Official SF Game Thread

The euphoric / gloom and doom extremes are funny. We are a decent team at this point, but one that lacks leadership. Lavin is a very good recruiter and decent game coach; he obviously did not properly adjust last night and lay off the point guard but he has made good adjustments in other games. At the end of the day, we are flawed, no point guard being the most glaring weakness. Lavin seems married to the helter skelter style and against some teams, especially those with good guard play (see Baylor and USF) that style can be exploited. Lay the blame on Lavin for both, but Harkless going after one year combined with Sanchez being ineligible has put a serious dent in the program. Make no mistake, Sanchez is a very talented, experienced, poised player. On this team his biggest contributions would have been his experience and excellent passing ability. Anyway, our program is light yeears ahead of where it was, and IMO not nearly it is going to eventually be. It takes time to build a program, just the way it is.
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I agree -- no time to panic. But if we have a sub-par year this year and lose Harrison and/or Sampson, can we truly expect to be "special" next year? Outside of the Kentuckys of the world, it's very difficult to have success without experience.
 
You guys have said it all. Props to Dinkins and those calling coaching into question-I have been saying we are doing a poor job on d regarding dribble penetration (poor technique), Even a blind man can see our rebounding problems, give up way too many open 3s with no adjustments made. Offensively yes we miss a penetrating pt guard, lack outside shooting except for Dlo (and Marco if we knew how to set him up), although JS has been a revelation from 15-18 ft., so why no offensive plays to get down low post ups or some lay ups like other teams are able to do against us. Lost to the 3 best teams we have played, haven't beaten anybody that good, and haven't faced the louisville's and Syracuses yet. all in all a lot of issues. Hopefully Branch and maybe Sanchez, improvement and more experience can still result in a pretty good season.
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Here is my issue:
Everything the staff lacked and now have, they're not utilizing properly.


We saw a different offensive philosophy against South Carolina. Princeton cuts, back doors, etc. Looked unstoppable in some stretches. Where was it the last 2 games?

quote]



South Carolina was nice enough to play us man to man, something I expect we're done seeing this season.
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The euphoric / gloom and doom extremes are funny. We are a decent team at this point, but one that lacks leadership. Lavin is a very good recruiter and decent game coach; he obviously did not properly adjust last night and lay off the point guard but he has made good adjustments in other games. At the end of the day, we are flawed, no point guard being the most glaring weakness. Lavin seems married to the helter skelter style and against some teams, especially those with good guard play (see Baylor and USF) that style can be exploited. Lay the blame on Lavin for both, but Harkless going after one year combined with Sanchez being ineligible has put a serious dent in the program. Make no mistake, Sanchez is a very talented, experienced, poised player. On this team his biggest contributions would have been his experience and excellent passing ability. Anyway, our program is light yeears ahead of where it was, and IMO not nearly it is going to eventually be. It takes time to build a program, just the way it is.
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Hence, why I've stated that Sanchez will bring skill, size, and experience. I'm also hoping Branch will bring some leadership qualities once he steps onto the floor.

I've seen a couple of times where posters have mentioned Branch and savior in the same breath.... He doesn't have to be a savior for us to win. He just needs to efficiently run the team on both ends of the floor. If he can do that, as well as give us about 8 or 9 ppg, then we'll have an opportunity to do some good things.

I'm far from pressing the panic button, but I just didn't like how things shaped up last night.
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The way I see it, we took a good punch last night to start the 2nd half and fought back; we didn't lay down. USF had a good team and they were home against a high profile team. Thay had the best player on the floor; whether he is that good ot not I don't know but he dominated the game; so he was that good last night. Hopefully Branch makes a difference; both as an on the ball defender, for which he is touted and as a calming and organizinng influence on offense. We shall see..........
 
Tonight's game has far more to do with our defense or lack of, moreso than our offense. San Fran is carving us up.

I know it's early in the half, but this game might be over. I don't like the body english of the team.
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Greene should have been out of game 5 minutes ago...he hurt us bad...let the slow point guard beat him every time...and doesnt fight to get back in the play...gets caught in mismatches all night and doesnt fight one iota to defend...
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Slow point guard?? Are you kidding me! He changes speeds beautifully and understands angles, that is what it is all about; this is not track. The kid dominated us.......
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Not diminishing his skills...he was very crafty...but certainly not quick...we should have been able to limit his drives to the hoop
 
The euphoric / gloom and doom extremes are funny. We are a decent team at this point, but one that lacks leadership. Lavin is a very good recruiter and decent game coach; he obviously did not properly adjust last night and lay off the point guard but he has made good adjustments in other games. At the end of the day, we are flawed, no point guard being the most glaring weakness. Lavin seems married to the helter skelter style and against some teams, especially those with good guard play (see Baylor and USF) that style can be exploited. Lay the blame on Lavin for both, but Harkless going after one year combined with Sanchez being ineligible has put a serious dent in the program. Make no mistake, Sanchez is a very talented, experienced, poised player. On this team his biggest contributions would have been his experience and excellent passing ability. Anyway, our program is light yeears ahead of where it was, and IMO not nearly it is going to eventually be. It takes time to build a program, just the way it is.
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Jakarr has filled in for Moe just nicely.

If we go by the logic that Jakarr = Moe, then what are the excuses because we have more depth and talent around him than we did last year.

To me, they looked across the gym at USF and thought it would be light work. That kid catching an alleyoop over Obekpa. Really?

I hope it was a safe, but very long flight for the group back home to NY. Time to reflect because Lavin is relying way too much on athleticism and perceived "talent" than actual game planning and execution for this squad that he has.
 
I think it's fairly clear STJ needs to work on it's perimeter defense, and somehow find another threat from the outside. Does Branch have any range?
 
Its the same story as last year, our perimeter defense is lacking, and every team knows it.

same play every time, drive up the middle, everyone crashes in, kick it out to the open corner for the 3, every team every time, watch the tape, the eye in the sky don't lie.

we are improving alot on the rebounds which is great, we just need a bit more help (sanchez cough)

last year our reason for not being able to switch to man was that we did not have enough players, i believe this year with a deeper bench we should look to man more often.
 
Its the same story as last year, our perimeter defense is lacking, and every team knows it.

same play every time, drive up the middle, everyone crashes in, kick it out to the open corner for the 3, every team every time, watch the tape, the eye in the sky don't lie.

we are improving alot on the rebounds which is great, we just need a bit more help (sanchez cough)

last year our reason for not being able to switch to man was that we did not have enough players, i believe this year with a deeper bench we should look to man more often.
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do you think the crashing on the dribble drive has to do with Youth and not being disciplined? or does it fall on the staff
 
Tonight's game has far more to do with our defense or lack of, moreso than our offense. San Fran is carving us up.

I know it's early in the half, but this game might be over. I don't like the body english of the team.
Click to expand...

Greene should have been out of game 5 minutes ago...he hurt us bad...let the slow point guard beat him every time...and doesnt fight to get back in the play...gets caught in mismatches all night and doesnt fight one iota to defend...
Click to expand...

Slow point guard?? Are you kidding me! He changes speeds beautifully and understands angles, that is what it is all about; this is not track. The kid dominated us.......
Click to expand...

Not diminishing his skills...he was very crafty...but certainly not quick...we should have been able to limit his drives to the hoop
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Just have to agree to disagree; IMO he was quick. He had Pointer trailing more than once up the court and you don't see that very often.
 
The euphoric / gloom and doom extremes are funny. We are a decent team at this point, but one that lacks leadership. Lavin is a very good recruiter and decent game coach; he obviously did not properly adjust last night and lay off the point guard but he has made good adjustments in other games. At the end of the day, we are flawed, no point guard being the most glaring weakness. Lavin seems married to the helter skelter style and against some teams, especially those with good guard play (see Baylor and USF) that style can be exploited. Lay the blame on Lavin for both, but Harkless going after one year combined with Sanchez being ineligible has put a serious dent in the program. Make no mistake, Sanchez is a very talented, experienced, poised player. On this team his biggest contributions would have been his experience and excellent passing ability. Anyway, our program is light yeears ahead of where it was, and IMO not nearly it is going to eventually be. It takes time to build a program, just the way it is.
Click to expand...

I agree -- no time to panic. But if we have a sub-par year this year and lose Harrison and/or Sampson, can we truly expect to be "special" next year? Outside of the Kentuckys of the world, it's very difficult to have success without experience.
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The way I see it; there is "coachspeak" and there is reality. For instance, Lavin talked up Jones pre-season. Was that because he thought Jones was an instant BE starter or was he trying to light a fire under someone else (let's say Garrett or Pointer.) Regardless, many on the board took it to heart that Jones was not as good as advertised and this ridiculous thing about his rebounding got legs. Reality to me is that Lavin is building a program truly from scratch as is rarely seen in D1 circles. When or if we ever become "special" is not something I dwell on. I enjoy the style of play but agree wholeheartedly with your experience comment. As for panic - well that is not really a word I associate with a game.
 
Its the same story as last year, our perimeter defense is lacking, and every team knows it.

same play every time, drive up the middle, everyone crashes in, kick it out to the open corner for the 3, every team every time, watch the tape, the eye in the sky don't lie.

we are improving alot on the rebounds which is great, we just need a bit more help (sanchez cough)

last year our reason for not being able to switch to man was that we did not have enough players, i believe this year with a deeper bench we should look to man more often.
Click to expand...

do you think the crashing on the dribble drive has to do with Youth and not being disciplined? or does it fall on the staff
Click to expand...


It definitely has to do with youth, you see it, they play the zone and when they crash in they have 2 sometimes 3 people on one guy, its zone, stay out on the perimeter, he is out of your zone and you have some one else in the corner to guard, its like the forget about the corner 3.
 
It's the monotonous regularity of open threes that salts the wound and sharpens the pain.
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It really is amazing how many wide open 3 looks our defense gives up.
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Regardless of coach, this seems to be a running theme with the program for literally decades, give or take the occasional aberration.
 
Its the same story as last year, our perimeter defense is lacking, and every team knows it.

same play every time, drive up the middle, everyone crashes in, kick it out to the open corner for the 3, every team every time, watch the tape, the eye in the sky don't lie.

we are improving alot on the rebounds which is great, we just need a bit more help (sanchez cough)

last year our reason for not being able to switch to man was that we did not have enough players, i believe this year with a deeper bench we should look to man more often.
Click to expand...

do you think the crashing on the dribble drive has to do with Youth and not being disciplined? or does it fall on the staff
Click to expand...


It definitely has to do with youth, you see it, they play the zone and when they crash in they have 2 sometimes 3 people on one guy, its zone, stay out on the perimeter, he is out of your zone and you have some one else in the corner to guard, its like the forget about the corner 3.
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You chalk it up to Youth after a game or 2.

Not 8+ games in a row to start your season with high level recruits, from high level prep schools.

I'm not buying the "youth" crutch anymore.
 
SF really isn't THAT good, our defense just had its worst game all year and let a mid major team shoot 50% and 60% from 3. SF is by no means a juggernaut. They played the game of their lives and will likely shoot 30% from 3 the next game. Anyone can get hot on any given night. Had to expect that we lose at least 1 of these OOC games other than Murray or Baylor, so let's win the rest and we are in a good spot.
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They were favored.
Not an upset.
I'll stick with my 16-14 record.
Team just isn't good enough.
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Just to add, this is the third game in a row where USF has shot over 50% from 3. Pretty unbelievable stuff. De'end is shooting 75% from 3PG after his 3-3 last night. That will have to correct itself at some point I imagine.
 
Its the same story as last year, our perimeter defense is lacking, and every team knows it.

same play every time, drive up the middle, everyone crashes in, kick it out to the open corner for the 3, every team every time, watch the tape, the eye in the sky don't lie.

we are improving alot on the rebounds which is great, we just need a bit more help (sanchez cough)

last year our reason for not being able to switch to man was that we did not have enough players, i believe this year with a deeper bench we should look to man more often.
Click to expand...

do you think the crashing on the dribble drive has to do with Youth and not being disciplined? or does it fall on the staff
Click to expand...


It definitely has to do with youth, you see it, they play the zone and when they crash in they have 2 sometimes 3 people on one guy, its zone, stay out on the perimeter, he is out of your zone and you have some one else in the corner to guard, its like the forget about the corner 3.
Click to expand...

You chalk it up to Youth after a game or 2.

Not 8+ games in a row to start your season with high level recruits, from high level prep schools.

I'm not buying the "youth" crutch anymore.
Click to expand...

well its not the coaching, so what can you chalk it up to? trust among each other?
 
SF really isn't THAT good, our defense just had its worst game all year and let a mid major team shoot 50% and 60% from 3. SF is by no means a juggernaut. They played the game of their lives and will likely shoot 30% from 3 the next game. Anyone can get hot on any given night. Had to expect that we lose at least 1 of these OOC games other than Murray or Baylor, so let's win the rest and we are in a good spot.
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They were favored.
Not an upset.
I'll stick with my 16-14 record.
Team just isn't good enough.
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Just to add, this is the third game in a row where USF has shot over 50% from 3. Pretty unbelievable stuff. De'end is shooting 75% from 3PG after his 3-3 last night. That will have to correct itself at some point I imagine.
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Wouldnt mind so much seeing USF make the 3 if they were contested. But they had to many wide open looks. Its a combination of youth and coaching,
 
Its the same story as last year, our perimeter defense is lacking, and every team knows it.

same play every time, drive up the middle, everyone crashes in, kick it out to the open corner for the 3, every team every time, watch the tape, the eye in the sky don't lie.

we are improving alot on the rebounds which is great, we just need a bit more help (sanchez cough)

last year our reason for not being able to switch to man was that we did not have enough players, i believe this year with a deeper bench we should look to man more often.
Click to expand...

do you think the crashing on the dribble drive has to do with Youth and not being disciplined? or does it fall on the staff
Click to expand...


It definitely has to do with youth, you see it, they play the zone and when they crash in they have 2 sometimes 3 people on one guy, its zone, stay out on the perimeter, he is out of your zone and you have some one else in the corner to guard, its like the forget about the corner 3.
Click to expand...

You chalk it up to Youth after a game or 2.

Not 8+ games in a row to start your season with high level recruits, from high level prep schools.

I'm not buying the "youth" crutch anymore.
Click to expand...

well its not the coaching, so what can you chalk it up to? trust among each other?
Click to expand...

I absolutely chalk it up to coaching. Guy dribble penetrates and 3 defenders follow him into the lane?
 
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