Interesting quote from Austin Rivers

[hoyaboya]

From Scout article on why he may look at other schools besides Florida:

"My older brother made a bad choice for him. He went up to Georgetown and didn't enjoy it. He didn't fit in with their offensive scheme because they run a system that basically only used him for his defense. So he ended up having to transfer to Indiana to be able to run and play his game. That's why we are being cautious. You really only get one shot at this. I mean, I know you can transfer, but then you have to redshirt and deal with all that. It's easier, and better for everyone if you just find the right place before you enroll."

[jgalt]

To be used for offense you need to have an offensive game

but he is correct that it is better to get it right the first time than to have to transfer later.

[bigelephant]

LOL - It will be interesting to see just how many minutes he gets at Indiana.

[tlphoya]

Aug 25, 2009 9:21:45 GMT -5 hoyaboya said:

From Scout article on why he may look at other schools besides Florida:

"My older brother made a bad choice for him. He went up to Georgetown and didn't enjoy it. He didn't fit in with their offensive scheme because they run a system that basically only used him for his defense. So he ended up having to transfer to Indiana to be able to run and play his game. That's why we are being cautious. You really only get one shot at this. I mean, I know you can transfer, but then you have to redshirt and deal with all that. It's easier, and better for everyone if you just find the right place before you enroll."

It must have been terrible to be part of a Final Four team.

I hope he is happy at Indiana. Wish him well.

[HoyaSinceBirth]

yeah looking at Indiana's roster and stats from last year 4 of their 5 leading scorers were guards and their leading scorer is a returnign senior guard. Plus Maurice Creek is coming in and looked really good in Kenner. He might not be getting anymore time than he would here. Sucks to be him.

[strummer8526]

Aug 25, 2009 9:23:49 GMT -5 jgalt said:

To be used for offense you need to have an offensive game

but he is correct that it is better to get it right the first time than to have to transfer later.

But...but...he has a spin move. That's an offensive game, isn't it?

[SFHoya99]

Austin is right to get it right, because it does suck to transfer.

But Jeremiah is delusional. He played defense only because he couldn't shoot, and everyone seems to know that but him. His "game" is up and down because he can barely make a layup. You don't change a scheme for a backup guard with minimal game.

[prhoya]

P.S. to Austin: Your brother will be used for defensive purposes at Indiana.

[kghoya]

It's a shame that he wasn't comfortable with his role at Georgetown. The program needs solid 4 year players with loads of experience.

I think Jeremiah felt that he would get more buckets for an uptempo team but I've got the DVD's to prove that he basically failed at all of his fast break lay-up attempts.

[SFHoya99]

Aug 25, 2009 12:56:59 GMT -5 kghoya said:

It's a shame that he wasn't comfortable with his role at Georgetown. The program needs solid 4 year players with loads of experience.

I think Jeremiah felt that he would get more buckets for an uptempo team but I've got the DVD's to prove that he basically failed at all of his fast break lay-up attempts.

Right, I generally wish the best, but Rivers and his brother are grating on my nerves. Even if he weren't the modern day Daymond Jackson, and he was, fast breaking just gives him better stats.

It won't make him a better offensive player. It's not the team's fault Rivers couldn't make a bucket.

Just once, I'd like someone to say:

"I wanted to play more, and the other, younger, guards are better than me. I really need to work on my shot to be a complete player and the year off will provide me time to do that. Add in that there's more PT available at Indiana and I'll appreciate the style of play better, and it was an easy decision."

[prhoya]

But that requires some class and humility.

[RBHoya]

Aug 25, 2009 11:08:22 GMT -5 SFHoya99 said:

Austin is right to get it right, because it does suck to transfer.

But Jeremiah is delusional. He played defense only because he couldn't shoot, and everyone seems to know that but him. His "game" is up and down because he can barely make a layup. You don't change a scheme for a backup guard with minimal game.

I'm assuming I missed some quote from Jeremiah himself somewhere. Otherwise, this really doesn't make sense. Where is anyone suggesting that the scheme be changed to suit Jeremiah? Where has Jeremiah shown to be "delusional"?

As far as I knew, Jeremiah left Georgetown on relatively good terms. This quote itself doesn't really bother me... first, because it's not from Jeremiah himself. Second, it doesn't really make sense... Paraphrasing his 3rd sentence, he pretty much says "He didn't fit with their offense because they just used him for defense." Uh... huh? Being used for defense and fitting in with the offense aren't mutually exclusive, so obviously there was something else preventing him from fitting with the offensive scheme. Which everybody realizes was his inability to shoot, but he's not gonna come out and be like "My older brother didn't fit in at Georgetown because he can't shoot for ."

The whole idea of him or his family member saying "I didn't fit in because I can't shoot" or "I'm transferring because the younger guys are better than me" is crazy to me. Do people really want/expect this? Dude is trying to make a living off of hoops some day, is he gonna come out and tell the world that his competition is better than him? Or tell his future opponents what his weaknesses are? I mean, not doing that just seems like kind of a common sense move to me. Not to mention the ridiculousness of a 20 year old male being all "Aw shucks, I was outplayed by a better man, but by golly I'll transfer and get better!" I mean, every man has an ego to some extent, particularly guys in that age group, D-I athlete or not.

Finally, because Georgetown wasn't a good fit for him, and he will be better off playing somewhere that doesn't rely as much on outside shooting as we do. I mean, if you have a major weakness, don't go somewhere that relies heavily on that ability. Good that his brother is learning that. Does Jeremiah have to shoot better if he wants to go anywhere as a basketball players, of course, but he isn't the first athletic point guard who can't shoot. If he can elevate his shooting from bad to passable/decent, he'll be fine. In the mean time, while he works on that, might as well try to catch somebodys attention with the other things you do well (run/break/defend/and to a lesser degree handle). Makes a lot more sense than playing in an outside-shooting based O while you struggle to improve that facet.

[SFHoya99]

RB,

Jeremiah has said things such as "they didn't see me as an offensive player." There's little doubt he's done some badtalking of some kind inside the family.

But I don't really think he's represented himself poorly. Not perfect, but whatever.

That said, he and his brother are still somewhat grating on my nerves.

And no, I don't expect a 20 year old to have the sense of self to realize that many of his issues are his own, or the confidence to admit it. I know plenty of fifty years olds who aren't there.

But I'd still love someone to say what I said above. It doesn't make Jeremiah a bad person he didn't. But lots of good people grate on my nerves and lots of good people don't admit the truth.

(Rivers' transfer is much less befuddling than Macklin's, and much better handled than Riley's decommit).

[GIGAFAN99]

I think it is a little flawed to think that Rivers won't develop in ANY system because he couldn't succeed in ours. There are teams, even good ones, that have a fair number of guys who have shooting percentages in the 30s but disrupt the game on defense. And it's not like Rivers is the only one saying this or is known to have a bad attitude. Summers said something similar about his game and our offense but still had nothing but good things to say about the team.

It just wasn't for him. He's not dumping on the team so why should we be dumping on him?

[bmartin]

In every program, there are players every year who do not have as much success as they expected. At Georgetown, the offense is the handy excuse for players who do not want to accept any responsibility for their weaknesses. The truth is that the offense is adaptable to each player's skills. You don't have to be a 3-point shooter to thrive in the offense, but you do have to enough offensive skills of some kind that teams have to guard you.

[GIGAFAN99]

Aug 25, 2009 22:22:39 GMT -5 bmartin said:

In every program, there are players every year who do not have as much success as they expected. At Georgetown, the offense is the handy excuse for players who do not want to accept any responsibility for their weaknesses. The truth is that the offense is adaptable to each player's skills. You don't have to be a 3-point shooter to thrive in the offense, but you do have to enough offensive skills of some kind that teams have to guard you.

It's true here because 5 guys have to be able to score at all times and do so efficiently. But that's not even close to true on many teams. Two of the top 5 scorers on Michigan State shot under 40% from the floor. Why did they make the national final?

In a word: rebounding. In two: rebounding, defense.

If you watch Big Ten basketball, first the judge should have given you community service instead and had some mercy. Second, it's perfect for Rivers. He's the perfect guard for a team that puts up 52-47 eyesores occasionally interrupted by a running affair that's mildly entertaining.

Our offense isn't adaptable to a Rivers at all. As SF points out, so what? Roy Williams doesn't recruit a kid and say "You know, let's slow it down for him this year." But why should he? It's his call. And a kid who can't run and gun is screwed in that system.

[blueandgray]

john jacques versus austin rivers.... who was the better finisher?

[lichoya68]

over and done lets move on good luck to him but boy was that cheek guy amazing in the kenner amazing .go hoyas let the games begin we got who we got and i cant wait

[JohnJacquesLayup]

Aug 25, 2009 22:51:25 GMT -5 blueandgray said:

john jacques versus austin rivers.... who was the better finisher?

John Jacques, from half court.

[HoyaAtHeart]

Not that this has anything to do with anything but that Austin Rivers is pretty good. He's a player.