2 questions for the board

[MCIGuy]

Aug 4, 2008 7:45:23 GMT -5 blueandgray said:

wow...if this were the case...we'd be absolutely unstoppable next year. that said, I don't think we'd have two guys at 15 plus a game... in fact, I can't remember another g'town team that has. perhaps Zo and Smitty did it.... don't think that Iverson and Page or Iverson and Harrington did either...not sure though. Not even sleepy and ewing managed that.

I think the one important factor to recall is that with JT Jr's teams you had at least 12 guys playing every game. This team will go 9 most games, sometimes 10. Plus this team will likely heavily count on the main five (Sapp, Summers Freeman, Wright and Monroe) for points so its not that difficult to imagine teh Hoyas being able to distribute numbers like that amongst that possible starting lineup. The key to it al is pace. Increase the pace and this won't be a problem. I mean two guys scoring 15 a game wouldn't be a big deal with most programs. But I guess us Hoya fans aren't used to something like that.

[MCIGuy]

Aug 4, 2008 12:22:42 GMT -5 HoyaChris said:

Aug 4, 2008 7:45:23 GMT -5 blueandgray said:

wow...if this were the case...we'd be absolutely unstoppable next year. that said, I don't think we'd have two guys at 15 plus a game... in fact, I can't remember another g'town team that has. perhaps Zo and Smitty did it.... don't think that Iverson and Page or Iverson and Harrington did either...not sure though. Not even sleepy and ewing managed that.

Its interesting how many on this board thought monroe would score more than Roy did last year (including a I believe you MCI)...and now he's on the cusp of averaging double digits with most out there. has the expectation changed?

Actually we have had 6 years in which two Hoyas have had more than 15 ppg.

1978 - Derick Jackson 17.8, John Duren 16.7
1979 - Sleepy 16.6, Craig Shelton 16.2
1980 - Sleepy 18.7, Shelton 17.3
1986 - Reggie 17.6, David Wingate 15.9
1990 - Mark Tillmon 19.8, Zo 16.5
2004 - Gerald Riley 17.0, Good Brandon 15.9

There you go. Leave it to Chris to provide the historic information.

I'm gonna go out on a limb and say Chris will average more than 12 too although maybe just by a little. Chris Wright has a Jason Williams (Duke) type of game and won't be shy about putting it up when the opportunity is there.

And I'll eat my other shoe if Sapp leads the team in scoring . Unless a couple of guys go down with injuries I simply don't see it. In fact if you took Freeman and Summers out of the lineup I think Chris Wright would put up more points than Jesse.

[prhoya]

I want Jessie to get over the 10ppg hump. IMO, he'll be 5th in scoring.

[SFHoya99]

Aug 3, 2008 14:39:05 GMT -5 blueandgray said:

who is going to lead this team in scoring?

My choices, most likely to least...

Austin
DaJuan
Chris
Jessie

With all the offensive fire power....will all 5 starters average double digits in scoring?

This question will be answered best by answering, "Will Georgetown play at a faster pace this year." Because that's going to be the key driver. Each of these guys can -- for them all to do it qill require taking a few more shots, I think.

[FewFAC]

I'm gonna put in a vote for Chris as leading scorer, and not because he isn't distributing. I see Chris getting a lot of dribble penetration where he either finishes at the rim, gets fouled and goes to the free throw line, kicks to a teammate for an open jumper off dribble penetration and, once the defense rotates to the spot up shooter, finds Chris on a passback. There really isn't any other player who can score in so many ways, and I expect it to show.

Realistically only 4 players should hit double digits on average, but two others should be really close.

[blueandgray]

it seems like quite a few of you out there are sleeping on sapp. don't!!! the guy can score in bunches...see BET sapp....or last minute of regulation versus syracuse sapp. he's also one guy who can create his own shot.... perhaps easier than dajuan can.

after having spoken to sapp's former aau coach, who also happened to coach kemba walker last summer, he told me sapp was one of the purest scorers he's ever coached. when you think of it...he has the most consistent tier drop shot on the team, has the best use of the dribble to get open, changes pace with his hesitation move better than anyone, and will compete with freeman and summers for best 3 point shooter.

jessie may just be the man.

[MCIGuy]

Aug 4, 2008 17:20:35 GMT -5 blueandgray said:

it seems like quite a few of you out there are sleeping on sapp. don't!!! the guy can score in bunches...see BET sapp....or last minute of regulation versus syracuse sapp. he's also one guy who can create his own shot.... perhaps easier than dajuan can.

after having spoken to sapp's former aau coach, who also happened to coach kemba walker last summer, he told me sapp was one of the purest scorers he's ever coached. when you think of it...he has the most consistent tier drop shot on the team, has the best use of the dribble to get open, changes pace with his hesitation move better than anyone, and will compete with freeman and summers for best 3 point shooter.

jessie may just be the man.

Sapp cannot create his shot better than Austin, Chris or DaJuan IMO. Sapp got most of his shots the last two years when left open for jumpers. True the same can be said of Jon Wallace but Wallace was such a great shooter he made it count more often. I'll give Sapp all the credit in the world for increasing his fg percentage the past two seasons but he is not close to being the most explosive and dynamic scorer on this team. I suppose its possible Sapp could lead the team in scoring but I don't think its likely. This is no swipe at Sapp necessarily; its just that this team has a nice collection of very talented players who are, at least potentially, a notch or two above Jesse. I do see Jesse averaging double figures though.

[idhoya]

Sapp may take on a "SoCal" role this year. Clutch

[SFHoya99]

Jessie is my do-everything guy. I don't mean it as an insult that he won't lead us in scoring -- simply that his college game (his high school is pretty immaterial at this point, isn't it?) has been incredibly well-rounded so far and I just don't see him exploding for big points.

He'll still be one of our best players and a player I love to see with the ball in his hands at the end.

[blueandgray]

I just don't see what dajuan has done to make people think he is so good at getting his own shot. true, dajuan can always get off a three (eventhough its usually with a hand in his face)... but I rarely see him take it hard to the hole and actually finish. he more often than not is off balance at the end of his drives and will either short arm his layups or back rim his dunk. moreover, his back to the basket game is almost non-existant. his handle is a little sloppy, he has no crossover and his mid-range game is iffy. so how exactly does he create?? after the 4th game last year I started a thread questioning dajuan's early season performance (and got slammed for doing so)... but my concern that he was forcing things and didn't look ready to be "the man" pretty much held true for most of the season. dajuan undoubtedly has a ton of potential...likely as much or more than anyone else on the team... but its time for him to play like it day in and day out. as far as sapp goes...he made more big plays than any single hoya last year and it was always on offensive. I just don't see how we knock the kid when all he did was hit big shots. that crossover jump shot 3 he hit in the final seconds to send it into overnight against the Cuse was nuts!!!!

[SFHoya99]

No one is knocking Jessie. Why is saying he won't be our leading scorer knocking him? You're completely extrapolating an opinion no one said.

Regardless of your feelings on DaJuan -- and some of what you said is right but not to the degree you've said it, IMO -- Summers still averaged more PPG than Jessie last year. I see no reason why Sapp would pass him.

[jgalt]

most likely, a similar situation will develop as last year where each game saw a different leading scorer. But I think that more points will be scored per game, because of the faster pace, and so guys are going to avereage more. I don't know or care who will lead the team in scoring

[MCIGuy]

Aug 4, 2008 19:36:23 GMT -5 blueandgray said:

I just don't see what dajuan has done to make people think he is so good at getting his own shot. true, dajuan can always get off a three (eventhough its usually with a hand in his face)... but I rarely see him take it hard to the hole and actually finish. he more often than not is off balance at the end of his drives and will either short arm his layups or back rim his dunk. moreover, his back to the basket game is almost non-existant. his handle is a little sloppy, he has no crossover and his mid-range game is iffy. so how exactly does he create?? after the 4th game last year I started a thread questioning dajuan's early season performance (and got slammed for doing so)... but my concern that he was forcing things and didn't look ready to be "the man" pretty much held true for most of the season. dajuan undoubtedly has a ton of potential...likely as much or more than anyone else on the team... but its time for him to play like it day in and day out. as far as sapp goes...he made more big plays than any single hoya last year and it was always on offensive. I just don't see how we knock the kid when all he did was hit big shots. that crossover jump shot 3 he hit in the final seconds to send it into overnight against the Cuse was nuts!!!!

Sapp made more big plays than any other Hoyas last season? Don't know about that. But that's a debate for another time.


I understand your criticisms about DaJuan however somehow DaJuan ended up scoring more points than Jesse last season anyway, right? We all know Summers can work on his handle and midrange game but he has shown enough ability to prove its well withn reach. Again I'm not suggesting he is great at finishing yet but the question posed was can he create his own shot and I think the answer is yes. Did DaJuan disappear for many Big East games? You bet. But take a look at the box scores from last season and you will see that Jesse disappeared a lot himself and he was an upperclassmen. Sapp should be praised for clutch games like the one at West Virginia but should we forget the games in which he failed to score in double figures when the Hoyas needed points?

For all your talk about Jesse one thing I can recall is that when the BE defenses got up in both Jon and Jesse's faces the Hoyas had major difficulties scoring for most of the BE regular season. Our guards were having trouble handling the press, our guards turned over the ball, our guards had trouble knocking down shots for most of the BE season. And as for driving and dishing and setting up teammates? Forget about it. But that's about creating for others.

In terms of creating for himself I have not seen much evidence of Sapp being able to improvise and beat his man off the dribble with one-on-one moves when the clock is winding down. I mean he has his moments here and there but this is not a strength. When the shot clock is expiring what Jesse will often do is dribble while standing in the same spot and then take a long range jumpshot. Sometimes it goes in, sometimes it doesn't. But that's a move that almost any D1 guard could do. Its not as if he's putting together a move that gets him a better look at a shot or a better opportunity to score. He's simply settling for a long jumper. I'll give him credit for having the onions to take the shot but doing so does not demonstrate the ability to create. You don't really see him abuse opponents with the dribble or show the ability to get to wherever he wants on the floor and pull up for a clean shot. That's what I am referring to when we talk about a guard being able to create his own shot.

Jesse is pretty good at finishing when he gets to the rack but what you have to look closely at is that he typically only gets to the basket when a lane opens up for him giving him a clear path. Still a finish is a finish and he could give DaJuan lessons in that area. And he is also pretty darn good with his assist to turnover ratio. Plus he is getting more deadly when left open beyond the three point line. I used to hate to see him take outside shots and now I feel good about the chances of those shots going in. Most importantly he is without question a guy who is going to be absolutely clutch in about five big games per season. I think I once wrote that if he was on Alonzo Mourning's senior team he would have been by far the best Gtown player on the roster other than Mourning. But in the JTII era he gets lost in the shuffle a bit because he has always played with at least a few guys who were more skilled, more explosive, more creative and more important to the Hoyas' success. There is no shame in that. He is still after all one of the best players to ever suit up for Gtown.

Maybe I give DaJuan too much credit for his potential rather than his actual performance. DaJuan has more physical tools than Jeff and Roy as far as I'm concerned but he has not come close to taking full advantage of his gifts. I can understand skepticism towards him however I don't think anyone can deny he is an upper tier athlete with some skill, a strong build and a good-looking shot. Plus he has the height to get off that shot against almost anyone. Advantage: DaJuan.

[idhoya]

One thing I do know is GU will score more points of the dribble this year.

[blueandgray]

mci...I agree with your assessment of both dajuan and jessie.

in terms of creating his own shot... summers is the better athlete so perhaps he has more ways of getting his shot off...although i'm not sure that means he's better at at converting those shots into made fieldgoals. at this juncture, I feel like jessie has gotten more out of his ability then summers has...and if it comes down to the wire.... I probably want the ball in jessie's hands.

maybe it comes down to expectations. I expected less from jessie....so when he took over at the end of several games.... it was a pleasant surprise. by contrast, given all the physical tools that dajuan has and having come off of a 20 point performance against unc, I expected much more from summers. while summers certainly has had his moments (namely his big shot against louisviille) he largely has played below his ability. you said it yourself... dajuan likely has more physical tools then jeff.... yet he's nowhere near jeff in terms of what he does for the team.

going back to the "who is going to be our leading scorer this year" question.... without a doubt, it SHOULD be dajuan. scoring aside...dajuan SHOULD also be our leader. if dajuan does either or both of these things...we go from a good team to final four contender.... but its a big if. yes, austin could certainly make the leap from good to great this year and there is a chance that wright does the same but imo, dajuan, more than anyone else on this team holds the key to our success. I just hope he's ready.

[lichoya68]

ok agree alot about creating off the dribble yup goning to the hoop much better not just jesse and jason and austin and chris but also freeman and even greg yup soooo but i think one thing for us to be a GREAT team in march dajuan HAS to be the leader and the leading scorer time to step up as he is able and lead us to the promised land so i want him to be the leader and leading scorer and be his team THATS our key to greatness OUR key to goodness is the frosh coming on yup but greatness is mr. summers and he can do it GO HOYAS

[hoyalawyer]

1- DaJuan- 16
2- Austin-15
3- Greg-13
4- Jessie- 11
5- Chris- 10

BENCH COMBINES for 16-25ppg

80-89 ppg...

I think our offense will be potent IF we are allowed to run on missed shots, and if we minimize turnovers.

[hoyalawyer]

Aug 4, 2008 17:20:35 GMT -5 blueandgray said:

and will compete with freeman and summers for best 3 point shooter.

Our "best" 3 point shooters havent even played yet (Wattad and Kita).

[prhoya]

They will when they round out the rest of their games. I would love to see Nikita get 8 mins of game and 5 for Wattad in November and December. Let's see what they can contribute now.

[hoyalawyer]

I think you're close to correct. Plus or minus 3 minutes for each (i.e. Wattad 8 Kita 5, or wattad 2 kitta 11 or wattad 11 kita 2... no telling yet).