Harrison steps it up to close out Creighton

[beast of the east]

The biggest different between tonight and our 0-5 start was by far D'Angelo Harrison.

I've been one of his biggest critics in his failure to come up small in big moments. He's clanked free throws, taken ill advised shots late, and in general played like a guy expecting his team to lose. At the same time, I also root for him more than any other player - his personal turnaround has been extraordinary. I hope to meet him soon and tell him that to his face.

Tonight belonged to D'Angelo. It was the night we've been waiting for, when he took the team on his shoulders in the closing minutes, and led the team to victory. The biggest shot of the night was the long three from the left win to put us up. From that point in he was flawless, and nailed FT after FT to keep Creighton at bay.

Put this in the books as a W for D. If we somehow turn 0-5 into an NCAA bid, we will need more of the same from him. Congratulations Mr. Harrison. Today you were a man, and THE man.

 

[Marillac]

The biggest different between tonight and our 0-5 start was by far D'Angelo Harrison.

I've been one of his biggest critics in his failure to come up small in big moments. He's clanked free throws, taken ill advised shots late, and in general played like a guy expecting his team to lose. At the same time, I also root for him more than any other player - his personal turnaround has been extraordinary. I hope to meet him soon and tell him that to his face.

Tonight belonged to D'Angelo. It was the night we've been waiting for, when he took the team on his shoulders in the closing minutes, and led the team to victory. The biggest shot of the night was the long three from the left win to put us up. From that point in he was flawless, and nailed FT after FT to keep Creighton at bay.

Put this in the books as a W for D. If we somehow turn 0-5 into an NCAA bid, we will need more of the same from him. Congratulations Mr. Harrison. Today you were a man, and THE man.

D'Lo can do very little wrong in my eyes. I hope this is not a flash in the pan, but I've noticed a lot of intelligent, deliberate play the last few games. It looks like these guys are well prepared and quickly analyzing situations for mismatches and/or opportunities they have be made aware of. Harrison is at the center of that. He didn't have any assists tonight (or turnovers) but he really spread the ball around well and made some great decisions in the half court.

It's really hard to be the only real scoring option, and it looks like that may be a thing of the past with the exception of a few dry spells. The emergence of Jordan has done wonders for Harrison and it really helps that there are finally some points coming from the post.

The one thing that worries me is that we really don't have a third capable shooter in the main rotation outside of Harrison and Greene.

 

[beast of the east]

The biggest different between tonight and our 0-5 start was by far D'Angelo Harrison.

I've been one of his biggest critics in his failure to come up small in big moments. He's clanked free throws, taken ill advised shots late, and in general played like a guy expecting his team to lose. At the same time, I also root for him more than any other player - his personal turnaround has been extraordinary. I hope to meet him soon and tell him that to his face.

Tonight belonged to D'Angelo. It was the night we've been waiting for, when he took the team on his shoulders in the closing minutes, and led the team to victory. The biggest shot of the night was the long three from the left win to put us up. From that point in he was flawless, and nailed FT after FT to keep Creighton at bay.

Put this in the books as a W for D. If we somehow turn 0-5 into an NCAA bid, we will need more of the same from him. Congratulations Mr. Harrison. Today you were a man, and THE man.

The one thing that worries me is that we really don't have a third capable shooter in the main rotation outside of Harrison and Greene.

I love Sampson from 15 feet and in. I believe that Sampson from 15 is our best shooter, period. I know many would disagree, but if we do complete this Mission Impossible run to an at large berth, Sanchez will have his moments.

 

[SJU1512]

The biggest different between tonight and our 0-5 start was by far D'Angelo Harrison.

I've been one of his biggest critics in his failure to come up small in big moments. He's clanked free throws, taken ill advised shots late, and in general played like a guy expecting his team to lose. At the same time, I also root for him more than any other player - his personal turnaround has been extraordinary. I hope to meet him soon and tell him that to his face.

Tonight belonged to D'Angelo. It was the night we've been waiting for, when he took the team on his shoulders in the closing minutes, and led the team to victory. The biggest shot of the night was the long three from the left win to put us up. From that point in he was flawless, and nailed FT after FT to keep Creighton at bay.

Put this in the books as a W for D. If we somehow turn 0-5 into an NCAA bid, we will need more of the same from him. Congratulations Mr. Harrison. Today you were a man, and THE man.

D'Lo can do very little wrong in my eyes. I hope this is not a flash in the pan, but I've noticed a lot of intelligent, deliberate play the last few games. It looks like these guys are well prepared and quickly analyzing situations for mismatches and/or opportunities they have be made aware of. Harrison is at the center of that. He didn't have any assists tonight (or turnovers) but he really spread the ball around well and made some great decisions in the half court.

It's really hard to be the only real scoring option, and it looks like that may be a thing of the past with the exception of a few dry spells. The emergence of Jordan has done wonders for Harrison and it really helps that there are finally some points coming from the post.

The one thing that worries me is that we really don't have a third capable shooter in the main rotation outside of Harrison and Greene.

Bingo! When he hit that 3 we hadn't scored in over 3 minutes, and I was sitting in my seat wondering if this was another Cuse/Nova, where we had plenty to stay right there fore the first 37 minutes but would be outclassed down the stretch. That 3 was massive and, as he did @ Providence, his free throw shooting was phenomenal in the closing minutes. The first 4 of them could not have been much more pressure-filled.

Also agree in terms of his deliberate play of late. It didn't show up in the assist column last night, but he has really started to capitalize on how much defenses react to him every time he touches the ball, and how much that opens up the space for others. A lot of times it's the pass after his that leads to the basket, but the whole play gets created by him drawing attention. When Creighton tried to go zone last night, there were a few times when he took two hard dribbles into a seam, drew 3 defenders, and passed out of it right on time leading to an open jumper or layup/dunk. This, coupled with the emergence of Jordan as a play-maker (7, 6, and 7 assists the last 3 games) and Obekpa as a finisher at the rim, has literally changed the complexion of our half-court offense.

 

[paultzman]

The biggest different between tonight and our 0-5 start was by far D'Angelo Harrison.

I've been one of his biggest critics in his failure to come up small in big moments. He's clanked free throws, taken ill advised shots late, and in general played like a guy expecting his team to lose. At the same time, I also root for him more than any other player - his personal turnaround has been extraordinary. I hope to meet him soon and tell him that to his face.

Tonight belonged to D'Angelo. It was the night we've been waiting for, when he took the team on his shoulders in the closing minutes, and led the team to victory. The biggest shot of the night was the long three from the left win to put us up. From that point in he was flawless, and nailed FT after FT to keep Creighton at bay.

Put this in the books as a W for D. If we somehow turn 0-5 into an NCAA bid, we will need more of the same from him. Congratulations Mr. Harrison. Today you were a man, and THE man.

The one thing that worries me is that we really don't have a third capable shooter in the main rotation outside of Harrison and Greene.

I love Sampson from 15 feet and in. I believe that Sampson from 15 is our best shooter, period. I know many would disagree, but if we do complete this Mission Impossible run to an at large berth, Sanchez will have his moments.

I find him a bit of a streaky shooter. He was 4/12 last night and missed some shots at crunch time. Not to nit pick, but he still needs to become more proficient with the mid range jumper. Thankfully he refrains from taking threes. I would love to see him draw more fouls in lane. Must say, however, he overplayed McD well at crunch time,either denying him the ball or making entry angle more difficult.

 

[Moose]

The biggest different between tonight and our 0-5 start was by far D'Angelo Harrison.

I've been one of his biggest critics in his failure to come up small in big moments. He's clanked free throws, taken ill advised shots late, and in general played like a guy expecting his team to lose. At the same time, I also root for him more than any other player - his personal turnaround has been extraordinary. I hope to meet him soon and tell him that to his face.

Tonight belonged to D'Angelo. It was the night we've been waiting for, when he took the team on his shoulders in the closing minutes, and led the team to victory. The biggest shot of the night was the long three from the left win to put us up. From that point in he was flawless, and nailed FT after FT to keep Creighton at bay.

Put this in the books as a W for D. If we somehow turn 0-5 into an NCAA bid, we will need more of the same from him. Congratulations Mr. Harrison. Today you were a man, and THE man.

The one thing that worries me is that we really don't have a third capable shooter in the main rotation outside of Harrison and Greene.

I love Sampson from 15 feet and in. I believe that Sampson from 15 is our best shooter, period. I know many would disagree, but if we do complete this Mission Impossible run to an at large berth, Sanchez will have his moments.

I find him a bit of a streaky shooter. He was 4/12 last night and missed some shots at crunch time. Not to nit pick, but he still needs to become more proficient with the mid range jumper. Thankfully he refrains from taking threes. I would love to see him draw more fouls in lane. Must say, however, he overplayed McD well at crunch time,either denying him the ball or making entry angle more difficult.

Karr barely looks for contact and meanwhile we have guards like Dee, Phil and Jamal who look for contact too much and don't get the calls. Middle ground guys! Middle ground!

 

[Mean Gene]

The biggest different between tonight and our 0-5 start was by far D'Angelo Harrison.

I've been one of his biggest critics in his failure to come up small in big moments. He's clanked free throws, taken ill advised shots late, and in general played like a guy expecting his team to lose. At the same time, I also root for him more than any other player - his personal turnaround has been extraordinary. I hope to meet him soon and tell him that to his face.

Tonight belonged to D'Angelo. It was the night we've been waiting for, when he took the team on his shoulders in the closing minutes, and led the team to victory. The biggest shot of the night was the long three from the left win to put us up. From that point in he was flawless, and nailed FT after FT to keep Creighton at bay.

Put this in the books as a W for D. If we somehow turn 0-5 into an NCAA bid, we will need more of the same from him. Congratulations Mr. Harrison. Today you were a man, and THE man.

D'Lo can do very little wrong in my eyes. I hope this is not a flash in the pan, but I've noticed a lot of intelligent, deliberate play the last few games. It looks like these guys are well prepared and quickly analyzing situations for mismatches and/or opportunities they have be made aware of. Harrison is at the center of that. He didn't have any assists tonight (or turnovers) but he really spread the ball around well and made some great decisions in the half court.

It's really hard to be the only real scoring option, and it looks like that may be a thing of the past with the exception of a few dry spells. The emergence of Jordan has done wonders for Harrison and it really helps that there are finally some points coming from the post.

The one thing that worries me is that we really don't have a third capable shooter in the main rotation outside of Harrison and Greene.

I think that Rysheed can be that guy. His jumper didn't fall last night but the previous two games he was shooting well and hitting some threes. As his confidence grows I think he can be that third capable shooter.

 

[gregbodkin]

This was the most evenly we have played. We had 5 guys with 8 points or more. That is the first time this year, I believe. Obepka contributed 11 which is also a good sign. Now if he would only hit his free throws!

 

[logen]

The biggest different between tonight and our 0-5 start was by far D'Angelo Harrison.

I've been one of his biggest critics in his failure to come up small in big moments. He's clanked free throws, taken ill advised shots late, and in general played like a guy expecting his team to lose. At the same time, I also root for him more than any other player - his personal turnaround has been extraordinary. I hope to meet him soon and tell him that to his face.

Tonight belonged to D'Angelo. It was the night we've been waiting for, when he took the team on his shoulders in the closing minutes, and led the team to victory. The biggest shot of the night was the long three from the left win to put us up. From that point in he was flawless, and nailed FT after FT to keep Creighton at bay.

Put this in the books as a W for D. If we somehow turn 0-5 into an NCAA bid, we will need more of the same from him. Congratulations Mr. Harrison. Today you were a man, and THE man.

With all due respect to Harrison and you, not even close. Jakaar Sampson was the man and the night belonged to him. Harrison's 3 was huge as were his foul shots but had Sampson not locked McDermott down we are trailing by 8-10 going into the last few minutes and the opportunity to come up big is not there for Harrison. Offense gets you on ESPN but defense wins and last night was all about Sampson.

 

[beast of the east]

The biggest different between tonight and our 0-5 start was by far D'Angelo Harrison.

I've been one of his biggest critics in his failure to come up small in big moments. He's clanked free throws, taken ill advised shots late, and in general played like a guy expecting his team to lose. At the same time, I also root for him more than any other player - his personal turnaround has been extraordinary. I hope to meet him soon and tell him that to his face.

Tonight belonged to D'Angelo. It was the night we've been waiting for, when he took the team on his shoulders in the closing minutes, and led the team to victory. The biggest shot of the night was the long three from the left win to put us up. From that point in he was flawless, and nailed FT after FT to keep Creighton at bay.

Put this in the books as a W for D. If we somehow turn 0-5 into an NCAA bid, we will need more of the same from him. Congratulations Mr. Harrison. Today you were a man, and THE man.

With all due respect to Harrison and you, not even close. Jakaar Sampson was the man and the night belonged to him. Harrison's 3 was huge as were his foul shots but had Sampson not locked McDermott down we are trailing by 8-10 going into the last few minutes and the opportunity to come up big is not there for Harrison. Offense gets you on ESPN but defense wins and last night was all about Sampson.

Certainly I gave Sampson his due credit for a terrific job on McDermott, and also to Lavin by rotating different guys on McD all night - BUT = without Harrison's late steady hand and huge shot, there is no sign that the result would not have been the same as the 5 loss run and the loss at Creighton.

 

[jr49]

DLo made himself available and inbounding was top notch. We got burnt befor so nice to see.

 

[ras]

This was a team victory. That's how we are winning games. Chemistry is much better. Crisper passing, not having Greene at PG, looking for the open man, and not playing for individual stats.

 

[monte]

The biggest different between tonight and our 0-5 start was by far D'Angelo Harrison.

I've been one of his biggest critics in his failure to come up small in big moments. He's clanked free throws, taken ill advised shots late, and in general played like a guy expecting his team to lose. At the same time, I also root for him more than any other player - his personal turnaround has been extraordinary. I hope to meet him soon and tell him that to his face.

Tonight belonged to D'Angelo. It was the night we've been waiting for, when he took the team on his shoulders in the closing minutes, and led the team to victory. The biggest shot of the night was the long three from the left win to put us up. From that point in he was flawless, and nailed FT after FT to keep Creighton at bay.

Put this in the books as a W for D. If we somehow turn 0-5 into an NCAA bid, we will need more of the same from him. Congratulations Mr. Harrison. Today you were a man, and THE man.

D'Lo can do very little wrong in my eyes. I hope this is not a flash in the pan, but I've noticed a lot of intelligent, deliberate play the last few games. It looks like these guys are well prepared and quickly analyzing situations for mismatches and/or opportunities they have be made aware of. Harrison is at the center of that. He didn't have any assists tonight (or turnovers) but he really spread the ball around well and made some great decisions in the half court.

It's really hard to be the only real scoring option, and it looks like that may be a thing of the past with the exception of a few dry spells. The emergence of Jordan has done wonders for Harrison and it really helps that there are finally some points coming from the post.

The one thing that worries me is that we really don't have a third capable shooter in the main rotation outside of Harrison and Greene.

Have you have any change of heart since posting "Harrison has no shot in the NBA. None.
He is short, has no length, and he is SLOW"?

 

[beast of the east]

This was a team victory. That's how we are winning games. Chemistry is much better. Crisper passing, not having Greene at PG, looking for the open man, and not playing for individual stats.

No question, but 5 other times in conference, plus Syracuse, Wisconsin, and Penn State all could have been team victories. In basketball in the big moments, it takes a guy or guys to step up. The other guys with minutes put us in a position to win. Harrison, with his desire to have the ball in his hands in the last 2.5 minutes, clearly and unequivocally was the reason this was pulled out of the fire. Notice that there was no Hooper yesterday to create spacing, and won't be except in spot moments - that experiment is over.

 

[SJUalum98]

I already expressed my thoughts on Harrison's efficiency.

What I like about him is how he snatches defensive boards. For his height, his effort is amazing.

You would think a scorer would be concerned with getting back on offense after a missed shot.

No. D'Angelo is amongst the trees fighting for rebounds.

 

[beast of the east]

I already expressed my thoughts on Harrison's efficiency.

What I like about him is how he snatches defensive boards. For his height, his effort is amazing.

You would think a scorer would be concerned with getting back on offense after a missed shot.

No. D'Angelo is amongst the trees fighting for rebounds.

If we were a better rebounding team, Harrison and the other guards could camp out on the defensive wing extended to wait for a pitchout to start the break. With us frequently playing three guards, at least one, and more likely two, must crash the boards. We've already spoken about Jordan's deceptive length and his ability to rebound. Harrison is one tough SOB who comes up with rebounds, and last night big rebounds.

On the topic of rebounding Creighton big men are well schooled to slap rebounds out to waiting guards on the perimeter. Man it seemed like the got 7-8 second chances on that alone, even though we outrebounded them 36-31. I'm thinking their coach knows his guys can't jump with athletic guys like ours, so he has trained them to punch the ball outside.

 

[logen]

The biggest different between tonight and our 0-5 start was by far D'Angelo Harrison.

I've been one of his biggest critics in his failure to come up small in big moments. He's clanked free throws, taken ill advised shots late, and in general played like a guy expecting his team to lose. At the same time, I also root for him more than any other player - his personal turnaround has been extraordinary. I hope to meet him soon and tell him that to his face.

Tonight belonged to D'Angelo. It was the night we've been waiting for, when he took the team on his shoulders in the closing minutes, and led the team to victory. The biggest shot of the night was the long three from the left win to put us up. From that point in he was flawless, and nailed FT after FT to keep Creighton at bay.

Put this in the books as a W for D. If we somehow turn 0-5 into an NCAA bid, we will need more of the same from him. Congratulations Mr. Harrison. Today you were a man, and THE man.

With all due respect to Harrison and you, not even close. Jakaar Sampson was the man and the night belonged to him. Harrison's 3 was huge as were his foul shots but had Sampson not locked McDermott down we are trailing by 8-10 going into the last few minutes and the opportunity to come up big is not there for Harrison. Offense gets you on ESPN but defense wins and last night was all about Sampson.

Certainly I gave Sampson his due credit for a terrific job on McDermott, and also to Lavin by rotating different guys on McD all night - BUT = without Harrison's late steady hand and huge shot, there is no sign that the result would not have been the same as the 5 loss run and the loss at Creighton.

We just have to disagree; I am taking nothing away from Harrison at all. But had Sampson not locked up McDermott we are down 10-12 as has happened constantly when we go into offensive droughts. Harrison made one HUGE shot and his foul shots. As an 85% foul shooter who has stepped up before that is not unexpected. Sampson kept McDermott without a shot for the last 8+ minutes, that was clearly the difference in the game IMO.

 

[beast of the east]

The biggest different between tonight and our 0-5 start was by far D'Angelo Harrison.

I've been one of his biggest critics in his failure to come up small in big moments. He's clanked free throws, taken ill advised shots late, and in general played like a guy expecting his team to lose. At the same time, I also root for him more than any other player - his personal turnaround has been extraordinary. I hope to meet him soon and tell him that to his face.

Tonight belonged to D'Angelo. It was the night we've been waiting for, when he took the team on his shoulders in the closing minutes, and led the team to victory. The biggest shot of the night was the long three from the left win to put us up. From that point in he was flawless, and nailed FT after FT to keep Creighton at bay.

Put this in the books as a W for D. If we somehow turn 0-5 into an NCAA bid, we will need more of the same from him. Congratulations Mr. Harrison. Today you were a man, and THE man.

With all due respect to Harrison and you, not even close. Jakaar Sampson was the man and the night belonged to him. Harrison's 3 was huge as were his foul shots but had Sampson not locked McDermott down we are trailing by 8-10 going into the last few minutes and the opportunity to come up big is not there for Harrison. Offense gets you on ESPN but defense wins and last night was all about Sampson.

Certainly I gave Sampson his due credit for a terrific job on McDermott, and also to Lavin by rotating different guys on McD all night - BUT = without Harrison's late steady hand and huge shot, there is no sign that the result would not have been the same as the 5 loss run and the loss at Creighton.

We just have to disagree; I am taking nothing away from Harrison at all. But had Sampson not locked up McDermott we are down 10-12 as has happened constantly when we go into offensive droughts. Harrison made one HUGE shot and his foul shots. As an 85% foul shooter who has stepped up before that is not unexpected. Sampson kept McDermott without a shot for the last 8+ minutes, that was clearly the difference in the game IMO.

Yea, we don't have a problem. I agree Sampson was huge, and was very pleased that he was assigned McDermott. We burned a lot of fouls guarding that guy by having 4 different guys guard him. I fully understand and appreciate your point - our defensive strategy was exactly what I was advocating last week. Hawk him everywhere, assignment by committee, and deny him the ball as much as possible. It was a great game plan, and our guys were tireless.

 

[SJU1512]

I already expressed my thoughts on Harrison's efficiency.

What I like about him is how he snatches defensive boards. For his height, his effort is amazing.

You would think a scorer would be concerned with getting back on offense after a missed shot.

No. D'Angelo is amongst the trees fighting for rebounds.

Harrison's effort, intensity, and energy in every respect this year has been phenomenal. As you mention, he really looks to board, especially on the defensive end. He's got incredible natural instincts and timing. That helps him in a number of ways (that block of McD last night), and particularly aids him in being an effective rebounder for his height.

Defensively he's taken his game to another level. He's not going to lockdown the other team's lead guard every game, but he's proven he can completely take secondary or complementary pieces out of the game. Manigat is averaging a solid 8 PPG for Creighton. Entering the first game against us, he was coming off 19 and 10 against Nova and Gtown, respectively. Harrison spent most of both games on him, and held him to 7 points total.

Cooney is averaging 14 a game and has been held scoreless only once all season - with Harrison glued to him for 35 minutes.

It's primarily effort and focus driven. He helps and then closes out on shooters incredibly hard almost every single time. He's not always perfect in every aspect of the game, but this kid wants it so bad. For his team. We're fortunate to have someone with his drive and competitive fire.

 

[simplyred]

If Harrison was on another BE team, we would rave about how great a player he is and how we need guys like that on our squad.