Villanova Game
- Thread starter PARedman
- Start date
tom in salem
Well-known member
I remember during Dom's freshman year people comparing him to Lavor Postell.
More like LeVar Burton
Dom was a solid defender as a freshman. Now, he overplays all the time looking for steals and blocks, he was a better defensive player as a frosh IMO.
Thought Obekpa played well despite the ankle issues. Certainly altered and intimidated Nova's shot selection.
When he went out Nova attacked the basket and got many layups until his return. The ankle affected him
offensively and we were able to get nothing on that end. No matter how you look at it it was a very close
game that could have gone either way.
When he went out Nova attacked the basket and got many layups until his return. The ankle affected him
offensively and we were able to get nothing on that end. No matter how you look at it it was a very close
game that could have gone either way.
I go back and forth on Dom and can understand why Lav continues to play him...I just think that he has not yet grown to the point where he will let the game come to him...his desire to "make something happen" on defense and offense, not due to selfishness, but because he thinks it is his role is holding him back from taking that next step...
Although he continues to get time, I think Lavin has pulled minutes when warranted (just anecdotal not based on a study)
jumbo_peanuts
Active member
You want to schedule games against former BE teams? This is the board that once the official announcements were made about switching conferences, posters never wanted to play any of those teams ever again. There is such a limited amount of games that it would be really hard to do an annual home and home with a team out of conference. You can make the argument: but why even schedule Penn State or GT if they are going to be bad? The problem with the out of conference games is that that majority of the time, unless they are the Duke's or Michigan State's of the world, you never know what type of team they are going to be. For example, if it were a month before this season started, and say we would have had scheduled a game against Notre Dame, most people would have viewed that as a statement game and a chance to prove ourselves. But right now, they are a .500 team, and that game would do nothing for us if we win, but absolutely kill us if we lost. I would love to start a series with San Diego State or a school like that, but they are good right now, what are they going to be next year or the year after that? The only option is to get something worked out with the Kansas' of the world, but that is way easier said than done.
I agree with the preseason tournament idea...however, are not those invitation only? I don't think its a situation where the teams decide to just play in the tournaments and its an open invitation. I think you have to be chosen and then invited.
I think that the development of our own league will ultimately be way more important than our out of conference schedule. Butler is new to the conference and with a new head coach. If they can return to the Butler program of the past 5 or so years, then we will be fine. If creighton can remain strong after McDermott leaves, if georgetown and Marquette can have strong seasons each year, we will be fine. And if we continue to have success, the league will be alright.
How can you watch our games and say that he does nothing well? Thats crazy to me. He is a very good passer, did you see the one he gave sampson in the first half? He is very good at getting in the lane and im not sure where you see him being the worst defender on the team? Our guys constantly get beat of the dribble and you single him out as the worst defender of the bunch. Ever seen phil try to get around a screen?
Branches minutes per game in big east wins is close to double his minutes in big east loses. That says it all. Plain and simple this team is so much better when branch gets a fair shake of minutes. Im talking 20 minutes a game. The fact that dom and greene got a combined 53 minutes today compared to Jamals 6 is unbelievable. Dom pointer plays basketball, Jamal Branch is a basketball player. There is a huge difference.
The addition of St. Louis to the BE, which I think is supposed to occur next season, should strengthen our conference schedule. They made a commitment to their b-ball program several years ago and continue to improve. Right now they sit at #10 in the rankings, although I'm not sure why. No wins over ranked opponents this season (close losses to Wichita and Wisconsin), and OT wins against George Mason. Go figure
Branch is an excellent passer. He makes some boneheaded passes but he has some of the most fantastic passes I have seen from a pg at sju. His passes are bullets and his no look passes are a thing of beauty. when he gets the ball he doesn't just sit there and hold it he passes it around very quickly which keeps the other defense off guard and aside from Jordan he is our best guy at taking it to the hoop and drawing contact and he is a great finisher on his drives
Heck it's him and Jordan when in the game that make Phil Green better because they get him the ball in a position to take open shots which are Phil's best chance of making a shot instead of his running off balance falling backward shots
I won't argue the Pointer/ Branch topic but one skill Branch has is that he can get the ball to a big man down low. Jordan is the only other player who seems to be able to do this.
The other problem is that the big men can't do anything with the ball when they get it. If this team expects to play in the top 25 plateau next year some semblance of an inside game must be established to open up the court for the jump shooters.
The other problem is that the big men can't do anything with the ball when they get it. If this team expects to play in the top 25 plateau next year some semblance of an inside game must be established to open up the court for the jump shooters.
Our guys had plenty of open looks that just didn't go down. If we have even a decent shooting day from out top 3 offensive options, the game would have been won. We tend to over-analyze the fundamental flaws in our offense after a close loss. We just needed to make some easy shots that weren't made.
BOB BARKER
Member
Will give Harrison pass on 4/15 shooting bec he scored 30+ pts last year; will give Greene pass bec he made first (2) 3 pt shots;to put sj back in game,when it appeared this was the usual bad start...
blackpeter24
Active member
To each his own. I hate when I see Branch coming into a game and it is even worse when I have to watch his careless, uninspired play.
I have said this before, I look at the way we play sometimes more than the result. Injuries, babies, they just become excuses to me when we play the way we played. I don't think they played pretty well at all on offense. Defense we played well even with the ability of the Nova guards to break ours down. But offensively, we just reverted back to one on one crap and that is just not going to win at this level.
Avon Barksdale
Member
Yes I would be open to home and homes with teams who left the Big East. While we may not be able to predict the success of certain programs when we agree to a home and home with them, i would bet the house that scheduling the likes of UConn, Cinci, Memphis, (AAC), UCLA, Arizona, USC (Pac 12), Cuse, UVA, UNC (ACC),...etc etc etc would absolutely be more conducive for us to position ourself for a good seed in the NCAAs than scheduling powerhouses like Dartmouth, Youngstown State, Longwood, Monmouth and Wagner (to name a few). We dont even play the good mid/low majors from New York. Fordham is a laughing stock. We dont play Iona who is going to win the MAAC. Manhattan has 20 wins and we dont play them. High major teams would want to schedule us because they can come to New York and play in MSG. Its not as hard as youre making it seem.
I understand the idea of getting wins under our belt, but depending on other programs to be successful and make the league respectable is a lot to ask since there are a lot of question marks with these programs like Butler now that Stevens is coaching the Celtics and Creighton after this year when McDermott leaves. The reality is that we may have to be one of the leaders if we want this thing to work. Look at it this year - look at the drop off after the top 2. We cannot rely on other programs to make this a formidable conference. We should be scheduling any team willing to play us. For years we had a top 5 Strength of Schedule and just because we are in a realigned conference should not stop us from having a top schedule.