HoyaChris
Golden Hoya (over 1000 posts)
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Post by HoyaChris on May 6, 2012 11:45:19 GMT -5
Nice talk. In keeping with the grand Georgetown tradition of getting facts wrong - the press guide is generally an error-fest - Rich misses on the number of times that the Hoyas have missed the postseason. In his speech he says that we are 37 for 38 in his tenure as broadcaster, only missing in the year (2002) when we turned down the NIT. He forgets that we also missed in 2003-4, Esherick's last year.
To be fair, I have spent the last 8 years trying to forget about 2003-4 as well.
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HoyaChris
Golden Hoya (over 1000 posts)
Posts: 1,414
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Post by HoyaChris on May 2, 2012 11:26:32 GMT -5
With a road game at St. John's, that would make three games in the five boroughs in a single season, and you have to go back decades to remember when that last happened. Enjoy it while you can--it won't be long until Georgetown gets one game a year in the NYC area while it begins annual trips to America's second most populous state. In 1977-8, the Hoyas played four times in the five boroughs - against Holy Cross and Alabama in the ECAC Holiday Festival in the Garden, at Manhattan also in the Garden and at Fordham. |
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HoyaChris
Golden Hoya (over 1000 posts)
Posts: 1,414
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Post by HoyaChris on Apr 11, 2012 16:48:48 GMT -5
With the high top fade, what kinds of hats are even viable? I don't think a typical ball cap will fit. 10 Gallon? Raspberry beret? Visor? Top Hat? Bowler? Yarmulke? Given the stakes, perhaps we could get Papal dispensation for a red biretta. |
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HoyaChris
Golden Hoya (over 1000 posts)
Posts: 1,414
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Post by HoyaChris on Mar 30, 2012 20:14:19 GMT -5
The NABC game will be replayed on TruTV at 1 EST tomorrow (Saturday).
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HoyaChris
Golden Hoya (over 1000 posts)
Posts: 1,414
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Post by HoyaChris on Mar 27, 2012 13:19:45 GMT -5
Well, a few things. 1. I had seen Oregon State play quite a few Pac 10 games that year, and I thought they were really good. I was surprised that we got the final first seed over them - and I was shocked that we blew them off the court the way we did. That was a phenomenal performance. 2. The Louisville semifinal was, and remains, the best defensive game I've ever seen. Each team took the other completely out of its offense. A 40 minute war. 3. I recall that North Carolina was a one point favorite in the final, and I was amazed that we were considered on UNC's level, because that team was just so damn good. And then the game turned out to be quite possibly the best NCAA championship game ever. 4. I have always said that I was more upset by the Iowa game two years before than this UNC game. And I had never found anyone who agreed with me. Thanks, GP. It's nice to know I'm not alone. For Iowa, I didn't know if we would ever be in a position to reach a Final Four again, and then we lost by a point as a result of a miracle second half. Sort of like another game I won't mention. For UNC, I was just so proud of the way we had played that I didn't feel bad that we had lost, and I had a feeling that we might be back. The Iowa loss remains for me the single most crushing moment in my years of following the Hoyas. To lose the big lead to a barrage of 2 point jump shots even though we continued to play well offensively, and to know that we were losing two first round NBA draft picks with what seemed little chance of ever replacing them was beyond devastating. Villanova in 1985 remains a close second, but at least we had won the year before. |
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HoyaChris
Golden Hoya (over 1000 posts)
Posts: 1,414
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Post by HoyaChris on Mar 26, 2012 2:48:44 GMT -5
I had driven from Chicago to New Orleans for the game. The semifinal against Louisville was amazing, probably the most intense defensive basketball game I have still ever seen. The final was just so tense, back and forth, with athletes who would not have been in school today - Patrick and Michael would have been there for their mandatory years, but Sleepy, Worthy and Perkins would probably have already been in the NBA.
When Freddy threw the ball away I was crushed but also critical of Big John who had called our last time out immediately thereafter, because I wanted him to set up a play if Worthy were to miss his free throw (which he did.) If we had had a talk board then I would have started a highly critical thread.
After the loss, I got back in the car without speaking to anyone and drove non-stop back to Chicago except for gas stops and one run in with the law. A nice Illinois state trooper said I was doing 85 MPH in Southern Illinois. It was a lie. I was doing at least 95.
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HoyaChris
Golden Hoya (over 1000 posts)
Posts: 1,414
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Post by HoyaChris on Mar 20, 2012 11:26:40 GMT -5
On a very micro level, I have a question about Greg Whittington. I love his release on the three point shot, but I am confused by his footwork. It seems to me that he drags his foot sideways as he is setting up for his shot. Is this a travel?
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HoyaChris
Golden Hoya (over 1000 posts)
Posts: 1,414
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Post by HoyaChris on Mar 17, 2012 7:26:06 GMT -5
I would have gone with "I knew we didn't match up well with Belmont."  Assuming, of course, that I had the cojones to ever post on the board again. |
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HoyaChris
Golden Hoya (over 1000 posts)
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Post by HoyaChris on Mar 16, 2012 22:09:46 GMT -5
DFW had it right it was a phantom call. Both DFW and Sleepy are right, the travelling call on Corchiani was bad. Of course it would have taken about five more bad calls in our favor to make up for the absurd hacking that NC State was allowed to get away with under the basket. |
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HoyaChris
Golden Hoya (over 1000 posts)
Posts: 1,414
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Post by HoyaChris on Mar 16, 2012 9:40:39 GMT -5
Georgetown 72
Belmont 49
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HoyaChris
Golden Hoya (over 1000 posts)
Posts: 1,414
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Post by HoyaChris on Mar 15, 2012 15:03:02 GMT -5
Great year leading up to this 3 seed! I hope all you fellow Hoya Fanatics are doing well. I was very pleased to have a chance to watch the team at MSG during the Big East Tourney, and it was great to see some of you at Cafe 31 and around MSG and NY. I am once again traveling out of the country and will be in London for the game tomorrow. I tried to sign on to CBS March Madness online to be able to watch games and it did not allow me to register because of my location (out of the US). I was wondering if any of you have any advice on how I might register from here in London? Are there any fellow board readers in London or does anyone have any advice on how I might be able to watch the Belmont game tomorrow? Thanks in advance for anyone who is more computer savvy than I or who might have better local experience. As to the game I am too superstitious to comment on our winning or losing, but man am I looking forward to our length and athleticism overwhelming the Bruins! Harry Saxa If your company has VPN access into its internal network, you should be able to register as a domestic user through your VPN. |
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HoyaChris
Golden Hoya (over 1000 posts)
Posts: 1,414
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Post by HoyaChris on Mar 14, 2012 19:52:48 GMT -5
Enough.
This board is exhibiting all the symptoms of battered wife syndrome (note: first Syracuse reference) in the way that it is assessing our prospects against Belmont. I am aware – and if by some miracle of denial I had managed to forget, pretty much every poster on this board would remind me – that our recent tournament performances have been less than stellar. I am further aware that Belmont is a crafty mid-major (since when is the Atlantic Sun Conference a mid-major?), possessed of indomitable will, senior leadership, the offensive firepower of the 1993 Bulls (Chicago not South Florida), and the cuddliness that will grab at America’s heartstrings. And I am also aware that Pomeroy calculates us to be only a two point favorite over Belmont, which I would guess is the lowest 3-14 spread ever recorded.
What I am mostly aware of, however, is how EVERYBODY is picking us as the chic upset choice of the first, oops second, round. And by everybody I mean more than just Seth “Georgetown has no quality Big East wins” Davis and Dougie “Visa” Gottlieb. I mean more than the legion of pundits that CasualHoya cited in a list of quotes that was way too long. I mean more than my staff in the United Kingdom whose instinct for self preservation (I have known to be cranky after Hoya losses) caused them to ask me if I thought the Hoyas had any chance to beat Belmont. I mean the posters on this board whose angst is palpable and whose judgment has been clouded by a combination of traumatic post season fiascoes and over-reliance on computer stats.
Take for example SFHoya99, each of whose 15,000 or so posts I have appreciatively perused in my time on this board. He gives the Hoyas a 70% chance of victory over Belmont which is actually better than the Pomeroy calculation. I am guessing that he wants to say 90% but that he is transfixed by Belmont’s 23 Pomeroy ranking. And, normally, that would be a source for concern. But in this case, that ranking is a statistical anomaly, overwhelmingly composed of blowouts against Pomeroy 150-250 teams, teams whose defenses are not in the same area code as that of the Hoyas. Belmont’s best win during the regular season was against Pomeroy #61 Middle Tennessee State (they actually split their two games). Their second best win was by 5 at home against #74 Marshall (against whom they also split). And their best win after that was against #110 Mercer.
But wait you say, what about that 1 point loss to Duke at Cameron in their opening game of the season, a game in which Duke showed less commitment to defense than Fab Melo has to classes (note: Syracuse reference 2).
I mean, Belmont lost to Lipscomb at Belmont (Pomeroy #210). Can you imagine the meltdown on this board if we lost to Lipscomb?
Which is really the point. Belmont, despite its gaudy offensive statistics, has put up its numbers against bad defensive teams. The Hoyas are a far better defensive team than anything that Belmont will have seen. And we are superior in a way that low majors never see because of our length and athleticism. Belmont shoots a lot of threes and makes a high percentage of those they take. Their leading 3 point shooter – the leading three point shooter in the nation – is five foot eleven, extremely unathletic and shoots a push shot from his chest. We lead the nation in defending the three. After each of our last three NCAA losses this board has bemoaned our lack of perimeter defense. Now that we have a great perimeter defense and too many among us assume it is irrelevant. Belmont does not have Yancy Gates or Kevin Jones or Jae Crowder. Belmont does not have Andre Drummond or Fab Melo (Note 3: Syracuse no longer has Fab Melo). The type of physical player that has beaten us this year does not exist on Belmont’s roster.
On Friday, we will beat Belmont because Belmont will not be able to score – enough. We will beat Belmont because they will not be able to rebound. We will beat Belmont because we are simply a far better team than they are.
Of course, it would also help if we made a few free throws.
The Hoyas have been a pleasant surprise this year, but this board keeps expecting the team to revert to the board’s lower pre-season expectations. We need to embrace the reality that we are a very good basketball team who will club Belmont like baby seals on Friday. I strongly believe a 20 point win is far more likely than a loss. If we cannot enjoy the leadup to this game then why are we fans of the Hoyas?
Friday will be fun.
Who’s with me?
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HoyaChris
Golden Hoya (over 1000 posts)
Posts: 1,414
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Post by HoyaChris on Mar 11, 2012 18:19:06 GMT -5
Hard to see how Iona got jobbed since they made the field.
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HoyaChris
Golden Hoya (over 1000 posts)
Posts: 1,414
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Post by HoyaChris on Mar 11, 2012 18:16:51 GMT -5
I like the first round matchup a lot. Belmont shoots a lot of threes (39.9% of their shots or 40th out of 345 Division 1 teams) and makes a lot of threes (38.1% or 30th in the country).
The Hoyas are the #1 team in NCAA 3 point defense (26.1%).
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HoyaChris
Golden Hoya (over 1000 posts)
Posts: 1,414
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Post by HoyaChris on Mar 11, 2012 14:15:54 GMT -5
Florida State win makes a 3 seed very unlikely. Hope we don't get sent to Portland.
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HoyaChris
Golden Hoya (over 1000 posts)
Posts: 1,414
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Post by HoyaChris on Mar 11, 2012 10:55:49 GMT -5
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HoyaChris
Golden Hoya (over 1000 posts)
Posts: 1,414
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Post by HoyaChris on Mar 11, 2012 7:05:39 GMT -5
Checking out the bracket sites on the net is not a happy exercise this morning. The general consensus is that we are a 4, often in Kentucky's bracket. In many cases, Louisville is a 3. To add insult to injury, despite often being in the Midwest region, our first round game is usually projected to be played in Portland Oregon.
Not sure that would make for a great atmosphere at our Selection Sunday show.
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HoyaChris
Golden Hoya (over 1000 posts)
Posts: 1,414
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Post by HoyaChris on Mar 10, 2012 7:09:47 GMT -5
Simple. Cincinnati, who we played twice.
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HoyaChris
Golden Hoya (over 1000 posts)
Posts: 1,414
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Post by HoyaChris on Mar 9, 2012 22:14:44 GMT -5
I feel very sad for all those cretins from upstate NY who dealt all that cash out for finals tickets they won't be using... nice work, HoyaChris. That will be almost as much fun as all the whining that will go on about how the refs stole this one from them. Actually, it was hard getting rid of the finals tickets. I could have got a lot more if I had been willing to accept racoon pelts, double wide time shares or mystery dates with a sure thing with the initials L.F. |
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HoyaChris
Golden Hoya (over 1000 posts)
Posts: 1,414
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Post by HoyaChris on Mar 6, 2012 23:19:35 GMT -5
This Villanova - Rutgers game is setting basketball back 30 years... Both teams might like to go back about 30 years. Villanova was national runner-up 31 years ago. Rutgers made the Final Four 26 years ago. |
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