GIGAFAN99
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Post by GIGAFAN99 on Mar 23, 2019 12:13:42 GMT -5
We lead the league in assist percentage as a team (and James individually in assists) but Mac watching gave the impression that our team didn't share the ball. Quite the contrary, 60% of our starters and almost the entire bench had the opposite issue in that they couldn't create their own shot at all so they had to share it if they weren't shooting it. Jessie would either catch and shoot a three or receive a pass when he had cleared out his man and had an easy lay in. Josh rarely took his man off the bounce. Jamorko was almost all catch and shoot (as were Blair and Greg).
So I actually want less sharing, well not really less I guess but I don't want us to have to pass into a score. Assists are great but so is Jamorko or Galen with a ball fake and drive, Yurt having a go to move on the block, Josh picking up more garbage off the glass for putbacks, or James poking the ball away at halfcourt and laying it in.
We didn't get enough easy twos. If our guys individually develop their games, I think we will be surprised how much prettier the offense looks when guys are using the movement to gain an advantage for an individual move and not the feast or famine of great passing and a score or Mac and James having to take it themselves.
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GIGAFAN99
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Post by GIGAFAN99 on Mar 22, 2019 20:03:29 GMT -5
But we’ve seen him in Kenner. You don’t need a whole season of film in a GU uniform to reasonably predict his potential impact. The thing is skepticism is natural, but most of the skepticism here is based on absolutely nothing and the optimism is actually based on reasonable inference. We know he’s a good player, he’s very very similar to Govan offensively, a better athlete for the defensive end.. However imo if this team plays the same disconnected defense we’ve saw this season then its legit to wonder what his impact will be team wise next season .. Govan never shot above 50% in conference play (he was our third best two point shooter behind Josh and Mac). Yurt as a skinny sophomore shot 56% from 2 and 46% from three in the ACC. Hes a better offensive rebounder as well. Yurt's not like Govan offensively. He's literally better in every way.
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GIGAFAN99
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Post by GIGAFAN99 on Mar 19, 2019 20:40:35 GMT -5
Obviously we have Kirby to thank for this one since its the 2nd time he has won this kids services. Gotta also love that he and Leblanc are familiar with each other playing on the same AAU team at one point. He is not as poor a shooter as some on this board would have you believe 37% from 3 is very respectable and he takes a good number of them. Great driver off the bounce. Also great to get a guy who was ranked in the top 50 the year he came out. Stats here show that he shot 37-106(34.9%) from 3 this season which is ok... stats.njcaa.org/sports/mbkb/2018-19/div1/players/galenalexandercxi5Alexander wasn't a top 50 kid as an HS senior... Yes I see the disconnect here though. He was actually top 50 as a HS junior. So depending how you google, it might come up. Either way, clearly fills an immediate need and is not just "some guy".
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GIGAFAN99
Diamond Hoya (over 2500 posts)
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Post by GIGAFAN99 on Mar 19, 2019 19:48:57 GMT -5
Short version:
6'6 215lbs tough, slashing wing. Just turned 20.
Ranked 135 out of HS. Offers from LSU, Texas, Alabama, St. Johns amongst others.
Committed to LSU, dismissed for undisclosed rules violation. Concerning but...
...Kirby knows the family personally so not as risky.
17ppg 8rebs 53/35/70 in JuCo.
Welcome Galen!
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GIGAFAN99
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Post by GIGAFAN99 on Mar 19, 2019 17:20:55 GMT -5
How does Pat continue to get so "lucky" with these recruits that fit team needs?
Great pickup! Think we're down to one schollie. Will be interesting how we play it given Jagan is a senior army of one.
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GIGAFAN99
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Post by GIGAFAN99 on Mar 17, 2019 17:47:23 GMT -5
No NC State, Clemson, or TCU. Good.
They didn't mail it in by going on NET alone which is encouraging.
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GIGAFAN99
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Post by GIGAFAN99 on Mar 17, 2019 15:21:39 GMT -5
If there's an element attributable to the Administration here, I'm not in a position to know. The obvious and easy answer is that a team's success starts at the top, and sometimes obvious and easy is correct. Jay Wright. Right now, I'd settle for being Seton Hall. Agreed. Nova hired one of Rollie's assistants and when it didn't work out, they hired another one. They kept it in the family as much as anyone else. Wright just happens to be really good at this.
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GIGAFAN99
Diamond Hoya (over 2500 posts)
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Post by GIGAFAN99 on Mar 17, 2019 13:26:30 GMT -5
Really enjoying this Yale-Harvard game. Yale currently on 15-0 run to lead Harvard by 13 at under 8 timeout. James Jones is one of the most underrated coaches in America. Totally agree. Watched him throughout grad school and he kept much less-talented teams in games. Glad to see his teams' talent level catching up to his coaching the last few years.
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GIGAFAN99
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Post by GIGAFAN99 on Mar 17, 2019 8:48:25 GMT -5
We haven't won two in a row in any tournament since the Final Four. Might as well start now. Yes we have. So you want to count the conference tournament? Great, since 2010. Phew, we should all feel better.
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GIGAFAN99
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Post by GIGAFAN99 on Mar 17, 2019 8:03:46 GMT -5
I do care about the NIT when your team is built on freshmen and sophomores because they get the experience of preparing for "one more game" on a short turnaround against an opponent they don't know.
Now that might be moot with this team which struggles to play two good games in a row regardless. Its still a good experience. We haven't won two in a row in any tournament since the Final Four. Might as well start now.
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GIGAFAN99
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Post by GIGAFAN99 on Mar 16, 2019 8:50:57 GMT -5
If you want to see how NC State is doing this and the limitations of adjusted efficiency compare the Hoyas to...the Hoyas.
The headline overall offensive efficiency numbers between 2018 and 2019 are almost identical (109.7 vs 109.3 yes our offense was "better" last year).
In conference? 102.2 vs 106.5 (highest since 2010 this year).
That's the kind of NET boost NC State is getting from its dead-last schedule. The teams are so out-atheleted that the adjustment can't make up for the raw efficiency numbers. If the NCAA doesn't want dead last schedules, NC State should be a 6 seed in the NIT.
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GIGAFAN99
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Transfers
Mar 15, 2019 21:01:38 GMT -5
via mobile
Post by GIGAFAN99 on Mar 15, 2019 21:01:38 GMT -5
Will be a grad transfer from William and Mary. 6'7 215. Averaged 15 Points, 9 Boards, 4 Assists this season \ If we want him,Greg Malinowski better get busy! Keep him away from Depaul as well. If we have a schollie this is the first grad transfer that looks promising.
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GIGAFAN99
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Post by GIGAFAN99 on Mar 15, 2019 17:43:09 GMT -5
If the debate is that this year is perceived as better than last year then that is an obvious yes it is. If the debate is if this year's team is better than last years the answer is they are all but equal. To say this years team would've won 10 BE games last year is just silly. Last years team had a better win than any this years team and this years also had and the worst losses. To speculate what happens next year is pretty pointless right now as we don't even know who will be on our team or the others in the Big East. Well that's not accurate and is easily verifiable. Last year's team was 130th in the RPI, with a win over #25 in the RPI (but unranked) Seton Hall. This year's team would be 88th in the RPI (after yesterday's loss). Obviously using because it's a measure that exists for both years. Last year's team's top-10 wins were: RPI/Team/Ranking(if any) #25 Seton Hall #43 Butler #65 SJU #65 SJU #163 Richmond #178 DePaul #191 North Texas #225 North Carolina A&T #245 MSM #292 Jacksonville Their worst loss was to #178 DePaul. This year, despite starting three freshmen and a sophomore (who take time to get adjusted), the numbers are as follows: #18 Villanova (#25) #28 Marquette (#23) #45 SHU #62 SJU #77 Xavier #82 Liberty #84 Providence #84 Providence #94 Butler #132 South Florida The worst loss this year was to #140 SMU. I believe he's referencing kenpom while not mentioning the 10 top 100 kenpom wins for the first time since 2015.
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GIGAFAN99
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Post by GIGAFAN99 on Mar 12, 2019 18:18:05 GMT -5
I assume the big difference is that RPI used strength of schedule more strongly? Because NC State has the worst non-conference strength of schedule according to KenPom and by the NCAA metric. If NET benefits blowing out horrible teams, it's a horrible metric. NC State started against 322, 353, 347, 336, and 317. Ridiculous. I realize Georgetown likely would not have gone 9-9 in the ACC, but if we did, basically we'd be a likely tournament team since our metrics would look a lot better. But why do you "realize" that? NC State played 7 games in conference versus teams ranked lower in kenpom than the Hoyas. The Hoyas played 2 (Depaul twice). The reason you "realize" it is the same reason NC State is in a lot of brackets...the conference is branded as brutal because it has three National Championship contenders and everyone ignores the rest.
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GIGAFAN99
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Post by GIGAFAN99 on Mar 11, 2019 20:20:17 GMT -5
Striking things about this Wofford UNCG game: Team speed from both sides. Honestly while these guys are athletic, the effort level is extremely high. No one takes a play off. Ability to adapt. They've made mention multiple times about how UNCG has confused Wofford with varying defensive looks. Must be nice to have a staff that can prepare his team to do so. Easy to see now why UNCG has been in the at large discussion. That's a tough team. They're tough but...they lost by an aggregate 71 points against Wofford in three games. Would be shocked if they're not NIT.
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GIGAFAN99
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Post by GIGAFAN99 on Mar 11, 2019 6:03:18 GMT -5
If you are not expecting a hiccup in development from Mac, James, or Josh, I think you might be naive. I expect Blair and Jamarko to take a step forward. Imagine what a player could do if he spent a year dedicated to conditioning and skill development under good coaching. Yurt could be a shocker. Calling it’s now...Yurt will be 1st team All Big East. Yep, growth is not linear and sophomore slumps do exist. When we look at the six freshmen + sophomores that we have, the two things we really should not expect is handle development from Josh and Jamorko. A lot of the disappointment in Pickett this year comes from an expectation that he was going to develop a great handle and be able to drive at a high level ... and the fact that Pickett seemed to think that he was capable of it as well, leading to a lot of turnovers. It's just a skillset that is really hard to improve at this point. We'll see people's shots get better, their defensive effort and positioning get better, get stronger, and those improvements occur relatively often. But handle? That's a tough one. I'd say that Akinjo's big improvement area -- finishing at the rim -- is also going to be very hard for him. I actually expect it to be solved with more teardrops and pull-ups than close quarters finishing. Mac has a few areas he needs to improve -- and some, like outside shooting, are more likely. His decision making and vision, though, is going to be hard. And Pickett and LeBlanc will always likely be limited in their handle. I think there's a good chance you are right on Yurt. Agreed. As a Sixer fan, I call this "why you would never trade Ben Simmons." He literally has every skill you can't develop and lacks the easiest one to develop. This summarizes that pretty well in regards to our players. For Pickett, I don't need a handle. I need a post game and a one (or no) bounce, euro step finish. His best dribble is the one he doesn't take and if he realizes that he'll be extremely effective. Zero worries about Akinjo who will figure out how to get crafty scoring twos. Same with Mac who is 32% from three now and almost 80% at the line. He could gain six points on that percentage from shot selection alone. Interesting what's not mentioned is the surprisingly competent LeBlanc three. He's not quick to catch and shoot but I'm a little surprised at him showing signs of three level scoring ability this early. That bodes well for this team. We all agree on Yurt.
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GIGAFAN99
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Post by GIGAFAN99 on Mar 10, 2019 21:54:14 GMT -5
St Johns is in way more trouble than people think. The old "conference record doesn't matter" might be true-ish but their claim to fame was "big wins." Well they have 10 q1/q2 wins...fewer than both Seton Hall and Georgetown ahead of them in the standings.
Someone is winning the Creighton-Xavier as well. So St Johns has been assumed in for awhile but it's likely up for grabs.
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GIGAFAN99
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Post by GIGAFAN99 on Mar 10, 2019 12:47:41 GMT -5
Think about this. Jessie and Josh have 73 blocks combined this year.
Yurt had 76 as a sophomore.
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GIGAFAN99
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Post by GIGAFAN99 on Mar 10, 2019 12:41:23 GMT -5
Palm has got Furman, Creighton, Clemson, and Florida as his last four in. He's got Bama, NC State, St. Mary's, and Belmont as his first four out. And then he's got Georgetown, Indiana, Lipscomb, and UNC-G as additional "bubble" teams that he has out (listed in no particular order). Belmont is done for the year. Either Furman or UNC-G will lose today (they play one another). Probably root for Furman since one of them has to get in and it's conceivable Furman would even with a loss. Probably root for Lipscomb against Liberty...since it's at least conceivable that they get in even with a loss. As you look at it, we'd definitely be in the mix with a win on Thursday and a close loss on Friday, but I frankly wouldn't feel safe under virtually any scenario barring a tournament title. You're not kidding. I don't think any team should feel safe for any reason. This is the most unknown bubble in recent memory. Selection Sunday might actually have more than a few surprises.
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GIGAFAN99
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Post by GIGAFAN99 on Mar 10, 2019 11:56:15 GMT -5
Which brackets are you looking at? I saw that Jerry Palm has us as one of the first out but then I saw a couple of others that didn’t even list us in “Next Four Out”. We are not among Palms first four out this morning. In his daily write up of the previous day's bubble games he does list our win and notes that it kept our "slim" hopes alive. We're one of 18 teams Palm has for 13 slots (so I guess we're fifth out). Hoping todays games treat us well.
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