dchoya72
Diamond Hoya (over 2500 posts)
Posts: 3,488
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Post by dchoya72 on Nov 15, 2019 5:15:33 GMT -5
The team just has no energy and refuses to play defense. It’s very early, but right now it’s looking like a long season. I do think we have talent however - I’ve been very patient and even very encouraged at various points of Ewing’s first two seasons, but this rough start falls squarely on his shoulders. He needs to turn it around quickly, or risk losing the fanbase entirely. Decommits from promising and buzzed-about recruits won’t help that cause either. First things first; Start LeBlanc. Every damn game. I agree with starting Leblanc!
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dchoya72
Diamond Hoya (over 2500 posts)
Posts: 3,488
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Post by dchoya72 on Nov 15, 2019 5:24:17 GMT -5
THIS GAME STUNK!!!!!!!!! I mean what was that??? Yurseven and Akinjo were fine, Josh and Galen were passable and other than that, it was atrocious. To start with minor things, Allen and McClung have absolutely underperformed. They haven't lived up to the hype. They haven't returned what they should be. Pickett and Mosley were not good. Their solid performances didn't translate. Pickett would make one play, just to make one poor play (i.e. offensive rebound over a smaller player, to put it on the floor for no reason and it's stolen). And the team still loves turnovers. They turn it over all the time. 21 today and how many were unforced? 15? Away from specific guys who I think can step it up and will make less stupid mistakes, the defensive rotations were horrible. Shooters were left wide open as if they had the flu. Nobody went out and contested Jones or Dread who made most open looks, as they should. Coaching: The substitution rotations were atrocious. You can't run bench guys. It's not working. James and Yurt need to be on the floor MUCH MORE. The starters need more time, and Josh absolutely needs to start. He's the energy and something this team needed. One of James, Yurt, and Mac (once he breaks the slump) need to be on the floor at all times until the game is out of reach. You need a pure scorer and creator on at all times. The defense was horrible and the half-court sets suck. No player movement, the guard, typically Allen, sit at the logo uncontested until 13 seconds on the shot clock before something happens. That's the biggest waste, for a team that wants to play fast. Lead to a missed shot, leading to a Penn State break, ending with a dunk or a three. Embarrassing. Horrible. And why did Ewing stop pressing? You were getting steals and making plays!!! Without it, this game was over. And it ended once the press stopped. Ewing was outcoached and needs to pick it up. Now, I'm not saying he should be fired or he isn't the right man for the job, but he was horrible today. Nothing short of it, not really debatable. An absolutely pathetic performance, nothing went right. Nothing to grasp onto. Sunday needs to show improvement. Texas would absolutely destroy this team. Anything rotation related stunk, players stunk, you name it, everything was bad. Horrible start to the main Non-Conference slate. One game to redeem yourself, before being tested yet again. Texas would absolutely annihilate the team it faced today. It wouldn't be close. That team can't go to MSG. It would be an insult to the venue. 100%!! And yes, we need a pure scorer and creator on at all times. Who is that on this squad? Who can get their own shot besides Akinjo and make a open shot?
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Bigs"R"Us
Platinum Hoya (over 5000 posts)
Posts: 6,642
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Post by Bigs"R"Us on Nov 15, 2019 6:22:41 GMT -5
McClung, Blair, Mosely and Allen scores a combined 7 points! Not good. ☹️👎🏻
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smokeyjack
Golden Hoya (over 1000 posts)
Posts: 1,300
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Post by smokeyjack on Nov 15, 2019 6:45:19 GMT -5
What happened last night is going to happen a lot. Aside from the press, which was tremendous at times, I saw zero reason for optimism. Sorry, but it’s incredibly obvious that Pat is in way over his head. Don’t know what we do at practice, but it’s clearly not perfecting offensive sets and sequences.
This is a familiar pattern at this point. Slow starts. Ridiculous turnovers. Horrific perimeter D. And circus-like scrambling rotations. When we shoot well and James or Mac get red hot, we can compete. When those guys are defended and shots aren’t falling, we have zero offensive plan. It’s painful.
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daveg023
Platinum Hoya (over 5000 posts)
Posts: 5,352
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Post by daveg023 on Nov 15, 2019 7:28:50 GMT -5
I said it throughout the game but modern basketball is pretty simple. The team who takes (and often makes) more 3’s usually wins. Yes some nights a team could go 3-22 while another team could go 4-5, but the the law of averages says most nights the advantage goes to the team who shoots more.
Look at what those 2 3s did in the second half to stall any momentum we had going and how quickly it let PSU restore the margin. Look how Villanova has mastered this advantage over the past 6 years. What concerns me is the staff, led by someone who was in the NBA for 13 years, doesn’t understand this. Love them or hate them, but the Warriors and Rockets have pretty much revolutionized efficient basketball in recent years - you either take a 3 or a layup. Any other shot is not an “efficient” look. Likewise, defending the 3 has to be paramount. You’ll trade driving layups for 3s; not vice versa like we do.
Not only do we seem content with this approach, but it appears to be our strategy to play this way. We brought 4 back to the basket 7-footers into the squad, 2 swing men who have limited range, and a defensive specialist point guard. Terrence Williams (if he even comes) isn’t a shooter and if you noticed none of the other guys we have been in the running for are snipers either.
Patrick and staff seem content building a 1990’s NBA squad. Sure some nights if the other team is cold or James, Mac, or Yurt have incredibly efficient games we can win. But this is not a winning strategy in my book. But the scary part is I don’t think our coaches feel the same, and actually think we can win playing this way.
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rhw485
Silver Hoya (over 500 posts)
Posts: 742
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Post by rhw485 on Nov 15, 2019 7:38:51 GMT -5
I like to wait until the morning after to write my thoughts so I don’t get caught up in the moment. But man was this awful, if not predictable based on first 2 games vs. weaker competition
• Josh was the heart / soul / energy provider for our team last year. He doesn’t start and we get just punched in the mouth in the first three minutes. Our offensive possessions were: Mac getting pick pocketed aimlessly walking ball up after stop, Akinjo turnover on left-handed bounce pass from 3 pt line to post, Yurt7 blocked under hoop on run-out, Mac blocked on a 3 pull up 3 pointer w 20 seconds left on shot clock(!!), Yurt7 blocked on weak left handed hook in lane. We were 0-3 on 3 blocked shots from Watkins and 2 turnovers.
• Mosely guarding Stevens was…bizarre? Mosely did an admirable job, but we had to hard double in the post and that led to open 3s on an extra pass elsewhere. Asking a poor defensive team to make multiple rotations when you have LeBlanc who is tailor made to guard Stevens by himself just feels like overthinking it
• Ewing’s response was to….play an entire bench-only lineup which made it worse. In the half court we were forced to watch Blair as primary creator or Wahab in the post. I like Wahab but he has not shown he has post moves where we should run offense through him. That’s a bad lineup, with a bad gameplan putting players in bad situations
• Last year it was unclear if our perimeter defense was weak because we were worried about getting beat bc Govan didn’t provide rim protection. I think we can bury that thinking
• The half-court offense is fairly predictable. We don’t move the ball fast enough to create open looks. I would double Akinjo on pick and rolls, double Yurt7 in post and the thing would just grind to a halt
• I remain skeptical about the press and teams will be prepared for it but I was impressed with the amount of turnovers / quick shots we were able to force. I will admit I was wrong on that as it was the only saving grace from the evening.
TL;DR: This is Ewings team, they’re all his guys except Mosely, who hasn’t been the problem. We have imperfect players but they have skills that are not being effectively utilized due to lineup construction and a gameplan that asks them to do things they’re not capable of. Our coach has not evolved his scheme in 3 seasons. It’s time for everyone to look in the mirror.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Nov 15, 2019 7:46:49 GMT -5
Terrible performance and coaching in all phases. The start to this season has been hugely disappointing. It’s time to shorten the rotation and put Leblanc back in the starting lineup. If the team doesn’t show rapid improvement this season could get ugly very quickly. Ugh. This. You can nitpick about a hundred individual things, but this sums up the big picture. Plenty of blame to go around. That lineup issue is huge for me. You can't play 11 (!) guys double digit minutes and give nobody more than 26. Pat's got to allow his starters to play in and out of in-game slumps without fear of a 10-15 minute benching. I know there's a lot of new faces, but the time for lineup tinkering is just about over. Pick your guys and let them run.
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Post by SoCal Hoya85 on Nov 15, 2019 8:08:43 GMT -5
Not a lot of positives but one was Yurt7s defense. Good on high screens, some legitimate rim protection and two steals.
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Bigs"R"Us
Platinum Hoya (over 5000 posts)
Posts: 6,642
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Post by Bigs"R"Us on Nov 15, 2019 8:17:15 GMT -5
Agree that teams can look to just contain Yurtseven and Akinjo, until we make opponents pay for that strategy.
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KHoyaNYC
Golden Hoya (over 1000 posts)
Posts: 1,900
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Post by KHoyaNYC on Nov 15, 2019 8:35:37 GMT -5
Ewing is trying to do too much with too many players. Yes, it’s nice to have a deep bench to turn to when necessary, but right now this team screams for a tight rotation of our best players (Leblanc starts please) who can play and improve as a formidable cohesive unit/. The talent is there to do that offensively.
Defensively, I think we need to go chaos mode as much as possible without wearing ourselves down. Press, gamble for steals, be aggressive. This team is not invested as far as I can tell in learning to play disciplined halfcourt defense but we do seem to have a pretty decent press which feeds our offense. To the extent we dont gas ourselves too much, we should do it more. If we make these two adjustments we can still be an NCAA team.
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Post by hoyalove4ever on Nov 15, 2019 8:53:32 GMT -5
Ewing is trying to do too much with too many players. Yes, it’s nice to have a deep bench to turn to when necessary, but right now this team screams for a tight rotation of our best players (Leblanc starts please) who can play and improve as a formidable cohesive unit/. The talent is there to do that offensively. Defensively, I think we need to go chaos mode as much as possible without wearing ourselves down. Press, gamble for steals, be aggressive. This team is not invested as far as I can tell in learning to play disciplined halfcourt defense but we do seem to have a pretty decent press which feeds our offense. To the extent we dont gas ourselves too much, we should do it more. If we make these two adjustments we can still be an NCAA team. Agree with chaos mode, but disagree with using less bench. I think we need * FRANTIC * subs at all times. Go hard for two minutes or so and then take a breath.
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Post by augustusfinknottle on Nov 15, 2019 9:01:39 GMT -5
I'm not crazy about Omer Yurtseven Instagramming out his highlight package from a game where we got smoked.
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calhoya
Diamond Hoya (over 2500 posts)
Posts: 4,362
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Post by calhoya on Nov 15, 2019 9:04:54 GMT -5
Ewing is trying to do too much with too many players. Yes, it’s nice to have a deep bench to turn to when necessary, but right now this team screams for a tight rotation of our best players (Leblanc starts please) who can play and improve as a formidable cohesive unit/. The talent is there to do that offensively. Defensively, I think we need to go chaos mode as much as possible without wearing ourselves down. Press, gamble for steals, be aggressive. This team is not invested as far as I can tell in learning to play disciplined halfcourt defense but we do seem to have a pretty decent press which feeds our offense. To the extent we dont gas ourselves too much, we should do it more. If we make these two adjustments we can still be an NCAA team. Agree with chaos mode, but disagree with using less bench. I think we need * FRANTIC * subs at all times. Go hard for two minutes or so and then take a breath. Yes. Though I am really struggling to understand why this team as a whole is not reflecting the individual talents, even the harshest critics must recognize that the pressure defense this year is looking much improved. Running that type of defense is going to take more than an 8 man rotation. However, Ewing should try to mix in the bench with starters rather than having two distinct teams on the floor. That may have worked for North Carolina years ago but there is not enough talent on this team to feature two distinct units.
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Post by hoyalove4ever on Nov 15, 2019 9:25:25 GMT -5
I want to see guys at the scorer's table at virtually every dead ball...GOGOGO / breath...
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Post by hoyalove4ever on Nov 15, 2019 9:26:41 GMT -5
Also, we should take less threes and try to kill teams inside and on the drive/ transition. Teams are not used to that formula as much and we can use it to our advantage.
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dchoya72
Diamond Hoya (over 2500 posts)
Posts: 3,488
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Post by dchoya72 on Nov 15, 2019 9:32:19 GMT -5
Who ever starts has to deliver. The early moments of the game were too casual. And it reflected what I saw of the warm-ups. Penn State was hyped through the warm ups. Talking, chanting. And we were nonchalant! And it showed in the first minutes of the game. They hijacked us, while we were figuring things out. It got out of hand quickly!! Someone described this earlier and they were 100% accurate. We are too quiet!!!
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dchoya72
Diamond Hoya (over 2500 posts)
Posts: 3,488
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Post by dchoya72 on Nov 15, 2019 9:33:37 GMT -5
In my opinion the press was working for us last night.
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dchoya72
Diamond Hoya (over 2500 posts)
Posts: 3,488
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Post by dchoya72 on Nov 15, 2019 9:36:43 GMT -5
I would consider starting Alexander at SG...he has 3 pt range, size at 6'6, handles it well, doesn't seem turnover prone and plays solid defense...gives us size in the backcourt that I think we lack... I go for that! We lack aggressive confidence.
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Post by Lethal_Interjection on Nov 15, 2019 9:37:38 GMT -5
I'd like to see Coach Ewing shake it up a bit.
Akinjo Alexander Pickett LeBlanc Yurt
The 1st team squad have some size and athleticism from 2-4. Per usual Akinjo can and will find his way to the bucket and also look for others to score. Yurt will do Yurt things.
2nd Team: Allen/Mac Mac/Blair Mosely Gardner Qudus
Right now, Mac isn't showing up and he's struggling. Let him work his confidence on the 2nd unit. Coach Ewing has his work cut out for him to stress to the team about communication and team defense.
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Post by hoyasaxa2003 on Nov 15, 2019 9:42:09 GMT -5
So that was a rough game all around. Pretty much everybody was terrible, and I thought the coaching staff did a terrible job. A few thoughts:
(1) LeBlanc needs to start. I said this before the game. No, it likely would not have saved us from losing this game (it actually was one of LeBlanc's worst games as a Hoya), but I think it's basic strategy that you need to start your best players, particularly arguably your best defensive player on a squad that cannot play defense. Mentally, I am sure not starting isn't helping him either.
(2) Offensive scheme. I have no idea what we are doing on offense, other than running the ball up fast and chucking it. What scheme is Ewing running? "Running" is not a strategy, it's a tempo. What are we doing to get open looks? Are we looking to take threes? All of this is unclear to me. Omer Yurtseven shot 50% on threes in 2017. Why are we 3 games in, and he still hasn't taken one? I don't expect Yurtseven to be super high volume on threes, but he should be taking one here and there unless his skills have evaporated.
(3) Defense. I am not sure what to say here that hasn't been said. It's just awful, and I am not confident Ewing knows how to coach a good defensive team. At times, the press worked, at others Penn State easily broke it. I am not a huge fan of a press in 2019, but I'll admit that I had the thought that our half-court defense is so bad, that maybe it makes our press look better?
(4) We didn't take a timeout until 5 minutes into the game, when things were already way off the rails. Again, I don't think this would have saved us from losing, but it's game management that I simply do not understand. We got totally torched on defense, yet no timeout to get in LeBlanc and/or Allen?
(5) McClung was absolutely awful on both ends. If he doesn't step it up, he's going to be nailed to the bench.
(6) The Fast Pace is Not Effective. We had 12 turnovers in the first 15 minutes, I believe. I know everyone loves to run and loves the fast tempo, but it really seems like we just run it up haphazardly, oftentimes turn it over, and when we are lucky enough to bring it up effectively, we just chuck it up for a quick shot. I am totally fine playing a fast tempo (or slow tempo) if it is effective. This is not effective.
(7) WE SHOULD NEVER TAKE LONG TWOS. These are the most inefficient shot in basketball, yet we take way too many. There's a reason why these are the shots our opposition sometimes lets us have.
(8) Lack of cohesion. I just do not see any coherent organized scheme on either offense or defense. I still think that long-term the best outcome is for Ewing to have success at Georgetown and he clearly puts a ton of time into his job, recruiting, etc., but my worry is that he's now entering his third year, has all of his own guys except for Mosely, and we still aren't seeing a cohesive strategy or plan on defense or offense. Time to step it up.
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