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Post by komo on Mar 20, 2019 21:14:34 GMT -5
Early look at next season. Marquette and Seton Hall early favorites for top two slots with Hoyas, Villanova and Xavier slugging it out for next three spots. Of course, transfers in and out and freshmen can alter this prediction.
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vv83
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Post by vv83 on Mar 20, 2019 22:50:50 GMT -5
Early look at next season. Marquette and Seton Hall early favorites for top two slots with Hoyas, Villanova and Xavier slugging it out for next three spots. Of course, transfers in and out and freshmen can alter this prediction. Marquette and Seton Hall are largely dependent on Howard/Powell coming back. Neither is an obvious NBA player, but guys who can shoot/score the way they can do possess the one most important NBA skill. If either leaves college, I don't see their team battling for the top of the league. I still think Villanova is the favorite. The talent is there, most of it is young. Wright's plan is always to count on the upperclass players. But he is a real good coach, and my guess is that by the end of the season, he'll have one or two of their strong freshman class members making major contributions.
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madgesiq92
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Post by madgesiq92 on Mar 21, 2019 5:22:37 GMT -5
Let's be honest here, it is very likely that the Hoyas will be in a life and death battle to avoid Wednesday at the Big East again next year.
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Bigs"R"Us
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Post by Bigs"R"Us on Mar 21, 2019 6:48:07 GMT -5
I’m a bit more optimistic.
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daveg023
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Post by daveg023 on Mar 21, 2019 6:58:52 GMT -5
After watching SJ, PC, Butler, and Us lose, perhaps our 9-9 conference record was a mirage. SH and Marquette have tough games as well, so again it’s up to Nova to carry the conference flag.
I questioned the metrics that said the BE teams were not that strong, but the early indication from the post season results are tough to refute.
For next year I don’t know how anyone thinks we are any better than Nova (bringing in perhaps 2 one-and-done NBA talents), Marquette, Seton Hall, Xavier, or Creighton, as all those teams were better than us already.
And even if you think Yurt > Govan (I think a stretch for any of us to say right now despite the current sentiment on Jesse) at best we are only marginally better while I’d argue so is every team but St Johns and maybe DePaul (PC returns everyone and so does Butler).
Yurt, Wahab, and Alexander are nice pieces but pretty much in line with the incoming talent at every BE school. To me it will come down to player development and how much can our freshman get better, can Pickett rebound from a disappointing year, can Carter give us good minutes?
So to me that’s on the staff along with their own development of putting together better gameplans, in-game-adjustments, and end of game decision making. In our league where talent is pretty equal, the coaching has to be a separator and/or close the gap to teams with superior horses. In my mind I’m not sure our staff provides the same edge that I see Wright, Willard, McDermott, Cooley, and even Steele showed this year. As many have said I think the talent evaluation has been good, but player development and X’s and O’s are lagging behind the best in the conference. So either that improves or we have to get superior talent to make up for that. Right now I guess given the current talent and what we’ve seen from the coaching staff, coupled with a much tougher conference, I’m not sure how much we can expect to improve on a 9-9 record. Perhaps with a tougher OOC schedule, better metrics, etc., that might be enough to get in the tournament next year and we’ll all be happy. But I wouldn’t expect it to be a foregone conclusion to assume that just because our freshman are a year older and the presumption our seniors graduating are addition by subtraction.
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bamahoya11
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Post by bamahoya11 on Mar 21, 2019 7:10:29 GMT -5
We will know a lot more about where we stack in terms of big east play in a month or two once the tournaments have ended and players have made their decisions on the NBA. By then, many of the grad transfers and other transfers will have likely landed elsewhere.
My goal for next season is for this team to meaningfully contend for an NCAA Tournament berth. This year we never seemed in contention to me. The strength of schedule just wasn't there, and we didn't have enough wins to really tip the scale. The league also wasn't good enough to carry us this year.
That said, it might well be next year. I do thin other teams will make a step forward next year, but that doesn't necessarily hurt us. An improved Big East next year would lift all boats. We might well make the field even without improving or improving much in the win-loss record. That remains to be seen.
Right now, the staff should have several priorities that will affect next season. First, they have to keep the team together and bought-in. No transfers, lots of hard work in the off season improving their games. Fortunately we do have a lot of returning players, so they should head into the off season knowing what they need to do. Second, we have to improve our scheduling. That has already taken a nice step forward with some big names added, but we have to get better at picking mid major opponents that don't drag down our metrics. We don't have to schedule like JTIII did in his final years, but we need to avoid playing 2-5 of the worst 20-30 teams in the country. Third, I hope we continue to explore the recruiting trail. Obviously Anthony is still out there unsigned, and there will likely be dozens of grad transfers out there again. We should never pass on a smart opportunity to add depth and make the team better.
If we do those things, I think we can contend for the Tournament next year, and we would likely be in the top half of the league. No guarantees, though. Everyone will be working hard. Even so, I like the overall trajectory of this team over the last two years.
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calhoya
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Post by calhoya on Mar 21, 2019 7:39:52 GMT -5
Clearly it was a flawed team, with terrible defense, no reliable shooting guard/wing, one dimensional players, a coach still learning to be a head coach in college, 3 freshmen learning to play at this level, sophomores who did not take the developmental step that many expected, and a lack of depth at the post position. All the criticism is fair. Somehow they managed to win 19 games and make this place interesting again.
Do not dismiss this season as a failure as I am not certain that next year will be better though. There are many more questions than answers right now. How will the recruiting end up; who leaves the program; whether this year's freshmen actually continue to develop or level off; whether the coach/staff continue to develop and learn how to get more consistency from the team on a game-to-game basis; and so on.
There will actually be more newcomers next year than this year. At least one or two of the three freshmen posts coming in have to be able to contribute at least in a role equal to or better than Mourning did this year. McClung needs to take a major step in his outside shooting if he is going to continue to lead the team in 3 pt. shots. Akinjo needs to learn how to get his shot off in the lane against much taller players. LeBlanc needs to develop his offensive game away from the basket to become more of a threat outside of dunks and putbacks. Yurtseven needs to become Govan on offense and much better than Govan on defense, and Pickett and Blair need to take the next step in their development.
I appreciate what we got this year even though it was horribly inconsistent from game to game. Not yet certain what Ewing's upside is as a coach, but he has shown growth, recruited talent and brought excitement back to the program. Wishing Govan, Kaleb, Greg and Trey great and successful careers in the next chapter of their lives.
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hoyainla
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Post by hoyainla on Mar 21, 2019 8:56:44 GMT -5
If we have the season that St. John's had this year
A) would you take it right now? B) would you consider it a success?
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royski
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Post by royski on Mar 21, 2019 9:43:13 GMT -5
If we have the season that St. John's had this year A) would you take it right now? B) would you consider it a success? I'd say yes. The goal is to make the tournament next year. I think doing that, even with a play-in game loss, should be considered a success. The program's trajectory is what's most important right now, gotta keep having better seasons every year.
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DanMcQ
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Post by DanMcQ on Mar 21, 2019 9:43:14 GMT -5
Clearly it was a flawed team, with terrible defense, no reliable shooting guard/wing, one dimensional players, a coach still learning to be a head coach in college, 3 freshmen learning to play at this level, sophomores who did not take the developmental step that many expected, and a lack of depth at the post position. All the criticism is fair. Somehow they managed to win 19 games and make this place interesting again. Do not dismiss this season as a failure as I am not certain that next year will be better though. There are many more questions than answers right now. How will the recruiting end up; who leaves the program; whether this year's freshmen actually continue to develop or level off; whether the coach/staff continue to develop and learn how to get more consistency from the team on a game-to-game basis; and so on. There will actually be more newcomers next year than this year. At least one or two of the three freshmen posts coming in have to be able to contribute at least in a role equal to or better than Mourning did this year. McClung needs to take a major step in his outside shooting if he is going to continue to lead the team in 3 pt. shots. Akinjo needs to learn how to get his shot off in the lane against much taller players. LeBlanc needs to develop his offensive game away from the basket to become more of a threat outside of dunks and putbacks. Yurtseven needs to become Govan on offense and much better than Govan on defense, and Pickett and Blair need to take the next step in their development. I appreciate what we got this year even though it was horribly inconsistent from game to game. Not yet certain what Ewing's upside is as a coach, but he has shown growth, recruited talent and brought excitement back to the program. Wishing Govan, Kaleb, Greg and Trey great and successful careers in the next chapter of their lives. One thing is for certain: there will be 15-20 fouls available at the 5. No excuse for lack of rim protection.
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jwp91
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Post by jwp91 on Mar 21, 2019 9:55:03 GMT -5
If we have the season that St. John's had this year A) would you take it right now? B) would you consider it a success? Oh hell no. Absolutely not. Undefeated in conference play against cupcakes and then 8-10 in conference with early exit by double digits in the tournament? No way. I would rather have the season we just had where we got better for the most parts as the season went on.
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Bigs"R"Us
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Post by Bigs"R"Us on Mar 21, 2019 18:05:57 GMT -5
We should get a read at Kenner. Yurt7, Alexander and Wahab (lesser extent) will be key views. I still expect another addition before then.
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Post by sleepyjackson21 on Mar 21, 2019 18:10:53 GMT -5
We'll be better but so will most teams in the Big East. That's a good thing especially after watching the Big East teams in the postseason.
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vv83
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Post by vv83 on Mar 21, 2019 18:27:27 GMT -5
We should get a read at Kenner. Yurt7, Alexander and Wahab (lesser extent) will be key views. I still expect another addition before then. Really interested to see Wahab. He put up some huge offensive numbers down the stretch this season. He has only been playing basketball for something like 4 or 5 years, and has a rep as a super hard worker. He has already shown a lot of progress in his offensive game. He has been solid defensively throughout high school With Ewing coaching him, he may have a very high ceiling. Kind of an ideal situation next year. he does not have to come right in and carry the low post offense. He can get solid playing time behind Yurtseven for a season - enough PT to develop, but not so much that his freshman learning curve will hurt the team in any fundamental way. The pieces we really still need: -shooting - we really don't have much beyond Akinjo. Maybe Mac will improve, maybe Alexander is a solid shooter, maybe Pickett will start to find his offensive game. But that's a lot of "maybe's", and none of these guys are likely knockdown shooters even at the high end of their game. We need a Derrickson/Hollis type shooter who can reliably hit 40% from 3. -6'5-6'8 guys who can put the ball on the floor, get to the rim, and score through contact. We have nobody who can do that now, and Alexander is the only real prospect to show/develop this ability. Mac is good attacking the basket, but short. Pickett is unlikely to ever develop the strength to do this well, and his ability to develop the handle/skills is also pretty open to question. LeBlanc has to this point shown zero ability to take anyone off the dribble. Hopefully Alexander answers part of this question, but we need a couple of guys who can do this. Gardner would certainly seem to fit this profile.
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drquigley
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Post by drquigley on Mar 21, 2019 18:54:04 GMT -5
If we have the season that St. John's had this year A) would you take it right now? B) would you consider it a success? Oh hell no. Absolutely not. Undefeated in conference play against cupcakes and then 8-10 in conference with early exit by double digits in the tournament? No way. I would rather have the season we just had where we got better for the most parts as the season went on. 100% agree. We'd be screaming bloody murder if we had Johnnies talent and still finished 8-10. Plus we'd be screaming (deservedly) for Mullins head.
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hoyarooter
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Post by hoyarooter on Mar 21, 2019 18:54:12 GMT -5
We should get a read at Kenner. Yurt7, Alexander and Wahab (lesser extent) will be key views. I still expect another addition before then. Really interested to see Wahab. He put up some huge offensive numbers down the stretch this season. He has only been playing basketball for something like 4 or 5 years, and has a rep as a super hard worker. He has already shown a lot of progress in his offensive game. He has been solid defensively throughout high school With Ewing coaching him, he may have a very high ceiling. Kind of an ideal situation next year. he does not have to come right in and carry the low post offense. He can get solid playing time behind Yurtseven for a season - enough PT to develop, but not so much that his freshman learning curve will hurt the team in any fundamental way. The pieces we really still need: -shooting - we really don't have much beyond Akinjo. Maybe Mac will improve, maybe Alexander is a solid shooter, maybe Pickett will start to find his offensive game. But that's a lot of "maybe's", and none of these guys are likely knockdown shooters even at the high end of their game. We need a Derrickson/Hollis type shooter who can reliably hit 40% from 3. -6'5-6'8 guys who can put the ball on the floor, get to the rim, and score through contact. We have nobody who can do that now, and Alexander is the only real prospect to show/develop this ability. Mac is good attacking the basket, but short. Pickett is unlikely to ever develop the strength to do this well, and his ability to develop the handle/skills is also pretty open to question. LeBlanc has to this point shown zero ability to take anyone off the dribble. Hopefully Alexander answers part of this question, but we need a couple of guys who can do this. Gardner would certainly seem to fit this profile. Perhaps I'm unduly optimistic (unusual for me), but I think that Akinjo and Mac will both eventually be 40% shooters from 3. The talent is there. Wish I could say the same for Pickett.
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drquigley
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Post by drquigley on Mar 21, 2019 19:05:21 GMT -5
Really interested to see Wahab. He put up some huge offensive numbers down the stretch this season. He has only been playing basketball for something like 4 or 5 years, and has a rep as a super hard worker. He has already shown a lot of progress in his offensive game. He has been solid defensively throughout high school With Ewing coaching him, he may have a very high ceiling. Kind of an ideal situation next year. he does not have to come right in and carry the low post offense. He can get solid playing time behind Yurtseven for a season - enough PT to develop, but not so much that his freshman learning curve will hurt the team in any fundamental way. The pieces we really still need: -shooting - we really don't have much beyond Akinjo. Maybe Mac will improve, maybe Alexander is a solid shooter, maybe Pickett will start to find his offensive game. But that's a lot of "maybe's", and none of these guys are likely knockdown shooters even at the high end of their game. We need a Derrickson/Hollis type shooter who can reliably hit 40% from 3. -6'5-6'8 guys who can put the ball on the floor, get to the rim, and score through contact. We have nobody who can do that now, and Alexander is the only real prospect to show/develop this ability. Mac is good attacking the basket, but short. Pickett is unlikely to ever develop the strength to do this well, and his ability to develop the handle/skills is also pretty open to question. LeBlanc has to this point shown zero ability to take anyone off the dribble. Hopefully Alexander answers part of this question, but we need a couple of guys who can do this. Gardner would certainly seem to fit this profile. Perhaps I'm unduly optimistic (unusual for me), but I think that Akinjo and Mac will both eventually be 40% shooters from 3. The talent is there. Wish I could say the same for Pickett. Agree again. Why we can't seem to accept that PE recruited two of the best guards we've had in years. Can you imagine Mackinjo in 2-3 years?
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mdtd
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Post by mdtd on Mar 21, 2019 20:23:51 GMT -5
I'm ready for Yurtseven. I've cooled off on him a bit but I'm ready. Next season we are making NCAA's. That's my expectation.
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Eurostar
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Post by Eurostar on Mar 21, 2019 20:31:53 GMT -5
This is the biggest problem we have had all season. This looks like we are 5 for 15 in 2 point shots that are outside the paint. We take more 2's outside the paint that almost every team we play against. Need to cut down on these low percentage and low yield shots. Players should be coached to take the open shot as long as its under the basket or a 3. Any open long 2 should usually have a better option somewhere unless the shock clock is running down.
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Post by cgallstar02 on Mar 21, 2019 22:28:20 GMT -5
Everyone keeps saying we need a shooter... we had 2 of them this year (Greg and Blair) and they were both worthless. Shooters that can't create their own shot (something Greg and Blair couldn't do) are fairly useless on this team. Our offense consisted of force feeding Jessie who almost never passed out of the double team to the open shooter, or letting James/Mac go one on one where they will either force their own contested 3, or drive looking to score, and in the rare occasions they passed, it was usually to an interior guy, almost never a kick out for 3. Maybe Yurt's a better, more willing passer out of the double team, and maybe James/Mac will get better at finding open shooters on drive and kicks, but if it's anything like this year, a 3 point shooting specialist next year will simply be Greg 2.0.
The good news is the defense should be drastically improved. Center is the most important defensive position in basketball and was by far our weakest, both the starter and backup. Yurt and Wahab could be average and we would still be significantly improved there. The Alexander kid should be a huge upgrade defensively over Greg, so that's 3 upgrades there. If the freshmen 3 can make even minimal improvements, then we're pretty much better defensively at every position.
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