guru
Platinum Hoya (over 5000 posts)
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Post by guru on Jan 16, 2019 19:15:30 GMT -5
This has nothing to do with performance, but anyone notice that Akinjo sits on his tiny chair on the court during timeouts long after the coaches and his teammates have gotten up and the managers have cleared the other chairs? It’s funny and odd. Yesterday he sat on his his chair right next to the free throw line until right before play began, stood up and took one step to the free throw line as the manager scurried away with his seat. Made both, so not complaining. It’s just a weird scene
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Post by cgallstar02 on Jan 16, 2019 19:38:22 GMT -5
For whatever reason Ewing has shown Akinjo preferential treatment all season long, and now it's coming back to bite him in the ass. Up until recently, anytime Mac took a bad shot early in the 2nd half, Ewing would bench him, sometimes for virtually the rest of the entire game. Jamorko had to come off the bench one game and was forced to not play at all in another because of his poor play. And pretty much every other player but James has been held accountable for their mistakes throughout the year. For whatever reason James has been given free reign to do as he pleases and play through his mistakes, so it's no surprise that he's blowing off Ewing's play calls and calling his own number at the end of games. Will be interesting to see what if any punishment Ewing hands out... he needs to do something to show not only James but his fellow players and fans that no one player is bigger than the team.
I'm sure he has dreams of playing in the NBA someday, and while I think it's a pretty extreme long shot for him, his one and only chance is as a pass first playmaking guard that sets up his teammates, doesn't try to do to much and knocks down open jumpers. I'm sure he want's to play like his hero Damian Lillard, but he needs to realize he's not Lillard. He's smaller and more importantly, far less athletic. Ewing should force him to watch John Stockton videos all week so he can see what a pure point guard plays like and how a guy with limited size and athleticism can still be a hall of fame NBA player. Coming into next year, his goal shouldn't be to average 20 a game, it should be 50% shooting and a 3:1 assist to turnover ratio. If he can stop looking for his own shot so much and if Mac continues to improve his outside shooting, I could realistically see Mac leading the Big East in scoring and James leading the Big East in assists by their Junior year.
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jwp91
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Post by jwp91 on Jan 16, 2019 19:47:08 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. When you talk about 8 assists and 1 turnover....you omit the 1 for 10 shooting line. A bunch of those shots were basically turnovers. He was stuffed on multiple of those attempts. This is what happens when a 5’10” Guard matches up against a 6’8” athlete whose father played in the NBA.
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sweetness
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Post by sweetness on Jan 16, 2019 20:00:03 GMT -5
I agree he made some bad decisions last night - like some others - and was clearly trying too hard at the end to be the hero. I'm just saying I'm not totally convinced that it's cut and dry defiance like some people are arguing, more just bad judgment and inexperience.
If the team is not sharing the ball the way they should, that's for Ewing to figure out and fix.
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EasyEd
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Post by EasyEd on Jan 16, 2019 20:03:40 GMT -5
Maybe Ewing should bench James for the next game.
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calhoya
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Post by calhoya on Jan 16, 2019 20:15:02 GMT -5
Kid screwed up and not for the first time in this type of situation. That has been made clear to all of Hoya nation by the coach and the media. I agree that Ewing needs to make him accountable when it happens and either sit him for a few minutes or for as long as it takes to get the message through.
Bench him for a game? Why? Because he played selfishly? Well if that is the criteria for a benching we may not have enough players to field a team in the next game. Public humiliation will not work. There is a lot of talent there. There is an undeniable amount of confidence--over-confidence at times. Kid has improved the team tremendously after years of inadequate PG play. He has made it exciting to watch games again. The public flogging needs to end and time to move on. If it happens again then the coach needs to address in stronger terms.
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Post by hoyasaxa2003 on Jan 16, 2019 20:17:05 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. Have you seen Ewing’s statement after the game? He didn’t explicitly say Akinjo blew off the play but he was about as close to saying that as you can get. Yes, Akinjo botched that play but my bigger problem is the 1-10 from the field and the fact that most of them were ill advised shots that had no chance and amount to turnovers. Between Akinjo’s bad drIves, Pickett any time he touches the ball, and Trey Mourning’s useless possessions we left a lot of points on the floor last night.
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gujake
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Post by gujake on Jan 16, 2019 20:20:48 GMT -5
This has nothing to do with performance, but anyone notice that Akinjo sits on his tiny chair on the court during timeouts long after the coaches and his teammates have gotten up and the managers have cleared the other chairs? It’s funny and odd. Yesterday he sat on his his chair right next to the free throw line until right before play began, stood up and took one step to the free throw line as the manager scurried away with his seat. Made both, so not complaining. It’s just a weird scene Yeah, I've noticed this too. He does it every timeout.
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Post by FrazierFanatic on Jan 16, 2019 20:27:38 GMT -5
Plays a ton of minutes. He is just taking advantage of every available moment of rest.
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jwp91
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Post by jwp91 on Jan 16, 2019 20:28:49 GMT -5
I agree he made some bad decisions last night - like some others - and was clearly trying too hard at the end to be the hero. I'm just saying I'm not totally convinced that it's cut and dry defiance like some people are arguing, more just bad judgment and inexperience. If the team is not sharing the ball the way they should, that's for Ewing to figure out and fix. Have you watched Ewing’s reaction during the last 2 games and in the last 2 post-game press conferences? Those lead me to believe that it was not just bad judgment and inexperience.
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jwp91
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Post by jwp91 on Jan 16, 2019 20:30:05 GMT -5
This has nothing to do with performance, but anyone notice that Akinjo sits on his tiny chair on the court during timeouts long after the coaches and his teammates have gotten up and the managers have cleared the other chairs? It’s funny and odd. Yesterday he sat on his his chair right next to the free throw line until right before play began, stood up and took one step to the free throw line as the manager scurried away with his seat. Made both, so not complaining. It’s just a weird scene Yeah, I've noticed this too. He does it every timeout. He was also the first player to put his hands on his knees when I watched him on site at Butler game. He may need to improve his conditioning.
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gujake
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Post by gujake on Jan 16, 2019 20:37:48 GMT -5
Eh, he does it early in the game though too. I think it's just a personal preference thing for him.
The way huddles are handled is Ewing's call, and part of his coaching style is clearly to allow for individualism. I personally like it better when guys stay together during timeouts, but whatever, it's not a big deal... more funny/weird like guru said, since Akinjo is always sitting there by himself.
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Post by professorhoya on Jan 16, 2019 21:12:18 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. Take it up with Coach Akinjo if yo have a problem with it.
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Post by cgallstar02 on Jan 16, 2019 21:13:15 GMT -5
If he's shooting 8-10 and hadn't literally just gotten his shot blocked driving to the hole 5 seconds before that, maybe he gets a pass. You can't be 1-9 and have just gotten your shot blocked the previous play and think it's a good idea to blow off the play call to force a shot over 2 players that are both nearly a foot taller than you. Sometimes you have to know when it's not your night. As others have noted, he has really struggled in Big East play, shooting 25% through 5 games. Could just be a slump, but if you look at the Syracuse game, which is the only legit team we played in non-conference play, he struggled in that one too... 2-7 for 4 points. I'm starting to think the length and athleticism of the better teams is really bothering him. Needs to focus more on setting up his teammates and being a spot up shooter instead of going one on one all the time. When he drives to the basket it should be more with the mindset of drawing in the defense and finding the open man like when he hit Mourning for the dunk.
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Post by professorhoya on Jan 16, 2019 21:18:16 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. Agreed. Just a bunch of keyboard warriors and armchair QBs on here who have never coached at this level when Coach Akinjo is actually out there coaching and grinding.
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Post by professorhoya on Jan 16, 2019 21:19:46 GMT -5
This has nothing to do with performance, but anyone notice that Akinjo sits on his tiny chair on the court during timeouts long after the coaches and his teammates have gotten up and the managers have cleared the other chairs? It’s funny and odd. Yesterday he sat on his his chair right next to the free throw line until right before play began, stood up and took one step to the free throw line as the manager scurried away with his seat. Made both, so not complaining. It’s just a weird scene Dennis Rodman used to do something like that where he wouldn't be in the huddle. I think that was in San Antonio. Can't remember if it happened with the Bulls and MJ.
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sweetness
Silver Hoya (over 500 posts)
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Post by sweetness on Jan 16, 2019 21:39:00 GMT -5
Professorhoya I'm glad I never had you as a prof...I don't find your sarcasm particularly insightful.
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Post by professorhoya on Jan 16, 2019 21:45:53 GMT -5
Professorhoya I'm glad I never had you as a prof...I don't find your sarcasm particularly insightful. You a Walter Payton fan?
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DanMcQ
Moderator
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Post by DanMcQ on Jan 16, 2019 21:47:23 GMT -5
This has nothing to do with performance, but anyone notice that Akinjo sits on his tiny chair on the court during timeouts long after the coaches and his teammates have gotten up and the managers have cleared the other chairs? It’s funny and odd. Yesterday he sat on his his chair right next to the free throw line until right before play began, stood up and took one step to the free throw line as the manager scurried away with his seat. Made both, so not complaining. It’s just a weird scene Somebody pointed it out before way upthread. It seems to work for him so I have no problem with it.
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sweetness
Silver Hoya (over 500 posts)
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Post by sweetness on Jan 16, 2019 21:47:29 GMT -5
Not really, but I acknowledge that he was the real Sweetness.
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