EtomicB
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Post by EtomicB on Dec 17, 2020 0:34:08 GMT -5
Not sure where Jahvon Blair fits into all this? The conversation seemed to be centered around Mac's draft prospects and his improvements or lack thereof at Texas Tech. I have no clue why you keep trying to force Blair into that conversation considering he has 0 effect on how much Mac will or won't improve this season and on wether or not Mac will someday be drafted. I guess you're looking for some sort of pat on the back for previously suggesting that Blair should start over Mac? Hate to break it to you but folks have been making those kind of suggestions/arguments for years... Iverson, Marbury, Westbrook, Carmelo... the list goes on and on. Is the team better with or without their best player if their best player is a ball dominant, often times low efficiency player? It's an age old question and truly there's no right or wrong answer. Often times it comes down to fit. Melo helped the Knicks win about 0 games when he was there as a first option, yet as a third option on a Blazers team he was a huge boost for them. At the end of the day Georgetown has about a 0% chance of winning a national title this year regardless of who's starting between Mac and Blair. They also have an extremely small chance of making the tournament with or without Mac. So I'm still not sure what you're arguing, especially since no one but you has brought up Blair's name in all this? Is the argument that the team might win 6 or 7 conference games with Blair but would only win 5 or 6 with Mac? Well okay then, have fun with that. This isn't some national title contender where that move could make or break the teams title chances. It's a team in a rebuild expected by all the experts and even most diehard fans to finish in the bottom 3 of the Big East. Could they exceed expectations and finish in the middle of the pack? Sure, maybe... they could also finish dead last... either way there's no telling if they would or wouldn't have been better with Mac... that ship has sailed. On to your Mac stat comparisons. For starters you failed to mention that Blair averages 37 mpg because Georgetown has had 1 blowout so far this season. Mac averages less than 27 minutes because his team has blown out their opponent in 5 of their 7 games. Not to mention Tech has a deeper roster, particularly at guard where they feature Kyler Edwards, a key starter from last years team... Nimari Burnett a McDonald's All American... and Jamarius Burton, a starting guard for Wichita State last year. Secondly, how about you compares Mac's stats to Blair's stats from last year or the year before? Mac is far from the most efficient shooter but compared to Blair's first 3 seasons he's way ahead. Blair has shot 33, 35 and 36% from the field his first 3 college seasons. Blair's career scoring average is less than 9. Mac's is over 14. Mac did win the starting job from him as a freshman right? Thirdly... I'm pretty sure you could favorably compare Blair's stats this season to half the first round picks last draft. Does that make him better than those guys too? He's the best scorer left on a roster in transition. He's going to average way more than anyone on Duke or Kentucky or Kansas's roster too. Maybe he should be the #1 pick in the draft? Or maybe it should be Garza or some mid major player putting up 30 a game. That seems to be your logic anyway. Fourth... to be clear my post was in regards to Mac's improvements as a defender and a playmaker for others. Not sure how comparing his basic stats to Blair discounts any of the evidence I posted to support that he is in fact improving in both of those areas? Everyone complains Mac is a one dimensional scorer that can't play PG or defend... I illustrate that he is doing both of those things much better than he has in the past and your response is that Blair is a better scorer? Got it. Lastly, just curious but why does it offend you so much at the fact that Mac might be improving as a player or might someday play in the NBA? More spinning....now Iverson has entered the conversation. Let me be clear....I could care less about Mac’s draft status and I have no idea why you keep bringing it up. He’s not a Hoya...who cares?! I am just grateful Blair gets to start and get all of Mac’s minutes....that’s how I preferred it anyway. Be fair Blue, your initial point on this subject really seemed to be about splitting up Mac & Akinjo not getting Blair more minutes last season... All due respect but it's revisionist to post now that you wanted Blair to take Mac's minutes last season...
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blueandgray
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Post by blueandgray on Dec 17, 2020 1:33:30 GMT -5
True. I thought chemistry would be better with Mac off the bench and Blair as a starter. Thanks for making that call out EtomicB. Now...I am happy that Blair is actually getting the minutes.
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Post by professorhoya on Dec 17, 2020 9:13:37 GMT -5
More spinning....now Iverson has entered the conversation. Let me be clear....I could care less about Mac’s draft status and I have no idea why you keep bringing it up. He’s not a Hoya...who cares?! I am just grateful Blair gets to start and get all of Mac’s minutes....that’s how I preferred it anyway. Be fair Blue, your initial point on this subject really seemed to be about splitting up Mac & Akinjo not getting Blair more minutes last season... All due respect but it's revisionist to post now that you wanted Blair to take Mac's minutes last season... No Blue always wanted Blair to take makes minutes. I remember cause I disagreed with that but he's always believed in how good Blair could be.
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blueandgray
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Post by blueandgray on Dec 17, 2020 10:15:03 GMT -5
You guys all have a far better memory than I do. For me, it has little to do with me being right or wrong....not looking for a pat on the back as someone suggested earlier.
What I saw with both Akinjo and Mac on the court is that the ball simply wasn’t moving. In order for the Hoyas to play winning basketball (especially given the talent level)....the ball HAS to move!! Even Hoya teams with far more individual talent (see 2007)....possessions never ended as soon as it hit a certain players hands. I think part of the reason we didn’t get further in ‘96 was because at times Iverson was too ball dominant....even with all the talent in the world. With Macinjo...we had two such guys who were far less talented.
With Blair, even though he likes to shoot....it always seems to be within the flow of the offense. It’s been awesome to see him develop into what he is now today.
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prhoya
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Post by prhoya on Dec 17, 2020 10:32:54 GMT -5
What I saw with both Akinjo and Mac on the court is that the ball simply wasn’t moving. In order for the Hoyas to play winning basketball (especially given the talent level)....the ball HAS to move!! Even Hoya teams with far more individual talent (see 2007)....possessions never ended as soon as it hit a certain players hands. I think part of the reason we didn’t get further in ‘96 was because at times Iverson was too ball dominant....even with all the talent in the world. With Macinjo...we had two such guys who were far less talented. Agree. Mac and especially Akinjo got into the 1-v-1 quién es más macho (who is more macho?) game with the opposing player, and the rest of the player knew it when they saw it and stopped moving. I like that Pat is shouting "move!" It shouldn't be necessary, but it is. Same goes for "Rebound!" With Blair, even though he likes to shoot....it always seems to be within the flow of the offense. It’s been awesome to see him develop into what he is now today. Disagree. More than once Ewing has had to remind Blair to keep the flow (by not shooting it early) of the offense. But, yes, he's doing a better job this year. My impression of Blair is that if he hasn't shot it in a couple of trips, he's going to shoot, and also if the team is hot, he will want to be part of the shooting party.
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paranoia2
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Post by paranoia2 on Dec 17, 2020 11:02:54 GMT -5
There are different levels of STINK. Some guys can’t play ball and they stink at basketball.
Other guys come in with with self fanned flames of HYPE and EGO to burn. Shirtless pictures with NBA stars, Instagram, YOUTUBE, rapper cousins, and other assorted NONSENSE. They play selfish brand of ball, leave when the going gets tough & try to disparage our favorite son on the way out. They STINK.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Dec 17, 2020 12:13:50 GMT -5
Listen....I'll be the first to say that Mac is no point guard. Or, should I say it this way and that is Mac is more of a scoring guard. For that reason, I don't think Mac has benefitted himself by leaving Georgetown to go play with Texas Tech. If he wanted to be a point guard, he should have thought about that when he first picked up the ball. All that being said, Mac, even though he is struggling right now, is a dynamic scorer no doubt about that.
Will he make the NBA? I don't know and I don't want to doubt the young man. He has a lot of confidence in his abilities and the NBA is a lot more wide open (in terms of guys being able to score) than it is in college. I mean it is far easier for guys to score in the NBA than it is in college. Can Mac play defense? Because to me that is where it really matters.
If he can't stay in front of his man, he won't make the NBA. And this assumption that I am making about guys playing defense is in spite of the fact that no one plays defense in the NBA except for maybe the Lakers players. His size or height ain't got nothing to do with it because nowadays the NBA covets small ball and therefore smaller players. Now the other parts that Mac or any other player has got to have in order to make it in the NBA, in my opinion, are basketball intelligence and physical gifts. Basketball intelligence ultimately comes down to does Mac make make mistakes a lot in games or does Mac make the right plays on a consistent basis. Is Mac clever enough to get to a spot and get his shot off on a consistent basis and if so, can he get the shots off against bigger players. The physical gifts, I believe Mac has them. Basically the physical gifts are running and jumping, moving laterally, stamina, strength etc. So, Mac has a lot of the checks, I believe, to make the NBA. Will he make it? I don't know but if he is trying to be a point guard in the NBA, he's got a lot of work to do to convince NBA excecs that he is more deserving of a roster spot over guys who have been playing the position since the 4th grade.
I say all of this to say leave Mac alone! Stop it because when the kid was with us you guys didn't say all of these nasty things about him. You can say, he ain't gonna make it. You can say, he and Akinjo destroyed the team because of chemistry issues. But why do you have to say, he stinks? I love Patrick Ewing and like I said before, I told Patrick this so he knows people adore him. However, I am almost certain Mac's decision to leave was not so that he was attacking Ewing. Stop it with the personal attack on the kid. The kid is just trying to do the best he can with his life so stop it. It makes us look bad.
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paranoia2
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Post by paranoia2 on Dec 17, 2020 13:21:14 GMT -5
You are right. My posts do make the program look bad.
Over hyped YOUTUBE stars punking Patrick & leaving the team in an embarrassing jail break makes the program look awesome.
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MCIGuy
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Post by MCIGuy on Dec 17, 2020 13:51:09 GMT -5
You guys all have a far better memory than I do. For me, it has little to do with me being right or wrong....not looking for a pat on the back as someone suggested earlier. What I saw with both Akinjo and Mac on the court is that the ball simply wasn’t moving. In order for the Hoyas to play winning basketball (especially given the talent level)....the ball HAS to move!! Even Hoya teams with far more individual talent (see 2007)....possessions never ended as soon as it hit a certain players hands. I think part of the reason we didn’t get further in ‘96 was because at times Iverson was too ball dominant....even with all the talent in the world. With Macinjo...we had two such guys who were far less talented. With Blair, even though he likes to shoot....it always seems to be within the flow of the offense. It’s been awesome to see him develop into what he is now today. With AI it was more than just his being ball dominant. Truth is the pieces didn't fit. JYD and later Page were far more compatible than guys like Othella, Jahidi, Don Reid, Boubacar, etc. Iverson needed guys who can really get out and run and guys who were good at shooting whom he could kick out too. He needed bigs who were both long and athletic enough to make up for his defensive mistakes and catch his lobs. Since Iverson wasn't the best passer the team needed forwards and wings who could create offense for themselves and others.
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Bigs"R"Us
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Post by Bigs"R"Us on Dec 17, 2020 14:42:25 GMT -5
Harrington, Reid and White all played in the NBA. Not bad teammates to have. Aw was his roommate and bodyguard.
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blueandgray
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Post by blueandgray on Dec 17, 2020 14:44:30 GMT -5
You guys all have a far better memory than I do. For me, it has little to do with me being right or wrong....not looking for a pat on the back as someone suggested earlier. What I saw with both Akinjo and Mac on the court is that the ball simply wasn’t moving. In order for the Hoyas to play winning basketball (especially given the talent level)....the ball HAS to move!! Even Hoya teams with far more individual talent (see 2007)....possessions never ended as soon as it hit a certain players hands. I think part of the reason we didn’t get further in ‘96 was because at times Iverson was too ball dominant....even with all the talent in the world. With Macinjo...we had two such guys who were far less talented. With Blair, even though he likes to shoot....it always seems to be within the flow of the offense. It’s been awesome to see him develop into what he is now today. With AI it was more than just his being ball dominant. Truth is the pieces didn't fit. JYD and later Page were far more compatible than guys like Othella, Jahidi, Don Reid, Boubacar, etc. Iverson needed guys who can really get out and run and guys who were good at shooting whom he could kick out too. He needed bigs who were both long and athletic enough to make up for his defensive mistakes and catch his lobs. Since Iverson wasn't the best passer the team needed forwards and wings who could create offense for themselves and others. Agree with all that MCI. But just 3 or so games before his final game against UMass, he played UConn in the BE tourney final. Up 11 with a couple minutes left, Iverson refused to pass the ball or let anyone else shoot and we know how that ended. All I am saying is that both Akinjo and Mac have a similar mentality, the difference being they only have a fraction of the talent.
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MCIGuy
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Post by MCIGuy on Dec 17, 2020 15:38:29 GMT -5
Harrington, Reid and White all played in the NBA. Not bad teammates to have. Aw was his roommate and bodyguard. Still doesn't matter. Never wrote he played without talent, just not compatible talent. For example Allen and Othella were playing different games and even over two seasons they never really gelled.
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the_way
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Post by the_way on Dec 17, 2020 17:30:45 GMT -5
Boubacar and Reid were compatible with AI. They were athletic, could run the floor, and play defense.
For as big as Jahidi was, he was athletic and could move. He was just too foul-prone and came off the bench anyway.
AI actually played defense in college. Two-time Big East Defensive Player of the Year.
Othella was the mismatch. Better in a half-court setting. Good inside player with the sweetest touch on this shot, but not athletic. Got in where he fit in with the fast-pace offense JT2 switched to upon AI's arrival. It was the right decision and we were better for it, but Othella's numbers dipped.
A big like Rasheed Wallace in the middle during college would have been a good fit for AI or his fellow Virginian Joe Smith.
The 1995-1996 team got as far as it could. That Big East championship still gets to me though.
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blueandgray
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Post by blueandgray on Dec 17, 2020 17:47:20 GMT -5
Boubacar and Reid were compatible with AI. They were athletic, could run the floor, and play defense. For as big as Jahidi was, he was athletic and could move. He was just too foul-prone and came off the bench anyway. AI actually played defense in college. Two-time Big East Defensive Player of the Year. Othella was the mismatch. Better in a half-court setting. Good inside player with the sweetest touch on this shot, but not athletic. Got in where he fit in with the fast-pace offense after JT2 switched to upon AI's arrival. It was the right decision and we were better for it, but Othella's numbers dipped.h A big like Rasheed Wallace in the middle during college would have been a good fit for AI or his fellow Virginian Joe Smith. The 1995-1996 got as far as it could. That Big East championship still gets to me though. This. And not sure you could ask for better running mates than VP and Jerome!!
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EtomicB
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Post by EtomicB on Dec 17, 2020 17:56:58 GMT -5
With AI it was more than just his being ball dominant. Truth is the pieces didn't fit. JYD and later Page were far more compatible than guys like Othella, Jahidi, Don Reid, Boubacar, etc. Iverson needed guys who can really get out and run and guys who were good at shooting whom he could kick out too. He needed bigs who were both long and athletic enough to make up for his defensive mistakes and catch his lobs. Since Iverson wasn't the best passer the team needed forwards and wings who could create offense for themselves and others. Agree with all that MCI. But just 3 or so games before his final game against UMass, he played UConn in the BE tourney final. Up 11 with a couple minutes left, Iverson refused to pass the ball or let anyone else shoot and we know how that ended. All I am saying is that both Akinjo and Mac have a similar mentality, the difference being they only have a fraction of the talent. JT2 has to take a lot of the responsibility for that loss by not going to the eventual tourney MVP down the stretch...
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the_way
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Post by the_way on Dec 17, 2020 18:12:11 GMT -5
Agree with all that MCI. But just 3 or so games before his final game against UMass, he played UConn in the BE tourney final. Up 11 with a couple minutes left, Iverson refused to pass the ball or let anyone else shoot and we know how that ended. All I am saying is that both Akinjo and Mac have a similar mentality, the difference being they only have a fraction of the talent. JT2 has to take a lot of the responsibility for that loss by not going to the eventual tourney MVP down the stretch... He did. JT2 said something to the effect that he had in the back of his mind what Red Aurebach would say about letting your best player close out the game. He said he made that mistake by giving it to AI instead of continuing with the hot hand that was Vic.
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Post by professorhoya on Dec 17, 2020 18:21:09 GMT -5
I'm fine with following Akinjo, Mac and LeBlanc. Gives us something to do when the Hoyas aren't playing. And it is interesting to see how there careers turnout. Alot of people were interested in Benimon's development and Benimon was nowhere as highly ranked as Akinjo/Mac/LeBlanc).
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the_way
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Post by the_way on Dec 17, 2020 18:26:49 GMT -5
Boubacar and Reid were compatible with AI. They were athletic, could run the floor, and play defense. For as big as Jahidi was, he was athletic and could move. He was just too foul-prone and came off the bench anyway. AI actually played defense in college. Two-time Big East Defensive Player of the Year. Othella was the mismatch. Better in a half-court setting. Good inside player with the sweetest touch on this shot, but not athletic. Got in where he fit in with the fast-pace offense after JT2 switched to upon AI's arrival. It was the right decision and we were better for it, but Othella's numbers dipped.h A big like Rasheed Wallace in the middle during college would have been a good fit for AI or his fellow Virginian Joe Smith. The 1995-1996 got as far as it could. That Big East championship still gets to me though. This. And not sure you could ask for better running mates than VP and Jerome!! Yep. JYD was something. Just all over the place leading the full-court press and then crashing the boards. Could handle the rock too at that height since he was a 6'3 guard before his late growth spurt in community college. Given the title of this thread: Vic and Iverson as backcourt mates were one in the same style-wise, but got along just fine and played well off of each other. Cheered and rooted for one another on the court.
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the_way
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Post by the_way on Dec 17, 2020 18:36:13 GMT -5
I'm fine with following Akinjo, Mac and LeBlanc. Gives us something to do when the Hoyas aren't playing. And it is interesting to see how there careers turnout. Alot of people were interested in Benimon's development and Benimon was nowhere as highly ranked as Akinjo/Mac/LeBlanc). No they weren't. At least not until after the fact. People didn't think much of him here because he wasn't highly recruited. JTIII would get bashed for playing him mostly because he didn't have the fanfare that came along with his recruitment. Which was a shame. He was a good kid, and was nice role player for us at the time. Because he transferred to Towson, there was no interest until they found out he could actually play and he became a force at Towson. People are mostly interested in Mac because he had a following coming into Georgetown. And with some fans, that fanaticism hasn't stopped since he has left.
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blueandgray
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Post by blueandgray on Dec 17, 2020 18:38:20 GMT -5
This. And not sure you could ask for better running mates than VP and Jerome!! Yep. JYD was something. Just all over the place leading the full-court press and then crashing the boards. Could handle the rock too at that height since he was a 6'3 guard before his late growth spurt in community college. Given the title of this thread: Vic and Iverson as backcourt mates were one in the same style-wise, but got along just fine and played well off of each other. Cheered and rooted for one another on the court. Nothing better than when they pounded their chests!! And you’re right...they had each others backs.
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