Sims?

[RBHoya]

He definitely looked good tonight. I liked seeing Nikita, Henry and Greg across the frontline. If we go that route in a situation where DaJuan is not in foul trouble, I'd really be intrigued. Has DaJuan played the 3 spot much this year, other than maybe a couple minutes? Maybe that's one of the reasons why Henry isnt getting as much PT and we're not seeing the tall lineup? Maybe they dont WANT to play DaJuan at the 3 for some reason? Just speculating.

If Henry doesn't start to get at least a little regular run after this game, I'd have to admit it's a little weird. He is doing well in the time he gets. I'd like to see the starting lineup stay the same, but I'd like the 6th man to be Clark, 7th Sims and 8th Nikita with Julian only getting spot minutes for Greg to give him a quick breather or if he's got foul trouble, and Omar only getting minutes if we need energy or have foul trouble. I think for the stretch run you want primarily an 8 man rotation, and personally I know who I'd want the 8 to be right now.

[alleninxis]

I really would like to see

Wright
Sapp
Summers
Sims
Monroe

[idhoya]

Nikita has to at least pretend to drive to the hoop. He did once tonight, but was so slow had to fan out when the defender who came over late, got in front of him. He has to be aggressive at all times. His length is more of a factor than Austin's bulk at the three. Has to be more than a shooter.

[vcjack]

The Bearcats are a good matchup for him so I'd hope that he gets plenty of time on Saturday

[daytonahoya31]

Sir Saxa,

I'm happier than anyone that I was wrong about that statement. It's only for one game, though. I hope henry continues to get minutes. Next season, if dajuan leaves, him and Greg on that frontline would be scary on both ends of the court.

Henry needs minutes. He's going to be a great player once he gets strength.

[HoyaFanNY]

jason, henry, and nikita should be the rotation off the bench. wattad is flat out terrible and julian can't seem to do anything right lately.

[skyhoya]

Nikita had some good minutes. Also he had a drive that was successful which he finished with his RIGHT hand! Once again tonite we had the weak, bad passes from both DuJuan and Austin, why are they in such a hurry for to pass it without viewing the court. Henry finally looked like he belonged on the the defensive court last night.

[hoyatamale]

I agree with everyone that Henry played much better last night than in any other game this year. We certainly deserves more PT and I think we will see it downt he stretch now that Julian has become completely ineffective at both ends and a huge liability.

I think it would be rash to say Austin needs to take a seat so Henry can start, but playing a bigger lineup may help against teams like UL and SU.

Nikita rather than Omar is a nice change, but I think that has to do with Nikita starting to score while Omar has gone cold. Nikita is a HUGE liability of denfense due to this unathletic body and poor defensive skills.

The improvement by Henry and Nikita is incouraging, but the degressing of Julian and Omar is a concern for the rest of this year and the summer.

[hoyalove4ever]

Jan 31, 2009 20:48:00 GMT -5 RBHoya said:

I like Henry, have always maintained that he'll be a very good player at Georgetown, and would be happy to see him get some more run.

But, this strikes me as a textbook case of "the guy at the end of the bench is the answer to all of our problems!" syndrome. Very common among fans of teams that are struggling. In football (especially college) it's usually fans clamoring for the backup quarterback, but it happens a lot in hoops too. People see a guy in short spurts/garbage time and he looks alright, and then nobody can understand why he's not playing.

Henry has some ability, but he isn't a pitbull, nor is he a Marcus Camby type player despite the similar build. He has a little shotblocking ability but he isn't what I'd call a strong defensive player. And while he's probably one of the better rebounders we've got just by virtue of his length, he isn't a great rebounder as of yet either. Is that enough to overcome his lack of understanding of the nuances of the offense? I guess not, according to JTIII.

Overall I just don't think he'd be the difference maker. He will be very good in time but he's still very raw for now. It's not like we've got Alonzo Morning stashed down on the end of the bench. The overall success of this team is gonna be determined by how well our first unit plays. I am much more worried about the play of Chris, Jessie and Austin than I am about Henry right now.

I still agree with these sentiments, even after Sims played well last night. If he continues to play well, both in practice and the games, he will get more time- but that doesn't necessarily mean 20 or even 15 minutes a game. Sims may help this team down the stretch, but he is not the answer to our problems.

[HoyaSinceBirth]

I think Nikita has been doing a lot better on the defensive end lately. He did really well recently at Cinci? i think. He had 7 rebounds. He's had a couple steals the past couple games and even had a block recently. I really like his effort on defense.

[TBird41]

Feb 4, 2009 9:31:39 GMT -5 hoyatamale said:

I agree with everyone that Henry played much better last night than in any other game this year. We certainly deserves more PT and I think we will see it downt he stretch now that Julian has become completely ineffective at both ends and a huge liability.

I think it would be rash to say Austin needs to take a seat so Henry can start, but playing a bigger lineup may help against teams like UL and SU.

Nikita rather than Omar is a nice change, but I think that has to do with Nikita starting to score while Omar has gone cold. Nikita is a HUGE liability of denfense due to this unathletic body and poor defensive skills.

The improvement by Henry and Nikita is incouraging, but the degressing of Julian and Omar is a concern for the rest of this year and the summer.

I don't think Nikita is all that big of a liability on defense. He's held his own the past few games and he's a good rebounder and he hustles (he is ALWAYS the first Hoya on the floor for a loose ball).

And I think you're overrating Omar in terms of his defense and his shooting ability. He flops alot, so he draws charges, but he loses his man ALL the time, and he's not quick enough to guard most shooting guards and he's not tall enough to guard most small forwards.

And he's not actually a good shooter (or at least hasn't shown he is). He's shooting 27.5% from behind the arc and he's only made more than one field goal three times--against UT, Savannah St and WVU. He also has decided he has a mid range game, because he keeps taking (and missing) long jumpers.

[lichoya68]

JSUT OH HENRY NUF SAID

[Cambridge]

Feb 1, 2009 7:33:07 GMT -5 SFHoya99 said:

I like Sims, but I think the reason he hasn't played much recently is matchups.

He's a big man defensively. He's not ready for the Greg/Julian role offensively, which means he'll see most of his time at PF.

He can't guard someone like Lazar Hayward. He's slow to the corner in the zone right now as well (though the whole team is).

And he's not a great offensive rebounder and not a good enough post player yet to punish a guy like Hayward on the other end.

I suspect this is at least part of the reason.

I suspect he'll play himself into more run.

I think this was proved right last night. We play a team that Sims matches up with...and he gets playing time - over 13 minutes in fact - and he was very effective. Love it.

[JWallsTreBalls]

Sims has an amazing first half and then who comes off first in the 2nd?

wootad, nikita, then finally henry - hmmm -

speaking of defense, yes nikita fouls like crazy, but wootad is much worse.

[professorhoya]

Feb 4, 2009 18:03:51 GMT -5 JWallsTreBalls said:

Sims has an amazing first half and then who comes off first in the 2nd?

wootad, nikita, then finally henry - hmmm -

speaking of defense, yes nikita fouls like crazy, but wootad is much worse.

You have 5 fouls, you might as well use them. I have no problem with that. In fact sometimes I think the starters don't foul enough play aggressive enough on D.

The only ones who really need to avoid foul trouble on the team are Monroe and Summers.

[DanMcQ]

Wash Times - Barker Davis: Freshman holds key for Hoyas - Sims focused on consistency