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Post by johnnysnowplow on Feb 11, 2019 11:13:50 GMT -5
First everyone is up in arms that he turns it over too much and doesn’t look to set up teammates enough. Then, after being disciplined by the head coach, he alters his approach to the point where his A/TO ratio over a 5 game stretch was something like 4. And now everyone is up in arms that he can’t score.
The kid is barely 18 years old and he’s been handed the keys to a BE offense. He’s done what I would consider a very good job of adjusting throughout the season. I think it was obvious in the last game he’s trying to add a floater and some other shots to his arsenal, but perfecting that stuff takes time. I think it’s clear to him now that he can’t just put his head down and go in a straight line at the rim.
He’s now having to deal with other teams having enough game tape that they can gameplan against his strengths and exploit his weaknesses. Give the kid a chance to work out the kinks. He’s clearly putting in the effort to improve his game.
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NCHoya
Diamond Hoya (over 2500 posts)
Posts: 2,927
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Post by NCHoya on Feb 11, 2019 12:11:26 GMT -5
I believe some are underestimating the mental and physical demands put on a point guard, basketball's closest position to a quarterback.
Don't forget what James is asked to do like bringing the ball up against pressure, initiating Ewing's play calls, communicating non-stop with coach and team, receiving the hot potato ball back with 3 seconds on the shot clock, making clutch free throws, playing the most minutes (tied with a senior, Govan), etc. This completely leaves out defense! Forget the shooting; all of this other "stuff" is expected of a PG every damn game, and to his credit, Akinjo has not asked nor received a break.
This is not an easy position and the expectations, as we have seen on this board, are extremely high.
Admittedly, I nearly lost my patience after the late game hero ball issue, but his immediate response won me over permanently as a believer in this kid. And are we really so metric obsessed that he will not improve his FG%? As stated above by johnny, teams are gameplanning for him because he is such a key component to our team. You have to allow him and the staff time to adjust his game to compensate. If it takes his whole freshman season, so be it.
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Post by professorhoya on Feb 11, 2019 12:22:18 GMT -5
First everyone is up in arms that he turns it over too much and doesn’t look to set up teammates enough. Then, after being disciplined by the head coach, he alters his approach to the point where his A/TO ratio over a 5 game stretch was something like 4. And now everyone is up in arms that he can’t score. The kid is barely 18 years old and he’s been handed the keys to a BE offense. He’s done what I would consider a very good job of adjusting throughout the season. I think it was obvious in the last game he’s trying to add a floater and some other shots to his arsenal, but perfecting that stuff takes time. I think it’s clear to him now that he can’t just put his head down and go in a straight line at the rim. He’s now having to deal with other teams having enough game tape that they can gameplan against his strengths and exploit his weaknesses. Give the kid a chance to work out the kinks. He’s clearly putting in the effort to improve his game. I don't remember turn overs every being an issue with him. In OCC it was whether him and MacClung could hit the college 3. Since then the primary problems were his not listening to Coach Ewing in end game situations (which seems to have been corrected) and his inability to finish drives/getting his shot blocked. That last problem still exists. I believe he will figure it out considering his elite ball handling and elite ball distribution but he's going to have to be crafty about it cause he's not going to beat people finishing with athleticism or explosiveness. Govan is a similar example in that he has an elite 3 pt shot and elite post skills but is a really poor defender. He has limited lateral quickness and explosiveness despite a long wing span. Did he ever really figure it out as a defender? I don't know if he ever did and I think that's because he's trying to play an athletic game (which he will lose) instead of a crafty, cerebral defensive game. I think with Akinjo if he modifies his finishing game by being crafty and cerebral (reverse layups, high off the glass shots a la HOF Isaiah Thomas) then he will be able to master it. But if he tries to blow by people on athleticism and speed he's going to continue to fail finishing at this level. Akinjo reminds me of a smaller, Kyrie Irvin or HOF Isaih Thomas. |
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Post by professorhoya on Feb 11, 2019 12:25:15 GMT -5
I believe some are underestimating the mental and physical demands put on a point guard, basketball's closest position to a quarterback. Don't forget what James is asked to do like bringing the ball up against pressure, initiating Ewing's play calls, communicating non-stop with coach and team, receiving the hot potato ball back with 3 seconds on the shot clock, making clutch free throws, playing the most minutes (tied with a senior, Govan), etc. This completely leaves out defense! Forget the shooting; all of this other "stuff" is expected of a PG every damn game, and to his credit, Akinjo has not asked nor received a break. This is not an easy position and the expectations, as we have seen on this board, are extremely high. Admittedly, I nearly lost my patience after the late game hero ball issue, but his immediate response won me over permanently as a believer in this kid. And are we really so metric obsessed that he will not improve his FG%? As stated above by johnny, teams are gameplanning for him because he is such a key component to our team. You have to allow him and the staff time to adjust his game to compensate. If it takes his whole freshman season, so be it. It probably will take the whole Big East regular season to figure it out. Which is fine, but we shouldn't be blaming Govan, Trey, Mosely and others for not getting to the big dance since we are willing to accept this season as a learning experience/player development season. |
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Post by johnnysnowplow on Feb 11, 2019 12:58:57 GMT -5
First everyone is up in arms that he turns it over too much and doesn’t look to set up teammates enough. Then, after being disciplined by the head coach, he alters his approach to the point where his A/TO ratio over a 5 game stretch was something like 4. And now everyone is up in arms that he can’t score. The kid is barely 18 years old and he’s been handed the keys to a BE offense. He’s done what I would consider a very good job of adjusting throughout the season. I think it was obvious in the last game he’s trying to add a floater and some other shots to his arsenal, but perfecting that stuff takes time. I think it’s clear to him now that he can’t just put his head down and go in a straight line at the rim. He’s now having to deal with other teams having enough game tape that they can gameplan against his strengths and exploit his weaknesses. Give the kid a chance to work out the kinks. He’s clearly putting in the effort to improve his game. I don't remember turn overs every being an issue with him. In OCC it was whether him and MacClung could hit the college 3. Since then the primary problems were his not listening to Coach Ewing in end game situations (which seems to have been corrected) and his inability to finish drives/getting his shot blocked. That last problem still exists. I believe he will figure it out considering his elite ball handling and elite ball distribution but he's going to have to be crafty about it cause he's not going to beat people finishing with athleticism or explosiveness. Govan is a similar example in that he has an elite 3 pt shot and elite post skills but is a really poor defender. He has limited lateral quickness and explosiveness despite a long wing span. Did he ever really figure it out as a defender? I don't know if he ever did and I think that's because he's trying to play an athletic game (which he will lose) instead of a crafty, cerebral defensive game. I think with Akinjo if he modifies his finishing game by being crafty and cerebral (reverse layups, high off the glass shots a la HOF Isaiah Thomas) then he will be able to master it. But if he tries to blow by people on athleticism and speed he's going to continue to fail finishing at this level. Akinjo reminds me of a smaller, Kyrie Irvin or HOF Isaih Thomas. You don’t remember the turnovers? His first 5 games he had 25 TOs. TOs were a major issue early on. |
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Post by johnnysnowplow on Feb 11, 2019 13:03:41 GMT -5
I believe some are underestimating the mental and physical demands put on a point guard, basketball's closest position to a quarterback. Don't forget what James is asked to do like bringing the ball up against pressure, initiating Ewing's play calls, communicating non-stop with coach and team, receiving the hot potato ball back with 3 seconds on the shot clock, making clutch free throws, playing the most minutes (tied with a senior, Govan), etc. This completely leaves out defense! Forget the shooting; all of this other "stuff" is expected of a PG every damn game, and to his credit, Akinjo has not asked nor received a break. This is not an easy position and the expectations, as we have seen on this board, are extremely high. Admittedly, I nearly lost my patience after the late game hero ball issue, but his immediate response won me over permanently as a believer in this kid. And are we really so metric obsessed that he will not improve his FG%? As stated above by johnny, teams are gameplanning for him because he is such a key component to our team. You have to allow him and the staff time to adjust his game to compensate. If it takes his whole freshman season, so be it. It probably will take the whole Big East regular season to figure it out. Which is fine, but we shouldn't be blaming Govan, Trey, Mosely and others for not getting to the big dance since we are willing to accept this season as a learning experience/player development season. We should absolutely be blaming those guys. That’s 2 seniors and a junior. If we can’t depend on them for leadership then who? Everyone wants to pile on our freshman PG and his 2pfg% but little is made of Govan shooting 45% on 2s in BE play. You know who else shot 45% in BE play his senior year? Mikael Hopkins. Yea. |
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Post by professorhoya on Feb 11, 2019 13:12:40 GMT -5
I don't remember turn overs every being an issue with him. In OCC it was whether him and MacClung could hit the college 3. Since then the primary problems were his not listening to Coach Ewing in end game situations (which seems to have been corrected) and his inability to finish drives/getting his shot blocked. That last problem still exists. I believe he will figure it out considering his elite ball handling and elite ball distribution but he's going to have to be crafty about it cause he's not going to beat people finishing with athleticism or explosiveness. Govan is a similar example in that he has an elite 3 pt shot and elite post skills but is a really poor defender. He has limited lateral quickness and explosiveness despite a long wing span. Did he ever really figure it out as a defender? I don't know if he ever did and I think that's because he's trying to play an athletic game (which he will lose) instead of a crafty, cerebral defensive game. I think with Akinjo if he modifies his finishing game by being crafty and cerebral (reverse layups, high off the glass shots a la HOF Isaiah Thomas) then he will be able to master it. But if he tries to blow by people on athleticism and speed he's going to continue to fail finishing at this level. Akinjo reminds me of a smaller, Kyrie Irvin or HOF Isaih Thomas. You don’t remember the turnovers? His first 5 games he had 25 TOs. TOs were a major issue early on. I had no issue with that. I saw enough of him in Kenner to know his handles and ball distribution were elite and that TOs wouldn't be a problem. |
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EtomicB
Blue & Gray (over 10,000 posts)
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Post by EtomicB on Feb 11, 2019 13:13:03 GMT -5
It probably will take the whole Big East regular season to figure it out. Which is fine, but we shouldn't be blaming Govan, Trey, Mosely and others for not getting to the big dance since we are willing to accept this season as a learning experience/player development season. We should absolutely be blaming those guys. That’s 2 seniors and a junior. If we can’t depend on them for leadership then who? Everyone wants to pile on our freshman PG and his 2pfg% but little is made of Govan shooting 45% on 2s in BE play. You know who else shot 45% in BE play his senior year? Mikael Hopkins. Yea. Be fair Snowplow, little has been made of his 45% shooting from 2 because prior to the Nova game it wasn't below 50%.. Remove that game alone & he's back to 50%... |
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Post by johnnysnowplow on Feb 11, 2019 13:25:19 GMT -5
We should absolutely be blaming those guys. That’s 2 seniors and a junior. If we can’t depend on them for leadership then who? Everyone wants to pile on our freshman PG and his 2pfg% but little is made of Govan shooting 45% on 2s in BE play. You know who else shot 45% in BE play his senior year? Mikael Hopkins. Yea. Be fair Snowplow, little has been made of his 45% shooting from 2 because prior to the Nova game it wasn't below 50%.. Remove that game alone & he's back to 50%... Be that as it may, I guess I expect more than 50% on 2 pointers from my center. As others have said, he’s taking way too many contested jumpers and he’s trying to set up way too far from the basket. He was 1-5 on 2s vs Butler. That’s putrid. Without hijacking this thread with a tangent about Govan, I was just trying to point out that I think Akinjo is catching a lot of unfair flack for his shooting struggles. |
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Post by TrueHoyaBlue on Feb 11, 2019 13:32:18 GMT -5
One clear sign of improvement: James is still having issues finishing at the rim, but his drives are starting to be less predictable and more effective.
In the OOC, it was pretty clear that any time he drove the lane, he was trying to finish on his own. Around December, he started adding a dump down pass option, many of which have led to baskets from Josh or Trey on the low block.
I was waiting to see when he’d start getting comfortable enough against BE defenses that he could add the lockout pass to the wing. And in the last few games, that’s been showing up with some frequency.
Based on those improvements, I have no doubt he’ll be able to adjust and more consistently finish with a jump stop, or another finishing move. Just not sure if it will happen this season or next.
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EtomicB
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Post by EtomicB on Feb 11, 2019 13:41:28 GMT -5
Be fair Snowplow, little has been made of his 45% shooting from 2 because prior to the Nova game it wasn't below 50%.. Remove that game alone & he's back to 50%... Be that as it may, I guess I expect more than 50% on 2 pointers from my center. As others have said, he’s taking way too many contested jumpers and he’s trying to set up way too far from the basket. He was 1-5 on 2s vs Butler. That’s putrid. Without hijacking this thread with a tangent about Govan, I was just trying to point out that I think Akinjo is catching a lot of unfair flack for his shooting struggles. I agree that Govan could be shooting better inside the arc, I have no problem with that point being raised by folks... I don't view it as giving Govan flack to do so, the same way I don't think talking about Akinjos troubles is giving him unfair flack... The great majority of folks who post just want the team to win, max out its talents.. So yes, sometimes there will be critical discussions(especially after a loss) even about players who are performing at a high level overall and I don't view the discussions as unfair... |
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prhoya
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Post by prhoya on Feb 11, 2019 13:48:25 GMT -5
James is trying to finesse his short jumpers and leaving them at the front of the rim time and again. For now, he needs to hit the bank until he gets his shot back. Mac did it against Butler.
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blueandgray
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Post by blueandgray on Feb 14, 2019 0:02:08 GMT -5
He's hit the freshman wall. He will bounce back....but he certainly seems to have lost some of his swag. Hope he gets it back soon. He can't be hesitant and needs to continue to look for his shot.
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Post by FHillsNYHoya on Feb 14, 2019 0:11:10 GMT -5
What is his shot right now though? Seems like he has enough in the arsenal to get space for the 3. He did hit at least one layup tonight (but Greg had 3). The high bank off the glass, the teardrop, the jump stop?
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gunny
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Post by gunny on Feb 14, 2019 0:37:37 GMT -5
It is funny how a lot of posters on here are negative on Akinjo, but McClung was horrible tonight. He defense is just BAD. But not one post in the McClung thread. He can do no wrong in a lot of your eyes and it is sickening.
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DFW HOYA
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Post by DFW HOYA on Feb 14, 2019 0:42:51 GMT -5
It is funny how a lot of posters on here are negative on Akinjo, but McClung was horrible tonight. He defense is just BAD. But not one post in the McClung thread. He can do no wrong in a lot of your eyes and it is sickening. He played only 15 minutes and the ankle is still a problem. In the last three games, McClung is a combined 36 percent from the floor (13-36). In the last three games, Akinjo is a combined 8 percent from the floor (2-23). Malinowski and Mosely outplayed both of them Wednesday. |
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blueandgray
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Post by blueandgray on Feb 14, 2019 0:46:04 GMT -5
It is funny how a lot of posters on here are negative on Akinjo, but McClung was horrible tonight. He defense is just BAD. But not one post in the McClung thread. He can do no wrong in a lot of your eyes and it is sickening. “Sickening”....really? Some people are so sensitive it’s wild. Step off the ledge my friend. The production from our starting backcourt was horrible tonight. And if it makes you feel better...i’ll post on Mac now as well. |
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Post by professorhoya on Feb 14, 2019 7:35:02 GMT -5
It is funny how a lot of posters on here are negative on Akinjo, but McClung was horrible tonight. He defense is just BAD. But not one post in the McClung thread. He can do no wrong in a lot of your eyes and it is sickening. It seems quite the opposite to me. People trash Govan, Trey Mourning and Mosely on a daily basis, all season. Yet one small criticism on a part of Akinjo's game and you are up in arms. Frankly, as limited as Mosely is in his offense, he has not been bad at all compared to Akinjo yet Akinjo continues to eat up the minutes. He's a kid we get it (but so is Mosely) and we are using this seasons as a development season for Akinjo and Mac at the cost of possible better outcomes. |
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jwp91
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Post by jwp91 on Feb 14, 2019 8:14:06 GMT -5
I have been more critical of Mosely than most, but he came play last night and earned more minutes than either Mac or James.
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bostonfan
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Post by bostonfan on Feb 14, 2019 9:24:02 GMT -5
I have been more critical of Mosely than most, but he came play last night and earned more minutes than either Mac or James. Jagan was one of the guys who played well last night. I never thought I would say it, but Akinjo and Mac both seemed a little overwhelmed at times last night by the intensity of the game. Both of these freshman seemed like they enjoyed the big moment so far this season, but looked uncomfortable at points last night. Hope it is a learning experience and they both come out better for having gone through it. |
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