jwp91
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Post by jwp91 on Nov 14, 2018 6:14:36 GMT -5
General thoughts, after one viewing at a bar and a second half repeat viewing over a bottle of wine at McBricks' house. For tonight, I am going to ignore the caveats: Illinois is not very good; Illinois is pretty short; Illinois played man defense against a team that screams for zone. Let's forget those even though they were a lot of the reason for the difference between this and Central Connecticut. - Like everyone else, I'm excited to see a team with two guards who can beat a guy off the dribble. We saw an Illinois team who attacked with pressure, and the team was able to punish them for it. It's been so long. And, as DFW says, if we start hitting threes, look out.
- The plaudits will go to James, and rightly so, but the freshman I continue to be most impressive with is LeBlanc. He's basically willing what defense we have into place by sheer force of will and wingspan. He's a menace, a whirling dervish. He influenced more shots from the bench than everyone else did while on the court. The dude has Draymond-esque defensive instincts, and for a team with literally no good defenders (and no, James is a fine one on one guy but he's not there yet as a team defender), he has a tremendous impact. Oh, and while he doesn't create for himself, he was 7-9 from the floor. Damn
- But my favorite part of him is his energy. And that's what I love about this team and the young guys in particular -- the fight. Leblanc has it. Mac has it -- that dude has the mentality of the kid who got jumped by six dudes and keeps fighting even as he's getting his ass kicked, and that's a strong compliemnt. Akinjo has it. We've been missing it for a while. I think it is contagious and we'll see more and more dog out of everyone else.
- We already are, actually. I LOVE the team rebounding of this team. I have no idea how it stands up against a truly great rebounding team, but when have we seen such a collective effort to get the ball? Everyone is in on it. Owning the boards won us this game and it wasn't just bigs. It was Kaleb; it was Mac following his shot. Every board counts and we grabbed 40% of our own misses. HUGE.
- James was great. I definitely jumped the gun after the first game; this was the drive and dish game that was not there (and may not be again against zones). But while I was happy to see him drive and dish like we all thought he could, more impressive to me was the quick adjustment from attempting below the rim layups to floaters in one or two games. He doesn't have the hops or size to take it all the way that often, but it's impressive to see him recognize and adjust so quickly. That game-winning floater was just fantastic in all ways -- the subtle juke to open space and blow past his defender; the vision to take off when he needed at the foul line; the touch to bury it. What a game. If he cleans up the sloppy turnovers and hits 35%+ on threes...
- I'm pretty sure Govan doesn't have a turnover this year. That's an underappreciated skill, and while he didn't have a big game, that's okay. He stayed incredibly efficient, pulled a lot of defensive attention and rebounded.
- I think there's a subset here that are giving Mac a bad rap. Dude played well today. Yes, some dumb turnovers. Yes, he hasn't hit a 3 -- he will. But I love that he offensive rebounded two of his misses. He showed off his passing skills with four great drive and dishes. He has some really underrated defensive aspects. He reminds me of Iverson or, even moreso, Curry at times -- he's not going to be a lock down defender. But he's going to work his ass off, and he's going to get enough steals to make him a net positive on D. That one steal at halfcourt to the reverse jam came out of nowhere and was a free two points in a close game.
- Speaking of defense,Josh Leblanc is generating a block or steal on 12% of opponents' possessions. TWELVE PERCENT.
- Another dude who had a quietly good game was Blair. Two turnovers is kinda rare for him, but 11 points on five shots is fantastic. Pickett and Blair are our only two consistent outside shooters (maybe Govan?). He's very important to this team; not just for spacing but also for pure scoring.
Insightful post. That energy that you were describing ...it was strongly reminiscent of the JT Jr. days. It was like deja vu.
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bigskyhoya
Golden Hoya (over 1000 posts)
Posts: 1,095
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Post by bigskyhoya on Nov 14, 2018 6:52:38 GMT -5
General thoughts, after one viewing at a bar and a second half repeat viewing over a bottle of wine at McBricks' house. For tonight, I am going to ignore the caveats: Illinois is not very good; Illinois is pretty short; Illinois played man defense against a team that screams for zone. Let's forget those even though they were a lot of the reason for the difference between this and Central Connecticut. - Like everyone else, I'm excited to see a team with two guards who can beat a guy off the dribble. We saw an Illinois team who attacked with pressure, and the team was able to punish them for it. It's been so long. And, as DFW says, if we start hitting threes, look out.
- The plaudits will go to James, and rightly so, but the freshman I continue to be most impressive with is LeBlanc. He's basically willing what defense we have into place by sheer force of will and wingspan. He's a menace, a whirling dervish. He influenced more shots from the bench than everyone else did while on the court. The dude has Draymond-esque defensive instincts, and for a team with literally no good defenders (and no, James is a fine one on one guy but he's not there yet as a team defender), he has a tremendous impact. Oh, and while he doesn't create for himself, he was 7-9 from the floor. Damn
- But my favorite part of him is his energy. And that's what I love about this team and the young guys in particular -- the fight. Leblanc has it. Mac has it -- that dude has the mentality of the kid who got jumped by six dudes and keeps fighting even as he's getting his ass kicked, and that's a strong compliemnt. Akinjo has it. We've been missing it for a while. I think it is contagious and we'll see more and more dog out of everyone else.
- We already are, actually. I LOVE the team rebounding of this team. I have no idea how it stands up against a truly great rebounding team, but when have we seen such a collective effort to get the ball? Everyone is in on it. Owning the boards won us this game and it wasn't just bigs. It was Kaleb; it was Mac following his shot. Every board counts and we grabbed 40% of our own misses. HUGE.
- James was great. I definitely jumped the gun after the first game; this was the drive and dish game that was not there (and may not be again against zones). But while I was happy to see him drive and dish like we all thought he could, more impressive to me was the quick adjustment from attempting below the rim layups to floaters in one or two games. He doesn't have the hops or size to take it all the way that often, but it's impressive to see him recognize and adjust so quickly. That game-winning floater was just fantastic in all ways -- the subtle juke to open space and blow past his defender; the vision to take off when he needed at the foul line; the touch to bury it. What a game. If he cleans up the sloppy turnovers and hits 35%+ on threes...
- I'm pretty sure Govan doesn't have a turnover this year. That's an underappreciated skill, and while he didn't have a big game, that's okay. He stayed incredibly efficient, pulled a lot of defensive attention and rebounded.
- I think there's a subset here that are giving Mac a bad rap. Dude played well today. Yes, some dumb turnovers. Yes, he hasn't hit a 3 -- he will. But I love that he offensive rebounded two of his misses. He showed off his passing skills with four great drive and dishes. He has some really underrated defensive aspects. He reminds me of Iverson or, even moreso, Curry at times -- he's not going to be a lock down defender. But he's going to work his ass off, and he's going to get enough steals to make him a net positive on D. That one steal at halfcourt to the reverse jam came out of nowhere and was a free two points in a close game.
- Speaking of defense,Josh Leblanc is generating a block or steal on 12% of opponents' possessions. TWELVE PERCENT.
- Another dude who had a quietly good game was Blair. Two turnovers is kinda rare for him, but 11 points on five shots is fantastic. Pickett and Blair are our only two consistent outside shooters (maybe Govan?). He's very important to this team; not just for spacing but also for pure scoring.
Agree about Blair. And he can hit the contested three as well.
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HoyaFanNY
Diamond Hoya (over 2500 posts)
Never throw to the venus on a spider 3 Y banana!
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Post by HoyaFanNY on Nov 14, 2018 6:56:43 GMT -5
Leblanc is already my favorite player on the team. He brings a toughness and an instant spark as soon as he hits the floor. The one thing about this team is that it has several options offensively. It's not just govan. Freshman have some 'nuts' at the end of games and pickett and blair can put the ball in the basket. Deep team with guys that seem to like playing together. Mac is unstoppable on the break. He and James overcame the TO's when it could have gotten away from the team early. Good win but next game up is a LMU that is 3-0 also. Can't overlook anyone.
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Post by professorhoya on Nov 14, 2018 7:15:15 GMT -5
Illinois picked to finish 2nd to last in the B1G for what its worth. Good early test for the team. Not going to comment on us but Illini look like a tournament team. They have all the pieces for a tourney run. Hard to believe they are worse than Rutgers and Penn State. And are any worse than Northwestern, Nebraska or Iowa.
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prhoya
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Post by prhoya on Nov 14, 2018 7:31:19 GMT -5
Josh's gamelong frown reminds me of Michael Graham's...
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Elvado
Blue & Gray (over 10,000 posts)
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Post by Elvado on Nov 14, 2018 7:35:33 GMT -5
Mac’s reverse is on the Espn front page...
That says something
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prhoya
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Post by prhoya on Nov 14, 2018 7:46:43 GMT -5
Mac akinjo, leblanc this what georgetown have been missing. Like Pat said: Cojones!
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jwp91
Platinum Hoya (over 5000 posts)
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Post by jwp91 on Nov 14, 2018 8:26:11 GMT -5
Couple of thoughts...
First of all many of you have shared what I saw. It was a very entertaining game, and the good guys won.
1). Thank goodness Illinois stopped that full court pressure in the first half and never returned to it. It was working, and they were kicking our a@@es. I am not sure why they never went back to it unless it was their foul trouble. We never solved it. I was waiting for it almost like for a shoe to drop, but it fortunately never happened.
2). Greg Malinowski - He had played 6 minutes season to date....and then he plays the most important 10 minutes of the game guarding arguably the best player on the floor. He had been described as ‘3 and D’ but I had been concerned that the ‘D’ had been included because something needed to added to ‘3’. His length and athleticism caused Ayo problems. Kudos to him for being ready when he was needed. I had been expecting Leblanc to be used like a defensive band-aid to cool down guys like Ayo or the two guys from the last game, Kohl and Krishnan, but season to date PE has looked to multitude of players. It seems tenacious defense is an expectation of everyone.
3). Pickett - This was a breakthrough game for him. Sure he only played 15 minutes with foul trouble, but he had a completely different attitude and was attacking the game like the star player that he is and not waiting in the corner to sink a three. Really happy for him and his 5 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 blocks.
4). If you had told me Jesse would get 11 & 6 before the game, I would have expected a blow-out loss. This really was a team win.
5) Kaleb Johnson played well and fully within himself. I have been critical of him, but in his 7 minutes, he gave the Hoyas exactly what they needed.
6) Ayo was an amazing player, but there was a moment when a bit of his immaturity was revealed - in the final minute when he lost the ball and then just watched it and instead of diving for it.
7). I was at the game sitting just above the entrance to the locker rooms. The players were so damn excited with the win going back to the locker room. They were giddy..especially after losing games in every manner imaginable last year. This was a big win for them.
8). Akinjo as the point guard down the stretch is going to be worth 2-3 more Big East wins after losing so many games last year by close margins. He is 17 of 17 from the line this year having taken more free throws than anyone else.
9). Lastly, Mac McClung doesn’t show up at all on ESPN’s season stats page. It is like he doesn’t exist. LOL.
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Post by aleutianhoya on Nov 14, 2018 8:27:40 GMT -5
To me, easily the biggest positive from this game is that both of our lead guards can break down high-major man defenses. I think people assumed James could (though there were questions about his finishing and decision-making once he got there). At some level, that's easier to do when the defense is pressuring the ball as tightly as the Illini were. But ball-pressure can work the other way too at times. Whether they can do it when the D is giving them lots of space (since they haven't shown the ability to hit the three) is another issue. But it's a big deal that they were able to do what they did last night. The key word is "they." Having one guy that can is a necessity that at many times we haven't had. But two? That's what can turn around games and seasons because there aren't many teams that have two lock-down perimeter defenders. Sure, they turned it over some, but both seemed at a minimum competent at finding the open man in this game or finishing when the opportunity presented itself.
I don't really get the angst about Blair or Jagan. Jagan is an excellent team and on-ball defender...something that's great to bring in off the bench...and he's a competent finisher. Blair is a terrific floor spacer. Neither is going to play 25 minutes a game, which is good because both are limited in their skill-set. But the key is that for their limited minutes, both can do specific things that can be helpful in bursts and, potentially, crucial for more minutes in specific matchup situations. Is there a game where Mac can't get by his man? Well, may as well have Jagan in there to take advantage of the better defense. Need a zone-breaker? Blair can provide it. Options are very important.
I assume Josh will take over a number of Trey's minutes as the season goes on. My assumption is that Trey has a little better understanding of what Pat is trying to do in all areas right now, so he's more comfortable with him. The decision to go with Malinowski for crucial minutes last night was interesting too and might relate to the same principle. That is, since we have guys out there that can create on offense, let's just make sure the other guys on the court don't screw things up and know where to be and what to do. (And it's helpful if they can knock down an open three and play (more than) competent D.) That's the benefit of a more NBA style offense (and simple defense). You don't need everyone to be competent at all things.
Obviously, there were negatives...there always are. It's not clear how good Illinois really is (especially without their PG). It's concerning that a team with relatively limited overall size could take Jesse out of the game so completely. I know he had a big man on him, but there ought to be ways to scheme him open against a M2M defense. The OOB plays were truly abysmal. We gave up just a few too many very easy baskets for my liking. And so on.
But this was a win on the road against a high-major team -- a high-major team at a very similar level of development (in theory) as we are.
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Post by iheartdurenbros on Nov 14, 2018 8:28:23 GMT -5
Every morning I wake up to my Pandora station, typically with little or no energy. This morning I woke up dancing. The energy of our Hoyas is contagious!🙂
That was so much fun from opening tip til game end. The fun is back!
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Post by bigelephant on Nov 14, 2018 8:33:15 GMT -5
I really can't remember a Hoya team that was so much FUN to watch! Everything that could/should be said has been said , so I leave it at that except - ONWARD AND UPWARD NOT OVERLOOKING ANYBODY!
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LCPolo18
Diamond Hoya (over 2500 posts)
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Post by LCPolo18 on Nov 14, 2018 8:53:10 GMT -5
As mentioned by Bobby Bancroft, Ewing got a statement win in his 33rd game as head coach.
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Post by tribeninerhoya on Nov 14, 2018 9:10:06 GMT -5
Well that was fun to watch.
Happy I had the right margin in the wrong direction.
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jwp91
Platinum Hoya (over 5000 posts)
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Post by jwp91 on Nov 14, 2018 9:18:25 GMT -5
Two things that TV might not have picked up.
Ewing spent a ton of time coaching/mentoring Akinjo during the game. Very active and timely feedback being given. I love seeing that.
One of subtle things that really impressed me about Leblanc is that despite being a freshman he is initiating communication frequently with his teammates After nearly every game stoppage he was starting a conversation with a teammate apparently about how they might play when the game restarts. It wasn’t a jovial, rapport building conversation. It seemed purposeful, serious, and game related. He wasn’t a freshman along for the ride. He was a leader ensuring the team was ready for what was next.
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Post by ColumbiaHeightsHoya on Nov 14, 2018 9:18:46 GMT -5
Illinois picked to finish 2nd to last in the B1G for what its worth. Good early test for the team. Not going to comment on us but Illini look like a tournament team. They have all the pieces for a tourney run. Hard to believe they are worse than Rutgers and Penn State. And are any worse than Northwestern, Nebraska or Iowa. Maybe. I think Nebraska is a preseason darling of sorts. The one thing about Illinois is the more I think you play them the easier it is to adapt. We were horrible on transition D. We turned it over a lot at the beginning of both periods. But without their highest returning scorer due to the concussion, I would agree there will probably be half the teams in that league that are worse. Really interested to see IU/Marquette.
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MCIGuy
Platinum Hoya (over 5000 posts)
Anyone here? What am I supposed to update?
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Post by MCIGuy on Nov 14, 2018 9:27:53 GMT -5
I would have demanded a drug test for anyone who would tell me yesterday at this time that in a game on an opponent’s arena that was pretty raucous, with Govan barely touching the ball, with Pickett scoring only five points, with the Hoys turning over the ball 22 times and shooting under 50%, and with the Illini putting up 80 points, the Hoyas would walk away with the victory.
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hoyazeke
Platinum Hoya (over 5000 posts)
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Post by hoyazeke on Nov 14, 2018 9:33:52 GMT -5
General thoughts, after one viewing at a bar and a second half repeat viewing over a bottle of wine at McBricks' house. For tonight, I am going to ignore the caveats: Illinois is not very good; Illinois is pretty short; Illinois played man defense against a team that screams for zone. Let's forget those even though they were a lot of the reason for the difference between this and Central Connecticut. - Like everyone else, I'm excited to see a team with two guards who can beat a guy off the dribble. We saw an Illinois team who attacked with pressure, and the team was able to punish them for it. It's been so long. And, as DFW says, if we start hitting threes, look out.
- The plaudits will go to James, and rightly so, but the freshman I continue to be most impressive with is LeBlanc. He's basically willing what defense we have into place by sheer force of will and wingspan. He's a menace, a whirling dervish. He influenced more shots from the bench than everyone else did while on the court. The dude has Draymond-esque defensive instincts, and for a team with literally no good defenders (and no, James is a fine one on one guy but he's not there yet as a team defender), he has a tremendous impact. Oh, and while he doesn't create for himself, he was 7-9 from the floor. Damn
- But my favorite part of him is his energy. And that's what I love about this team and the young guys in particular -- the fight. Leblanc has it. Mac has it -- that dude has the mentality of the kid who got jumped by six dudes and keeps fighting even as he's getting his ass kicked, and that's a strong compliemnt. Akinjo has it. We've been missing it for a while. I think it is contagious and we'll see more and more dog out of everyone else.
- We already are, actually. I LOVE the team rebounding of this team. I have no idea how it stands up against a truly great rebounding team, but when have we seen such a collective effort to get the ball? Everyone is in on it. Owning the boards won us this game and it wasn't just bigs. It was Kaleb; it was Mac following his shot. Every board counts and we grabbed 40% of our own misses. HUGE.
- James was great. I definitely jumped the gun after the first game; this was the drive and dish game that was not there (and may not be again against zones). But while I was happy to see him drive and dish like we all thought he could, more impressive to me was the quick adjustment from attempting below the rim layups to floaters in one or two games. He doesn't have the hops or size to take it all the way that often, but it's impressive to see him recognize and adjust so quickly. That game-winning floater was just fantastic in all ways -- the subtle juke to open space and blow past his defender; the vision to take off when he needed at the foul line; the touch to bury it. What a game. If he cleans up the sloppy turnovers and hits 35%+ on threes...
- I'm pretty sure Govan doesn't have a turnover this year. That's an underappreciated skill, and while he didn't have a big game, that's okay. He stayed incredibly efficient, pulled a lot of defensive attention and rebounded.
- I think there's a subset here that are giving Mac a bad rap. Dude played well today. Yes, some dumb turnovers. Yes, he hasn't hit a 3 -- he will. But I love that he offensive rebounded two of his misses. He showed off his passing skills with four great drive and dishes. He has some really underrated defensive aspects. He reminds me of Iverson or, even moreso, Curry at times -- he's not going to be a lock down defender. But he's going to work his ass off, and he's going to get enough steals to make him a net positive on D. That one steal at halfcourt to the reverse jam came out of nowhere and was a free two points in a close game.
- Speaking of defense,Josh Leblanc is generating a block or steal on 12% of opponents' possessions. TWELVE PERCENT.
- Another dude who had a quietly good game was Blair. Two turnovers is kinda rare for him, but 11 points on five shots is fantastic. Pickett and Blair are our only two consistent outside shooters (maybe Govan?). He's very important to this team; not just for spacing but also for pure scoring.
Agree about Blair. And he can hit the contested three as well. The 3 that Juggy hit when we were down 5 was a game saver....I also believe that he was falling back a little....big shot!!!!
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Post by FHillsNYHoya on Nov 14, 2018 9:37:23 GMT -5
Good point on Pat and Akinjo.
TV camera was following Pat into the locker room, and then Pat stops and walks back toward the center of the court - clearly was headed for Akinjo. Put his hand on him and they walked to the locker room together, with Pat seemingly offering guidance. Little things like that impress me about Pat.
Also very clear that Josh initiates communication - first thing he seems to do when checking into the game is to put his two hands up and make the chirping gesture. Very excited for four years of Josh - and Mackinjo, of course.
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aggypryd
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Post by aggypryd on Nov 14, 2018 9:39:06 GMT -5
Admin, feel free to delete this. I just didn't want to watch the whole show and we get not even a mention.
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SirSaxa
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Post by SirSaxa on Nov 14, 2018 9:43:30 GMT -5
I would have demanded a drug test for anyone who would tell me yesterday at this time that in a game on an opponent’s arena that was pretty raucous, with Govan barely touching the ball, with Pickett scoring only five points, with the Hoys turning over the ball 22 times and shooting under 50%, and with the Illini putting up 80 points, the Hoyas would walk away with the victory. Agree with your post. One minor correction? When I look at the Box on ESPN.com it shows the Hoyas shot 55% for the game. www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/boxscore?gameId=401082334
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