Next Season

[sleepy]

OIC, so are you saying that thats a good thing going into next season, or a bad thing? I mean apparently we seem to be a better team with Roy on the court. BUT what ever Jeffs numbers were, were usually how much we won/lost by.

[SirSaxa]

No team in the country could lose a player as good as Jeff and not miss him. OF course we will miss him. He's the best player we've seen in a Hoya uni in years. But he isn't coming back.

They guys who WILL be back --- are GREAT!
We have some awesome talent returning and some great freshmen coming in.
Our Hoyas are going to be terrific!

Would they have been even more terrific with Jeff? Sure. But that's not happening.

I think we should all wish Jeff the VERY best in the NBA and thank him for all he did at GU. Think of him as someone who graduated.

Then I think we should focus on our Hoya team that will be on the floor come November.
It will be REALLY interesting to see how the team develops, who takes the leadership role (Jon W?), who makes the most of increased minutes (Ewing, Macklin), or becomes the key focal point of the offense (Roy? DaJuan?). The backcourt is going to be a madhouse of competitiveness. GREAT!!!!

the '07/'08 Hoyas will be a GREAT team.
How far will they go? Well, remember, we trailed vs. BC, we won Vandy with 2.5 seconds to go, we barely tied UNC on a JW trey, then beat them in OT. Last year's team didn't exactly waltz into the Final Four. They fought tooth and nail every inch. And man, was that fun to watch.

Next year's team? They could be better and still not make the Final Four. But whatever they are, they will be OUR Hoyas, and they will be very well-coached, and they will be an excellent team that is fun to watch.

GO HOYAS!!!

[sleepy]

Great post sirsaxa. It got me excited!

[lexkyhoya]

I completely agree with sir saxa... we have been spoiled the last year with jeff (and roy) but it's time to move on. I can't wait to see Chris and Austin run the floor with Jwal and Jessie. I can't imagine our offense is going to lose that much punch if these kids produce. I know PE II will step up as will Dajuan but we have a great shot to get back to the final four and after the last 15 years that is saying ALOT. Good luck Jeff... HOYA SAXA still lives in Kentucky!

[StPetersburgHoya (Inactive)]

Jeff was amazing, I'd just like to point out something though:

Even with Jeff being our "star" he still played in a system where the average scoring was remarkably similar between all 5 players. He was a team leader but he was not the only team leader - we still have Roy and Wallace. We lost more scoring between 2005-2006 and 2006-2007 when we lost our 6th man, starting small forward, and starting point guard and this year when we lost ... drum roll ... 1 starter (granted an amazing one - but not the same as 3 contributors). We will not directly replace Jeff - that is impossible - it's not like the program directly attempted to replace Patrick, Sleepy, or Reggie when they left - it found a different way to find success. In this case we have an NBA ready center, an experienced back court, and Summers. That's a really good team. We also have a number of x-factors that will be intriguing and keep me engaged until the season starts: Can Patrick start and perform consistently? Is Vernon the replacement at 4? Will we go small and start Freeman at the 3 with Summers and Roy? Where does Chris Wright fit in with our experienced back court? Are Nikita's early reports an indicator he can contribute or just wishful thinking?

[paranoia2]

With no other go to presence on the blocks look out for a Hibbert EXPLOSION. Hibbert was arguably the second best player on the floor in our National Semi Final (Conley Jr. was the best) loss and he was scoring over Oden. With four capable shooters surrounding him (imagine Wallace, Wright, Freeman and Summers in one such lineup) and the blocks all to himself the Experience will dominate.

[Filo]

Well, we all know Roy can dominate, but there were also many games where he was basically a non-factor. Now, as was discussed ad nauseam on this board, some or even much of the disappearing act was not Roy's fault, but the point remains that with Jeff gone, we need a couple of viable scoring options for those times when Roy is effective. It will be interesting and fun to watch who steps up, and I tryuly believe there will be several players who do so.

Think about 'Nova. There is no reason for Jay Wright to change his game plan from last season, which effectively neutralized Roy. And he is adding another quick guard to complement Reynolds (in theory), so that will likely present problems for Wallace. Will Summers be asked to take over? If Roys is being neutralized, would Macklin be able to do anything better? Will Wright see some time given his speed / ability to penetrate? Will Freeman be brought in to light it up from the outside?

I can't wait to see the answers to these and other questions...

[TBird41]

filo said:

Well, we all know Roy can dominate, but there were also many games where he was basically a non-factor. Now, as was discussed ad nauseam on this board, some or even much of the disappearing act was not Roy's fault, but the point remains that with Jeff gone, we need a couple of viable scoring options for those times when Roy is effective. It will be interesting and fun to watch who steps up, and I tryuly believe there will be several players who do so.

Think about 'Nova. There is no reason for Jay Wright to change his game plan from last season, which effectively neutralized Roy. And he is adding another quick guard to complement Reynolds (in theory), so that will likely present problems for Wallace. Will Summers be asked to take over? If Roys is being neutralized, would Macklin be able to do anything better? Will Wright see some time given his speed / ability to penetrate? Will Freeman be brought in to light it up from the outside?

I can't wait to see the answers to these and other questions...

Don't forget about the two quick, accurate shooting guards we're bringing in.

[hoyastrong]

all I can say, its SUMMERSTIIIIMMME!!