jwp91
Platinum Hoya (over 5000 posts)
Posts: 6,035
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Post by jwp91 on May 1, 2019 7:42:39 GMT -5
I think as a fan base we have been desperate to take the next step and start getting back to the days where NCAA tournaments were automatic for Georgetown, Top 5 rankings were achievable and national titles were not pipe dreams.
There have been many actions necessary to achieve this. We have upgraded the roster and reduced the number of one-dimensional depth players. We have changed our style of play to one that the very best players should find attractive. We have upgraded our practice facilities. We have increased the recruiting activity of the head coach and raised our recruiting profile (see Ewing representing the Knicks at the Draft or his radio show on Sirius).
Here is one think I am looking for next year to see us take the next step: Exploit Mismatches on Offense
I was disappointed at times last season. To my eye, there seemed to be a consistent lack of awareness of mismatches. When an offensive player’s strength cannot be thwarted by his defender, to never seek to find that offensive player in a position in which that mis-match can be exploited seems significantly sub-optimal to me. If your 6’10” player is being guarded by a 6’2” player, then post him up and feed him the ball. Too many times when we seemed to have a clear mis-match, the players seemed to play without any awareness or attempt to take advantage. It is one thing to notice the mis-match but be unable to take advantage. It is entirely another to appear not to notice. For teams to excel, I think they need to take every marginal advantage offered to them.
So I am hoping the Hoyas do a better job identifying and exploiting mis-matches next year.
What specifically do you want to see next year for the Hoyas to take the next step?
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Post by bigelephant on May 1, 2019 8:14:03 GMT -5
Good court awareness, better defense, better 3 pt % from Mac, better FT % even tho Mackinjo did very well there is always room for improvement, better defensive strategies, better individual and team defense, better shot selection, and better (more) assists by Mac because he CAN do them.
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Post by professorhoya on May 1, 2019 8:35:36 GMT -5
I just wish we would attempt to learn Pack Line like UVA and MSU. Or Side Line defense (which just seems like another Pack Line since you are clogging up the middle) like Texas Tech.
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sweetness
Silver Hoya (over 500 posts)
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Post by sweetness on May 1, 2019 8:39:55 GMT -5
Better defense! Getting stops at critical times to put teams away.
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Post by wponds on May 1, 2019 8:44:07 GMT -5
Defense, Defense, Defense. Not just getting lucky that the other team missed.
Aside from that, consistent ball movement on offense
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SirSaxa
Blue & Gray (over 10,000 posts)
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Post by SirSaxa on May 1, 2019 9:10:00 GMT -5
Our three leading players last year were freshmen. We are all but guaranteed they will be much better this year after a full year of D1 hoops and a full year of coaching from Pat and staff. I believe these kids will have a vastly improved understanding of the game and their roles.
The "new guys" include: Terrell Allen, who has 4 years of D1 basketball experience, including three in which he was most often the starting PG. Yurtseven -- 2 years of D1 and one year practicing with the team under Coach Ewing Alexander - Half a year at LSU and two full years of JUCO ball
Quite a difference from bringing in all frosh recruits.
I would like to see: 1. Better understanding of the TEAM game - overall -- O and D 2. MUCH better Defense - attention, energy and prioritization -- I don't think the problem was the defensive schemes, it was the execution (or lack thereof) 3. Kids who totally get after it at both ends. Call them dogs, JYDs, whatever. I think these new kids have it. 4. Better game prep by the coaching staff. Team came out flat after almost every big win - that was on the kids, but also on the staff. Can't see that anymore.
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jwp91
Platinum Hoya (over 5000 posts)
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Post by jwp91 on May 1, 2019 9:22:19 GMT -5
Defense, Defense, Defense. Not just getting lucky that the other team missed. Aside from that, consistent ball movement on offense Agreed. At times, I am a bit skeptical about the amount of defensive improvement possible from the starting five. We were not a good defensive team by any stretch, but just swapping Yurt for Govan doesn’t seem to be a complete game changer to me. Some might say to start Galen instead of Pickett, but Pickett may have been one of our best on-ball defenders. Some might say the three freshman will be sophomores....Ok but how much does that change who they are and how they play? Some might say improved coaching or attention, Ok but then why weren’t we giving it attention last year? You would think our defense would have to improve. I am really curious to see how it does and what the elements are. Outside of Ewing fundamentally changing his commitment to defense and making it a very high priority like other schools do, I wonder how much it will change. And for those suggesting packline....it is just not in our coaching DNA. I don’t see that happening.
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Post by gatormcclusky on May 1, 2019 9:22:40 GMT -5
- better defense across the board from everyone
- improved shot selection, ball handling and shooting from McClung
- better decision-making and willingness to share the ball earlier in possessions and more commitment to pushing in transition from Akinjo
- about 20 pounds of muscle and continued great 3pt shooting on a higher volume of attempts from LeBlanc
- Yurtseven stepping in and replacing 80-90% of Govan's production with better defensive awareness and intensity
- willingness to play more within himself without trying to force things on the offensive end from Pickett and continued high intensity on the defensive end
- continued steady play and leadership from Jagan (maybe taking over the Kaleb jack of all trades role from this past year, although his size will limit him on that somewhat)
- shotblocking and rebounding from the freshman big men
- better and experienced depth with Galen and Terrell coming in
- 20+ wins and an NCAA tourney berth
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Post by hoyasaxa2003 on May 1, 2019 10:25:36 GMT -5
Outside of Ewing fundamentally changing his commitment to defense and making it a very high priority like other schools do, I wonder how much it will change. And for those suggesting packline....it is just not in our coaching DNA. I don’t see that happening. I really think we do need some sort of fundamental change to the defensive approach. Whatever the team was being taught in the last two years simply did not work. Whether it's improved man to man, zone, or pack the line, or something else, the team needs to focus on and commit to something that works. It likely requires a change of emphasis from a coaching perspective, because what we have been doing the last two seasons clearly has not worked. Beard at Texas Tech uses assistant coach Adams as his defensive guru. We may need something like that, but we aren't going to have it with the current staff. Improved defensive talent might help, but I firmly believe our current roster, which was 133 in defense last season, could easily improve simply with different/better instruction. If Beard/Adams could make a horrible Little Rock team drastically improve in one year on defense, with far less talent than we have, we can do it with the proper instruction and dedication. Texas Tech spends 2/3 of practice on defense. We really need something similar, because without significantly better defense, offense simply won't matter that much.
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Post by wponds on May 1, 2019 10:32:13 GMT -5
Defense, Defense, Defense. Not just getting lucky that the other team missed. Aside from that, consistent ball movement on offense Agreed. At times, I am a bit skeptical about the amount of defensive improvement possible from the starting five. We were not a good defensive team by any stretch, but just swapping Yurt for Govan doesn’t seem to be a complete game changer to me. Some might say to start Galen instead of Pickett, but Pickett may have been one of our best on-ball defenders. Some might say the three freshman will be sophomores....Ok but how much does that change who they are and how they play? Some might say improved coaching or attention, Ok but then why weren’t we giving it attention last year? You would think our defense would have to improve. I am really curious to see how it does and what the elements are. Outside of Ewing fundamentally changing his commitment to defense and making it a very high priority like other schools do, I wonder how much it will change. And for those suggesting packline....it is just not in our coaching DNA. I don’t see that happening. I agree. I doubt the D will be anywhere near elite, but we at least need some kind of steady improvement this year. If LeBlanc can bulk up, that will help him a lot. Allen, Galen, and Wahab will likely be bench players, but that is a huge improvement defensively over who we had at those positions before, and that will make a big difference imo. I also think having better chemistry will help. A lot of defense is about communicating effectively with one another
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lichoya68
Blue & Gray (over 10,000 posts)
OK YOUNGINS ARE HERE AND ARE VERY VERY GOOD cant wait GO HOYAS
Posts: 17,440
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Post by lichoya68 on May 1, 2019 10:55:47 GMT -5
good year coming meanarywayup yup and the staff getting some good ones go hoyas cant wait for kenner preseason picks anyone WAY UP FOLKS WAY UP
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lichoya68
Blue & Gray (over 10,000 posts)
OK YOUNGINS ARE HERE AND ARE VERY VERY GOOD cant wait GO HOYAS
Posts: 17,440
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Post by lichoya68 on May 1, 2019 10:56:05 GMT -5
and schedule way up toooooo also yup way up
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Post by TrueHoyaBlue on May 1, 2019 11:11:47 GMT -5
Rebounding is my key area for improvement. Particularly defensive rebounding. We were about 82nd in the country in defensive rebounding rate. I can remember so many instances in which we played good defense for 25+ seconds, and then gave up a long rebound on a 3-point attempt, or (Harvard, Xavier, and Seton Hall come to mind), a tip-out collected by a wing or guard from the other team.
If we can box out (including our guards) and grab 2-3 more defensive boards from opponents' misses, that should be worth at least 2-3 points in scoring margin.
Offensive rebounding also leaves a lot of room for improvement, as we were only around 150th in the country on the season. Some of this is due to trying to get back in transition, but some is the "want it more" factor. it would be nice to collect more of those odd bounces ourselves. Josh was a solid offensive rebounder last year, but there's a ton of room for improvement, whether that's development from returning players or energy infusion from the newcomers.
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Post by professorhoya on May 1, 2019 11:20:12 GMT -5
Rebounding is my key area for improvement. Particularly defensive rebounding. We were about 82nd in the country in defensive rebounding rate. I can remember so many instances in which we played good defense for 25+ seconds, and then gave up a long rebound on a 3-point attempt, or (Harvard, Xavier, and Seton Hall come to mind), a tip-out collected by a wing or guard from the other team. If we can box out (including our guards) and grab 2-3 more defensive boards from opponents' misses, that should be worth at least 2-3 points in scoring margin. Offensive rebounding also leaves a lot of room for improvement, as we were only around 150th in the country on the season. Some of this is due to trying to get back in transition, but some is the "want it more" factor. it would be nice to collect more of those odd bounces ourselves. Josh was a solid offensive rebounder last year, but there's a ton of room for improvement, whether that's development from returning players or energy infusion from the newcomers. Hard to get offensive rebounds when your Stretch 5 is sitting on the perimeter for most of the game. When Derrickson was here he was effective at boxing people out down low when Govan fluttered away to the 3pt line. But this year there was no one like that down low when Govan floated outside.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on May 1, 2019 12:02:56 GMT -5
There's very little correlation between overall rebounding and team success - especially on the offensive end - in the pros or among relatively equally matched teams at the college level.
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Post by HometownHoya on May 1, 2019 13:20:07 GMT -5
Obviously defense as everyone else said. I'll add in offensive efficiency. The top two stats for a NCAA tournament team are O eff and D eff. We need to improve on both and we have the firepower to score, just need to be efficient rather then just fast.
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Post by Ranch Dressing on May 1, 2019 15:56:52 GMT -5
Obviously defense as everyone else said. I'll add in offensive efficiency. The top two stats for a NCAA tournament team are O eff and D eff. We need to improve on both and we have the firepower to score, just need to be efficient rather then just fast. Yes, I echo these sentiments 100%. On defense, rim protection is really critical and lower opponent 2PFG%. On offense, the last 2 years we played fast just to play fast at times, with no real plan or strategy while getting the ball up the court - leading to unnecessary turnovers. I hope we continue to play fast, but under control, knowing when to push hard for buckets at the rim, when to look back for trailing 3s, and when to pull back to set up the half court. I think this comes with experience and awareness and practice. So, I am expecting to be more efficient next year with James and Mac a year older.
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Post by HoyaRejuveNation85 on May 1, 2019 15:59:28 GMT -5
Creating turnovers is something we need to improve on a lot. Being able to stop studs on the other team from getting their 30 points is another. Both play into improved team defense. Even if we stay in front more and close out on shooters better, we will see a definite improvement. Points off turnovers is something that we've not done well with. With the athleticism and experience in our lineup next year, I want to see lots more.
As for awareness of mismatches, I thought Coach Patrick did a fine job of this as the season progressed. Wasn't it an end of season game (Marquette maybe) when Coach pulled Mac to the side and basically had him take his man off the dribble every possible possession for a good stretch of the second half? For a while there, it was many, many possessions in a row. And, it worked. I thought it was huge for a coach, particularly a head coach in just his second season, to break away from the game plan he probably worked hard to put together to recognize the opportunity for a mismatch and a win. That's seeing what's happening on the floor and reacting appropriately and not arrogantly following the "brilliant" game plan.
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Post by veilside21 on May 2, 2019 1:23:12 GMT -5
Schedule we cant rely on cupcake schedule anymore.. It needs to improve tremendously ... this way we can prevent getting surprised by other teams .
talent is really deep in our squad. I expect James to be the best PG this year in BE. Josh will be a stud as well as Mac.
I loved the addition of the 2 upperrclassmen that would really solidify our bench. I am interested to see who steps up bigtime after Yurt.. i think yurt is not a defensive big .. I really hope Q or wilson can get some burn early for them to be ready for the next state.
offense isnt our problem we already have enough players that create on their own.. specially having Allen the second unit will benefit well from having him even MACKINJO.
Pickett is the key guy here hopefully he will be better defensively and just really focus on shooting 3's to pattern his game like covington but its asking a lot.
Guard play is what defined the tournament to be honest and we got that sealed with James and Allen.
its really just a matter of execution specially defensively. Mac is the biggest hole for me on defense hope he works really hard to stay on the ball.
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madgesiq92
Golden Hoya (over 1000 posts)
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Post by madgesiq92 on May 2, 2019 5:37:49 GMT -5
Obviously defense as everyone else said. I'll add in offensive efficiency. The top two stats for a NCAA tournament team are O eff and D eff. We need to improve on both and we have the firepower to score, just need to be efficient rather then just fast. This 100 times.
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