Longwood Game

[Knockout-Ned]

"Completely different sports and mindsets but in Europe if a soccer team does not win pretty the manager usually gets sacked. I've even seen on a few occasions teams win their league and the manager will be still get fired because the style is not attractive."

Nice analogy - look at the Mexican National team. They are now on their 4th head coach in three months. Now, I don't think a coaching change is in order, but to your point, those guys get fired for a bad game.

 

[SJUISBACK]

wow No points for the first 6 and a half minutes, must be the experiment thing that Lavin does every game.

Anyway on to the Penn St game. Question, if Penn St blows us out is that part of the experiment also?

Yeah I`m being negative, but am I suppose to be all happy with how they played?

Don`t give me "oh but they still won by 16.

 

[SigEpSJU09]

No one has been more optimistic about this team for the last year and a half than me. Fellas, yes there are some concerns but the bottom line is that we are 4-1 . I wish lavin would read our posts cause most of you have very solid points. Teams will be playing a lot of zone on us ESP when we get to conference play, I just don't understand how we never ever feed the high post . Anyone that has ever played basketball knows that to break a zone you break it from the hi post and we never feed it . Sanchez can be the perfect zone buster from the high post because he can shoot and has a good iQ for passing the ball yet he flashes the high post then goes right back out to the 3 point line. The one time we fed the high post tn was to Jakarr and he found Jordan wide open for a jump shot .( he missed but it was a wide open look) branch turning the ball over as much as he does is also unacceptable. But I have faith and so should the rest of you , rather be 4-1 than 1-4 or 2-2 even if some of these games were close. This is a much better team than last year and we went 8-10 in conference play but let's not forget , 3 point loss to Rutgers at the garden , loss to nova at nova in OT because Amir garret fouled someone at the 3 point line with 45 seconds left, 4 point loss to providence at prov, OT loss to Marquette at the garden . So we could of been 12 -6 last year with a much weaker team. Don't forget we will finish at worst 3 rd in the big east remember this post . St.johns till I die!!!!!

 

[Class of 72]

Penn State lost to Bucknell.. We beat Bucknell. Or does that only work the other way around?

Senseless dribble , seriously.

Bucknell is a sweet 16 team so we obviously upset them.....because we are not. Penn State, a bottom feeder in the Big 10, lost to a sweet 16 team. I heard it from the coach.

 

[thetux1]

to be positive for a moment there is one thing we do better then anyone and that is block shots. Obekpa is the new Human Eraser. I love the way he's playing

 

[guru]

We are not a good time right now at all!!!

 

[T6K0E6]

You guys should really think about it this way. You have a bunch of 18-20 year olds with amazing talent playing longwood state (where is that?) as a coach, how do you motivate your players to play a team they can beat in their sleep? the player all know this, so why are they going to work their hardest? they dogged it the first half, picked it up a bit, just a bit in the second half and still won by 18. The team and the game was a joke, there is no point talking about it, i know high school teams that are better than longwood.

 

[gman]

Im making comparisons with common opponents Penn State is 3 and 1 we are 4 and 0. Let's not make Penn State out to be something they are not.

We are not 4-0

 

[MJDinkins]

Im making comparisons with common opponents Penn State is 3 and 1 we are 4 and 0. Let's not make Penn State out to be something they are not.

We are not 4-0

He was referring to our record versus common opponent.

 

[fuchsia]

I am getting very upset with CRGreen for dying and not being here to give this thread some perspective. Think Fordham loss in Lavin's first year. Good or bad, the one thing we know is that coach will take early trouble in order to play for bigger stakes later.

 

[SJU1512]

This team's #1 problem right now is lack of defined roles/rotation. I am all for flexibility in this regard - and feel it is a big strength of Lavin's - but what we have seen so far this year is too far to the other extreme. You can tell the players have no idea when they are coming in or out. When you have a crowded roster with a lot of guys looking to play, this only sets the stage for amplified frustration.

The easiest answer is to press. Never mind the simple fact, as Marillac correctly points out frequently, that pressing best suits this team's skill set. We pressed for 5 possessions last night and Longwood was throwing the ball all over the lot. With Obekpa anchoring we can afford to take so many more chances, we are neutralizing Sampson by playing half-court, on and on but I digress. By playing at the absolute snail's pace we played at last night guys aren't getting in a rhythm, they aren't exerting max effort, we aren't increasing the amount of possessions, and when they come out they feel like they've barely been in. Moreover it seems like we are subbing just to try to get guys minutes as opposed to subbing because it's needed.

My hope is that Lavin doesn't want to show the press against this early season comp and give Syracuse in particular a chance to prepare for it, as he's been known to do. I was dismayed by the lack of offensive sets in the two preseason games and we came out against Wisconsin and, though it wasn't particularly effective, ran stuff we clearly hadn't run in the exhibitions. Which I thought was smart. If that's not the case, and pressing isn't in the long-term plans, it's a mistake. You don't have to do it all the time, and can come right out of it if a particular team is slicing it up. But the pace we are playing at now is not maximizing the skills of the players on this roster. Further we are 5 games in Europe, 2 exhibitions, and 5 games into this season and the rotation has little structure. Speeding the game up solves both of those problems.

 

[TRabinowitz]

You guys should really think about it this way. You have a bunch of 18-20 year olds with amazing talent playing longwood state (where is that?) as a coach, how do you motivate your players to play a team they can beat in their sleep? the player all know this, so why are they going to work their hardest? they dogged it the first half, picked it up a bit, just a bit in the second half and still won by 18. The team and the game was a joke, there is no point talking about it, i know high school teams that are better than longwood.

The problem is that this is a team that for the entire preseason talked about how theres a chip on their shoulder, and they've barely played like it against anyone. It was very clear last night that the team had no energy at all. No noise from the bench after positive plays and no energy whatsoever. We have also gotten worse since the Bucknell game. I am hoping that it is true that we are just "playing down to our opponent" and to a certain degree in terms of our energy level I can agree with that.

However our offensive identity hasn't been good since the start of the season and our approach is fundamentally flawed. I don't understand why the team didn't choose to practice EITHER DAY this weekend. They had to miss TWO days to attend Keady's HOF induction?? If the ceremony was Sunday night, why couldn't they practice on Saturday?? And don't you have assistant coaches on your staff to run a practice or 2 while the head coach is gone anyway? I don't get it, and I would bet a dollar to a donut that some guys didn't even step foot in that gym to get in extra work during the weekend either.

 

[westchesterjoe]

Well, after the European trip, 2 Exhibitions, and 5 games, it would be interesting to actually have all the homers and kool aid drinkers to give anywhere near a honest assessment of the chaos on and off the Court..

Of course, those who enjoy personal attacks will resort to that level of commentary since there is so little evidence this team will ever achieve any of the goals set for them..
Every facet of the game of basketball played by this team is a affront to fundamental play.. FG shooting, 3 pt shooting, free throw shooting, rebounding, passing, defense are all missing and only the most devout homer has cause for a resurgence with this group of players and Coach. And, we're playing cupcakes, excepting Wisconsin. Longwood may be one of the lowest performing teams in NCAA dIV 1 and for 30 minutes gave us all we could handle.. It isn't so much what opponents throw at us as, how poorly we perform within our own framework, if there is one. How many times in these games does one ask WTF just happened on either offense or defense?

This team of 2-3 year players, excepting Jordan and Sanchez, are playing helter skelter basketball that is unbearable to watch for any seasoned fan.. Watching Greene and Harrison take the majority of shots and hit low % is pretty much all our offense is capable of.. Even Sampson can't get off if he doesn't get the ball in his zone, within 12 feet of the hoop. He looks frustrated and his game shows it..

Negative reviews result from negative performances..So, those of you habitual followers who think good things are happening on the Court so far..GOOD lUCK WITH THAT..

Take good cheer with the current 4-1 record. It may be the highlight of the season.

I just am continually amazed that Lavin cannot seemingly get more team play out of these players than he has.. The articulate posters on here, who post what they see, instead of vile comments, have long observed similar ineptitude. So, my opinions are not unlike the majority here in addressing obvious problems that are repeated over and over.

Some have even proclaimed Lavin is hiding his strategies until the Conference schedule.. That is almost funny.. What Stategies has he shown in 4 years?

 

[bobre45]

I am getting very upset with CRGreen for dying and not being here to give this thread some perspective. Think Fordham loss in Lavin's first year. Good or bad, the one thing we know is that coach will take early trouble in order to play for bigger stakes later.

I recall Lavin actually accepting blame for the Fordham game. Something he doesn't do too often. Couldn't believe Evans sat it out while one 6'7" guy beat us. Maybe he learned something that helped us later but there was nothing discretionary about it.

 

[newsman13]

Well, the easy part of the schedule is over.  We have been very consistent over the course of 7 games (yes I count exhibitions) and that is we hit the court totally unprepared for our opponent. 
Tonight, against the lowest ranked team on the schedule we hardly looked focused on defense and, as usual, disorganized on offense.

Now I know some here will fall back on the low IQ mantra when looking at our players and a couple will obviously not be Rhodes Scholar candidates but it begs the question: when you are the worst shooting 3 point team in the universe, why is coach allowing Harrison 11 attempts while also missing most every type of shot he took for most of 30 minutes?  Is it part of his recovery and redemption process to be a one man offense. Three starters - Phil, Primo and Sampson shot a combined 3 - 19 while Harrison alone took 19 shots. Of course, after 35 minutes of forced shots and 28 footers he hit a couple of 3s but it all looks so helter skelter.
Again, was the plan to have Sanchez only take 3 shots from 20 feet? Yes, Lavin finally sat mi non comprende but his absence was mostly on the court where he seems to have no position assigned since, according to Lavin, he can play 4 positions.  Unfortunately, he plays them all without much passion.
Again, our formidable front line was rendered useless by whatever offense Lavin Wood was running against a small and less talented team. 
In making comparisons with common opponents it appears Monmouth, who played us even for 37 minutes lost to our next opponent by 32 points.
With the many Penn State alums in NYC I see them having the home court advantage, come out more motivated, hit their 3s, and we lose another game to a BIG opponent.
Why? Because we will take too many 3s, Harrison will think he is the offense and Primo will no comprende his role on the team.  Finally, Phil Greene will continue to have the ball in his hands on offense and we will use 30 seconds to get the ball to a shooter......those shooters being only Harrison, Greene and Sampson while the rest of the team is disenfranchised.

This is an outstanding post. I'll have to re-read "The Best and the Brightest"...about all those scholars who somehow got us mired in Viet Nam. We brought in the best and brightest coaches out there along with some of the best players, and we're mired with no offense (didn't the announcer say Longwood was allowing 81 ppg) and a defense that solely depends on blocked shots. This is all well and good against mid and low majors...but I'd be shocked if works against the big boys.

For the first time, I'm glad the Big East has become mid-major. Otherwise, we'd be looking at a typical Norm Roberts season, albiet with far better players.

 

[beast of the east]

I really don't care too much about the score in these games. That being said, I don't care if we won this game by 18, or 81, or 1.8. This team still plays like 5 (albeit talented) guys in a pickup game.

Essentially the ball move from the key to the wing to the corner and back. Occasionally dropped off to a guy posting, who usually has nowhere to go. The ball movement is about as crisp as a Hasidim's white shirt after working 12 hours in the diamond district. You know what I'm talking about.

On defense, I don't care if Obekpa, Sampson, Pointer, or Max Hooper for that matter blocks 20 points per game. That's window dressing to bad defense. Having Lucas Woodhouse (#2 from Harborfield HS on LI) carve up your defense or at worst look as good as our guards is a really bad sign.

Essentially, we've seen little progress in terms of the team coming together. Lavin shortened the bench last night, for certain getting ready for more competitive games, and even then we played with no purpose.

Among our new players, no one is emerging as a solid game-in game-out contributor.

Teams can pull together fast, but this isn't encouraging.

 

[bobre45]

I'm now thinking we should've not redshirted Balamou, as he would be good player to use in a press.

Good move by Branch there. We need to win this game by 20 or more points.

I told my brother the same thing today. We are not getting much from Jordan right now. Felix brings energy and effort.

I thought Jordan played better as the game went on, had some nice passes. I think he turned the corner and will start to flourish this weekend

He did have some moments today. Maybe I was expecting too much from him as soon as he hit the floor this season. Don't know if anyone who was at the game agrees but I personally didn't like his body language on the bench. Appeared to be sulking and somewhat uninterested.

One last observation that has been bothering me for some time now. Why does our team WALK OUT for pre game and halftime warm ups. Maybe its just me being picky. But id love to see some LIFE in our team and some excitement to get the game going. These guys look like they're walking to their funeral.

Good observation about warmups. There is no supervision whatsoever and they always look unprepared at tipoff as a result. We took over 6 minutes to score and you have to wonder what the coaches are doing for a living.

 

[beast of the east]

I'm now thinking we should've not redshirted Balamou, as he would be good player to use in a press.

Good move by Branch there. We need to win this game by 20 or more points.

I told my brother the same thing today. We are not getting much from Jordan right now. Felix brings energy and effort.

I thought Jordan played better as the game went on, had some nice passes. I think he turned the corner and will start to flourish this weekend

He did have some moments today. Maybe I was expecting too much from him as soon as he hit the floor this season. Don't know if anyone who was at the game agrees but I personally didn't like his body language on the bench. Appeared to be sulking and somewhat uninterested.

One last observation that has been bothering me for some time now. Why does our team WALK OUT for pre game and halftime warm ups. Maybe its just me being picky. But id love to see some LIFE in our team and some excitement to get the game going. These guys look like they're walking to their funeral.

Good observation about warmups. There is no supervision whatsoever and they always look unprepared at tipoff as a result. We took over 6 minutes to score and you have to wonder what the coaches are doing for a living.

I'd like them to burst through a paper banner, have cheerleaders and the dance team doing cartwheels, and players doing Ozzie Smith backflips.

 

[Andrew]

I am going to be an optimist in a sea of pessimism. I expect better play this weekend because it can't get worse.

 

[Jack Williams]

Well, the easy part of the schedule is over.  We have been very consistent over the course of 7 games (yes I count exhibitions) and that is we hit the court totally unprepared for our opponent. 
Tonight, against the lowest ranked team on the schedule we hardly looked focused on defense and, as usual, disorganized on offense.

Now I know some here will fall back on the low IQ mantra when looking at our players and a couple will obviously not be Rhodes Scholar candidates but it begs the question: when you are the worst shooting 3 point team in the universe, why is coach allowing Harrison 11 attempts while also missing most every type of shot he took for most of 30 minutes?  Is it part of his recovery and redemption process to be a one man offense. Three starters - Phil, Primo and Sampson shot a combined 3 - 19 while Harrison alone took 19 shots. Of course, after 35 minutes of forced shots and 28 footers he hit a couple of 3s but it all looks so helter skelter.
Again, was the plan to have Sanchez only take 3 shots from 20 feet? Yes, Lavin finally sat mi non comprende but his absence was mostly on the court where he seems to have no position assigned since, according to Lavin, he can play 4 positions.  Unfortunately, he plays them all without much passion.
Again, our formidable front line was rendered useless by whatever offense Lavin Wood was running against a small and less talented team. 
In making comparisons with common opponents it appears Monmouth, who played us even for 37 minutes lost to our next opponent by 32 points.
With the many Penn State alums in NYC I see them having the home court advantage, come out more motivated, hit their 3s, and we lose another game to a BIG opponent.
Why? Because we will take too many 3s, Harrison will think he is the offense and Primo will no comprende his role on the team.  Finally, Phil Greene will continue to have the ball in his hands on offense and we will use 30 seconds to get the ball to a shooter......those shooters being only Harrison, Greene and Sampson while the rest of the team is disenfranchised.

This is an outstanding post. I'll have to re-read "The Best and the Brightest"...about all those scholars who somehow got us mired in Viet Nam. We brought in the best and brightest coaches out there along with some of the best players, and we're mired with no offense (didn't the announcer say Longwood was allowing 81 ppg) and a defense that solely depends on blocked shots. This is all well and good against mid and low majors...but I'd be shocked if works against the big boys.

For the first time, I'm glad the Big East has become mid-major. Otherwise, we'd be looking at a typical Norm Roberts season, albiet with far better players.

Georgetown, Marquette, Villanova, Butler, Creighton, and Providence are all probably going to be tournament teams. Hardly a "mid-major".