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Post by Toby2 on Sept 4, 2018 19:41:20 GMT -5
Great news for the Hoyas.....Brennan's sister Peyton Wilhite -- 6'4'' OH or RS -- has committed to Georgetown. 2019. Future is looking very promising. (according to her Instagram post last night) Thanks coach, but im not sure the future is as promising as you say when you factor in your best player graduates this year. Leaving a massive hole in the middle. But, I believe you guys will do a great job of freeing up scholarships here in the next couple of months to go out and attract some transfers. Which, unless it was a grad transfer, used to be forbidden by the school. But, it appears toby has circumvented the rules, ethics and morals of the department as well as school so im sure he will be able to add more transfers like the UMES girl in the future. He'll need to identify better talent than that thought if he wants to win in the Big East. I highly doubt it will be accomplished. Terms of service violation: "No posting any unsubstantiated claims that could jeopardize or invalidate an individual's NCAA eligibility or a staff member's employment status can be tolerated." Account suspended. -Admin
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Post by Toby2 on Sept 4, 2018 19:34:53 GMT -5
Its a mess. Team hit 0.074 tonight, almost as many errors as kills. Sinnette and UMES BOTH hit negative. Team lost to an average VCU team that came in 1-5.
Adding the Wilhite sister wont matter if she plays like her sister. Speech leaving after this year will create a massive hole in the offense and defense.
My guess is Rens runs off at least half the team after this year. And tries to put together a massive class in 2020..but hes behind for that class as most top notch kids have already committed. I dont get the sense that kids are beating down the door to play for toby. Im also not sure how good of a talent evaluator he is if he thought the UMES transfer was good enough to play in the Big East. She clearly is not. Shes on par with Sinnette, which is not a formula for success. Problem is, after sinnette theres not much on the bench or in the recruiting pipeline to replace her. Tobys recruits this year are non factors, hamling, wilhite and adundale. Cusi and Barbosa are Arlisa recruits.
This ship wont be turned around very quickly, if ever.
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Post by Toby2 on Aug 29, 2018 9:55:26 GMT -5
Interesting that Wilhite's "little" sister has decommited USC. An honorable, even if difficult, move on the part of the Wilhite family. Loyalty matters in sport and life. I wish good things for the family and their daughters. Edited. Please review the terms of service or your account is subject to suspension. --Admin
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Post by Toby2 on Aug 26, 2018 11:03:34 GMT -5
I have to admit it was pretty tough to watch. Sinette had a better game than usual (look at her overall weak hitting stats this weekend -v reminiscent of past years’ poor hitting stats.). Sinette’s passing has definitely improved, which is great. Speech was off all weekend-can’t blame her service errors and poor timing (and out of bound hits) all on setting. Service errors a major issue for the team. Wilhite is puzzling. Can’t figure out what’s going on there? Hopefully it’s preseason jitters-and a big example of why coaches often can’t rely on freshman players . King out on RS was a major loss this weekend. Giant hole in RS. Snipe is not v athletic and Wertzbeger still looks injured. Freshman RS Akenule doesn’t block but instead is often on 10 foot line waiting to be set. Back row defense looked pretty good (Cusi a great addition and UMES transfer a solid passer) so that’s a plus. Disappointing game, for sure, but let’s hope injured players will return soon to help shore up some of the issues at the net and on the court in general. It’s early in the season so I will stay optimistic! Hoya Saxa! Wilhite is a redshirt frosh. She spent a full season at USC practicing but didnt play. So, shes not a true frosh. She should be much further along than a true frosh would be. Goes to show those PrepVolleyball Senior Aces list aint all that accurate or worth much.
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Post by Toby2 on Aug 25, 2018 20:08:48 GMT -5
Was able to follow the feed. Stats for Speech, Wertzberger and -especially-Sinnette v disappointing. Note that those players are three of starting (andlosimg) lineup from last season and only Speech had impressive stats. UMES transfer is burning up the court in comparison to Sinette. Freshmen need to be developed and some of the more seasoned players that didn’t get as much play time are out-apparently injured. So we are not seeing full strength of team. Suspect Rens will replace Sinette, whose stats remain underwhelming, as soon as he is able to get another hitter up to speed. Will be interested to watch live game tonight as stats don’t tell the whole story. Go Hoyas! Not so fast. UMES transfer hit 0 vs georgia tech. Sinnette had an impressive 19 kills but 11 errors for a .174 hitting %. Setting was awful. Lots of work needs to be done. Wilhite looks lost
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Post by Toby2 on Aug 24, 2018 18:30:02 GMT -5
Great comeback win over Idaho State. Down 2 sets and win next 3 to win 3-2.
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Post by Toby2 on Aug 24, 2018 17:53:27 GMT -5
Sorry to hear that, Toby 2. Will remain hopeful that team will gel at some point. Be nice to see live action on court-trying to follow stat feed is difficult to get full picture. Thanks for filling us in and glad that you are there to cheer on the team. They are on espn vs georgia tech tomorrow. Not sure, but i think its espn3, streaming online.
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Post by Toby2 on Aug 24, 2018 15:52:48 GMT -5
Agree that 6-2 was strange, particularly since stats show Plovonka had more assists than Cusi. Where is King? Need her to shore up RS-Snipe really can’t be used much in any serious game. Is Kelly there? Didn’t see any stats showing she was in the game, and curious why coach wouldn’t have her passing-especially if passing was an issue. Hopefully coach will go with 5-1 next match. Stats pretty rough. Let’s see what happens. Toby was hired in January hes had all spring, summer and fall to develop and improve these girls. I see no improvement. Next year will b brutal when Speech graduates, she continues to be the entire team. Toby's OH transfer from his old school struggled horribly. I wouldve thought Toby wouldve had shown some improvement in hitting, serving, passing or blocking. And unfortunately, none of it improved and now you can add setting to the list of issues. What a mess.
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Post by Toby2 on Aug 24, 2018 10:44:56 GMT -5
Point of reference: When a coach dismisses a player, the player remains on scholarship in most every case. So, I would guess there was no opened scholarship without McKnight on the roster. // This definitely a building year, but the team just might pull some surprises. Thanks for that info coach. Heres the first surprise of the season. Our girls taken to pound town by some school named Abilene Christian. I assume thats a college and not a high school. Lost 3-1, lost the third set 25-10. Same issues, hit 0.169 as a team despite Speech hitting .650. Errors all over, ran a 6-2 with the Frosh DS Cusi. Setting appears to be a disaster along with all the other issues. ramblinwreck.com/georgia-tech-volleyball-live-stats/
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Post by Toby2 on Aug 19, 2018 13:42:31 GMT -5
I’m sorry to make you feel so defensive about McKnight. I suspect you are one of her relatives as you otherwise would not be so quick to attack. (I’m a fan, btw-not the head coach. Can’t imagine any of the GU coaches being on this forum-besides to chuckle at all of our postings.) You are correct that my observations are purely speculative. Yes, Arlisa obviously mismanaged the talent on this team for years, but I suspect McKnight’s dismissal had deeper underlying issues. Why would a coach “run offf” his best setter (and be left with just one setter for the season that is, in your estimation, inferior) unless the issues were too problematic to fix? And who knows? You may be right about Rens. I hope you are wrong. I will stand by my earlier observation that it will be another losing season if the coaches choose to play the same losing lineup that Arlisa seemed to be stuck on, like a broken record. Let’s hope that Rens can fire up this team to believe in themselves and start winning games during the season. There is plenty of talent. Hoya Saxa! Edited. Avoid personal attacks against the coaching staff. See the message board rules for more information.--Admin
hoyatalk2.proboards.com/thread/13110/message-board-rules-updated-27
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Post by Toby2 on Aug 19, 2018 12:41:10 GMT -5
If McKnight was so invaluable, why was she “run off” the program? Coaches don’t typically get rid of excellent players just to be vindictive. Was it attitude problems? Inability or unwillingness to set to position? Big East coaches knew and planned on McKnight’s predilections to set to just two hitters. Her game was predictable and opposing teams would just set up for the block. Although she was athletic and had good hands, there appeared to be no strategy to her setting. I stand by my previous observation that McKnight had three lackluster years-and it wasn’t just because of poor passing issues. Inability to effectively communicate and poor attitude may have been at issue, coupled with ineffective coaching. Who knows? And at this point it doesn’t matter. The facts remain that McKnight played in every set for the last three losing seasons. Rens has a chance to set the team on a new course and I wish him the best of luck this coming season. Thanks Coach. Who else would know if she had "attitude issues". Her job was to try and win. Her top OH hit .170 and couldnt pass. Their losses were a factor of errors, serving, hitting and passing. You are a new poster, just last week. So, thanks for your input coach. If McKnights issue was attitude and setting choices and not skill or athleticsm, then i would think a good coach and his staff would work on changing those characteristics. But, as has been Toby's method, he gets rid of or alienates players from former coaches if he can at all possible. Cutting McKnight will come back to bite him this year in the Big East. McKnight has ZERO options at RS last year, look up the stats. Zero talent there. Speech was about it. Eichie was hurt much of the year and her OH options were awful. Look at the stats. They only had 1 DS last year on the roster, that forced some horrific options to be played in the back row. Good luck this year, coach. I hope you make it on $30k salary this year. Get that resume together and get out when you can.
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Post by Toby2 on Aug 19, 2018 12:32:24 GMT -5
1. i suspect you are an old coach. 2. or, a relative of McKnight. 3 or, an upset club director/coach. 4. didn't toby win a big east title at Pitt? 5. i'm not a player's parent or a coach or related to a coach. just someone excited for a new season and a new day at georgetown. 6. i think wilhite might enjoy being all big east and being a part of getting the team back to the tournament -- both of them. so here's hoping she doesn't ever transfer. who doesn't want a georgetown degree? 7. doubt toby's budget for assistants was high enough to have people move to DC, some with families. seems to me he has done a pretty great job with getting this many hires in the first place. sounds like you believe every bad thing you hear, third-person, about rens, unless of course you have personal experience in the same gym. Hope you enjoy the season! and i do appreciate your updates (though not the sarcasm) from the scrimmage. I would like more insight and less snarkiness (including the disrespectful handle). But it's your forum, too. Go Hoyas! My guess is you are assistant coach Jackie as your account was just opened in June. Same time Jackie was hired. Right VolleyballJACK? Not too creative with the handle. Anyway, um, NO Toby NEVER won a Big East Championship. Is that what he told you? Is that what you are selling recruits/transfers? The internet is a wonderful thing, information is easily accessible. Toby has "coached" for 19 years. 5 of which have been at a recognizable school, Pitt. The others are a joke. Chicago State, LIU, UMES twice, Northern Michigan. There's a reason in 19 years he's only coached at 1 legit school until now when the AD decided to go the cheap route. You dont get top notch coaches on the cheap. Regardless of the reasoons Toby hired who he did for assistants, the fact remains they have ZERO meaningful experience coaching D1 athletes. They are ALL learning on the job. Good luck, coach, i hope you find a job that can actually pay you after this season. But, your inexperience will probably force you to stay at least another year. I hope you like beans and franks. Maybe you can rent a room from Toby, gotta be tough living in DC on $30k
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Post by Toby2 on Aug 19, 2018 11:14:25 GMT -5
Like most incoming freshman players, they need time to transition to the speed and intensity of D1 Vball. Based on just one scrimmage, the only freshman ready to play is the DS. She is quick and keeps the ball in play-something that has been missing for years in that position. Pair her with the senior libero and GU finally has some strong backrow defense. The freshman hitter from CA shows promise: not flashy, but a steady passer and has a nice swing. There are some sleepers on the team that have been underutilized or mismanaged in the past. King was playing RS in spring tournaments and killing it. Smart move on Ren’s part. Kelly is one of team’s best passers and can move. Like to see her paired with the UMES OH transfer, who will most likely be one of the go-to 6-to hitters. Plovonka brings energy to the court-something that was missing from the setting position in years past. Plovonka only played DS last season. Strange. Never understood why former coaches didn’t work her in as a setter last season and try to develop her-especially since team was struggling match after match. Gotta blame coaches for lack of vision. Continuing to play the same starting line up when that starting line up lost game after game was puzzling. Rens will most likely be more willing to take some risks and adapt, switching out players depending on the strengths and weaknesses of the opposing team. Looking forward to watching him develop this team. Well, since u have a total of 3 posts and opened your account just days ago, I suspect you are a new parent with a kid on the team or a new coach. So, let me fill you in on reality. McKnight was hands down the best setter on the team. Thats why she played over Margo. Margo is not the answer in my opinion, not skilled or athletic enough. The transfer setter, well, my guess is she is there as an emergency back up should Margo get injured, fail or they decide to try a 6-2. Toby ran off McKnight who had a year of eligibility left as well as some other kids. There's a reason Toby bounces around from job to job at low level schools. And there's a reason he failed at Pitt and was dismissed. Pitt, now with Dan Fisher taking over for Toby, has been a top notch program since day 1. I'm sure Toby will have a much better record this year than in previous years as his non-conference schedule is extremely weak. They only play 1 school in a power 5 conference out of their 12. And, Georgia Tech is hardly a challenge. I'm not sure how he got Wilhite, but coming from USC there will be a shock for her as the season goes on regarding differences in a lack of resources and competence between the two programs. My guess is she will not finish her career at Gtown. Look for her to transfer out at some point. Toby has increased the talent level from last year, no doubt about it. And, he has enough players (except at setter and DS) attackers specifically, and an easy preconference schedule to show a vast improvement from years past. But, when Toby settles in, and his personality is on full display, Gtown will realize they need a new coach. The AD got Toby on the cheap, rather than going after a top notch head coach or assistant at a big time program. That decision to not pay a competitive wage for their new head coach will be detrimental in the medium and long term. I will be interested in seeing how this plays out. I've watched this program for many years and will continue to do so even if I dont agree with the AD's hire or how the coach goes about his business. I love my school but I dont think Toby was the right hire. I think his coaching staff selections show he does not have a very good reputation amongst fellow coaches as none of his assistants have any coaching experience of any relevance in college. Which tells me, nobody of substance or competence was willing to work for him. And, based on all the new posters on this thread I'm sure some of them are new coaches and I will hear about it on this forum shortly. Have at it.
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Post by Toby2 on Aug 18, 2018 18:27:12 GMT -5
Not surprised setting was an issue. I was hoping some of the new OH would make a difference. Don't know if it was folks not playing or what. Time will tell. While hard to do if setting isn't your strength, there are ways to creatively get OH in advantageous positions - IF your back row can control the pass. Can one of you folks who were there say how the back row looked? Like OH, that was a continuous issue previously. The libero and DS looked very good. The issue last year was passing from the OHs in the back row. That remains to be seen as they shuffled OHs in and out so its tough to tell who will play 6 rotations. But, if what I'm hearing is true then it will be the transfer from Toby's old school UMES. Toby has a history of favoring "his" kids and isolating/cutting kids from prior coaching staffs. He's done it at every one of his coaching stops. Time will tell.
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Post by Toby2 on Aug 17, 2018 20:40:54 GMT -5
Anyone go to the scrimmage with Howard? What did you see? I was there. Setting is going to be a problem. The middles looked good but the issue is still no OH that are big enough to hit at a high enough percentage to beat respectable teams. Howard played with their lineup all match and treated it like a scrimmage, which it was. I think I saw Toby's boyfriend there as well. Good for him. Its great to see his significant other support him in his first match as Georgetown head coach.
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Post by Toby2 on Aug 7, 2018 8:59:49 GMT -5
Here is Georgetown’s team hitting percentage for the last three years: 2017 - .212 2016 - .179 2015 - .190 And those numbers are in spite of Speech’s career .337 average over that same period (.377, .327, and .290). I think it’s fair to say that if the Hoyas want to see real improvement, that team number needs to go up. A lot. For the record, Vujosevic hit .261 last year. Edited to add the hitting percentages and opponents' hitting percentages from the Big East last season (%/Opp. %): Creighton: .279/.188 Marquette: .268/.202 Butler: .247/.174 Villanova: .236/.216 Seton Hall: .210/.234 St. John's: .213/.231 Xavier: .193/.212 Providence: .206/.213 Georgetown: .212/.251 DePaul: .181/.247 There is a pretty noticeable drop from the top four in the conference (.279, .268, .247, .236) to the rest of the conference (.213, .212, .210, .206, .193, .181). It'd be nice to see Georgetown put another 20-30 points onto that attack percentage (they increased it 33 points last season - a comparable increase would be fantastic). A net increase of 60 kills over the course of the season (0.5 kills/set) would do it. Similarly, it'd be nice to see the opponent's kill percentage drop a comparable amount. Hopefully some stronger blocking and a better back row with (presumably) Higareda and Cusi will bring that down a bit. Vujosevic's hitting percentage was largely a result of good performances against weak competition. When she played a legit D1 school her numbers were not good. I suspect at 5'11" without, a significant jump, she will not see the same success in the Big East. I'm sure she will do fine in the preseason as Toby put together a cupcake schedule.
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Post by Toby2 on Aug 6, 2018 20:27:16 GMT -5
Better hope Sinnette is not a starter, she was a walking error last year whether it was at the net, on the service line or in the back row. Toby has better options this year and wont have to deal with Sinnette and her errors that cost the team matches. That is the kind of stuff I didn't get to see last year so I take your view. I will be the first to state/admit hitting .144 for the year is not "optimum". I just don't know if it was her issue or being asked to always do something with nothing. [/quote] She is a career .147 hitter over 3 years. I'd say its HER issue.
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Post by Toby2 on Aug 6, 2018 18:58:36 GMT -5
You're right, and I definitely did not intend to slight those players. If it sounded that way, it wasn't intended. I absolutely think they will compete for playing time, as I said, and I will not be surprised at all to see important contributions from the freshmen. There is a lot of talent on the roster and I hope that leads to productive competition within the team that will make everyone better. [/quote] As you inferred, we are a little weak at setter but have at least 2 and only have 2 other back row - but we have the most front line competition I have ever seen at GU. And some high end pieces. Assuming Speech at one middle, and likely Sinnette at one OH, then you start looking at some real competition to see who else gets on the court. You have to think Wilhite will be the other middle based on her recruiting status but there are folks to push. 2 other somewhat open spots with no one really having a hold on the other OH and RS positions from last year. I don't see any way anyone can be settled and comfortable. Too many times I saw players who were not pushed and stayed too comfortable with the smaller rosters. This should be a lot of fun to follow.[/quote] Better hope Sinnette is not a starter, she was a walking error last year whether it was at the net, on the service line or in the back row. Toby has better options this year and wont have to deal with Sinnette and her errors that cost the team matches.
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Post by Toby2 on Aug 6, 2018 18:49:14 GMT -5
Did I read this correctly? 2015? Colby College? AND played sparingly. I hope Toby has better options at setter this year.
Played one season at Colby College as a freshman in 2015 … Played in nine matches and 18 sets for the Mules …
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Post by Toby2 on Jul 10, 2018 20:28:42 GMT -5
Nice to see a lot of preseason games at Georgetown The new facility is really helping with that - and I hope the home games are a help with recruiting. At this point I can only hope the new Coach Rens works out. Hiring one assistant coach this close to the start of the season isn't great news but let's see. Program needed shaking up and he gets his shot. Its not going to help with recruiting, kids dont care about home matches. Its just more evidence the school doesnt support the sport as they r unwilling to budget for 2 trips in preseason like most other programs. Coach Rens has done nothing with recruiting since hes been named coach. His personality and reputation are catching up with him and he wont be able to recruit foreign players at GU like he has at other schools to make up for it. He did schedule a WEAK nonconference so he should start the season off ok.
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