HealyHoya
Golden Hoya (over 1000 posts)
Victory!!!
Posts: 1,059
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Post by HealyHoya on Feb 20, 2006 15:29:28 GMT -5
I'll tell you right now -- as long as the senior leadership on this team is from the Esherick era, having learned to play college basketball under Esherick's system, having made poor decisions for two years, having received minimal instructive coaching for two years, having accepted defeat as inevitable, having sunk to the bottom of the Big East for two years, having failed to make substantial post-season runs (or even qualify for that matter), there will be a wall that this team will not be able to surmount.
Sure, Ashanti shot well in this game...but he's inconsistent and his decision-making has been poor or, at best, inconsistent from the start. Brandon. Donde esta Brandon Bowman? That foul at Notre Dame? Is that the play a senior, four-year starter makes? Really? We were talking about this guy making a run at the NBA at the start of the season. NBA? And DJ -- DJ has been the most inconsistent, best-shooting, disappointing, talented Hoya I can remember from recent history. 6-6 from 3 and 30 points one game followed by 5 games of sub-7-point scoring. Is that the consistency we're looking for from a fifth-year senior?
And that, in short, is our senior leadership.
People are giving Wallace a hard time. Why? He's a sophomore! He's 19. He ought to make mistakes. He ought to have a difficult time guarding Nova's guards. Nova's guards are the freakin reason that squad is 4th in nation, just beat UConn and may be a #1 seed in the NCAA Tourny. Wallace got torched by Lowery, Nardi, et al so he should be benched in favor of Sapp? Sorry, but that's ridiculous. Those are some of the most talented guards in the nation.
Wallace, Green and Hibbert are the future of this program. Adding Sapp, Egerson, Spann, Thorton, Macklin, Ewing, and so on will vault this team from #17-#25 in the national rankings (which is about where we should be) to the Top Ten. No doubt.
We've all heard JTIII's comments about players playing well and hard all the time and needing to wait until "next year" for that to happen. Let's be real clear here: that is not a reference to JG, Roy, JW...that's a reference to the people who will not be on the team next year.
I love BB, Ashanti and DJ. I suffered with them. But senior leadership wins games in the crunch. Senior leadership wins games in the BE and NCAA Tournaments. I worry about our senior leadership this year.
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SFHoya99
Blue & Gray (over 10,000 posts)
Posts: 17,791
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Post by SFHoya99 on Feb 20, 2006 16:46:54 GMT -5
Healy, you're right on a lot of points.
But on Jon -- and I don't necessarily think he ought to be benched -- I think you're missing something. His age and experiencehave little to do with why he is getting torched. I simply don't think he has the physical tools to stay with good to elite guards. Which, unfortunately, we have to play.
Now we as a team can live with that. Every player has weaknesses. But there's a couple of issues there. One, if our other guard isn't a good defender, we're in a lot of trouble. Two, if we play a team with a perimeter-playing center, we're in a lot of trouble. And three, if Jon isn't playing well on O, well, it makes a lot of sense to give those minutes to someone who can play a bit of D.
The other thing I disagree about is, why does leadership have to come from seniors? Frankly, Jeff is the best player. And Jon is supposed to be our floor general. And since everyone apparently "knows" we can't rely on the seniors, I'm personally looking for the sophomores to step up as they have at different times during the season.
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Madgesdiq
Golden Hoya (over 1000 posts)
Posts: 1,434
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Post by Madgesdiq on Feb 20, 2006 17:01:39 GMT -5
I'll tell you right now -- as long as the senior leadership on this team is from the Esherick era, having learned to play college basketball under Esherick's system, having made poor decisions for two years, having received minimal instructive coaching for two years, having accepted defeat as inevitable, having sunk to the bottom of the Big East for two years, having failed to make substantial post-season runs (or even qualify for that matter), there will be a wall that this team will not be able to surmount. Sure, Ashanti shot well in this game...but he's inconsistent and his decision-making has been poor or, at best, inconsistent from the start. Brandon. Donde esta Brandon Bowman? That foul at Notre Dame? Is that the play a senior, four-year starter makes? Really? We were talking about this guy making a run at the NBA at the start of the season. NBA? And DJ -- DJ has been the most inconsistent, best-shooting, disappointing, talented Hoya I can remember from recent history. 6-6 from 3 and 30 points one game followed by 5 games of sub-7-point scoring. Is that the consistency we're looking for from a fifth-year senior? And that, in short, is our senior leadership. People are giving Wallace a hard time. Why? He's a sophomore! He's 19. He ought to make mistakes. He ought to have a difficult time guarding Nova's guards. Nova's guards are the freakin reason that squad is 4th in nation, just beat UConn and may be a #1 seed in the NCAA Tourny. Wallace got torched by Lowery, Nardi, et al so he should be benched in favor of Sapp? Sorry, but that's ridiculous. Those are some of the most talented guards in the nation. Wallace, Green and Hibbert are the future of this program. Adding Sapp, Egerson, Spann, Thorton, Macklin, Ewing, and so on will vault this team from #17-#25 in the national rankings (which is about where we should be) to the Top Ten. No doubt. We've all heard JTIII's comments about players playing well and hard all the time and needing to wait until "next year" for that to happen. Let's be real clear here: that is not a reference to JG, Roy, JW...that's a reference to the people who will not be on the team next year. I love BB, Ashanti and DJ. I suffered with them. But senior leadership wins games in the crunch. Senior leadership wins games in the BE and NCAA Tournaments. I worry about our senior leadership this year. I completely agree with this post regarding senior leadership (or lack thereof). Can't wait to see JT3 coach a full cast of his recruits.
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Filo
Diamond Hoya (over 2500 posts)
Posts: 3,910
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Post by Filo on Feb 20, 2006 17:57:09 GMT -5
Re: the recent posts on players that JTIII recruits -- what about next year for guard play? With Roy, JG, PEII and the recruits, I think we are going to be awesome in the paint. But as far as guards, is Rivers the answer? From what I have read, he seems solid. But is he quick and can he play good D? No criticism intended here - legitimately asking if anyone knows much more about him?
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HealyHoya
Golden Hoya (over 1000 posts)
Victory!!!
Posts: 1,059
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Post by HealyHoya on Feb 20, 2006 18:34:37 GMT -5
No, in terms of D'ing up quick guards (think Dee Brown of Illinois, anyone of Nova's guards, etc.) Rivers is not the answer. He's 6'4", over 200 lbs. so you're looking at a big guard. Now, that's not a bad thing with JT3's system. As often as we invert our offense (think Hibs or Green in the high-post and out to the three point line) so that our guards/forwards have the space for back-door feeds/cuts, a big PG gives you nice post-up mismatches. Rivers will also be an asset from the rebounding-from-the-guard position which the current team needs. Also, Rivers has a nice shooting touch and a good handle.
I think Sapp and Thorton will be your guards to D up quicker PG's next year. Is Rivers a good defended? Yes, but not against smaller, quicker PG's.
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SirSaxa
Silver Hoya (over 500 posts)
Posts: 747
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Post by SirSaxa on Feb 20, 2006 18:44:37 GMT -5
I am not going to suggest that there aren't things that DJ, BB and AC couldn't do better. But, they beat DUKE!!!
The biggest win our Hoyas have had in a very long time.
I congratulate them on that, and I thank them. They all played great that game!
And -- they have been an integral part of the turnaround in Hoya Hoops, even though they were recruited long before JT3 arrived. Gotta love that too.
BB's a four year starter. AC a three year starter. And DJ a 5 year guy.
They may not make the top of Hoya Chris' list of 50 greatest Hoyas, but we will miss them when they are gone.
A big THANKS to all three!
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HealyHoya
Golden Hoya (over 1000 posts)
Victory!!!
Posts: 1,059
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Post by HealyHoya on Feb 20, 2006 18:54:53 GMT -5
I agree. Now it's time for those three to step up, ensure that we win our remaining regular season games, get that first round bye in the BET and do some post-season damage. This is it. They don't get another senior year. Those three need to play with some desperation...as if each game were their last as a Hoya...because very soon we will be at that point in the season where each game may be their final game. Let's support our seniors, let's hope they have learned from the past, and let's kick some BE ass at MSG and make some more waves on the national college hoops scene in the NCAA tournament.
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SFHoya99
Blue & Gray (over 10,000 posts)
Posts: 17,791
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Post by SFHoya99 on Feb 21, 2006 2:11:01 GMT -5
No, in terms of D'ing up quick guards (think Dee Brown of Illinois, anyone of Nova's guards, etc.) Rivers is not the answer. He's 6'4", over 200 lbs. so you're looking at a big guard. Now, that's not a bad thing with JT3's system. As often as we invert our offense (think Hibs or Green in the high-post and out to the three point line) so that our guards/forwards have the space for back-door feeds/cuts, a big PG gives you nice post-up mismatches. Rivers will also be an asset from the rebounding-from-the-guard position which the current team needs. Also, Rivers has a nice shooting touch and a good handle. I think Sapp and Thorton will be your guards to D up quicker PG's next year. Is Rivers a good defended? Yes, but not against smaller, quicker PG's. Plenty of players use size successfully to play off smaller and possibly quicker players. Some of the best guard defenders ever have been bigger. I see no reason why Rivers' size would preclude him from be able to defend points in the BE, especially since the average BE point is probably 6'2" and 180.
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Post by hoyach12 on Feb 21, 2006 14:35:18 GMT -5
Owens should be starting that's the bottom line...he carried Gtown last year especially in the NIT and he has that right to start...believe me he'll do more better starting than not...that non-starting stuff for a 5th year senior is rotten stuff...Owens needs to start...KB
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SFHoya99
Blue & Gray (over 10,000 posts)
Posts: 17,791
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Post by SFHoya99 on Feb 21, 2006 18:16:31 GMT -5
Owens should be starting that's the bottom line...he carried Gtown last year especially in the NIT and he has that right to start...believe me he'll do more better starting than not...that non-starting stuff for a 5th year senior is rotten stuff...Owens needs to start...KB I like DJ, but I've never understood this point of view. Why? 1. DJ gets starter minutes. Who cares if you actually starts? Is that all you are championing? DJ averages 2.5 minutes less than Brandon. And almost always gets more minutes when Brandon is playing poorly. So, again, what are you changing? Just want to check. 2. 0, 4, 10, 9, 2, 3, 3. Those are DJ's point totals for the last seven games (since his last really good game, ND). Now I'm not criticizing DJ, but 4.5 ppg in decent PT is hardly a hot streak. Wishing DJ to be the DJ of the NIT is fool's gold. It happens when it happens. It isn't like starting him is going to make him a different player.
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Post by RockawayHoya on Feb 21, 2006 18:24:51 GMT -5
Owens should be starting that's the bottom line...he carried Gtown last year especially in the NIT and he has that right to start...believe me he'll do more better starting than not...that non-starting stuff for a 5th year senior is rotten stuff...Owens needs to start...KB I like DJ, but I've never understood this point of view. Why? 1. DJ gets starter minutes. Who cares if you actually starts? Is that all you are championing? DJ averages 2.5 minutes less than Brandon. And almost always gets more minutes when Brandon is playing poorly. So, again, what are you changing? Just want to check. 2. 0, 4, 10, 9, 2, 3, 3. Those are DJ's point totals for the last seven games (since his last really good game, ND). Now I'm not criticizing DJ, but 4.5 ppg in decent PT is hardly a hot streak. Wishing DJ to be the DJ of the NIT is fool's gold. It happens when it happens. It isn't like starting him is going to make him a different player. Agreed, SF. DJ is what he is. And we are going to live or die with him. I'm perfectly willing to accept that.
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