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Post by gambo on Mar 2, 2024 10:22:47 GMT -5
LOVE this thread. Keep it going!
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Post by JohnnyJones on Mar 2, 2024 10:33:50 GMT -5
Kelvin Sampson’s first year at Houston wasn’t exactly an F-, but he only won 4 conference games. The next year they were in the NIT and by year 4 the NCAAs. Not a perfect comparison given Sampson’s checkered past compared to Cooley, but he was around Cooley’s age when he arrived at Houston. I'd feel a lot better if Cooley had anywhere near the pre Houston Sampson resume. I assume you are referring to the wins and not the violations, trail of probations and show cause orders. It is an impressive resume either way.
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jwp91
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Post by jwp91 on Mar 2, 2024 11:13:49 GMT -5
At least Cooley doesn’t have the history of cheating…..
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Elvado
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Post by Elvado on Mar 2, 2024 11:30:19 GMT -5
When it comes to being a respectable program again, we are 2000 Light Years from Home…
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SSHoya
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Post by SSHoya on Mar 2, 2024 17:10:43 GMT -5
Need a refresh to get going, especially our first half starts stink!
If you start me up If you start me up, I'll never stop If you start me up If you start me up, I'll never stop…
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Elvado
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Post by Elvado on Mar 2, 2024 18:45:42 GMT -5
I used to have hope for this team but It’s All Over Now.
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hoyarooter
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Post by hoyarooter on Mar 3, 2024 3:53:01 GMT -5
Need a refresh to get going, especially our first half starts stink! If you start me up If you start me up, I'll never stop If you start me up If you start me up, I'll never stop… You make a grown man cry. Not touching the next line.
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hoyainspirit
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Post by hoyainspirit on Mar 3, 2024 20:30:59 GMT -5
Cooley was voted the Naismith Coach Of The Year in 2022. Somehow, I don't think he's forgotten how to coach...
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prhoya
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Post by prhoya on Mar 3, 2024 21:05:37 GMT -5
Cooley was voted the Naismith Coach Of The Year in 2022. Somehow, I don't think he's forgotten how to coach... He just cannot teach the small group of players he put together since last March and April. He inherited just three players, one of which might as well be a non-playable walk-on. The rest of the roster is his. All the transfer players, except Cook, had previous contact with Cooley while at Providence, and Cooley had seen Cook when Fairfield played Providence.
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Post by hoyasaxa2003 on Mar 4, 2024 11:00:42 GMT -5
Cooley was voted the Naismith Coach Of The Year in 2022. Somehow, I don't think he's forgotten how to coach... He just cannot teach the small group of players he put together since last March and April. He inherited just three players, one of which might as well be a non-playable walk-on. The rest of the roster is his. All the transfer players, except Cook, had previous contact with Cooley while at Providence, and Cooley had seen Cook when Fairfield played Providence. That is really my biggest concern. We should be better. Our defense, even with our weak roster, should be better. It's only gotten worse. That's really a red flag to me. That being said, Cooley has never had a roster this bad on defense and he's had and taught better defense basically throughout his career. So, it's really out of line with past results. That's really the main reason I am optimistic that it'll get better next year. That, plus his first year at Providence was pretty bad and then the team got substantially better in Year 2 (granted, under different circumstances without NIL, etc.). So there are good reasons to think we will be better. But this year's results really do make me shake my head.
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thedragon
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Post by thedragon on Mar 4, 2024 11:31:12 GMT -5
Cooley was voted the Naismith Coach Of The Year in 2022. Somehow, I don't think he's forgotten how to coach... He just cannot teach the small group of players he put together since last March and April. He inherited just three players, one of which might as well be a non-playable walk-on. The rest of the roster is his. All the transfer players, except Cook, had previous contact with Cooley while at Providence, and Cooley had seen Cook when Fairfield played Providence. While yes, the majority of the roster is "his" as you put it - circumstances do matter. Epps was clearly a guy he wanted and moved quickly on. Same with Battle and Styles. Rowan also was previously recruited by PC and that worked in conjunction with him wanting to come back home to more playing time. But the rest were players who either fell into their lap or they had to gamble on. Ish wanted to be near his now wife and the Hoyas overpaid because they were getting desperate later in the process (paraphrasing from Trilly not me). Again, Hoyas needed a big and gambled on Cook who was option E or F and there was major concern couldn't make the leap. Bristol Heath and Mutombo asked to stay per Cooley. The funny thing is that Ish and Supreme ended up being reversed on who could produce more in a new role/level. Ish Cook Heath Bristol Mutombo Were not guys that the staff would've likely gone after in a more stable offseason or kept as holdovers. But circumstances dictated needing bodies. That's 4 of our regular 8 man rotation. And 5 of the roster. All of whom (expect Cook) will likely not be on next years roster. Rowan Epps Fielder (to switch commitment) Styles We're guys the staff were after early on. And all seem likely to return in being a core part of next year's roster. So while I understand your point PR - I do think it underpins the shortcomings that last offseason held for the staff, and that's not even covering NIL set up etc. The results speak for themselves year 1. But the process tells a story that would leave hope for a much better performance in the portal this offseason.
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sweetness
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Post by sweetness on Mar 4, 2024 13:38:33 GMT -5
Agree with this perspective. And on top of that Cooley opted for younger transfers as opposed to the 5th year types. Pretty much every game in the Big East we are playing older/more experienced teams, particularly in the backcourt. Hopefully this will pay dividends going forward.
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hoyaboya
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Post by hoyaboya on Mar 4, 2024 14:33:43 GMT -5
He just cannot teach the small group of players he put together since last March and April. He inherited just three players, one of which might as well be a non-playable walk-on. The rest of the roster is his. All the transfer players, except Cook, had previous contact with Cooley while at Providence, and Cooley had seen Cook when Fairfield played Providence. That is really my biggest concern. We should be better. Our defense, even with our weak roster, should be better. It's only gotten worse. That's really a red flag to me. That being said, Cooley has never had a roster this bad on defense and he's had and taught better defense basically throughout his career. So, it's really out of line with past results. That's really the main reason I am optimistic that it'll get better next year. That, plus his first year at Providence was pretty bad and then the team got substantially better in Year 2 (granted, under different circumstances without NIL, etc.). So there are good reasons to think we will be better. But this year's results really do make me shake my head. There are some very reasonable takes in these comments. However, it's not just that we're bad on defense, worse than Cooley's teams have ever been. We're currently the worst high major defensive team in history, at least since KenPom's been measuring these things. And if we bring many people back from this year's team that is historically bad on defense, with the same coaching staff - why do we think they'd all of a sudden be much better next season? In terms of looking at Cooley's history and taking solace from that, it's important to note that his first Providence team had key building blocks in freshman LaDontae Henton, sophomore Bryce Cotton, sophomore Kadeem Betts and junior Vincent Council. www.sports-reference.com/cbb/schools/providence/men/2012.htmlWho are the building blocks on this year's Georgetown team that are comparable to those 4?
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sweetness
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Post by sweetness on Mar 4, 2024 15:34:08 GMT -5
Maybe it's wishful thinking, but I feel like the guys on the squad who are comically/historically bad on D are ones that are not coming back. Won't name them, but one is a senior guard and one is a senior (transfer) forward. These guys are totally incapable of stopping anyone from doing anything on the offensive end. While I think the other, younger guys are not great on D, hopeful that they will get better with age and added strength.
But the biggest factor right now imo is that we have almost zero presence inside defensively. So next year, even if you pair Cook or Fielder with another big who is a defensive presence, I think it will radically improve our D.
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hoyaboya
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Post by hoyaboya on Mar 4, 2024 15:58:20 GMT -5
Maybe it's wishful thinking, but I feel like the guys on the squad who are comically/historically bad on D are ones that are not coming back. Won't name them, but one is a senior guard and one is a senior (transfer) forward. These guys are totally incapable of stopping anyone from doing anything on the offensive end. While I think the other, younger guys are not great on D, hopeful that they will get better with age and added strength. But the biggest factor right now imo is that we have almost zero presence inside defensively. So next year, even if you pair Cook or Fielder with another big who is a defensive presence, I think it will radically improve our D. Those two guys only account for a combined 48.8 minutes/game during conference play, and their minutes have gone down lately. There's still over 75% of available minutes being played by others, many of whom are likely to be back next season.
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prhoya
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Post by prhoya on Mar 4, 2024 16:00:55 GMT -5
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sweetness
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Post by sweetness on Mar 4, 2024 16:08:21 GMT -5
That's fair, but again I think the lack of interior presence is the key factor.
At a minimun I would just like to have a five that we can go to when we really need stops, even if we give up something on O for those possessions....e.g. end of games where maybe we have a lead, or when a particular guy on the other team is killing us. We never had that this year. With 7-8 newcomers next year there has to be some combo that can do that...and I'm assuming we are recruiting for that.
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Post by hoyasaxa2003 on Mar 4, 2024 18:48:58 GMT -5
That is really my biggest concern. We should be better. Our defense, even with our weak roster, should be better. It's only gotten worse. That's really a red flag to me. That being said, Cooley has never had a roster this bad on defense and he's had and taught better defense basically throughout his career. So, it's really out of line with past results. That's really the main reason I am optimistic that it'll get better next year. That, plus his first year at Providence was pretty bad and then the team got substantially better in Year 2 (granted, under different circumstances without NIL, etc.). So there are good reasons to think we will be better. But this year's results really do make me shake my head. There are some very reasonable takes in these comments. However, it's not just that we're bad on defense, worse than Cooley's teams have ever been. We're currently the worst high major defensive team in history, at least since KenPom's been measuring these things. And if we bring many people back from this year's team that is historically bad on defense, with the same coaching staff - why do we think they'd all of a sudden be much better next season? In terms of looking at Cooley's history and taking solace from that, it's important to note that his first Providence team had key building blocks in freshman LaDontae Henton, sophomore Bryce Cotton, sophomore Kadeem Betts and junior Vincent Council. www.sports-reference.com/cbb/schools/providence/men/2012.htmlWho are the building blocks on this year's Georgetown team that are comparable to those 4? If this team is going to be substantially better than it is this year, the key figures will need to be the incoming freshman or portal players, for the most part. I can easily see circumstances where both Brumbaugh and Fielder (if he can stop fouling so much) manage to make contributions. I think Cook is a solid backup big and if we could have him only play offense we'd be fine but obviously that's not how basketball works. But bottom line, if the returning players get a substantial portion of the minutes--especially at PF/Center, we are not going to be much better on defense. In my mind the three things we need to be much better are: (1) A really good to outstanding portal class of transfers. (2) A freshman class that can actually contribute and one among the 4 turns out to be even better than expected. (3) A more coachable group/better coaching. Last, I'll say we could use a stroke of good luck. Be it a surprisingly good portal get, a freshman who really explodes and exceeds expectations, or something like that. I feel like we are well overdue for a chance happening that actually goes in our favor. In a lot of ways, the fate of our program for the next several years is going to be governed by what happens in the next month to two months. No pressure.
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hoyarooter
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Post by hoyarooter on Mar 4, 2024 19:44:14 GMT -5
That is really my biggest concern. We should be better. Our defense, even with our weak roster, should be better. It's only gotten worse. That's really a red flag to me. That being said, Cooley has never had a roster this bad on defense and he's had and taught better defense basically throughout his career. So, it's really out of line with past results. That's really the main reason I am optimistic that it'll get better next year. That, plus his first year at Providence was pretty bad and then the team got substantially better in Year 2 (granted, under different circumstances without NIL, etc.). So there are good reasons to think we will be better. But this year's results really do make me shake my head. There are some very reasonable takes in these comments. However, it's not just that we're bad on defense, worse than Cooley's teams have ever been. We're currently the worst high major defensive team in history, at least since KenPom's been measuring these things. And if we bring many people back from this year's team that is historically bad on defense, with the same coaching staff - why do we think they'd all of a sudden be much better next season? In terms of looking at Cooley's history and taking solace from that, it's important to note that his first Providence team had key building blocks in freshman LaDontae Henton, sophomore Bryce Cotton, sophomore Kadeem Betts and junior Vincent Council. www.sports-reference.com/cbb/schools/providence/men/2012.htmlWho are the building blocks on this year's Georgetown team that are comparable to those 4? We're number one! We're number one! I also saw that for the second consecutive year, we are number one in Fulbright scholars, so at least there's that, even if the basketball team does suck.
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Post by TrueHoyaBlue on Mar 4, 2024 21:00:10 GMT -5
There are some very reasonable takes in these comments. However, it's not just that we're bad on defense, worse than Cooley's teams have ever been. We're currently the worst high major defensive team in history, at least since KenPom's been measuring these things. And if we bring many people back from this year's team that is historically bad on defense, with the same coaching staff - why do we think they'd all of a sudden be much better next season? In terms of looking at Cooley's history and taking solace from that, it's important to note that his first Providence team had key building blocks in freshman LaDontae Henton, sophomore Bryce Cotton, sophomore Kadeem Betts and junior Vincent Council. www.sports-reference.com/cbb/schools/providence/men/2012.htmlWho are the building blocks on this year's Georgetown team that are comparable to those 4? If this team is going to be substantially better than it is this year, the key figures will need to be the incoming freshman or portal players, for the most part. I can easily see circumstances where both Brumbaugh and Fielder (if he can stop fouling so much) manage to make contributions. I think Cook is a solid backup big and if we could have him only play offense we'd be fine but obviously that's not how basketball works. But bottom line, if the returning players get a substantial portion of the minutes--especially at PF/Center, we are not going to be much better on defense. In my mind the three things we need to be much better are: (1) A really good to outstanding portal class of transfers. (2) A freshman class that can actually contribute and one among the 4 turns out to be even better than expected. (3) A more coachable group/better coaching. Last, I'll say we could use a stroke of good luck. Be it a surprisingly good portal get, a freshman who really explodes and exceeds expectations, or something like that. I feel like we are well overdue for a chance happening that actually goes in our favor. In a lot of ways, the fate of our program for the next several years is going to be governed by what happens in the next month to two months. No pressure. And (4), quality depth. I think probably the biggest miss by the staff was in not taking two more scholarship players who could have made practices more competitive, made foul trouble and fatigue less of an issue, and as importantly, enabled the ability to bench a player who didn’t have his head in the game, or was freelancing well off the game plan. That said, —it’s easy to imagine this team being 3-4 games better just by having Akok in the lineup as a starter at the 4, (moves most players down a notch in the rotation, allows Styles to play at the 3, brings our size up across the lineup, and massively improving the weakest part of the defense—the interior). Not having to choose between Styles or Massoud at the 4 would essentially bulk up our guard depth at the same time. —regardless of Akok, having to overpay considerably for someone like Massoud makes it seem like there weren’t a ton of players we legitimately had a good shot at in the portal. So throwing worse money after bad probably limited our options for further filling things out. Either way, if we return 5 of the better players from the current roster (with a full offseason of workouts and weight training), add a top recruiting class, and land 2 transfers who are are better than Massoud and Heath—ideally much better—I don’t have a hard time seeing this team in the middle of next year’s Big East.
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