s4hoyas
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Post by s4hoyas on Sept 7, 2017 22:16:19 GMT -5
Saw him play in his first full game in Kenner, and I was pretty impressed...he appears at first to be kind of a "quiet"/let the game come to him type of player but then he'll suddenly burst along the baseline and make a crafty/athletic finish, or he'll take a pass on the wing and knock down a three...he's very smooth and fluid and has a complete game and I think he'll either start or at a minimum see major minutes...he handles well but I see him as more of a good passing two than as a one...I would call him a solid/good shooter with 3 pt range, though not a pure shooter...has a good frame/long arms and athletic instincts to play perimeter D, but I didn't observe much in that area...he's a player.
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zxhoya
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Post by zxhoya on Sept 8, 2017 12:15:43 GMT -5
No highlights I have ever seen of Juggy showed he had that kind of athleticism. Was it on display at all in kenner league? If you look at it.....there is no way that that basket was regulation height.
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OldHoyafan
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Post by OldHoyafan on Apr 19, 2018 12:39:32 GMT -5
Thought I would bump this thread so that Adkinjo could have his thread to himself again. Blair was Patrick’s first commit as the new coach. He provided much needed offense from the guard position when the team had few options. He should and will be given all opportunity to be a starting guard. I had said in an earlier post that Akinjo and McClung should start from day one based only on the video of their play, in that ,I have not seen either in person. I also based that on viewing Blair and Mosely’s handles last year. Unless there has been a vast improvement by both, I can not see either beating out Akinjo or McClung. I know seniority has its place, but I believe the best players should start regardless of class. Since Ewing’s offense is not as complicated as JTIII’s Princeton Offense, both freshmen guards should be able to master it right away. The only variable is whether they can master his team concept man-to-man defense he employed last year. It required a lot of help defense by all players. It may take the freshmen a minute to learn where their teammates are supposed to be in this defense.
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Post by HometownHoya on Apr 19, 2018 13:36:27 GMT -5
As much as I'm excited for both McClung and Akinjo, I'm a bit surprised that everyone is discounting the importance of a year playing at the college level and an entire offseason of training. I think Mac can fill Blair's role from last year of instant boost of the bench. Blair and Pickett will benefit immensely from playing with a PG like Akinjo. Mac would be better off running the second team where he could be a scorer and let the other guys in the second group clean up off the boards. Blair can create for himself but Mac is better at that and running a unit. Clearly Akinjo and Mac will play together and should look good doing it but I don't think they'll start together.
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Post by hoyasaxa2003 on Apr 19, 2018 14:07:18 GMT -5
Count me among those who think Blair is important for this team going forward. It's easy to look at Blair's shooting percentage and conclude that it wasn't that high, and thus, he was a gunner. And to some degree, he did take a lot of shots, though I would argue a significant number (but not all) of his shots were "good" in the sense that they were open and he got the shots off, they just didn't go in.
I think the other issue is that it's easy to ignore the less tangible aspects that make Blair a good player. Among the guards, Blair turned it over the least BY FAR. No, he didn't handle the ball as much as some of our other guards, but it's still noteworthy, and it's partly why he was our most efficient guard, even though other guys shot better.
Even shooting 32.2% from three, and 37.1% from two (not good numbers), Blair's offensive efficiency was either best or second best, unless you want to include Kaleb Johnson, who simply didn't shoot much. If he gets his shooting percentages up (and other posts on here have demonstrated that jumps from freshman to sophomore year are pretty common), he is going to be a super efficient player.
If anything, having other scoring options and/or a point guard to better distribute will easily make Blair a better player.
Ultimately, I think part of the issue is that there's excitement for McClung and Akinjo, but we don't have any knowledge about them yet. Thus, it's easy to project that they will start and/or get a lot of minutes. Kenner will probably only heighten this when McClung drops 30-40 points given the lack of defense.
Let me put it another way - if we are in a position where Blair is a 3rd or 4th option that will be awesome, because it will mean we have a pretty excellent set of guards. Still, I would be shocked if Blair doesn't get a lot of minutes, at least initially. If others (including Malinowski) prove to be better, they should certainly take the minutes, but I think Blair will be valuable piece for next year's team.
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saxagael
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Post by saxagael on Apr 19, 2018 14:18:38 GMT -5
Count me among those who think Blair is important for this team going forward. It's easy to look at Blair's shooting percentage and conclude that it wasn't that high, and thus, he was a gunner. And to some degree, he did take a lot of shots, though I would argue a significant number (but not all) of his shots were "good" in the sense that they were open and he got the shots off, they just didn't go in. I think the other issue is that it's easy to ignore the less tangible aspects that make Blair a good player. Among the guards, Blair turned it over the least BY FAR. No, he didn't handle the ball as much as some of our other guards, but it's still noteworthy, and it's partly why he was our most efficient guard, even though other guys shot better. Even shooting 32.2% from three, and 37.1% from two (not good numbers), Blair's offensive efficiency was either best or second best, unless you want to include Kaleb Johnson, who simply didn't shoot much. If he gets his shooting percentages up (and other posts on here have demonstrated that jumps from freshman to sophomore year are pretty common), he is going to be a super efficient player. If anything, having other scoring options and/or a point guard to better distribute will easily make Blair a better player. Ultimately, I think part of the issue is that there's excitement for McClung and Akinjo, but we don't have any knowledge about them yet. Thus, it's easy to project that they will start and/or get a lot of minutes. Kenner will probably only heighten this when McClung drops 30-40 points given the lack of defense. Let me put it another way - if we are in a position where Blair is a 3rd or 4th option that will be awesome, because it will mean we have a pretty excellent set of guards. Still, I would be shocked if Blair doesn't get a lot of minutes, at least initially. If others (including Malinowski) prove to be better, they should certainly take the minutes, but I think Blair will be valuable piece for next year's team. Blair lost the gunner mode his last few games and didn't hit the panicman mode playing completely out of his pace. The last couple games or so that he had were really good as far as shot selection, playing smarter, and playing in control. I hope that is the Blair that gets improved upon over summer as that Blair was really good. The last couple games not only was his set shot good, but his step into a shot of a pass received and dribble pull-up shots improved quite a bit. His catching and shooting off a pick and pop outside footwork needs improving a bit more, but even that was quite improved in the last couple games (his game seemed to have really gone off the rails by playing completely out of control pushing things just before the last couple games). He ended on a really good note and looking forward to what comes next.
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prhoya
Blue & Gray (over 10,000 posts)
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Post by prhoya on Apr 19, 2018 16:40:10 GMT -5
Count me among those who think Blair is important for this team going forward. It's easy to look at Blair's shooting percentage and conclude that it wasn't that high, and thus, he was a gunner. And to some degree, he did take a lot of shots, though I would argue a significant number (but not all) of his shots were "good" in the sense that they were open and he got the shots off, they just didn't go in. I think the other issue is that it's easy to ignore the less tangible aspects that make Blair a good player. Among the guards, Blair turned it over the least BY FAR. No, he didn't handle the ball as much as some of our other guards, but it's still noteworthy, and it's partly why he was our most efficient guard, even though other guys shot better. Even shooting 32.2% from three, and 37.1% from two (not good numbers), Blair's offensive efficiency was either best or second best, unless you want to include Kaleb Johnson, who simply didn't shoot much. If he gets his shooting percentages up (and other posts on here have demonstrated that jumps from freshman to sophomore year are pretty common), he is going to be a super efficient player. If anything, having other scoring options and/or a point guard to better distribute will easily make Blair a better player. Ultimately, I think part of the issue is that there's excitement for McClung and Akinjo, but we don't have any knowledge about them yet. Thus, it's easy to project that they will start and/or get a lot of minutes. Kenner will probably only heighten this when McClung drops 30-40 points given the lack of defense. Let me put it another way - if we are in a position where Blair is a 3rd or 4th option that will be awesome, because it will mean we have a pretty excellent set of guards. Still, I would be shocked if Blair doesn't get a lot of minutes, at least initially. If others (including Malinowski) prove to be better, they should certainly take the minutes, but I think Blair will be valuable piece for next year's team. Agree with you for the most part. But, if you mean that Kaleb is the most efficient player on offense on the team, then that is a worthless stat for Blair. One thing is clear from the end of the JT3 era: we need to get away from players who make us play 4-vs-5 on any side of the court. Kaleb's ability to disappear on offense and not contribute in various BE games cost us some games.
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prhoya
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Post by prhoya on Apr 19, 2018 17:06:57 GMT -5
Blair lost the gunner mode his last few games and didn't hit the panicman mode playing completely out of his pace. The last couple games or so that he had were really good as far as shot selection, playing smarter, and playing in control. I hope that is the Blair that gets improved upon over summer as that Blair was really good. The last couple games not only was his set shot good, but his step into a shot of a pass received and dribble pull-up shots improved quite a bit. His catching and shooting off a pick and pop outside footwork needs improving a bit more, but even that was quite improved in the last couple games (his game seemed to have really gone off the rails by playing completely out of control pushing things just before the last couple games). He ended on a really good note and looking forward to what comes next. The other guards picked up their games and Blair benefited, which is why I think he'll be better this year with Mac and James running the offense and feeding Blair et al.
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Bigs"R"Us
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Post by Bigs"R"Us on Apr 19, 2018 18:21:54 GMT -5
Blair can’t just be a spot up shooter. He needs to develop a solid move to the basket. He does have a nice floater.
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prhoya
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Post by prhoya on Apr 19, 2018 18:31:45 GMT -5
Blair can’t just be a spot up shooter. He needs to develop a solid move to the basket. He does have a nice floater. that's true, and he needs to get to the FT line. I also could see Blair parked at around 22' from the basket and Pickett parked in the corner, spreading the offense/taking a defender with them, and looking at the Mac & James highlight show. The defenders will have to pick their poison: either 2 defenders to cover Blair and Pickett and let the others deal with Mac & James all over the floor, or double in the lane to guard against penetration, which leaves Blair or Pickett all alone. Both of them can be plus-40% from 3 when set. If Govan is our 5th player in these scenarios, then wow!
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Post by hoyasaxa2003 on Apr 20, 2018 12:10:35 GMT -5
Agree with you for the most part. But, if you mean that Kaleb is the most efficient player on offense on the team, then that is a worthless stat for Blair. One thing is clear from the end of the JT3 era: we need to get away from players who make us play 4-vs-5 on any side of the court. Kaleb's ability to disappear on offense and not contribute in various BE games cost us some games. I think the biggest advantage of the efficiency stat is that it highlights certain aspects of the game that are less obvious than others. For example, scoring is pretty obvious and something pretty much everybody focuses on. Turnovers, in contrast, are often not as memorable since the action moves so quickly, plus it's hard to watch a game live and have a perfect recall of number of turnovers, etc. The other big stat captured by offensive efficiency is offensive rebounding - another factor that isn't always obvious from watching games. Of course, offensive efficiency is just one factor among many when analyzing a game. Offensive efficiency is less useful when you're dealing with smaller sample sizes. For example, if you rarely shoot, but you make a lot of shots when you do, your efficiency is going to be higher. Nate Lubick was in this category - his efficiency was pretty high because he rarely shot, and when he did, he had a good look. Obviously, what you miss there is that defenses were sagging off on Lubick because he never shot. Like anything, it's a useful stat, but needs to be taken together with everything else.
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bostonfan
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Post by bostonfan on Apr 20, 2018 14:39:28 GMT -5
Blair lost the gunner mode his last few games and didn't hit the panicman mode playing completely out of his pace. The last couple games or so that he had were really good as far as shot selection, playing smarter, and playing in control. I hope that is the Blair that gets improved upon over summer as that Blair was really good. The last couple games not only was his set shot good, but his step into a shot of a pass received and dribble pull-up shots improved quite a bit. His catching and shooting off a pick and pop outside footwork needs improving a bit more, but even that was quite improved in the last couple games (his game seemed to have really gone off the rails by playing completely out of control pushing things just before the last couple games). He ended on a really good note and looking forward to what comes next. The other guards picked up their games and Blair benefited, which is why I think he'll be better this year with Mac and James running the offense and feeding Blair et al. I think Blair was good last year, heck he did make the Big East all freshman team. I really liked his confidence and offensive aggressiveness for a freshman. There were games where he was not as efficient as fans would have hoped, but I thought he generally improved as the year went on and I expect that to continue next season. I don't think he will be ready to be the first scoring option for the Hoyas next year but he is not afraid to take a shot when it presents itself and makes the defense respect him because he is aggressive. He never looked like he was over his head in any of the games and that is a great thing for a freshman playing in the Big East. Even Pickett, who I think has more upside, had times early in the Big East season where he looked overwhelmed. The team need players with a scorers mentality and Blair has that.
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Post by hoyasaxa2003 on Apr 20, 2018 15:49:48 GMT -5
He never looked like he was over his head in any of the games and that is a great thing for a freshman playing in the Big East. Even Pickett, who I think has more upside, had times early in the Big East season where he looked overwhelmed. The team need players with a scorers mentality and Blair has that. I also find it ironic that some people are down on Blair's efficiency, meanwhile he was significantly more efficient than Pickett overall, including if you look only at Big East stats. I realize Pickett could have more upside, etc., and he did see a huge improvement in the second half of the Big East, so that's much the reason for his hype. But the fact is that for a substantial part of the season, Blair outplayed Pickett. Pickett had a strong stretch from the St. John's game on January 20 to the Providence game on February 24, before falling off again in the last three games of the year. Like everyone here, I am hoping we get the Pickett we had in that month where he played well and turned it over less.
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Post by Problem of Dog on Apr 20, 2018 17:12:06 GMT -5
If we're any good in the next three years, Blair will be recruited over. I'm not buying stock in him long term.
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hoyainla
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Suspended
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Post by hoyainla on Aug 8, 2018 13:46:49 GMT -5
Just going back and reading some quotes from when Jahvon committed. Made me chuckle based on what we have seen so far. This is not meant to slight him so don't get defensive.
“Pass first point guard,” McIntyre (his AAU coach) said of the 6-foot-4 left-hander from Canada.
“I’m going to do my best to bring my high basketball IQ along with my leadership skills, getting to the rim & filling the stat sheets,” - Blair
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Post by blazers44 on Aug 8, 2018 13:48:30 GMT -5
Lol
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MCIGuy
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Anyone here? What am I supposed to update?
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Post by MCIGuy on Aug 8, 2018 23:08:04 GMT -5
Just going back and reading some quotes from when Jahvon committed. Made me chuckle based on what we have seen so far. This is not meant to slight him so don't get defensive. “Pass first point guard,” McIntyre (his AAU coach) said of the 6-foot-4 left-hander from Canada. “I’m going to do my best to bring my high basketball IQ along with my leadership skills, getting to the rim & filling the stat sheets,” - Blair Not getting defensive but what was the point of bumping this thread? Just to share your amusement?
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TC
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Post by TC on Aug 8, 2018 23:45:19 GMT -5
Just going back and reading some quotes from when Jahvon committed. Made me chuckle based on what we have seen so far. This is not meant to slight him so don't get defensive. “Pass first point guard,” McIntyre (his AAU coach) said of the 6-foot-4 left-hander from Canada. “I’m going to do my best to bring my high basketball IQ along with my leadership skills, getting to the rim & filling the stat sheets,” - Blair Go through the thread. You make fun of the YouTubes, but it was obvious that he was a SG.
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blueandgray
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Post by blueandgray on Aug 9, 2018 11:13:48 GMT -5
This kid will be a stud when all is said and done.
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Post by FrazierFanatic on Aug 9, 2018 11:45:19 GMT -5
This kid will be a stud when all is said and done. Agreed. A touch more discretion with shot selection, coupled with better backcourt mates, will elevate his game. Have we forgotten that he was one of the All-Big East freshman selections last year? Yes, partly because he got playing time and shots due to our backcourt deficiencies, but also because he was an offensive weapon, and will continue to be.
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