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Post by HoyaSinceBirth on Aug 20, 2014 23:53:31 GMT -5
Honestly, I cannot think of a single intellectually-honest reason to expect any meaningful production from Josh Smith this season. I certainly hope that despite repeatedly failing at multiple chances and squandering opportunities that were always presented to him as his last he somehow found a new path that leads in a positive direction--it would be good for him as a person even more than as a basketball player--but until the games begin and he sees meaningful time on the floor, I think the only fair assumption is that he will be a neutral-to-negative contributor for the 2014-2015 Hoyas. Besides the fact that we got meaningful production from him last year before he was suspended? His half season was on pace to be his best yet statistically his PPG, ORtg, and FG% were all up compared to his 2.5 seasons at UCLA. He scored double digits in more than half the games he played for the Hoyas and it's not like those were all cupcakes.
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calhoya
Diamond Hoya (over 2500 posts)
Posts: 4,352
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Post by calhoya on Aug 21, 2014 7:00:08 GMT -5
Honestly, I cannot think of a single intellectually-honest reason to expect any meaningful production from Josh Smith this season. I certainly hope that despite repeatedly failing at multiple chances and squandering opportunities that were always presented to him as his last he somehow found a new path that leads in a positive direction--it would be good for him as a person even more than as a basketball player--but until the games begin and he sees meaningful time on the floor, I think the only fair assumption is that he will be a neutral-to-negative contributor for the 2014-2015 Hoyas. Besides the fact that we got meaningful production from him last year before he was suspended? His half season was on pace to be his best yet statistically his PPG, ORtg, and FG% were all up compared to his 2.5 seasons at UCLA. He scored double digits in more than half the games he played for the Hoyas and it's not like those were all cupcakes. I really hope this positive assessment proves correct. However,Josh also failed to play defense last year, picked up too many fouls and was not a force on the boards. I still root for the kid, but my expectations have lowered considerably since the first time I saw him at UCLA.
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3xhoya
Golden Hoya (over 1000 posts)
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Post by 3xhoya on Aug 21, 2014 9:12:56 GMT -5
He is supposedly back on campus now, are there any reports that he has in fact lost weight? If he is slimmer then he can be a force, his conditioning will be what can hold him back.
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Bigs"R"Us
Platinum Hoya (over 5000 posts)
Posts: 6,642
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Post by Bigs"R"Us on Aug 21, 2014 9:18:45 GMT -5
I wonder how much basketball he played over the summer.
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Post by BubbleVisionBiff on Aug 21, 2014 10:13:39 GMT -5
I wonder how much basketball he played over the summer. Let's hope this was his summer.
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beenaround
Golden Hoya (over 1000 posts)
Posts: 1,474
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Post by beenaround on Aug 21, 2014 10:33:32 GMT -5
Besides the fact that we got meaningful production from him last year before he was suspended? His half season was on pace to be his best yet statistically his PPG, ORtg, and FG% were all up compared to his 2.5 seasons at UCLA. He scored double digits in more than half the games he played for the Hoyas and it's not like those were all cupcakes. I really hope this positive assessment proves correct. However,Josh also failed to play defense last year, picked up too many fouls and was not a force on the boards. I still root for the kid, but my expectations have lowered considerably since the first time I saw him at UCLA.
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beenaround
Golden Hoya (over 1000 posts)
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Post by beenaround on Aug 21, 2014 10:37:42 GMT -5
Cal.....I'm in the same camp as you. I had expected him to be on the of top centers in the country, when I first say him play. Despite the obvious offensive skills he showed in his half year with the Hoyas, I felt that his defense almost negated the offense. Clearly, the defense was the result of his conditioning..he simply could not move well enough to defend or rebound particularly well. So....my expectations are clearly tempered. I would be thrilled with 10 pts, 6 rebounds, and 25 hustling minutes a game.
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Post by hoyasaxa2003 on Aug 21, 2014 14:16:18 GMT -5
Cal.....I'm in the same camp as you. I had expected him to be on the of top centers in the country, when I first say him play. Despite the obvious offensive skills he showed in his half year with the Hoyas, I felt that his defense almost negated the offense. Clearly, the defense was the result of his conditioning..he simply could not move well enough to defend or rebound particularly well. So....my expectations are clearly tempered. I would be thrilled with 10 pts, 6 rebounds, and 25 hustling minutes a game. The other thing to keep in mind is that even a less than ideal Josh Smith is far better than our other options. Josh Smith in last year's form was much better than our other options, and barring any type of unexpected jump from Hopkins or Hayes, I expect that will be the case again. Of course, an in-shape Smith versus an out-of-shape Smith could be the difference between a top 25 team and a lower NCAA seed or no NCAA seed, so it's still a huge difference for our team.
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beenaround
Golden Hoya (over 1000 posts)
Posts: 1,474
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Post by beenaround on Aug 21, 2014 14:57:51 GMT -5
Agreed. He helps the team by his mere presence. How much he helps, will depend so much on his conditioning, of course. BTW,,,while I'm dreaming....would love to see 15 solid minutes per game from Hayes with maybe 4 pts, 5 rebounds, and a block.
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Post by FrazierFanatic on Aug 21, 2014 20:58:09 GMT -5
Cal.....I'm in the same camp as you. I had expected him to be on the of top centers in the country, when I first say him play. Despite the obvious offensive skills he showed in his half year with the Hoyas, I felt that his defense almost negated the offense. Clearly, the defense was the result of his conditioning..he simply could not move well enough to defend or rebound particularly well. So....my expectations are clearly tempered. I would be thrilled with 10 pts, 6 rebounds, and 25 hustling minutes a game. The other thing to keep in mind is that even a less than ideal Josh Smith is far better than our other options. Josh Smith in last year's form was much better than our other options, and barring any type of unexpected jump from Hopkins or Hayes, I expect that will be the case again. Of course, an in-shape Smith versus an out-of-shape Smith could be the difference between a top 25 team and a lower NCAA seed or no NCAA seed, so it's still a huge difference for our team. I believe you meant a Top 10 team.
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tashoya
Blue & Gray (over 10,000 posts)
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Post by tashoya on Aug 21, 2014 21:46:55 GMT -5
Cal.....I'm in the same camp as you. I had expected him to be on the of top centers in the country, when I first say him play. Despite the obvious offensive skills he showed in his half year with the Hoyas, I felt that his defense almost negated the offense. Clearly, the defense was the result of his conditioning..he simply could not move well enough to defend or rebound particularly well. So....my expectations are clearly tempered. I would be thrilled with 10 pts, 6 rebounds, and 25 hustling minutes a game. The other thing to keep in mind is that even a less than ideal Josh Smith is far better than our other options. Josh Smith in last year's form was much better than our other options, and barring any type of unexpected jump from Hopkins or Hayes, I expect that will be the case again. Of course, an in-shape Smith versus an out-of-shape Smith could be the difference between a top 25 team and a lower NCAA seed or no NCAA seed, so it's still a huge difference for our team. Hoyasaxa2003, I agree completely as far as the offense is concerned. As challenged as Josh was on D last year, he was still the best option overall. With the depth we have this year, I hope to see more matchups to be played on O and D and I really hope to not see Josh and Reggie on the floor at the same time unless one or both of those guys have made big strides on the defensive side of things. I tend to think they shared time on the floor last year more out of necessity than anything else. Clearly, I could be wrong about that but a lineup with both of those guys on the floor can't be considered a high-level option. Having some more length on the floor and (hopefully) better lateral quickness could really help guys like DSR on the defensive end and allow him to not have to work so hard to contain his man one on one. I still expect to see a lot of zone with the group that we have. At least in the beginning and rotations/abilities become clearer.
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Post by professorhoya on Aug 21, 2014 23:55:41 GMT -5
Besides the fact that we got meaningful production from him last year before he was suspended? His half season was on pace to be his best yet statistically his PPG, ORtg, and FG% were all up compared to his 2.5 seasons at UCLA. He scored double digits in more than half the games he played for the Hoyas and it's not like those were all cupcakes. I really hope this positive assessment proves correct. However,Josh also failed to play defense last year, picked up too many fouls and was not a force on the boards. I still root for the kid, but my expectations have lowered considerably since the first time I saw him at UCLA. Honestly the difference between Josh and Hopkins, Lubick and Moses' defense was not that big considering none of them could stay on the floor. I think it was exaggerated in regards to last year.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 23, 2014 7:40:00 GMT -5
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MCIGuy
Platinum Hoya (over 5000 posts)
Anyone here? What am I supposed to update?
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Post by MCIGuy on Aug 23, 2014 8:59:25 GMT -5
Any chance of the WPost hiring Ben Standig as its Hoyas beat reporter? He's more interested in the team during the offseason than a few of the beat writers have been during the actual season.
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prhoya
Blue & Gray (over 10,000 posts)
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Post by prhoya on Aug 23, 2014 9:32:32 GMT -5
This: "Going into this year, I think we're going to have to be prepared for Josh on the court and for Josh not on the court."
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hoya95
Golden Hoya (over 1000 posts)
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Post by hoya95 on Aug 23, 2014 9:51:56 GMT -5
And also the answer as to why he didn't stay here this summer: "It was a decision he should go home." Well, that's encouraging.
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beenaround
Golden Hoya (over 1000 posts)
Posts: 1,474
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Post by beenaround on Aug 23, 2014 9:57:44 GMT -5
Wow. Interesting article. Guess I had been hoping Josh was on a strict workout regime back home, that was at least monitored by the staff. Wish the kid well, no matter how he shows up on campus..it is his life, not ours! But, He has the God given talent to make millions, if he really wants it.
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prhoya
Blue & Gray (over 10,000 posts)
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Post by prhoya on Aug 23, 2014 9:59:04 GMT -5
And also the answer as to why he didn't stay here this summer: "It was a decision he should go home." Well, that's encouraging. With Josh, and depending what his diet is like at home, that might be a good thing. He has more control of what he eats. No vending machines around at 2:00 A.M. to tweet friends what should he pick...
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Talos
Silver Hoya (over 500 posts)
Posts: 612
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Post by Talos on Aug 23, 2014 13:58:35 GMT -5
Well, the good news is he's definitely academically eligible for at least this semester. The bad news is the head coach doesn't have any idea what kind of shape he's in. I do find it a bit odd the staff wouldn't keep tabs on him during the summer, since he's the only player on the roster who didn't stay in DC and play Kenner. On the other hand, maybe JTIII knows more than he's saying and it's just your typical secretive and cryptic G'town basketball answers.
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Post by HoyasAreHungry on Aug 23, 2014 14:19:16 GMT -5
Well, the good news is he's definitely academically eligible for at least this semester. The bad news is the head coach doesn't have any idea what kind of shape he's in. I do find it a bit odd the staff wouldn't keep tabs on him during the summer, since he's the only player on the roster who didn't stay in DC and play Kenner. On the other hand, maybe JTIII knows more than he's saying and it's just your typical secretive and cryptic G'town basketball answers. I mean he did say "reported shape" is different than actual shape when he comes in. Sounds like they've been monitoring but short of seeing it themselves....we will see
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