|
Post by JohnnyJones on Dec 5, 2019 19:37:53 GMT -5
I don't know the details of what went on with the relationship between Ewing/Mac/ Akinjo, and none of us probably will ever really know. As far as what could have Ewing done differently, I think the thing he may learn from this experience is the need to set expectation for these players while recruiting them. It seemed like Akinjo always felt like he should be the man and should have free rein to do what he wanted to do while on the floor. If the staff let him know during recruiting that a big part of his role was going to be facilitating his teammates and that the team wants to prioritize ball movement over one on one play, Akinjo may not have decided to come to Georgetown, and went to a program that was offering more of a style that he seems to want to play. Everyone on this board, me included, seems to just want the highest rated recruits and I realize that natural talent/ability is key if you are going to compete at the highest levels, but that talent has to also fit into the program, culture and style of play that the staff wants to utilize. Sometimes players just don't fit with a certain program. That does not make them a bad player or bad person, it just make them a bad fit. While some of the one and done Blue Blood programs (Duke and Kentucky) are more interested in getting the highest rated players and they can have success with this strategy because these players are only going to be with the program for a year and they usually fall in line for a year to help their draft status. If programs are going to recruit players to stay for multiple years (Virginia, Michigan State etc) the fit in the program seems almost as important as the talent. The Hoyas may be better off targeting/taking a 3 star player, who fits what the staff wants/needs over a 4 star kid who has an style of play or agenda that does not fit with the rest of the team. Look, I'm not entirely certain exactly why James left. But can we stop acting like it's totally normal for a point guard, who has been given the keys from day one, who hasn't seen their shots or touches limited in any way, to bristle at being asked to be a point guard? At having to listen to his coach -- who, by the way, was an assistant to a quality NBA coach in his last role? Maybe James transferred because he was homesick or other none playing reason. But I can't agree with anyone that's like "Oh, he's ball dominant. We should totally expect a 6' pg who's ball dominant to completely ignore coaching instructions and do his own thing and bristle at his touches when he already has an insane level of freedom." I get it, no one really wants to call him out. And I'll be the first to say I don't know the whole story. BUT, if he did leave because of ego clashing with Mac or because he felt Ewing was too restrictive ... we should be glad he's gone. And we should not assume the next reasonably highly rated prospect will not want to learn how to be a real PG or a real leader just because they are an "alpha dog." Spot on. Agree 100%.
|
|
|
Post by JohnnyJones on Dec 5, 2019 0:15:03 GMT -5
How did this thread die considering what we now know. I mentioned at the beginning of the Mac hype that Mac being the superstar would be fine as long as everything was going well for the team. As they say everything is better when you are winning. I was told I had no idea what I was talking about and that him, James and Josh were best buds that had each other's back. I am around enough of those involved to know the landscape has changed. You have to finesse egos as much as you have to do anything else. James and Mac didn't ask for the Mackinjo moniker. It was forced on them. While I think this post was before tonight’s game, it’s pretty funny that the two guys you have been killing made you look like a fool tonight and you are out patting yourself on the back suggesting you have been right about everything. You are so smart and insightful. Please don’t stop informing and teaching us the rest of the year.
|
|
|
Post by JohnnyJones on Nov 30, 2019 19:36:16 GMT -5
How do you miscommunicate something so important from about 20 feet away in a dead silent arena? Getting stuff like that right is part of coaching. Our guy has no clue. As in Mac intepreted it wrong. Mac made a mistake. Also, most coaches have these. Don't foul, huh that's foul. Mac went off instinct and Ewing got mad. There's quite a bit to get mad at, this little bit is insane. Who says there was a miscommunication? In my opinion of course you foul and extend the game. Unfortunately we let a few seconds pass before fouling.
|
|
|
Post by JohnnyJones on Nov 22, 2019 22:50:13 GMT -5
The refs were bad but nearly not as one sided as everyone is crying about. They missed a bunch of calls on Duke and a lot of our fouls were fouls. They definitely didn’t cost us the game. If we simply don’t blow almost every transition play we win. Yurt was special in the 2H. There were a lot of bad games By high minute and we were right in it til the end. Hard to be mad at the team after that one. I’ll give Pat credit he has done a good job of recognizing which players are having bad games and pulling them. Still hate the schemes on both ends but that’s not changing anytime soon. Did you not think the Duke turnover / Mac steal and layup that was called a foul was a game changing play?
|
|
|
Post by JohnnyJones on Mar 20, 2019 11:51:18 GMT -5
I have a few extra tickets for the Harvard game tonight. PM me if interested.
|
|
|
Post by JohnnyJones on Mar 17, 2019 23:40:51 GMT -5
Interesting topic and worthy of discussion and analysis. But consider changing the subject line. Its awful.
|
|
|
Post by JohnnyJones on Mar 10, 2019 14:24:50 GMT -5
Will be there - 29 of the last 31 for me. 89 was my freshman year - probably the best weekend of college. 07 not bad as well.
|
|
|
Post by JohnnyJones on Mar 10, 2019 10:30:10 GMT -5
My favorite play of that game was the Pickett three, and not just for the obvious reason. First, think about who is on the floor: Pickett (in the midst of a wildly disappointing year -- one in which your coach publicly bashed you recently); Kaleb (senior role player); Jagan (junior role player; defensive specialist but on floor for huge offensive possession); Trey (senior role player); and James (in the midst of an enormous alpha offensive game). James patiently waits for a screen and then drives. Marquette defends it well and rather than force a contested J (of the sort he has taken in this game...of which a few have gone in) or the sort of drive attempt that has gotten blocked all year he dishes to the weak-side corner, where Jagan waits. The veteran doesn't shoot (not his strength obviously...and it would have been well-contested) but instead throws almost a touch-pass to a wide-open Pickett. The guy who has, uh, struggled offensively..... Now, think about who is on the bench. Among others Mac (who might wonder why the heck he's not in the game) and Jessie (your senior "star," relegated to the bench due to foul trouble and overall ineffectiveness). As Pickett rises, Mac and Jessie both have their arms in the air. The post-shot reactions are terrific. Mac is ecstatic. A fist-pump from Pat. A look of extreme (but intense) satisfaction on Pickett's face. And, to me at least best of all, a big grin from Jessie. The guy with "no heart" has his hands in the air, celebrating a huge moment in which he played no direct role. And the "lazy" center is about to come on the court and run all the way from the three-point line to grab a crucial offensive rebound. I don't know what's going to happen next week. None of us does. We could lose by 30 on Thursday and no one would be too surprised. Or we could win three in a row and head to the NCAAs. I'd say that would be a bit more surprising...but not wildly so. But regardless, this was a great moment for this group. The entire group. Thank you for this. I was at the game and on my way back to DC. So desperate to watch the tape to be able to better appreciate some of these moments I missed. And speaking of bench reactions, I know there was a ton of discussion about the SHU game floor slap, but I’m not sure if anyone commented on our bench. Their reaction after James went to the floor slap was awesome.
|
|
|
Post by JohnnyJones on Mar 10, 2019 10:27:17 GMT -5
My favorite play of that game was the Pickett three, and not just for the obvious reason. First, think about who is on the floor: Pickett (in the midst of a wildly disappointing year -- one in which your coach publicly bashed you recently); Kaleb (senior role player); Jagan (junior role player; defensive specialist but on floor for huge offensive possession); Trey (senior role player); and James (in the midst of an enormous alpha offensive game). James patiently waits for a screen and then drives. Marquette defends it well and rather than force a contested J (of the sort he has taken in this game...of which a few have gone in) or the sort of drive attempt that has gotten blocked all year he dishes to the weak-side corner, where Jagan waits. The veteran doesn't shoot (not his strength obviously...and it would have been well-contested) but instead throws almost a touch-pass to a wide-open Pickett. The guy who has, uh, struggled offensively..... Now, think about who is on the bench. Among others Mac (who might wonder why the heck he's not in the game) and Jessie (your senior "star," relegated to the bench due to foul trouble and overall ineffectiveness). As Pickett rises, Mac and Jessie both have their arms in the air. The post-shot reactions are terrific. Mac is ecstatic. A fist-pump from Pat. A look of extreme (but intense) satisfaction on Pickett's face. And, to me at least best of all, a big grin from Jessie. The guy with "no heart" has his hands in the air, celebrating a huge moment in which he played no direct role. And the "lazy" center is about to come on the court and run all the way from the three-point line to grab a crucial offensive rebound. I don't know what's going to happen next week. None of us does. We could lose by 30 on Thursday and no one would be too surprised. Or we could win three in a row and head to the NCAAs. I'd say that would be a bit more surprising...but not wildly so. But regardless, this was a great moment for this group. The entire group. Thank you for this. I was at the game and on my way back to DC. So desperate to watch the tape to be able to better appreciate some of these moments I missed.
|
|
|
Post by JohnnyJones on Mar 9, 2019 22:00:26 GMT -5
I somewhat regret taking the bait. But the martyrdom act while the rest of us delusional luddites dare to enjoy a big win definitely got to me. I suppose he wins. SF I literally come to this board because you and a handful of posters are still here to talk about basketball. So much is endless negativity, poorly spun analytics, and general trolling. Thank you. You win. Agree 100%. Other than the guy who posted Wednesday night that if every other team on the bubble loses to DePaul by 30 this week we are right back in it (I can’t find that post again??) - SF’s post above is the post of the year.
|
|
|
Post by JohnnyJones on Mar 9, 2019 21:14:17 GMT -5
This take is.... insane? Extraordinarily stupid? Completely and totally biased to preference? Divorced from reality? If you would like to show the numbers that make you feel that way I'll gladly listen. Who do you think are the best players on our team and who would you like to see on the court in the last 5 minutes of a tied road Big East game? Please answer that question. Who should be on the court?
|
|
|
Post by JohnnyJones on Mar 9, 2019 19:49:54 GMT -5
I hope that the Akinjo / Mac offense game plan continues in BET. Don't sit either for those long stretches we've seen happen most games this year. Put it on their shoulders rather than trying the "Jesse post up" offense that come at beginning of one of the two halves Agree 100%.
|
|
|
Post by JohnnyJones on Mar 9, 2019 19:26:13 GMT -5
So two possibilities remain: 4 seed vs Xavier at 2:30 if DePaul wins OR 6 seed vs SH at 9:30 if Creighton wins IMO this is really a toss up. Slight preference for the 930 game for logistics purposes and to allow us to enjoy 5 BET games before the stress starts. Although that is also how I felt about the 2011 VCU NCAA game that was the very last of the first round, but that didn’t turn out so well.
|
|
|
Post by JohnnyJones on Mar 9, 2019 19:22:14 GMT -5
I was referring to your assessment of our freshman guards throughout the year. You still stand by those? Still like Mulmore and Dickerson’s efficiency numbers? I never liked Trey Dieckerson from the moment he signed. Don't put that on me lol. I also said that James's numbers weren't the upgrade over Mulmore that we all expected. James is clearly more talented and I would rather have him especially based on the age. As for the fresh guards my mind will not change based on the game today. I gave them credit and even said James played the most complete game of any Hoya this year, but as I said in my other post I didn't see anything drastically different from the rest of the year other than James's on ball defense. I was a huge James guy coming in but that is not going to make me bury my head in the sand and say he had a great year. Next year will hopefully be different. I hope every game he plays from here on out is like today. I am clearly an analytics/process not a results guy. I thought the piece that ran on Casual this year that showed why Trey shouldn't be starting because of the lineup efficiency stats was incredible. Most fans liked it because Trey was not a fan favorite and it reinforced what they wanted. I DMed the poster here that did it to do one for the freshman guards a while back. Maybe he is waiting for the end of the year or maybe he won't do it at all. I know that majority of fans don't care about analytics and most would rather just read all things positive. Casual gets grief all the time for running stuff that isn't completely positive. I have years of experience and I like to share it with the fans on here. I do feel that some although it may be a small minority actually enjoy it. It's not always what people want to read so it's easier to just question my fandom. Not based on todays game or result, but just overall, it turns out you and your analytics were wrong. Really wrong. No shame in just admitting that. And I love Casual Hoya and have no problem with negativity when it is warranted. Your post regarding the last play of the game today says it all.
|
|
|
Post by JohnnyJones on Mar 9, 2019 18:33:28 GMT -5
Call it like it is? I actually was interested in what you had to say early in the year. You seemed informed and had an interesting take. I desperately hoped you and your statistics were wrong. It turns out they were. Wildly. Now you are clearly just a troll. I would love to know what stats were wrong? Please point them out. Honestly the stats haven't really changed. Before today we had the same KenPom ranking that we did last year. Our BE conference play was essentially the same as our OOC. Today was an awesome win but it was not some big turning the corner moment. It was the freshman playing ISO ball taking the same bad shots they have all year but today they went down at a rate that was so far out of the norm. That and the refs just making it a FT contest made it a fluke. I would love to know what everyone thought we did today fundamentally different today then the rest of the year. The one thing I saw was James playing great on the ball defense but other than that as I said it was a fluke shooting performance. I am glad for such a performance. I have won more money betting this team than any other year and I've been very successful in the past. It's honestly been laughably easy. To win money on this team you have to view them from a realistic not blinded POV. I was referring to your assessment of our freshman guards throughout the year. You still stand by those? Still like Mulmore and Dickerson’s efficiency numbers?
|
|
|
Post by JohnnyJones on Mar 9, 2019 18:00:41 GMT -5
Just back to hotel after the game. Sorry if I missed this but could someone post the possibilities re seeding / opponent based on the remaining two games? Thank you!!
|
|
|
Post by JohnnyJones on Mar 9, 2019 17:56:48 GMT -5
Just back to hotel after the game. Sorry if I missed this but could someone post the possibilities re seeding / opponent based on the remaining two games?
|
|
|
Post by JohnnyJones on Mar 9, 2019 17:54:45 GMT -5
your brand of Hoya fandom is strange, my friend Yes I call it like I see it now with blinders on. I know that is strange pretty much with all things in the world right now. Call it like it is? I actually was interested in what you had to say early in the year. You seemed informed and had an interesting take. I desperately hoped you and your statistics were wrong. It turns out they were. Wildly. Now you are clearly just a troll.
|
|
|
Post by JohnnyJones on Mar 9, 2019 16:09:37 GMT -5
Mac really does get a lot of super star calls. It's great for our future but I'm sure the fans will keep acting like we never get a call. It’s hytericsl that you are watching this game and commenting on us getting calls.
|
|
|
Post by JohnnyJones on Mar 9, 2019 15:37:26 GMT -5
So frustrating. In that situation the ball needs to be in the air as the horn sounds. Couldn’t care less if we scored. Just not that. How is it that the team / coaching staff doesnt understand the same thing. It’s so easy but you need to manage that clock perfectly. Just throw the ball 100 feet in the air as the shot clock expires.
|
|