form is not good at all. I think the last couple were 100% mental.....Either way, the dude is in a very very bad place offensively.....unbelievable he' was a top 100 player coming out of Dematha, is in his 4th year here, and a two-year starter. For his own benefit I think he'll be a much more productive player with about 10 minutes of playing time per game....

The problem, of course - who is going play the 5 on defense the other 30 minutes? Josh's endurance and foul problems limit his minutes. Bradley is basically just a large body out there right now. Very frustrating.

Josh for 28, Hayes for 2. Look, I'm not saying 10 no matter what, if Josh plays 22 then you bite the bullet and Hopkins gets some additional time playing backup at the 5. But giving him even a single minute at the 4 right now seems unconscionable to me with White and Copeland sitting by. I'll take my lumps with those two and hope they mature rather than getting the same frustrating result over and over again with Hop. And frankly, I have more confidence in Copeland manning up to play the four and learning to compete with bigger dudes than I do Hopkins finishing a layup at this point. I don't buy the arguments that "Copeland isn't strong enough to play the four." What does that even mean? Yes, he'll give up some rebounds and some points on the interior. He'll also use his quickness and athleticism to get loose balls that bigger 4's don't and score in ways that other 4's don't. Either way, I have more confidence in him at this point. Worst comes to worst, you've given your future stars some seasoning the way the final four team went through JT3's first season as head coach.

[tashoya]

I'd like to see guys sent to the bench that pass up shots that they have to take. Take the confidence out of the equation a little. If it's a solid, open look in the flow of the offense, you take that shot. If not, you sit. That includes DSR, Jabril, Peak, and Bowen. Granted, you can't sit DSR for long but he has to be forced at this point to take those shots. I cringe when I see a guy pass up an open corner 3 especially. If we're worried about the confidence level of some guys, simply tell them it's their job to take the shots. They may miss the shots but you can't hit a shot you don't take in the first place. You don't have to hit that many to keep the defense honest. Longer shots usually equal longer rebounds anyway which allows other guys to get in on rebounding where they may have a bit of an advantage. It's not ideal to have Cope and PW getting overpowered under the basket but their height and length are pluses on longer rebounds that require less in the way of finding a man to body up.

[FrazierFanatic]

Jan 12, 2015 16:07:03 GMT -5 @denny said:

Jan 12, 2015 15:40:04 GMT -5 FrazierFanatic said:

The problem, of course - who is going play the 5 on defense the other 30 minutes? Josh's endurance and foul problems limit his minutes. Bradley is basically just a large body out there right now. Very frustrating.

Josh for 28, Hayes for 2. Look, I'm not saying 10 no matter what, if Josh plays 22 then you bite the bullet and Hopkins gets some additional time playing backup at the 5. But giving him even a single minute at the 4 right now seems unconscionable to me with White and Copeland sitting by. I'll take my lumps with those two and hope they mature rather than getting the same frustrating result over and over again with Hop. And frankly, I have more confidence in Copeland manning up to play the four and learning to compete with bigger dudes than I do Hopkins finishing a layup at this point. I don't buy the arguments that "Copeland isn't strong enough to play the four." What does that even mean? Yes, he'll give up some rebounds and some points on the interior. He'll also use his quickness and athleticism to get loose balls that bigger 4's don't and score in ways that other 4's don't. Either way, I have more confidence in him at this point. Worst comes to worst, you've given your future stars some seasoning the way the final four team went through JT3's first season as head coach.

I don't think anyone would disagree at this point that Hop's offensive failings have escalated to the point that his minutes have to be selective, primarily at the 5 for Josh, maybe a few at the 4 if we are facing an opposing 4 that could dominate. White certainly gives us more all-around. Copeland is still too inconsistent on offense to outweigh his defensive shortcomings, at least at the 4.

[tashoya]

Jan 12, 2015 21:10:25 GMT -5 FrazierFanatic said:

Jan 12, 2015 16:07:03 GMT -5 @denny said:

Josh for 28, Hayes for 2. Look, I'm not saying 10 no matter what, if Josh plays 22 then you bite the bullet and Hopkins gets some additional time playing backup at the 5. But giving him even a single minute at the 4 right now seems unconscionable to me with White and Copeland sitting by. I'll take my lumps with those two and hope they mature rather than getting the same frustrating result over and over again with Hop. And frankly, I have more confidence in Copeland manning up to play the four and learning to compete with bigger dudes than I do Hopkins finishing a layup at this point. I don't buy the arguments that "Copeland isn't strong enough to play the four." What does that even mean? Yes, he'll give up some rebounds and some points on the interior. He'll also use his quickness and athleticism to get loose balls that bigger 4's don't and score in ways that other 4's don't. Either way, I have more confidence in him at this point. Worst comes to worst, you've given your future stars some seasoning the way the final four team went through JT3's first season as head coach.

I don't think anyone would disagree at this point that Hop's offensive failings have escalated to the point that his minutes have to be selective, primarily at the 5 for Josh, maybe a few at the 4 if we are facing an opposing 4 that could dominate. White certainly gives us more all-around. Copeland is still too inconsistent on offense to outweigh his defensive shortcomings, at least at the 4.

Tough call depending on whose minutes Copeland is taking. LJ has been improving on defense but there's not really a drop from LJ to Cope at this point. I think White gets less credit for his D right now too. He's not a rebounder but he is solid as a shot blocker and can guard multiple positions. With regard to Copeland's offense, I guess you can call it inconsistent. But the sample size is pretty small. He doesn't look comfortable yet and is definitely jumpy on defense but I really can't tell what he can do offensively on this level yet. We do, however, know what Mikael can do offensively. It's a more difficult thing because his defense has been, for the most part, quite good. I'm torn because I'm a sentimental kind of person and also see the level of effort and caring Hop has when the biggest knock on him coming in was in questioning his motor. That's never, ever been a question with him. You can see how much he wants to win to the point where, maybe, it's even causing some of his failings. I keep hoping the switch flips for Hop and it all starts clicking for him. Every time I see a smooth jump hook, I think just maybe... But this, at the end of the day, is about winning. There are times when other guys have earned spots and there are times when guys have played themselves out of spots. Hop is at that point and, to be honest, he's probably a bit past it. I don't mean that as a knock on him though it's difficult to see it as other than that. He has a very important role on this team. Backing up Josh. In a perfect world, being relegated to that role maybe sparks something in him and he just says F it and brings a whole new confidence to his game. I really, really hope that for the kid but I just don't expect it. He needs to lose minutes to guys that need to get experience and, honestly, Hop could still play a ton of minutes/starter minutes because of Josh's foul troubles and lack of stamina.

[lichoya68]

THIS GAME IS HUGE CANT GO UNDER FIVE HUNDRED IN THE BIG EAST especially with nova coming up SOON gohoyas must win NO GIMMES nope nadda must play hustling bball for forty minutes or more. GO HOYAS MOVE MOVE MOVE and MOVE ON hit some threes defend the three rebbies and hit foul shots THEYRE FREE THROWS cause nobody is guarding you. WRIGHT ?