hoyaboya
Blue & Gray (over 10,000 posts)
Posts: 12,503
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Post by hoyaboya on Feb 8, 2024 13:37:46 GMT -5
Ish, I think. Marginally bette defensively . But close call I think Ish is a better defender and does rebound a little bit, the other big difference is he does not force as many really bad shots as Rice did, but Ish is here to help with the scoring/shooting on this team, and he is just not a consistent enough scorer at this point. he did have a good game about a week ago, but is pretty invisible for way too many games. I am not usually a guy who just says play the young guys because the team is not winning now. I think the staff builds a culture by doing whatever it can to win every game, but I am not sure Ish is helping them win anymore than Fielder would at this point. My hunch is the staff feels Massoud can guard people at the 4 better than Fielder can, which is why he's getting so much more playing time. The problem with that is Massoud is still a negative defender - so even though he's probably better than Fielder, he's not good enough to make a difference. Fielder can't guard a 4 or a 5 presently - 4s are too quick for him, 5s are too strong for him. But if we're going to play as much zone as we've been playing, those 1-on-1 defensive skills should be able to be hidden, at least a little bit.
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hoyazeke
Platinum Hoya (over 5000 posts)
Posts: 5,818
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Post by hoyazeke on Feb 8, 2024 13:55:19 GMT -5
If Rowan & Fielder are gone next year then I quit. I don't think that happens. I think both guys realize they can be key pieces but at times, we all forget these guys are just freshman. I hope they are bought into the long term vision. I hated Epps shooting last night. I think there were at least four Costanza-esque chucks from 3 early in the clock. This team is tough to watch. Rowan and Fielder looked very engaged on the bench last night, so I think they're probably fine mentally. It's just a bummer to see that they're not making progress on the court and there are only 10 games left in the season. Not sure there will be a big market for Rowan in the offseason, but Fielder is an interesting one. He's a long way from home and, though it seems like he's had a very close relationship with the coaching staff to this point, it would be hard knowing that Sorber is coming in next season, Cook has another year of eligibility and we're likely to bring in another 4/5 type through the portal. Fielder will get PT if he is serious in the weight room this off-season. Fielder can do something that the others can't, shoot. He has to get strong enough to play PF/C and not be a liability because he will never be quick enough to play SF.
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hoyazeke
Platinum Hoya (over 5000 posts)
Posts: 5,818
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Post by hoyazeke on Feb 8, 2024 13:59:30 GMT -5
A random question occurred to me....who is better Massed or Kaiden Rice? Right now I would say Kaiden....at least with Kaiden you would get the 25-30pt gm occasionally.
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Post by wildhoya on Feb 8, 2024 14:04:48 GMT -5
Here you go, fellas. Thanks! We can sit on this while you play your fiddle, Nero.
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Post by wildhoya on Feb 8, 2024 14:24:01 GMT -5
DFW, as you appear to be the last bastion of Hoya free speech on the internet we'll weigh in here.
While many may claim it's too soon, in this observer's view, EC has shown that he has neither the ability nor the fortitude to right this sinking ship now, or in the future.
Hopefully, absent some miraculous turn of circumstances, the powers-that-be can swallow hard to untether themselves from this costly "rich" fellow.
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EtomicB
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Post by EtomicB on Feb 8, 2024 14:33:02 GMT -5
DFW, as you appear to be the last bastion of Hoya free speech on the internet we'll weigh in here. While many may claim it's too soon, in this observer's view, EC has shown that he has neither the ability nor the fortitude to right this sinking ship now, or in the future. Hopefully, absent some miraculous turn of circumstances, the powers-that-be can swallow hard to untether themselves from this costly "rich" fellow. Wayyyyyy too early for this conversation in my view
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hoyaboya
Blue & Gray (over 10,000 posts)
Posts: 12,503
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Post by hoyaboya on Feb 8, 2024 14:34:57 GMT -5
DFW, as you appear to be the last bastion of Hoya free speech on the internet we'll weigh in here. While many may claim it's too soon, in this observer's view, EC has shown that he has neither the ability nor the fortitude to right this sinking ship now, or in the future. Hopefully, absent some miraculous turn of circumstances, the powers-that-be can swallow hard to untether themselves from this costly "rich" fellow. Wayyyyyy too early for this conversation in my view Agreed…DeGioia and Reed would have to retire first - which they both likely will do in the next couple of years. There is no way they will admit their mistake while still employed at Georgetown.
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Post by hoyasaxa2003 on Feb 8, 2024 14:35:46 GMT -5
Last night, I had the pleasure of watching our Hoyas in person. I got fortunate with a very good ticket at a pretty affordable price, so all in all that worked out great. One word on the Prudential Center--they have the upper level curtained off, but it so dark up there/well done that you barely notice. The crowd was pretty good, though never really got too into the game since they really never broke it open.
- I watched a lot of Cooley's body language, and the body language of our team. Saying that Cooley was frustrated may be an understatement, particularly after our guys botched defensive plays. He lit into Massoud multiple times, Epps, and others. The idea that Cooley gives Epps a free pass and let's him do whatever he wants just does not seem to ring true based on what I saw.
- It was also notable that after made baskets, when Epps brought the ball up he almost always looked to Cooley for direction. Now, whether Epps followed that direction is a whole other story, but I did think the interaction between the two of them was interesting in how often they talked to one another, and how Cooley was in part directing things.
- Our defense last night on two point shots was actually among the best it's been all season. To me, it seemed like we were collapsing/helping a bit more. When we contested shots, we were pretty good, but there were still a number of uncontested layups/dunks at the rim that we totally whiffed on. If we got all those back, there's some chance we would have won last night, plus the other close games we have lost.
- I continue to be impressed by Supreme Cook's improvement on the offensive end. He really gets in there and battles for position, etc. And he's really grown into his role. He was also routinely mugged without calls, but to be fair that went both ways. When you see a game live where the referees have a pretty light whistle, you really see how many fouls happen in the game that aren't called. If they were, the games would take 3 hours to play and nobody would be left on the roster. In the off season, Cook needs to work on his free throws.
- Massoud is just really not a good player. Why is he getting minutes with Fielder sitting on the bench? It doesn't make sense to me. As others said, even if he is getting NIL money at this point he's a sunk cost in that department. I realize Fielder is not a good one-on-one defender, but neither is Massoud whose poor defense allowed some of those uncontested shots. I know it sounds horrible, but I cannot wait for him to graduate, and I am thrilled he has no more eligibility. He seems like a good guy, and I wish him the best, but I think he has no business getting anything more than token minutes.
- For all the crap everyone gives to Epps, I think the fact that Heath took so many shots last night really shows how few options we have, and why Epps takes a lot of shots. Who else is going to take them? I actually think they got Styles a bunch of really nice looks because the defense was so focused on Epps, which is what you want to see. But Heath got a lot of shots too, and he simply is not very good. That's why we just aren't going to be all that good this year no matter what Cooley does.
Anyway, despite the loss and frustration, I enjoyed going to the game. I did not see any negative body language from any of the players, nor did I see any quit. Everyone played extremely hard to the very end. While Cooley seemed frustrated at our lapses, he was also clapping and encouraging at other times too.
I was not close enough to Cooley to see/witness the comment about his salary. As others have said, if it was said in a joking/defusing manner, I have a lot less trouble with it than if he said it in a serious/smug manner. Either way, he should probably keep those comments to himself, but I am not going to hold it against him at this point, either. That's the sort of thing where if your team is 10-1 in the Big East, fans enjoy. Not so much when you've got one win, though.
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Post by hoyasaxa2003 on Feb 8, 2024 14:39:28 GMT -5
DFW, as you appear to be the last bastion of Hoya free speech on the internet we'll weigh in here. While many may claim it's too soon, in this observer's view, EC has shown that he has neither the ability nor the fortitude to right this sinking ship now, or in the future. Hopefully, absent some miraculous turn of circumstances, the powers-that-be can swallow hard to untether themselves from this costly "rich" fellow. I am not sure if this is serious, but it's silly. You cannot evaluate any coach after one season. And Georgetown's performance this season is well below the performance of Cooley's teams at Providence--which is why your comment about him having "neither the ability nor the fortitude to right this sinking ship now, or in the future" is misplaced. Separately, as a matter of practicality, you are looking at the university who allowed Ewing to coach 5 years, gave him 3 year extension, then allowed him to go 0-20, and did not fire him. The idea that the same university would take ANY action on a coach who is widely regarded as significantly better than Ewing is absurd. And on top of that, it would make Georgetown look highly disfunctional. This just isn't worth further discussion right now.
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traversb
Bulldog (over 250 posts)
Posts: 397
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Post by traversb on Feb 8, 2024 15:25:56 GMT -5
I haven't been able to post as much, but was actually able to sit down and watch the full 2nd half: - Epps is being asked to do too much and the efficiency is cratering
I agree with everything you said except this. In his 1st 2 Big East games Epps was 8/27 2/12 from 3 with 3 assists and 7 turnovers. In his last 2 games he is 8/27 4/12 from 3 with 8 assists and 6 turnovers so he's getting better! This idea that Epps is wearing down or there is no help is just a fallacy. Yea some guys missed some open 3s off his passes last night but they missed as many off Heath passes. That is not why he took upon himself to take some truly ridiculous shots. He did it because that's who he is. I am guessing some of the Cooley focusing on offense this week was getting Styles more involved and it showed in the 1st half. Styles is an offensive threat when used properly but like most guys it seems like he just watches Epps dribble too much and wait for him to do his thing. He's more passive by nature. That's on the coaches not the players. Cooley has to know what Epps is at this point and it's his job to reign Epps in and get better shots for the team. I think Cooley is good at that but he has let Epps run amuck way to much to the point where when he actually did say something last night Epps had the nerve to talk back. I think Epps is a better player than Primo but at this point the comparison is no longer unfair. These are there 2 Big East per game number Player FG FGA FG% 2P 2PA 2P% 3P 3PA 3P% FT FTA FT% ORB DRB TRB AST STL BLK TOV PTS Primo Spears 5.9 15.1 .391 5.0 12.1 .409 1.0 3.0 .317 2.5 3.3 .758 0.5 2.1 2.6 5.4 0.9 0.1 3.7 15.3 Jayden Epps 5.6 16.7 .335 3.5 8.4 .417 2.1 8.3 .253 4.5 5.2 .865 0.1 2.1 2.2 4.2 1.3 0.2 3.2 17.8
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traversb
Bulldog (over 250 posts)
Posts: 397
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Post by traversb on Feb 8, 2024 15:31:12 GMT -5
Got anything else from maybe the Weekly World News or Screw Magazine that you want to post as evidence? Absent video of the exchange it is absolutely impossible to assess context and tone. The words are unfortunate but if he and the kid were both laughing it is mostly a nothing burger in my opinion. I think what he said was incredibly d00chy and if Pitino had done it some on this board would have been on the "see that's why we shouldn't have hired him" kick. I do think it was probably said jokingly and doesn't warrant any punishment or further discussion. I think it's quite ironic that to the administration Cooley probably seemed like the safe hire when they started the process in January or whenever. Now as it turns out he has infidelity rumors, the idea he quit on his past team and now this quote that right or wrong has reached mainstream media and makes him look bad to the average Joe. I am not saying any of those are fair but sometimes perception is reality. This can't be what the administration had in mind. edit - had no idea d-o-u-c-h-e was not allowed on here.
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Post by wildhoya on Feb 8, 2024 15:57:02 GMT -5
hoyasaxa2003
You are sooo right.
We certainly wouldn't want GU to do ANYTHING that might make it appear Dysfunctional.
Hoya Saxa And have a nice day!
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Post by hsaxon on Feb 8, 2024 16:24:12 GMT -5
Rowan and Fielder looked very engaged on the bench last night, so I think they're probably fine mentally. It's just a bummer to see that they're not making progress on the court and there are only 10 games left in the season. Not sure there will be a big market for Rowan in the offseason, but Fielder is an interesting one. He's a long way from home and, though it seems like he's had a very close relationship with the coaching staff to this point, it would be hard knowing that Sorber is coming in next season, Cook has another year of eligibility and we're likely to bring in another 4/5 type through the portal. Fielder will get PT if he is serious in the weight room this off-season. Fielder can do something that the others can't, shoot. He has to get strong enough to play PF/C and not be a liability because he will never be quick enough to play SF. Yes, he needs to be in the weight room working hard and eating right from mid-March thru August.
Ryan should have been doing this the last 2 summers. Does not appear he was.
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Post by hsaxon on Feb 8, 2024 16:25:34 GMT -5
Absent video of the exchange it is absolutely impossible to assess context and tone. The words are unfortunate but if he and the kid were both laughing it is mostly a nothing burger in my opinion. I think what he said was incredibly d00chy and if Pitino had done it some on this board would have been on the "see that's why we shouldn't have hired him" kick. I do think it was probably said jokingly and doesn't warrant any punishment or further discussion. I think it's quite ironic that to the administration Cooley probably seemed like the safe hire when they started the process in January or whenever. Now as it turns out he has infidelity rumors, the idea he quit on his past team and now this quote that right or wrong has reached mainstream media and makes him look bad to the average Joe. I am not saying any of those are fair but sometimes perception is reality. This can't be what the administration had in mind. edit - had no idea d-o-u-c-h-e was not allowed on here. The AD needs to speak with Ed and tell him to cool that stuff.
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bigskyhoya
Golden Hoya (over 1000 posts)
Posts: 1,095
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Post by bigskyhoya on Feb 8, 2024 16:25:40 GMT -5
hoyasaxa2003 You are sooo right. We certainly wouldn't want GU to do ANYTHING that might make it appear Dysfunctional. Hoya Saxa And have a nice day! If we are last or next-to-last in the BE next year I will be right there with you.
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Post by hsaxon on Feb 8, 2024 16:27:55 GMT -5
Every game is the same now. Epps has become Primo Spears reincarnated. Heath is walking accident, poor shots, bad passes and no defense. Yet he gets the minutes every game, especially at the end. Styles kept them close in the first half and then went missing for most of the second half. You have to give it to Cook. Outsized and less talented he fights for everything. He hits his free throws and he has two dozen points. Bristol overall is a better player than Heath has demonstrated. Watching the game, it looked like the varsity playing the junior varsity. Seton players must have outweighed GU players by at least 20 pounds per player. Not fat but muscle. You wonder if the weight room at GU is under rennovation. Why not Rowan or Fiedler is astonishing on this team and only makes it more likely they will be looking for a new place to call home next year. Rown is your only true point guard. If you don't play him then you put Epps in the position where he is both playmaker and shooter. Ish does his best but how often has he lost his man on defense? If Rowan & Fielder are gone next year then I quit. I don't think that happens. I think both guys realize they can be key pieces but at times, we all forget these guys are just freshman. I hope they are bought into the long term vision. I hated Epps shooting last night. I think there were at least four Costanza-esque chucks from 3 early in the clock. This team is tough to watch. We took 40 threes last night (made 10), some (or more than some) of which were very poor shots. That is a lousy way to play basketball. I wonder when was the last time, if ever, that we took 40 threes?
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Post by hsaxon on Feb 8, 2024 16:33:29 GMT -5
Yes, that is awful, pathetic basketball. Is that a GU record?
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prhoya
Blue & Gray (over 10,000 posts)
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Post by prhoya on Feb 8, 2024 16:41:22 GMT -5
If Rowan & Fielder are gone next year then I quit. I don't think that happens. I think both guys realize they can be key pieces but at times, we all forget these guys are just freshman. I hope they are bought into the long term vision. I hated Epps shooting last night. I think there were at least four Costanza-esque chucks from 3 early in the clock. This team is tough to watch. We took 40 threes last night (made 10), some (or more than some) of which were very poor shots. That is a lousy way to play basketball. I wonder when was the last time, if ever, that we took 40 threes? You can tell it’s going to be bad when Epps shoots the 25-footer like it’s a shot-put throw, i.e., shoots it starting from the shoulder. It usually ends up being a long rebound.
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daveg023
Platinum Hoya (over 5000 posts)
Posts: 5,352
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Post by daveg023 on Feb 8, 2024 16:42:45 GMT -5
Of all the times to be negative, pessimistic, down about the program, it’s odd to me that last night is the one frustrating a lot of folks. I was much more annoyed after the home blowouts to Butler and Marquette.
Those in the know have commented that EC’s retort was made in jest, and actually diffused a situation with a childish fan. The fake outrage over it seems excessive. I don’t believe it was said smugly or ill-willed, but even if it was, much worse has been said by coaches in this conference.
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guru
Platinum Hoya (over 5000 posts)
Posts: 6,605
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Post by guru on Feb 8, 2024 17:15:32 GMT -5
Of all the times to be negative, pessimistic, down about the program, it’s odd to me that last night is the one frustrating a lot of folks. I was much more annoyed after the home blowouts to Butler and Marquette. Those in the know have commented that EC’s retort was made in jest, and actually diffused a situation with a childish fan. The fake outrage over it seems excessive. I don’t believe it was said smugly or ill-willed, but even if it was, much worse has been said by coaches in this conference. Outrage seems like hyperbole. It was just a dumb thing to say.
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