Georgetown @ UCon 3/6/21 Discussion

[jwp91]

We are going to win this game.

[FrazierFanatic]

Remember how they came to our court and punked us last week. Play with controlled intensity. Fight for every rebound, every loose ball.

Yeah we can win this. But we have to bring our A game.

[Deleted]

I am going to say this right now and I will come on a few days later and give my complete strategy for the Hoyas to win this game but for now, I just want to say this one thing....

[Deleted]

Coach, if you're listening, please put Pickett and Bile along with Blair on Bouknight for most of the game. Also, please have Dante and Blair double teaming R. J. Cole and stop Cole before he gets to set up that pick and roll crap!

Maybe apply some full court press and full court trap to get the ball out of Cole's hands early in the possession. Make him work hard to have to get the ball back to set up his team's plays.

Start Bile or Pickett off on Bouknight and interchange the two on him for the first half of the first half. Then after Blair gets going on offense, he can go back and forth with helping Dante against Cole and checking Bouknight by himself.

Bouknight likes to drive to the basket, make sure you have a second line defender ready to cut him off (Pickett, Bile) from getting all the way to the basket when Blair is checking him.

If we disrupt the game for Cole and Bouknight, we are going to win this game!

Start Blair and get Blair going early on offense! Let him penetrate and break down the defense looking to first shoot and to pass to the shooters when he doesn't have the shots. If some of the shots don't fall but he keeps breaking down the defense, that is a good thing and we must do it early and often.

I will come back with my complete strategy breakdown hopefully by Friday.

[hoyalove4ever]

[drquigley]

I think right now UCONN is the best team in the BE. In fact, it wouldn't surprise me to see them win the BET and make an NCAA run. Beating them will be a challenge and losing to them, as long as it isn't a blowout, won't upset me at all.

[prhoya]

Given the difference in samples, this has to be taken with a grain of salt. Here's where the players stand re: 3FGs:

T.J. Berger - 50% (4 3FGMade of 8 3FGAttempts)
Donald Carey - 44% (32 of 73)
Chudier Bile - 40% (27 of 67)
Jamari Sibley - 40% (2 of 5)
Jamorko Pickett - 38% (36 of 96)
Jalen Harris - 36% (4 of 11)
Jahvon Blair - 33% (50 of 154)
Dante Harris - 29% (16 of 55)

Note: Our centers haven't attempted a 3FG.

Blair is right in the middle of his historical average. If we take last year as an example, Blair had Pat's "green-light" to shoot 3s and he took it to heart. From February on, Blair averaged from 6 to 14 3FGs a game with a 3FG% range of 12% to 50%. In his four games in March, he shot 36%, 38%, 13% and 14%.
www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/player/gamelog/_/id/4278565/type/mens-college-basketball/year/2020

I don't know why he did not play vs. DePaul, but last night he shot 1 of 7 3FGs, and 1 of 5 and 1 of 4 in the last two games before the DePaul game. At this point, his p.t. should reflect his effectiveness. If he isn't having a good shooting night, he should not be attempting more 3s to see if the ball goes in. Pat needs to adjust quickly and replace him, or have him pass it unless completely wide open. If he does not follow instructions, he should sit.

What I've noticed with Berger is that he is playing the Jagan role on offense. When we transition to offense, he runs straight to the spot where Jagan stood along the sidelines. Other teams do not lay off him and he is not in a position to receive the ball or shoot. I think the best position for him is more along the top part of arc, not along the straight lines of the sides (for now).

As a team, we are 2nd (BE) in 3FG% with 36.3% and right behind Creighton at 36.7%. We are tied for 3rd with Xavier in 3FGA per game at 24 and right behind Villanova and Creighton who re tied for 1st at 26. Since this is the COVID season and teams have played different number of games, it is useless to look at Total # of 3FGAs for the season.

These are spectacular numbers and Pat has shown that his teams will shoot with the best in the league. Next year's roster has to continue this trend.

[EasyEd]

Mar 3, 2021 13:15:22 GMT -5 hoyafansinceewingera said:

Coach, if you're listening, please put Pickett and Bile along with Blair on Bouknight for most of the game. Also, please have Dante and Blair double teaming R. J. Cole and stop Cole before he gets to set up that pick and roll crap!

Maybe apply some full court press and full court trap to get the ball out of Cole's hands early in the possession. Make him work hard to have to get the ball back to set up his team's plays.

Start Bile or Pickett off on Bouknight and interchange the two on him for the first half of the first half. Then after Blair gets going on offense, he can go back and forth with helping Dante against Cole and checking Bouknight by himself.

Bouknight likes to drive to the basket, make sure you have a second line defender ready to cut him off (Pickett, Bile) from getting all the way to the basket when Blair is checking him.

If we disrupt the game for Cole and Bouknight, we are going to win this game!

Start Blair and get Blair going early on offense! Let him penetrate and break down the defense looking to first shoot and to pass to the shooters when he doesn't have the shots. If some of the shots don't fall but he keeps breaking down the defense, that is a good thing and we must do it early and often.

I will come back with my complete strategy breakdown hopefully by Friday.

Please don't wait till Friday to give Patrick your strategy. He needs a couple of days to pass it on to the players.

[Deleted]

Mar 3, 2021 21:15:27 GMT -5 EasyEd said:

Mar 3, 2021 13:15:22 GMT -5 hoyafansinceewingera said:

Coach, if you're listening, please put Pickett and Bile along with Blair on Bouknight for most of the game. Also, please have Dante and Blair double teaming R. J. Cole and stop Cole before he gets to set up that pick and roll crap!

Maybe apply some full court press and full court trap to get the ball out of Cole's hands early in the possession. Make him work hard to have to get the ball back to set up his team's plays.

Start Bile or Pickett off on Bouknight and interchange the two on him for the first half of the first half. Then after Blair gets going on offense, he can go back and forth with helping Dante against Cole and checking Bouknight by himself.

Bouknight likes to drive to the basket, make sure you have a second line defender ready to cut him off (Pickett, Bile) from getting all the way to the basket when Blair is checking him.

If we disrupt the game for Cole and Bouknight, we are going to win this game!

Start Blair and get Blair going early on offense! Let him penetrate and break down the defense looking to first shoot and to pass to the shooters when he doesn't have the shots. If some of the shots don't fall but he keeps breaking down the defense, that is a good thing and we must do it early and often.

I will come back with my complete strategy breakdown hopefully by Friday.

Please don't wait till Friday to give Patrick your strategy. He needs a couple of days to pass it on to the players.

I'm sure coach knows what to do.  He's done so well thus far.  Looks like I won't be back on here to late Thursday night anyways.  For some people, I know that they love that so they won't have to see my comments constantly doting on our guys and our coach.  Oh you know they hate that crap!

[Bigs"R"Us]

This is going to be a tough one to pull off. UConn has skilled guards and an athletic team. Road victories against top conference teams is no easy feat. Right now, I see Nova and UConn fighting for the top spot every year going forward. I hope our Hoyas can permanently ascend to that level.

[hoyalove4ever]

I want to see bodies flying around and no easy buckets for You Con! We lost the toughness battle last game against them and cannot let that happen on Saturday.

[ColumbiaHeightsHoya]

I think we go Cobra Kai on Uconn and sweep Bouknights knee if he tries to go to the rack. Then double up on Cole and get that W. And Boom goes the dynamite!

[gojeffgoroyunder7]

We got punked last time, but I don't see it happening again. Georgetown under Ewing must always be the toughest team on the floor. Win or lose, no one pushes us around.

[rhw485]

Ok lets get the obvious out of the way, this UConn team is very good and we're going on the road.  They've only lost two games Bouknight played, and that was to Creighton by 2 in OT and to Nova.  

• In terms of matchups, I think you have to leave Dante on Bouknight to start.  If you are suggesting someone bigger, like Pickett or Bile, you have to propose who everyone else guards.  It forces Dante onto Cole and Blair / Carey onto....Martin? For a team that got crushed on the boards, I can't get behind taking Bile or Pickett farther away from the hoop than necessary given Dante did a decent enough job on Bouknight.  He doesn't want to post up Dante and if he settles for jumpers over Dante that is a huge victory.  Dante is best positioned to keep him out of the lane and getting to the basket, which is what he loves to do.
• If there is a defensive switch to be made, it's probably swapping Bile and Pickett.  Let Bile guard Martin and put Pickett on Whaley.  Pickett is a better rebounder and Whaley silently killed us.  His stat line doesn't look crazy, 7 and 7, but 6 of his 7 boards were offensive rebounds.  Take your chances w Martin driving on Bile and hope Pickett controls the glass
• Cole was a problem, but I'm not really sure there's a good answer here.  Blair wasn't great defensively, but if you look at the advanced box score, 7 of Cole's 8 makes were from mid range.  That's really what you want from a defense.  Cole shoots 37% from 3 so you can't go under, and to some extent you live with those shots.
• Speaking of the two losses w Bouknight, is there anything we can learn from those?  The only thing that stuck out was UConn took a ton of 3s in those games.  Their season average is 32% of all shots from 3.  Against Creighton that number was 45%, against Nova that number was 49%.  So maybe the answer is pack it in, overhelp on drives a little bit, close out short and live / die w 3 ball?  Don't overextend so everyone can gang rebound.  It could go very badly but probably has to be on the table
• Nationwide Nolan's twitter thread called this out, but Dante basically forced UConn to abandon the hard hedge against him.  Can Dante come out and hit a 3 or two when they go under the screen?  If not, it's going to be very hard for him to get into the lane 
• Something I'd like to see, instead of having Q screen in pnr, I'd prefer Bile or Pickett if UConn continues w hard hedge against Blair.  Have them short roll or basically not roll and be available for a pass immediately.  Then Bile or Pickett have an opportunity to attack 4 on 3 before the hard hedging big can recover.  Have Q on the baseline in the dunker spot and everyone else at the 3 point line.  It's basically the Draymond Green role for those Warrior teams.   It's that type of NBA offense that killed the hard hedge at that level in the first place.  Asking Pickett or Bile to be the decision maker passer is dicey but if they're prepared they can make the right read
• And not to resort to this, but the officiating of this game is critical.  UConn is super aggressive on the perimeter, you have to get them in the bonus as punishment.  Drive at the outside shoulder of that big man on the hard hedge.  Use shot fakes around the hoop, get them in the air, and get them in foul trouble

UConn's pressure defense was jarring to watch, can only imagine what it was like on the court for those first 5-10 min.  We'll be much better prepared for it this time around.  Compete on the boards, force them to shoot 3s, and maintain composure.  Hoya Saxa

[professorhoya]

Mar 4, 2021 9:31:13 GMT -5 rhw485 said:

Ok lets get the obvious out of the way, this UConn team is very good and we're going on the road.  They've only lost two games Bouknight played, and that was to Creighton by 2 in OT and to Nova.  

• In terms of matchups, I think you have to leave Dante on Bouknight to start.  If you are suggesting someone bigger, like Pickett or Bile, you have to propose who everyone else guards.  It forces Dante onto Cole and Blair / Carey onto....Martin? For a team that got crushed on the boards, I can't get behind taking Bile or Pickett farther away from the hoop than necessary given Dante did a decent enough job on Bouknight.  He doesn't want to post up Dante and if he settles for jumpers over Dante that is a huge victory.  Dante is best positioned to keep him out of the lane and getting to the basket, which is what he loves to do.
• If there is a defensive switch to be made, it's probably swapping Bile and Pickett.  Let Bile guard Martin and put Pickett on Whaley.  Pickett is a better rebounder and Whaley silently killed us.  His stat line doesn't look crazy, 7 and 7, but 6 of his 7 boards were offensive rebounds.  Take your chances w Martin driving on Bile and hope Pickett controls the glass
• Cole was a problem, but I'm not really sure there's a good answer here.  Blair wasn't great defensively, but if you look at the advanced box score, 7 of Cole's 8 makes were from mid range.  That's really what you want from a defense.  Cole shoots 37% from 3 so you can't go under, and to some extent you live with those shots.
• Speaking of the two losses w Bouknight, is there anything we can learn from those?  The only thing that stuck out was UConn took a ton of 3s in those games.  Their season average is 32% of all shots from 3.  Against Creighton that number was 45%, against Nova that number was 49%.  So maybe the answer is pack it in, overhelp on drives a little bit, close out short and live / die w 3 ball?  Don't overextend so everyone can gang rebound.  It could go very badly but probably has to be on the table
• Nationwide Nolan's twitter thread called this out, but Dante basically forced UConn to abandon the hard hedge against him.  Can Dante come out and hit a 3 or two when they go under the screen?  If not, it's going to be very hard for him to get into the lane 
• Something I'd like to see, instead of having Q screen in pnr, I'd prefer Bile or Pickett if UConn continues w hard hedge against Blair.  Have them short roll or basically not roll and be available for a pass immediately.  Then Bile or Pickett have an opportunity to attack 4 on 3 before the hard hedging big can recover.  Have Q on the baseline in the dunker spot and everyone else at the 3 point line.  It's basically the Draymond Green role for those Warrior teams.   It's that type of NBA offense that killed the hard hedge at that level in the first place.  Asking Pickett or Bile to be the decision maker passer is dicey but if they're prepared they can make the right read
• And not to resort to this, but the officiating of this game is critical.  UConn is super aggressive on the perimeter, you have to get them in the bonus as punishment.  Drive at the outside shoulder of that big man on the hard hedge.  Use shot fakes around the hoop, get them in the air, and get them in foul trouble

UConn's pressure defense was jarring to watch, can only imagine what it was like on the court for those first 5-10 min.  We'll be much better prepared for it this time around.  Compete on the boards, force them to shoot 3s, and maintain composure.  Hoya Saxa

What about Bile on Cole? The length should bother Cole and Cole won't be able to back down into the paint.
Really to me Booknight will get his but if we can shut down Cole that will hurt their scoring.

[hoyalove4ever]

Clear out and let Harris bring it up against pressure as much as possible. We have too many players clogging up the backcourt.

Carey only can play so many minutes in this one- he has tough matchups on both ends. We may need to steal a few minutes from Sibley.

Bile has to be smart and stay out of foul trouble- easier said that done.

Likewise, we need smart play from Q and Timmy inside, while also really fighting for boards.

I think we throw different people at Bouknight. Make him earn his points on contested threes, stepbacks, and from the line. No easy baskets near the hoop. Go up against him strong with two hands and make solid contact- nothing dirty, just old-school basketball.

How much do we want it? I look forward to finding out.

[rhw485]

Mar 4, 2021 9:59:05 GMT -5 professorhoya said:

Mar 4, 2021 9:31:13 GMT -5 rhw485 said:

Ok lets get the obvious out of the way, this UConn team is very good and we're going on the road.  They've only lost two games Bouknight played, and that was to Creighton by 2 in OT and to Nova.  

• In terms of matchups, I think you have to leave Dante on Bouknight to start.  If you are suggesting someone bigger, like Pickett or Bile, you have to propose who everyone else guards.  It forces Dante onto Cole and Blair / Carey onto....Martin? For a team that got crushed on the boards, I can't get behind taking Bile or Pickett farther away from the hoop than necessary given Dante did a decent enough job on Bouknight.  He doesn't want to post up Dante and if he settles for jumpers over Dante that is a huge victory.  Dante is best positioned to keep him out of the lane and getting to the basket, which is what he loves to do.
• If there is a defensive switch to be made, it's probably swapping Bile and Pickett.  Let Bile guard Martin and put Pickett on Whaley.  Pickett is a better rebounder and Whaley silently killed us.  His stat line doesn't look crazy, 7 and 7, but 6 of his 7 boards were offensive rebounds.  Take your chances w Martin driving on Bile and hope Pickett controls the glass
• Cole was a problem, but I'm not really sure there's a good answer here.  Blair wasn't great defensively, but if you look at the advanced box score, 7 of Cole's 8 makes were from mid range.  That's really what you want from a defense.  Cole shoots 37% from 3 so you can't go under, and to some extent you live with those shots.
• Speaking of the two losses w Bouknight, is there anything we can learn from those?  The only thing that stuck out was UConn took a ton of 3s in those games.  Their season average is 32% of all shots from 3.  Against Creighton that number was 45%, against Nova that number was 49%.  So maybe the answer is pack it in, overhelp on drives a little bit, close out short and live / die w 3 ball?  Don't overextend so everyone can gang rebound.  It could go very badly but probably has to be on the table
• Nationwide Nolan's twitter thread called this out, but Dante basically forced UConn to abandon the hard hedge against him.  Can Dante come out and hit a 3 or two when they go under the screen?  If not, it's going to be very hard for him to get into the lane 
• Something I'd like to see, instead of having Q screen in pnr, I'd prefer Bile or Pickett if UConn continues w hard hedge against Blair.  Have them short roll or basically not roll and be available for a pass immediately.  Then Bile or Pickett have an opportunity to attack 4 on 3 before the hard hedging big can recover.  Have Q on the baseline in the dunker spot and everyone else at the 3 point line.  It's basically the Draymond Green role for those Warrior teams.   It's that type of NBA offense that killed the hard hedge at that level in the first place.  Asking Pickett or Bile to be the decision maker passer is dicey but if they're prepared they can make the right read
• And not to resort to this, but the officiating of this game is critical.  UConn is super aggressive on the perimeter, you have to get them in the bonus as punishment.  Drive at the outside shoulder of that big man on the hard hedge.  Use shot fakes around the hoop, get them in the air, and get them in foul trouble

UConn's pressure defense was jarring to watch, can only imagine what it was like on the court for those first 5-10 min.  We'll be much better prepared for it this time around.  Compete on the boards, force them to shoot 3s, and maintain composure.  Hoya Saxa

What about Bile on Cole? The length should bother Cole and Cole won't be able to back down into the paint.
Really to me Booknight will get his but if we can shut down Cole that will hurt their scoring.

Interesting.  Not a bad option, I still think it causes a rebounding problem because Blair or Carey is still guarding Martin and it takes Bile away from the basket, and I'm not sure how Bile would do navigating ball screens because we haven't really seen him guard a primary ball handler.  All of Cole's stuff came via pick and roll.  But I don't hate it as an option if Blair just simply can't get it done.

[bostonfan]

Mar 4, 2021 10:39:42 GMT -5 rhw485 said:

Mar 4, 2021 9:59:05 GMT -5 professorhoya said:

What about Bile on Cole? The length should bother Cole and Cole won't be able to back down into the paint.
Really to me Booknight will get his but if we can shut down Cole that will hurt their scoring.

Interesting.  Not a bad option, I still think it causes a rebounding problem because Blair or Carey is still guarding Martin and it takes Bile away from the basket, and I'm not sure how Bile would do navigating ball screens because we haven't really seen him guard a primary ball handler.  All of Cole's stuff came via pick and roll.  But I don't hate it as an option if Blair just simply can't get it done.

Cole is a problem for the Hoyas, and everyone else in the Big East. He is a very crafty ball handler, excellent pick and roll player and just makes tough shots on a regular basis. Not sure Dante, or our other guards, can do much better on him than they did last game if the decision is to defend him one on one and not help. It might be a case that whenever Cole gets into the lane on a pick and roll situation, the defense needs to sag and help on him and make him give it up. The only shooter you can't help off of is Bouknight, who is a good three point shooter. The Pooley kid can really shoot it also, but he does not play as many minutes. After watching Cole light up the Hoyas last game, and other teams in recent games, I think you need to at least try to force him to pass the ball and make someone else on UConn make shots.  That may, or may not work, but at a minimum I think you need to mix up the defensive scheme on Cole to keep him from getting in a rhythm. I don't see Georgetown stopping Cole, but if they can contain him to some degree and keep him to 10-12 points, instead of 20+, I think they give themselves a better chance.

[professorhoya]

Mar 4, 2021 10:59:17 GMT -5 bostonfan said:

Mar 4, 2021 10:39:42 GMT -5 rhw485 said:

Interesting.  Not a bad option, I still think it causes a rebounding problem because Blair or Carey is still guarding Martin and it takes Bile away from the basket, and I'm not sure how Bile would do navigating ball screens because we haven't really seen him guard a primary ball handler.  All of Cole's stuff came via pick and roll.  But I don't hate it as an option if Blair just simply can't get it done.

Cole is a problem for the Hoyas, and everyone else in the Big East. He is a very crafty ball handler, excellent pick and roll player and just makes tough shots on a regular basis. Not sure Dante, or our other guards, can do much better on him than they did last game if the decision is to defend him one on one and not help. It might be a case that whenever Cole gets into the lane on a pick and roll situation, the defense needs to sag and help on him and make him give it up. The only shooter you can't help off of is Bouknight, who is a good three point shooter. The Pooley kid can really shoot it also, but he does not play as many minutes. After watching Cole light up the Hoyas last game, and other teams in recent games, I think you need to at least try to force him to pass the ball and make someone else on UConn make shots.  That may, or may not work, but at a minimum I think you need to mix up the defensive scheme on Cole to keep him from getting in a rhythm. I don't see Georgetown stopping Cole, but if they can contain him to some degree and keep him to 10-12 points, instead of 20+, I think they give themselves a better chance.

He’s basically ballooned into a taller Khalid el Amin.

He’s gotten so much fatter than when he was at Howard but that girth is being used to outmuscle skinny college guards

[RockawayHoya]

Mar 4, 2021 10:39:42 GMT -5 rhw485 said:

Mar 4, 2021 9:59:05 GMT -5 professorhoya said:

What about Bile on Cole? The length should bother Cole and Cole won't be able to back down into the paint.
Really to me Booknight will get his but if we can shut down Cole that will hurt their scoring.

Interesting.  Not a bad option, I still think it causes a rebounding problem because Blair or Carey is still guarding Martin and it takes Bile away from the basket, and I'm not sure how Bile would do navigating ball screens because we haven't really seen him guard a primary ball handler.  All of Cole's stuff came via pick and roll.  But I don't hate it as an option if Blair just simply can't get it done.

Agree that you still need to keep Blair on Cole. Bile and Pickett had 7 rebounds between the two of them in the last UConn game; that simply isn't going to get it done and we're probably going to need something closer to the 18 they got against Xavier to stay competitive. In order to do that, you've got to keep them from straying further from the basket than they need to be. Bile and Pickett are used to winning the length battle, but this is really more of a strength test for them: can they keep the UConn frontline at bay, especially on the defensive end where we got crushed by their offensive rebounding? This is probably the game on the schedule where boxing out and having all 5 guys crash the glass on the defensive end will be musts.

Back to Blair. Agree that if you're going to live with giving up some type of shot, it's going to be the mid-range shots (ideally 15 feet and out). If he hits them at a high clip, you tip your cap. If Blair can do two things: no uncontested 3s and no fouling on jump shots, I think that's all we can reasonably expect out of him on the defensive end.

Defensively, the first UConn game was probably one of, if not the poorest game Q played all year. He cannot get caught ball watching against a guard/wing and lose sight of his primary assignment in the post. I'm OK with taking my chances against UConn from the perimeter, but Q cannot give up layups/dunks or putbacks off of offensive rebounds because he's caught in no-mans land. He did a much better job of this against Xavier when matched up on Carter, and UConn has no one like Freemantle.

Offensively, I think we worry about the pressure because I'm not sure we have a good way of handling it in the backcourt. Once we get it across halfcourt, think your suggestion of using Bile/Pickett as the screener in the PnR is probably the best bet. They've got enough size down low where it will be challenging to make entries consistently to Q in spots he can be effective from (especially since our guards/wings aren't the best at entry passes to begin with), so forcing it down there repeatedly really could open us up to a lot of turnovers.

We say this every game, but an important key will be limiting live-ball turnovers that lead to points in transition; if we can just get up shots and hold our own on the boards, I'll take my chances with our shooting vs. most teams, and especially UConn.