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Post by Healy on Mar 24, 2005 18:28:38 GMT -5
Since the board is a little slow, and prone to getting sidetracked on politics and whatnot, how about a list of the Top Ten Things for Hoya Basketball this year?
10. We Are Georgetown T-Shirts 9. Roy Hibbert being better than expected 8. The PrinceTown offense - now we have a system 7. Recruting strides 6. Beating Villanova on 20th anniversary day 5. The Notre Dame win & rushing the court (twice) 4. Good Brandon 3. Jeff Green -- Freshman of the Year 2. NIT at McDonough 1. JT III
And for next year:
10. Maybe new uniform's -- blue away and grey home 9. Incoming frosh who can play 8. Improved Hibbert, Cook & Wallace 7. Year 2 of PrinceTown -- better yet 6. Winning at Illinois & Notre Dame 5. More & more fans 4. TV -- more coverage 3. Green & Bowman 2. Beating Syracuse -- anywhere 1. NCAA's, baby
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Post by Healy on Mar 24, 2005 18:29:41 GMT -5
should be List, not liss
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SFHoya99
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Post by SFHoya99 on Mar 24, 2005 19:23:30 GMT -5
I got 8.
8. The website, the rallies, the emails. A renewed, if cost conscious attempt by the Athletic Department and coaching staff to revitalize the fan base means an investment in the sport, however small.
7. The offense. I'll say it right now -- this offense goes on runs not seen since Iverson. When it is clicking, everyone is scoring, and it is all dunks and layups. If we're not dunking, it counts as 3.
6. The win at Pitt. Coming off a non-conference that was nice but hardly inspiring, the Hoyas went into Pitt and won a close game. I can't imagine the confidence this gave our players.
5. Brandon Bowman. Quick quiz for those of us who laughed at the idea of Brandon in the NBA: are you still laughing? I'm not. He's close, and his emergence hasn't been talked about enough.
4. The hiring of Kevin Broadus/the signing of Jessie Sapp. The one question of III was whether he could recruit. Broadus gives us instant DC links; the signing of Sapp gives us more local cred and caps off a tremendous first class.
3. The explosion of the student section/game in McDonough/T-shirts/Release of "What's a Hoya?". Interest has never been higher in the internet era.
2. Jeff Green. In a few years, the only Hoya starring in the NBA may be an aging Allen Iverson. Except NBA Rookie of the Year candidate Jeff Green.
1. The hiring of JTIII. Whether they intended to find the best candidate or not, they did.
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YB
Golden Hoya (over 1000 posts)
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Post by YB on Mar 24, 2005 21:39:59 GMT -5
Great top 10s guys. I agree with all of them.
My top 5:
-Jeff as ROY. the rest of the froshes are pretty good too. -The fans revitalized, relearning how to be fans. -Big wins not seen in many moons. -No more Bad Brandon. The improvement of the returnees. -One thing we haven't really seen in almost a decade: HOPE.
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Post by jerseyhoya34 on Mar 24, 2005 21:46:22 GMT -5
From my vantage point behind the hoop, my list is as follows:
1) The JT3 Hire 2) Increased fan interest through the songs, t-shirt, rallies, community-building. 3) JT3 fist pump and court rushes against ND 4) Emergence of Jeff Green as a top frosh in Hoya history. 5) Our frosh class for 2005-2006 6) Home game in McDonough in the NIT. 7) Reversing the curse at Villanova. 8) Eliminating Esh ball and reigning in the CaliHoyas. 9) Great assistants in Coach Burke, Coach Broadus, and Syd Johnson. 10) Pitt win on the road during first BE game.
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YB
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Post by YB on Mar 24, 2005 22:13:13 GMT -5
That fist pump still sends chills down my spine!
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the_way
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Post by the_way on Mar 24, 2005 23:27:03 GMT -5
That fist pump still sends chills down my spine! Yeah, that was amazing. But I think the Pitt win is what started this all. It gave everyone, especially people on this message board, hope. We did everything that game that we hadn't done in years. 1). We won a close game, 2).on the road,3). in the last seconds, 4). against a ranked team, 5). within our own Big East conference. One win did so much in one swoop for this program. It got the ball rolling. The early Villanova and Notre Dame game finishes reaffirmed that we were back on the horizon of big-time basketball again. We still have a ways to go. If we look back, the Pitt game is what really jump-started it all. Oh yeah, we have a great coach in JTIII who can get the most out of his team, coach in close ball games, and is also a great tactician of the game on offense AND defense.
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3GenerationHoya
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Post by 3GenerationHoya on Mar 25, 2005 0:51:55 GMT -5
Healy, great job on compiling the Top Ten List. It really made me look back over the whole season and remember all the good times we had.
Since a top ten list has to leave out some things, here are a few items that I felt had to be mentioned. This Hoya season wouldn't have been complete, or nearly as enjoyable, without them:
- Standing Room Only Midnight Madness to get the season off on a positive note - Jeff Green's mom, and the subsequent student section chants for her - FLHoya's game recaps. I am still amazed at how much he remembers when 40 minutes seem to go by as a blur to me. - Nodak's songs. The album release and promotional tour dates are eagerly anticipated by all of the Hoyatalk world. - Fan of the Game winning Fan of the Game - a couple more sold out games = hoya tickets slowly but surely becoming a hot commodity again - Reed to Owens to Bowman to get McDonough rocking - maybe my favorite moment play of the year
I'm sure there are more, but some escape me right now. However, hopefully this season will never be forgotten as the one that got the Hoya basketball program back on track to greatness.
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TBird41
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Post by TBird41 on Mar 25, 2005 3:53:35 GMT -5
I think the best part of this season was the return of hope and joy to the program. While it didn't quite end as well as it could have (with an NCAA berth or an NIT title), no one can deny that JT3 and his team returned the joy to being a Hoya fan and made us believe in our program and what it can accomplish. It was an amazing year and I can't wait for next year!
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Post by FreeNachos on Mar 25, 2005 14:07:31 GMT -5
Fan of the Game winning Fan of the Game was a huge accomplishment.....
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aggypryd
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Post by aggypryd on Mar 25, 2005 14:27:36 GMT -5
Just my top 5...Now and Future...
5. Finally being able to call all my friends back in North Carolina and telling them, "THE HOYAS ARE BACK, YOU FARGIN' BASTAGES!!!"
4. Darrell Owens coming back and making 1st team all Big East...along with Brandon and Jeff Green...
3. Brandon stepping up and being a 1st or 2nd team All-American
2. Packing the future John Thompson II Athletic Center to the "Brim" with 8K-10K screaming Hoya fans...
1. Seeing the Hoyas in person for the first time...
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Post by sweetdaddy on Mar 25, 2005 15:36:11 GMT -5
I really don't like this offense at all, and last night proved why. our best people are our post players and (yes hibbert included) and they have no business running our o from the top of the key, none whatsoever. and they wonder why we get beat on the boards by teams that are really not that good at rebounding. how will green or hibbert get an offensive rebound if they are setting picks for inconsistent shooters on the outside? we were hot the 1st half and went to sh.. in the 2nd because if you live by the outside shot you will die by it. the 31-11 free throw disparity wasn't because of cheating, it was because they were bringing the ball inside and challenging our interior d while we were shooting jumpers all night. i hate that offense and it is not the best one for the talent we have.
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SFHoya99
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Post by SFHoya99 on Mar 25, 2005 15:46:29 GMT -5
I really don't like this offense at all, and last night proved why. our best people are our post players and (yes hibbert included) and they have no business running our o from the top of the key, none whatsoever. and they wonder why we get beat on the boards by teams that are really not that good at rebounding. how will green or hibbert get an offensive rebound if they are setting picks for inconsistent shooters on the outside? we were hot the 1st half and went to sh.. in the 2nd because if you live by the outside shot you will die by it. the 31-11 free throw disparity wasn't because of cheating, it was because they were bringing the ball inside and challenging our interior d while we were shooting jumpers all night. i hate that offense and it is not the best one for the talent we have. Hmmm... We outrebounded a good rebounding team last night. Just two days before S. Carolina obliterated UNLV with O boards. Our problems with rebounding have outstripped offensive rebounding; defensive rebounding has been about the same. Does having our center out top on offense affect D rebounding? Our outside shooting was great last night. We shot better from 3 than from 2. We scored 42 points on 29 3 pt shots. We scored 14 pts on 24 2 pt shots and 8 pts on 11 FTs. Guess which is more efficient. Anyway, the Princeton does not exclude a low post game. Our team does. Our post players are NOT our most talented/best players on offense. In order: Jeff and Brandon, Ashanti, DJ, then Roy and Jon. So, yeah, Jeff is good. Roy has potential. The Princeton is not perfect, but it is a lot better than chuck and duck. And our problem this year was more defense than offense.The South Carolina Game: GU: 66 pts on 59 possessions (1.12 PPP) SC: 60 pts on 59 possessions (1.17 PPP) Average is about 1.05.
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Post by sweetdaddy on Mar 25, 2005 15:54:32 GMT -5
yeah, but when you start out shooting and hitting 3's you forget about driving the ball to the hole, just llike we did last night. i was there and the dribble drives were few and far between. on the other hand s.c got the ball on the baseline then inside from the beginning until the end of the game. our o doesn't allow for that attacking the basket style that gets guys on the free throw line, gets the other team in foul trouble and ultimately wins games. i think jt3 is a good coach, but i hope next year we mix it up some. all those jumpers will not get it done on a consistant basis.
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SFHoya99
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Post by SFHoya99 on Mar 25, 2005 15:57:30 GMT -5
yeah, but when you start out shooting and hitting 3's you forget about driving the ball to the hole, just llike we did last night. i was there and the dribble drives were few and far between. on the other hand s.c got the ball on the baseline then inside from the beginning until the end of the game. our o doesn't allow for that attacking the basket style that gets guys on the free throw line, gets the other team in foul trouble and ultimately wins games. i think jt3 is a good coach, but i hope next year we mix it up some. all those jumpers will not get it done on a consistant basis. I think the lack of drives is a personnel issue. Princeton with Will Venable had him penetrate all the time, Sacramento with Bibby, Washington with Arenas, NC State with Hodge. Our best penetrator is a 6'9" F with a mediocre handle and a nasty first step. Brandon's great, but your best penetrator should be a guard.
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the_way
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Post by the_way on Mar 25, 2005 16:07:19 GMT -5
Out problem this year, will be the same problem next year: Beef inside. We have no interior defense. Jeff is a great shot-blocker. Other than that, opposing teams can stroll through the paint at will, grab offensive rebounds,etc. against our interior defense. I think on the perimeter will be a little better. But a program takes time to build. JTIII and the program won't be where we want to be until after 3 recruiting classes, at least. Also, I think he will divert away from the Princeton offense a lot when he gets more talent. The princeton offense is great when you are coaching princeton-type players. But when you get Big East caliber players, you have a lot more room to work with in what you want to do offensively and also defensively as well.
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3GenerationHoya
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Post by 3GenerationHoya on Mar 25, 2005 16:10:07 GMT -5
I agree with SF - we don't have a guard who can beat people off the dribble in order to set up his teammates.
We will struggle to score until we have players who can get their teammates open looks off of dribble penetration. Even when Brandon is able to beat his man off the dribble, he is looking for his own shot or to get fouled rather than kicking out to an open teammate. This is not the fault of the offense.
Hopefully Sapp can take care of much of the responsibility of creating shots for his teammates next year.
I would love to see a look with Roy on one block and Green on the other while a combination of BB, Ashanti, Wallace or Owens spot up at the 3 pt line. With a quick PG beating his man off the dribble, he would draw extra defenders, and would thus be able to drop the ball off to a big man for a dunk or kick out to one of the wide-open spot up jump shooters we feature.
However, until we find a guy who can break down opposing defenses, we have to make do with what we have.
I thought the Princetown offense did a great job in providing opportunities for us to win a lot of games when we only run 8 guys deep at the most. Most teams that have as shallow and as young a team as we do would not be able to have the success that we experienced this year.
And even if the PrinceTown offense wasn't best suited for our players this year, a bad system is better than no system at all.
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Post by sweetdaddy on Mar 25, 2005 16:27:45 GMT -5
i totally agree w/ that, our best penetrator should be a guard but doesn't have to be limited to a guard. the guard should penetrate preferrably with the dribble, and if he can't then with the pass, but our big men are at the top of the key passing and setting picks for ( with the exception of owens and bowman) poor shooters. it just doesn't make sense to me. heck i will let owens and bowman shoot all night if only they didn't throw it inside or drove to get to the line, because thay will not be hot all night.
i'm glad i can have this discussion w/ somebody. when i bring this topic up w/ my friends, they are like yeah, i see where you're coming from but they could care less, none of them like the hoyas.
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SFHoya99
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Post by SFHoya99 on Mar 25, 2005 17:17:38 GMT -5
Out problem this year, will be the same problem next year: Beef inside. We have no interior defense. Jeff is a great shot-blocker. Other than that, opposing teams can stroll through the paint at will, grab offensive rebounds,etc. against our interior defense. I think on the perimeter will be a little better. But a program takes time to build. JTIII and the program won't be where we want to be until after 3 recruiting classes, at least. Also, I think he will divert away from the Princeton offense a lot when he gets more talent. The princeton offense is great when you are coaching princeton-type players. But when you get Big East caliber players, you have a lot more room to work with in what you want to do offensively and also defensively as well. I disagree with the idea of the Princeton as something not fit for BE caliber. NBA teams run it. It will be adjusted to the players, though. Especially since III seems to think of it more as a style or a philosophy than an offense.
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SFHoya99
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Post by SFHoya99 on Mar 25, 2005 17:18:58 GMT -5
i totally agree w/ that, our best penetrator should be a guard but doesn't have to be limited to a guard. the guard should penetrate preferrably with the dribble, and if he can't then with the pass, but our big men are at the top of the key passing and setting picks for ( with the exception of owens and bowman) poor shooters. it just doesn't make sense to me. heck i will let owens and bowman shoot all night if only they didn't throw it inside or drove to get to the line, because thay will not be hot all night. i'm glad i can have this discussion w/ somebody. when i bring this topic up w/ my friends, they are like yeah, i see where you're coming from but they could care less, none of them like the hoyas. Those are not real friends. We do need more inside play and more penetration. I think that as our personnel changes and develops, it'll happen.
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