hoyazeke
Platinum Hoya (over 5000 posts)
Posts: 5,816
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Post by hoyazeke on Apr 8, 2020 18:54:53 GMT -5
Looking back, the player we missed most in my mind was Josh. Allen may have been the better point guard for this team that Akinjo. In a perfect world, it would have been nice to see how a healthy team of Allen, Mosely, Mac, Blair, jamarko, Josh, Omer and Q would have done. My guess is pretty well. Don’t think he would have made a huge difference if Mac and Omer were injured like they were though. That and not making any outside shots a lot of games/ inconsistent selection/ TOs killed us with a tired team. I don’t think Josh resolves those. But yes healthy would be interesting. Was really tough to judge this year. I think that team was doomed from the jump. Especially if Josh had any of the same feelings about Mac that Akinjo had. I would've loved to see the team finish the post-transfer season reasonably healthy...meaning none of our key players have major injuries. We competed in most games with our entire team having dead legs.....
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Post by professorhoya on Apr 8, 2020 19:25:16 GMT -5
Looking back, the player we missed most in my mind was Josh. Allen may have been the better point guard for this team that Akinjo. In a perfect world, it would have been nice to see how a healthy team of Allen, Mosely, Mac, Blair, jamarko, Josh, Omer and Q would have done. My guess is pretty well. Don’t think he would have made a huge difference if Mac and Omer were injured like they were though. That and not making any outside shots a lot of games/ inconsistent selection/ TOs killed us with a tired team. I onadon’t think Josh resolves those. But yes healthy would be interesting. Was really tough to judge this year. In theory if LeBlanc, Galen and Myron had stayed the rest of the team would not have been overused and would avoid breaking down. But in the end it wouldn’t have mattered anyway since Corona would have ended any tourney chances.
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hoya9797
Diamond Hoya (over 2500 posts)
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Post by hoya9797 on Apr 8, 2020 19:26:00 GMT -5
Yeah, that team that lost to UNC Greensboro really looked like they were going places. Does 97 mean that you graduated in 97? If so you are much to young to be so bad at reading. The 1st sentence says "...been on the same page"....yes they looked bad but that's because they were only on the same page for 1 game...(Texas)... Sure, if a lot of things happened differently, they could have been good. But, what makes you think that team was going to change?
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hoyazeke
Platinum Hoya (over 5000 posts)
Posts: 5,816
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Post by hoyazeke on Apr 8, 2020 20:00:46 GMT -5
Does 97 mean that you graduated in 97? If so you are much to young to be so bad at reading. The 1st sentence says "...been on the same page"....yes they looked bad but that's because they were only on the same page for 1 game...(Texas)... Sure, if a lot of things happened differently, they could have been good. But, what makes you think that team was going to change? It's a hypothetical. Coming into the season we all thought it was a possibility...
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Post by hoyasaxa2003 on Apr 9, 2020 19:13:29 GMT -5
The team would have clearly been better without the transfers. As others have said, Allen was probably a better point guard for this team than Akinjo, but no doubt we would have been better with LeBlanc and the others. Obviously, this is assuming a neutral chemistry environment. The thing is, LeBlanc mostly would have played the 4 all season, and he was miles better than anybody we had at that position. So that alone, would have made a big difference, plus he was arguably the best defender on the team too. I think he and Wahab would have made quite the pair. Oh well.
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vv83
Golden Hoya (over 1000 posts)
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Post by vv83 on Apr 9, 2020 19:23:54 GMT -5
We were playing wildly inconsistent basketball before the transfers. Most of the play was really bad, outside of a great second half against Texas and a great first half against Duke. Everything else - pretty lousy. Clearly the mental/emotional dynamic on the team was a mess. You could tell this from the first moments of the season, when we were down by double digits to Mt. St. Mary's in the second half. It took Akinjo going hero-ball to pull that game out, which became kind of a harbinger for what was to come.
Given the way the issues the team was dealing with were impacting their performance, I doubt the season would have been a whole lot better even if nobody transferred. We probably would have won a few more games down the stretch. Maybe enough to squeeze into the tournament., but quite possibly not. The team had an ugly, losing vibe prior to the transfers, and it is hard to see how things would have gotten any better given the situation. Just a doomed season right from the start, all the way around.
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Post by michaelgrahmstylie on Apr 9, 2020 19:35:46 GMT -5
The team would have clearly been better without the transfers. As others have said, Allen was probably a better point guard for this team than Akinjo, but no doubt we would have been better with LeBlanc and the others. Obviously, this is assuming a neutral chemistry environment. The thing is, LeBlanc mostly would have played the 4 all season, and he was miles better than anybody we had at that position. So that alone, would have made a big difference, plus he was arguably the best defender on the team too. I think he and Wahab would have made quite the pair. Oh well. I beg to differ. I think we found the core of our team after those guys chose to leave. We had a lot of guys but no real chemistry. We became a better team without them. We just did not have enough players ready to step up outside of that core.
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rockhoya
Diamond Hoya (over 2500 posts)
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Post by rockhoya on Apr 9, 2020 21:11:19 GMT -5
It takes more than 7 games to gel 7 new faces and let 11 players battle it out in games for their roles. Some players felt insecure about that type of competition. Ewing has shown that he wants gamers and competitors and it seems to me he values seeing what a player can do on the court before writing them off. The OOC is precisely for experimenting. Presumably, he was going to reduce Akinjo’s role after the UNCG game and was obviously still tinkering and open to benching his star PG. that type of chemistry takes time to build. If Ewing wanted to win more games in the short run he could’ve kept a shorter rotation but he was obviously building for the long run. The whole idea is to be peaking in February/March not in November/December (our most recent tourney teams did this some). The vast majority of teams improve on their play after the first month of play. The reason why our chemistry was a work in progress is because we had so much talent and so many different ways we could’ve played.
Looking back now that Penn St game wasn’t as bad a loss as it seemed at the time and even then the damage was done in a 3 min stretch very early in the game with a heat check or two thrown in there from deep. I don’t know why everyone is acting like it was the worst start in the country. Again, we didn’t win all those early games comfortably but it’s more important to develop your players properly in games than to worry about the scoreboard. Plus, you have to allow your team to play in different game situations so they can get experience in it. Better to do it early in the OOC against weaker opponents than for the first time in the big stage.
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Bigs"R"Us
Platinum Hoya (over 5000 posts)
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Post by Bigs"R"Us on Apr 9, 2020 22:09:19 GMT -5
Pieces > Whole
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bigskyhoya
Golden Hoya (over 1000 posts)
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Post by bigskyhoya on Apr 16, 2020 7:22:20 GMT -5
Has Myron Gardner landed anywhere? Any insights from the Board?
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Post by 618hoya on Apr 16, 2020 7:37:52 GMT -5
I think he landed at a JC.
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LCPolo18
Diamond Hoya (over 2500 posts)
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Post by LCPolo18 on Apr 16, 2020 7:56:23 GMT -5
Has Myron Gardner landed anywhere? Any insights from the Board? This semester he is enrolled at South Plains Junior College. Not sure if he’s planning on playing on their team or somewhere else in the Fall.
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Post by professorhoya on Apr 16, 2020 10:12:37 GMT -5
Do Akinjo and Josh still have to sit out till January with the new transfer rules?
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LCPolo18
Diamond Hoya (over 2500 posts)
Posts: 4,406
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Post by LCPolo18 on Apr 16, 2020 10:48:58 GMT -5
Do Akinjo and Josh still have to sit out till January with the new transfer rules? The new transfers rules have not been voted on yet by the NCAA. There are rumors that if the rules are put in place, they wouldn't go into effect until after this upcoming season.
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Post by professorhoya on Apr 16, 2020 14:01:00 GMT -5
Do Akinjo and Josh still have to sit out till January with the new transfer rules? The new transfers rules have not been voted on yet by the NCAA. There are rumors that if the rules are put in place, they wouldn't go into effect until after this upcoming season. If you think about it Josh and Akinjo kind of lucked out with their transfer since this season was cancelled and next season may not even start on time in the fall. Especially Josh since he was able to matriculate in before January and take part in the all the LSU football national championship events as an LSU student athelte.
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hoyainla
Diamond Hoya (over 2500 posts)
Suspended
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Post by hoyainla on Apr 16, 2020 15:00:48 GMT -5
The new transfers rules have not been voted on yet by the NCAA. There are rumors that if the rules are put in place, they wouldn't go into effect until after this upcoming season. If you think about it Josh and Akinjo kind of lucked out with their transfer since this season was cancelled and next season may not even start on time in the fall. Especially Josh since he was able to matriculate in before January and take part in the all the LSU football national championship events as an LSU student athelte. They also both got to practice with their new teams which gives them a head start over a normal transfer.
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daveg023
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Post by daveg023 on Apr 16, 2020 17:37:51 GMT -5
People forget that with all the pieces we still were only projected to finish 6th in the BE. We were not BE contenders with or without them, but really the pain is this coming year when I thought we could be a Top 25 team.
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seaweed
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Post by seaweed on Apr 16, 2020 19:30:01 GMT -5
People forget that with all the pieces we still were only projected to finish 6th in the BE. We were not BE contenders with or without them, but really the pain is this coming year when I thought we could be a Top 25 team. Says you. Projections were lame and our team was set to outperform expectations. Most who played did so. Had the flakes stuck around and the injuries not derailed our top two scorers, exceeding expectations continues.
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daveg023
Platinum Hoya (over 5000 posts)
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Post by daveg023 on Apr 16, 2020 20:25:44 GMT -5
People forget that with all the pieces we still were only projected to finish 6th in the BE. We were not BE contenders with or without them, but really the pain is this coming year when I thought we could be a Top 25 team. Says you. Projections were lame and our team was set to outperform expectations. Most who played did so. Had the flakes stuck around and the injuries not derailed our top two scorers, exceeding expectations continues. We were 4-3 if memory serves correct with a full team and that required a sizable comeback in the opener. Couple that second half with isolated halves against Texas and Duke at MSG, and those were the only really good stretches of basketball we played. Might the team have gotten better after a few more games? Definitely plausible but I also think it’s unfair to say we looked poised to beat expectations either.
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prhoya
Blue & Gray (over 10,000 posts)
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Post by prhoya on Apr 16, 2020 21:01:39 GMT -5
People forget that with all the pieces we still were only projected to finish 6th in the BE. We were not BE contenders with or without them, but really the pain is this coming year when I thought we could be a Top 25 team. Says you. Projections were lame and our team was set to outperform expectations. Most who played did so. Had the flakes stuck around and the injuries not derailed our top two scorers, exceeding expectations continues. We were not going to meet expectations/projections with Akinjo behaving like a jealous prima donna.
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