Hoyas @ Villanova Pre-Game Discussion

[DanMcQ]

HHC Game Watch Info


Wash Times Game Day - Barker Davis: Hoyas out for revenge



Wash Post Game Day - Camille Powell: Wildcats Say Type A Would Be Sight to See
Villanova Thrives When Reynolds Asserts Himself


HoyaSaxa.com Pre-Game Report


GUHoyas.com Game Notes



Villanova Game Notes



The Hoya: Streaking Hoyas to face Cats


Wash Post - Camille Powell: As Hibbert rises, so do Hoyas

"Roy Hibbert, where he just scares you is his skill, his footwork, his touch and his length. I don't know if there's anybody like him in the country," said Wright, whose team has a four-game winning streak. "He's a unique challenge. Because he's the kind of guy if he's around the basket, he's got such great touch and such great length, that he's going to score or get fouled."

Lately, he's been quicker and more confident in his decision-making. Said Hibbert: "I need to be able to do this to make sure the team wins. I can't be lethargic when I'm out there."

According to Wright, the biggest difference now is that Hibbert is more comfortable when he gets the ball. He knows where the defense is and where the help is coming from, so he can make a quick move or find the open player.

"That's something [where] you can watch film and you can tell a player that, but it takes the length of the season to get a feel for that," Wright said. "They've seen how people, the different ways they can play him, and they've also seen different ways they can get him the ball. [Hibbert is] very comfortable with it right now. When a very good player gets in that rhythm -- knowing where he's going to get it, when he's going to get it and how the defense is going to play -- that's when they're really good."

Wash Times - Barker Davis: Reynolds shining for new family


Philly.com: Going beyond the box score - Sheridan's contributions sometimes go unnoticed

[ColumbiaHeightsHoya]

We are handling the press much better and Roy will score more then a goose egg. I say we win by eight.

[Dhall]

If Sapp plays better than he did last night and the first time against Nova, we should handle them easily. He needs to stop walking the ball up the court and waiting to get trapped. Our players will be motivated to get some payback after that first game, especially Roy.

[Deleted]

We need to attack the pressure in the back and front court. Afterall, is Villanova's press any better than WVU or Louisville??

[Filo]

WVU had a half-court trap, but they were not pressing full-court like 'Nova. I muist say, WVU does a great job of contesting every pass, getting theirs hands on the ball and causing TOs.

Remember from the 'Nova game, it wasn't so much Nova's D causing TOs, but disrupting the offensive flow and leaving the Hoyas with limited time to work their offensive sets. However, I think we saw against Louisville and in other games, that the Hoyas know how to beat the full-court press. I will be pretty surprised if 'Nova's press hurts us very much on Saturday. We'll see if 'Nova adds some wrinkles to surprise the Hoyas.

[trent]

Couple thoughts-

1. Nova really needs this game more than we do. That fact, coupled with it being a home game on Saturday on ESPN leads me to believe that Nova and their fans will bring their A game for this one. Potential let down game for us after the recent streak as well.

2. I'm sure our players/staff will be fired up to get some revenge after they took us at home earlier in the year.

Tough game to call in my opinion... on paper we are the better team, but something tells me Nova is going to throw the kitchen sink at us because they need this W so badly. Pitt's loss last night shows you what can potentially happen when (1) you don't bring your A game in the Big East, and (2) what can happen when a desperate team gets off to a hot start and gains confidence. Hope our guys bring the A game again.

[Coast2CoastHoya]

I was having similar thoughts, mj.

I think (2.) wins on the margin because of: improvements in every aspect of our game; Nova thinking they can run the same defensive strategy against us, even though just about every team has pressed us since our first meeting; and III's ability to adjust his coaching strategy to account for weaknesses.

Also agree that we need to bring our A game to be successful.

[Deleted]

filo said:

WVU had a half-court trap, but they were not pressing full-court like 'Nova. I muist say, WVU does a great job of contesting every pass, getting theirs hands on the ball and causing TOs.

Remember from the 'Nova game, it wasn't so much Nova's D causing TOs, but disrupting the offensive flow and leaving the Hoyas with limited time to work their offensive sets. However, I think we saw against Louisville and in other games, that the Hoyas know how to beat the full-court press. I will be pretty surprised if 'Nova's press hurts us very much on Saturday. We'll see if 'Nova adds some wrinkles to surprise the Hoyas.

With respect, I disagree with you. You have to have at least 25 seconds in the front court and that is plenty of time. Probably the press takes about 5-6 seconds from our time in the front court; From 30 seconds to 25 seconds. The problem was that even in the front court the Hoyas didn't know how to attack that zone. That was the problem. This time it will be different. When we played Villanova last time, it looked like we could have had 60 seconds to shoot and it still wouldn't have mattered.

WVU did press, but started to lay back after they were burned a few times. Louisville is a pressing team as well and we handled it just fine by attacking it.

BTW, I agree with many of the other posters that JR has become a real asset. His shooting is going to improve, probably by next year

[Deleted]

tothebeach said:

Nova thinking they can run the same defensive strategy against us

Probably not. JTIII isn't coaching in a vacuum. I'm sure Jay Wright has noticed that we've improved a lot against presses since our last meeting, and he'll have something up his sleeve.

[AustinHoya03]

Will the game be played on campus or at Wachovia?

[Jack]

Game is at Wachovia. Hoyas owe the Cats big-time. I will be there for it with a crew of at least 10 Hoyas. Is it Saturday yet?

[TBird41]

jerrylh said:

filo said:

WVU had a half-court trap, but they were not pressing full-court like 'Nova. I muist say, WVU does a great job of contesting every pass, getting theirs hands on the ball and causing TOs.

Remember from the 'Nova game, it wasn't so much Nova's D causing TOs, but disrupting the offensive flow and leaving the Hoyas with limited time to work their offensive sets. However, I think we saw against Louisville and in other games, that the Hoyas know how to beat the full-court press. I will be pretty surprised if 'Nova's press hurts us very much on Saturday. We'll see if 'Nova adds some wrinkles to surprise the Hoyas.

With respect, I disagree with you. You have to have at least 25 seconds in the front court and that is plenty of time. Probably the press takes about 5-6 seconds from our time in the front court; From 30 seconds to 25 seconds. The problem was that even in the front court the Hoyas didn't know how to attack that zone. That was the problem. This time it will be different. When we played Villanova last time, it looked like we could have had 60 seconds to shoot and it still wouldn't have mattered.

WVU did press, but started to lay back after they were burned a few times. Louisville is a pressing team as well and we handled it just fine by attacking it.

BTW, I agree with many of the other posters that JR has become a real asset. His shooting is going to improve, probably by next year

What gave us "problems" in this game was when WVU extended their defense all the way out in the half court, which Nova did as well the last time. There were some ugly turnovers/possessions when WVU did that, but there were also quite a few possessions where we attacked it and were successful.

[Deleted]

austinhoya03 said:

Will the game be played on campus or at Wachovia?

Wachovia. Tickets are still available, so let's fill the place:

tinyurl.com/3384vn

[bostonhoyas]

Since our last game against Nova our gaurds have made a lot of improvement on their entry passes to our big men down low. As long as we can work our offense into the paint consistently I think we can score and get to the line.

On a related note, Roy's FT shooting has looked so much better recently

[YB]

This will be a very tough test. Vanillanova typically finds ways to beat us or at least play us tough. We are a bunch better than earlier this year, and with 5 days of rest and prep time... we should play better. But then, they likely will also. Tough to gauge. But we'll have to show up to ball to win this one.

[Coast2CoastHoya]

cam said:

tothebeach said:

Nova thinking they can run the same defensive strategy against us

Probably not. JTIII isn't coaching in a vacuum. I'm sure Jay Wright has noticed that we've improved a lot against presses since our last meeting, and he'll have something up his sleeve.

Eh, fine; point conceded. Either way I doubt Wright abandons the strategy altogether, and we've proven pretty effective at breaking other press-type defenses.

[prhoya]

Tie for first place in BE should be a strong motivation.

[GIGAFAN99]

tothebeach said:

cam said:

Probably not. JTIII isn't coaching in a vacuum. I'm sure Jay Wright has noticed that we've improved a lot against presses since our last meeting, and he'll have something up his sleeve.

Eh, fine; point conceded. Either way I doubt Wright abandons the strategy altogether, and we've proven pretty effective at breaking other press-type defenses.

We have a long rest here. Honestly, the most impressive thing about the last three days is I don't think it gets much tougher as far as defensive pressure than playing two of the three most turnover-oriented defenses in the Big East.

And even before that, Louisiville isn't weak on forcing turnovers either. All were handled very well.

[VelvetElvis]

Nice Avatar, Cam! It looks like you are no longer accepting applications. Position filled!

[Filo]

jerrylh said:

filo said:

WVU had a half-court trap, but they were not pressing full-court like 'Nova. I muist say, WVU does a great job of contesting every pass, getting theirs hands on the ball and causing TOs.

Remember from the 'Nova game, it wasn't so much Nova's D causing TOs, but disrupting the offensive flow and leaving the Hoyas with limited time to work their offensive sets. However, I think we saw against Louisville and in other games, that the Hoyas know how to beat the full-court press. I will be pretty surprised if 'Nova's press hurts us very much on Saturday. We'll see if 'Nova adds some wrinkles to surprise the Hoyas.

With respect, I disagree with you. You have to have at least 25 seconds in the front court and that is plenty of time. Probably the press takes about 5-6 seconds from our time in the front court; From 30 seconds to 25 seconds. The problem was that even in the front court the Hoyas didn't know how to attack that zone. That was the problem. This time it will be different. When we played Villanova last time, it looked like we could have had 60 seconds to shoot and it still wouldn't have mattered.

I just think the 'Nova press contributed to the inability to do much in the front court - even though it was 5-6 or even 10 seconds, when we finally got the ball over the half-court line, guys were out of position and it took time to set up, so it really came out to be as much as 15-to 20. But I agree with your point - we were not executing in the frontcourt / attacking the zone. I do think that will change Saturday. I am really looking forward to it.