OPEN PRACTICE RECAP THREAD

[RDF]

Just thought I'd start a thread where those who are attending the Open Practice on Saturday could post for us out of staters dying to hear about the team and how things are looking. Thanks in advance and you don't know how much I appreciate the updates/reports from those who go to the games, etc..

[DanMcQ]

I'm one who would appreciate it as well, RDF.

Perhaps we should start a "Sweetney Nightly Update" thread too so we don't get a separate thread with each exhibition game?

[GUHoya07]

hahaha, an open practice recap posted 2 days before it even happens;D. We'll be happy to fill you in on whatever takes place, I'm sure there will be plenty of us there willing to do that.

As for the Sweetney updates, I'll keep them all under one thread starting from now on if that makes everyone happy.

[GUHoya07]

Leaving for the Open Practice in about 15 minutes, can't wait to see how the team is looking and hear from JT III. Im sure that those in attendance will all provide recaps here.

[hotelhoya]

The open practice was not particularly informative of the team's progress. Lots of passing drills. Many sets right out of a CYO league. The focus was RH during the 3 on 3 and 5 on 5 half court sets. They forced the ball into him virtually on every set. RH has the potential but still is not instinctual when it comes to moving quickly. If that ever happens, look out. Wallace looked sharp. Reed not allowed into the active drills-shot a lot. Cook looked OK. BB has been in the weight room. Owens is quite the athlete. CF showed up to watch. Green was showing his ups. Guibunda looked improved over the summer-the man can run in the open court. Ross moved well. The freshman guard had some arc on his shot-a contrast to the summer league. Dizzy definitely has not been in the weight room-shot well however and ran well. Diaw was basically the same. I think we are at least as good inside-Green can score and is an athlete. If we can replace Riles' scoring, we are net better off.

[GUHoya07]

I headed over to Yates after the open practice so I didn't get a chance to recap earlier. Here it is:

At the beginning of the practice there was a drill where all of the players were dribbling the ball the length of the court and back, including guys like Hibbert, Izzo, Amadou. I guess this is so that everyone feels comfortable having the ball in their hands and advancing it if they have to.

The majority of the practice was half court drills. A lot of focus on ball movement through passing, using screens and so on. A lot of swinging the ball around, passing it inside and then passing it back out, using skip passes, etc.

Hibbert's low post moves are rough and I wouldnt expect too much offensively. I think he can get a couple buckets per game but he needs to work on his low post moves a lot before he's truly an effective offensive player. On defnse Im just hoping he can take up a lot of space, make some shots more difficult, and grab a decent amount of rebounds.

Green didn't have many opportunities to really show his skills but he looked very talented and he should be a big contributor as most if us expect. He has a nice looking shot and he is really smooth going through the lane and jamming it.

Wallace can really shot when he gets open. The release may be a tiny bit slow but his form is nice and he has plenty of arch. In one shooting drill he made 11 threes in a row from the corner and then his turn ended, if he had kept going it may have taken a while for him to miss. He has a nice handle and appears to be a solid passer. Definitely not your average walk on.

Crawford just gives you a ton of energy and is an amazing athlete. He looks incredibly smooth going to the hole and can really get up over the rim when he wants to. His shot also looks pretty nice and I think he has a ton of potential. If he is able to hit the outside shot and play good defense, I have no doubt that he will give us some good minutes this season. He's one of those guys that appears to go all out all the time and will do anything to win.

Cornelio has a very nice shoot, even from three, but I would rather not see him shooting those. He can definitely run the floor well and if he is just able to play decent defense he could be rather effective. The problem in my mind is that he is very skinny and could get pushed around due to his lack of bulk. However, he definitely has skills and with some time to develop he should be a very good player.

I'm not gonna provide updates on everyone since I'm kind of lazy right now and most of you know basically what we're working with. The team looked solid though and I think the ball movement and team play of the new offense should help this group a lot.

Brandon looks like he's been hitting the weights, which is very good to see.

Omari and Courtland were in attendance.

The overall attendance at the event seemed like it was somewhere between 125-150 but Im not great with estimations like that, it could have been a little less or a little more(though I doubt it was more).

Surprisingly, there was no Q&A with Coach Thompson

I'm sure I've forgotten stuff but I'll add it later I guess.

[CAHoya07]

GUHoya2007 said:

I'm not gonna provide updates on everyone since I'm kind of lazy right now and most of you know basically what we're working with.

Haha, you, lazy? With Gtown bball? And after an in-depth recap post like that? No..... never.

Good to hear about our guys, we all have reason to be optimistic about the season. However, it's one thing to see them play against each other in practice, and it's another to see them play against top-flight DI opponents. That's when strengths can possibly even turn into weaknesses.

So, that being said, I can't wait to see these guys in action and see what they can do. It will be an interesting year no matter what. We have a decent opponent right off the bat in Temple, so we need to prove ourselves early.

[ahoya3]

Well, the most impressive thing about the open practice was the dramatic increase in team good will. They actually talked to one another and seemed enthused. Even BB and Cook who always seemed to be in a snit last year were engaged. Must admit, BB didn't seem very a engaged as the others. There was a lot of instruction going on with emphasis on ball movement, ball fakes( I think I saw three last year), and passing in then back out.

I agree that Wallace already looks ahead of Read which is not to say much. Green is obviously our bests recruit in quire awhile. Guirabunda is tall, runs well and has a nice release. He would lasst 8 minutes playing the post in the Big East.

The most glaring problem? There is little or no talent. Perhaps Bowman could start on another Big East team but I can't think of anyone else. Green could be a star down the road. I think we all have to get out there and support John III and the team and look forward to the fruits of his relentless recruiting.

[SFHoya99]

Sometimes I think when this board talks about the rest of the Big East's talent, they are only looking at Syracuse or Connecticut.

Do you really think that West Virginia's starting five are all better than ours? Rutgers' starting forncourt of Adrian Hill and Ollie Bailey is just going to blow us away. Heck, I'd take Bowman over Ricky Shields and probably the other two as well.

Pitt will be could starting two freshman, as well. Krause and Taft are nice, but I think it is a bit early to think Brandon couldn't beat out whomever is at their three.

Is this team a world beater? By no means. But we're not worse off talent-wise than WVU, SJU or Rutgers. I'd argue Seton Hall doesn't have that much on us, either, with Barrett gone.

[MCIGuy]

ahoya3 said:

The most glaring problem? There is little or no talent.

That's a clip and save.

SFHoya is right on the money. The negativity amongst GU fans (what around here is referred to as cold reality I suppose) is overkill.

[DFW HOYA]

Being realistic about this team is not being negative. I'm with ahoya3 on this one.

Trying to instill a new offensive setup to a team that's basically had none for a long time comes with considerable growing pains, so patience is in order. This team could go 8-20 in 2005 but if a workable foundation is set for 2006 and beyond, that'll be something to support.

[GUHoya07]

I think the problem with ahoya3's post is the section in the last paragaraph that talks about us not having any talent. That is what people are addressing in complaing about that post in particular as well as the ridiculous overly negative attitudes some fans have.

While we may not be loaded, saying that we have "little or no talent" is just blatant absurdity. I agree with SFHoya99 that some fans must only be comparing us to uconn or cuse at times. I think we have some very talented guys on this team, the question mark is how they will be used and whether they will finally step up consistently. If you are talking about pure talent and athletic gifts DJ Owens has to be up there with most guys in the Big East. You look at him and he's a 6'6" swingman, incredibly athletic, has a very nice shot and could potentially be a great player. He has yet to really step up, but to say that we dont have any talent is stupid. Same with Ashanti, he's got a ton of talent, we just have to wait and see whether he's going to make the most out of that talent.

While Jeff Green looks the best by far at this point in time, I also wouldnt count out the other freshmen. If we are talking about pure talent then Tyler Crawford is an extremely talented athlete as well. Same could be said for Cornelio, I think he just needs some more time to bulk up and get used to playing against guys his size. I also wouldnt overlook Jon Wallace or Roy down the road once he can develop some consistent offensive moves.

I understand DFW's concerns as well, but I don't think anyone is arguing that this team isn't going to have some growing pains and difficulties this season. I think we will all be happy with some steady improvement and a plan for the future. The thing we have a problem with is when people are so overly negative that they are blinded by it and act as if none of our players are even good enough to play on any other Big East teams.

[jerseyhoya34]

I think the question of talent is nearly irrelevant if we're talking about a Princeton offense. The offense is based on taking individual talent and making the whole greater than the sum of the parts. So, to measure Guibunda and Hibbert up with the Boones and Tafts of the Big East is not a helpful comparison because it does not reflect how we'll play. Anyone who saw the Princeton-GU game from back in the day should recognize this fundamental fact about the Princeton offense. If you need other examples to feel comfortable, find a tape of the Princeton-UCLA game.

[GUHoya07]

Just as a side note, I think Boone is extremely over-rated and its not as if he's some major talent.

[SFHoya99]

DFW said:

Being realistic about this team is not being negative. I'm with ahoya3 on this one.

Trying to instill a new offensive setup to a team that's basically had none for a long time comes with considerable growing pains, so patience is in order. This team could go 8-20 in 2005 but if a workable foundation is set for 2006 and beyond, that'll be something to support.

I know you said "could go" DFW, so maybe that's not your expectation, but I'm going to respond all the same.

I've kept from being optimistic mostly because I think you need to manage expectations. An NIT appearance is an accomplishment for a team that performed as they did last year.

But 8-20? Our schedule looks harder than last year. But not that much. And this is better. It's better because we went from an abysmal coach to one with a good track record and a plan. It's better because we have more than one scholarship frontcourt player.

I just don't get the idea that this team is incredoibly undermanned. Honestly, if a player like Owens was on a good team, he'd be that efficient guy who'd kill us, and we'd complain that our best players aren't as good as him.

If Bowman were on another team, we'd complain we have no athletes like him. Our talent level is not national championship level, no, but it is good enough to compete. Execution of a good gameplan can make us a good team.

[MCIGuy]

DFW said:

Being realistic about this team is not being negative. I'm with ahoya3 on this one.

ahoya wrote the team had "no talent." That's absurd. Sometimes I really wonder if people are capable of telling the differece betwen playing badly (not playing smart, not playing up to one's potential) and lack of physical ability and skill. I mean, DFW, no offense but in another thread you were buying into some guy's ranking Ashanti as the 350,000th best guard in college and Owens as the 420,000th. But at least that dude was probably some hack who has barely even seen our players. What I can't understand is how Hoya fans can get see Bowman, Owens, Jeff Green, etc and think those guys don't have talent. Last year Jay Bilas did that horrible BET tourney agme between BC and Gtown. He mentioned that the Hoyas were the athletically superior team. But clearly BC was the better team and went on to the NCAA's. Obviously having talent does not guarantee one will be a terrific player but even Bilas saw something in the team to make such a comment. Unfortunately the Wrist Slashing Brigade known as Gtown fans see even less than Bilas did. I sure hope JT3 doesn't feel so sour about the team or make up excuses ahead of time like some of you guys. If he does he might as well call off the season.

[DFW HOYA]

MCIGuy said:

I mean, DFW, no offense but in another thread you were buying into some guy's ranking Ashanti as the 350,000th best guard in college and Owens as the 420,000th. But at least that dude was probably some hack who has barely even seen our players.

Those numbers were a statistical ranking at CBS Sportsline and are not, at least on its face, some "hack" and his subjective rankings.

www.sportsline.com/collegebasketball/playerrankings/

I was at the BC game and Georgetown had more "athletes" it did not have the superior talent that day. Fifteen years of early transfers and spotty recruiting have certainly contributed to the gap seen by other schools when playing Georgetown.

It's great to recruit athletes, but first, you recruit skill players, something Georgetown hasn't done enough of over the years. The current staff understands this.

[hoyaboy1]

Talent and athletic ability are not the same thing.

[MCIGuy]

DFW said:

Those numbers were a statistical ranking at CBS Sportsline and are not, at least on its face, some "hack" and his subjective rankings.

Doesn't make a difference. I was being sarcastic with the "hack" line anyhow but the point is these people don't even watch Gtown. The team is out of sight and therefore out of mind. Those rankings do not represent ability. One you get the top twenty or so of each position you're basically talking about guys those doing the numbering rarely ever see.

I was at the BC game and Georgetown had more "athletes" it did not have the superior talent that day.

BC's talent is Craig Smith alone. BC also had a coach who had proved his competentcy for years by getting his teams (full of essentially unranked high school players) into the tourney repeatedly. Outside of Smith there isn't anyone on BC who had more talent and skill than the trio of Cook, Bowman and Owens.

ifteen years of early transfers and spotty recruiting have certainly contributed to the gap seen by other schools when playing Georgetown.

I don't like transfers. Obviously if Bethel, Hall and Harvey Thomas don't transfer last year's squad is better just by experience alone. I definitely agree about the transfer issue. But recruiting? According to rankings which you seem to be relying on the Hoyas have outrecruited Boston College overall the past five seasons. But BC has gone to the tourney, what, three times during that period whille GU has gone once. Hoyas have gotten an unnecessary black eye on that front. Recruiting hasn't been stellar. But with players such as Braswell, sweetnety, Wilson, Thomas, Riley, Hunter, CFree, Samnick, Scruggs, DJ, Bowman, Cook, etc the Hoyas have had enough to be more competeitive than they have been. But with, as you point out, transfers, injuries and qustionable at best coaching the Hoyas have faltered.

It's great to recruit athletes, but first, you recruit skill players, something Georgetown hasn't done enough of over the years. The current staff understands this.

I'm sure they do. But my point is players such as Owens, Cook, Jeff Green and Bowman are not like some of the one dimensional athletes that Hoya fans got accustomed to for the 90s and early 200s. They aren't Churchwell, Kevin Millen, Rheese Gibson and Irvin Church. These guys actually have all-around skills. Don't dismiss them as just a bunch of runners and jumpers.

[ColumbiaHeightsHoya]

Not having seen this team play yet, let's just all settle down until the season starts. We will also have to wait out the usual pre-season home schedule of hack squads we play against to see in person what we've got. I am still much more excited about this season then last and can't wait to see this team improve over the course of the season (hopefully) which is something that hasn't happened in years past.