No Good, Bad, and Ugly today. For a couple of reasons, I guess. The first is that I don't know if there's a ton I could put in the Good column, and I always feel badly about writing an article that has more criticism than praise. The second is that I'm not sure it's fair to do a Good, Bad, and Ugly based on the performance last night. Our guys were overmatched in pretty much every way. Bob Huggins has an incredibly athletic team, they play tough physical basketball. You cannot realistically be that surprised that we dropped this game against West Virginia; you just can't. The Patriot League is a very weak league, and even a great PL team (which we're not yet this season) is going to be pretty evenly matched by anyone in the Big East.
I do have some thoughts about the game though. I went back and watched it last night after missing most of it live. Anyway, here are my thoughts. I look forward to seeing yours in the comments.
- While some folks last night in the liveblog were hoping for the moral victory of keeping WVU under their season scoring average (~80), that was almost inevitable facing an AU team that plays a much slower style than a lot of other major conference teams will. It's good that we held them to 71, but Jeff Jones himself has said that shooting percentage defense is the metric by which his teams usually excel. Well, WVU shot 51% for the night last night.
- We really do not know what to do with a fast break. I find myself wishing every time we get a break that whoever is leading it will pull up and wait to get set because the ball handling/movement in the lane/finishing that we get on most of our fast breaks (Hendra excepted once or twice last night) is just reckless bordering on sad.
- The scoring drought we had in the first 10 minutes of the first half really sunk us from the very start. We had our looks, they just wouldn't drop. Much different first half if one or two of those 3's or tip-ins goes in, quiets the crowd, and pumps our guys up. Later in the game you have to give credit to WVU's defense which limited our shot selection, but our shots were there toward the beginning of the game and we didn't take advantage.
- Nice play from Blake toward the end of the game last night where slashed into the lane, double-clutched in the air and made the shot, drew contact, and hit the FT from the line. Very, very nice play. Some liveblog participants then called for more playing time for Blake and noted that he drove into the lane better than Munoz or Luptak have all year. Eh. I don't buy it. I've been critical of Danny and Steve, but I'll lay off for last night's performance. Just two turnovers combined for 38 minutes of work against the frontcourt, including Truck Bryant, of a tenacious Big East team? That's pretty good. Yes, Wayne Simon II looked fast on defense last night, but he's playing against a team with nothing to play for at the end of the game. Glad to see Blake and Wayne get some playing time. But Blake especially is not suddenly going to see his minutes skyrocket because of one good play in garbage time. I'll be curious to see what JJ does with Blake going forward (and I mean next year, not next week). If Blake works on his outside game he could maybe be converted into a Nick Hendra type player instead of a PG.
- Lump was just overmatched down low last night. From the plays I saw he was playing good defense, getting his hands in Kilicli's face and Deniz just shot right over him. Not Lump's best game, but he's got to be pushed to learn, and he's not being pushed by the big men he's faced so far this year (St. Francis aside).
- Good to see Riley get some minutes last night, but you can pretty easily see now why he hasn't gotten minutes now Daniel Fisher's hands have improved and Tony Wroblicky has come in. Riley just cannot bang inside. He didn't do it last year, and he didn't do it last night. It looks like he wants to have the kind of style that Vlad does, but he doesn't have the finesse or the touch to pull off those 18 foot shots, and he doesn't have the frame to bang inside. So he'll probably be relegated way down the depth chart for a while.
- Just want to reiterate how hard it is to play passionate defense and stay motivated when you can't sink anything on the offensive end and you keep falling farther and farther behind. Wish we'd been able to make a couple of those three point shots (when I came in, we were 1-13, oof.)
I dunno, like I said: you can't be surprised we lost last night to WVU. You can't be surprised if we lose to Florida either. Just have to keep growing as a team and improving against superior opponents.
Leave your thoughts in the comments.
Pro deo et patria and GO EAGLES!
B^3 -- You hit it on the nose, we were overmatched. And once we fell behind quickly against a team (at home) that plays such tenacious shot-denying defense, our chances (not unexpectedly) became slim. There were flashes of talent - Vlad, of course, Hendra's hustle, Lump in the first few minutes, and Troy's hops; and it was fun to see the young guys hustle around the floor. I would like to see more of Simon M. He seems to be able to get to the basket, when nobody else can and has a nose for it, once there. Anyway, it was great to see the game on TV and hear the positive comments about some of our guys, JJ, and our potential in our conference. Now we have to just live up to it!
ReplyDeleteTake the money and run!
ReplyDeleteEven if AU loses to a top program, it is great experience and this heightened competition will only make the team better.
ReplyDeleteConcerning the guard position, I completely agree that based solely on the last few minutes of a one-sided game, one cannot state that Blake will see many more minutes because he drove to the basket and scored. However, in a game where neither Luptak nor Munoz had a field goal, I think it really excites us as AU fans to see a glimpse of something that we have desired so much this year, i.e., solid penetration to the hoop. As stated many times on this blog, it is impossible to out coach JJ, but as fans it is exciting to speculate the what ifs... With this said, the issues with the point guard position have been brought up numerous times by JJ even before the season started. So, especially when the teams plays some of the most talented guards in the country, these issues will arise. Of course, it would be great to see Blake play like he did last night in the last two minutes for an entire game, but if that doesn't happen, then we know as fans that JJ will do the best with the group he has, so we continue to trust in him, but will also continue to enjoy offering our insight as loyal fans because in the end we just want to see the team do as well as it can with the players that it has.
Very well said, AU Alum. I'm all for the speculating and insights brought by the fan base to this site!
ReplyDeleteI wonder how meaningful Jolivette's play was, one way or the other, when it came against the end of the WVU bench. Their PG at the time was a walk-on who rarely plays - a player not nearly as good as Jolivette - and three of the other guys on the court at the time are not in their regular rotation.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I wouldn't get too worked up over Blake's drive. I think JJ has made it quite clear that he doesn't think Blake is as good as Luptak defensively. We just have to accept the fact that point guard is going to be a struggle this season. There just isn't anybody better at the moment. Hopefully that changes during the course of the season as Simon or Blake flashes during practice; Fisher, for example, seems to have earned his way into the rotation after getting next to no PT last season. So it can happen.
ReplyDeleteI actually thought Vlad played well against WVU, even though his shot wasn't falling; he did a lot of other good things out there. Otherwise, we were outclassed at every position.
While I understand the reasons behind Blake not playing this season (Luptak better on defense, Munoz doesn't turn the ball over much), it really wouldn't have hurt to put him in during the 2nd half to change up play a bit. It didn't look like we were going to win with the squad we had out there for most of the game, so at that point, why not put in Blake for awhile? They had nothing to lose. He literally might be the only guy who has any sort of a dribble-drive ability on the team, so why not change it up. Munoz and Luptak did literally nothing offensively, so what was was there to lose. I think Jones has to start taking some more chances. Conservative approach WILL NOT work against great programs like WVU.
ReplyDeleteDon't agree with our point guards being outclassed. They handled their pressure easily. AU - 5 Assists, 2 TO, 2 Pts., 2 Steals. WVU - 6 Assists, 4 TO, 11 Pts., 1 Steal. Outclassed????
ReplyDeleteI agree with anonymous. I thought our point guards played as well as we could expect considering WVU's speed and athleticism. If anything it was the big men and forwards who generally got handled.
ReplyDeleteWith regards to the PG position, I think Munoz should start. Besides Luptak being a senior and maybe providing some sort of leadership role, I don't think he adds a lot of value. He averages less than 1 ppg, and his shooting % and ft % are extremely low (granted he only takes about 1-2 shots per game). Munoz has more potential (being a sophomore) and has shown ability to knock down threes (despite his 3 pt % being low, it's still the 3rd best on the team) and make plays happen. I think he also has the ability to penetrate when he wants to, although plays typically call for getting the ball to Vlad, Lumpkins or Troy. And he's pretty good defensively despite a lot of stupid fouls.
I also think that, while most people think we don't have a true pg, Jones should play someone (preferably Munoz) for a bulk of the minutes instead of having them play 5 minutes here, 5 minutes there. As a former basketball player, I can say that having to go in and out significantly disrupts your rhythm as a player. By being in longer, you build up a comfort level because you have more time to understand the tendencies of the opposing player both offensively and defensively. You can just get into a better rhythm and a better comfort level. Not to mention your confidence level goes up significantly if you know you're probably going to stay in the game for a while.
I just don't understand Jones' system of splitting time. I honestly can't name any schools off the top of my head who do that.
"I always feel badly about writing an article that has more criticism than praise."
ReplyDeleteReally? Are you working for athletics or something?
If Athletics read that question, they'd break their ribs laughing.
ReplyDeleteThe reason I feel badly about writing an article that has more criticism than praise is because at the end of the day, these are college students. They aren't getting paid to do this (I suppose you can say they are with scholarships, fine). They feel bad when they lose; especially when they lose to a team like WVU. I feel no compulsion to pile onto that. These are guys with problems I related to two short years ago. Homework, finals, papers, social life, etc. They work hard at practice to do things I will never, ever be talented enough to do. So yeah, excuse me if every once in a while I skip over classifying their efforts into GOOD, BAD, or UGLY categories.
At the end of the day, the men's basketball team has brought me hours and hours of enjoyment and some of my best collegiate memories. I'm indebted to the work they do to provide me with one of my favorite hobbies.
So no, I don't work for Athletics. But yes, I do, at times, find moments of compassion when David gets beaten by Goliath.
WVU was overplaying us on the perimeter. AU did very well to limit our 'bad' turnovers. In fact, we had one less TO than against Columbia. But this meant that we needed to move the ball more quickly when an opportunity presented itself inside. And once we got the opportunity, we needed to put away the shot.
ReplyDeleteI don't find a lot to criticize on AU's part. WVU made shots, AU didn't, and in the second half they crashed the boards very well, especially when Lump or Vlad went out. We don't have the playmaking they do, and Casey Mitchell can wreck a defense all by his lonesome self. Our only lapse in defense was our boxing out in the second half. We covered them pretty well all over the court.
Lump put on some great moves, as we are used to seeing. But sometimes a chip shot does not fall for him, as we are used to seeing as well. Right now, he cannot make a solid team like WVU pay for single coverage. Much of the time, AU did everything right except score the points.
Both Luptak and Munoz are back- up PG's on their best days. So what else can be expected against a team like WVU? They couldn't even play with the Columbia PG. W-3 is not ready, and unless there is a thaw in the JJ-Blake relationship, mop up duty may be all he sees. The situation at PG is what it is, and hopefully it will not sink our PL Championship aspirations during the last 3 games of this season.
ReplyDeleteSlowing the game was a good tactic, but resulted in at least 3 shot clock violations, and against a team like WVU, AU had to make the most of every possession- and they did not.
Pretty much agree with everything Boots said. I just don't think it's too much to ask to want to get offensive production (and by that, I mean POINTS, call me crazy) and defensive stability out of your PG position. Yes they've done a decent job with the assist-to-turnover ratio, and Danny handles the ball pretty well, but you can't tell me it doesn't make us weaker on the offensive end when the other team knows the PG is (almost) never going to take a shot. Becomes 4 on 5 on the offensive end. No good.
ReplyDeleteLast 2 games:
ReplyDeleteLuptak zero points from the field or the foul line; Munoz zero points from the field and 4 points from the foul line. ZERO POINTS FROM THE FIELD IN TWO GAMES ! MORE PERSONAL FOULS THAN POINTS ! Oy !
Boots is just getting warmed up now!
ReplyDeleteShot clock violations are fairly benign. no immediate points given up on the other end, which is what really kills you. In fact, many teams will panic with a full 10 seconds left on the shot clock, thereby causing even more serious problems for the team.
ReplyDeleteOf course, Luptak comes into the AU program not as a true PG. The fact that he is our starting PG shows just how limited we are at this position.
I think JJ has shown that when he trusts a point guard, he has no problem giving him all the run-witness Mercer averaging, what, 38 minutes a game as a senior? Seems to me like JJ is simply trying to wring everything he can out of two pretty average point guards. Luptak is what he is at this point; he's not going to get dramatically better. The hope is that Danny will develop further, and get more aggressive in looking for his shot. I love the fact that they're protecting the ball, but they have to, on occasion, put the ball in the basket. Otherwise Vlad and Brewer are going to have second defenders in their laps all season.
ReplyDeleteDid anyone catch the first part of JJ's Radio Show today? Did he give any analysis of the WVU game or mention tomorrow's game?
ReplyDeleteBy the way the November 27th JJ Show is now available at
ReplyDeletehttp://www.aueagles.com/multimedia/2009-10/Jeff_Jones_Weekly_Radio_Show
JJ puts a lot in perspective, so it is definitely worth listening to as a fan.