OldHoyafan
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Post by OldHoyafan on Apr 19, 2010 20:53:01 GMT -5
Greg was not the reason we got airtime. Coach JTIII and the program he resurrected was the reason. And it will be long after Greg is gone. Greg used the platform already provided by JTIII, and the Ewing, Jr's, Jeff Green's, and Hibbert's, to showcase his skills to make him appeal to NBA teams as a lotto pick. Let's stop with the revisionist history. Greg was not Ewing, Mourning or Iverson or Jeff Green. I'm not sure if he was even as good as Sweetney. Greg was the 2nd coming of Othella Harrington. A lot of hype, top recruit to come into school, but minus the impact, and a dip in performance level as a team when he was here his 1st 2 years.. Greg came here, we became an afterthought two postseasons in a row, couldn't close out strong or finish, and became a passive team that took a step back defensively. I must say "the way" has been consistant in his criticism of Monroe throughout this year and last. Monroe is a talented kid but lacked the aggressiveness coming out of high school and unfortunate for him did not have a Hoya like Ewing, Mourning, or Green to show him how to be soft spoken but carry a mean streak into the game. He really could have benefited from playing with Green or Ewing Jr., for a year like Hibbert did to learn how to have a controlled aggressiveness on both ends of the court. I wish this young man the best at the next level. I hope he can play with a guy like Duncan who will show him how to lead without being very vocal.
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OldHoyafan
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Post by OldHoyafan on Apr 17, 2010 12:30:21 GMT -5
Its funny how things work out. Due to transfers and decommits the Hoyas have been one or two players short of a great team since the final four team. Even with the final four team you could say the Hoyas were missing that explosive guard like Wright that would have put them over the top of Ohio State. Monroe's departure makes the Hoyas thin and inexperienced at the big forward position. The only person that is projected with the ability to handle that position is Lubick and he will be a freshman. The rest of the big men 6'8" plus are really projected as centers in this system. That includes Sims, who I hope the experiment to make him a 4 has ended. I ,like others, am tired of "small ball" and hope there is no idea to play Hollis at the 4 position. I think it would be worse than the Summers experiment. The irony is that the Hoyas have been sending big men to the NBA the last 4 years yet the strentgth of the team has been increasingly guard oriented. The system developes big men's ability to pass, handle and shoot the long ball, but because of the things noted earlier the Hoyas have not had a 4 and 5 with the abilites of Roy and Jeff to play at the same time since they left. Maybe Abraham and Lubick will be that 4 yeat tandem.
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OldHoyafan
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Post by OldHoyafan on Apr 12, 2010 9:05:48 GMT -5
Reminds me of Othella with the MS connection and numbers. Much better athlete than O though. I like that he's a good student; don't like that LSU is involved. We'll see I guess. III going stealth on this one. Nice I agree the high interest in LSU is problematic since they have deep roots in this area. I would not rule out a late charge by Miss. State either.
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OldHoyafan
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Hollis
Apr 12, 2010 8:53:14 GMT -5
Post by OldHoyafan on Apr 12, 2010 8:53:14 GMT -5
I am not sure we are stacked. The new class looks great on paper, but can they adapt to IIIs style of play. I can't believe that Henry hasn't made it into the rotation. I watched him play in some senior tournaements, he was a stud. What happened? Nate is playing right now in similiar tourneys and looks great. I can't get my hopes up on a big productive bench, just yet. However, when we went to the four guard lineup against Ohio, Hollis looked good. Henry was a stud in high school because he played center instead of big forward. The big forward position in JT3's system is more demanding. Henry does not have the consistant shot, foot speed(offensively and defensively), and handle for the position in this system. Put him back at center and I believe he can be a stud again.
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OldHoyafan
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Post by OldHoyafan on Apr 11, 2010 11:49:22 GMT -5
That loser asking the questions is annoying with his Indiana agenda - he's fishing to either try to get Moses to say something negative about Gtown recruitment or somehow change his mind. Or, get the kid to infer some improper conduct by JT2 or JT3. The guy with the Indiana agenda just does not understand why a kid from Africa could turn his back on all the bells and frills that IU could offer to attend a school that does not have all the same bells and frills. Its called tradition and family. His family knows from Deke that Georgetown will be an extension of his family back home and that the tradition of graduating its players and its tradition of molding big men for the NBA will suit him best at this early stage of his development. The kid seems able to handle himself well. Good get JT3.
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OldHoyafan
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Post by OldHoyafan on Apr 6, 2010 9:52:12 GMT -5
A couple of points from someone who hates both teams but hates all "underdogs" unless my favorite team is the "underdog". Hypocritical? PROUDLY SO. As for Kellogg "sucking up"--guys you do know that Sean McM Edited is a huge Duke fan and believe he's an alum of the school in Durham. He also happens to run things at CBS. My annual "have you ever noticed....." will be posted here again: 1. Seth Davis, Jay Bilas, Mike Gminski, and Jim Spanarkle all work for CBS. All attended Duke. 2. I actually don't mind any of these guys--but it's a Duke/ACC flavored network. 3. Throw in Len Elmore, Dan Bonner, and "Jersey Guys" Bill Rafferty and Bob Wenzel (for some reason all of Jersey loves Duke and UNC) and you get guys who defend the ACC (which means Duke/UNC) "love" and hype in tournament. 4. Turn to ESPN--and you've got Bilas, Jay Williams, Hubert Davis, Dick Vitale (Jersey Guy), and Digger Phelps (complete tool) Bob Knight--(Coach K's coach) and it's going to support the movement/love of those ACC (again that just means UNC and Duke) teams. 5. When your entire schedule is shown by ESPN "family" and CBS, along with FOX Sports, you will be able to attract highly ranked recruits. Throw in that networks make it seem like your games are far more important then anything else the sport offers, you get this "love/hate" thing or in my case it's "HATE/HATE". To take the opposing view-I HATE any mid major CinderFELLA team. It should be more obvious to Hoya fans why I can't stand them after the screw job Georgetown received in their "pod placement" in '08 to face the loveable Stephen Curry and his band of merry dorks. Games are not about who is better-they are survival contests to try and advance to Sweet 16 where you hope big schools are there so you can play ball and decide it--and not have to deal with "Skippy the clown boy falls down-automatic foul on big boy team". Or you can't disappoint the crowd with letting this team get blown out so we as officials will keep game "close" to reward a great run/season. It happens FAR too often. CinderFELLA is ruining the sport. They aren't skilled/good enough to win--Butler went 22 out of 40 2nd Half minutes without a FIELD GOAL. They won a game by 2 and lost by 2. They often don't attempt to get a good shot--and often miss high percentage shots where they hope to get bailed out. Georgetown was 20 pts better then Butler this year and wasn't allowed to win that way--as a stiff with a porn stache kept falling down and flopping until Greg Monroe got into foul trouble--then Henry Sims got into foul trouble and game was "fair" for the "little guy". It used to be that if you sucked in a particular game--you got your ass handed to you and that was that. Since CBS has taken over--it's not about basketball in opening 2 rounds and how often do you hear the studio get upset when "no upsets are happening"? Who gives a crap? I want to see the BEST TEAMS play--not some clowns who can't shoot. Hoyas suffered that fate in '08--this year they got their butt whipped due to not defending-but games are officiated to take the talent/size advantage away and make game more "even" and it sucks. Whether it's having to see Roy Hibbert sit on bench because Davidson couldn't match up, or Derrick Caracter get 3 quick fouls in 2nd Half to help Butler in 1st Round because Howard couldn't stop him. It's lame and sucks. If a team is good enough--like George Mason was in '06--that is great to see. They were better then Michigan State and UNC that year, and they beat UConn--they didn't get help--they flat out beat them. Then when it came to an end--they didn't get calls--they just got crushed. Crap happens--too bad-but life goes on. Butler is DUKE or what Duke was/is perceived to be. They flop, they grab, hold, and get talked about like the "Butler Way" is good for basketball. Basketball is supposed to be a sport predicated on skill, movement, and players showcasing talent. Instead we get flopping/free throw contests and survival from superior teams due to anytime "Johnny DimpleCheeks" falls because that big bad guy from Major conference bumped him. It's rewarded and the playing field is made "even"--which isn't what life is about. Either you can hang or you can't--but that isn't/hasnt been CBB for a long time and it sucks. Let's just say if Draymond Green's shot on Saturday was attempted by Gordon Hayward--there is no way a foul wouldn't have been called. NONE. Like it, don't like it, it's just speaking from watching teams get screwed yearly for simply being more talented and having the "difference" limited by numerous factors. Duke factor is obvious--stated above why they are "protected" but they also proved to do what others wouldn't/couldn't in that enviornment. Tonight was being talked about as a "great game" and "All time game" by many--well 25 years ago the #1 team in country lost to a team that shot 79% from the FIELD and only lost by 2 points. That is a great game--albeit crappy as a fan of team we support--but watching teams go scoreless for 12 minutes from field, or 9 minutes tonight--and go to the FT line to "help" them score isn't what basketball is about, nor should it be. Jon Scheyer got a call--but he also got killed on two 3pt attempts--and same no call Austin Freeman got in BET--that irritates me to this day--so what is difference? Can't complain simply because I hate Duke--even though I hate them less then CinderFELLA team. Fouls are fouls. Screw jobs are just that, but Duke won due to Butler not being able to make FT's, layups, and shots-you know the things that SHOULD decide games. I did not plan on posting this morning but after reading RDF's post I thought it needed to be reposted on the next page. Great post on what CBS has done to what was the best sports event of the year. Most of my friends are NBA fans, but I am not because the the zone defense and result oriented referees have killed the game as a true competitive sport. CBS has now done the same thing to the NCAA Championship. It is slanted for Cinderfellas to win some games they would not win in regular season with halfway impartial refs. It will continue this way until the fans of college basketball start turning away from this charade. The powers that be think adding more teams next year will increase the fan base, I think it will do just the opposite.
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OldHoyafan
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Post by OldHoyafan on Mar 29, 2010 14:22:45 GMT -5
Have to agree that this kid has some serious finishing skills. Especially like the already developed ability to finish with his left hand. Also like that he blocks shots with his left hand which will enhance his shotblocking ability. Since we have not heard anything about a conditional offer on the part of Georgetown, i.e. (must get grades in order first), then what would keep this kid from signing in the fall? Besides, wasn't one of the reasons Abraham chose Georgetown was that he could play with his old teammate Goodman? I like Hollis' potential to develope an ability to get to the basket in traffic with the dribble, but this kid ,at 6'8" ,already has it and looks like he has a pretty decent 3pt shot also.
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OldHoyafan
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Post by OldHoyafan on Mar 22, 2010 8:40:08 GMT -5
Not enough good players due to some recruiting misses and player attrition. That should rectified next year IF Greg stays. Agree, sometimes "stuff" happens no matter how well thought out the plans were. I think we all agree that the present Hoyas lack depth in height and muscle under the basket. If you look at what has happened over the past 2 years you see that JT3 and staff had a plan to address these areas, but had some unfortunate circumstances happen. Height- remember the Hoyas had an oral commitment from 6'11" Deshonte Riley to go along side Monroe and Sims. Muscle- remember the Hoyas had a verbal commitment from 6'8", 245 lb Braswell to play along side Monroe, Sims and Riley. Riley at last moment changed his mind and Braswell found out about his academic elligibility at the last moment so JT3 and staff have been scrambling ever since. If the present 2010 class of Lubick and Starks can include Abraham or Walker or both then the team should be at full strength as for as depth in height and muscle is concerned.
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OldHoyafan
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Post by OldHoyafan on Mar 19, 2010 5:55:23 GMT -5
After the disaster last night I needed an uplift so I put in the "feel good" movie Blindside. AS I watched the scene where Michael Oher decides to do his term paper on Tennyson's poem"The charge of the light brigade", it dawned on me what might be happening with this team. I think that JT3 is a very good X and O's coach. He has taken the Princeton offence taught him under Carril and tweaked it to become his hybrid offense. He has taken some of the man-to-man principles of his dad's defense and tweaked it to get his switching man-to-man defense. What then is missing with this team that has 3 Mckie D AA? I think it is that common bond of playing for something bigger than your individual self. Just as the soldiers in the poem rode off to a certain death, they did so because it was for a cause greater than themselves. When JT2 was building the program back in the late 70's and early 80's it was Hoya Paranoia, "us against the world" that was the common bond amongst all JT2's players. They played to show the world that they were good and that their coach was a good coach. JT2's teams parlayed that attitude into a National Championship in 1984. When JT3 took over the program it was at a low level of recognized prominance in college basketball, i.e. Billy Packer comment "why would major recruit go to GTown". His battle cry was "we are Georgetown, some have forgotten, but we will make them remember" J. Green,J. Wallace, R. Hibbert,Sapp, Pat,Jr, all came to Georgetown and played for Georgetown to make that battle cry a reality. To make people remember that Georgetown was and would be again a national power. They played with a common purpose to get the Hoyas back to the Final Four. They played for something bigger than themselves. That motivation can make you forget your nerves and play inspired ball. Last year's team and this year's team seemed to lack that motivation of wanting to prove the Hoyas were back. The Green, Wallace and Hibbert teams had already done that. Their job was to maintain that status, but they could not except when faced with the motivation to prove that they were as good as the top teams i.e., the victories over UConn last year Duke, Nova, Syracuse, and Pitt this year. As I look back on last night and how Ohio torched their defense. It was not because they were lazy or did not care, it was because they were the favorites and the pressure of the big stage put concrete in their feet. They were not trying to prove that they could beat a good team they were just trying to maintain. They were not playing for somethng bigger than themselves. The task for JT3 forward will be to convince these young guys that while The Final Four is the Mecca of college ball, it is raising that trophy at the end that is the ultimate goal, not to just get there. Green, Wallace and Hibbert did not complete the journey, they must ban together and finish the job of being national champs again before the world really remembers and recognizes that the Hoyas are back. That's why the snake oil salesman Calipari will win it all this year because he has his young Kentucky team playing to restore the glory of Kentucky basketball and to win him his first national title. They are playing for something bigger than their individual selves.
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OldHoyafan
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Post by OldHoyafan on Mar 18, 2010 23:34:03 GMT -5
its not humiliating when a better team beats you. i'm still confused when we lose, the excuse is always "we didn't show up". so, for 11 games this season we simply did not show up, and we were a better team than every team we played on our schedule? "well we beat villanova and duke" yeah, well, nova aint all that, and duke certainly isn't. "well, we beat Syracuse in the big east tournament" now that was a game, where the better team did not show up. i'm sorry guys, but we aint that good, we are just okay. we are soft, athletically average, and don't have a floor general to run the offense. our NBA lottery pick at Center's best skill is passing the basketball. that should tell you something. teams like that get bounced in the first round. Thank you Way for putting this in some perspective. This team has some very good individual parts Monroe, Freeman and Wright but really as a team they have some deficiencies athletically and as self-motivators. These guys came together at times during the season and played some great ball and beat some good teams, but it seems as though those were the over-achieving efforts not the normal efforts. So I guess the coach should get credit for getting them this far?
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OldHoyafan
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Post by OldHoyafan on Mar 18, 2010 22:44:46 GMT -5
For those who say that Monroe would be a top 10 pick, you are correct the NBA teams will not pass on a 6'11" guy that has a good handle and can run the court. He would have been a lottery pick last year too just on potential. For those who say that he should stay because he has some work to do to complete his game you too are correct. With all the good things Greg did this year, lets be honest, who improved their game most over the summer? Vaughn bulked up and became a better rebounder and defender, Clark improved his handle and his 3pt jump shot, Freeman lost weight and improved mobility and regained his 3pt shot(until tonight), Wright worked on his decision making and became a better point guard. To be honest the Greg Monroe I saw this year is the same Greg Monroe I saw last year. the young man was as enormaously talented last year as he was this year. I did not see any signs however that he bulked up either in upper body strength or lower body strength. I did not see a stronger right hand than last year, and his outside shot seems to have gotten worse along with freethrow shooting. Again this kid is talented and can contribute to the success of this team just as he is, but if he really wants to take the team to the next level then he will have to put in some hard work over the summer physically and mentally. The mental part is just becoming more mature on court, and stop complaining on every foul and demanding ball more often. Make your temmates get you the ball. Cus them out if they don't. Or he could do absolutely nothing and still get drafted in the top ten at NBA draft
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OldHoyafan
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Post by OldHoyafan on Mar 18, 2010 22:01:28 GMT -5
Realistically, who cares, we couldn't do it with three MCD's all-americans, why not try it again with two or less. I have followed this team for 26 years, mostly quietly observing. However, this team had no fire, no Michael Graham or Perry McDonald to put it in your face. These boys, no matter how much revered, never had it. The Junior High Girls team I just finished coaching instilled more fear than this team. I have travelled 2000 miles for the last three seasons to support this team. I have always given them the benefit of the doubt. The sad fact is, we play soft, and we got beat with a stick, and couldn't fight back. Bring back the men, bring back the fight. Stick it someone else face and let them react to it. Ditto lucky, Monroe is a very good player whose position in the Pro's will have to be small forward, but his out side shot is very suspect and he is very soft. He may bolt to the league but scouts see a lot of holes in his game, they will still be drafting him on potential like an Al Jefferson of Timberwolves but less athletic but better passer.
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OldHoyafan
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Post by OldHoyafan on Mar 18, 2010 21:43:36 GMT -5
Bottom line, this team all except Wright mailed it in tonight especially on defense. As Ohio players turned the corner with no one stopping them before they got to the basket . They got cought looking ahead at having to play Tenn., Ohio State and Kansas in successsion and thought they could just show up toniight for the win. I love JT3 but as I looked down the bench that he recruited I saw no one that he could put in to light a spark under these guys either on defense or offense. Having said that, sometimes a coach has to realize that he as coach may have to be a catalyst for his team. Sometimes they just can't figure it out themselves ,so you have to do someting drastic, i.e. purposely get a technical, pull all five starters and play zone defense for a couple of minutes, play a trapping defense for a couple of series just to show team a different look, or send someone like Henry in the game and tell him to give a hard foul anytime guard drove the lane. Make them shoot from foul line but send the message that there will be a price to pay for trying to drive the lane. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. Thats what was happening tonight and the team needed a catalyst to shake them out of their stupor. It was not going to come from the bench so the coach had to be it, and unfortunately III had no arrows in his quiver or chose not to use them.
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OldHoyafan
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Post by OldHoyafan on Mar 15, 2010 15:11:03 GMT -5
If John Thompson Jr. hadn't gushed about the kid's ability I wouldn't be following this saga. That being said JT II's word on defensive minded bigs carries huge weight. If Moses wasn't really good I can't see Pops going to see him. JT2's interest in this kid is what got me reading this thread also. Defensive ability and rebounding ability were always first with him and he knows that is what his son's team needs right now. A defensive stopper under the basket who is a tenacious rebounder who, once he gets a hand on the ball the other team does not even try to strip him like they regularly do with success to Monrue,Vaughn and Thompson.
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OldHoyafan
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Post by OldHoyafan on Mar 14, 2010 0:03:35 GMT -5
This probably belongs on the recruiting page, but if Moses watched this game and saw the heart his future teammates played with tonight despite being outrebounded by a taller and deeper team, he could not help but be excited about what he could add to this team next year.
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OldHoyafan
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Post by OldHoyafan on Mar 13, 2010 23:40:18 GMT -5
I feel bad for Vaughn, who was fouled out on a charge, two off-the-ball plays and a bogus block -- all in about 30 seconds of court time. It just sucks for him. The young man is reported to have th flu so you can't fault him a whole lot,but he was a step slow all night. The only foul called on him that I questioned was the last one. One silver lining from this game was Smith a small forwards ability to keep Monroe out of the paint by himself. the pro scouts will tell him that he needs to add more bulk and strenght to play in the NBA. An NBA PF would push him out to the top of the Key. Needs yo come back for one more year of seasoning like Jeff.
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OldHoyafan
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Post by OldHoyafan on Mar 13, 2010 23:29:36 GMT -5
Look that was a great game! These Hoyas showed a lot of heart coming back from 9 down after playing 3 games to their 2. WV just plays great defense. They wont face another team with that type of defense in the NCAA.
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OldHoyafan
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Post by OldHoyafan on Mar 13, 2010 22:05:14 GMT -5
Got to give it to Huggins his team plays great man-to-man defense. Reminds me of Big John's team's defense. Good omen Monroe got to 2nd half with only 1 foul. Freeman's loss his 3pt shooting touch for now. If he gets that going in 2nd half they should be able to pull away love Chris's game right now. Really not forcing anything.
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OldHoyafan
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Post by OldHoyafan on Mar 13, 2010 1:50:29 GMT -5
Watching game tonight I did not see a lot of offensive flow except a lot of moving picks. They do that really well to not get those called as fouls. They do rely alot on rebounding and are very good at getting inside position. My major concern is stamina. This will be 4th game in 4 days for Hoyas. WVU will be playing its 3rd. It looked like ND players were tired at the end especially Jackson. Leave it all on the court guys then you can rest until next Thursday/Friday.
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OldHoyafan
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Post by OldHoyafan on Mar 11, 2010 22:00:57 GMT -5
Whoever said that Sean McDonough would find a way to talk about Syracuse other than their loss today to the Hoyas was right. They just spent 5 minutes of WV vs Cincy game talking about the 6 over time game that Syracuse was in a couple years back.
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