prhoya
Blue & Gray (over 10,000 posts)
Posts: 23,347
|
Post by prhoya on Sept 7, 2019 14:31:52 GMT -5
cbbcentral.com/2019/08/22/preseason-top-100-40-21/Preseason Top 100: #40-21 #39. Georgetown– The dynamic young guard duo of James Akinjo and Mac McClung has a chance to be special, and getting Omer Yurtseven eligible as a replacement for Jessie Govan is important to keep Patrick Ewing’s frontcourt rolling along. Improvement on the defensive end is a necessity, but I’m bullish enough on the young talent on this roster that I’ll bet on the Hoyas to get back to the Big Dance for the first time since 2015. #33. Providence– Point guard woes doomed the Friars in 2018-19– watching Makai Ashton-Langford pound the ball into the ground time after time wasn’t fun, David Duke struggled to penetrate the defense and functioned more as a ball-mover than shot-creator, and Maliek White is better-served as a defender than a creator. Enter Luwane Pipkins– the dynamic combo guard who won’t have a problem getting buckets. The 3, 4, and 5 spots are in great shape with AJ Reeves, Alpha Diallo, and Nate Watson, so as long as the Pipkins/Duke pairing at the 1 & 2 provides adequate play, the Friars will be well on their way to the Big Dance. #28. Xavier– After bottoming out with six consecutive losses early in Big East play, Travis Steele’s club turned things around remarkably down the stretch to make a last-ditch push towards the bubble. From February 13 on, Xavier was a top-30 team per T-Rank, with just three losses in their final 11 games (and two of those coming in overtime). A pair of grad transfers in Jason Carter (Ohio) and Bryce Moore (Western Michigan) should serve as plug-and-play rotation players around a solid returning core that features the do-it-all Naji Marshall and scoring guard Paul Scruggs. Still, the loss of Zach Hankins in the middle shouldn’t be overlooked– the Ferris State grad transfer was incredibly productive on both ends and was a major key in the Musketeers’ late run. #26. Creighton– The Big East is a guard-driven league, and few teams have more talented backcourts than the Bluejays. Ty-Shon Alexander, Mitch Ballock, Marcus Zegarowski, Davion Mintz, Denzel Mahoney, Damien Jefferson, and the list goes on: Greg McDermott can send guard after guard at you capable of attacking off the bounce or hitting outside shots. The real question is in the frontcourt, as Creighton loses Martin Krampelj from a group that wasn’t deep to begin with. Some combo of Jacob Epperson, well-traveled grad transfer Kelvin Jones, and the undersized Christian Bishop will have to step up to to the dirty work down low. Bishop put up big numbers during Creighton’s international trip, so early returns are positive. #24. Marquette– This will be a different look Marquette team, surrounding Markus Howard with versatile athletes all over the floor at the expense of shooting after the stunning transfer of the Hauser twins. Utah State transfer Koby McEwen and 2020 reclassified guard Symir Torrence will be critical in taking the pressure off Howard, who became a bit too ball-dominant at times last season. However, it’s easy to get excited about the defensive upside of a group that could trot out plus athletes at every position other than point guard with an elite back-end rim protector in Theo John anchoring things. This is so disrespectful. The BE teams are loaded.
|
|
EtomicB
Blue & Gray (over 10,000 posts)
Posts: 14,944
|
Post by EtomicB on Sept 7, 2019 15:11:06 GMT -5
cbbcentral.com/2019/08/22/preseason-top-100-40-21/Preseason Top 100: #40-21 #39. Georgetown– The dynamic young guard duo of James Akinjo and Mac McClung has a chance to be special, and getting Omer Yurtseven eligible as a replacement for Jessie Govan is important to keep Patrick Ewing’s frontcourt rolling along. Improvement on the defensive end is a necessity, but I’m bullish enough on the young talent on this roster that I’ll bet on the Hoyas to get back to the Big Dance for the first time since 2015. #33. Providence– Point guard woes doomed the Friars in 2018-19– watching Makai Ashton-Langford pound the ball into the ground time after time wasn’t fun, David Duke struggled to penetrate the defense and functioned more as a ball-mover than shot-creator, and Maliek White is better-served as a defender than a creator. Enter Luwane Pipkins– the dynamic combo guard who won’t have a problem getting buckets. The 3, 4, and 5 spots are in great shape with AJ Reeves, Alpha Diallo, and Nate Watson, so as long as the Pipkins/Duke pairing at the 1 & 2 provides adequate play, the Friars will be well on their way to the Big Dance. Funny how these experts who are were never bullish on Govan in the first place have these Big East teams like Providence leapfrogging Georgetown despite us bring in Yurtseven to replace the departed Govan. The addition of Pipkins over Ashton-Langford is much greater than the addition of Yurtseven over Govan though right?
|
|
MCIGuy
Platinum Hoya (over 5000 posts)
Anyone here? What am I supposed to update?
Posts: 9,426
|
Post by MCIGuy on Sept 7, 2019 15:46:25 GMT -5
Funny how these experts who are were never bullish on Govan in the first place have these Big East teams like Providence leapfrogging Georgetown despite us bring in Yurtseven to replace the departed Govan. The addition of Pipkins over Ashton-Langford is much greater than the addition of Yurtseven over Govan though right? Are you being sarcastic? Yurtseven proved himself in the ACC. Pipkins put up numbers on an okay UMass squad. Also Providence still has an undersized five who was lit up by Govan and only scores on fastbreak run-outs and putbacks. And the Friars have to prove they can hit three-point shots.
|
|
prhoya
Blue & Gray (over 10,000 posts)
Posts: 23,347
|
Post by prhoya on Sept 7, 2019 15:46:32 GMT -5
The addition of Pipkins over Ashton-Langford is much greater than the addition of Yurtseven over Govan though right? Both fill a hole. Ours is bigger. I haven’t seen Pipkins play, but the question will be whether he can affect the game on both sides of the court as Omer will.
|
|
EtomicB
Blue & Gray (over 10,000 posts)
Posts: 14,944
|
Post by EtomicB on Sept 7, 2019 16:23:54 GMT -5
The addition of Pipkins over Ashton-Langford is much greater than the addition of Yurtseven over Govan though right? Are you being sarcastic? Yurtseven proved himself in the ACC. Pipkins put up numbers on an okay UMass squad. Also Providence still has an undersized five who was lit up by Govan and only scores on fastbreak run-outs and putbacks. And the Friars have to prove they can hit three-point shots. You're missing the point MCI, it's not about who did what where... Pipkins is a much better player than Ashton-Langford, there isn't any way to dispute or debate that on the other hand, Yurtseven is not a much better player than Govan... If not for a half-court bank shot, that team with the undersized 5 would have beaten Gtown on the road without its best perimeter player...
|
|
EtomicB
Blue & Gray (over 10,000 posts)
Posts: 14,944
|
Post by EtomicB on Sept 7, 2019 16:42:12 GMT -5
The addition of Pipkins over Ashton-Langford is much greater than the addition of Yurtseven over Govan though right? Both fill a hole. Ours is bigger. I haven’t seen Pipkins play, but the question will be whether he can affect the game on both sides of the court as Omer will. I get that it can be debated to what degree but I think we all know Govan helped more than he hurt last season right? Besides the Reeves injury, the biggest failure for PC last season was the lead guard position. On paper, I can see why folks would be more optimistic about Pipkins joining PC this season than Yurtseven replacing Govan...
|
|
prhoya
Blue & Gray (over 10,000 posts)
Posts: 23,347
|
Post by prhoya on Sept 7, 2019 17:05:24 GMT -5
Both fill a hole. Ours is bigger. I haven’t seen Pipkins play, but the question will be whether he can affect the game on both sides of the court as Omer will. I get that it can be debated to what degree but I think we all know Govan helped more than he hurt last season right? Besides the Reeves injury, the biggest failure for PC last season was the lead guard position. On paper, I can see why folks would be more optimistic about Pipkins joining PC this season than Yurtseven replacing Govan... I would take another Jessie, but he would need to have good, serviceable backups or a true PF enforcer. As I've said before, I think Pat's biggest mistake last season was not getting a true, defensive C or PF from the grad market to complement Jessie. Yes, we had Trey, but he had seen limited action and was not a defensive force. Yes, we were waiting for Omer's NCAA status, but that was a risk. Pat's response? We have four 7-footers (or almost). I think Pipkins could have a great season and help Providence get to the Dance. No one mentions how Holt got hurt before last season and he's coming back. That's a great team. But, I think Omer will be in the BE First Team (just as Jessie), but will be a defensive force when compared to Jessie, and all will lead to a NBA contract. So, he will be more important than Jessie and Pipkins.
|
|
MCIGuy
Platinum Hoya (over 5000 posts)
Anyone here? What am I supposed to update?
Posts: 9,426
|
Post by MCIGuy on Sept 7, 2019 18:34:14 GMT -5
Are you being sarcastic? Yurtseven proved himself in the ACC. Pipkins put up numbers on an okay UMass squad. Also Providence still has an undersized five who was lit up by Govan and only scores on fastbreak run-outs and putbacks. And the Friars have to prove they can hit three-point shots. You're missing the point MCI, it's not about who did what where... Pipkins is a much better player than Ashton-Langford, there isn't any way to dispute or debate that on the other hand, Yurtseven is not a much better player than Govan... If not for a half-court bank shot, that team with the undersized 5 would have beaten Gtown on the road without its best perimeter player... And when they had a chance to correct that with the re-match at home how did that work out for the Friars? Look, even if Pipkins is a major improvement over Ashton-Langford doesn't mean that's enough to put the Friars over the top or above Georgetown at all. Yurtseven could be slightly worse than Govan and the Hoyas could still be the better team from top to bottom. The Friars didn't bring any sure-thing studs to get the nod over the Hoyas IMO. And how do we know Pipkins isn't the next Joe Cremo? Remember him? Recall the hype of him being the next Jay Wright DISCOVERY based upon his numbers he put up at good ol' Albany? I feel pretty confident that Pipkins, who played in a true mid-major, will have a bigger adjustment going immediately into the Big East, than a guy like Yurtseven who competed in an elite ACC in which he earned All Conference honors and then spent a whole year practicing with the Georgetown team and coaching staff.
|
|
|
Post by hoyanewyorka on Sept 7, 2019 19:50:24 GMT -5
|
|
EtomicB
Blue & Gray (over 10,000 posts)
Posts: 14,944
|
Post by EtomicB on Sept 7, 2019 22:15:24 GMT -5
You're missing the point MCI, it's not about who did what where... Pipkins is a much better player than Ashton-Langford, there isn't any way to dispute or debate that on the other hand, Yurtseven is not a much better player than Govan... If not for a half-court bank shot, that team with the undersized 5 would have beaten Gtown on the road without its best perimeter player... And when they had a chance to correct that with the re-match at home how did that work out for the Friars? Look, even if Pipkins is a major improvement over Ashton-Langford doesn't mean that's enough to put the Friars over the top or above Georgetown at all. Yurtseven could be slightly worse than Govan and the Hoyas could still be the better team from top to bottom. The Friars didn't bring any sure-thing studs to get the nod over the Hoyas IMO. And how do we know Pipkins isn't the next Joe Cremo? Remember him? Recall the hype of him being the next Jay Wright DISCOVERY based upon his numbers he put up at good ol' Albany? I feel pretty confident that Pipkins, who played in a true mid-major, will have a bigger adjustment going immediately into the Big East, than a guy like Yurtseven who competed in an elite ACC in which he earned All Conference honors and then spent a whole year practicing with the Georgetown team and coaching staff. PC lost that game and if I remember correctly the best front-court player on the floor that game was LeBlanc so I'm still not sure why you brought up the fact that they're undersized at the 5... Obviously nothing is written in stone, it's just one writer's thoughts which to me aren't that far off base when compared to other write-ups posted by you & Yaboy in the last two days... I've seen Pipkins play many times, I'll be very surprised if he turns out to be another Cremo but again it's much more about how much better he'll be than Ashton-Langford as the writer stated "The 3, 4, and 5 spots are in great shape with AJ Reeves, Alpha Diallo, and Nate Watson, so as long as the Pipkins/Duke pairing at the 1 & 2 provides adequate play, the Friars will be well on their way to the Big Dance"
|
|
MCIGuy
Platinum Hoya (over 5000 posts)
Anyone here? What am I supposed to update?
Posts: 9,426
|
Post by MCIGuy on Sept 8, 2019 3:48:30 GMT -5
And when they had a chance to correct that with the re-match at home how did that work out for the Friars? Look, even if Pipkins is a major improvement over Ashton-Langford doesn't mean that's enough to put the Friars over the top or above Georgetown at all. Yurtseven could be slightly worse than Govan and the Hoyas could still be the better team from top to bottom. The Friars didn't bring any sure-thing studs to get the nod over the Hoyas IMO. And how do we know Pipkins isn't the next Joe Cremo? Remember him? Recall the hype of him being the next Jay Wright DISCOVERY based upon his numbers he put up at good ol' Albany? I feel pretty confident that Pipkins, who played in a true mid-major, will have a bigger adjustment going immediately into the Big East, than a guy like Yurtseven who competed in an elite ACC in which he earned All Conference honors and then spent a whole year practicing with the Georgetown team and coaching staff. PC lost that game and if I remember correctly the best front-court player on the floor that game was LeBlanc so I'm still not sure why you brought up the fact that they're undersized at the 5... Obviously nothing is written in stone, it's just one writer's thoughts which to me aren't that far off base when compared to other write-ups posted by you & Yaboy in the last two days... I've seen Pipkins play many times, I'll be very surprised if he turns out to be another Cremo but again it's much more about how much better he'll be than Ashton-Langford as the writer stated "The 3, 4, and 5 spots are in great shape with AJ Reeves, Alpha Diallo, and Nate Watson, so as long as the Pipkins/Duke pairing at the 1 & 2 provides adequate play, the Friars will be well on their way to the Big Dance"I'm confused about the point you made. You are referring now to the second game (the rematch) when discussing LeBlanc's performance? If so, yes, Josh had the most points of any frontcourt player for GU in Game 2. He played well although he got most of his buckets being the beneficiary of fastbreak opportunities. What does that have to do with anything I wrote about Watson being undersized? Was LeBlanc playing center for the Hoyas? Govan only put up 13 points in that game (still 7 more points than Watson) after putting up a career high 33 against Providence in Game 1. The Friars' defense focused on Govan in the rematch because he had lit them up three straight times. To a lesser extent Providence focused on the Hoyas guards too. That was often the advantage Josh had going for him, the lack of defensive schemes on him because of the other scorers on the squad. He got to be effective often enough because he played alongside a big like Govan who could shoulder much of the rebounding and much more of the load on offense, which opposing teams had to worry about. It allowed Josh to roam a bit, sneak in from the side for a putback slam or tip. Watson doesn't have that luxury because he is THE five on Providence and pretty much the team's main or only interior threat. Problem with that is Watson isn't much of a scorer. He doesn't have any range either which is why he didn't take any three-point shots. Also despite Providence listing of him as 6'10, he still looks like the same height (6'8) that he was coming out of Bishop O'Connell. One could tell that just by observing him standing next to Govan (unless Govan was actually 7 feet). So the Friars this coming season have a 6'8 center who is the lone man anchoring things inside for them. He has yet to show any reliable scoring ability off a post move; he does his damage running the floor and beating his defenders down the court for easy points. And of course he scores off of putback opportunities. Perhaps that sounds like Josh but, again, Josh hasn't had to worry about being a go-to guy in the paint for the Hoyas. Govan had that role last season and Yurtseven will play that part this season. Another issue for Watson is that because of his lack of height he struggles to stop taller guys with offensive capabilities in the post and he struggles just as much to score against such dudes in the paint. I was one of the biggest supporters of Govan on this site the last couple of years and I never underappreciated his value. But Georgetown should be able to throw at least three big men at Watson this upcoming year who are just as tall if not taller than Govan, are more athletic than Govan, can run the floor better than Govan, are better defenders than Govan and who prefer to stay and do their damage near the basket more than the three-point shooting Govan did. Based on what I've seen I feel that Yurtseven and Wahab can score on Watson inside. And I'm just as confident those two and Ighoefe can make it difficult for Watson to score points of his own. So whose left for providence? Obviously Diallo is a fave to be First Team All Big East. But he was picked for that last season and couldn't live up to it. There's no doubting his talent but he isn't some Kris Dunn type of Ben Bentil guy whom the Hoyas or other BE teams have no shot at shutting down. Despite being a 6'6 guard who should be able to finish when getting to the paint, Diallo, an upperclassmen, shot 42 from the floor. His 33% from three was unimpressive but it was also easily the best shooting from long range he has displayed while at Providence so maybe he is on an upswing there. There is also AJ Reeves whom many think will have a breakout year. He has great size and his shooting, especially from three, gives the Friars legitimate hope of having an outside threat. But I recall that outside of Quinerly of Villanova, Reeves and his fellow freshman teammate David Duke got the most love from pundits predicting the bE freshman who would have the most impact going into last season. Both got certainly far more recognition than any of the Hoyas freshman during the pre-season lead up (understandable considering their rankings coming out of high school). And yet despite Providence desperately needing them to help steady things last season, despite desperately needing scoring from them, neither could pull that off by living up to those expectations and neither would make one of the six slots available for All Big East Freshman team. Of course in all fairness it should be pointed out that Reeves missed almost ten games, but he still played in enough (25) to have made a bigger difference than he did. Meanwhile three of the Hoyas frosh did make that team with one being named freshman of the year. So taking all that into account any site or publication that puts Providence ahead of Georgetown must think that Providence is bringing in better players or that their returning players will all improve while the returning Hoyas will be standing still as far as development is concerned. They may think the loss of Govan is too insurmountable. They must be overlooking the Friars' recent track record of being horrible from three and their lack of interior depth as well points-in-the-pain production. They must believe Pipkins, who is 5-11, shot 40% on his two-point shot attempts and 28% from his three-point attempts, as an UPPERCLASSMEN, and didn't make any All A-10 Team throughout his entire career at UMass, is a much more proven commodity and a much better acquisition than the 6-3 and far more efficient Terrell Allen who helped lead his team to the NCAA tournament where the Knights almost knocked out the overall #1 seed Duke. You buy that?
|
|
EtomicB
Blue & Gray (over 10,000 posts)
Posts: 14,944
|
Post by EtomicB on Sept 8, 2019 10:48:38 GMT -5
PC lost that game and if I remember correctly the best front-court player on the floor that game was LeBlanc so I'm still not sure why you brought up the fact that they're undersized at the 5... Obviously nothing is written in stone, it's just one writer's thoughts which to me aren't that far off base when compared to other write-ups posted by you & Yaboy in the last two days... I've seen Pipkins play many times, I'll be very surprised if he turns out to be another Cremo but again it's much more about how much better he'll be than Ashton-Langford as the writer stated "The 3, 4, and 5 spots are in great shape with AJ Reeves, Alpha Diallo, and Nate Watson, so as long as the Pipkins/Duke pairing at the 1 & 2 provides adequate play, the Friars will be well on their way to the Big Dance"I'm confused about the point you made. You are referring now to the second game (the rematch) when discussing LeBlanc's performance? If so, yes, Josh had the most points of any frontcourt player for GU in Game 2. He played well although he got most of his buckets being the beneficiary of fastbreak opportunities. What does that have to do with anything I wrote about Watson being undersized? Was LeBlanc playing center for the Hoyas? Govan only put up 13 points in that game (still 7 more points than Watson) after putting up a career high 33 against Providence in Game 1. The Friars' defense focused on Govan in the rematch because he had lit them up three straight times. To a lesser extent Providence focused on the Hoyas guards too. That was often the advantage Josh had going for him, the lack of defensive schemes on him because of the other scorers on the squad. He got to be effective often enough because he played alongside a big like Govan who could shoulder much of the rebounding and much more of the load on offense, which opposing teams had to worry about. It allowed Josh to roam a bit, sneak in from the side for a putback slam or tip. Watson doesn't have that luxury because he is THE five on Providence and pretty much the team's main or only interior threat. Problem with that is Watson isn't much of a scorer. He doesn't have any range either which is why he didn't take any three-point shots. Also despite Providence listing of him as 6'10, he still looks like the same height (6'8) that he was coming out of Bishop O'Connell. One could tell that just by observing him standing next to Govan (unless Govan was actually 7 feet). So the Friars this coming season have a 6'8 center who is the lone man anchoring things inside for them. He has yet to show any reliable scoring ability off a post move; he does his damage running the floor and beating his defenders down the court for easy points. And of course he scores off of putback opportunities. Perhaps that sounds like Josh but, again, Josh hasn't had to worry about being a go-to guy in the paint for the Hoyas. Govan had that role last season and Yurtseven will play that part this season. Another issue for Watson is that because of his lack of height he struggles to stop taller guys with offensive capabilities in the post and he struggles just as much to score against such dudes in the paint. I was one of the biggest supporters of Govan on this site the last couple of years and I never underappreciated his value. But Georgetown should be able to throw at least three big men at Watson this upcoming year who are just as tall if not taller than Govan, are more athletic than Govan, can run the floor better than Govan, are better defenders than Govan and who prefer to stay and do their damage near the basket more than the three-point shooting Govan did. Based on what I've seen I feel that Yurtseven and Wahab can score on Watson inside. And I'm just as confident those two and Ighoefe can make it difficult for Watson to score points of his own. So whose left for providence? Obviously Diallo is a fave to be First Team All Big East. But he was picked for that last season and couldn't live up to it. There's no doubting his talent but he isn't some Kris Dunn type of Ben Bentil guy whom the Hoyas or other BE teams have no shot at shutting down. Despite being a 6'6 guard who should be able to finish when getting to the paint, Diallo, an upperclassmen, shot 42 from the floor. His 33% from three was unimpressive but it was also easily the best shooting from long range he has displayed while at Providence so maybe he is on an upswing there. There is also AJ Reeves whom many think will have a breakout year. He has great size and his shooting, especially from three, gives the Friars legitimate hope of having an outside threat. But I recall that outside of Quinerly of Villanova, Reeves and his fellow freshman teammate David Duke got the most love from pundits predicting the bE freshman who would have the most impact going into last season. Both got certainly far more recognition than any of the Hoyas freshman during the pre-season lead up (understandable considering their rankings coming out of high school). And yet despite Providence desperately needing them to help steady things last season, despite desperately needing scoring from them, neither could pull that off by living up to those expectations and neither would make one of the six slots available for All Big East Freshman team. Of course in all fairness it should be pointed out that Reeves missed almost ten games, but he still played in enough (25) to have made a bigger difference than he did. Meanwhile three of the Hoyas frosh did make that team with one being named freshman of the year. So taking all that into account any site or publication that puts Providence ahead of Georgetown must think that Providence is bringing in better players or that their returning players will all improve while the returning Hoyas will be standing still as far as development is concerned. They may think the loss of Govan is too insurmountable. They must be overlooking the Friars' recent track record of being horrible from three and their lack of interior depth as well points-in-the-pain production. They must believe Pipkins, who is 5-11, shot 40% on his two-point shot attempts and 28% from his three-point attempts, as an UPPERCLASSMEN, and didn't make any All A-10 Team throughout his entire career at UMass, is a much more proven commodity and a much better acquisition than the 6-3 and far more efficient Terrell Allen who helped lead his team to the NCAA tournament where the Knights almost knocked out the overall #1 seed Duke. You buy that? In this era of CBB, it's impossible for me to believe a player listed @ 6'9" 250 is undersized for the 5 spot but to each his own... My point was that PC didn't lose the 2nd game due to Watson being undersized, they weren't dominated down low. As I mentioned in my previous post, the latest write-ups posted by you & others have Gtown one slot ahead of PC, why didn't you complain then? It seems to me you think that Gtown is much much better than PC... Again, it's one writer's opinion that to me isn't that far fetched. Here's his write up for Gtown, is it not pretty accurate? To me, he hit on the biggest aspect Gtown needs to improve on... #39. Georgetown– The dynamic young guard duo of James Akinjo and Mac McClung has a chance to be special, and getting Omer Yurtseven eligible as a replacement for Jessie Govan is important to keep Patrick Ewing’s frontcourt rolling along. Improvement on the defensive end is a necessity, but I’m bullish enough on the young talent on this roster that I’ll bet on the Hoyas to get back to the Big Dance for the first time since 2015.In my view, you left out the fact that Cooley has a track record for getting teams like this to the tourney maybe that was in the writers thinking as well... Who knows what will happen during the season but on paper PC looks like a team that will be competitive this coming season... Also, Pipkins was voted the A10's most improved player(co) & 2nd team All A10 as a sophomore... www.atlantic10.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=31600&ATCLID=211704410All-Conference Second TeamKellan Grady, Davidson Otis Livingston II, George Mason B.J. Johnson, La Salle Luwane Pipkins, MassachusettsShavar Newkirk, Saint Joseph’s
|
|
GIGAFAN99
Diamond Hoya (over 2500 posts)
Posts: 4,487
|
Post by GIGAFAN99 on Sept 8, 2019 11:00:30 GMT -5
Have to say, I'm with MCI here. To say Providence is a point guard away and Pipkins is that point guard seems a bit of a stretch.
Just straight up which 5 do you want? Akinjo-Mac-Pickett-Leblanc-Yurt or Pipkins-Duke-Reeves-Diallo-Watson?
I'd be surprised if anyone seriously picked the latter.
Put it this way, if Pipkins and Duke this season had the respective years of Akinjo and Mac LAST season, Providence fans would be ecstatic. Now even if you think that is going to happen, you have to either believe our backcourt is going to regress or the Providence frontcourt is that much better to vault them over the Hoyas. Thats kind of a hard sell.
|
|
prhoya
Blue & Gray (over 10,000 posts)
Posts: 23,347
|
Post by prhoya on Sept 8, 2019 13:42:28 GMT -5
|
|
MCIGuy
Platinum Hoya (over 5000 posts)
Anyone here? What am I supposed to update?
Posts: 9,426
|
Post by MCIGuy on Sept 8, 2019 14:01:08 GMT -5
In this era of CBB, it's impossible for me to believe a player listed @ 6'9" 250 is undersized for the 5 spot but to each his own... I made it clear why he is undersized. He's 6'8 and can't reliably score or create offensively on his own. If he had a true faceup game it wouldn't matter nearly as much I'll admit, but all he is right now is an athletic grinder. Granted perhaps his height is good enough for going against Villanova or Creighton. But I have my doubts he can be called on to dominate against Gtown's platoon of bigs. Maybe I should have stated it that way. Taller dudes with size and skill gives him fits. Hold up. In the second game the total combines for the starting "bigs" of Gtown's Govan and LeBlanc were 30 points and 18 rebounds; the total for the staring "bigs" or Providence's Watson and Jimmy Nichols were 10 points and 8 rebounds. Even if those numbers don't tell the complete story I would still think that would qualify as a one-sided domination by the Hoyas in the paint (only one of Govan's buckets came from the three-point line). To pile on further the staring frontcourt of Georgetown had four blocks to Providence's one. Come on, E. What's your definition of domination? Was I to pounce on this stuff after coming across one single opinion that leans towards Providence or wait until I came across a few over weeks that had the Friars leapfrogging the Hoyas? Are you saying that if I don't comment on something I find disagreeable earlier on I shouldn't be able to comment on similiar opinions later? One can believe he is right about one aspect of his writeup and dead wrong about other parts. If the Hoyas' biggest issue last season was defense while Providence's glaring hole was an inept offense with an inadequate PG at the helm, I can argue that Gtown shored up its end much better not just with Yurt replacing the guy everybody loved to pick on, but with the arrivals of Alexander, Allen, Gardner and a bunch of shot blocking bigs. Meanwhile you and this writer seem to think the arrival of a 5-11, 40% shooting guard from the A-10 will magically make Providence a smooth running offense. Okay. Maybe that will happen, its not totally impossible. But again I think Georgetown was already ahead of Providence last season and did more to improve its roster for the coming season than Providence did. I'm sure Cooley being beloved by the media, especially those in the northeast, also plays a part at looking at him so favorably. However as I pointed out the other day Cooley often squeaked in his team into the NCAA Tournament at the expense of Georgetown whom he beat eight times in a row, giving the Friars during given seasons the needed two wins necessary to get over the top. Last season Ewing finally closed the door on that nonsense and the Friars didn't have to waste airfare to fly out for a first weekend loss in the NCAA Tournament. I'm expecting Ewing to keep that door closed or at the very least only halfway open by splitting the two games between the programs. My bad. I guess Sports Reference doesn't have enough money to keep track of some of the A-10 season awards because it did not list this on his page.
|
|
prhoya
Blue & Gray (over 10,000 posts)
Posts: 23,347
|
Post by prhoya on Sept 8, 2019 14:01:28 GMT -5
Have to say, I'm with MCI here. To say Providence is a point guard away and Pipkins is that point guard seems a bit of a stretch. Just straight up which 5 do you want? Akinjo-Mac-Pickett-Leblanc-Yurt or Pipkins-Duke-Reeves-Diallo-Watson? I wear blue&gray shades, but that's a starting five of 5'11" PG Pipkins, 6'5" G Duke, 6'6" G Reeves, 6'7" F Diallo, and 6'10" C Watson. That's pretty good, with 6'7" Holt, 6'8" Gantt, 6'9" Young, 6'8" Nichols, 6'8" Monroe and senior 6'3" White, who averaged 6.7 ppg. Cooley will have a lot of bodies to throw out there. No one mentions the return of 6'7" Emmitt Holt, who had 11 and 17 pts in his only games vs. GU and should be 23 years-old, and the only frosh on the team, 6'8" Greg Gantt (Rated as a 4-star recruit by ESPN.com and 247 Sports…Ranked No. 66 overall and No. 14 Small Forward by ESPN.com…Ranked No.62 overall and No. 16 Small Forward by 247 Sports…Named valedictorian of his class). Cooley played 10 players last year with more than 10 mpg, so he should have a roster of experienced players with great size, except in C, plus Gantt and Pipkins. They are going to be good. If they improve on their #9 BE rank in 3pt%, then watch out. I'm surprised Cooley didn't get a sharpshooter and a true big backup. I think we go 1-1 vs. Providence.
|
|
MCIGuy
Platinum Hoya (over 5000 posts)
Anyone here? What am I supposed to update?
Posts: 9,426
|
Post by MCIGuy on Sept 8, 2019 14:12:35 GMT -5
Have to say, I'm with MCI here. To say Providence is a point guard away and Pipkins is that point guard seems a bit of a stretch. Just straight up which 5 do you want? Akinjo-Mac-Pickett-Leblanc-Yurt or Pipkins-Duke-Reeves-Diallo-Watson? I wear blue&gray shades, but that's a starting five of 5'11" PG Pipkins, 6'5" G Duke, 6'6" G Reeves, 6'7" F Diallo, and 6'10" C Watson. That's pretty good, with 6'7" Holt, 6'8" Gantt, 6'9" Young, 6'8" Nichols, 6'8" Monroe and senior 6'3" White, who averaged 6.7 ppg. Cooley will have a lot of bodies to throw out there. No one mentions the return of 6'7" Emmitt Holt, who had 11 and 17 pts in his only games vs. GU and should be 23 years-old, and the only frosh on the team, 6'8" Greg Gantt (Rated as a 4-star recruit by ESPN.com and 247 Sports…Ranked No. 66 overall and No. 14 Small Forward by ESPN.com…Ranked No.62 overall and No. 16 Small Forward by 247 Sports…Named valedictorian of his class). Cooley played 10 players last year with more than 10 mpg, so he should have a roster of experienced players with great size, except in C, plus Gantt and Pipkins. They are going to be good. If they improve on their #9 BE rank in 3pt%, then watch out. I'm surprised Cooley didn't get a sharpshooter and a true big backup. I think we go 1-1 vs. Providence. Nice but... 1-Stop giving Watson that extra height; he's not 6'10. 2-Unlike Providence last season, Georgetown was already good and it brings in 7'0, 6'10, 6'11, 6'11, 6'7 ad 6'5. Because of greater experience with its backcourt and an offense likely with more weapons than the previous year, Georgetown could very well have a more efficient and a higher scoring offense while at the same time having a much better defense. And in case no one has noticed, my argument was not that Providence wouldn't be good, my true argument was against the notion of the Friars being ranked in the pre-season ahead of Georgetown.
|
|
prhoya
Blue & Gray (over 10,000 posts)
Posts: 23,347
|
Post by prhoya on Sept 8, 2019 14:25:27 GMT -5
Nice but... 1-Stop giving Watson that extra height; he's not 6'10. 2-Unlike Providence last season, Georgetown was already good and it brings in 7'0, 6'10, 6'11, 6'11, 6'7 ad 6'5. Because of greater experience with its backcourt and an offense likely with more weapons than the previous year, Georgetown could very well have a more efficient and a higher scoring offense while at the same time having a much better defense. And in case no one has noticed, my argument was not that Providence wouldn't be good, my true argument was against the notion of the Friars being ranked in the pre-season ahead of Georgetown. 1- I'm going with his listed height. We'll see how tall he looks when the season starts. 2-They have more experience playing together, with just two new additions: a proven scorer and the #66 ranked recruit. Add Holt who comes back from medical redshirt. We have a great core, but slightly less experience playing together with 6 new additions. The PanAm games was a great opportunity to give 4 of his core players some playing time against good to great competition. As to our 7-footers, they are all new to the team. We'll get to see soon enough how that turns out.
|
|
MCIGuy
Platinum Hoya (over 5000 posts)
Anyone here? What am I supposed to update?
Posts: 9,426
|
Post by MCIGuy on Sept 8, 2019 15:09:13 GMT -5
Othella Harrington was listed at 6'10 at first too. Anyone with working eyes knew otherwise. Watts' no different in my opinion. He was clearly a couple inches shorter than Govan.
Who cares if their core have more experience playing together, especially given their results last season. We are returning four starters from a better team and the fifth starter had a year to practice with the other guys. What am I missing here?
Good for them bringing in the 66th ranked recruit. But rankings have never been an exact science. The Friars know that considering last season's squad had two top fifty recruits who disappointed the Providence fanbase greatly.
Friars had four of its players getting some good run in a real tournament against very good competition. The Hoyas had an entire roster getting run and getting used to one another as they played pretty bad competition. You can make an argument regarding which scenario is better.
And that's it from me on any of this. It has become an unnecessary p****** contest and I've already wasted enough people 's time. If you have a rebuttal to my points by all means share them. I'll read them but you won't have to worry about me responding.
|
|
prhoya
Blue & Gray (over 10,000 posts)
Posts: 23,347
|
Post by prhoya on Sept 8, 2019 15:48:00 GMT -5
Othella Harrington was listed at 6'10 at first too. Anyone with working eyes knew otherwise. Watts' no different in my opinion. He was clearly a couple inches shorter than Govan. Who cares if their core have more experience playing together, especially given their results last season. We are returning four starters from a better team and the fifth starter had a year to practice with the other guys. What am I missing here? Good for them bringing in the 66th ranked recruit. But rankings have never been an exact science. The Friars know that considering last season's squad had two top fifty recruits who disappointed the Providence fanbase greatly. Friars had four of its players getting some good run in a real tournament against very good competition. The Hoyas had an entire roster getting run and getting used to one another as they played pretty bad competition. You can make an argument regarding which scenario is better. And that's it from me on any of this. It has become an unnecessary p****** contest and I've already wasted enough people 's time. If you have a rebuttal to my points by all means share them. I'll read them but you won't have to worry about me responding. No need for a rebuttal from me when it’s just your opinion (his real height and the importance of the core playing together). I’ve expressed my opinion and we’ll see how tall he stands vs Omer. Btw, Holt has not been addressed, and he’s a pretty important piece, and the fact that Cooley will have solid experience throughout his roster, with just one frosh, the #66 ranked one.
|
|