DanMcQ
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Post by DanMcQ on Jan 1, 2015 1:12:39 GMT -5
36% shooting and 15% from three is not going to get it done on the road in this league most nights. scores.espn.go.com/ncb/boxscore?gameId=400588398Again, full credit to Xavier's defense, although it involved quite a bit of grabbing / bumping cutters.
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mfk24
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Post by mfk24 on Jan 1, 2015 1:14:29 GMT -5
Couple more thoughts: 1. Seems like JTIII has wanted to go to Josh early and often in every game and more often than not, especially against tougher competition, it doesn't work. I get wanting to get the big guy involved so he keeps working, but it seems like Josh gets plenty of touches in the flow of the offense and when we force feed him too much he turns it over. He also tends to force the backdoor at least 2-3 times a game resulting in turnovers. Stainbrook had enough size to really battle Josh and feeding him in the post on every early possession turned out to be futile because his only field goal came on a transition dunk.
2. Turnovers and missed free throws. Not much to be said here aside from it needs to be fixed in a hurry. There were at least 2 transition opportunities when the game was close that we lost because of bad outlet passes. An easy transition bucket or dunk can change the momentum of a game, instead we ended up giving the ball right back.
3. Perimeter shooting - this honestly seems like it's our biggest problem going forward. A lot of good teams lose because they can't hit jump shots. We missed multiple wide open, good looks. DSR isn't quick enough to get by a lot of his defenders, Trawick is not sure-handed enough with the dribble, and Peak has seemingly lost his ability to finish at the rim so someone needs to start hitting some jump shots or we aren't going to score any points. I realize we lost Starks from the team but I would have thought at least ONE of our heralded freshman would be able to hit a jumper with some consistency. White and Copeland have both hit some big shots so I know they have it in them, but consistency is key.
4. Home crowd made a significant difference. For everyone who thought we'd be playing in a half empty arena, we definitely got the opposite of that. I think it was part of the reason we could close gap but never get over the hump. Xavier fed off the crowd energy and it fueled their defense for sure.
5. The freshman need to start stepping up. Copeland, White and Peak are talented players and they're seeing significant court time, the production has to pick up if they want to have a successful season. I know we have sets to run, etc. but when the ball's in your hands, MAKE A PLAY! Take the open shot, drive to the lane if its open, look for the open cutter. They have to make some sort of impact on the game.
6. I still think this team has tremendous potential. We've seen flashes, but we definitely need to value the basketball more, finish better at the rim, and start hitting some shots. Maybe our best bet is to play inside out more and have Josh pass out of some of those double and triple teams. The problem is you risk getting 0 pts instead of possibly 2 and/or a trip to the free throw line when our guards go 2/10 from 3 instead of josh muscling to the rim. III needs to find an answer quickly or it's going to be a long season and a wasted year.
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DFW HOYA
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Post by DFW HOYA on Jan 1, 2015 1:17:01 GMT -5
36% shooting and 15% from three is not going to get it done on the road in this league most nights. Maybe your new year's resolution should be to say something positive about this team. Seriously, do you ever post something that's not whining or complaining or negative? Seriously, you're right on target. The shooting isn't there.
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BurgerMadness
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Post by BurgerMadness on Jan 1, 2015 1:19:24 GMT -5
My New Year's resolution to never yell at Hopkins is over. I cannot stand to see him on the court, especially when Smith is out there. For all he brings on the defensive end (increasingly this means blocks, not rbs), I cannot stand to watch him on the offensive end of the court. It's awful. Clearly he's not to blame for this loss, but 30 mins and 0 pts is a complete disaster.
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Post by HoyasAreHungry on Jan 1, 2015 1:50:23 GMT -5
Eh. Look. That was one of those games. Need to rewatch it to be sure (watching on an iPad at a New Year's Eve party was tough). On fire team at home in front of a rabid crowd mixed with us a little off from the beginning = a recipe for a loss. Guess I was wrong about the crowd. Looks like X has a much more passionate fan base. Still believe 100% if this was at Verizon there would have been 100 people there. Anyways, thought we did ok. They played really well and hit some ridiculously tough 3s against good defense; which was extremely deflating. Good contribution from tre early. Honestly in seasons past loses could be frustrating. With this team they battled and have the horses to win, just wasn't their night. I feel much better about this team early on than others. This is the type of team that is somewhat inconsistent but super dangerous come end of the season. Which is what we really want isn't it? Regroup and beat Creighton at home.
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Filo
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Post by Filo on Jan 1, 2015 1:50:52 GMT -5
I am officially bummed and worried about this season. I get the tough atmosphere, the good game played by Xavier, etc., but I cant't help being disappointed and worried about the trajectory of this team. I really hope I am wrong and the Hoyas are able to move me away from the cliff, but 9-9 does not seem to be too far-fetched at this point. Can this team really beat SJU, SHU, Creighton, Butler, Provvy, and Nova on the road? Sorry, but I just don't see it happening the way they have been playing. DePaul and Marquette may not happen either.
I guess I was expecting them to be playing a bit better by this point. Hoping I feel better over the next few days but not sure I will.
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This Just In
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Post by This Just In on Jan 1, 2015 2:51:03 GMT -5
Final Thoughts:
1. This team is now 0-2 on the season vs. Big East Teams 2. The lack of scoring from the bench is becoming an issue 3. The Hoyas appear to play better when they can let their athletes get out and run in transition A team that they can slow the game down to a half-court style and force Georgetown into jump shots is this team's kryptonite as of now 4. This is a bad loss, the ails of the Indiana game carried over to the Xavier game. And the top 25 ranking has been wasted away. 5. 53 pts. is the lowest scoring output for the season so far. 6. The lack of bench scoring is becoming an issue. Since the Kansas game when Paul White had 10 pts, he has been held to single digit scoring ever since. Excluding Aaron Bowen the highest scoring bench player the last 2 games have scored 2 pts vs Indiana and 3 pts tonight vs Xavier (courtesy of Paul White). 7. LJ Peak has been struggling from the field since Radford and is now a string of 4 straight games in a row with a sub 50% field goal percentage.
Here are some underlining questions:
Since playing 3 mins. vs Kansas, Aaron Bowen has been the leading scorer off of the bench in contrast to Paul White's scoring decline during the same time period.
If Aaron Bowen remains the the best scoring option off the bench, then how far can the Hoyas go this season?
Which SG or SF is going to setup and fill the scoring void vacated by Markel Starks?
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jan 1, 2015 6:07:13 GMT -5
I thought Xavier would win before the game so the margin doesn’t really mean much. It was competitive for most, Xavier is a tough matchup for us for a couple of reasons. Regarding our offense and Josh, Stainbrook has the size and Strength to push Josh off the block. Josh scores the ball before the catch in most case not after. He uses his size to get deep position so he really only needs one dribble if that to get to the rim. Stainbrook was able to push him off so his touches go from say 5ft to 7-8ft. That makes him take extra dribble or use a counter move. Neither are one of his strengths. It also effects the perimeter game because it shortens the floor. Makes it easier for the defense to get out on shooters because they don’t have to sink in as much for the double team.
Not many teams are going to be able to do that to him. Even teams like Nova or St Johns that have good shot blocking bigs are better matchups for a guy like Josh because he wants to play to contact and shot blockers need space. Either way conference play is about matchups and Xavier is a bad matchup for us. I don’t think you could read to much into it.
On a positive note I liked what I saw from DSR regarding leadership today, that was probably my biggest takeaway. He’s starting to get a lot more vocal becoming a leader. It’s nice to see him growing in that role.
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GUJook97
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Post by GUJook97 on Jan 1, 2015 8:56:29 GMT -5
I am officially bummed and worried about this season. I get the tough atmosphere, the good game played by Xavier, etc., but I cant't help being disappointed and worried about the trajectory of this team. I really hope I am wrong and the Hoyas are able to move me away from the cliff, but 9-9 does not seem to be too far-fetched at this point. Can this team really beat SJU, SHU, Creighton, Butler, Provvy, and Nova on the road? Sorry, but I just don't see it happening the way they have been playing. DePaul and Marquette may not happen either. I guess I was expecting them to be playing a bit better by this point. Hoping I feel better over the next few days but not sure I will. Yeah, seems an awful lot like last year. That said, if we avoid some dumb losses at home and maybe beat Villanova once, we'd be in the tourney last year. That will have to be the difference. I'm not seeing any better than 3-6 on the road.
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calhoya
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Post by calhoya on Jan 1, 2015 9:22:08 GMT -5
Well it was a poor performance on offense and how much of that is the talent and how much the defense is debatable. Fortunately on the West Coast we had almost two hours to drink this stinker into our memories. I truly believe in this collection of kids but realize that the team--like most--is flawed and is going to have to adapt even more to the skills and limitations of its players.
A few impressions prior to rewatching the game this morning. Smith is a major presence inside, but only if he maintains good position, keeps the ball high and not on the floor and the other team respects the kick out as a threat--Xavier did not and most won't going forward without some shooting improvement. DSR is critical to the offense and needs more time off the ball so that he can be set up through screens and high picks for open looks. He is doing too much and other teams are going to essentially use a modified box and one to chase DSR and surround Smith, daring Trawick, Peak and Hopkins to beat them. Good strategy and one the Hoyas must address. This means more passing around the perimeter and less dribbling. Our passing game just looks to be in slow motion and there is not enough ball movement to beat the defense. When we do succeed there is only one player willing to take the shot, with most others either passing it up or hesitating just long enough to allow the defender to recover.
Jabril must stay composed and cannot resort to his bull rush mindset to get to the basket. Ditto for Bowen and Peak. Sometimes they score, sometimes they don't and they are getting called for charges, however weak the calls. White and Copeland appear to be in slumps with shots not going in and also both showing some shortcomings on defense. Tre Campbell is not yet ready for the minutes he got last night but the kid may be the best ballhandler on the team when considering quickness and staying low to the court. Not sold on his shot yet. Hopkins is now so frustrated on offense that its hurting his overall game and the team. He cannot be allowed to force shots and must be relegated to a role which suits his abilities. Playing within himself will help this team, but needing to be coaxed and calmed by DSR during timeouts is not a good sign for one of the seniors.
I wish I was at practice and could watch Reggie. There must be something more obvious than appears in the games that is keeping him pinned to the bench. I hear defense, but have watched the last three games with two coaching buddies and no one can see that his defense is any worse than several of the freshmen. His shot has been off and he does seem limited with the ball in his hands, but the kid is a natural shooter and that is apparent from the few times I have watched him in warmups, though all were last year. Hopefully the coaches can find a way to get him on the court because he is far more likely to present a threat from the outside than most of the other candidates. Too tired this morning to scream about fouls and FTs but it is a recurring problem.
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mfk24
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Post by mfk24 on Jan 1, 2015 9:35:53 GMT -5
I am officially bummed and worried about this season. I get the tough atmosphere, the good game played by Xavier, etc., but I cant't help being disappointed and worried about the trajectory of this team. I really hope I am wrong and the Hoyas are able to move me away from the cliff, but 9-9 does not seem to be too far-fetched at this point. Can this team really beat SJU, SHU, Creighton, Butler, Provvy, and Nova on the road? Sorry, but I just don't see it happening the way they have been playing. DePaul and Marquette may not happen either. I guess I was expecting them to be playing a bit better by this point. Hoping I feel better over the next few days but not sure I will. Yeah, seems an awful lot like last year. That said, if we avoid some dumb losses at home and maybe beat Villanova once, we'd be in the tourney last year. That will have to be the difference. I'm not seeing any better than 3-6 on the road. I think we actually match-up quite well against St Johns and I could see us getting that game on the road. We can now adequately push the pace, we might even play better in transition, but they still have no serviceable half court offense so solid defensive effort forcing them to actually run plays. Obekpa doesn't have the size to match up to Smith and he isn't really an offensive player in the post which again works in our favor. I haven't seen SHU play so that's more of a question mark. I could see us getting the Providence game too just based on how one dimensional they seem on offense. Henton has to score 30+ every night. They too lack a big that can effectively guard Smith. It's gonna be about match ups going forward and which one or more of the freshman step up. This one was a bad one for us, tough game to start off Big East play. What's really gonna be important is staving off those bad home losses.
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wnyhoya
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Post by wnyhoya on Jan 1, 2015 9:38:25 GMT -5
Free throws and perimeter shooting are what I truly believe will be the X-factors for the season. If we perform well in these two areas this team has the ability to be what we want them to be: probably a 2nd-3rd place finish in the Big East. However, if we continue to struggle in this area as we have this team could easily be a 10-8 or 9-9 team in conference play and battling for their tournament lives. If the others can't start knocking down shots then III needs to find some way to get DSR open looks which I know is much easier said than done, especially when teams trap him or strongly hedge off of every screen he goes off. But it has to happen. Without the threat to shoot the ball from the perimeter, Josh is almost relegated to a non-factor as teams can dig and double him every time without being worried about being burned from a kickout. And we've seen Josh turn the ball over numerous times when he puts it on the floor with small guards getting their hands in there. Don't get me wrong as everyone has said the past month and a half, this team has tremendous potential, but at some point potential isn't enough and production needs to take over. Just my two cents on where this team is
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NCHoya
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Post by NCHoya on Jan 1, 2015 9:48:12 GMT -5
A bit surprised to read the gloom and doom, I am not reading as much into this loss given it was the first true road game of the season. Remember, this was the first truly hostile experience not just for the freshmen but also Josh Smith. Not surprising, they did not handle it well. There is probably not a more difficult place to play in the league than the Cintas Center. I did not expect a win last night, and the bad start just made it feel worse, but we were not winning that game regardless. If we won that game, we would have to be a top 15 team and we are not.
Also, I agree with Yaboy, this is probably the worst match-up for Josh in the conference and we saw how that hurt the beginning of this game. There was no need for a double team and Stainbrook (deservedly the first team all-Big East center) is not going to get pushed around by Josh. Unfortunately our offense is predicated on Josh getting quality touches and we had to abandon it early last night. Stainbrook was quiet on offense, but at home, there was enough shooting around him to compensate, the Hoyas do not have that luxury for Josh.
I do however share the frustration with Hopkins forcing the issue on offense. I do not like seeing Josh and Hop on the court at the same time, but then I watch some of the candidates to replace them and I am not sure I like that option either, but it is all about match-ups anyway.
I will be more worried if this team cannot beat Creighton at home. Like most young players, I would not be surprised to see the freshmen play much better in familiar surroundings.
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Elvado
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Post by Elvado on Jan 1, 2015 9:52:00 GMT -5
The stretches of poor looks and careless turnovers is concerning. My 13-5 is clearly now trending toward 12-6 or 11-7.
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Post by aleutianhoya on Jan 1, 2015 9:53:48 GMT -5
I agree with most of the analysis here but not the handwringing. This was a road game against a decent (at worst) team. Any team outside the absolute elite is going to lose their share of those.
We are a freshmen-reliant team, and its only natural they might struggle in their first true road game.
I feel no differently about this team than I did 24 hours ago. There are going to be more hiccups along the way. On to Saturday....
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NCHoya
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Post by NCHoya on Jan 1, 2015 9:54:29 GMT -5
Few thoughts from this loss.... 1. First time this year our offense has looked very predictable. A lot of the cutting and third/fourth options were non-existent. Seemed like we just played through DSR and Smith and Xavier was very good at keying-in on those guys and limiting their ability to go off. None of the other guys, namely Peak and White were able to contribute scoring. White's shot has been off and Peak has had an inexplicable inability to finish at the rim recently. Weird. Although, I thought Xavier was good about limiting turnovers and breaking our press. We couldnt generate many points from our defense. Credit to Xavier for playing smart and disciplined. 2. Aside from that series where we got four offensive rebounds, I thought we got badly outhustled. Guys looked lethargic and they let their guard down at bad moments like boxing out during free throws. Some of this is inexperience and some of the laziness I just can't expain. Maybe cause we had a ranking next to our name our guys got complacent? Either way, Xavier looked A LOT hungrier all game. Interesting that in both games at Xavier they've used big, late second half runs to put us away. They looked like they fed off their crowd a lot. 3. Missing freethrows and turning the ball over continue to be big problems. Too many drives right into traffic and getting your pocket picked. Some of this goes back to issue #1. Xavier doubled DSR off the pick and made him cough it up a few times. They also clearly played Trawick to drive. 4. Foul trouble keeps plaguing this team. I thought the refs were pretty bad on both ends and there seems to be a general trend in CBB for refs to over-anxiously call fouls where none exist. Some of this are the new rules but I think a culture of fouls has just prevaded the game that too often changes the pace of the game. Ultimately, I don't think it made a difference in this game since we got soundly beat but frustrating nonetheless. 5. Some of JT3's substitution patterns in this game just appeared weird to me. I get Jabril and DSR had some foul trouble and he was playing offense-defense at the end but what was up with Reggie Cameron in there? I think it was a one possession game when he came in and took an ill-advised shot... 6. Good crowd and good environment for this game. Generally speaking, it's a cool idea that I think Fox Sports and the BE pulled off pretty well. Just woulda been nice to get this W.... For a team that needs first year players to play well to win, Point #6 cannot be over-stated enough. First true road game, and it makes sense points #1-5 occur. Lack of perceived hustle versus opponent, poor free throws, poor play from freshmen, foul trouble can all be attributable to the hostile atmosphere. Let's see what we can do on Saturday.
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guru
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Post by guru on Jan 1, 2015 9:59:54 GMT -5
JT3 teams make the same mistakes and have the same deficiencies season after season after season. This one so far doesn't look very different from the rest of them. He is what he is as a coach at this point - his team's rarely adjust in-game, endure massive offensive droughts each and every game and never ever ever have figured out how to guard any three point shooters, especially when one gets hot.
This team has good talent but I doubt it will reach its full potential with this coaching staff. I like him personally and know he is here as long as he pleases but the inadequacies are consistent and hard to ignore. We are looking at the bubble come March.
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Post by aleutianhoya on Jan 1, 2015 10:19:37 GMT -5
JT3 teams make the same mistakes and have the same deficiencies season after season after season. This one so far doesn't look very different from the rest of them. He is what he is as a coach at this point - his team's rarely adjust in-game, endure massive offensive droughts each and every game and never ever ever have figured out how to guard any three point shooters, especially when one gets hot. This team has good talent but I doubt it will reach its full potential with this coaching staff. I like him personally and know he is here as long as he pleases but the inadequacies are consistent and hard to ignore. We are looking at the bubble come March. These old canards again. Just last year we had the second best 3Fg% against in the conference and were top 50 nationally. Very few major conference teams were better. And no one would say that was a top defensive team. Even this year, when it seems really bad, we were in the top half both of the country and the conference entering last night. Obviously we can improve, but teams are going to get open threes. Often, when a team loses (no matter the team) there is a long offensive drought or two. Its not always true, of course, but its a bit like saying "I'm sick of JTIII teams getting outscored in games they lose!"
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beenaround
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Post by beenaround on Jan 1, 2015 10:19:44 GMT -5
Agree with those who worry about the outside shooting, which sadly includes free throws. The freshman bring much needed athleticism, but so far not a great improvement in defense or rebounding. With a threat like Josh down low, we should have plenty of open looks. Do not recall being so unsure about how the team will fare as I do this year. IF the frosh can improve their skill level quickly..we can do some very good things. If not...we are on the NCAA bubble again.
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beenaround
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Post by beenaround on Jan 1, 2015 10:19:55 GMT -5
Agree with those who worry about the outside shooting, which sadly includes free throws. The freshman bring much needed athleticism, but so far not a great improvement in defense or rebounding. With a threat like Josh down low, we should have plenty of open looks. Do not recall being so unsure about how the team will fare as I do this year. IF the frosh can improve their skill level quickly..we can do some very good things. If not...we are on the NCAA bubble again.
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