JT I Radio Show yesterday

[HoyaNyr320]

On JT's radio show yesterday, they talked about the Hoyas first effort at the very end. They asked JT I if he had talked to his son yet and he said "I know better than to call him after a loss." Then JT said "I don't think I ever entered the season with a team that couldn't beat this current team in terms of athletic ability."

He also joked about scheduling St. Francis at the start of his seasons, saying: "I'll take St. Francis over a match-up zone when you're trying to put in the Princeton offense."

Wonder if JT III was listening... might cause an interesting Thanksgiving day telephone call! (JT's in LA for the NBA Thanksgiving games)

Unfortuantely for us, what JT said about our current team is the truth... Hibbert and Green will cause all kinds of problems inside for other teams, but if Bowman, Cook, and Owens don't get their shooting touch, we'll see collapsing zones every game and it'll get ugly.

[bmartin]

But playing St. Francis doesn't prepare you for playing Syracuse or any of the other good zone teams in the Big East.

[jerseyhoya34]

HoyaNyr320 said:

On JT's radio show yesterday, they talked about the Hoyas first effort at the very end. They asked JT I if he had talked to his son yet and he said "I know better than to call him after a loss." Then JT said "I don't think I ever entered the season with a team that couldn't beat this current team in terms of athletic ability."

He also joked about scheduling St. Francis at the start of his seasons, saying: "I'll take St. Francis over a match-up zone when you're trying to put in the Princeton offense."

Wonder if JT III was listening... might cause an interesting Thanksgiving day telephone call! (JT's in LA for the NBA Thanksgiving games)

Unfortuantely for us, what JT said about our current team is the truth... Hibbert and Green will cause all kinds of problems inside for other teams, but if Bowman, Cook, and Owens don't get their shooting touch, we'll see collapsing zones every game and it'll get ugly.

JT2 makes some good points. To a certain degree, JT3's hands are tied this season due to the effects of the Exodus from Esherick, the poor recruiting prior to the 2004 class, and the lack of basketball IQ.

What is important is that we develop. For some, this is mental more than anything, and for others, it has more to do with on-court execution.

[YB]

With all due respect to JT, every team he had after 1997 would have been soundly thrashed by this team.

We do have a good frontcourt, if green; but our backcourt needs to get in the habit of cutting more and shooting better. Bottom line.

[MCIGuy]

YB said:

With all due respect to JT, every team he had after 1997 would have been soundly thrashed by this team.

We do have a good frontcourt, if green; but our backcourt needs to get in the habit of cutting more and shooting better. Bottom line.

And they will. I'm not worried that our perimeter players will play this badly in most games. At the same time I don't necessarily think Hibbert will have a ton of efficient games as he did against Temple either so it all evens out.

Getting back to JT's comment I couldn't disagree with him more. If he actually thought, for example, that his lineup of Perry-Braswell-Jameel Watkins-Burton-Rheese Gibson-Kilpatric was more athletic (and more talented) than the current team then he was even more out of touch with the modern game then I thought.

[DanMcQ]

Both JT and John Chaney "Give him a year or two to get more talent on the floor ... But you need to get players" are politely stating the obvious: the talent cupboard, as it stands now, is pretty bare when measured against Big East standards.

[DFW HOYA]

JerseyHoya34 said:

JT2 makes some good points. To a certain degree, JT3's hands are tied this season due to the effects of the Exodus from Esherick, the poor recruiting prior to the 2004 class, and the lack of basketball IQ.

Let's put your "exodus" in perspective. There were twice as many transfers on average in the last years of JT2 than in Craig's years. Prior to the exit of the Montrose Christian trio of Thomas, Hall and Bethel, there had been only two transfers since 1999: Jason Burns and Demetrius Hunter. And I'm not sure that a Harvey Thomas would have stayed regardless of who was the coach.

If any hands are tied this season, it is a cumulative effect of years of unfocused recruiting and the realities of what the program now has to offer to recruits, which is increasingly tied to facilities--not just an arena, but expansive workourt and training areas, increased support services, and dedicated practice facilities, which Georgetown has little or none of.

Obviously, if the 04-05 lineup included John Gilchrist, Ike Diogu, Shan Foster, Patrick Ewing Jr. and Darian Townes, this is a far different discussion, but all went to I-A schools instead.

[jerseyhoya34]

It isn't just transfers. It is also the departure of Mike Sweetney who saw the writing on the wall. It is also shadiness, as is the case of the Wesley Wilson affair.

In terms of recruiting, I think you do a slight disservice to what the program does offer. Not many play in an NBA facility with great amenities and so forth. That situation isn't as bad in terms of recruiting as people claim. Its negative effect is with respect to games themselves and the lack of ability to create a home-court advantage.

[DFW HOYA]

MCI notwithstanding, it's the training and practice facilities that I pointed to. A player may spend only two hours a week at MCI for a game but 10x that much in McDonough.

[hoyanick]

JT's comment about the team's current athleticism is a bit bizarre. I could perhaps see his point if he had said "pure talent" or "experience", but I think all would agree that the players we have now are all exceptional athletes to the point that they might depend on that athleticism too much.

Secondly, this team should be compared to teams from the Escherick era. Lets just take last year's team for example. Of the people who got a lot of minutes, we lost Gerald, Causey, and Freeman. Gerald, though talented and quick, was not that explosive in his senior year. In contrast, I believe Bowman can get to the hoop with more authority. Causey was a great distributor, and is definitely more "talented" and basketball-savvy than Cook, Wallace, or Reed - but more "athletic"? Absolutely not. I have no doubt that our replacement(s) for Freeman will totally eclipse his contributions at some time in their careers, if not this year. Our new big men are both more talented and more atheletic than Courtland.

So according to this analysis, we have an equal or slightly better pool of talent than last year and an influx of athleticism. I think ol' JT misspoke.

[DanMcQ]

MCI isn't really the problem, IMO.

DFW's right - the home base at McDonough is the problem as it is currently constituted. A new coat of paint isn't enough to wow recruits.

[jerseyhoya34]

I think Hibbert is already more effective than CFree. CFree could never rebound effectively, but Hibbert managed a double-double against a physically stronger player.

[DanMcQ]

hoyanick said:

So according to this analysis, we have an equal or slightly better pool of talent than last year and an influx of athleticism. I think ol' JT misspoke.

You're right - the talent pool is better than last year. Is it stocked this year with enough top flight D1 talent to bring this team into the upper half of the Big East? No way. In that context, I don't think JT misspoke at all. Nor do I think Chaney misspoke. Next year? I'm not sure yet.

[HoyaNyr320]

I don't think JT was including the Esherick era when he was talking about entering the season with a team that could beat the current team.

I think the teams JT had during the last couple of seasons (after 1997) would definitely beat this team when it comes to ability at the start of the season... You always had guards like Iverson or Braswell that could shoot the ball against zones. However, I'm going by one game experience. I think if the shooting improves and they learn to run the offense, it might be a different story later in the year.

[YB]

Again, due respect, but the 98 and 99 teams were almost unmitigated disasters.

This team would be taller and with more talent.

People knock our talent a lot.... I disagree. I think we do have talent but it is young. Think Guibunda, Crawford, and Wallace as benchers and Green and Hibbert as starters. Not too shabby. BB is BE quality; Cook is BE quality; DO is BE quality when he wants to be.

Point is, I think the parts are there but they must be coached and orchestrated well. We do lack a superstar but that is not necessarily debilitating.

[the_way]

I think this team is athletic. But at this point right now, they are not better talent-wise or athleticly than JT's 98 and 99 teams. I think they are more athletic than the Joey Brown (Lamont Morgan, Irvin Church, Kevin Millen, even Othella,etc.) era teams during Othella's first two years. Those teams, were to me, the least athletic of JT's era . I've never been a fan of the princeton offense, but from what I understand, it does take time to develop. This team is more talented overall than last year's team, but less experienced. The departures from last year's team, with the exception of Gerald Riley, were unimportant.

I think JT3's Princeton team from last year would beat this team soundly, and they were more athletic, and could shoot. This team of players can't shoot, will never be able to shoot, scoring will be a problem with this team. What they can do is get the attitude of playing defense. IF they can play some defense that will help them be more competitive.

But, Temple is a good team. No matter what they are ranked, John Chaney's team are a tough opponent for anybody in the country, thats their rep. It was a good learning experience for the guys, to realize they have a long way to go, if they want to be successful.

[YB]

I actually agree, way.

Last year's PU team would have beaten this team bc it will take a while to mold these young men.

Temple was a brutal first test for this squad- a new offense and the defensive assignments are clearly not down yet.

Anyway, I don't think this team is unathletic. There are some good pieces there that can be put together well.

Think the first part of "Hoosiers":

"The boys and I are getting to know each other.... and find out what we have, and what we can become."

Temple (Oolitic) got the better of us, but better things lay ahead.

[SaxaCD]

I don't agree with the assessment that this team will never be able to shoot. I think as guys become more comfortable in the offense, they'll get more confident and also get better shots, and therefore they WILL be able to shoot better. I do think that JT3 knows that a motion offense really needs some reliable snipers to open up the cutting lanes to the hoop, and that's why the "get" of Thornton was a very big one, as far as I'm concerned.

But I do bet that we'll have a few extraordinary shooting games this year (although after that last game, that bar is now fairly low!)

[kchoya]

DanMcQ said:

MCI isn't really the problem, IMO.

DFW's right - the home base at McDonough is the problem as it is currently constituted. A new coat of paint isn't enough to wow recruits.

What's the deal with the attack on the new coat of paint for McDonough? This is the third or fourth post I've seen making a similar type of comment.

[HOYAPLAYA]

hoyanick said:

Causey was a great distributor, and is definitely more "talented" and basketball-savvy than Cook, Wallace, or Reed - but more "athletic"? Absolutely not.

Talk about some revisionist history...Causey was a Great distributer an definitely more "talented and basketball savvy" then the point guards on the current roster. Let's be realistic about Mr. Causey. He showed absolutely nothing that should make anyone here think that he was going to ever be anything more than a decent backup pg. He's not as good as any of the three on the current roster. I think Bethel is the name that you should have inserted here, but then that would have killed your argument about comparing last year's squad to this year's squad. If Causey was that good, he would've landed at another D-1 school.