Georgetown - Creighton 1/2/24 Discussion

[DanMcQ]

Looking forward to a week's worth of work in the gym causing more connectedness on both defensive and offensive ends.

[bamahoya11]

Creighton obviously is a talented team, but we get them at home with plenty of time to prepare. I hope the team used the embarrassment of the Marquette game as a reason to get better. I’ll be looking for signs of progress in this one.

[EtomicB]

Huge game for Creighton tomorrow which means a huge test for Gtown who’s had a lot of time to prepare for this game.

[jwp91]

2nd game in a row we have had a highly motivated opponent. DePaul can’t get here fast enough.

[kettlehill]

Win or lose- this should be an interesting test of Cooley's ability to get this bunch competitive and the players- who heard Cooley's post Marquette rant-ability to create an identity. I think that Cooley figured that if he could create the right attitude and toughness in these kids, that he could win a few BE rock fights. But he needs the buy in- especially on D- that we haven't seen yet.
The talent is there, lets hope the Hoyas are as competitive a their coach.

[KHoyaNYC]

It’s game day and we have 5 pre-game posts in the game thread. Just five! We need some wins.

[daveg023]

Creighton has a lot of talent, but hasn't really meshed well this year yet. Nembhard transferring has not worked out well for either Gonzaga or Creighton. This is the first team that will really test the improvement of our 3PT defense. I'm cautiously optimistic that after the returning home from long road trip and holiday break this team will play with more energy and effort. That being said I'd be surprised if this is a game with 5 min to go.

Everyone is worried about the defense, but honestly our ability to score is more concerning to me. If Epps isn't scorching hot, not sure where else the points are going to come from.

[SDHoya]

Jan 2, 2024 10:11:57 GMT -5 daveg023 said:

Creighton has a lot of talent, but hasn't really meshed well this year yet. Nembhard transferring has not worked out well for either Gonzaga or Creighton. This is the first team that will really test the improvement of our 3PT defense. I'm cautiously optimistic that after the returning home from long road trip and holiday break this team will play with more energy and effort. That being said I'd be surprised if this is a game with 5 min to go.

Everyone is worried about the defense, but honestly our ability to score is more concerning to me. If Epps isn't scorching hot, not sure where else the points are going to come from.

Agree. The lack of ball movement and team shot creation has led to lots of forced/bad shots, which aren’t much better than turnovers. Against Marquette they looked like they were getting discouraged. Defense is largely about communication and commitment. I do think the defensive communication has been much better this year, but to me it seems they get down on themselves a bit too much with the turnovers and bad shots and that affects their defensive focus. Being a largely young team (both by age and by lack of experience playing with eachother), it’s not surprising this has happened. Hopefully the break will have given them some time to refocus and get some confidence back. But the real improvements may not come until next year (assuming no or few defections), when the group is more veteran with each other and Cooley’s system).

[thedragon]

Jan 2, 2024 9:13:01 GMT -5 KHoyaNYC said:

It’s game day and we have 5 pre-game posts in the game thread. Just five! We need some wins.

Also a week off and the holidays don't help. But yes, need some wins to generate some buzz. Too many casual alumni I speak to already saying: this looks like a Ewing team again. Having said that though, people are anxious to care again - just need to give them a reason (wins) to do so.

[TC]

We're 12.5 point underdogs. Creighton is desperate for a win. People should pump the brakes a bit.

[jwp91]

Pump the breaks? Isn't the car at a dead stop?

[coach98]

Creighton -12 seems rich. I'm tempted to take the Hoyas and the points, especially how good they've been at home this season. Then again, this team never does what it's supposed to do.

[hoyasaxa2003]

I will preface my comment by saying that our team is NOT where I thought it would be at this point in the season, especially on defense. That said, even under a best case scenario a lot of things had to go right this season for us to be anything close to good. Thus, I find it a bit amusing why some people are still getting upset every time we lose to a superior team. Make no mistake, our effort against Marquette was unacceptable. So I do want to see that change. But, we likely would have lost anyway--just in less embarassing fashion.

Take tonight's game for example. KenPom says we are 13% to win. And we are coincidentally projected by KenPom to lose by 13. What do I want to see? Something better than that result. But I don't expect a win, nor should anybody really.

Of course, we CAN win if we play better defense and get hot from three. One of these days we will do that and take down a team we have no business beating.

[SFHoya99]

Jan 2, 2024 15:22:31 GMT -5 hoyasaxa2003 said:

I will preface my comment by saying that our team is NOT where I thought it would be at this point in the season, especially on defense. That said, even under a best case scenario a lot of things had to go right this season for us to be anything close to good. Thus, I find it a bit amusing why some people are still getting upset every time we lose to a superior team. Make no mistake, our effort against Marquette was unacceptable. So I do want to see that change. But, we likely would have lost anyway--just in less embarassing fashion.

Take tonight's game for example. KenPom says we are 13% to win. And we are coincidentally projected by KenPom to lose by 13. What do I want to see? Something better than that result. But I don't expect a win, nor should anybody really.

Of course, we CAN win if we play better defense and get hot from three. One of these days we will do that and take down a team we have no business beating.

Because we're not likely to win a lot this year, I'm judging the year on several things:

• Effort Level
• Commitment to a cohesive and intelligent gameplan
• Improvement
• Potential for player development in future years

What was so annoying about the Marquette game wasn't the loss (which was basically assured) or the margin of victory, but rather that the team simply did not play disciplined or to the gameplan at all, across the board. We didn't defend, we didn't run the offense. We jacked shots and completely fell apart. There was no composure, and we certainly didn't see the team dig in; rather they seemed to be playing lackadaisically.

This is frustrating from the player perspective but also from the coach's. I really don't care much about results this year but I want to see a team that plays as a team, plays smart and competes in terms of effort.

And we didn't see that at all.

[EtomicB]

Jan 2, 2024 15:57:39 GMT -5 SFHoya99 said:

Jan 2, 2024 15:22:31 GMT -5 hoyasaxa2003 said:

I will preface my comment by saying that our team is NOT where I thought it would be at this point in the season, especially on defense. That said, even under a best case scenario a lot of things had to go right this season for us to be anything close to good. Thus, I find it a bit amusing why some people are still getting upset every time we lose to a superior team. Make no mistake, our effort against Marquette was unacceptable. So I do want to see that change. But, we likely would have lost anyway--just in less embarassing fashion.

Take tonight's game for example. KenPom says we are 13% to win. And we are coincidentally projected by KenPom to lose by 13. What do I want to see? Something better than that result. But I don't expect a win, nor should anybody really.

Of course, we CAN win if we play better defense and get hot from three. One of these days we will do that and take down a team we have no business beating.

Because we're not likely to win a lot this year, I'm judging the year on several things:

• Effort Level
• Commitment to a cohesive and intelligent gameplan
• Improvement
• Potential for player development in future years

What was so annoying about the Marquette game wasn't the loss (which was basically assured) or the margin of victory, but rather that the team simply did not play disciplined or to the gameplan at all, across the board. We didn't defend, we didn't run the offense. We jacked shots and completely fell apart. There was no composure, and we certainly didn't see the team dig in; rather they seemed to be playing lackadaisically.

This is frustrating from the player perspective but also from the coach's. I really don't care much about results this year but I want to see a team that plays as a team, plays smart and competes in terms of effort.

And we didn't see that at all.

Bingo!!!!

[calhoya]

Staying focused on defense, keep Sorber and Fielder out of foul trouble--remember the 7' benchwarmer who can at least spell them a few minutes against a taller opponent, and Ball Movement on offense. An old AAU coach friend of mine used to scream at his players that you cannot dribble your way to victory. Seems particularly fitting for the Hoyas the past couple of years. Would be nice to see the team get through a game without any shot clock violations or "near" violations.

[bluegray79]

Supreme.

I'm excited about Sorber coming, too, but we're still 8 months away.

[dariantownesvanzandt]

The script is fairly straightforward. Get an early lead, don't turn the ball over, shoot better than them from three.

Not saying that's likely (or novel), but it's a much clearer path than UConn or Marquette.

They got beat OOC by collecting only 6 & 8 turnovers, and shooting 6-29 both games from three. It's doable. Attack Ashworth and keep goofy Mason Miller from wide open looks & you're halfway there.

[traversb]

Ashworth is about bad defensively as our guards so could definitely see an Epps explosion to keep us in it. They have little bench which has been a lot of their problem this year. If Kalk gets in foul trouble that could give us a shot to pull the upset. Let's look at the bright side, it won't be worse than Marquette.

[guru]

Jan 2, 2024 15:22:31 GMT -5 hoyasaxa2003 said:

I will preface my comment by saying that our team is NOT where I thought it would be at this point in the season, especially on defense. That said, even under a best case scenario a lot of things had to go right this season for us to be anything close to good. Thus, I find it a bit amusing why some people are still getting upset every time we lose to a superior team. Make no mistake, our effort against Marquette was unacceptable. So I do want to see that change. But, we likely would have lost anyway--just in less embarassing fashion.

Take tonight's game for example. KenPom says we are 13% to win. And we are coincidentally projected by KenPom to lose by 13. What do I want to see? Something better than that result. But I don't expect a win, nor should anybody really.

Of course, we CAN win if we play better defense and get hot from three. One of these days we will do that and take down a team we have no business beating.

I’m not sure anyone would have been all that angry with a loss to Marquette. But we just look like a crappy team. That’s the problem. People keep arguing against points no one is making. No one expected to be good this season. But competing hard and improving was expected, and there’s been scant evidence of either.