dchoya72
Diamond Hoya (over 2500 posts)
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Post by dchoya72 on Jul 21, 2020 19:07:42 GMT -5
This will be a rockum sockum team. Hit the boards and go to the hoop! We got some bombers, slashers, and big fellas. Let's go Hoyas!!
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jwp91
Platinum Hoya (over 5000 posts)
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Post by jwp91 on Jul 21, 2020 19:28:55 GMT -5
I have to give credit to PE for continually pulling rabbits out of his hat with interesting players.
We don’t have Villanova talent but we seem to be longer and scrappier than we were.
Hopefully a few of these diamonds in the rough will pan out.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jul 21, 2020 19:29:08 GMT -5
I think we need Jamorko and Q to take major steps forward to have a shot. I think we have some pretty decent supporting pieces if those two can step up. I'm cautiously optimistic about both. I think Morko functions better when he knows he's going to get the ball and I know Q is somewhere working his butt off.
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jwp91
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Post by jwp91 on Jul 21, 2020 19:34:47 GMT -5
I think we need Jamorko and Q to take major steps forward to have a shot. I think we have some pretty decent supporting pieces if those two can step up. I'm cautiously optimistic about both. I think Morko functions better when he knows he's going to get the ball and I know Q is somewhere working his butt off. Agree but I would add Blair. |
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Bigs"R"Us
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Post by Bigs"R"Us on Jul 21, 2020 19:39:47 GMT -5
Maybe, you go after top-100 kids only. If you strike out, you go hard after transfers and 5th year seniors. No need to coach up marginal players over four years. Take known commodities or can’t miss players.
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aggypryd
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Post by aggypryd on Jul 22, 2020 8:56:03 GMT -5
we're young, and not a lot of experience playing with each other. But they will have plenty of time to work on their skill-set if they can find somewhere to practice. Ball-handling and shooting...getting stronger and faster...
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calhoya
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Post by calhoya on Jul 22, 2020 9:07:32 GMT -5
Motivation should not be a problem for coach or players after the year that has passed, and the general lack of respect that the program is receiving in the national media. I look forward to watching Ewing coach a group of kids who want to be here and hopefully bring an unselfish mindset and a strong work ethic to the team. I admit to being concerned about the unknowns with many of these players and the failure of the coaching staff to have gained much traction in the rebuild during three years (particularly in developing a credible defense), but will start the season (assuming that the season actually starts) hoping like hell that Ewing will prove to have the coaching chops to mold this team into a surprise that garners national attention and starts the path back to being relevant in the post-season each year.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jul 22, 2020 9:09:38 GMT -5
It's getting better. We seem to have cover at every position now, if not necessarily elite talent.
Also - I don't think this is our final '20-'21 roster.
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rhw485
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Post by rhw485 on Jul 22, 2020 10:27:59 GMT -5
I think it's ultimately going to come down to consistency and whether a team with this many new players can gel together.
The team is sneaky experienced and can survive now without depending on some of our lower ranked recruits (D Harris, Clark, Berger etc).
They're going to be capable of scaring almost all the teams in the league on a given night, but it will be do we get consistent, winning performances from enough players to punch through and win.
The non-conference would be particularly helpful for this team but we'll see if they get that luxury.
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LCPolo18
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Post by LCPolo18 on Jul 22, 2020 11:29:23 GMT -5
It's getting better. We seem to have cover at every position now, if not necessarily elite talent. Also - I don't think this is our final '20-'21 roster. Yeah, a title of “the roster’s complete!” Is definitely a jinx. |
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Post by RockawayHoya on Jul 22, 2020 13:59:13 GMT -5
Roster may be 95-99% finalized, but not sure I share the same optimism. Still a bunch of remaining on-court issues that haven't been addressed this offseason that are concerning:
1) Lack of a physical 4. Yes, Pickett's been thrust into that role out of necessity, but he's still far better suited as a guy who can use his length as opposed to his strength on the defensive end. We struggle against teams that like to employ bully ball (Xavier) and punish us on the offensive glass. Not sure any of the newcomers can be counted on to provide immediate help here.
2) Lack of viable defensive scheme. Are we still going to try to do what we did last year defensively and just hope that it will work itself out with new players? I have severe doubts that we can turn it around if that's the plan.
3) Lack of a go-to-guy. Agree with Yaboy/JWP that one of Q, Blair and Pickett needs to step up into this role and be the guy that we can count on to consistently create for himself and get a bucket when all else breaks down. Absent that, it's going to be tough sledding to convince other teams to send double-teams anywhere and create openings/space for shooters.
There may have been a game or two that we lost simply due to attrition/fatigue and thankfully we'll at least have a full roster to eat minutes. However, the above 3 things are going to hold us back this season unless we address them. Probably too late this season for #1, but the staff/roster needs to figure out a way to get #2/#3 done.
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prhoya
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Post by prhoya on Jul 22, 2020 20:44:29 GMT -5
we're young, and not a lot of experience playing with each other. But they will have plenty of time to work on their skill-set if they can find somewhere to practice. Ball-handling and shooting...getting stronger and faster... J. Harris, Bile, Blair and Pickett are or will be 22 y.o. this year, Carey will be 21 this August and Qudus will be 21 next January. We're not young. IMO, if no one else comes in late, 5 of those are our starters, and all of them are part of the regular rotation. Last year, after Mac got hurt, the rotation was basically 3 seniors (Jagan, Omer and Allen), 2 juniors (Pickett and Blair) and the two older freshmen (Qudus and Tim). Part of how we were competitive during the second semester was the result of having so much experience on the court at the same time: 4 upperclassmen with one underclassman. Compare that to this year when we will probably start four experienced 22 year-olds (J. Harris, Bile, Blair and Pickett) and one 21 year-old (Qudus) who played a lot last year and held his own, plus 21 y.o. Carey as the sixth man but fighting for a starting spot. That is rare (or used to be before the golden age of transfers we are living) and usually means a tough, competitive team. Hey, it is not the ideal way to build a long-term winning program, but it is what it is. So we'll be ok re: age and college basketball experience. If they are patient, the various freshmen should benefit. Now if Pat can get them to work on court chemistry... |
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vv83
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Post by vv83 on Jul 22, 2020 21:11:25 GMT -5
Before the transfers last November - Ewing was playing a lot of guys, and pressing a lot. It seems possible that this is how he wants to play. The team was playing very inconsistently prior to the transfers - it felt like he would be wise to tighten up the rotation, particularly in order to get LeBlanc more than the sub-20 minute outings he was getting most games. Then people started leaving and getting hurt, and we were a 5 or 6 player team for much of the league season. We could then only press in spurts due to lack of depth.
Applying this forward to the coming potential season: I won't be surprised if Ewing goes with a 9 or 10 man rotation with a lot of aggressive pressing defense, with maybe just Pickett playing more than about 25 minutes a game. He has a full roster, and it seems like he has a decent chance of coming up with 9//10 guys that are ready to contribute. It won't be a team with any stars (unless Pickett really comes on), but I think we have a lot of guys who fit the mold of the 5 players who were on the court during the post-transfer/post-injury stretch. Experienced players who have some limitations, but who at least have some history of being competent players. What Ewing did not have last year that he will have this season - potential depth in a group of freshmen coming off the bench.
The main question may well be: are there maybe 2 of the freshmen who are ready to give us a solid 15-25 minutes off the bench on a regular basis? I am hoping that Sibley and Clark are the guys who are most ready to contribute. they are the kind of long wings that we really lacked last year, beyond Pickett. They could help in the defensive end, where we have our biggest issues..
But it could turn out that D. Harris, Berger, or Holloway are more ready than Sibley or Clark. At least Ewing has some options. We might be able to survive a couple of players being disappointments or getting hurt if a couple of the other guys are ready to contribute. Of course it is always possible that none of the freshmen are ready to help much - in which case it would be tough to go with a deep rotation and play a really aggressive defensive style
Does any of this mean that we'll be good? No, that is still a very open question. But I would enjoy watching the season play out if Ewing goes with something along the lines I suggest above: Use a fairly deep rotation, use a lot of guys, play a lot of pressure/press defense. Maybe even shoot a lot of 3s - J. Harris seems to be the only non-center who has been a really below average 3 point shooter - although it is hard to judge this with some of the freshmen from watching mostly highlight videos. a few of our new players seem to be fairly proven good 3 point shooters - Berger, D. Harris, Carey, Bile. That style of play would be entertaining and attractive to recruits. It might even be effective if enough players deliver!
The main problem - pressure defense alone is not enough to be a competent defensive team. Nothing is more important in the coming season than becoming at least an average half court defensive team. We might be able to hide some half court D deficiencies with a solid press defense, but any decent team will eventually figure out the press and force us to play half court D. So no matter what else Ewing might be able to accomplish this year - without significant half court defensive improvement, it is hard to see the season working out very well. I do, however, think that the makeup of the roster indicates that there is a plan in place for how Ewing wants to play. He may not have enough players who are good enough to make the plan work, but the roster does seem to fit the profile of a certain style of play that matches up with the style of play we began the season with last year, before everything started falling apart.
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prhoya
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Post by prhoya on Jul 22, 2020 21:31:14 GMT -5
Roster may be 95-99% finalized, but not sure I share the same optimism. Still a bunch of remaining on-court issues that haven't been addressed this offseason that are concerning: All true, but with the glass half-full, I'll address the 3 points. 1) Lack of a physical 4. Yes, Pickett's been thrust into that role out of necessity, but he's still far better suited as a guy who can use his length as opposed to his strength on the defensive end. We struggle against teams that like to employ bully ball (Xavier) and punish us on the offensive glass. Not sure any of the newcomers can be counted on to provide immediate help here. Yes, we don't have a classic physical 4, but we have two players with a lot of experience at the 4 (Bile and Pickett), our best freshmen recruit (Sibley) who at 6'8" can play the 4 and 3, plus Tim can come in briefly like he did last year. That's a talented group. If anything, our problem is the lack of an experienced 5 to take over the Omer role. 2) Lack of viable defensive scheme. Are we still going to try to do what we did last year defensively and just hope that it will work itself out with new players? I have severe doubts that we can turn it around if that's the plan. So true. If he can keep the team together and not injured, Pat has the athletic, tall players to press, the athletic players to play man and the tall players to play a Syracuse-type zone. Our front court will be taller and bigger. Even when using 3 guards, we will be taller. Btw, usually our team looks physically smaller than our BE opponents. Well, not these year. 3) Lack of a go-to-guy. Agree with Yaboy/JWP that one of Q, Blair and Pickett needs to step up into this role and be the guy that we can count out to consistently create for himself and get a bucket when all else breaks down. Absent that, it's going to be tough sledding to convince other teams to send double-teams anywhere and create openings/space for shooters. In a team with so much experience and no go-to-guy, it will need to be by committee: Bile and Carey were close to go-to-guys, Blair and Picket can get hot and Qudus will get his shots. There may have been a game or two that we lost simply due to attrition/fatigue and thankfully we'll at least have a full roster to eat minutes. However, the above 3 things are going to hold us back this season unless we address them. Probably too late this season for #1, but the staff/roster needs to figure out a way to get #2/#3 done. Hopefully a full roster keeps tired legs away. It will be up to Pat to use more than 7 players to keep the team fresh. That said, a shorter season could help with fatigue. |
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prhoya
Blue & Gray (over 10,000 posts)
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Post by prhoya on Jul 22, 2020 21:50:47 GMT -5
Before the transfers last November - Ewing was playing a lot of guys, and pressing a lot. It seems possible that this is how he wants to play. The team was playing very inconsistently prior to the transfers - it felt like he would be wise to tighten up the rotation, particularly in order to get LeBlanc more than the sub-20 minute outings he was getting most games. Then people started leaving and getting hurt, and we were a 5 or 6 player team for much of the league season. We could then only press in spurts due to lack of depth. I blame Akinjo's attitude for the lack of chemistry in the big rotation. Last season should not be an example of anything. I like that Pat can put five players on the court and none of them will look like deer-caught-in-headlights. I'll be very disappointed if Xavier feels we're still soft. Before the last transfers, I thought Sibley and one other frosh would play so much that they would be in a similar position to freshmen Blair and Pickett to make the BE Rookie Team. Not sure now with so much playing experience coming in... Agree with 3FGAs... the more, the merrier! Agree, improvement on defense should be the main goal. |
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drquigley
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Post by drquigley on Jul 23, 2020 10:21:54 GMT -5
Man I love the enthusiasm on this Board. I have no idea of how good, or aggressive, or the "meanery" of these new guys but I share everyone's hope that with a full roster PE may be able to exceed the "experts" expectations. But my only real concern about this coming year is more basic. After the debacle that was last year I really want to see this team stay together. I really don't want any disciplinary issues keeping guys on the bench at best or off the team at worst. Please no more mid season transfers. In short, NO MORE OFF COURT DRAMA. We may surprise this year or we may stink but a repeat of the off court issues of last year could doom not just PE but the program itself for years. I am often amazed at how knowledgeable many posters are of the x's and o's and the in's and out's of recruiting and coaching. Yet many posters seem to ignore the forest for the trees. This season is all about the forest.
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dchoya72
Diamond Hoya (over 2500 posts)
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Post by dchoya72 on Jul 23, 2020 10:34:46 GMT -5
I too hope that the culture that Coach Ewing has tried to install is adhered to and that this team as constructed,demonstrates the standard of integrity, hardwork, personal accountability, and teamwork on and off the court. Say anyone about the culture of big John's team. They set a high standard for how they comported (how they represented the coach and the school). They knew they were being given a great opportunity. If anything was amiss, they took care of it! You didnt hear about it. I think last year was an aberration. That was a huge disconnect from the culture I believe the coach was trying to achieve. It seemed that we had the right basketball assets, but circumstances and character issues made everything fall apart regarding team aspirations. I too hope coach has the right mix of players now!!
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lichoya68
Blue & Gray (over 10,000 posts)
OK YOUNGINS ARE HERE AND ARE VERY VERY GOOD cant wait GO HOYAS
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Post by lichoya68 on Jul 23, 2020 10:43:50 GMT -5
This will be a rockum sockum team. Hit the boards and go to the hoop! We got some bombers, slashers, and big fellas. Let's go Hoyas!! AFREE NOW HOPE WE CAN PLAY |
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Post by ColumbiaHeightsHoya on Jul 23, 2020 10:44:40 GMT -5
Ummmm, let's see. The good thing is we won't have many scouting reports against us since we are almost all new. We will need Jamorko to get 20+ and for Q to do the same without fouling. We also need a COVID vaccine or this season isn't happening so maybe this gap year helps the team as a whole develop. Too many question marks to even form an opinion in my opinion.
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blueandgray
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Post by blueandgray on Jul 23, 2020 13:50:26 GMT -5
We have good pieces. It all depends on how we gel. I don’t think marko needs to score 20 a game. A solid 15 from he and Blair, 12 from Q, and a balanced scoring attack from the rest would be good enough to surprise.
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