calhoya
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Post by calhoya on Nov 24, 2020 12:52:38 GMT -5
Pretty bleak outlook from Pete Thamel, Yahoo Sports: "There are more than 40 programs of the 357 in Division I that are either on pause or not playing this season. Those on pause include teams from Florida to Creighton and Syracuse to Denver. No level or geographic area has been spared issues. The virus has spiked so precipitously around the country that it’s beginning to look negligent to send teams criss-crossing the country – many flying commercial – against the recent recommendations of the Centers For Disease Control. “At this point, I’m not sure why we’re trying,” said a major conference official. “I wonder if in like 10 to 14 days it will be shut down.” The core issue with college basketball is that these non-conference games aren’t worth the risk. Sure, they fill many programming hours, mandatory contract inventory and make programs a bit of money. And we’d all love the distraction of college basketball to fill these quiet nights amid the pandemic. But the potential of issues in college basketball’s early season are risking what really matters in the long term – the viability of the conference season and the NCAA tournament." sports.yahoo.com/can-college-basketballs-leaders-save-the-season-its-going-to-be-a-disaster-204412040.htmlIt should be all conference games and all conference games should be played in a bubble and they all need to be accelerated games (meaning played over the weekend and each team playing two to three games over each weekend). The bubble should be situated central to whatever city is "center" to all the schools geographically. For the Big East, it would be NYC or maybe Chicago. The Mountain West has adopted an approach where teams will face each other twice within three days in empty arenas. Each team will have 5 road trips and 5 home weekends and get 20 games played. If the arenas are empty it minimizes the home court advantage even if playing the same team twice on its court. This could be modified for the BE as well. I think holding the season is important, even with multiple cancellations. Truthfully, the colleges need the revenues, the players need the opportunity to play,particularly those who plan to move on after this year and the sports nation can use some distractions. If the schools are responsible, the players and staff can be kept as safe--and probably much safer--than would be the case if the season was cancelled and players and staff dispersed along with the rest of the student/faculty population. No one has to witness a scene with thousands of Notre Dame fans storming a field after a victory, but that incident could not occur if agreement was reached to play in empty arenas.
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calhoya
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Post by calhoya on Nov 20, 2020 14:51:23 GMT -5
Howard is allergic to defense and Powell is a undersized 2g with very little athleticism. Neither are true PGs and unless you have a big PG already on your roster its not worth the offense gain to take on the defensive liability. Akinjo has a better chance because he can run an offense and he plays really good on ball D. Akinjo is a little small but Howard and Powell are small plus get blown by often. I really like Akinjo. I said it before and I will say it again, if I were Coach Patrick, I would have let him shoot the ball more. That would have taken so much pressure off of Mac and made us a better team. We would have had the best back court in the Big East had both guys stayed this year. I like Akinjo too but I don't think that he was shackled by Ewing. I think he shot frequently--at times too frequently. We had two lead guards who wanted the ball and both had shoot first mentalities. If only one had stayed I would have preferred Akinjo because he had more natural PG skills and was a better defender. Neither did and I wish them well elsewhere. In reality the best guard the Hoyas had on the team last year was Allen.
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calhoya
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Post by calhoya on Nov 16, 2020 8:12:36 GMT -5
Hate to be a naysayer but unless either has improved their outside shot, I think a twin towers lineup makes the team less effective on offense. On defense I would rather see a quicker lineup and have the luxury of 10 fouls at the post position.
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calhoya
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Post by calhoya on Nov 9, 2020 15:26:56 GMT -5
Not on Twitter so limited knowledge - but it looks like Dikembe is the one who tweeted it out - including @georgetownhoops and @georgetownathletics. So maybe your beef is with Dikembe? Let me know how that works out😉😁 No, my beef is with the creepy old posters here who obsess over athletes as if they’re specimens in a museum... Rock, please define "old".
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calhoya
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Post by calhoya on Nov 6, 2020 8:04:58 GMT -5
Don't know how anyone can predict this year particularly since teams won't have a pre-conference schedule to speak of and use to develop a cohesive team. T he quality of the Hoya team on December 11th may be very different than it will be at the end of February given the number of new players and the lack of practice time. I realize this year is different because of the odd COVID situation, including lack of substantial OOC, but we have heard the above almost every year. Sometimes it is true, others it is not. We do have a young team, so I think it's very possible this year, though. But with regard to the KenPom ranking (different issue entirely) - every year Ewing has been coach we've ended the season ranked lower than where we started. Of course, that doesn't meant the team hasn't improved over the season, rather it means the model rated us better than expected. Fair comments and you are right that it is possible the Hoyas may not be better in February than now, but unless Ewing simply cannot coach it's hard for me to see how this team will not be better (not necessarily good) as the season progresses. Even in the context of the turmoil that was last season, the circumstances around this season seem extraordinary. Aside from COVID which has played hell with all teams, the Hoyas must contend with a very minimal out of conference schedule, a late arrival and limited practice time, an overwhelmingly negative perception of the program both within and outside of the conference, 3 unheralded transfers from mid-level schools and 5 freshmen, most of whom arrive as relative question marks. Throw in a redshirt sophomore who has yet to see the court, a backup post who played very limited minutes last year and only 3 players who saw significant Big East playing time prior to this season. No one can be certain whether Ewing has uncovered hidden gems, long term projects with potential or some combination of both. I realize that questions about Ewing the coach remain outstanding as they do about his staff, but it's hard to imagine that several months of practice and games will not lead to improvement.
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calhoya
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Post by calhoya on Nov 4, 2020 12:37:13 GMT -5
Don't know how anyone can predict this year particularly since teams won't have a pre-conference schedule to speak of and use to develop a cohesive team. The quality of the Hoya team on December 11th may be very different than it will be at the end of February given the number of new players and the lack of practice time.
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calhoya
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Post by calhoya on Oct 30, 2020 15:59:43 GMT -5
I don't disagree, but maybe he has grown. He says the light has been turned on! We have recruited some transfers that are experienced and they will help. I think it is right for coach to lean on him for leadership, and for him to step up to the plate. I disagree with B&G's take. The way I see it Morko didn't have a confidence issue until soph year. That issue continued into his junior year until around midseason. What happened 1/3 of the way through his junior season? The 2 alphas left the team for various reasons. Believe it or not but some personalities don't mesh and it can affect your game. I'm not going to bash JA because he was one of my fave Hoyas but I know I couldn't play with him.... Last season was a disaster on so many levels, but I agree that one benefit of the departures was watching Allen and Mosley get the entire team involved. At least until the stress of a short rotation wore down the remaining players, we saw the best ball movement of the Ewing era and decent defense without having to endure the ongoing competition that JA and MM seemed to engage in throughout their brief careers here. I often think that if only one had left this year the other would develop into a complete guard and a leader of the team.
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calhoya
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Post by calhoya on Oct 30, 2020 11:47:46 GMT -5
I don't understand, a NIT game was aired from McDonough two years ago. They'll work it out because content is needed and there's money to be made. Don't understand why people continue to bring this up. I have roughly a dozen games in my video collection of Gtown games played at McD. Obviously those games were televised, nationally televised to be specific. Several Lady Hoya games have been televised.
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calhoya
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Post by calhoya on Oct 29, 2020 12:25:13 GMT -5
Defense has definitely been an embarrassment for 3 years, but my hope is that the press may be more effective with a backstop that consists of Tim, Wahab and hopefully some Wilson. Agree that there were flashes last year of an effective press, even at the end of the season when we were playing with a 5-6 man rotation. Never felt that either Govan or Yurtseven were natural defenders and in both instances there was a need to keep them on the floor and out of foul trouble. While Wahab is going to be a critical part of the team this year, maybe the experience of Tim plus the additions of some other bigs will help ease the concern about foul trouble.
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calhoya
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Post by calhoya on Oct 29, 2020 7:27:34 GMT -5
Nice read MCI. Have to admit though I am having a real tough time accepting the role of afterthought. So many years as one of the top dogs and now praying for a miracle year in which the team can pull off some surprises. It's a transition I struggle with every time I think of the state of the program. Hope like hell that Ewing is the guy, because if he is not this "new" Hoya identity could last for years.
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calhoya
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Post by calhoya on Oct 28, 2020 11:58:04 GMT -5
Ouch, between this and a shortened OOC, a quality BE record is going to be an uphill climb. Maybe the preseason poll having us 11th had seen our schedule. That is a tough start, but I think picking us as 11th has more to do with our unproven roster than anything else. The primary pieces we are returning are Wahab (who had a very promising freshman year, and I am excited to see him develop), Pickett (who despite hype for the last three years, has never lived up to it), and Blair (who has been solid, but would be a role player at best on most Big East teams). We lost Yurtseven, and McClung. The big wild card is the incoming class and transfers. If we want to make any sort of statement in the Big East, it's going to have to come from a combination of Wahab/Pickett/Blair stepping up, and some of the new guys stepping up. I hope it happens, and will be rooting for it to happen, but realistically, it's easy to see why we were picked 11th. After following the Hoyas for nearly four decades, I can never remember a year with more unknowns about the roster and their capabilities. I know that based upon recruiting rankings expectations should be very low, but the influx of three transfers, the impact of Coach Crouch who seems to have a good way of connecting and motivating players, the glimpse of what Ewing could do with essentially a 5 person team last year, and the fact that this COVID year is likely to play havoc on practice times of every other team as well, gives me some hope that this team may exceed expectations, particularly later in the season. Starting with Nova and Connecticut is certainly not a dream scenario, particularly playing Nova without any fans, but who knows.
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calhoya
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Post by calhoya on Oct 26, 2020 9:09:38 GMT -5
That's not the point. The issue is this cry for limitations of player use EVERY season from fans on this site. Such limitations, imo, would lead to another multi-player exodus which would just add to the narrative of instability within the program. Also I'm not certain Ewing didn't kind of push Carter out the door. This year, I actually think a wider rotation might be warranted because we do not have a lengthy OOC to try guys out and see what they can do. If it turns out the talent level is fairly flat, then a 10+ rotation might make sense initially, but if we are still doing that by February, it would probably mean we are pretty bad. I believe in a 10 man rotation and in some instances would not object to one more or less. I think in a world of transfers it is important to have some experience at every position on the floor. Last season was a mess with departures, suspensions and injuries but may be closer to what will be common in the future than people like to think. This is particularly true if the NCAA adopts the proposed transfer rule. Always a fan of teams that can play 2 deep at every position as it allows for the type of uptempo game on offense and defense that I enjoy watching. Lots of successful programs have gone with a longer bench and rotation despite the type of tempo. Not suggesting that in the conference games you don't go with the players who are most effective, but that can change from game to game. Still teams have to be ready for the unexpected. Transfers (even in-season), injuries, illness ( a new concern) and slumps dictate that a team that plays with a smaller 7-8 person rotation is at risk. How many times last season in conference did the Hoyas simply breakdown late in game after playing mostly 5-7 players, depending upon health. Agree that this year more than ever it may be necessary to have the deeper rotation as I doubt anyone is quite certain what we have with this massive influx of new players.
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calhoya
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Post by calhoya on Oct 25, 2020 8:00:39 GMT -5
Was hoping the Hoyas would be a part of the Mohegan bubble. Not certain 3 "local" non-conference games is enough when trying to bring in so many new players. Any way you cut it Ewing is going to need to play a lot of kids with no experience in the Big East or at the collegiate level. Also factor in a kid like Wilson is a redshirt and Wahab had very limited PT. I know there is little time between November 25th and the December 11th start for the BE, but a bubble with a tournament type schedule could get you 3 games in 3 days to go with WV and the local teams.
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calhoya
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Post by calhoya on Oct 22, 2020 15:52:01 GMT -5
It will be interesting to see what Wahab can become if there is a more natural 4 playing along side him this year. Thought that Pickett was a surprisingly good rebounder last year but not stout enough against the bigger players.
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calhoya
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Post by calhoya on Oct 21, 2020 6:56:37 GMT -5
So sorry to learn of your wife's passing. 61 years together! You were truly blessed. Along with your 4 children you still have your extended Hoya family.
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calhoya
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Post by calhoya on Oct 19, 2020 16:18:04 GMT -5
I was also a little concerned by some of the comments, but only if it is true that no explanation was offered to questions from a player, but ultimately it's Ewing's team, and Ewing's recruits and he gets to make the decisions. Last year is virtually impossible to evaluate, but the two prior years help to offer glimpses as to what Ewing might be or not be as a coach. He has a desire to play quickly. He would like to use a deeper rotation than he could last year. He has failed yet to improve the defense of the team even though each year has featured a very different set and type of player. He has an ambitious approach to recruiting by offering many players, including very highly ranked players, but has at least this year had to settle for a collection of very unheralded recruits and transfers. Lots of questions, few answers and the hopes of Hoya nation riding on his success. Keep saying that this is a very important year for Ewing and I do not believe that results should be ignored. Expectations are probably as low as they have been in my memory and the bar is set very low. If he cannot exceed that low level of expectations then he is probably not the right guy to turn this around. I think that that is a very reasonable means by which to evaluate the coach and one that would not be questioned if his last name was not Ewing and his coaching roots were not traceable to Big John. "I think that that is a very reasonable means by which to evaluate the coach and one that would not be questioned if his last name was not Ewing and his coaching roots were not traceable to Big John". Do not forget he's tied to the Van Gundy's, Ray, Riley, Jordan etc etc etc. I think if I were a player on Georgetown's team, I would rather listen to coach than listen to my teammate whose belly aching. We'll see how far Omer gets with his basketball career. I hope he makes the hall of fame and coach for 15 years in the NBA. Do not forget guys, Omer was only here for one year. We have other players that will be walking the halls of Georgetown who will be coached by Ewing in the foreseeable future. Fair enough and I completely agree that Ewing came with significant recommendations and training. However, my point is that going forward he can and should be judged as any other coach heading into his 4th year at a program that still has some national cachet, even if diminished.
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calhoya
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Post by calhoya on Oct 19, 2020 15:17:16 GMT -5
I was also a little concerned by some of the comments, but only if it is true that no explanation was offered to questions from a player, but ultimately it's Ewing's team, and Ewing's recruits and he gets to make the decisions. Last year is virtually impossible to evaluate, but the two prior years help to offer glimpses as to what Ewing might be or not be as a coach. He has a desire to play quickly. He would like to use a deeper rotation than he could last year. He has failed yet to improve the defense of the team even though each year has featured a very different set and type of player. He has an ambitious approach to recruiting by offering many players, including very highly ranked players, but has at least this year had to settle for a collection of very unheralded recruits and transfers. Lots of questions, few answers and the hopes of Hoya nation riding on his success. Keep saying that this is a very important year for Ewing and I do not believe that results should be ignored. Expectations are probably as low as they have been in my memory and the bar is set very low. If he cannot exceed that low level of expectations then he is probably not the right guy to turn this around. I think that that is a very reasonable means by which to evaluate the coach and one that would not be questioned if his last name was not Ewing and his coaching roots were not traceable to Big John.
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calhoya
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Post by calhoya on Oct 15, 2020 15:25:53 GMT -5
I am just hoping that there is a season so that this is a relevant discussion. My fear is that sports seasons are going to start being cancelled based upon the events starting to unfold in NCAA football, plus the second wave of this COVID pandemic that appears to be spreading again.
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calhoya
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Post by calhoya on Oct 9, 2020 7:47:27 GMT -5
Is this really an issue or just the result of COVID fatigue? The goal should always be to bring in players with the confidence and belief that they can and should play significant minutes right away. That is exactly what you want--kids with that level of self-confidence and hopefully the ability to back it up. However there are risks in recruiting highly confident kids and the real challenge is for the coaches to figure out how to balance the egos and still field an unselfish and cohesive team. Even the most successful coaches cannot always do that--look at the transfers that occur regularly now from the blue blood programs.
Ewing faced this challenge with McClung and Akinjo and ultimately could not find the happy medium to keep both (or either) players satisfied while also utilizing the other players on the team. In the process some other players lost opportunities to develop while we fans suffered through long stretches of watching two alpha guards chuck up shots from every angle and corner of the court and fail to get their teammates involved. I think that Ewing's offense and hopefully aggressive defense can involve enough of these kids to reduce the risk of unhappiness. But it is almost inevitable there will be some unhappiness and some transfers--it goes with the territory of major college basketball.
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calhoya
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Post by calhoya on Oct 8, 2020 6:49:28 GMT -5
How can anyone know about what this team is for the coming year. So many new faces that only recently came together. A coaching staff that has yet to prove it can coach defense. No proven depth. Saw flashes from Ewing last year but that was with a very small rotation comprised of veteran players and Wahab. Can he do that with this group of unheralded prospects? At this point I would be very surprised if they make the NIT, much less the tourney, but as always remain hopeful that this is the right coach, these are the right players and now it comes together.
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