hoopsmccan
Golden Hoya (over 1000 posts)
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Post by hoopsmccan on Feb 8, 2021 13:14:04 GMT -5
It's gonna be real hard to rip the PG spot away from Dante the next 3 years. I know we have Beard coming in and are still recruiting PG's beyond that, but this young man is developing into the role game by game. Agree. He's been thrust into a position where it's all he can do to hang on to his tail, protect the ball and try to guard opposing PGs. Unquestionably by far the toughest spot to roll into as a true frosh - primary ball-handler and lead guard defender. Once the game slows down enough that he can polish his facilitating and shooting and not just function in survival mode, I think he has a chance to be very solid. Don't really have a recent comparable for him, because he's very small and very quick but not really a natural slasher/finisher (think Iverson/Ponds among tiny guys) nor a natural facilitator (think JFlynn among tiny) nor a natural gunner (Markus Howard). The way he plays defense and shows flashes of everything without really excelling at anything on the offensive end at this point, he reminds me a little of Kyle Lowry. Obviously he's lighter than Lowry, but he has a similar tenacity. Doesn't remind me of any recent GU player - re size, quickness and skillset. But you are correct that he's a bulldog, and you can't help but love that. Beard is going to have a very tough time supplanting him...which is great. Perhaps they will push each other to new heights. I've only seen extended minutes of Beard in that FLA holiday tourney with Hargrave, but he has a very similar game in many ways. Hard-nosed defender. Very solid game manager who isn't a flashy facilitator nor a great shooter. Going to be a very interesting to watch how it shakes out. By the way, Aminu is a combo guard/wing who reminds me an awful lot of Marquette version of DWade - smooth, muscular slasher/finisher athlete with average shooting/ball skills but supreme athleticism. Aminu is a LONG way from an NBA 2 re: his shot, so we could effectively have three PGs next season - none of whom is really a natural distributor and none of whom is really a great shooter (one of the reasons I think you really need to bring back Blair). Now the one thing you will have next season is an exponentially better team re: perimeter defense. Carey is a huge liability there and Blair (though drastically improved from his frosh self) is still slightly below average. Next year, Pat will have four plus perimeter defenders (Jordan is also a very good defender). We are being built to give fits to the Creightons and Villanovas who want to play circus triple small-ball. But we could easily have the worst shooting team in GU history next season. [/b] Now that is saying something...some of those early 90s teams absolutely punished rims and backboards with their bricks. hm
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EtomicB
Blue & Gray (over 10,000 posts)
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Post by EtomicB on Feb 8, 2021 14:28:21 GMT -5
I am insanely impressed with the huge improvement of Dante shown over the last 3 games. His defense is quite good, but on the offensive side he is becoming the floor general controlling pace and play quite well. His point movement and play are setting up pass to assist, quick cut and kicks to open players that his movement created their opening to shoot or drive or shift to next player as defense shifts to the open player. His patience has grown immensely and not really pushing his own shot when it isn't there or driving into congestion and getting stuck as he was. I'm really curious what coach or coaches have been working with him as he is picking up skills and closing his gaps to take big steps into a real point guard role at a D1 NCAA level. He had a decent base coming in, but the speed, length, and different type of play showed gaps in his knowledge and skills. A lot of that has been closed (not all), but the progress he has made often takes a year or two. Coaching has done a seriously good job and Dante a great job putting the coaching into his game rather quickly. Kudos all around. Jackson put it perfectly on the broadcast yesterday when he stated that "Gtown was allowing the system to create offense as opposed to waiting for individuals to do it". I agree 100% with this thought... To me, that's the biggest difference I've seen over the past few games. I've never been a fan of the search for a "true PG" to me those days of hoops aren't as effective in my view... I loved the stats for Harris posted by Yaboy above but Blair has 18 assists to 4 turnovers the past 3 games, very few Gtown fans will call him a pg even though he's put up those numbers... Another point that shows the kids have grown in the offense is the fact that Pickett has upped his assist totals over the past 3 games(4,3 & 5) too... It's been fun to watch
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beenaround
Golden Hoya (over 1000 posts)
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Post by beenaround on Feb 8, 2021 15:04:03 GMT -5
Its been a long time, so perhaps I'm way off...but Dante kind of reminds me of Mike Riley. Tough little guy, defensive oriented and assists more so than true scoring threat.
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hoya73
Golden Hoya (over 1000 posts)
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Post by hoya73 on Feb 8, 2021 16:24:13 GMT -5
I think Dante is more of a scorer than Mike Riley. Dante had 22 in is first BE start. Doubt Rileys career high game approached that. Will Dante be a guy that never approaches his own first start career high in scoring? Possible, but I think there are skills that make it unlikely.
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beenaround
Golden Hoya (over 1000 posts)
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Post by beenaround on Feb 8, 2021 18:45:39 GMT -5
I think Dante is more of a scorer than Mike Riley. Dante had 22 in is first BE start. Doubt Rileys career high game approached that. Will Dante be a guy that never approaches his own first start career high in scoring? Possible, but I think there are skills that make it unlikely. Time could easily be taking its toll on me!!
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blueandgray
Platinum Hoya (over 5000 posts)
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Post by blueandgray on Feb 8, 2021 19:01:03 GMT -5
Better defensive point guard ...Akinjo or Harris?
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Feb 8, 2021 20:39:39 GMT -5
Better defensive point guard ...Akinjo or Harris? Akinjo is the third leader in steals in the Pac 12. Harris is top forty in the Big East.
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sweetness
Silver Hoya (over 500 posts)
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Post by sweetness on Feb 8, 2021 21:15:29 GMT -5
Harris.
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dchoya72
Diamond Hoya (over 2500 posts)
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Post by dchoya72 on Feb 8, 2021 22:11:43 GMT -5
Its been a long time, so perhaps I'm way off...but Dante kind of reminds me of Mike Riley. Tough little guy, defensive oriented and assists more so than true scoring threat. That is high praise!!
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Post by eastcoastteddy58 on Feb 8, 2021 22:22:12 GMT -5
After reading this page all I ask from the young man is to dial in that three point shot. Another threat from the outside is hard to plan for especially when three of the four are willing to pull up a midrange jumper.
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hoya73
Golden Hoya (over 1000 posts)
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Post by hoya73 on Feb 9, 2021 9:04:20 GMT -5
Steals can be a really misleading defense stat. Paradoxically, a guard who gets a lot of steals may do it by cheating /gambling on fundamental defense and get burned on a lot of plays where he doesn't get a steal.
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madhoya
Bulldog (over 250 posts)
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Post by madhoya on Feb 9, 2021 10:03:41 GMT -5
Steals can be a really misleading defense stat. Paradoxically, a guard who gets a lot of steals may do it by cheating /gambling on fundamental defense and get burned on a lot of plays where he doesn't get a steal. Exactly...James, and Mac lead the Hoyas in steals last year. But we all know that MOSELY was our best defender!!
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Post by hoyasaxa2003 on Feb 9, 2021 12:52:06 GMT -5
The really encouraging thing to me is that a lot of guards make nice jumps from freshman to sophomore year, too. Starks is a good example of that, but others have done the same. I know Harris was probably one of the lesser heralded recruits of this class, but I think he's going to be an important part of this team for the next three years.
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Post by FrazierFanatic on Feb 9, 2021 14:11:49 GMT -5
The really encouraging thing to me is that a lot of guards make nice jumps from freshman to sophomore year, too. Starks is a good example of that, but others have done the same. I know Harris was probably one of the lesser heralded recruits of this class, but I think he's going to be an important part of this team for the next three years. Exactly. The exciting thought is this - if Dante is not a four-year starter, it is only because we have brought in a guy who beats him out, whether that would be Beard or a future recruit. And that would take a pretty darn good player.
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seaweed
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Post by seaweed on Feb 9, 2021 14:16:02 GMT -5
Better defensive point guard ...Akinjo or Harris? Akinjo is the third leader in steals in the Pac 12. Harris is top forty in the Big East. Frosh D Harris - .79 steals pre game, T37th in BEast, 2.3 DRebbies per game, 68th in BEast. (NB: Posh leads BEast w 2.65 spg) Frosh J. Akinjo - 1.03 steals per game, 22nd in BEast. 2.7 DRebbies per game, 53rd in BEast. (NB: Ponds leads BEast w 2.63 spg) If those were the only measurables that mattered, Akinjo gets the nod. We all know it's not that simple. Akinjo also lead the league in APG at 5.3. On the other hand, Harris didn't transfer over BS.
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smokeyjack
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Post by smokeyjack on Feb 9, 2021 14:31:12 GMT -5
Akinjo is the third leader in steals in the Pac 12. Harris is top forty in the Big East. Frosh D Harris - .79 steals pre game, T37th in BEast, 2.3 DRebbies per game, 68th in BEast. (NB: Posh leads BEast w 2.65 spg) Frosh J. Akinjo - 1.03 steals per game, 22nd in BEast. 2.7 DRebbies per game, 53rd in BEast. (NB: Ponds leads BEast w 2.63 spg) If those were the only measurables that mattered, Akinjo gets the nod. We all know it's not that simple. Akinjo also lead the league in APG at 5.3. On the other hand, Harris didn't transfer over BS. Look, it’s easy to hate on James as a teammate, but it’s impossible to argue that he wasn’t a dynamite freshman, and way better as a player than Harris. I guess the argument in this thread was who was the better defensive player, and I think that’s close. But there’s zero question who the better offensive player was or who was the better facilitator. Forgot that Akinjo lead the BE in assists as a frosh. Wow, yeah, love Dante, but let’s keep it real folks.
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beenaround
Golden Hoya (over 1000 posts)
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Post by beenaround on Feb 9, 2021 14:52:10 GMT -5
Just walking down my admittedly poor memory lane...how about a comp to one of JR Jr's favorite point guards.. Joey Brown?
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SSHoya
Blue & Gray (over 10,000 posts)
"Forget it Jake, it's Chinatown."
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Post by SSHoya on Feb 9, 2021 15:00:23 GMT -5
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smokeyjack
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Post by smokeyjack on Feb 9, 2021 15:11:07 GMT -5
Just walking down my admittedly poor memory lane...how about a comp to one of JR Jr's favorite point guards.. Joey Brown? Yeah, thought about JB, as he was there exact same time as me. I think it’s a good comp in terms of likely overall impact. Joey was certainly a far better facilitator and defender right out of the gate. Don’t think he was as quick, but he was considerably thicker and stronger - he always reminded me of a DB playing hoops. Because of his strength, he was a better finisher and got to the line more than Dante. Really never could shoot...which was his career Achilles’. I’d like to think Dante will end up as a better shooter, but that wouldn’t take much. Good comp. Still think the best comp in thread was Riley, due to similar build and skill set.
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blueandgray
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Post by blueandgray on Feb 9, 2021 15:17:00 GMT -5
Akinjo is the third leader in steals in the Pac 12. Harris is top forty in the Big East. Frosh D Harris - .79 steals pre game, T37th in BEast, 2.3 DRebbies per game, 68th in BEast. (NB: Posh leads BEast w 2.65 spg) Frosh J. Akinjo - 1.03 steals per game, 22nd in BEast. 2.7 DRebbies per game, 53rd in BEast. (NB: Ponds leads BEast w 2.63 spg) If those were the only measurables that mattered, Akinjo gets the nod. We all know it's not that simple. Akinjo also lead the league in APG at 5.3. On the other hand, Harris didn't transfer over BS. With regard to steals, Iverson would be the first to tell you that he was a poor defender and would just jump passing lanes. Steals is one measure and if you solely base it on that...then Akinjo has better numbers. (Fwiw...Akinjo did a good job stripping the ball when helping off of his guy...less so as a result of stripping his own guy). That being said, lots of guys also went off on Akinjo when he was guarding them and Harris has done a great job on his defender. Done are the days where little point guards would run circles around us...Harris is in their faces every play and does so for 40 minutes. Akinjo was lauded for his motor, this kid has got that and then some. I’m a fan.
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