Hoyas4Ever
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Post by Hoyas4Ever on Nov 29, 2018 17:19:12 GMT -5
I've been really honest and congratulatory when Akinjo has played really well. Illinois and several parts of the USF game. I've also pointed out the bad...his struggles against Loyola Marymount's zone defense and last night's game.
Akinjo was Awful last night. A W F U L...Awful last night in terms of his decision making. He really struggles to understand how to attack a zone defense. His biggest flaw is that he's a dribble first PG and you beat zones with great ball movement via the pass. Also Akinjo is continuing to over penetrate and looking for dump off passes to teammates near hoop and the zone defenses are squeezing in on him and taking the drop off pass near the hoop away.
Akinjo needs to look out to spot up shooters (Pickett/Malinowski/Blair) when he penetrates the key off the dribble and not drop off passes in front of the rim. Akinjo being 6'0" and without elite bounce hurts him vs zones when he over penetrates. McClung has shown a better understanding of attacking the zone defense off the bounce and finding teammates on the perimeter so far than Akinjo.
Akinjo also has to learn to pass up his own good perimeter shot for a teammates better shot. Multiple times last night he took shots on kickouts that were challenged with teammates (Pickett) wide open. I believe Coach Ewing was talking to Akinjo in the post game presser when he discussing selfishness.
Lastly the final 2 minutes of the game was the worst basketball in terms of decision making of Akinjo's young career. The Hoyas should have won that game by a minimum of 14 points if Akinjo makes smart decisions and uses the game clock to his advantage. Richmond would have been forced to start fouling with a 90 seconds left in the game but really poor decisions by Akinjo kept the game alive longer then it should have been.
It's no coincidence that the zone offense was at its best last night with Mosely at the point and Akinjo on the bench. The team was able to extend their lead during that stage of the game. When Akinjo returned for Mosely, the Hoyas lead began to shrink. Maybe Coach Ewing should have left Akinjo on the bench last night and let Mosely finish the game to send an early message like the one he sent to Blair and Johnson?
Mosely has a much better understanding and comfort level attacking a zone offense. One of Mosely's best games last season was vs Syracuse, masters of the zone defense. Last night he carved up a much lesser zone defense in Richmond. The offense vs LMU was ran better under Mosely.
I expect a lot of teams to zone the Hoyas if Akinjo doesn't quickly develop a better understanding of how to attack a zone defense. Akinjo has the physical tools but as a freshman it's going to take time to develop the mental understanding of how to attack the various zone defenses he will see this season. With Syracuse a few games away, Akinjo has a lot to work on in a short period of time.
I realize that Akinjo is a freshman and will be a heck of a ball player before his time is done on the hilltop. Probably the best Hoyas PG in over a decade. I'm just pointing out flaws in his Game early in his career. As a coach, when you decide to go with the freshman as starters especially in your backcourt (outside of Duke) you're playing the long game. You're looking at what your team will be when your backcourt gets late in their sophomore and junior years. So you have to live with the many mistakes that young players will make throughout the game. The issue with that is this team has a chance to win and compete for NCAA tournament spot now. Also it's very difficult to pull freshman from the starting line-up without shaking their confidence. It's easier to remove an upperclassmen from starting lineup as they have more maturity and understanding. I expect Mosely will play a larger role as the bandaid to cover up the freshmen backcourts mistakes...
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Post by centercourt400s on Nov 30, 2018 13:28:52 GMT -5
An odd note about Akinjo that probably was only apparent to those at the Richmond game...
During each full time out the team always gathers folding chairs on the court about 10 feet in front of the bench. There are 6 chairs: 5 for the players currently in the game and one for Ewing. Everyone else stands. During the Richmond game when the timeout meetings were done everyone sitting would get up and the chairs would be taken away as normal, except for James. He continued to sit there in his chair all the way up until the refs whistled for the players to get back in position on the court. A couple of times he sat there, all alone, for at least a full minute, while his teammates and coach went back to the bench or to their general areas of the court. It was a strange scene with him sitting there all alone, accompanied only by the person with the wide mop who was waiting for him to leave so the floor could be wiped up.
Perhaps he's just getting as much rest as possible, which makes sense.
Just pointing it out because it really looks strange when it happens and I've never seen it done before.
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jwp91
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Post by jwp91 on Nov 30, 2018 14:48:14 GMT -5
An odd note about Akinjo that probably was only apparent to those at the Richmond game... During each full time out the team always gathers folding chairs on the court about 10 feet in front of the bench. There are 6 chairs: 5 for the players currently in the game and one for Ewing. Everyone else stands. During the Richmond game when the timeout meetings were done everyone sitting would get up and the chairs would be taken away as normal, except for James. He continued to sit there in his chair all the way up until the refs whistled for the players to get back in position on the court. A couple of times he sat there, all alone, for at least a full minute, while his teammates and coach went back to the bench or to their general areas of the court. It was a strange scene with him sitting there all alone, accompanied only by the person with the wide mop who was waiting for him to leave so the floor could be wiped up. Perhaps he's just getting as much rest as possible, which makes sense. Just pointing it out because it really looks strange when it happens and I've never seen it done before. He did this at the Illinois game as well. I wish our players were so fit that an extra few seconds sitting wouldn’t matter.
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Post by Ranch Dressing on Nov 30, 2018 14:51:13 GMT -5
I had been sensing some weird vibes on the team. Blair's DNP and Malinowski's post-game comments are enough to make me worry slightly about team chemistry.
Couple big wins in the next 3 games could make everything better.
I think we are going through some big growing pains this year.
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hoyas315
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Post by hoyas315 on Nov 30, 2018 15:55:56 GMT -5
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tashoya
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Post by tashoya on Nov 30, 2018 22:58:31 GMT -5
A team with minutes up for grabs and young guys taking older guys minutes are going to cause some disruption early. If you don't like sitting, work harder. If you don't like sitting or working, good luck with that under Ewing.
As for James, last game wasn't a good one. But it was also an aberration, IMO, in terms of his adjustments within the game. I've liked his level of recognition as to what's working for him and what isn't for the most part. Hopefully, that continues. Having success early is great but it can also be the type of thing where a guy may think he's ready to carry a team that's stagnating by getting a bit too heroic. I like that James has that confidence. When his overall game catches up to that mindset, I think I'm going to feel very differently than I have over the past 5 years in a close game down the stretch having Akinjo with the ball.
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tashoya
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Post by tashoya on Nov 30, 2018 23:04:48 GMT -5
I had been sensing some weird vibes on the team. Blair's DNP and Malinowski's post-game comments are enough to make me worry slightly about team chemistry. Couple big wins in the next 3 games could make everything better. I think we are going through some big growing pains this year. Agree. And there's a fine line between being honest and throwing dudes under the bus. In the early part of the season when guys are either happy or Editeded about their minutes, there's no need to add to it by not erring toward protecting your guys. If some guys had a bad practice, just say the team had a bad practice because that's entirely true. In that bad practice, I hope the guys get on each other instead of the coach having to do it. Maybe it's too early for that but I hope that that's the way it becomes. Any good/successful team I've ever been on (granted, not remotely at this level), that's how it worked best. Let the coach teach. The guys should be able to, in many cases, "discipline" each other outside of live games.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Dec 3, 2018 21:55:34 GMT -5
After tonights game he's averaging 14 and 5assts (4 to's bleh) and shooting 40% overall and 34% from 3.
It hasn't been perfect, and the ball still sticks a little too much at times, but those are really solid numbers for a Freshman PG...
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skunk
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Post by skunk on Dec 3, 2018 23:00:28 GMT -5
I thought he played well tonight. His jumper looks good.
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tashoya
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Post by tashoya on Dec 3, 2018 23:14:42 GMT -5
After tonights game he's averaging 14 and 5assts (4 to's bleh) and shooting 40% overall and 34% from 3. It hasn't been perfect, and the ball still sticks a little too much at times, but those are really solid numbers for a Freshman PG... More than the actual numbers, he looks to be getting more comfortable and more confident. Add to that that it's been a long time since I have felt like our PG was a threat from 3 as part of his natural game. If he can continue to knock down shots like he did tonight, that inside out game with the skip passes that they were clearly focused on tonight becomes much more effective.
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tashoya
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Post by tashoya on Dec 3, 2018 23:17:00 GMT -5
After tonights game he's averaging 14 and 5assts (4 to's bleh) and shooting 40% overall and 34% from 3. It hasn't been perfect, and the ball still sticks a little too much at times, but those are really solid numbers for a Freshman PG... Considering the team had 3 TOs in the first 3 minutes and 8? in the first half, it could have been worse. I think his TO numbers are going to improve significantly as he becomes more accustomed to the speed and physicality of the college game.
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Post by TrueHoyaBlue on Dec 3, 2018 23:45:53 GMT -5
The team had 11 in the first half, so the second was an improvement
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Hoyas4Ever
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A Wise Man Once Told Me Don't Argue With Fools....
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Post by Hoyas4Ever on Dec 4, 2018 3:16:46 GMT -5
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Dec 5, 2018 22:25:20 GMT -5
Seems like it’s the right time of the season to wildly extrapolate, so here’s one:
So far this season:
Player A: 40% FG, 34% 3FG, 85% FT, 14 PPG, 5 APG, 4.1TO
Player “W”: 42% FG, 30% 3FG, 75% FT, 12 PPG, 6 APG, 4.4TO (and possibly a big ole bag of cash)
(Yeah, I know, SOS etc etc ...)
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wnyhoya
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Post by wnyhoya on Dec 6, 2018 9:23:31 GMT -5
Seems like it’s the right time of the season to wildly extrapolate, so here’s one: So far this season: Player A: 40% FG, 34% 3FG, 85% FT, 14 PPG, 5 APG, 4.1TO Player “W”: 42% FG, 30% 3FG, 75% FT, 12 PPG, 6 APG, 4.4TO (and possibly a big ole bag of cash) (Yeah, I know, SOS etc etc ...) Player A is James Akinjo and Player “W” is Tremont Waters?
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Dec 6, 2018 9:37:31 GMT -5
Seems like it’s the right time of the season to wildly extrapolate, so here’s one: So far this season: Player A: 40% FG, 34% 3FG, 85% FT, 14 PPG, 5 APG, 4.1TO Player “W”: 42% FG, 30% 3FG, 75% FT, 12 PPG, 6 APG, 4.4TO (and possibly a big ole bag of cash) (Yeah, I know, SOS etc etc ...) Player A is James Akinjo and Player “W” is Tremont Waters? Waters is dealing with a boatload of new talent at LSU this year - he's not the only game in town anymore. He'll adjust by the end of the year. James doesn't have any competition for PT on the Hoyas, so he's gonna get his. And based on our current recruiting success, he almost certainly won't have the Year 2 issues Waters is having...
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lucky
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Post by lucky on Dec 6, 2018 9:40:29 GMT -5
An odd note about Akinjo that probably was only apparent to those at the Richmond game... During each full time out the team always gathers folding chairs on the court about 10 feet in front of the bench. There are 6 chairs: 5 for the players currently in the game and one for Ewing. Everyone else stands. During the Richmond game when the timeout meetings were done everyone sitting would get up and the chairs would be taken away as normal, except for James. He continued to sit there in his chair all the way up until the refs whistled for the players to get back in position on the court. A couple of times he sat there, all alone, for at least a full minute, while his teammates and coach went back to the bench or to their general areas of the court. It was a strange scene with him sitting there all alone, accompanied only by the person with the wide mop who was waiting for him to leave so the floor could be wiped up. Perhaps he's just getting as much rest as possible, which makes sense. Just pointing it out because it really looks strange when it happens and I've never seen it done before. He did this at the Illinois game as well. I wish our players were so fit that an extra few seconds sitting wouldn’t matter. He did this both games in Jamaica as well. It actually buys him about 30 extra seconds of rest as they wait for the TV signal to play. I thought it was weird, but also smart.
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Post by FrazierFanatic on Dec 9, 2018 10:06:16 GMT -5
Learn from yesterday, grasshopper. Challenge yourself to make that the most disappointing game of your college career. It is hard for a freshman to play with both intensity and control, but it comes with time and practice.
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Post by bereal on Dec 9, 2018 10:52:15 GMT -5
It seems like he and Mac are competing to see who can score the most points. I expected Akingo to be a creator for his teammates and handle the ball late in games so he could go to the foul line and put the game away. I keep hearing that he can be the best pg in a decade, but he is the 2nd highest scorer, a lot of shot attempts and not creating for his teammates. A point guard should control the tempo of the game, create for his teammates and understand what is needed and when. Offensively, it shouldn't matter if he scores any buckets, just pile up the assists, make foul shots and get the W's. If your not doing this, your a combo guard disguised in a 6 foot frame, not a point guard, get focused, team first.
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calhoya
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Post by calhoya on Dec 9, 2018 11:24:54 GMT -5
It seems like he and Mac are competing to see who can score the most points. I expected Akingo to be a creator for his teammates and handle the ball late in games so he could go to the foul line and put the game away. I keep hearing that he can be the best pg in a decade, but he is the 2nd highest scorer, a lot of shot attempts and not creating for his teammates. A point guard should control the tempo of the game, create for his teammates and understand what is needed and when. Offensively, it shouldn't matter if he scores any buckets, just pile up the assists, make foul shots and get the W's. If your not doing this, your a combo guard disguised in a 6 foot frame, not a point guard, get focused, team first. All true but the culture in basketball these days is such that a player is noticed for his scoring, not his assists or defense. While coaches and some fans acknowledge the importance of these other factors, truth is that the accolades for Akinjo and McClung thus far in the media have all involved their scoring. These kids are going to be special, but until they grow more and buy into more of a balanced view of their role it is going to be painful at times. Yesterday, the two freshmen had less than a third of the total team assists and despite not playing for much of the 2nd half had almost half of the 3 point shots. If and when Pickett, Blair and Malinowski become potent outside threats it is going to have to be because of Akinjo and not despite him. That is when his true potential for this team can be realized.
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