Hoyas vs. Vandy Regional Semis Pre-Game Discussion

[vcjack]

I'm actually suprised that in one of the few threads that hifi could have meaningfull input he has not yet said anything, perhaps he's busy making some friends with Butler fans

(ps hifi I have an ex girlfriend who goes to Butler and I know for a fact that if you Edited off Butler fans they will hunt you down)

[philipvu94]

fewfac said:

Playing smart to avoid foul trouble will remain our toughest challenge. I continue to suggest defensively we begin the game with a more interior-focused defensive gameplan, encouraging Vandy to shoot outside to protect against early foul trouble.

I don't know much about the internals of your team, but I'd say that's a very unorthodox gameplan against Vanderbilt. The only way that could work is if Byars, Foster, and Cage all come out ice cold and heaving up misses. It could happen, but inviting three good shooters to do their thing doesn't sound like smart basketball.

[HoyaSinceBirth]

I think if we keep playing Defense the way we have lately we'll be fine. We'll get out on the shooters and we'll switch a lot. Which i used to have a problem with because i was worried about people driving past hibbert. But as he's proved he's surprisingly quick. against BC their point guard would drive past him but hibbery would just block his shot from behind.

[FewFAC]

philipvu94 said:

fewfac said:

Playing smart to avoid foul trouble will remain our toughest challenge. I continue to suggest defensively we begin the game with a more interior-focused defensive gameplan, encouraging Vandy to shoot outside to protect against early foul trouble.

I don't know much about the internals of your team, but I'd say that's a very unorthodox gameplan against Vanderbilt. The only way that could work is if Byars, Foster, and Cage all come out ice cold and heaving up misses. It could happen, but inviting three good shooters to do their thing doesn't sound like smart basketball.

I know it is unorthodox, but off the top of my head I can name several teams we have already faced that were better perimeter shooters: Duke, Pitt, Notre Dame, and until we shut them down, Belmont.

Don't get me wrong, the idea of a team that can get hot from outside like Vandy gives me nightmares. A team that jacks up 3FGAs like Vandy scares me even more, because sooner or later the law of averages means they might make something.

You guys have had a great season, and a lot to be proud of having accomplished. Best of luck!

[GIGAFAN99]

philipvu94 said:

fewfac said:

Playing smart to avoid foul trouble will remain our toughest challenge. I continue to suggest defensively we begin the game with a more interior-focused defensive gameplan, encouraging Vandy to shoot outside to protect against early foul trouble.

I don't know much about the internals of your team, but I'd say that's a very unorthodox gameplan against Vanderbilt. The only way that could work is if Byars, Foster, and Cage all come out ice cold and heaving up misses. It could happen, but inviting three good shooters to do their thing doesn't sound like smart basketball.

Yeah I'll go with the Vandy guy here and say that giving up threes to a team that only shoots threes isn't the best gameplan.

Ball pressure to slow their reversal, free switch to always have a man on the shooter, and for us use methodical offense establishing the post.

If they want to roll to the basket and challenge Roy, that's their decision. But we're not going to let them shoot for any period of time considering that's their #1, 2 and 3 weapons.

[Locker]

I don't think Duke, Pitt, and Belmont have the kind of shooters Vandy does. Notre Dame and Oregon do.

That said, I agree 100% with FewFAC that avoiding foul trouble is the key for this Georgetown team. The Hoyas' bread-and-butter is on offense, and Hibbert is the most efficient offensive player in the nation (> 20% usage). If he can stay on the floor, we will win this game. I think he should sacrifice some of his aggressiveness on defense (and ALL of his silly reach-in attempts) to avoid foul trouble and remain the focal point of the most devastating half-court offense in college basketball.

[Jack]

locker said:

The Hoyas' bread-and-butter is on offense, and Hibbert is the most efficient offensive player in the nation (> 20% usage). If he can stay on the floor, we will win this game. I think he should sacrifice some of his aggressiveness on defense (and ALL of his silly reach-in attempts) to avoid foul trouble and remain the focal point of the most devastating half-court offense in college basketball.

Hibbert's foul trouble doesn't really come from making agressive plays on shooters inside, it comes mostly from silly fouls reaching over the back or reaching in on someone going past him. It may be very hard for him to learn not to do that between now and Friday, but it would make a huge difference if he could figure it out.

[PopeJohn2]

sweetness said:

When we shoot like that we - as anyone - struggle against a zone. But when we shoot at our normal clip, I think we can exploit a zone -- we have done so quite a few times this year.

the problem is, with the exception of wallace, we havent shot well since february 21 against cincy. hopefully our 30 day cold-streak has come to an end.

when we shoot well from outside we are among the best in the nation. when we dont, we arent.

[Locker]

popejohn2 said:

the problem is, with the exception of wallace, we havent shot well since february 21 against cincy. hopefully our 30 day cold-streak has come to an end.

This is a good point. Wallace has been money over the last month (made 18 of his last 36 three attempts -- 50%), but our other main perimeter shooters have gone cold:

Summers (9 of his last 46 -- 19.6%)
Green (5 of his last 23 -- 21.7%)
Sapp (6 of his last 36 -- 16.7%)

We're due to turn this around.

[BubbleVisionBiff]

jack said:

Hibbert's foul trouble doesn't really come from making agressive plays on shooters inside, it comes mostly from silly fouls reaching over the back or reaching in on someone going past him. It may be very hard for him to learn not to do that between now and Friday, but it would make a huge difference if he could figure it out.

Amen. When he gets beat for position on the glass, he tries to make up for it by going over the top pushing the guy forward, when he could stand still and probably just reach over the top with his arms and still get a few boards cleanly. He has to continue to establish position when the ball is in the air and recognize when a guy has beaten him to it. Pick your battles, because the blocks and shot alterations will come. Just don't send a message to a driving point guard 7 minutes into the game if you already have a foul.

And there have to be times where he is willing to just stand straight up in front of a guy driving at him in the paint. Some of his fouls are from initiating the contact when he should just stand his ground and force a guy to shoot over him (good luck). Or in the L'Ville game, where he came across the lane to the driver, but not into the driver, and the kid was so scared he went up and under . . . . the entire backboard. Don't look for a charge, just stand straight up with hands up and make them chuck.

Roy is going to have to make these same judgments and decisions on Sunday should we take care of business against Vandy. And against Hansbrough and Wright, the stakes will be a lot higher.

[guru]

popejohn2 said:

sweetness said:

When we shoot like that we - as anyone - struggle against a zone. But when we shoot at our normal clip, I think we can exploit a zone -- we have done so quite a few times this year.

the problem is, with the exception of wallace, we havent shot well since february 21 against cincy. hopefully our 30 day cold-streak has come to an end.

when we shoot well from outside we are among the best in the nation. when we dont, we arent.

Um, hello? Jesse shot the lights out against Belmont. I have confidence in the kid - this team makes shots when it needs to. If we play our game, we're heading to Atlanta

[PopeJohn2]

Um, hello? Belmont is not a good defensive team. Defense makes a HUGE difference. Much harder to make a shot with a hand in your face. Hes 1-26 (or something like that) in the last 7 BE games and then goes 4-6 vs. Belmont then 0-3 vs. BC.

And dont start with the negative crap, its just the facts.

[FOTP]

I'm in agreement with PopeJohn here. We need to hit between 35-40% of our 3's or we could be in trouble.

They are going to go to a lot of zone (even though I know it's not their usual Defense) and pack it in against Roy.

The Belmont coach was very accurate in his tactical efforts...he just had FAR inferior athletes to actually execute it.

Sluff down on Roy and make sure to get a man on JW on the perimeter. Let Jessie and DuJuan shoot from 3 all day and hope they're off...like they've been for the past couple of weeks.

Not saying that will win, but it's a very valid strategy based on recent performance.

[vcjack]

fotp said:

I'm in agreement with PopeJohn here. We need to hit between 35-40% of our 3's or we could be in trouble.

They are going to go to a lot of zone (even though I know it's not their usual Defense) and pack it in against Roy.

The Belmont coach was very accurate in his tactical efforts...he just had FAR inferior athletes to actually execute it.

Sluff down on Roy and make sure to get a man on JW on the perimeter. Let Jessie and DuJuan shoot from 3 all day and hope they're off...like they've been for the past couple of weeks.

Not saying that will win, but it's a very valid strategy based on recent performance.

But that strategy has one dangerous hole; it has no plan to shut down Jeff as well

[Deleted]

fotp said:

I'm in agreement with PopeJohn here. We need to hit between 35-40% of our 3's or we could be in trouble.

They are going to go to a lot of zone (even though I know it's not their usual Defense) and pack it in against Roy.

The Belmont coach was very accurate in his tactical efforts...he just had FAR inferior athletes to actually execute it.

Sluff down on Roy and make sure to get a man on JW on the perimeter. Let Jessie and DuJuan shoot from 3 all day and hope they're off...like they've been for the past couple of weeks.

Not saying that will win, but it's a very valid strategy based on recent performance.

It's a valid strategy, but the fact is, we're too good to be beaten by a simple "Pack in the big guys, and hope they miss from 3" strategy. Even with Dajuan, Jessie and Jeff shooting poorly from 3, we've continued to win games.
Vandy's solid, but they NEED the 3 to win. We don't.

[williambraskyiii]

bubble, the problem with that approach for Roy is that he gets called for the foul even when he uses his height to get a clean rebound from behind a blocker-outer...This can be solved in two ways:
1) him concentrating on establishing his position on the blocks; or
2) some of the other frontcourt members picking up the slack.

The issue here is that fast guards penetrate past our guards alot...roy comes out to challenge them and he is GREAT at that - alters SO many shots and blocks others...it is unfair to expect him to get back into position for a rebound so summers/ewing/green, etc. need to step it up in this regard. Roy will still get his share of boards on outside jumpshots, inside set shots, etc.

as for our shooters, we are definitely hot-and-cold outside wallace. I also have a ton of confidence in jessie on the offensive end WHEN he protects the ball. Young Jeezy is also due for a little instant offense and we could greatly use it. I like platooning Ewing and Jeezy to keep the freshman fresh, so to speak, and since ewing has been playing inspired, he is an asset on the court.

The "decider" i see in this game is the play of our old nemesis shan foster. I mean Byars is quite good but we have the the size, without sacrificing the agility, to stay with a 6'7 swingman...remember he is as old as Bowman, so his skills should be honed...

Foster has the potential to be a white hot shooter...he killed us in the second half in the '05 game and played like dog doo in the '06 game. he probably still gets a *little* fired up playing us, so we need to clamp down the perimeter. we shut down foster, hold him to single digits or less than 40% shooting, we win. if he gets hot, it will be a tight one.

skuchas and neltner are stiffs - skuchas' pinnacle as a player was abusing roy down low in 05...obviously hibbs is a different player...our inside advantage is indisputable. keep playing our game, stay calm (as we always do - my FAVORITE thing about this team), we will win...

gohoyasimout

[FOTP]

Agreed we don't need the 3, but we need to be credible from outside. If I was coaching Vandy I would look at the recent efforts from 3 and play a tight 2/3 zone and try to force Jessie, DaJuan and Jeff to shoot and make 3's.

The key to me is Vandy doesn't play zone much so they won't be great at it. It's hard to play zone and teams like ND and Cuse play it a lot and get very good at it (cuse way more than ND). That and its very hard to rebound out of a zone defense and that is an area we have a huge advantage anyway.

I like us big time in this game. I just think we match-up well. They actually don't shoot the 3 nearly as well as an ND does and will struggle with our size.

[PopeJohn2]

we didnt need the 3 versus BC and most of the teams in the BE, and probably dont NEED it against vandy. but when facing a great defensive team (unc, florida) it sure would help a lot, and may even be NEEDED. hopefully we will have a chance to find out. but i sure would be more comfortable if the guys were shooting 40% like they were in up until cincy. it seems the syracuse game may have done a EDITED on them and they lost their assassin-like confidence.

[guru]

You should be called MisanthropeJohn2. Show some confidence in this team and stop acting like a weasel, Chicken Little. At this point, the team is what it is - and through this massive "shooting slump" you fear so much the Hoyas have managed to win 17 of 18 games. Try to enjoy the ride, Misanthrope

[theexorcist]

Run the offense, every shot contested on defense, plus active hands.

What frustrates me to no end about Georgetown is that I don't have to create these crazy scenarios in my head for circumstances under which we can win. If Georgetown plays their game, they will win. Simple as that.

III so rocks that way.