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Post by bicentennial on Sept 2, 2011 21:03:27 GMT -5
I really dig some of the positive waves man but some of you are bringing me down. If you figure our starting height and average height, we are likely to be much taller than previous years. The last time we were this tall it included a 7'4" guy but still our average height will be on par with that. I also like the ability to press, the shot blocking potential and the running potential of this team compared to the last several years. I worry that SIMS may not be what we need him to be, but on the otherhand, I believe he will finally have a chance to play through mistakes instead of getting psyched out on the bench every time he does something dumb. Some players learn from sitting out the rest of a game, clearly Sims does not. 5 minutes to think followed by a return to the game may work better. I have always thought that the princeton offense with all players above 6'6" would be unstoppable and we could almost have that this year and if we get Anderson we could play that next year. Other teams should be scared.
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mapei
Golden Hoya (over 1000 posts)
Posts: 2,089
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Post by mapei on Sept 2, 2011 22:26:04 GMT -5
I actually had to Google "NJIT" . . .
7-4, 9-9 likely; 8-3, 11-7 possible.
The only things I see upgraded from last year are depth and (untested) athleticism, plus maybe a weaker schedule. We could see improvement from Nate and Henry but other teams' players will improve, too, and we lost more than most. I especially think we are downgraded at point guard, experience & leadership.
It will be fun to watch so many new players with so much potential, definitely, but I'm not necessarily equating that with more Ws at the end of the year.
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Post by HoyaSinceBirth on Sept 2, 2011 22:26:13 GMT -5
agreed I think a team that height wise looks a lot like last years ND team will be what we'll see in the future. 1 guard sized guard and then several 6'7" 6'8" wing/forwards but then hopefully 1 true center as well.
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paranoia2
Silver Hoya (over 500 posts)
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Post by paranoia2 on Sept 3, 2011 2:07:55 GMT -5
Depends on the motor and tone being set for this team by the coaching staff. With all the long, athletic players and hopefully some muscle in the paint how about boxing out and punishing opponents gliding down the lane for layups? How about not giving a flying fish about fouls? How about a press or aggressive half-court trap?
If the Hoyas play hard on defense with a ferocious lane demeanor and Hollis Thompson and Jason Clark take the offensive lead this team can make some noise.
I just want to see the endless offensive rebounds and uncontested layups stop under our basket. After that I will worry about the record.
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KennaHoya
Century (over 100 posts)
Posts: 181
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Post by KennaHoya on Sept 4, 2011 11:06:08 GMT -5
Picked up the Sporting News 2011-12 College Basketball preview yesterday - first notable publication I have seen. They picked Hoyas 9th in conference and left them out of Big Dance.
Everyone sees loss of scoring from Chris and Austin as tough to replace. I understand that it will be important for Hollis, Jason and Nate (the three SN mentions) to step up (Markel and Henry too) - but I think it is a mistake to try to put it on them. To finish in top 5 or 6 of Big East, and get runs in end of year Big East and NCAA tournaments, I think it more important that the team play very differently -- get more balance, and use 8-10 with better distribution of time. Veterans do not have to do what Chris and Austin seemed to need or try to do. Get lots of run and contributions from longer freshmen and Bowen.
I think the freshmen big men, save Tyler and Mikael to some degree, are long and athletic but not so big on muscle. They still can hit offensive and defensive boards - and Jabril is a big guard and Aaron long; both can defend big guards.
Now is the time to be optimistic. There are many reasons we could be as good as Cincinnati and Marquette, and certainly West Virginia and Villanova/Notre Dame - all picked higher than Hoyas or in NCAA tournament (UConn-Syracuse-Pitt-Louisville are projected 1-4 seeds). Reasonable to hope for 5-8 finish in Big East and NCAA bid; root for more and not get upset if youth and schedule (Maui teams and Memphis and Alabama very highly rated) cause ups and downs and finish in range projected by SN.
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Post by Ranch Dressing on Sept 5, 2011 19:48:45 GMT -5
Pretty obvious to me that this team will struggle early and often. I would be very surprised to see them finish .500 in the league.
I think our conference record will be 7-9.
No dance this year.
Much better team in 2012-2013.
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kchoya
Platinum Hoya (over 5000 posts)
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Post by kchoya on Sept 5, 2011 19:57:31 GMT -5
Pretty obvious to me that this team will struggle early and often. I would be very surprised to see them finish .500 in the league. I think our conference record will be 7-9. No dance this year. Much better team in 2012-2013. Obvious. Thanks.
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KennaHoya
Century (over 100 posts)
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Post by KennaHoya on Sept 5, 2011 21:21:25 GMT -5
Well, it might be obvious to some that Hoyas will struggle early, but I do not think so often that we cannot finish in top half of conference and make NCAAs.
I won't be surprised to see a .500 or better conference record - but it is OK that expectations are low. One thing for sure - even if struggles cause a record below .500, it won't be 7-9. They play 18 games.
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mapei
Golden Hoya (over 1000 posts)
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Post by mapei on Sept 5, 2011 21:24:35 GMT -5
Bummer that we won't have Moses. I might raise my prediction by a W or 2 if we had his additional depth at center. Without him foul trouble will loom large.
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Post by Ranch Dressing on Sept 6, 2011 7:15:17 GMT -5
Kenna - hahaha, yes. Check that. Make it 7-11...
Heading into the season, we arguably have below average/unproven players at 5 of 5 starting positions. So I expect we will struggle.
But that is okay. Good year to get the freshman playing time and add new wrinkles to the system.
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lichoya68
Blue & Gray (over 10,000 posts)
OK YOUNGINS ARE HERE AND ARE VERY VERY GOOD cant wait GO HOYAS
Posts: 17,443
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Post by lichoya68 on Sept 6, 2011 9:01:11 GMT -5
beijing battlle tested.. nice crop of very very good newbies athletic long play d all around talented frosh WE WILLL SEE hard early but YOU NEVER KNOW nope we will see go hoyas cant wait tilll february now nope go hoyas
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Post by daytonahoya31 on Sept 6, 2011 9:42:38 GMT -5
All Im going to say is this: When this group is playing well and making noise, and this group will play well and make noise this year, I want a lot of you guys to admit that you were wrong.
Experience means next to squat in college basketball. Athleticism and talent means everything, and this group has a lot of both. It may struggle early, but it's going to win a lot of games this year.
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kghoya
Platinum Hoya (over 5000 posts)
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Post by kghoya on Sept 6, 2011 9:53:42 GMT -5
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bmartin
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Post by bmartin on Sept 6, 2011 9:54:12 GMT -5
This team could win a lot of ugly games. With more depth and size and athleticism but no great offense/below average defense players, JTIII can play the lineups that match up best defensively against opponents and then look to score off steals, breaks, rebounds, free throws, and not live and die by the three or get into games where they have to trade baskets to keep up.
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lichoya68
Blue & Gray (over 10,000 posts)
OK YOUNGINS ARE HERE AND ARE VERY VERY GOOD cant wait GO HOYAS
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Post by lichoya68 on Sept 6, 2011 10:57:17 GMT -5
agree daytona agreee go younins very athletic yup
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Post by ColumbiaHeightsHoya on Sept 6, 2011 15:06:34 GMT -5
Ranch, I think calling Clark & Thompson below average/unproven is probably pretty pessimistic. I think both of those two are average/above average and are proven. The rest of the starters will be a question mark but it should make for a fun year.
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seaweed
Diamond Hoya (over 2500 posts)
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Post by seaweed on Sept 7, 2011 22:23:52 GMT -5
i see the short sellers have taken over - I am long on the Hoyas, faith in management, upperclassmen and the newbies, all of who have shown me that these low ball predictions are counter factual. i would not want to tell Jabril that he will have a losing record in any league and he is a small part of a big, juicy hoya pie with henry on top this year. i am down with daytona
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Post by Ranch Dressing on Sept 8, 2011 7:41:26 GMT -5
Columbia - I said "arguably" and the slash was either/or, as in either below average or unproven.
Clark proved himself as a mild disappointment last year. Can shoot the open jumper at an above average level, but creates offense at a below average level. Defense is average. Handle is below average for a guard. Above average intensity and stamina. Weak with the ball in traffic. I see him as a very solid role player on a good team, a nice piece. Probably not the type of player who can lead on the offensive/defensive ends. But he will have his chance this year to disprove that. This is his team.
Hollis is totally unproven in a starting, leading role. He was benched last season in favor of an underwhelming Nate. Yes, he was playing out of position, so a full time switch to the 3 will help. But I don't think we really know how he will respond to being asked to lead the team. Like Clark, Hollis can hit the open shot, but struggles with creating offense, is a below average on the ball defender, and has a shaky handle. I think he rebounds well for his size and as mentioned can be an above average shooter when open. A big year for Hollis to step up and develop other aspects of his game.
Markel is totally unproven. None of us knows exactly what we have at the PG. Some are talking about Jabril pushing for PG time, which frankly has me worried about Markel. I just didn't see enough last year to know what to expect. In my mind, PG is the biggest question mark - if Markel/Jabril prove to be above average PGs in the BE, I think our prospects for a solid season increase dramatically.
Nate - I hope some of that hustle translates this year into results. Other than some good passes last year, we didn't see a lot. Needs to develop a jumper. Needs to rebound like a fiend. Defending the 4/5 will be a challenge. Needs to step up as a sophomore.
Henry is among the weakest starting centers in the league. And the team has no true center to spell him - a bunch of young, 6'8' PFs.
We have a lot of exciting, athletic talent coming in the the freshman class. I am hoping 3 of the frosh prove to be solid contributors this year. Big question whether that happens.
FWIW, I had very high expectations (for me) heading into last season, so what the hell do I know. I just see a lot of pain this year given the youth and lack of experience.
And, yes, I will rush back to this board to fess up to my bad prediction if I am wrong. Very gladly will do that.
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SFHoya99
Blue & Gray (over 10,000 posts)
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Post by SFHoya99 on Sept 8, 2011 9:09:07 GMT -5
Saying "Hollis was benched in favor of an underwhelming Nate" has got to be one of the more disingenuous statements I've seen on here in a while (political threads excepted).
I'm not particularly bullish on this year's team, but Hollis moving to sixth man had nothing to do with his play. Even the way you phrased the positional caveat made him sound bad; Hollis held his own as much as could ever be expected of a player his size at the four. It just made a lot more sense to play Nate with the starters.
I personally see a lot of potential for DaJuan's junior year in Hollis and a lot of Sapp's senior year in Clark -- complementary offensive players who cannot remain efficient when asked to carry the team because it's not really their game. So I'm there (though Hollis seems less likely to repeat that than Clark). But "benched." C'mon. It may be factually true, but we all know the connotation there isn't right.
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nychoya3
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Post by nychoya3 on Sept 8, 2011 10:03:41 GMT -5
If we assume the worst case scenario for all the returning players, I agree we won't be very good. I don't think that comes to pass though. Some of it may, but guys will be better.
I may be in the minority here, but I trust JT3 to put at least an above-league average offense on the floor. I think the difference between finishing in the top half of the league and making the NCAAs and missing it will, as usual, be our defense. If we're improved there because of greater size and athleticism, we have a shot at being pretty good.
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