Post by FLHoya on Nov 19, 2005 1:09:10 GMT -5
Welcome to Generation Roy.
He's already the tallest player on the team, but Roy Hibbert seems to have grown the most in the off-season.
A career night and a complete performance on both ends of the court by GU's 7 foot 2 mastodon powered Georgetown to a 72-49 victory over the U.S. Naval Academy. A victory in which the Hoyas played what you might call the "Hibbert game"--sometimes awkward, occassionally powerful, and every so often...graceful in a way that makes you think "Wow, that's really something."
But what to make of tonight? Were the Hoyas a sleak, efficient machine that pumped out easy jumpshots and pressed Navy at times to submission? Or was the machine's glossy sheen hiding a layer of rust just beneath the surface? Was the whole darn hood of the bus rusted?
To use another player as an example: were we Good Brandon or Bad Brandon?
Well, the answer to those questions is--yes.
Georgetown dictated this game from start to finish. The talent gap evident on the court was sure to prevent the Midshipmen from having much to bear on the pace or outcome of the game. In a way, this makes a game much easier to evaluate--when the points come in bunches, you look to what the Hoyas did to ratchet up the intensity; when the drought rolls in, you simply ask where we got the best of ourselves.
At the 14:09 mark of the first half, a Darrell Owens layup staked Georgetown to a 14-2 lead, and the rout was on and visions of the unthinkable--we're on a 100 POINT PACE--danced in Hoya fans heads (okay, fine, I just mentioned the point total to someone next to me). But it took over 3 1/2 minutes for Roy Hibbert to break the ice again for the Hoyas.
So what did we do to ratchet up the intensity?
PREEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!
A healthy dose of defensive pressure was the order of the day early on, both full court and half court varieties. Ashanti Cook, Jonathan Wallace, and Darrell Owens in particular excelled at times on the defensive end, alternately spinning their marks like a top and making navigating any passing lane an adventure.
Exceptional team defense in the halfcourt sets early in the first half--Navy ran several handoff plays similar to a Princeton set, and the streaking guard coming off a screen placed a burden on interior players to shift over, which they did in kind.
9 steals for the game shared entirely between the aforementioned big three, but felt like far more to ME, almost certainly to Navy.
So...if those three are making the steal and starting the break, who's left to finish the job?
ROY!! ROY ROY ROY!! ROY ROY ROOOOOYYYYY!!
This was a pleasant surprise. For we expected Roy to make strides in the halfcourt offense...running half of the court we were willing to wait for.
But there, in the first half...Roy catches a long outlet pass, back to the basket. A hesitation...this is Roy's move after all, looking desperately it seems for the streaking guards...ah, screw this...and an authoritative move off the glass with the left hand. 2 points. 1 surprised fanbase.
Don't wipe that surprised grin off your face yet...a 3 on 2 break looks that much more intimidating when one of those 3 is seven foot two. (Or, in Darrell Owens' case in the first, when Navy's two defenders collide mid-air).
Jeff Green sat for the majority of the first half (only 24 minutes overall) due to foul trouble...but even when Jeff was in the game, this was Roy Hibbert's offense. Not in the "back to the basket at the three point line deer in the headlights sense". Roy learned the reverse of the classic phrase is true: sometimes, it's better to receive than to give. A variety of interior passes--lobs, the bounce pass, Roy handled most with ease. He's not Mike Sweetney with the hands, but he's DEFINITELY not...well, Roy Hibbert.
A strong early rebounding performance--how'd Roy Hibbert and Darrell Owens get THAT wide open?--opened up several cheapy opportunities to cash in on missed shots.
And finally, a healthy diet of open jumpers. Navy's rotation defense--not so much. Darrell Owens, Ashanti Cook, even Roy Hibbert found penetrate and dish opportunities to their liking from long range. Sometimes merely a dish was required to leave Darrell Owens a chance to glance to his left and right before burying a trademark slick three pointers.
But the play that left many Hoya fans talking after the game occurred in the second half. In a game where the order of the day on offense was "take what you're given" (a second half JG three a prime example)--Roy Hibbert found himself back to the basket at the foul line. A look to the cutter, a look to the outlet, a look to his defender, glued to the underside of the rim. Okay, then. Buries a 15 footer. The crowd goes wild.
From 5:11 to 3:28 another 8 point burst incorporating the same themes. But what about the intervening 9 minutes in which we managed just seven?
What's wrong with the offense?
Well, for that matter, what's up with the offense?
I have in my notes for the game "only cut on BB inbound 340". Forget connecting on backdoor layups--we seldom connected on a backdoor PASS.
But is this a problem?
In last year's season opener against Temple, and indeed throughout the season, the Achilles heel of the GTown offense was its inability at times to create shots, instead losing itself in a mess of exterior passing going nowhere.
Well, if our offensive flow sometimes took us on the road to nowhere last season, tonight Ashanti Cook, Jonathan Wallace, and Brandon Bowman made beelines for the hoop...problem was, a lot of the time they crashed into something. Indeed, a number of offensive fouls, both charges and illegal screens, killed Hoya offensive momentum in the first half.
A wise poster has already pointed out the money stat for tonight: 9 Assists (on 28 FGs) to 15 turnovers.
So what does this mean? Speculation might lead us to the conclusion that the Princeton offense has been altered to take advantage of our team's athleticism and open up more room for individual creativity. Or Brandon Bowman could just really like penetrating.
I think if I had to say something it would be this: where last year the common lament was our offense was TOO patient, I think tonight we were guilty of the opposite sin--leaving too much time on the shot clock before settling for a drive or jumper (Ashanti Cook's opening airball in the second half being an example). The offense as run tonight had exceptional ball movement at times, creating a number of open exterior looks. But the cutting, attacking style of pass Princeton offensive afficiandos appreciate was largely absent thus far.
Maybe Prince-town the hybrid is becoming a reality.
The second half a similar story--1 point in the first two and a half minutes, 8 in the next minute. As the defensive intensity ratcheted up, so did the fast break opportunities. As the offense sped up in the halfcourt, the points slowed down.
A time for experimentation in the second half--a JW, DO, AC, ME, JG lineup, with Jessie Sapp playing the point at times.
A late burst of assertiveness for Jeff Green--silver medal honors at 13 points for the night--provided a final margin of comfort and some reassurance that the boy hasn't lost his proficiency in the muscle tussle.
Two freshmen make their debuts tonight: Jessie Sapp at the 7:13 mark of the first half, Marc Egerson at 14:35 of the second half. A combined two points, and one side backboard hit.
All in all, a safe victory that surely felt more lopsided than its 23 point margin. But a decent result that should provide a number of teaching opportunities (watch Coach Thompson during a game!)
AHEAD: Coach Thompson's substitution pattern foils my first chance to call Octavious Spann "Octopus" in a recap...Jon Wallace channels his inner Braswell...Brandon Bowman--plays like a schizophrenic, makes me paranoid...and St. Pete's heroic story of being pulled from a game for a steal and layup...PLAYER OBSERVATIONS (plus the initials AKD at no extra charge!!)
He's already the tallest player on the team, but Roy Hibbert seems to have grown the most in the off-season.
A career night and a complete performance on both ends of the court by GU's 7 foot 2 mastodon powered Georgetown to a 72-49 victory over the U.S. Naval Academy. A victory in which the Hoyas played what you might call the "Hibbert game"--sometimes awkward, occassionally powerful, and every so often...graceful in a way that makes you think "Wow, that's really something."
But what to make of tonight? Were the Hoyas a sleak, efficient machine that pumped out easy jumpshots and pressed Navy at times to submission? Or was the machine's glossy sheen hiding a layer of rust just beneath the surface? Was the whole darn hood of the bus rusted?
To use another player as an example: were we Good Brandon or Bad Brandon?
Well, the answer to those questions is--yes.
Georgetown dictated this game from start to finish. The talent gap evident on the court was sure to prevent the Midshipmen from having much to bear on the pace or outcome of the game. In a way, this makes a game much easier to evaluate--when the points come in bunches, you look to what the Hoyas did to ratchet up the intensity; when the drought rolls in, you simply ask where we got the best of ourselves.
At the 14:09 mark of the first half, a Darrell Owens layup staked Georgetown to a 14-2 lead, and the rout was on and visions of the unthinkable--we're on a 100 POINT PACE--danced in Hoya fans heads (okay, fine, I just mentioned the point total to someone next to me). But it took over 3 1/2 minutes for Roy Hibbert to break the ice again for the Hoyas.
So what did we do to ratchet up the intensity?
PREEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!
A healthy dose of defensive pressure was the order of the day early on, both full court and half court varieties. Ashanti Cook, Jonathan Wallace, and Darrell Owens in particular excelled at times on the defensive end, alternately spinning their marks like a top and making navigating any passing lane an adventure.
Exceptional team defense in the halfcourt sets early in the first half--Navy ran several handoff plays similar to a Princeton set, and the streaking guard coming off a screen placed a burden on interior players to shift over, which they did in kind.
9 steals for the game shared entirely between the aforementioned big three, but felt like far more to ME, almost certainly to Navy.
So...if those three are making the steal and starting the break, who's left to finish the job?
ROY!! ROY ROY ROY!! ROY ROY ROOOOOYYYYY!!
This was a pleasant surprise. For we expected Roy to make strides in the halfcourt offense...running half of the court we were willing to wait for.
But there, in the first half...Roy catches a long outlet pass, back to the basket. A hesitation...this is Roy's move after all, looking desperately it seems for the streaking guards...ah, screw this...and an authoritative move off the glass with the left hand. 2 points. 1 surprised fanbase.
Don't wipe that surprised grin off your face yet...a 3 on 2 break looks that much more intimidating when one of those 3 is seven foot two. (Or, in Darrell Owens' case in the first, when Navy's two defenders collide mid-air).
Jeff Green sat for the majority of the first half (only 24 minutes overall) due to foul trouble...but even when Jeff was in the game, this was Roy Hibbert's offense. Not in the "back to the basket at the three point line deer in the headlights sense". Roy learned the reverse of the classic phrase is true: sometimes, it's better to receive than to give. A variety of interior passes--lobs, the bounce pass, Roy handled most with ease. He's not Mike Sweetney with the hands, but he's DEFINITELY not...well, Roy Hibbert.
A strong early rebounding performance--how'd Roy Hibbert and Darrell Owens get THAT wide open?--opened up several cheapy opportunities to cash in on missed shots.
And finally, a healthy diet of open jumpers. Navy's rotation defense--not so much. Darrell Owens, Ashanti Cook, even Roy Hibbert found penetrate and dish opportunities to their liking from long range. Sometimes merely a dish was required to leave Darrell Owens a chance to glance to his left and right before burying a trademark slick three pointers.
But the play that left many Hoya fans talking after the game occurred in the second half. In a game where the order of the day on offense was "take what you're given" (a second half JG three a prime example)--Roy Hibbert found himself back to the basket at the foul line. A look to the cutter, a look to the outlet, a look to his defender, glued to the underside of the rim. Okay, then. Buries a 15 footer. The crowd goes wild.
From 5:11 to 3:28 another 8 point burst incorporating the same themes. But what about the intervening 9 minutes in which we managed just seven?
What's wrong with the offense?
Well, for that matter, what's up with the offense?
I have in my notes for the game "only cut on BB inbound 340". Forget connecting on backdoor layups--we seldom connected on a backdoor PASS.
But is this a problem?
In last year's season opener against Temple, and indeed throughout the season, the Achilles heel of the GTown offense was its inability at times to create shots, instead losing itself in a mess of exterior passing going nowhere.
Well, if our offensive flow sometimes took us on the road to nowhere last season, tonight Ashanti Cook, Jonathan Wallace, and Brandon Bowman made beelines for the hoop...problem was, a lot of the time they crashed into something. Indeed, a number of offensive fouls, both charges and illegal screens, killed Hoya offensive momentum in the first half.
A wise poster has already pointed out the money stat for tonight: 9 Assists (on 28 FGs) to 15 turnovers.
So what does this mean? Speculation might lead us to the conclusion that the Princeton offense has been altered to take advantage of our team's athleticism and open up more room for individual creativity. Or Brandon Bowman could just really like penetrating.
I think if I had to say something it would be this: where last year the common lament was our offense was TOO patient, I think tonight we were guilty of the opposite sin--leaving too much time on the shot clock before settling for a drive or jumper (Ashanti Cook's opening airball in the second half being an example). The offense as run tonight had exceptional ball movement at times, creating a number of open exterior looks. But the cutting, attacking style of pass Princeton offensive afficiandos appreciate was largely absent thus far.
Maybe Prince-town the hybrid is becoming a reality.
The second half a similar story--1 point in the first two and a half minutes, 8 in the next minute. As the defensive intensity ratcheted up, so did the fast break opportunities. As the offense sped up in the halfcourt, the points slowed down.
A time for experimentation in the second half--a JW, DO, AC, ME, JG lineup, with Jessie Sapp playing the point at times.
A late burst of assertiveness for Jeff Green--silver medal honors at 13 points for the night--provided a final margin of comfort and some reassurance that the boy hasn't lost his proficiency in the muscle tussle.
Two freshmen make their debuts tonight: Jessie Sapp at the 7:13 mark of the first half, Marc Egerson at 14:35 of the second half. A combined two points, and one side backboard hit.
All in all, a safe victory that surely felt more lopsided than its 23 point margin. But a decent result that should provide a number of teaching opportunities (watch Coach Thompson during a game!)
AHEAD: Coach Thompson's substitution pattern foils my first chance to call Octavious Spann "Octopus" in a recap...Jon Wallace channels his inner Braswell...Brandon Bowman--plays like a schizophrenic, makes me paranoid...and St. Pete's heroic story of being pulled from a game for a steal and layup...PLAYER OBSERVATIONS (plus the initials AKD at no extra charge!!)
