(POST GAME) (MSG) Villanova, Tue., Feb. 8 , 8:30p, FS-1
- Thread starter Johnny Rapper
- Start date
Unfortunately that game was probably the nail in the coffin for our NCAA tournament hopes, barring a sweep of Xavier and/or Marquette (not happening) and/or a run to at least the finals of the BET. It sucks because I believe with Posh we win that game (just as with Champ we presumably win the Pitt game).
Hopefully Coach is right and the team goes on a run now, even if they come up short of the preseason goal. Would like to see these kids have some success.
As for the game:
- I love Wusu, but a point guard he isn't. Losing Pinzon for the year has really hurt us and obviously with Posh out it was brutal.
- If somebody has the plus/minus numbers for Mathis, I really wonder whether his defense gives us more than his offense takes away. My guess is it's kind of a wash but he really cannot shoot at all and does not use good judgment about his drives to the rim. It's painful.
- For me the goat of the game was Soriano. He got absolutely abused by Dixon on multiple occasions, giving up the baseline for (relatively) easy baskets. At Soriano's size there is just no excuse for Dixon to be able to do that to him. On the other hand Nyiwe put in a terrific (for him) effort when he was on the floor, as did Stanley (a well-known LMF favorite).
- Major props to Wheeler (obviously) for knowing that someone had to step up and then going and being that guy.
- Champ looked a bit better offensively than he has most of the season. He missed his share of shots, but they were on target and he also hit some shots too.
Sigh.
Hopefully Coach is right and the team goes on a run now, even if they come up short of the preseason goal. Would like to see these kids have some success.
As for the game:
- I love Wusu, but a point guard he isn't. Losing Pinzon for the year has really hurt us and obviously with Posh out it was brutal.
- If somebody has the plus/minus numbers for Mathis, I really wonder whether his defense gives us more than his offense takes away. My guess is it's kind of a wash but he really cannot shoot at all and does not use good judgment about his drives to the rim. It's painful.
- For me the goat of the game was Soriano. He got absolutely abused by Dixon on multiple occasions, giving up the baseline for (relatively) easy baskets. At Soriano's size there is just no excuse for Dixon to be able to do that to him. On the other hand Nyiwe put in a terrific (for him) effort when he was on the floor, as did Stanley (a well-known LMF favorite).
- Major props to Wheeler (obviously) for knowing that someone had to step up and then going and being that guy.
- Champ looked a bit better offensively than he has most of the season. He missed his share of shots, but they were on target and he also hit some shots too.
Sigh.
Coaster post=456630 said:
Coaster, I believe you mean after each field goal as the clock doesn't run on free throws unless it is a miss after the last shot and it is touched by a player or the ball in in bounded.
Yes they did take their sweet time in picking up ball going to the line and in bounding after all made baskets in the first game, they tried to get away with it last night and correct the refs weren't going for it. It is a tactic that is used to control tempo, make sure you are set up properly against the press and to shorten the game (the latter doesn't matter after made free throws since the clock doesn't run). Nova still used it effectively enough except for the latter minutes when they almost blew the game.
lawmanfan post=456634 said:
Well done & agree on Dixon doing his Danya Abrams impression on Soriano. Dixon is much improved this year but to dominate Joel inside like that in key spurts was unacceptable, set a tone and helped compensate for lack of fire power from Moore and Gillespie
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lawmanfan post=456634 said:
All great points. Regarding Dixon, I was surprised we didn't adjust our efforts to denying him the ball. He had already proved to be a physical mismatch, yet we continued allowing him to get the ball way too close to the basket.
Lawman fan, good points. I too would like to see plus/minus numbers for Mathis and it really is painful. He should not be shooting from downtown unless he is wide (and I mean wide open) before there are 10 seconds on the shot clock and if guarded, less than five.
Watching him trying to defend against a couple of Nova's football type passes to inbound the ball reminded me of watching former Giant Elvis "Toast" Patterson trying to play corner back.
Watching him trying to defend against a couple of Nova's football type passes to inbound the ball reminded me of watching former Giant Elvis "Toast" Patterson trying to play corner back.
Newsday reported attendance as: 9,712
[URL]https://www.newsday.com/sports/college/st-johns/st-john-s-villanova-basketball-1.50503781[/URL]
[URL]https://www.newsday.com/sports/college/st-johns/st-john-s-villanova-basketball-1.50503781[/URL]
SJU85 post=456644 said:
I think you're being overly generous with your license to Montez to shoot. I know they sometimes go in but if I were coaching the rule would be "if it isn't an uncontested drive to the rim or a drive to the rim against someone who is more or less your size, pass the damn ball." The only circumstance in which I would authorize him to take a shot other than a layup or a dunk would be if there are under 3 seconds on the shot clock AND he's open.
I love his toughness and defense but there is never a moment when Montez is taking a jump shot and I think "oh, good," it's always "oh no, why is he doing that???"
The biggest difference between SJU and Villanova to me is that Villanova knows exactly what shots they want and who will take them and have precise motion and spacing that allows them to execute that while SJU seems to be more basic movements to give the players opportunities or requires them to make one on one moves to generate shots. How many step back jumpers do you see Villanova take unless the shot clock is winding down?lawmanfan post=456648 said:
Knight post=456646 said:
Saw on Twitter that 1500 tickets were given to NYPD
Mathis seems to play as if he’s a scorer. It’s almost as if he doesn’t realize his offensive game is very bad. His basketball IQ on offensive side of the ball is terrible. His jumper and his ability to finish drives are poor. He forces shots from all over the court. His 1 for 14 was not an off night. It’s not unexpected. What’s unexpected is that he took 14 shots. If you looked at the shots he took, most left you throwing your hands up in the air and saying WTF is he doing. More than half the shots he took had no chance. They’d be poor shots for anyone to take, the fact that your worst offensive player is taking them and the coach doesn’t put a stop to it is extremely frustrating. He should make it a goal to never take more than 5 shots a game. And those 5 shots better be high quality shots. Also, as a team there were way to many deep three point shots taken with at least twenty seconds left on the shot clock. Nova is not that great a team this year. I don’t see one definite NBA player on that roster. They’re very good college players. Their team is undersized and depth is a problem for them. I don’t see them making a deep run in the tournament this year and wouldn’t be surprised to see them knocked out in the Big East tournament. Not saying they’re a bad team, just not on the level of past Nova teams. Basically, they were beatable. They continue to win because they have a game plan and they continue to execute it better than the rest of the league. They are consistent in their effort and fundamentals. Talent wise, they are not on another level compared to the rest of the league.
Ray Morgan
Well-known member
I compare Villanova to Greg Maddux. For years, Maddux won without overpowering stuff. He just didn't make mistakes and eventually his reputation for having great control meant he was given an unusually large strike zone. If it was near the corner, it was called a strike.
Wright has every player on the same page. They don't overpower you, just fundamental you to death. Every player knows how to back down his defender, and do so patiently. Some of our guys drive and panic sets in. Nova normally doesn't panic, with the last 4 minutes being a rare exception. They don't get called for a lot of fouls, which in part is their disciplined play and part is the deference they get from the referees. You look at each piece, and don't see a superstar. But they have multiple players with an array of skill sets they can rely on. Plus they compete. That abomination after a missed Nova free throw, where a Nova player walked around Stanley to create a loose ball, followed by Coburn trying to gather that loose ball without diving for it is an example. Several Nova players were on the ground and wanted the ball more, even though they had a lead and needed the game less than st. John's.
Wright has every player on the same page. They don't overpower you, just fundamental you to death. Every player knows how to back down his defender, and do so patiently. Some of our guys drive and panic sets in. Nova normally doesn't panic, with the last 4 minutes being a rare exception. They don't get called for a lot of fouls, which in part is their disciplined play and part is the deference they get from the referees. You look at each piece, and don't see a superstar. But they have multiple players with an array of skill sets they can rely on. Plus they compete. That abomination after a missed Nova free throw, where a Nova player walked around Stanley to create a loose ball, followed by Coburn trying to gather that loose ball without diving for it is an example. Several Nova players were on the ground and wanted the ball more, even though they had a lead and needed the game less than st. John's.
beast of the east
Active member
RedStormNC post=456651 said:
I don't know if you guys watching at home know. But sju honored the families of the murdered nyc cops during a timeout. A long applause and cheer followed which continued after detective Rivera's widow hoisted the ball high over her head both in honor of her hero husband and to our fans. Great moment and a classy move by our school.
Ray Morgan post=456653 said:
These are the things that make my head explode. Though overall the rebounding has actually improved as of late.
The thing that consistently aggravates me is the continual charging at/into/past the 3-point shooters, which is a product of the defensive approach just as the "get the ball to your playmakers and let them make plays" versus " structured offense" is a product of the offensive approach.
I understand and accept that you can win games either way and have seen teams do that over the years, but damn our way can be painful when it isn't working consistently.
The comments about Mathis leads to a study of Anderson’s offensive game plan. If the defensive pressure doesn’t lead to an easy basket the five SJU players on the floor will work the ball until anyone of them feels he has an open shot and anyone of the five is free to take that shot.
Last year it was Dunn , this year it is Mathis , two good defensive players and floor players who just can’t make shots outside fifteen feet but that doesn’t stop them from taking those shots. Mullin had Simon with similar skills but he controlled those outside shot attempts. I think Anderson has to realize not every player on the floor is Seth Curry and some type of curb is warranted.
Last night the Vill guard with the bad ankle missed his first five outside attempts probably because of the ankle and he stopped shooting. Let someone else with a better chance of making a shot take it. That is certainly not SJUs strategy which seems to be if you feel it take it and for a team that has been devoid of outside shooters forever it doesn’t make sense.
Last year it was Dunn , this year it is Mathis , two good defensive players and floor players who just can’t make shots outside fifteen feet but that doesn’t stop them from taking those shots. Mullin had Simon with similar skills but he controlled those outside shot attempts. I think Anderson has to realize not every player on the floor is Seth Curry and some type of curb is warranted.
Last night the Vill guard with the bad ankle missed his first five outside attempts probably because of the ankle and he stopped shooting. Let someone else with a better chance of making a shot take it. That is certainly not SJUs strategy which seems to be if you feel it take it and for a team that has been devoid of outside shooters forever it doesn’t make sense.
SJU Double Alumn
Member
Our offense is the furthest thing from a just go one-on-one and make a play approach.lawmanfan post=456657 said: