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Post by crashdavis on Nov 16, 2011 14:42:23 GMT -5
On a side note, was anyone else surprised that Dickie V, he who worships the ground that Bobby Knight and Coach K walk on, was not assigned by ESPN to do the Duke- Michigan State game given Coach K's chance to pass Knight? I know the Kentucky- Kansas game matched higher ranked teams, but I can not imagine Vitale not lobbying hard to get that game. A little suprised, but they already had Bilas and Knight as the color commentators. They obviously weren't going to replace Knight and allowing Bilas to work the game went with the "Duke family" theme they had going for the night.
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Post by crashdavis on Nov 16, 2011 14:37:32 GMT -5
twitter.com/#!/scoutsfocus "Just asked Andrew White's prep coach Scott Willard whether he would be signing today via text. His answer was "Probably not"
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Post by crashdavis on Nov 16, 2011 13:32:35 GMT -5
Bill Self is a good coach. He will see what happened against Kentucky and make adjustments. It is up to our coach to be prepared for that too. When Robinson and Johnson are on the floor, I wouldnt be too concerned about closing out hard on their shot as they want to get in the lane and create contact. Id let them beat us from the outside. When the walk-on is in that can shoot, Id close out on him very hard and make him put the ball on the floor. The few times i saw him do this last night he either turned it over or was forced to shoot off the dribble, which he was not very effective doing. Agree. When Robinson catches it at the top of that High-Low, I'd give him all the room he wants. Johnson is a little different because he has the ability to hit the 3 but is streaky....if he knocks a couple of down then you may need to make adjustments but until then focus on preventing penetration. Teahan and Releford are the two I feel you can (and should) close out hard. While Releford is the more athletic of the two, he's not overly quick. So even if he does get by the guy closing out, I feel confident theres enough time to rotate from the helpside and cut him off. Teahan is a spot up shooter only and a liability on defense as well. It will be interesting to see who he will guard in the halfcourt and whether that matchup is taken advantage of.
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Post by crashdavis on Nov 16, 2011 12:18:05 GMT -5
Defending Robinson and closing out on shooters will be the key defensively. Like many have said, it is going to be important to double down on Robinson anytime he gets the ball in the low post. I also think that in situations where Robinson is out there with Withey or Wesley, you can sag off the high post and sandwich Robinson from the front and backs to completely deny him the ball. In years past you couldn't do this because the Morris twins both had the ability to knock down that top of the key shot so you had to come out and guard them (which in turn created 1 on 1 situations for the low post player). Additionally....outside of Taylor, they really don't have anyone who can put the ball on the floor and create going to the basket. What they do have is a lot of good spot up shooters who WILL knock down a 3 when left open. Making sure to communicate, not lose track of shooters, and close out on them when they get the ball will be important.
Offensively, I would go right at Robinson early and often. He is prone to foul trouble and limiting his minutes will be key. Withey did more in last nights game than he has in his first two years combined but I would like to see how effective he can be when pulled away from the basket and has cutters he will have to pay attention to. He's not going to have the benefit of being able to size up a guy driving to the hoop like he did against KY, but will have to know where people are and react quickly if he is going to be able to get some blocks and contest shots. Kansas will be able to provide pressure out front with Taylor, Johnson, and Tharpe but guys like Teahan and Releford can be beat off the dribble from the corners or wing.
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Post by crashdavis on Nov 16, 2011 1:35:11 GMT -5
Really?! We weren't in the top 68?! That's absolutely ridiculous. Horrible job by SI. I pointed this out in the other thread, but that list was not a ranking of the top 68 teams in the country....but a ranking of the top 68 teams they predict to get into the NCAA tournament. Therefore it included teams from conferences like the OVC, MEAC, etc. that only send their automatic qualifiers.
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Post by crashdavis on Nov 16, 2011 1:31:46 GMT -5
You realize that is really their 68 picks to get into the NCAA tournament....not a ranking of the top 68 teams in the country. Thats why you see teams on that list like Austin Peay,Morgan State, and Mississippi Valley State (all from conferences who only send the minimum of 1 team).
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Post by crashdavis on Nov 15, 2011 23:04:23 GMT -5
Ugly....Ugly....Ugly game. No doubt Kansas is a good team, but as bad as Kentucky is playing the Jayhawks should be up 10 right now.
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Post by crashdavis on Nov 15, 2011 11:38:33 GMT -5
West Virginia down 55-45 to Kent State with 10min to go in the 2nd half.
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Post by crashdavis on Nov 14, 2011 22:14:28 GMT -5
I'm in love with the freshman, amazing what a little length and defensive tenacity can yield. A few observations: 2. I'm in awe of the freshman, especially in terms of what they offer on the defensive end and on the boards. Wow!! How many o-boards did Whittington have? 4? 5? The boxscore says 4....although it also said Julian Vaughn played 22 minutes . www.guhoyas.com/sports/m-baskbl/stats/2011-2012/111411.html#GAME.BOX
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Post by crashdavis on Nov 14, 2011 22:07:12 GMT -5
Anyone who was complaining about Jason's shot selection was not watching. He took approximately one bad three (open, but that long distance shot he fell in love with last year), but other than that was appropriately aggressive. Took open threes, but looked to drive, and he was a terror on the break. Hollis, nothing needs to be said. That kid was lights out and could've scored as much as he wanted to tonight. Couldn't agree more. The majority of his shots were because, after rotating the ball back around, he just happened to be the guy wide open. It could have been easily been Hollis, Markel, Greg, etc. who ended up getting that many open looks.
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Post by crashdavis on Nov 14, 2011 22:03:34 GMT -5
Some quick thoughts:
Love to see the 3/4 court 1-2-2 press. Even when it is not causing turnovers in the backcourt, it is speeding up the other team and forcing them to make quick decisions with the ball. It also helps funnel the ball to the corners and into traps on the back end (usually performed by 2 long armed 6'9" defenders). I also like seeing the 2-3 in the halfcourt and the pressure/rotation/traps they are doing out of it. Guys are not standing around just guarding a spot, but are matching up with the guys in their area and communicating a lot (which you could even hear on the audio of the tv broadcast). The team seemed a lot more productive and comfortable defending out of the zone than man to man and, unlike last game, rebounded out of it a lot better. While there was a few breakdowns leading to open shots when UNCG could get some quick ball reversals, overall guys were recognizing, moving, and recovering better than the previous game.
The one thing that still seems shaky is when they did go man to man. While ball pressure was still good, guys off the ball were sometimes losing sight of the ball or their man. Its not a pressing issue in games like this, but if they need to go man to man against a team like Kansas it could spell trouble.
The effort on the boards was really promising. Guys were going to the glass with a purpose...tracking the ball while looking to block out the guy behind them or get around the guy in front of them. This is going to be especially important with the amount of zone it looks like JTII wants to play. It can sometimes be harder to rebound out of a zone than man because you are constantly guarding someone different throughout the possession. However, like I said before it seemed guys were doing a better job in the zone of being aware of who was in their area and matching up with them....which makes it easier to get a body on them once the shot goes up and get in position to get a rebound.
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Post by crashdavis on Nov 14, 2011 19:27:44 GMT -5
Sounds like we are taking a lot of threes. Are they just chucking them up or are they open shots? Good ball movement against their zone is creating a lot of open looks.
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Post by crashdavis on Nov 14, 2011 19:16:25 GMT -5
So, hows everyone watching this...I'm enjoying the gametracker on GUHoyas.com by CBS, it has a nice graphic ;D. Liking this start! Go Hoyas! I went ahead and just added MASN to my Directv......with some discount they gave me its $7 a month for the next 3 months then back to $10 (though by then all games will be on the ESPN network so I will likely drop it). Its a better investment than the $10 I spent for the all access feed the other day.
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Post by crashdavis on Nov 14, 2011 16:42:18 GMT -5
I'm pretty sure it was this link, but I'm not seeing tonight's game posted anywhere on the site right now. If anyone else has info on where it will be streamed, it would be much appreciated. www.slipstreamtv.com/main.php?id=sports3
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Post by crashdavis on Nov 14, 2011 15:04:46 GMT -5
One good thing about this game is that Henry will have the chance to go up against a legitimate low post player of similar size in Aloysius Henry (6'10" 230). I watched Aloysius play a few games back in JUCO....he's fairly athletic and long armed...not the best scorer, but will work to get buckets around the rim off feeds and rebounds. He put up 9.5pts 5rbs in 22min per game last year at UNC-G. While he's far from what Sims will see later this year, he will be a better test than the 6'6'-6'7" posts Savannah threw out there.
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Post by crashdavis on Nov 14, 2011 14:42:49 GMT -5
It was the Coaches poll, but like idhoya said......developing players and team cohesion matters more than anything.
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Post by crashdavis on Nov 14, 2011 11:53:38 GMT -5
I probably should have just said they "will play either George Mason or FLorida International", not necessarily the winner. It looks like they (as well as the other 3 teams) are guaranteed 2 games even if they lose their first one.
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Post by crashdavis on Nov 14, 2011 9:42:53 GMT -5
6pm: TBD @ VT Seriously? ESPNU Just looked up VT's schedule and that game is part of the NIT Season Tip-Off....so they will play the winner of George Mason and Florida International (who play tonight).
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Post by crashdavis on Nov 13, 2011 21:00:11 GMT -5
well if you didn't already know that Bubba was Otto Porter the Sikeston Mo(Missouri) part should have told you who it was. Ha....my bad, probably should have clarified that. Nearly everyone from back here calls him Bubba....its been his nickname all his life and since his father is the "original" Otto, its always just made it easier.
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Post by crashdavis on Nov 12, 2011 23:15:55 GMT -5
Interesting side note for this game....UNC Greensboro's associate head coach Corey Gipson is from Sikeston Mo and went to the same school as Bubba (though Corey transferred to a nearby school his junior year). I'm not sure if they are related, but I know the families are close.
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