calhoya
Diamond Hoya (over 2500 posts)
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Post by calhoya on Jan 9, 2021 20:21:42 GMT -5
Berger is still a one trick pony at this point which is not unusual for a freshman. He simply cannot stay with his man on defense.
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calhoya
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Post by calhoya on Jan 9, 2021 20:01:42 GMT -5
Really started out with good ball movement and open shots, but I guess they are not waiting until the second half to stop playing defense. Really not certain what is going on with Blair these days as he is taking really bad shots and not contributing on defense. Rebounding has suffered tonight as Orange crashing the boards. Reminds me a little of the Navy game. Sibley, Clarke and Berger should be off the bench before Holloway i would think. Ewing really seems lost as to what to do. If this team will come out and move the ball we can still get back in this. Orange not that good of a shooting team but then again no one is until the play the Hoyas.
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calhoya
Diamond Hoya (over 2500 posts)
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Post by calhoya on Jan 8, 2021 15:58:38 GMT -5
Dislike Syracuse but cannot remember a year when the game seemed less important or less interesting. This is another lost season and for me it is now only about watching how Ewing plays it out and shows growth in terms of teaching these kids to close out a game.
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calhoya
Diamond Hoya (over 2500 posts)
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Post by calhoya on Jan 8, 2021 8:52:26 GMT -5
While I hold out hope that given a little more time Ewing's coaching skills will emerge, based largely upon several games I saw last year when the deck was clearly stacked against the Hoyas, I just cannot buy in to the popular belief that somehow with better recruits everything will change.
It's just too damn easy for people to keep saying it's the lack of talent. Many successful programs would be thrilled to have had some of our untalented kids. Govan, Pickett, Akinjo, LeBlanc, Yurtseven, Wahab, and Derrickson all were 4* recruits on this team in the past 3 years. Blair was All-Freshman. McClung vastly underrated. Mosley the type of kid any coach would want and Allen a very poised and talented transfer. The same could be said for Malinowski. If they did not develop into complete players then that is at least partly on the coaching staff.
Unlike 9797 I am not ready to write off Ewing, but I agree completely that blaming everything on "talent" issues and turning next year's class into saviors of the program is not fair to this year's kids or next year's recruits and is likely going to leave many people disappointed.
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calhoya
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Post by calhoya on Jan 7, 2021 18:06:29 GMT -5
Limiting turnovers and getting back in transition are going to be huge for this game. I actually like our chances halfcourt vs. halfcourt; this is not a good perimeter shooting team we're going against and I think we can hold our own in the paint. But if we don't take care of the ball and hustle back on D after a miss, it's going to get ugly in a hurry because as much as we like to pride ourselves on playing fast, we really don't know how to do that very well. Traditionally, they do. Not sure how many saw the graphic during the Butler game, but we went into it 354th of 357 D1 teams in turnover margin (-5.8 per game). Our guys have to understand that a missed shot is better than a live ball turnover. Get them on the rim and go after it. Q/Timmy are important here, they need to crush the offensive glass AND kick it back out when appropriate. Cuse bigs are usually foul prone and just not good at all. So true. The most maddening aspect of our TOs is how many of them are just careless or lazy. The drive into the lane with no idea what you are going to do with the ball, the lazy no look pass, the attempt to force the ball into a post who has already been doubled or who does not have good positioning to receive the pass and so on. There is no such thing as a good TO but as I have suffered through these games it constantly occurs to me that least half of our TOs are easily avoidable with some focus and effort.
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calhoya
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Post by calhoya on Jan 7, 2021 9:12:18 GMT -5
Pickett 4-13 .... Blair 4-16..... No need to look anywhere else .... This is our problem!!! Understand your point but there are lots of other places to look, as well. Collective collapse by the team. Pickett poor on offense again but take away his double/double and assists and we are not worrying about collapsing at the end--it would have been even sooner. Blair is really struggling too and not very good outside of his 3 point shooting when on, but these guys are just 2 of several problems on this team right now.
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calhoya
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Post by calhoya on Jan 7, 2021 8:25:14 GMT -5
Team ran its offense in the first half, better ball movement, Wahab actually giving up the ball at times, good strong rebounding and all that with Pickett still in a shooting slump. Butler adjusted, started hitting some shots in the 2nd half and almost everything the team had done well in the first half got worse. Less ball movement, return of hero ball and unfortunately that damn deer-in-the-headlights look as each player tries his best to figure out how to stop the collapse.
Mental breakdowns and lack of composure cannot be just on the players. If Harris makes an out of control mistake, correct him. If he does it again, sit him and make him settle down. When Pickett is off he can contribute on the boards and last night with assists. If he does not play defense or loses focus, sit him and refocus him. When Blair is off, you might as well sit him for a stretch as his defense is not great and he is not really a distributor. If you run the damn offense and move the ball and the shots don't fall that is just the way it goes sometimes. When literally every player starts reverting to playground basketball and hero ball that is when talent counts and there is no one on this team who is capable of taking over a game.
This team can win games against good opponents, but not by allowing the players to lose their focus, go rogue and abandon anything that looks like discipline. I heard a local commentator last year talking about the Lakers and saying that in the NBA the coach is a manager and in college the coach has to be a teacher. That is the challenge for the coaches and one they have yet to figure out.
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calhoya
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Post by calhoya on Jan 7, 2021 8:06:00 GMT -5
I think it is such a cop-out to blame this mess solely on the lack of talent. No this team does not have enough high end players and clearly it lacks a star who can takeover the game in crunch time, but that is true of most teams playing and so many are playing better than the Hoyas. The team has enough talent to race out to comfortable leads against its opponents, including quality opponents like Nova and West Virginia. What is missing is the composure to maintain the lead when shots stop falling. What is missing is the discipline to continue to run an offense, moving the ball and staying focused on the team approach when the other team makes a run instead of allowing panic to take over.
I am afraid that Ewing has an NBA mentality where leadership comes on the floor from the type of star who can take over a game. That is not the college game. Leadership needs to start on the bench with a coach who can settle the kids down, use his timeouts to stop a run, remind an out of control freshman guard that he does not have to win the game, but rather run the offense. Remind his seniors that they are as important playing off the ball than trying to go iso and force heavily contested shots. Figure out how to get players like Carey and Bile with limited but specific skill sets to contribute without going rogue and getting outside of their comfort zones. Knowing when to bring in a freshman and allowing him to get comfortable without becoming a liability on the floor. This team desperately needs a leader to stop the meltdowns, but that leader has got to be Ewing.
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calhoya
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Post by calhoya on Jan 6, 2021 22:08:52 GMT -5
Harris is simply not ready for this role. Have not figured out how to get Carey involved. Blair has repeatedly tried to take over the game and its not a role he is suited to. Pickett another inconsistent game. And again that word—composure —rears its ugly head. Harris right now is a negative. He’s close on his finishes, but close is still a Miss. Still gets his pocket picked from carelessness. Isn’t a distributor but is just looking to score. I think it will pay off later this year and we next year but right now the point guard is not where we need to be. Hope there is going to be a payoff because his growing pains are really hurting in these close games. With Akinjo you could see the talent and tolerate the wild drives and selfish moments. With Harris not so obvious.
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calhoya
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Post by calhoya on Jan 6, 2021 21:08:08 GMT -5
Harris is simply not ready for this role. Have not figured out how to get Carey involved. Blair has repeatedly tried to take over the game and its not a role he is suited to. Pickett another inconsistent game. And again that word—composure —rears its ugly head.
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calhoya
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Post by calhoya on Jan 6, 2021 9:05:39 GMT -5
Reality is, this is year 0. We all know what went down...is what it is. Next year is year 1, deal with it. If we fire him we start over at year zero again with full recruiting cycle for new guy - so enough is enough with all the posts about Ewing, approach, mulligan etc. Give him another shoot. He is best player ever at g town. Hall of famer. And 15 year NBA vet coach (assistant). That is very good resume - let’s see if it works - would argue he was showing progress before last year (not giving him a pass - just is what it is) He has shown passion for recruiting - keep doing that....rest will come (hopefully) While I am very increasingly pessimistic that Ewing can turn things around (because there is no evidence demonstrating improvement of any notable kind), I am still hopeful he will. Parting with Georgetown's best player ever is not something the university should want to do, particularly after firing the son of John Thompson Jr. Back-to-back that would be a bad look. That said, results are results. My belief is that getting Aminu plus COVID probably gives Ewing another year, even if we lose every game this season. And, we should must see modest improvement next year, at least, since Aminu should be way better than anyone else on our roster now, everyone else will grow a year, and Blair is really the only meaningful loss.
This whole "we start at zero" thing is really nonsense though. You cannot just ignore what Ewing has done over the last four years. And, his resume as a basketball player is irrelevant at this point, unless he plans to suit up and get more eligibility for himself. Frankly, from the perspective of who is coaching our team, I don't care if he is a Hall of Fame player, or a 15 year NBA assistant. I want a good basketball coach. So far, all that has gotten us very little on the court. His coaching resume is all that matters now, and outside of some recruiting, that resume stinks at the moment.With my changes this sums up my feelings about this season and next. Unlike you, I have seen some glimmers of hope with Ewing, the coach, but not nearly enough, particularly on defense. I know it is popular to undervalue Pickett now after a series of bad games, but you cannot overlook his rebounding and despite all the hype, our other bigs are simply not as versatile. I really like Blair's range, but he is not a high percentage shooter or a plus defender. His ball-handling is at best average. Don't see how you can include one without the other. While I agree that the team must be better next year, if Ewing is to hang on, we as fans always tend to overhype the recruits and expectations are almost always wildly unrealistic for a group stepping up to this level of play.
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calhoya
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Post by calhoya on Jan 5, 2021 8:39:50 GMT -5
TC, thank you for these links. Having lived through this in DC at the time, I had forgotten many of the details. Just a reminder of what John Thompson had to deal with as he attempted to "coach" his kids off the basketball court. Pretty easy to reflect back and second guess what he did and how he did it--a lot of that occurred at the time particularly from those who hated the program and were threatened by the coach. My dad always talked about the challenges for inner city kids in his neighborhood in Fort Greene who grew up with friends often headed down the wrong path. As I read these articles it brought his stories back to me.
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calhoya
Diamond Hoya (over 2500 posts)
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Post by calhoya on Jan 4, 2021 18:06:06 GMT -5
Agree with much of what is said above. Have not seen the growth yet from this team and unlike many I still believe it is talented enough that the coach should be getting more from them than has yet occurred. The reality is that he's getting another year, next year. Not just because he has a good recruiting class coming but because he is Patrick Ewing and that still stands for something among the powers that be. He is the last connection to John Thompson Jr. and a willing and active advocate of the school and many of the values that Thompson promoted. I understand that sentiment, even if I do not accept it as enough to justify a 5th year in the absence of any progress.
My bigger fear is that many of the dwindling fan base who still strongly support Ewing are doing so despite a lack of any evidence on the court and the argument used now that this is a young team that needs time to gel will be repeated next year after the new recruits arrive, thereby trying to justify a 6th year.
In a perfect world, Ewing's team starts to grow sooner than later, TOs go down, discipline is introduced into the performance on the court, defense appears as a feature of the program again, and the team shows the resilience to handle shooting slumps and momentum shifts. Then all this talk goes away. Even in death, Big John remains the most positive aspect of Hoya basketball this year. That's nice but also says a lot about where the program has gone in recent years.
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calhoya
Diamond Hoya (over 2500 posts)
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Post by calhoya on Jan 3, 2021 13:59:01 GMT -5
Really nice to read.
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calhoya
Diamond Hoya (over 2500 posts)
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Post by calhoya on Jan 3, 2021 9:03:32 GMT -5
Ewing needs to step it up fast. Increasingly appears he has no answers for problems that have plagued this program for years. In fact his post-game interview seemed to say just that about the TOs. Has yet to coach a team that can play defense--how is that possible for a team coached by a defensive great. The offense seems to consist of the occasional out of control race down court, often ending in a TO or a bad shot, or more often a predictable half court set of trying to force the ball inside to the posts who are immediately doubled by opponents who never fear the kick out pass to an open shooter. TOs happen on good teams too, but not consistently because of lack of attention, lack of focus, or forcing a play/pass that should not have occurred. Players who recklessly try to force a pass, drive wildly into the lane or go rogue and try to shoot while doubled should get the opportunity to learn from the bench for a few minutes.
The coach cannot (and should not) survive based upon the loyalty of those of us who were privileged enough to watch him star on the Hilltop. Nor should he be given a pass because of a good recruiting class coming next year. A title is not necessary this year. Not even a winning season. Progress is necessary. Still no evidence of progress. He is also not a victim here. It's not about transfers or COVID. These are his kids and all of them have been playing together now long enough to know how to move the ball, focus on the court and not make careless TOs. Effort does not require much practice. While they may not be the most talented group in the nation, they have shown that they can compete with most teams until shots stop falling and then it becomes a mental meltdown. We have a veteran coaching staff, a couple of whom were great players. Fans want to hear "we are going to fix this" and not "we don't know how to fix this."
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calhoya
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Post by calhoya on Jan 2, 2021 21:52:37 GMT -5
It’s always a lack of composure! No opponent is ever out of a game against the Hoyas—and that has been the case for several years. Too frustrated now to think clearly but have to say watching a player miss an open 3 is not terrible, but watching repeated lazy passes, panic passes, selfish, hero ball, failure to block out , leaving shooters open, and just repeated mental breakdowns under pressure is maddening and no longer something to blame on COVID or lack of practice. It’s about discipline and composure and both are lacking. How many fans tonight thought the team would cruise with a 16 point lead at the half? How many thought the team would win when Marquette took the lead? Unlike many here, my expectations were not this low for this season. Maybe if I had been more realistic, these games would not matter as much to me.
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calhoya
Diamond Hoya (over 2500 posts)
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Post by calhoya on Dec 30, 2020 14:52:07 GMT -5
I see this as an underrated issue. The FS1 announcers sell an identity: the value of playing for a HOF coach, especially if you are a big man. However, no big man under Ewing's watch has distinguished himself enough to really establish a pipeline for NBA-caliber centers. I thought Wahab would be more imposing in games by this point and really thought Ighoefe would be something special in year two. To that point, does Ewing work with the centers, of does that fall to Orr? Q and Tim are raw. If you view them as such, they are on the developmental timeline of a Don Reid or Ya-Ya Dia. I wouldn't confuse Q and Tim as freshmen for Mourning or Sweetney or Othella. They are progressing quite fine under Ewing. Govan did quite well for himself under Ewing. But again, being a great Center in this day and age, is like being a great RB in the NFL. Does it really even matter? It is a different game today and the position or the type of style Ewing played isn't needed as much anymore.
I think this is exactly right.
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calhoya
Diamond Hoya (over 2500 posts)
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Post by calhoya on Dec 29, 2020 8:39:41 GMT -5
Would like to see small ball or move Wahab out a little and let him try to take 8-10 foot jumper (which I believe he did a few times last year and can hit if given the opportunity). It would force John to come out. Without Govan and Yurtseven, Ewing is playing offense only using his posts down low--back to the basket, no kick out, baby hooks. Even McClung and Akinjo would find it impossible to drive the lane with this approach. Alternatively, go small at times and use Bile (cue outrage), Sibley or Clarke to help with rebounding. Just a thought.
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calhoya
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Post by calhoya on Dec 27, 2020 20:45:20 GMT -5
I agree that Ewing was at his best last year when his rotation was depleted by injury and transfers. Also agree that he has yet to prove that he can coach defense. Not certain you can argue that what he says on the sideline during the game has anything to do either way in demonstrating whether he can coach. When I read those criticisms they seem bogus and meaningless criteria to judge a coach. What can be judged is in game adjustments and substitutions. In these areas the jury is very much still out. Finally suggesting that some critics might be motivated by race factors is probably very accurate—but likewise as the son of a black man I can assure you that race can factor both ways. My father could see no wrong in Big John and that was entirely driven by his desire to see a black coach defy the powers that be. It is not a discussion worth having and I suspect that many of the harshest critics of Ewing are color blind and would happily replace him with another black coach if they thought he could improve the team. For now i hope that last year was the beginning of a long run, but only if there is some semblance of improvement in this team and some evidence that the coach can figure out how to improve the defense and win in the BE. Your daddy was right, Big John did no wrong. When U understand the pride your daddy felt, then and only then can you speak to the essence of the thread you have responded to. Please! I share all my dad’s feelings about Big John and what he did. And yes I fully understand what motivated my father but that had little to do with Thompson’s coaching and much more to do with his courage. Just don’t want to see race used in any discussion of Ewing’s coaching—positive or negative. It is certainly a fact for some but just a poor way to change the discussion from basketball to social issues. Plenty of other places to go get into that debate.
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calhoya
Diamond Hoya (over 2500 posts)
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Post by calhoya on Dec 27, 2020 19:31:06 GMT -5
I agree that Ewing was at his best last year when his rotation was depleted by injury and transfers. Also agree that he has yet to prove that he can coach defense. Not certain you can argue that what he says on the sideline during the game has anything to do either way in demonstrating whether he can coach. When I read those criticisms they seem bogus and meaningless criteria to judge a coach. What can be judged is in game adjustments and substitutions. In these areas the jury is very much still out. Finally suggesting that some critics might be motivated by race factors is probably very accurate—but likewise as the son of a black man I can assure you that race can factor both ways. My father could see no wrong in Big John and that was entirely driven by his desire to see a black coach defy the powers that be. It is not a discussion worth having and I suspect that many of the harshest critics of Ewing are color blind and would happily replace him with another black coach if they thought he could improve the team. For now i hope that last year was the beginning of a long run, but only if there is some semblance of improvement in this team and some evidence that the coach can figure out how to improve the defense and win in the BE.
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