Postgame observations

Another post game observation.

The concession line went quicker but those beef pattie things that look like empenadas suck and were cold which is real surprising because if they would let them sit up in the upper level they'd cook in 5 minutes because its so hot there
 
Where's out stat guy ESPNKEN?
Hope he's OK-been a while.
Points in the paint.
Not like us not to win that battle.
Rebounds-see above.
Transition baskets-just not there.
Tough to win with only 3 guns-Harrison, Greene and Sampson.
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What we really need is a PF...(Sanchez). Sampson has proven to me at least that he is really a player that can be our starting SF, he's starting to shoot to range and really play well inside an out. IMO the addition of a PF who can give us more inside both on offense and defense, would be welcome. Sanchez is likely that guy, and Jones hasn't shown yet that he is able to put up PF stats on the glass. Nothing wrong with that, but it might take him longer.

I don't expect Obekpa to be ready yet so I don't expect a ton of offense frm him. Can't ask much more than he's doing already. We're missing our likely starting PF and I think it is re noticeable now. Neither Jones, Sir'Dom nor Amir have shown that they can step into that spot effectively on the glass and scoring-wise. Hope we get Sanchez cleared soon. No doubt he'll start next to Obekpa and Sampson in the frontcourt if and when he does.

Our transition game will be fine. Holy cross tried to stop our transition game. I think we tried to slow our game down a little bit too just to get more work in the half- court. I thought our guys moved their feet better on defense, but still not crisp with switches and assignments.

Addition of Branch will certainly help our backcourt rotation. We have all seen now that Balamou can play. dding another Pg that can play will make us tough to handle depth-wise down the stretch with 4 really good guards.

Bottom line is that it was a win. We looked a lot less tired than prior games, but still have things to work on which I think is understandable. I don't know why some are disappointed that we didn't win by more. I don't expect us to be in post-season form just yet, especially as a team this young.

Most important things we need to work on are:

1) get Sanchez on the court
2) rebounding position
3 defense


The offense will come and we are doing a decent job as is. I've watched a ton of SJU teams that could it score like these guys can. Can't be upset with a double digit win, even if we didn't beat them by 30.
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In fairness, very tough for anyone to develop a rhythm as the shots are dominated by Harrison-Greene...Dont get me wrong, they are playing well...just not going to be successful unless others can get involved...

I thought Jones was playing well and then he got benched for most of 2nd half...not sure why Bourgault got no PT....we need to develop outside threats and these are games to do it...His body language at half time gave me the impression he wasn't happy (unless that is just his style)
 
Is anyone with me in thinking that Sampson should be taking more shots than Harrison?

With opponents having to have to watch Harrison on the perimeter and to some extent Greene as well - the defense can't really help on Sampson. He basically can just spot up and shoot over most defenders, even if there is a guy on him. I am not a believe in Sampson's shooting form, but i'm now a believer in his results from shooting jumpers. His mid-range game is there. I am surprised. It seems that his mid-range shot is better than Harkless's shot. I also like the fact that he doesn't take three's (yet). He seems to know the limitations of his range.

I should add: I think Sampson should only take shots when he's set, going straight up in the air.. don't give him a green light (like Harrison seems to have) to allow him to force it whenever he wants to.

I think Harrison would benefit too - without having to force as many shots up - he'll become a more efficient shooter.

thoughts?
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Harrison is a warrior and we need him....But, I sometime get the impression that he knows how many points he has at all times...may be wrong..but he seems to want to force it up from anywhere and against anyone...prime example tonight was him going up underneath basket with TWO much taller players on him
 
If we get Sanchez soon, then the calculated risk will be fine and probably worth it. If we aren't, then we better consider not redshirting Gift because as of now our most glaring weakness is a bonafide Big East PF, and we have 2 sitting on the bench. At this point, we really could/can use Gift and I hope redshirting him is really worth it.
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Exactly!
 
Obekpa with 6 blocks - influences the game heavily without any offense.
I was happy that Obekpa seemed to put away his jump shot.

Garrett - only 2 shots. His mid-range jump shot is better than that. They have to get him a few more looks.
Pointer took about 3 too many crazy shots (shooting 1 for 5). His shots should go to Garret.

I like Sampson bringing up the ball on the intermediate break. The opposing team is afraid that he is going to drive down the middle and flush it down the hoop, so he draws a lot of defenders. For a couple of plays he just drove to the free throw line, stopped - turned around and dumped it off to either a wide open Harrison or Greene. that' a smart play.
 
Obekpa with 6 blocks - influences the game heavily without any offense.
I was happy that Obekpa seemed to put away his jump shot.

Garrett - only 2 shots. His mid-range jump shot is better than that. They have to get him a few more looks.
Pointer took about 3 shoot too many crazy shots (shooting 1 for 5). His shots should go to Garret.

I like Sampson bringing up the ball on the intermediate break. The team is afraid that he is going to drive down the middle and flush it down the hoop, so he draws a lot of defenders. I a couple of plays he just drive to the free throw line, stopped - turned around and dumped it off to either a wide open Harrison or Greene. that' a smart play.
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Guys need to get to their spots in secondary transition. Too many times our guys ignored the #'s and pulled it back for a halfcourt set. I'd like to see the team try to convert more there because they have the #'s, the defense will be out of positin for the rebounds, and they D is far more prone to commit a foul.
 
If we get Sanchez soon, then the calculated risk will be fine and probably worth it. If we aren't, then we better consider not redshirting Gift because as of now our most glaring weakness is a bonafide Big East PF, and we have 2 sitting on the bench. At this point, we really could/can use Gift and I hope redshirting him is really worth it.
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Exactly!
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100% right
If Sanchez is not deemed eligible, it would be a huge mistake to redshirt GG
We were manhandled inside tonight by a Patriot League team
Offensively, we looked fine when we ran sets but often freelanced, dribbled aimlessly too much and got low % shots
Defensively, we switch too much and often wind up with a guard mismatched against their big in the paint
Right now, we are fundamentally flawed at both ends of the court
What saves us is our team speed and athleticism
The kinks need to be worked out before the BE season begins if we are going to be competitive
 
Obekpa with 6 blocks - influences the game heavily without any offense.
I was happy that Obekpa seemed to put away his jump shot.

Garrett - only 2 shots. His mid-range jump shot is better than that. They have to get him a few more looks.
Pointer took about 3 shoot too many crazy shots (shooting 1 for 5). His shots should go to Garret.

I like Sampson bringing up the ball on the intermediate break. The team is afraid that he is going to drive down the middle and flush it down the hoop, so he draws a lot of defenders. I a couple of plays he just drive to the free throw line, stopped - turned around and dumped it off to either a wide open Harrison or Greene. that' a smart play.
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Guys need to get to their spots in secondary transition. Too many times our guys ignored the #'s and pulled it back for a halfcourt set. I'd like to see the team try to convert more there because they have the #'s, the defense will be out of positin for the rebounds, and they D is far more prone to commit a foul.
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Completely agree. Idk how many times I saw us in transition with numbers, only for one of our players to stop, turn around and dribble it out a bit as the defenders caught up. The aggression was lacking for much of the game IMO. You may not get a clean shot, but damn at least drive hard in the paint and draw a foul or something...maybe you get the and 1. I feel like we just gave up trying to create our own lanes at times and settled for perimeter shots. We had the size advantage on most of the guys...use it. Still can't believe Garret missed 2 easy dunks and Greene missed a layup. All those stupid mistakes add up by the end of the game and can cost you 10 pts if not more.
 
maybe it's me, but through all the games thus far I've noticed that we don't have as many break away dunks/lay ups as i was expecting...i thought with our athleticism and pressure that we'd have a bunch of easy baskets
 
Felix looks like a nice 4 year player.. That much I can tell from tonight's game. Does the little things I like to see
 
maybe it's me, but through all the games thus far I've noticed that we don't have as many break away dunks/lay ups as i was expecting...i thought with our athleticism and pressure that we'd have a bunch of easy baskets
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Actually, against Murray State and Baylor, we were killing both of them when we were running the court and in transition. It was when they adjusted a bit that we stalled in our half court. I felt like this game we worked on our half court game a bit more just for the sake if it. I also think Holy Cross focused on slowing it down and did. We have to find that perfect balance much like our 2010 team had where we pushed the ball a ton and if we didn't have anything, we ran our sets. Right now we're a bit wild, but we are very talented. We're just not that smart yet as a team overall. I think and hope that will come. As of now, we just need to keep plugging and developing our collective game. More game tape, practice and hopefully the kids fall in line with what they have to do to win.
 
maybe it's me, but through all the games thus far I've noticed that we don't have as many break away dunks/lay ups as i was expecting...i thought with our athleticism and pressure that we'd have a bunch of easy baskets
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Actually, against Murray State and Baylor, we were killing both of them when we were running the court and in transition. It was when they adjusted a bit that we stalled in our half court. I felt like this game we worked on our half court game a bit more just for the sake if it. I also think Holy Cross focused on slowing it down and did. We have to find that perfect balance much like our 2010 team had where we pushed the ball a ton and if we didn't have anything, we ran our sets. Right now we're a bit wild, but we are very talented. We're just not that smart yet as a team overall. I think and hope that will come. As of now, we just need to keep plugging and developing our collective game. More game tape, practice and hopefully the kids fall in line with what they have to do to win.
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To keep this minimal since we all saw the same game, to kind of touch on some of MCNPA's comments, the 10-11 team did not hit their stride until BE play. Yes they were all seniors, but they were also playing a completely new system (some will argue, playing a system at all). The 10-11 team lost to Fordham and St. Bonaventure! They also struggled with Columbia and Wagner, in games very similar to tonight's game. Just give it time. The important thing is to not lose any of these games, since we cannot afford a bad loss. Just keep winning and it will all cure itself by the time the BE roles around.
 
Obekpa with 6 blocks - influences the game heavily without any offense.
I was happy that Obekpa seemed to put away his jump shot.

Garrett - only 2 shots. His mid-range jump shot is better than that. They have to get him a few more looks.
Pointer took about 3 shoot too many crazy shots (shooting 1 for 5). His shots should go to Garret.

I like Sampson bringing up the ball on the intermediate break. The team is afraid that he is going to drive down the middle and flush it down the hoop, so he draws a lot of defenders. I a couple of plays he just drive to the free throw line, stopped - turned around and dumped it off to either a wide open Harrison or Greene. that' a smart play.
Click to expand...

Guys need to get to their spots in secondary transition. Too many times our guys ignored the #'s and pulled it back for a halfcourt set. I'd like to see the team try to convert more there because they have the #'s, the defense will be out of positin for the rebounds, and they D is far more prone to commit a foul.
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Branch in the open floor would probably cash in on those advantages. These guys need to take it easy sometimes.
 
maybe it's me, but through all the games thus far I've noticed that we don't have as many break away dunks/lay ups as i was expecting...i thought with our athleticism and pressure that we'd have a bunch of easy baskets
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Need a true PG for that
 
Our guards do not D up well at all. My guy Phil Greene--love him--but he has to do a better job stayin in front of his man. It probably won't be long before Balamou becomes the best defensive option we have. I though Dom would have come back a manchild in this area, but he hasn't.
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Actually thought Dom played a great game defensively. Remember, he was guarding a quick 5'9 guy for most of the game. Branch coming back will be huge in the sense that he can guard the point allowing Dom to guard 2s & 3s
 
The weakside help in the post was non existent last night. Lavin is teaching his big men to front their man in the hole. When the ball is lobbed over their head there was absolutely no help, leading to a lot of easy baskets for HC, which is not exactly loaded with big, athletic players. We have a lot of work to do on defense, and games like this are good practice at learning D and still coming away with wins against lesser competition.
 
Sampson is our best player
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Way back when in 1999 I was given a #14 jersey (do you remember who wore that # back then?).

Been waiting for years to wear it again with some relevance.

Looks like Jakaar will be bringing 14 back to style. This guy is the real deal.
 
Sampson is our best player
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Way back when in 1999 I was given a #14 jersey (do you remember who wore that # back then?).

Been waiting for years to wear it again with some relevance.

Looks like Jakaar will be bringing 14 back to style. This guy is the real deal.
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I'm not good with uniform numbers but I'm pretty sure that was Bootsy
 
Yeah, the rebounding and transition baskets (lack thereof) are mysteries to me. I am hopeful they will come in time. And, the 2 missing guys will do a great deal to lengthen the rotation, and hopefully fill some of these gaps. I still think this will be a really good season (unless we don't get Sanchez cleared). Even then, we will be more than competitive.
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Well we don't get transition baskets because we don't rebound and we have no PG; not really a mystery at all
 
maybe it's me, but through all the games thus far I've noticed that we don't have as many break away dunks/lay ups as i was expecting...i thought with our athleticism and pressure that we'd have a bunch of easy baskets
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Except we are not generating much pressure; our guard D is extremely weak; why Pointer had to play Burrell in the 2nd half. That and Balumou's (sp?) hustle turned the game around.
 
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