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Post by Deleted on Feb 9, 2021 15:47:25 GMT -5
I'd take a kid who plays disciplined defense, and makes you earn everything, over a kid who gambles a lot going for steals any day. Agree with others who have said steals alone aren't indicative of good defense.
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Post by hoyasaxa2003 on Feb 9, 2021 16:11:40 GMT -5
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. I know it's fashionable to hate on Akinjo now, but clearly he was a good player and was skilled. I don't think he was as good as he thought he was, but he was a good player. That said, Akinjo was a top 100 recruit, and Dante Harris wasn't. So any comparison needs to take that into consideration. I know the main reason people have ill feeling toward Akinjo is his transfer, but I also think it was a problem that while he got assists, he could also be a selfish player, too. Does anybody here envision Dante Harris playing hero ball on the last possession of a game, and failing to pass when someone else is wide open, or, alternatively, completely blowing off Ewing's play? You never know, but I think it's way less likely with Harris than Akinjo (plus, we know Akinjo did that twice, once with success, once without). I do think Harris is no worse, and probably will be a better defender than Akinjo. His on-ball defense has struck me as pretty good from the beginning of the year. Not perfect, but he puts in a ton of effort.
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bostonfan
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Post by bostonfan on Feb 9, 2021 16:28:45 GMT -5
I'd take a kid who plays disciplined defense, and makes you earn everything, over a kid who gambles a lot going for steals any day. Agree with others who have said steals alone aren't indicative of good defense. I think Dante is already an above average defender for a Big East starting PG, and he will only get better. I think he will add more bulk to his frame and more upper body strength which will allow him to defend better when other players try to post him up. If he has a weakness as a defender now, it would be that some the older/bigger/stronger PG try to post him up. It doesn't happen often, but Nova tried to do that to him. By next year I think he will be able to handle that better and will then become one of the better defenders in the conference for his position. At this point Alexander at St Joh's is the best defensive PG in the conference and that is pretty impressive for a freshman.
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Post by centercourt400s on Feb 9, 2021 16:42:21 GMT -5
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. I know it's fashionable to hate on Akinjo now, but clearly he was a good player and was skilled. I don't think he was as good as he thought he was, but he was a good player. That said, Akinjo was a top 100 recruit, and Dante Harris wasn't. So any comparison needs to take that into consideration. I know the main reason people have ill feeling toward Akinjo is his transfer, but I also think it was a problem that while he got assists, he could also be a selfish player, too. Does anybody here envision Dante Harris playing hero ball on the last possession of a game, and failing to pass when someone else is wide open, or, alternatively, completely blowing off Ewing's play? You never know, but I think it's way less likely with Harris than Akinjo (plus, we know Akinjo did that twice, once with success, once without). I do think Harris is no worse, and probably will be a better defender than Akinjo. His on-ball defense has struck me as pretty good from the beginning of the year. Not perfect, but he puts in a ton of effort. I think it is clear that freshman Akinjo was more skilled overall, especially offensively, than Harris is. Other than toughness though, in his head Akinjo was an immature mess. If I'm picking a player for a final one on one possession in a tight game, I'd take Akinjo. Picking teams for a season though? Give me the one with head screwed on straight: Harris.
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Post by michaelgrahmstylie on Feb 9, 2021 16:51:54 GMT -5
My Man, Dante Harris, is all around a much better team ball player than Akinjo. Arguably, he is even a better player. He definitely plays better defense than both Akinjo and Mac, in my opinion. I don't want to beat up on anyone that has left the program. As a matter of fact I am already breaking my own rule not to comment on them again. However, I am just very excited about Dante. He has already shown a ton of growth. He is versatile, he hustles, and he he's got that winning attitude.
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blueandgray
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Post by blueandgray on Feb 9, 2021 18:02:20 GMT -5
I wouldn’t say he’s a better player.....yet!!!
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Feb 9, 2021 19:12:06 GMT -5
Dante is going to get better. BUT, y'all trippin' Akinjo could do it all and that includes playing defense (on ball or off ball). Like I said waaay back coach had a leash on Akinjo who was really his best player.
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95hoya
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Post by 95hoya on Feb 9, 2021 20:02:25 GMT -5
Harris is shooting in the low 30s % wise from the field. That's really bad. He's got such a long way to go.
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Post by johnnysnowplow on Feb 9, 2021 20:40:36 GMT -5
Harris is shooting in the low 30s % wise from the field. That's really bad. He's got such a long way to go. For comparison, Akinjo shot 31% overall and 25% on 2s in conference play as a freshman.
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prhoya
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Post by prhoya on Feb 9, 2021 20:46:35 GMT -5
Harris is shooting in the low 30s % wise from the field. That's really bad. He's got such a long way to go. For comparison, Akinjo shot 31% overall and 25% on 2s in conference play as a freshman. DaJuan Summers shot 33% from 3 as a frosh. Otto Porter shot 23% from 3 as a frosh. The kid is doing fine.
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95hoya
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Post by 95hoya on Feb 10, 2021 0:21:26 GMT -5
For comparison, Akinjo shot 31% overall and 25% on 2s in conference play as a freshman. DaJuan Summers shot 33% from 3 as a frosh. Otto Porter shot 23% from 3 as a frosh. The kid is doing fine. From 3 is different. I'm talking from the field. It's concerning.
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Post by professorhoya on Feb 10, 2021 8:09:21 GMT -5
Harris is shooting in the low 30s % wise from the field. That's really bad. He's got such a long way to go. He was pretty awful last night . . . But then again the whole team was pretty awful
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Post by practice on Feb 10, 2021 8:52:23 GMT -5
Harris is shooting in the low 30s % wise from the field. That's really bad. He's got such a long way to go. He was pretty awful last night . . . But then again the whole team was pretty awful Definitely a team effort to suck last night. Plenty of blame to go around. Missing 3 or so wide open 3s in the first half were particularly painful because it seemed like we might hang in there.
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bostonfan
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Post by bostonfan on Feb 10, 2021 9:33:52 GMT -5
Harris is shooting in the low 30s % wise from the field. That's really bad. He's got such a long way to go. He was pretty awful last night . . . But then again the whole team was pretty awful Dante was bad last night. He looked like a freshman, who lost confidence in his shot and then tried to start forcing some passes and things snowballed on him. He played with his normal effort, but at this point he needs to just focus on the things he does well and not try to do too much. It did seem like Creighton game planned to force him to make shots, and until he does that is going to be the way other teams defend the Hoyas. Your point guard does not need to be a "great" shooter, but other teams need to respect him to the point where they don't leave him all alone. They were wide open 3's, and I think he will become a good shooter, but it was tough to watch last night and those misses seemed to effect the rest of his game.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Feb 10, 2021 14:06:11 GMT -5
DaJuan Summers shot 33% from 3 as a frosh. Otto Porter shot 23% from 3 as a frosh. The kid is doing fine. From 3 is different. I'm talking from the field. It's concerning. I agree he has a ways to go but Markel shot 28% fromm the field as a frosh and looked totally overwhelmed in limited minutes. I don't think it's as big of a deal as you might. Nothing wrong in his form that suggests he won't be a pretty good outside shooter going forward. Finishing 15 ft and in though... Overall developing a floater, looking to be more pass first when attacking the rim, and limiting those types of shots over much bigger players near the basket would help his percentages moving forward.
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SFHoya99
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Post by SFHoya99 on Feb 13, 2021 20:17:49 GMT -5
Looked very good today. Composed, can handle well, took it to the hoop as needed and is running the pick and roll better.
He's going to be good.
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blueandgray
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Post by blueandgray on Feb 14, 2021 12:39:14 GMT -5
I am at the point where I am focusing in on Dante the entire game and am really appreciating his game. The kid has a heck of a motor!!!
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Post by FrazierFanatic on Feb 14, 2021 13:22:04 GMT -5
Once he has a full off season to work on his shot and his finishing at the rim he will be even more dangerous.
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dchoya72
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Post by dchoya72 on Feb 15, 2021 17:54:05 GMT -5
Considering everything, aren't we lucky to have him this year?!
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tashoya
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Post by tashoya on Feb 15, 2021 18:17:02 GMT -5
Dante is going to get better. BUT, y'all trippin' Akinjo could do it all and that includes playing defense (on ball or off ball). Like I said waaay back coach had a leash on Akinjo who was really his best player. Do it all? This isn't true even though James thought it was. It was his biggest weakness as a player: recognizing his limitations. Being friends with Dame doesn't make one Dame. James was bad at finishing at the rim because he didn't have the speed, agility or hops to do so. Didn't stop him from trying it over and over. For me, that was his biggest weakness. But, since you said, "all," another thing he, apparently, couldn't do was listen to explicit instructions from his coach on a drawn-up play. As a developing player, I'd say that's a glaring weakness in any player's game. Also, he was a decent defender for a guy his size. Every now and then, he'd get amped up and try to lock his man down and had a bit of success during those rare times but he wasn't a willing defender nor an above average one. Iverson he wasn't and will never be. Having said that, James has a high ceiling if he can focus on what he does extremely well which is facilitate and knock down open shots. He was a very good player for us and will, likely, finish as an excellent college player. Back on topic, Harris has been surprisingly good. I love his energy and the way he sees picks coming and fights his butt off to get above them. That's something Akinjo wasn't as good at. I also love Harris' speed and his ability to change speed. His top end is really quick and I think that suits what Ewing wants to do very, very well. He's getting more and more comfortable and I already feel very comfortable with him having the ball in his hands. I'm really excited to see what he's able to do because he is obviously really competitive and he's already improving in-season. He's also consistently looking to the bench for direction which, as a freshman, is good to see. Most of all, the speed of the game doesn't look at all too quick for him. He's not Akinjo but Akinjo isn't Harris, either. I'm glad that Harris is a Hoya. Out of curiosity, what "leash" was on Akinjo? Having to run the offense his coach wanted him to run? That's not a leash. That's the game. He certainly wasn't lacking for minutes and was allowed more leeway than most in improvising.
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