|
Post by centercourt400s on Jan 16, 2019 11:41:41 GMT -5
Love, love, love having Akinjo on this team. He's already paid huge dividends this season and the investment in him now is going to lead to a jackpot in the future.
|
|
sleepy
Platinum Hoya (over 5000 posts)
Posts: 6,079
|
Post by sleepy on Jan 16, 2019 12:13:41 GMT -5
He has a great looking floater, he needs to utilize that more. Until he develops a semblance of a left hand both on the dribble and driving to iron your not going to see much in the way of improvement be next year or three years from now.they have overplayed him to right and his only response is a mediocre spin move that he can't finish on. I'm still waiting for him to convert a left handed layup. Long way to to go to become the player we think he should be today..
|
|
|
Post by FrazierFanatic on Jan 16, 2019 13:06:31 GMT -5
Although I joined in the chorus of "what are you thinking?" from my couch last night, I love the fact that we have a FRESHMAN guard (actually two of them) with the stones to want the last shot. James is a heady player; we suffer from his bad decision this time, but will benefit many times in the future from what he learns from this experience.
|
|
|
Post by gatormcclusky on Jan 16, 2019 13:08:59 GMT -5
Akinjo is now shooting 15.2% from two in Big East play, whereas he's shooting 39.1% from three. This is clearly because Akinjo is making ill-advised drives and not able to finish. I realize you don't want him to lose his aggression, but he must be coached to make better decisions, and he must learn, otherwise he's really hurting the team. His offensive efficiency is not bad because he shoots free throws really well and his threes are pretty good, but the awful two point shooting is magnified because the stuffs/botched drives often lead to turnovers allowing the other team to run. Clearly, based on last night, Akinjo isn't listening as well as he could to Ewing, but Akinjo is a major problem at this point in that respect for our offense, and it must be fixed. I feel confident in saying that, right now, McClung is the better point. I don't know that I'd go so far as to say Mac is the better option at PG right now - he doesn't handle the ball nearly as well as James and that might hurt him against heavy pressure - but I definitely don't think they're as far apart in terms of ability to direct the offense and manufacture good shots as some fans do, especially if only one of them is running the plays the coaching staff asks them to run. Akinjo is tough as hell and won't back down to anything or anyone, which I love, but it's a double-edged sword when the kid's hard-headedness won't allow him to realize his limitations and play smart team basketball. He's had some great moments this year and looks like a future stud, but his shooting has really fallen off in conference play because of his stubborn insistence on trying to get inside and finish at the rim where he's not big or athletic enough to do that consistently at this level. He's still extremely young and has a lot of growing to do, and you have to expect some of this stuff, but blowing off called plays and trying to force late-game heroics 1-on-5 can't keep happening. He's still doing a great job protecting the ball and knocking down outside jumpers, and he's by far the best ballhandler on the team. If he'll understand and accept that he can't just take guys off the bounce and score at will and focus more on shooting the three and using his penetration to set up teammates, he can get right back to contending for conference rookie of the year. I do wonder how much the hype around Mac is affecting James' play, though - he's a tough kid from a tough environment who from all accounts refuses to play second fiddle to anybody (like the reports of fights at practice between him and teammates over leadership of the team when he first got to campus), and it's pretty obvious that he believes he should be the go-to guy in crunchtime over anybody else. Whether that stuff is part of it or not, though, I really hope James gets past this rough stretch and gets back to playing smart basketball because the Hoyas need his positive contributions for team success.
|
|
|
Post by professorhoya on Jan 16, 2019 13:45:42 GMT -5
Akinjo is now shooting 15.2% from two in Big East play, whereas he's shooting 39.1% from three. This is clearly because Akinjo is making ill-advised drives and not able to finish. I realize you don't want him to lose his aggression, but he must be coached to make better decisions, and he must learn, otherwise he's really hurting the team. His offensive efficiency is not bad because he shoots free throws really well and his threes are pretty good, but the awful two point shooting is magnified because the stuffs/botched drives often lead to turnovers allowing the other team to run. Clearly, based on last night, Akinjo isn't listening as well as he could to Ewing, but Akinjo is a major problem at this point in that respect for our offense, and it must be fixed. I feel confident in saying that, right now, McClung is the better point. Hey! Layoff Coach Akinjo. Coach is making the right calls in end of game situations.
|
|
the_way
Platinum Hoya (over 5000 posts)
The Illest
Posts: 5,422
|
Post by the_way on Jan 16, 2019 13:49:23 GMT -5
Akinjo is the better floor general, but Mac is the more versatile closer in that he has the ability to go into traffic and finish.
Both can take their defenders off of the dribble, but Mac gets more lift in the air and is stronger going into traffic in the lane. Akinjo struggles with this skill. The end of the Illinois game was perfect for Akinjo in that he crossed up his man, and then shot a nice, uncontested floater from the foul line.
He'll have to work on picking his spots better or distribute it to Jesse or Mac if nothing is there for him.
|
|
Bigs"R"Us
Platinum Hoya (over 5000 posts)
Posts: 6,650
|
Post by Bigs"R"Us on Jan 16, 2019 13:53:49 GMT -5
I could have lived with Akinjo taking the last shot and having our guys crashing the boards, just not a drive into their skilled bigs. He tried and failed all night, but went for it again with the game on the line. ☹️👎🏻 Live and learn, I guess. Love the kids game and toughness though.
|
|
|
Post by professorhoya on Jan 16, 2019 14:14:17 GMT -5
The General. James Montgomery Akinjo.
|
|
|
Post by FHillsNYHoya on Jan 16, 2019 14:48:39 GMT -5
He has a great looking floater, he needs to utilize that more. Until he develops a semblance of a left hand both on the dribble and driving to iron your not going to see much in the way of improvement be next year or three years from now.they have overplayed him to right and his only response is a mediocre spin move that he can't finish on. I'm still waiting for him to convert a left handed layup. Long way to to go to become the player we think he should be today.. Noticed several times that Akinjo seemed to have an opening for a lefty layup and decided not to take it - given his size, he needs/should add that teardrop high off the window shot. I really hope he embraces what the coaching staff has to be telling him. I spent two hours this morning doing a training designed to give High Impact Feedback - happy to recommend it to the Athletic Department if the staff needs some ideas....
|
|
|
Post by professorhoya on Jan 16, 2019 14:51:06 GMT -5
Until he develops a semblance of a left hand both on the dribble and driving to iron your not going to see much in the way of improvement be next year or three years from now.they have overplayed him to right and his only response is a mediocre spin move that he can't finish on. I'm still waiting for him to convert a left handed layup. Long way to to go to become the player we think he should be today.. Noticed several times that Akinjo seemed to have an opening for a lefty layup and decided not to take it - given his size, he needs/should add that teardrop high off the window shot. I really hope he embraces what the coaching staff has to be telling him. I spent two hours this morning doing a training designed to give High Impact Feedback - happy to recommend it to the Athletic Department if the staff needs some ideas.... He needs to add the reverse layup too. He can't get away with his first move at this level given his size and lack of ups.
|
|
Bigs"R"Us
Platinum Hoya (over 5000 posts)
Posts: 6,650
|
Post by Bigs"R"Us on Jan 16, 2019 14:51:51 GMT -5
Doesn’t have to be a floater, James can drive and pull up as well. Depends on the defense.
|
|
sweetness
Silver Hoya (over 500 posts)
Posts: 860
|
Post by sweetness on Jan 16, 2019 15:46:40 GMT -5
I love that Ewing gives Akinjo (and Mac) so much autonomy. With that comes mistakes and then hopefully learning and development. We need 'controlled autonomy'.
They key is for the young guys to develop mutual trust. I think they all want to win - but I'm sure they also have individual goals as well, i.e. playing professionally. Ewing needs to convey to them that in fact sharing the ball and ultimately winning is the best way for everyone to accomplish both the team and the individual goals.
|
|
hoya95
Golden Hoya (over 1000 posts)
Posts: 1,445
|
Post by hoya95 on Jan 16, 2019 17:43:06 GMT -5
Obviously, we've been desperate for a point guard, and Akinjo has a chance to be a really good one. But there is a huge difference between "freshman mistakes" and blowing off the specific play that was called to play hero ball at the end of a game. This is two games in a row. It really can't happen a third time. Hopefully that point has been made very clear by now.
|
|
sweetness
Silver Hoya (over 500 posts)
Posts: 860
|
Post by sweetness on Jan 16, 2019 18:20:42 GMT -5
I think he's made some bad late-game decisions, however I don't fully buy this theory of he's 'blowing off plays'. This isn't Hickory High 1955. These plays have multiple options, and I'm sure the PG or whoever has the ball has the latitude to use their judgment. Now I'm guessing Ewing says let's try to get the ball inside to Govan, etc. But ultimately I think the players need to make the right decisions given what's available.
I wanted Akinjo to pass the ball at the end there, don't get me wrong. But everyone screaming about defiance of Ewing....I don't necessarily buy that.
|
|
gujake
Silver Hoya (over 500 posts)
Posts: 831
|
Post by gujake on Jan 16, 2019 18:25:19 GMT -5
No. Akinjo waved off Ewing's play call in the Providence game. Not a case of him choosing a different read. Ewing was calling out a play, and Akinjo literally waved him off and iso'ed instead. Ewing confirmed it in his postgame comments.
|
|
sweetness
Silver Hoya (over 500 posts)
Posts: 860
|
Post by sweetness on Jan 16, 2019 18:27:44 GMT -5
That may be true, but that doesn't mean that's what occurred at the end of the Marquette game.
Also, Ewing may be ok with players exercising judgment...which is in fact what we want and need to ultimately be good.
|
|
gujake
Silver Hoya (over 500 posts)
Posts: 831
|
Post by gujake on Jan 16, 2019 18:37:19 GMT -5
Have you watched the clip? Jessie is open off the flare screen and Akinjo never even looks at him. Again, not a case of him making a bad read. He doesn't even look in that direction. While Jessie is coming off the screen, Akinjo is already trying to break his guy down off the dribble. He decided he was going for it by himself before the play started.
|
|
gujake
Silver Hoya (over 500 posts)
Posts: 831
|
Post by gujake on Jan 16, 2019 18:55:48 GMT -5
If anything, I think this is a bigger deal than most people here seem to think. It's the kind of thing that can cause locker room issues and trust issues. I mean, the attitude from Akinjo here is essentially I don't need my teammates, I don't need my coaches, I'm going for it myself. It's bad basketball, it's selfish, and it's disrespectful to your teammates and your hall of fame coach.
And critically, he did it two games in a row. One time is a bad look, but ok, he's a young kid and maybe he has the wrong idea about end of game situations and being THE GUY during crunch time or whatever. But Ewing chewed him out and called him out publicly after the Providence game, and then Akinjo goes out there THE VERY NEXT GAME and goes with the heroball routine again. Professorhoya's joke about "Coach Akinjo" kinda hits the nail on the head, IMO, because it certainly seems like he wasn't at all receptive to coaching after the first incident. Hopefully it gets through to him.
|
|
alleninxis
Golden Hoya (over 1000 posts)
Posts: 2,216
|
Post by alleninxis on Jan 16, 2019 18:57:57 GMT -5
It's pretty clear he blew off both play calls this week, I mean..all you have to do is watch Ewing when they occurred.
Ewing wanted to work a switch vs Providence - he had done so earlier at the end of regulation. didn't happen.
Vs Marquette, he ran something he has often - a stagger into a flare screen for a big (jessie). James gave neither the time of day.
|
|
sweetness
Silver Hoya (over 500 posts)
Posts: 860
|
Post by sweetness on Jan 16, 2019 19:11:57 GMT -5
Ewing clearly thinks that Govan was open and should've gotten the ball....which we can all agree he should have. But we have no idea what was said in the huddle, what was said after the Providence game, or really anything. People are just coming up with all kinds of conspiracy theories, which I think is ridiculous. Akinjo had 8 assists (and one turnover), so I don't think he has a problem passing the ball.
The end of game situations are happening fast, with tight defense and long, athletic defenders. We are freeze framing things and making judgments about what he saw or didn't see, and what/when he decided things. Govan was open for probably a second. Bottom line is Akinjo just needs to make better decisions, which in time he will.
Also maybe we need to practice end of game scenarios more.
|
|