calhoya
Diamond Hoya (over 2500 posts)
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Post by calhoya on Dec 20, 2023 17:22:50 GMT -5
As one of the aging Alums on this site, I have to admit that games like last night are deflating. It gets increasingly more difficult to wait until next year. However, it should not be necessary to wait until next year to see some improvement in this team. More movement on both ends of the court is essential.
Defense can be taught and while there may be limits as to what a player can do, the Hoyas would improve significantly just by having players focus on assignments, like help defense in either the zone or man. Too many easy baskets inside and it cannot be all Cook's fault.
On offense we know that they are capable of ball movement, but too often it is abandoned or fails because of careless passes or players trying to dribble through a crowded lane. More movement of the ball and the players please. It is frustrating to watch a player trying to dish the ball while his teammates are standing frozen next to an opponent waiting for the pass. We do not need a guard dribbling around the perimeter and then struggling to heave up a shot before the clock runs. Move. Make the opponent defend all five players and not just the ballhandler. It's easy for opponents to extend their defense when they are not worried about any inside threat. However, if Cook cannot provide that then Massoud and Fielder must. They are as valuable to this team if they can hit the shots in the lane or the top of the key as when shooting from beyond the arc. Maybe more so considering that the Hoyas are struggling to get open shots from deep. Styles gets it and should be the model for Massoud and Fielder.
Not expecting a sudden turnaround in fortunes but games like last night make you question how much progress is actually being made.
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calhoya
Diamond Hoya (over 2500 posts)
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Post by calhoya on Dec 20, 2023 8:57:34 GMT -5
Epps probably shouldn’t have been out there cause he was sick and while still dribbling too much wasn’t shooting (especially from 3) like he normally does. Rowan was a problem though because in this game he decided to take 15 dribbles to start the offense. This meant we were working with a 10 second shot clock and nobody was getting any touches. As a result Heath, Bristol, Massoud were chucking up shots when they finally touched the ball. There wasn’t enough passing or “MOVING”. 8 team assists is reflective of this. Supreme actually had a decent offensive output which kept us somewhat in the game but this team is built on 3 pt shooting so passing the ball and getting open looks is vital. As mentioned before the season size/rebounding will be a problem for this team if we don’t get a transfer big in this holiday window. Fielder is just too small right now to play the five. It’s going to get really ugly when we face Klingon, Kalkbrenner, Dixon, Marquette without another serviceable big man. Agree with this. Add in the fact that apparently the team does not have players who can thrive in either a man or zone defense. Whatever is going on with Heath , it is apparent that he cannot stay with any quicker guard. Epps is not much better and Rowan is inconsistent. Worse than the guards however, the interior defense is non-existent. Any opposing guard that can drive into the lane is almost certain to get a quality shot or able to dish to an open big when a Hoya comes to stop the drive. There is no defensive help. Not certain what Cooley's track record is as a defensive coach but he is going to have to figure this out quickly or this team will not be competitive with anyone in the BE other than DePaul. Even in a rebuild, no one signed up for another 2-3 win season in BE play.
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calhoya
Diamond Hoya (over 2500 posts)
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Post by calhoya on Dec 19, 2023 21:19:21 GMT -5
Cannot stand watching this team dribble aimlessly around the perimeter while the shot clock winds down. Ball movement is possible against even an aggressive defense but it involves passing not dribbling and players are going to have to move to get to the ball rather than standing and watching. Have to find a way to get some open shots for Heath and Massoud. Hoping that Massoud is still adjusting because if this is all we are going to get from him i would rather give more time to Fielder.
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calhoya
Diamond Hoya (over 2500 posts)
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Post by calhoya on Dec 18, 2023 18:21:56 GMT -5
I watched Butler play Penn St. , Boise State and Texas Tech and while a couple of those teams are in rebuilding mode, I have to admit I expect Butler to beat the Hoyas fairly comfortably. The opening 11 point spread is not a shock to me. They are disciplined and do not make a lot of the careless mistakes the Hoyas are making from game to game, with the exception of Posh Alexander who continues to make steals and TOs with the same pace. If Epps cannot play or is not playing well due to illness, then I expect that this could get ugly early. Going to need the same Fielder we saw against Notre Dame, Rowan carefully handling the ball, more from Styles, Heath and Massoud and Cook cannot shoot 50% on his layups.
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calhoya
Diamond Hoya (over 2500 posts)
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Post by calhoya on Dec 18, 2023 9:03:37 GMT -5
I would say that the Hoyas are currently a "bad" team, but one that has a decent upside. While the results have been underwhelming and the play very erratic, you can certainly see that these kids have the talent and the potential to improve. Just have to bring some more focus to avoid the mindless TOs, and to learn the defense better, and to avoid bad shots. It's going to be a frustrating year, but I still expect to see a better product on the floor in February than we have now.
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calhoya
Diamond Hoya (over 2500 posts)
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Post by calhoya on Dec 14, 2023 12:21:55 GMT -5
I visited Washington DC this past summer for the first time since attending the Creighton game in January 2020. We walked to Chinatown from our hotel near the Law Center (a walk I have taken dozens of times) and unlike just a few years ago it definitely felt less safe. In talking to a bartender and some locals at Clydes it appears that our perception is at least somewhat justified. Safety may have little to do with the true motives for moving the NBA and NHL teams to Alexandria, but allowing an area that had been revitalized since the 1980's to seemingly slip is very sad.
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calhoya
Diamond Hoya (over 2500 posts)
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Post by calhoya on Dec 13, 2023 8:06:16 GMT -5
It's so quiet in here you can actually hear everything the ref says. Eerie. i was sitting in front of the guy yelling at the refs There were refs at the game last night??? I assumed that they stayed away like most everyone else. As someone who always believes in letting them play, last night was a bit of a joke. Fouls--particularly in the lane on drives to the basket were uncalled for most of the game. You could see Hoya players looking up in disbelief as they got hacked and bumped under the basket all night. Someone woke up the officials at half and they at least made their presence felt somewhat in the second half. Add me to the small minority who feels that Ryan should have gotten a couple of minutes last night. With the BE games coming this team is too small and there are going to be games with foul trouble on the "bigs" and Ryan will have to play. After a handful of games I think I was wrong in believing that Massoud is going to be at least part of the answer for our size issues. He really is a 3 and loves to live on the perimeter. Would like him to spend more time in the lane taking mid-range shots.
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calhoya
Diamond Hoya (over 2500 posts)
Posts: 4,352
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Post by calhoya on Dec 11, 2023 16:06:41 GMT -5
2003, when you say we are the 118th tallest team I am curious if that ranking is based upon all the team players or if it is limited to those who are actually playing. Ryan and George play little if at all and yet they are the tallest players along with Drew. Fielder's playing time is very limited too.
To my eye the most disappointing aspect of the play this year is that they do not seem to have cut down on the number of careless, mind-numbing TOs. Not talking about total TOs but just those that are completely avoidable with a little more focus and composure.
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calhoya
Diamond Hoya (over 2500 posts)
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Post by calhoya on Dec 11, 2023 11:31:54 GMT -5
Cooley's post-game pressers are actually one of the few positives after these poor performances. He appears to demand accountability from the players and the coaches. He acknowledges what is obvious to those watching --that this team has some significant shortcomings but still credits the players when warranted. I think the true test of what he can or cannot do is whether he has the playing better in February than now. Some things can be fixed and others cannot. Epps and Massoud can be more careful with the ball, try to make sure that the offense moves through passing and looks for the open man. Rowan can get better at the PG position with his ball handling though this may take much longer than this year. FT shooting can be improved with repetition, rebounding can be more consistent if the players remain focused and the coaches can improve the defensive awareness of the players.
On the other hand, unless someone emerges as an offensive threat in the lane the opponents will continue to extend their defense and push our shooters out beyond any reasonable shooting range. Cook is not going to be an offensive threat except on putbacks and for shots inside 3-4 feet. While it is clear that Epps, Heath and Massoud can hit the deep ball from well beyond the arc, there is simply no way their shooting percentage is going to be decent from 5-6 feet beyond the arc.
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calhoya
Diamond Hoya (over 2500 posts)
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Post by calhoya on Dec 9, 2023 18:28:52 GMT -5
Turned it off at the 7 minute mark of the first half figuring that I’d seen this before. Having watched it after learning of the outcome and reading these posts it is hard to imagine anything but a rollercoaster season with far more “downs” than “ups”. This team cannot allow itself to start playing selfishly. Epps cannot start a game trying to do it alone. Massoud cannot become the reincarnation of K Rice shooting deep,deep threes. Somehow they have to run the offense and get quality shots off earlier in the shot clock than last second desperation heaves. No chance Cook is ever going to take, much less make mid-range shots. Epps and Massoud with 9 TOs and 7 assists and 2/15 from deep. Add 3 missed FTs for Epps and 0-3 FTs from Cook and little from Heath and Styles and it’s amazing this was not a 20 point loss. So another step back for this team and another game where they could not compete with an average team. Still have confidence in Cooley but figuring i may have to wait a lot longer for this turnaround.
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calhoya
Diamond Hoya (over 2500 posts)
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Post by calhoya on Dec 9, 2023 11:42:56 GMT -5
Epps cannot try to win it alone. 7 points and 3 TOs.
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calhoya
Diamond Hoya (over 2500 posts)
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Post by calhoya on Dec 4, 2023 12:13:15 GMT -5
Hoping that the TCU game represents a significant step forward for this team. While the TOs were a problem, as always, they did cut them down in the 2nd half and it appears that Massoud brings a whole new dynamic to the offense. Kid contributes on offense, defense and in rebounding. Styles continues to develop into a more complete player. Cook has clearly worked on his FTs and now just needs to be more consistent. Bristol adds his energy and if Epps, Heath and Rowan can keep the TOs down this team can be much better than we expected. Massoud and Styles should be perfect candidates to flash to the middle of the zone when Syracuse runs the zone. However, in the Virginia game it seemed that the Orange are no longer exclusively playing zone.
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calhoya
Diamond Hoya (over 2500 posts)
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Post by calhoya on Dec 3, 2023 9:17:56 GMT -5
Took 12 hours to get over this one. Hoyas shoot themselves in the foot every game with TOs, poor defense and some poor FT shooting, but it's a team and a coach who are easy to root for. They show heart. Cooley could have been screaming at the missed call last night but took the high road. The issue is not a stupid rule that makes you wonder why we have replay, but rather what is a veteran official trailing the ball-handler doing if not checking the sideline for an out of bounds.
Expected an impact from Massoud but totally missed just what a strong addition he has been. Kudos for Cook who is obviously working on his FT shooting. Kudos to Fielder who is showing more court awareness and less nervousness than earlier in the season. Epps is as advertised and will make the BE coaches look foolish for not seeing the talent in making their pre-season selections. Styles a very nice surprise and I believe going to become the Hoyas best all-around player. Not at all bothered that the coach played with a small rotation in the second half. There is plenty of time to develop players. Rowan, Bristol and Fielder are going to be role players this year, with Rowan really needing to work on his ball-handling as he does not bring the instant offense threat of an Epps to justify playing him against an aggressive defense. Still hoping for some minutes to develop Ryan but he would have been a disaster against a team of race horses.
Final thought is that if my over-rated team had just escaped with a win because of a referee error, I would certainly be a lot more humble in the aftermath than Dixon, who is a coach that is easy to root against. He was an ass in the BE and it's not surprising that nothing has changed.
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calhoya
Diamond Hoya (over 2500 posts)
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Post by calhoya on Dec 2, 2023 18:32:20 GMT -5
How different would these games look with better FT shooting and half the careless TOs. You can see the effort and some talent but mental mistakes and a 60% FT shooting just kill them. Like Massoud and he will get better each week.
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calhoya
Diamond Hoya (over 2500 posts)
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Post by calhoya on Dec 2, 2023 18:20:59 GMT -5
Has there been any turnover that was not unforced? Just clean it up and this team can compete. Nothing is working to keep them off the offensive boards.
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calhoya
Diamond Hoya (over 2500 posts)
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Post by calhoya on Nov 30, 2023 15:42:14 GMT -5
Yes they will tower over us at some positions. They start two 6'8", one 6'7", a 6'11" and a 6'2" PG. The are average shooting from deep but are an excellent FT shooting team. We have seen how smaller teams can play against the taller Hoyas and do well on the boards, but the Hoyas will need to ramp up the intensity to compete on the boards in this one. TCU is experienced and deep but has yet to play a quality team, though they have dominated the inferior opposition. Nothing about this game suggests anything other than a rout, particularly if Epps is limited. However, Massoud is an unknown and he will undoubtedly feel more comfortable in his role as floor leader in game 2 of his Hoya career. Need Styles to regain his mojo from the prior games and somehow find a way to defend the interior and hopefully present enough of an offensive threat inside to allow for some open looks on the perimeter.
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calhoya
Diamond Hoya (over 2500 posts)
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Post by calhoya on Nov 30, 2023 11:37:12 GMT -5
I said earlier this year that as goes Brumbaugh so do the Hoyas. The kid has a tremendous upside but he really isn't a point guard. On a better team with a true pg he would be ideal as a small forward. I have to give him credit for filling that role for this team especially since our opponents understand our weakness at pg and are pressing after every made basket or free throw. One scary thought. Ryan's play the last few games reminds me of Austin Freeman diabetes diagnosis. I was at the last game Austin played before being diagnosed and Ryan's lack of energy (especially shooting free throws) reminds me of how Austin looked in that game. I actually thought that Ryan looked more engaged last night and assumed that it was a result of being chewed out by Cooley in the last game.
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calhoya
Diamond Hoya (over 2500 posts)
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Post by calhoya on Nov 29, 2023 23:13:02 GMT -5
Clearly a two-steps backward game. This team does not value the ball and so many of the ball handlers seem to lack court awareness as they make careless passes to closely guarded teammates. The team will struggle to win another game if it cannot cure the maddening TOs and start making FTs—14 misses from the FT line and 66% overall. I know that Cook is a beast but I do not see that he can contribute enough on either end of the court to warrant his minutes. He either cannot shoot other than put backs or will not shoot and his FT shooting is very poor. I honestly don’t see a major contribution on defense either. Maybe it’s time to go small using Massoud and Fielder. Neither is a post but both offer the opportunity to contribute on offense.
Still see the coaching going on as a positive and loved the benching of the starters to kickstart this team, but really have to question the skill set of these players. It could be a very long year.
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calhoya
Diamond Hoya (over 2500 posts)
Posts: 4,352
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Post by calhoya on Nov 29, 2023 12:38:53 GMT -5
The hangover from the past few years makes it difficult for me to anticipate any easy victory and no longer unimaginable that the Hoyas could lose these OOC games to lower ranked teams. That said, the team is both maddening to watch and enjoyable. Progress is occurring in tiny steps, but you can see it, even if the post position remains a giant hole that may not be filled this year. Cook's FT shooting is better in recent games, though still inadequate. The play of Bristol is encouraging. Love the future for Styles and Epps. The team is breaking the press with passing rather than trying to dribble through multiple defenders. For the first time in a long time the team can actually run some set plays when inbounding under our own basket.
Long way to go and hopefully I did not jinx this by mentioning progress but there are signs of the players being coached up. Now let's hope it continues tonight and we do not see another short team outrebound and outhustle the Hoyas.
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calhoya
Diamond Hoya (over 2500 posts)
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Post by calhoya on Nov 25, 2023 12:45:14 GMT -5
Heath with his second careless pass. Just lack of focus.
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