Wow, I did it. I actually did it. I've been putting off all evening writing this entry because I just couldn't bring myself to do it. I flirted with the idea of making the title, "When there isn't much good to write about, it makes for a short GOOD, BAD, and UGLY." I think what I ended up with though is very to the point. Let's you know where everyone stands so you don't even have to read the entry. This frees up more time for your Sunday night so you can rejoice in Team USA's victory over our neighbors to the north. I imagine there are some of you who will read this entry anyway, and for those of you that do be sure to read: the recap, the box score, and our opponents' thoughts on the game. Join me after the jump for what I promise you will be a pretty succinct entry.
THE GOOD
Holy Cross, next year - Next year Holy Cross loses only Eric Meister and Adam May, neither of whom had a huge impact on today's game. They will retain, however, Andrew "AK34" Keister, Andrew Beinet, Dee Goens, R.J. Evans, and Eric Obekwkewkekeere. They're going to be a force to be reckoned with next year, and that's no joke. Now that they seem to have bought into Sean Kearney's defensive scheme, I think they will be extremely competitive next year. Watch out for them, a ton of talent on this team.
Stephen "the Lump" Lumpkins - Lump was the only really bright spot in this game today, and he wasn't particularly bright to be honest. Yes he finished 5-7 from the floor and 6-8 from the line (excellent!) for 16 points and he chipped in 7 rebounds, but Andrew Keister ate his lunch down low all game long. Lump is a good big man, especially for a sophomore, but he's still not anywhere close to dominant. Hopefully next year or his senior year he will be, but he's gotten killed down low by a bunch of people this year, including Mike Muscala and Gabe Knutson (both freshmen).
Simon McCormack - Rounding out the "GOOD" column for the night is Simon McCormack. Simon always seems to be in the right place at the right time, and he finished with 8 points and 7 rebounds today. My issue with Simon is that he took a lot of outside jump shots today. That's not your game, Simon, drive and get to the line. Otherwise, nice job being a reliable decision-maker and relentless on the boards, as always.
THE BAD
Danny Munoz - Two early fouls from Danny and he's pretty much done for the day. He didn't really get a chance to do much though as he only notched 14 minutes. He shouldn't really be here, maybe, because he didn't get the chance to redeem himself, but those two early fouls were mental mistakes. Keyword: mistakes. Ergo, bad column.
Riley Grafft - I don't get it, Riley. On your one basket today, you made a sweet move in the lane, faked out Keister, and went to the basket. AND YOU ONLY DID IT ONCE. Why can't you consistently make the great moves we see about once a game? Not only that, how can you be 6'11" and not be a solid rebounder? You get pushed aside like a rag doll by guys you have 4-5 inches on. It's ridiculous.
We got outrebounded - 33-29. Hasn't happened too much recently. The fact that AK34 got 18 rebounds today is just terrible. The guy is a beast, but our frontcourt isn't terrible. Inexcusable.
Roleplayers (per usual) - Munoz, Hill, Wilson, Grafft, Luptak - 72 minutes, 10 points. I imagine some of you will say that it's pointless to bring this up in entry after entry, and I tend to think you're right. I'm wasting my time I guess, but it's just terrible. If we don't get production out of 2/3 (minimum) of Vlad, Hendra, Lumpkins, we lose. We lost today. Which brings me to...
THE UGLY
Vlad Moldoveanu - 2 out of the past 3 games have been ugly. Teams seem to be finding a solution for the Impaler. Today he was a total non-issue 2-9 from the floor, 0-5 from 3, 3-4 from the line for 7 total points 3 rebounds, 3 turnovers, and one each of assists, blocks, and steals. He got locked down and couldn't do anything about it. He forced 3 point shots. He played abysmal defense. Not a good showing today at all. Player of the year is out of the question for sure.
Nick Hendra - Guess the open letter didn't help too much. Yes Hendra did have 10 points, but it was on 4-14 shooting and 2-10 from behind the arc. There's just no reason for the shot selection here. YOU HAVE THE SKILL TO DRIVE IT INSIDE, NICK. DO IT. 2 assists and 3 turnovers to go with 5 rebounds. We expect more of you, Nick, and in a normal game you might only get a bad for this, but you keep failing to meet even base expectations. 10 points is good, but the way you got those points was terrible and costly to the team.
3-point shooting - 4-22 from behind the arc. FOUR. FOR. TWENTY. TWO. ARE YOU KIDDING ME? Today was just atrocious. We didn't even bother to try to establish an inside game, which is partly because Holy Cross's zone was so tight, but we had so many possessions where with 20-25 seconds on the shot clock we fired a 3. It's terrible. No patience, no attempt to even run a half court set.
Have at it in the comments, I can't write about this team anymore tonight.
Pro deo et patria and GO EAGLES.
You should just copy and paste from most of the prior summaries:
ReplyDelete1. Role players (no need to list) eat a lot of minutes and contibute nothing offensively. I think you need to throw Simon into this as well as 8 points in 33 minutes just isn't enough when 1st two options are shut down.
2. Team and coaches seem unable to react to fact that teams have adjusted to Vlad and are able to shut him down and the only option appears to be throwing up more bad threes.
3. Three point shooting for the team is horrible. If I remember Bersch's bio on the website, he had over 200 3s in high school. JJ maybe dust him off and let him play again, can't be worse than what Joe Hill, Nick and Vlad did today that is for sure. I think Keieran and JJ could get out there and shoot better than 18%.
LOL, as VLAD goes, so goes AU. Lump, was the only one that did anything. Nothing from Riley, Munoz, Hill, Wilson. Simon hustled but hustle doesn't make up for lack of offensive ability. He did work hard underneath for a few buckets. Made some errant passes. There is no one out there that can take the heat off VLAD. Six hour drive to watch THE CRUSADERS big men dominate our big men. Sure Lump had some easy buckets off great passes but he did not have the same effect that Meister and Keister did for HC. What am I doing trying to analyze this. We don't have the players to hang this year. VLAD is the whole show and they shut him down. Our guard play sucks. Lump is holding steady. I am as helter skelter on this post as AU was in the game... PUT ME IN THE UGLY CATEGORY FOR THIS POST...
ReplyDeleteYeah I've finally had enough of Bersch not playing. Screw this noise about how he's not physical enough. The guy played at least as well as Joe Hill does on average when he was playing earlier in the year, and he was deadly from long range. Bersch needs to get back on the floor.
ReplyDeleteI also want to know why Hendra didn't start. What's the deal? Anyone?
What makes me the most sad is realizing how we got KILLED in recruiting this year by the other PL teams. I cringe when our experienced players (recognizing that on this year's team, that usually means sophomores) are getting eaten alive by freshmen. I really hope this picks up because we can't live off of transfers forever. Supposedly we have a really good Center coming in next year, except right now we need guards. We have upperclassmen who just aren't cutting it, but most of our freshmen never see the floor. How good is Holton? Can Bersch make the threes we keep missing. Jolivette could really drive it in at times.
ReplyDeleteIt's just frustrating to see. I understand, JJ, that at Virginia you had the depth to bench your freshmen, but I'd think after nine seasons you'd realize that's not the case in the PL. Sad thing is, the other PL teams who have more juniors/seniors than we do seem to be playing more freshmen.
Check the stats before we send in Bersh as the godsend that will rain threes. Currently 12 for 42 but percentage wise he is outshooting Graftt from beyond the arc. Top three AU 3 point shooters have respectable shooting percentages but need to keep working towards consistency.
ReplyDeleteOh my G-D you guys are starting to see the light about what i have been saying for weeks.
ReplyDeleteThe coaching staff has done a horrific job coaching. Our strategy has remained the same the entire year. Jeff should have used this year to assess his team for next year. He did a terrible job managing the freshman and helping them adjust to Div I ball. I have seen other programs support their underclassman by allowing them to play through their mistakes and grow. Snodgrass never got a chance and he was never counceled by the coaching staff. He was out to fend for himself. No way to treat a freshman. Holton never saw the floor nor was he given a chance. This program builds on transfers.. I will never recommend to a high school senior to attend American University. We have wasted an entire year. I hope the coaching staff has a performance evaluation with the AD and all of them should be reprimanded.
ReplyDeleteHolton has been academically put on hold. I agree with him not playing if his grades are not up to snuff. It's called personal accountability.
ReplyDeleteSnodgrass based on his practice and work ethic did not get to play. Again, we do not see what goes on at practice which is what is used to make coaching decisions on who is going to play or not play. Sometimes this is like listening to people yelling at the refs the whole game as if the players are not the ones playing the game. All people see is the refs.
WE lost basically our top 8 players last year. We had played those 8 for two years with few exceptions of Nick and Lump but people were not whining last year as we rode them to the NCAA's and nearly knocked off VILLANOVA. Jeff was king of the town. Now, we have to replace those eight with guys that were not good enough to play last year and would not be starting ON ANY OTHER PATRIOT LEAGUE TEAM with the exception of VLAD and maybe Lump. On most teams Nick would be coming off the bench, Simon would see spot duty if any.. MUNOZ and HILL may not be on the roster... Riley based on his height would get some playing time... Let's be real.. we are rebuilding. When Matt or Munoz are on the court we are playing four on five because neither represent any offense so teams can sag on VLAD or whoever else. If I didn't see Matt shoot in warm ups I would think he wasn't capable. I do want to commend the turn out by AU grads at yesterdays game from the Boston area. It was nice to be at the away game and see someone else there.
"Now, we have to replace those eight with guys that were not good enough to play last year and would not be starting ON ANY OTHER PATRIOT LEAGUE TEAM"
ReplyDeleteThat's fine, I get the rebuilding thing. We've said it ad infinitum this year that we have to rebuild because we lost those great players that we rode to the tourney two years in a row. I had no qualms about doing that. But what I've quoted here raises an interesting point...if they're not good enough to start, then like Josh said above and LB has been saying, then we have been out-recruited and/or outcoached. Either we have personnel on the team now who just flat out don't have it (if they wouldn't be starting anywhere else in the Patriot League, which is terrible, that says something) OR we're being outcoached because the coaching staff isn't developing these players the right way to bring out the talent that they do have that they were recruited because of. It's one or the other or both. Riley has regressed as a player since the beginning of the season. Lumpkins has stayed about the same since the beginning of the season. The only person who has really improved by leaps and bounds has been Danny, and I attribute a lot of that just to not sharing his playing time with Blake.
At least for today I see what you've been talking about, LB, and it's starting to make more sense.
Now, before everyone else jumps this comment, I'm not saying I want to get rid of JJ. JJ is the best coach we will ever have here, I agree with that. But this is my call-out of him based on what I've said above. I don't want him to leave, I want him to stay and fix the issues there are.
1. AU didn't lose its "top 8 players from last year". Hendra was #4 last year in minutes played and Lumpkins was #7. Add in Vlad and that's not a bad nucleus.
ReplyDelete2. The "really good Center coming in next year", whose name is Tony Wroblicky, is ranked very highly by ESPN. However, all of the other scouting services (Scout, Rivals, Hoopscoop, etc) have him ranked lower than any of this year's freshmen (including Bersch, Snodgrass, and Holton), so it's a big question mark whether he's really a decent prospect. Also, when he committed on 10/20, he apparently only had one scholarship offer - the one from Jones.
BTW, he is averaging 9.7 ppg and 9.8 rpg for his H.S. team.
Ah, the long knives are out. That's understandable and expected after yesterday's crappy performance. And, everyone was crappy, including Lump, who got dominated inside by Keister. It's been a crappy season.
ReplyDeleteTwo points:
1) If you want to make this about coaching, have at it. I do not share the opinion that there has been no development this season. I think Lump, yesterday notwithstanding, has become more consistent this season. I think Munoz has developed--not as fast as any of us would have hoped, but he's better now than he was at the start of the season.
By any metric, McCollum and Knutson have performed better than our freshmen. But a big reason they stand out is because of Lehigh's upperclassmen, who take a lot of pressure off of them; i.e., Hall, Carrington, Buchberger, Keefer, Ojo. And that, to me, is the biggest issue this season. To Anonymous's point above: our upperclassmen, other than Vlad, have given our kids next to no support, and their mistakes and shortcomings are exposed that much more as a result. And I think Lump and Hendra have to take some responsibility here.
It's not that I think Lump has had a bad season. I don't. But I expected Lump to start looking like a PL player of the year candidate this season, and right now, he's not there. We have lost winnable games this season--Bucknell, Colgate, and, I would argue, yesterday's--because we've gotten mandhandled inside, and that shouldn't happen with Lump in the middle. (Vlad is responsible, too, but I think even a cursory look at his game would show you defense is never going to be his strong suit. That's why he never got any burn at Mason.) We can be beaten in the paint, but we shouldn't be getting torched. Lump needs to rededicate himself this summer to getting stronger defensively (stronger, period) and becoming better at the foul line. No reason he shouldn't shoot 70-75 percent from there.
Hendra has been a colossal disappointment this season. He has displayed very little leadership that I've seen, and I'm not talking about fake "rah-rah" stuff. Just making sure everyone's in the right spot, taking the challenge of guarding the other team's best wings, etc. This team, especially early, was in desperate need of someone to show them the way. Nick has not done that. Who knows why? But the team has suffered greatly as a result.
Simon, while he has some moments, and Luptak, obviously, are not good enough. I would only say what I've said all season; I don't think JJ is in the business of going 8-19. If there was a better answer (i.e., Jolivette or Bersch), mere self-preservation would have kicked in by now, I'd think. If your argument is they can't possibly be any worse, well, you may be right. As for Holton, I don't know, and I don't think this is the appropriate place to discuss his academic standing--or any other kid's academic standing, for that matter.
Now, is all of that coaching--or, lack of coaching? JJ certainly has to take some responsibility for that. But proportionate to the credit he gets for the development of Mercer, Carr, Nichols, Gilmore, etc. But if you want to argue that JJ has fallen short this season, well, you are what your record says you are.
More after the jump.
2) There has been a lot of talk that JJ didn't cash in on the back-to-back PL titles with a killer recruiting class(es). In fairness--and, you don't have to be fair, this is a blog, not an ethics class--I'd say the jury is still out. Lump committed in the midst of the first title run; Vlad, Brewer, Munoz and the others came from the second; Wroblicky hasn't even suited up yet, and we already are questioning if he's any good. It's still early, I'd argue, to make a final judgment.
ReplyDeleteIf Jolivette and Bersch both bounce because of lack of PT as freshmen, that goes on JJ's docket. But that hasn't happened yet, and I've heard nothing to indicate it will. There seems to be an air around here that JJ is the only coach in the PL, or in America, that doesn't throw all his freshmen out on the court from minute one.
I humbly point out that the kid from Maryland who hit the game-winner against Tech on Saturday was quoted as saying he's had his ups and downs with Gary over three years. It happens everywhere. Kids leave where they are every day. Is Larranaga bad with freshmen because Vlad transferred? How about JTIII? Do the names Macklin, Rivers and Mescheriakov ring a bell? G'town has had SIX transfers in FIVE years. Does that make Thompson a bad coach? Is Gary a bad coach because he won't play the AAU game and bring in "talent"?
I would argue that the reason--the understandable reason--for all this angst and criticism is that we, unlike Maryland, Mason and G'town, are not winning this season. I don't think Jeff has gotten any smarter or any dumber since he was cutting down the nets in Bender a year ago. I don't think he's suddenly forgotten how to coach. I think we're having a down season after losing our top seven players (and, if you go back a year, our top nine over two years, including Lay and Giubunda).
The difference between being 5-8 and 8-5 in the PL is about two more made threes a game. Or four or five free throws. Or a couple more stops. It's a freshman becoming a sophomore, gaining 10 pounds, and becoming a better practice player. It's when kids start playing instead of thinking on the court. It's three or four guys playing two years with one another and learning each other's moves, so that you pass to a spot because you just know that's where your teammate's going to be. And jumping into a passing lane because you know the guy on your side will slide over if you miss. It's having two good players (Vlad and Brewer) on the court instead of just one, which frees everybody else up.
It's called experience. We don't have it now. We'll have more next season. I'm in this for the long haul, not for one or two seasons. If we're 8-19 again this time next year, come talk to me.
if AU plays well they can beat any PL team on any given day. they are not gelling right now for whatever reason. maybe this squad needs to take a european vacation over the summer and form the bond last year's team developed overseas.
ReplyDeleteAs always, NJJ, I appreciate (genuinely, without a trace of snark) your ability to disagree without being disagreeable. The same goes with everyone else here who comments, you guys do a pretty good job of keeping civil. Very much commendable.
ReplyDeleteA couple of things, NJJ.
You mentioned basically what I did in terms of development; I don't think Lump is any more consistent now than he was in the beginning of the season, but he's obviously more consistent than he was last year. You also mentioned Munoz. What about everyone else? What about Riley's development? Hendra's? Simon's? It's a shared burden between coaches and players in terms of development, and I try not to lay it all at the feet of JJ and co. But there's a reason they're coaches, presumably they know how to develop players. One way or another something isn't clicking, either JJ and co. are trying their best until they're blue in the face and the players aren't working hard for it, aren't taking the advice, whatever or the players aren't getting the kind of development they need or some combination thereof.
On the issue of freshman playing time, I'd rather see Bersch, Snodgrass (when he was here), or even Borucki out there making the same mistakes that Matt Wilson could, can, and does make, to be honest. At least get them off the bench and get them a taste.
A lot of this frustration, on my part at least, is fear about next season. All season the silver lining has been "well we're going to be exponentially better next year." Well, now maybe not. We're adding Troy Brewer and Hinkle halfway through. Brewer is purportedly good, and it'll be good to have someone else out there to take the pressure off of Vlad (which, like you said, Hendra and Lump have not done), but all of this success I think we're going to have next year is predicated on having Hendra and Lumpkins being really solid. Hendra flat out isn't, and Lumpkins isn't where I thought he'd be. Maybe you're right and another year of experience helps things immensely, but maybe not. That doubt hasn't been introduced until the past couple of games when we've stagnated in league play. That doubt worries me.
Seeing the other PL teams though, I think next year will be a better year for the PL all around. There's a lot of talent out there, and yes a lot of it is leaving, but a lot of teams have restocked this year.
Finally (and obviously), I really, really hope this time next year I'm not coming to talk to you. I hope you'll still be coming here to talk to us though. See how I did that?
The animosity toward the coaching staff is unwarranted.
ReplyDeleteAnd some of the statements are born of frustration more than reality.
"This program builds on transfers." Yikes, but that is embarrassingly wrong. We just graduated four starters who were 4-year players. The next two guys off the bench were here as freshmen.
Holy Cross defense inside was not as tenacious as Army. I felt we missed opportunities by a lack of teamwork. And we consistently bailed out their defense with 3s too early in the offense.
On defense, we are really feeling the effects of not putting pressure on their guards. We can hardly ever create a turnover. Our press actually created a turnover the first time we used it against HC. They were so surprised we were pressing, it shocked them.
"The animosity toward the coaching staff is unwarranted."
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure where you draw the line between animosity and criticism. I don't see much animosity in these comments, and if I did, I'd agree it's unwarranted and misdirected. The criticism, however, is not unwarranted. The coaches are part of the team, the team in general deserves criticism, and the coaches should take their share.
The transfer line is bunk, I agree, though I'll go out on a limb here and say that the transfers next year will be AT LEAST as important as the 4-year recruits.
BBB- THE LAST TWO YEARS WERE A++. HAVING WATCHED AU BB FOR MANY YEARS, WE FINALLY MADE THOSE "TWO FOUL SHOTS" PER GAME THAT NJJ REFERENCES. WE FOUND A WAY TO WIN INSTEAD OF OUR HISTORY OF FINDING A WAY TO LOSE. REMEMBER WE WERE ONE GREAT BRIAN GILMORE 3 PTR. FROM LOSING TO LOWLY SEEDED ARMY LAST YR IN THE SEMI'S.
ReplyDeleteWHAT IS DISAPPOINTING TO US "MALCONTENTS" IS THAT WE HAVE TROUBLE SEEING THE SUN SHINING BRIGHT OVER THE HORIZON. HERE'S WHY- WE HAVE SEEN TWO FROSH POINT GUARDS WHO SEEM TO BE BEHIND OUR FIERCE PL RIVALS IN DEVELOPMENT INTO TOP PL GUARDS. WHY WERE OUR RIVALS ABLE TO GET KIDS WHO HAVE STEPPED RIGHT IN TO CONTRIBUTE, AND OUR KIDS ARE STILL STRUGGLING ? WHAT WE SEE IS A SEASON THAT MOST LIKELY WILL END WITH THE WORST LOSING SEASON SINCE WE HAVE BEEN IN THE PL. I WAS READY TO BE OKAY WITH A MEDIOCRE SEASON AFTER THE LAST TWO GREAT ONES- BUT WHAT I SEE ARE TEAMS IN OUR LEAGUE THAT SEEM TO HAVE BETTER PLAYERS ON THE HORIZON. I CAN TELL YOU THAT MIKE BERSCH DID NOT LOOK LIKE A LOST SOUL ON THE COURT WHEN HE PLAYED EARLIER IN THE SEASON. WE KNOW WHAT STEVE LUPTAK CAN DO FOR AU. I WANT TO SEE WHAT MIKE CAN DO ALSO ! JEFF HOLTON NEEDS TO WORK ON HIS GRADES (JUST LIKE I DID MY BEER INFUSED FRESHMAN YR.) BUT HE CAN PLAY AND HE IS BIG. HE IS A BIG KID WHO FELL BEHIND DUE TO INJURY ISSUES. I STILL HAVE CONFIDENCE IN JJ, AND THAT OUR KIDS NEXT YEAR WILL DO BETTER. NEXT YEAR IS WHEN WE NEED TO SCREAM LOUDLY. WE HAVE A PROGRAM. WE BROKE THRU THE GLASS CEILING, AND THAT IS WHY KIDS WILL TRANSFER TO BE PART OF A WINNING PROGRAM. THAT IS WHAT THE NCAA APPEARANCES BROUGHT US. BUT JUST LIKE WE HAVE MORE EMPTY SEATS IN BENDER NOW THAN WE HAD LAST SEASON- KIDS (AND FANS) HAVE SHORT MEMORIES. WE EXPECT OUR COACH AND HIS STAFF TO BUILD ON THIS, AND MAKE AU HAVE A REPUTATION FOR HAVING WINNING PROGRAMS LIKE PENN AND PRINCETON USED TO HAVE IN THE IVIES, AND LIKE GEO MASON, NIAGARA, SOUTHERN ILLINOIS, ETC. -TO USE SOME MID EXAMPLES.
JONES HAS A VERY TOUGH (AND I FEEL SOMEWHAT UNFLEXIBLE) MENTALITY ABOUT "THE WAY KIDS PLAY". LIKE I SAID IN AN EARLIER POST I THINK A LOT OF IT COMES FROM HIM BEING A COACH'S SON, WHO LIVED AND BREATHED BB WHEN HE JOINED HIS DAD AT WORK- AND AT THE DINNER TABLE. THE DOWNSIDE OF THAT IS THAT I BELIEVE HE EXPECTS EVERY KID TO BE READY LIKE HE WAS. WELL THEY ARE NOT ! THEY ARE NOT UVa PLAYERS. LET ME POSE THIS QUESTION TO JONES- WHY IS IT THAT HE CANNOT PLAY BERSCH (FOR INSTANCE) SO THAT HE IS BETTER PREPARED FOR NEXT SEASON ? MAYBE GARRISON CARR WAS NOT READY TO BE A 30 MINUTE PLAYER HIS SOPHOMORE YEAR, BUT PERHAPS HE COULD HAVE ADDED THOSE TWO POINTS ON THE OFFENSIVE END (THAT NJJ WAS TALKING ABOUT) IN THE GAME WHERE WE FELL TWO POINTS SHORT AT HOLY CROSS IN THE SEMI'S WITH GARRISON RIDING THE PINE. IS MIKE BERSCH THAT BAD THAT HE DOES NOT MERIT 6 MINUTES OF TIME ? OR IS IT JONES' STUBBORN ATTITUDE. JONES WAS A NATIONAL STAR POINT GUARD AT UVa. SOMETIMES IT IS DIFFICULT FOR "STARS" TO BE GOOD COACHES. JONES IS A GOOD COACH. BUT HOW MANY GREAT BASEBALL PLAYERS BECAME GREAT MANAGERS ? NOT MANY. USUALLY IT'S THE JIM LEYLAND'S AND TONY LaRUSSA'S WHO CAN BETTER RELATE. MIKE BERSCH DESERVES HIS 6 MINUTES ON A BAD TEAM, AND IT'S JONES BEING A HARD HEAD AS TO WHY HE IS NOT PLAYING EVEN ONE MINUTE A GAME. ALL OF US ARE NOT WRONG ABOUT THAT FACT.
Whoa, easy fella. Simmer with the caps. I agree with parts of your, erm, aggressive diatribe, though I can't speak yea or nay on the coach's son bit of it.
ReplyDeleteAll in all, for what it's worth I agree with what you're saying for the most part. I agree about the great players not becoming great managers line, but I think it's inapplicable to JJ. Like you said, JJ is a good coach. I strongly doubt we're going to get anyone better than he is, but he could definitely go somewhere much better than us if he wanted to. It's evident that he doesn't want to. He likes what he's got here, so he plans to stick around, which is good news for us. I'd be pissing and moaning a ton more about him leaving than I do about what decisions I question while he's here, let me let you know that right now. If JJ isn't great in Division I terms yet, he's good bordering on great in the PL. He broke through the glass ceiling, like you said, give him some time to picks the shards of said ceiling off of himself and keep climbing.
I also don't have any proof about the Holton grades thing. Not that I want to see his grades or anything, but it's hearsay at this point. Just like the Hendra suspension, remember these guys have lives and struggles outside of our basketball universe. Be respectful of those lives and struggles, please, everyone.
In any event, I'd ask that in the future you not "SHOUT" when posting. It's very AOL chat rooms circa 1998. Alright, maybe 1999.
Patience everyone. This team has improved during the year. Look back at Gilmore, Nichols and Carr during their frosh and soph years. It takes a while for most guys to play the way JJ wants them to. Danny has gotten better as the year has gone along. His assist/TO ratio is improving in past 10+ games. So has Lump who was shootin low 40% range heading into league and during PL league play leads league in FG % at 60%. He will be a consistent double double guy next year. Hendra is up and down but is a legit PL starting wing. As for defense, the whole team needs to defend better, including Lump, Riley and Vlad. Some of our interior D issues are caused by dribble penetration and our guards getting beat off the bounce. We then help with bigs which opens up offensive boards to opposing team. Our personnel is more suited this year to being a zone team with length but not much quickness but we don't play much zone for whatever reason. Next year will be easier with the addition of a couple of big athletic wings in Brewer and Hinkle. This team will be good next year as one year of experience and another scorer ( Brewer ) will make a big difference. I also don't get why Bersch does not play, considering extreme need for outside shooting this team suffers. Our two inside scorers ( Vlad and Lump) are a tough PL match up and consistently draw double teams. Our wins have come on the nights we make some 3's. Sounds simple but its true. Did anyone else notice how HC was almost daring our perimeter guys to shoot and collapsed on our interior. Makes it tough to have any balance and win games when you go 4-22 from 3 . JJ does not want team to shoot that many but the way we are defended we have no choice for now. Hope the team can at least finish with a couple of wins and build toward next year. Lehigh, Army and Colgate all lose key guys and Bucknell and Navy also lose key guys so we will move up if we improve. Patience.
ReplyDeleteTo your point, B-Cubed: one thing that I think gets lost on us fans is the whole notion that nothing occurs in a vacuum. Last season, for example, we had a clear and obvious advantage over the rest of the PL in talent: we had two first-team All-PL players (Mercer, Carr) and one second-teamer (Gilmore), in addition to four other contributors (Nichols, Borden, Simon, Markusovic) who were part of the rotation. And they were all seniors. When you add talent and experience, you go 13-1 in the PL. Now, how many times does that happen? Not often.
ReplyDeleteBut other teams want to win, too. Our talent level has dropped significantly, while other teams like Lehigh's have grown. Yes, other schools occasionally recruit players that are superior to ours. That may have happened this season, but it doesn't mean all is lost.
As I've tried to point out, development doesn't occur consistently across the board; just because Lump and Munoz are improved doesn't mean Riley's going to improve at the same rate. Now that puts more pressure on JJ and the staff to "coach 'em up," I suppose, and they should be held accountable if the kids as a whole don't get better.
But I think the overwhelming body of work suggests kids have improved under JJ. I think Tim Fudd got better here. I think Andre Ingram got better here. I think Patrick Doctor got better here. I think Jason Thomas got better here. I think Andres Rodriguez got better here. And obviously the kids from the '09 class got better:
"I would always ask, 'Coach, what do I need to do to be out there?' It always went back to defense. I admit I wasn't always the most solid defensive player and Coach Jones is a defensive coach. My mind-set coming to college wasn't to be a defensive stopper. My attitude has grown since I've been here. He planted a seed that defense was going to be important and there was more to getting onto the court than just offense."
--Garrison Carr, March 20, 2008, The Washington Post
And, LB, I'm sorry, I just don't buy the whole "coach's son/star player" argument. There was no hue and cry last year when JJ didn't "develop" Riley and Simon and Joe Hill as freshmen. I would suggest that it was because we were going 24-8 instead of 8-19.
One final thing, B-Cubed: Brewer is eligible all season next year, not halfway through. Hinkle is a "Vlad transfer" who will become eligible in January, 2011.
ReplyDeleteRe: the transfers, thanks, I should've been clearer about that, you're right.
ReplyDeleteI also like the B^3 line. That may be the new alias.
Good points, though. I will be sure to complain next year when we go 27-3 if Tony Wroblicky doesn't get his minutes (very tongue in cheek).
sorry for the caps- my middle aged eyes. i will use my reading glasses in the future ! NJJ- last year although we were 13-1 in the PL, most of those games were close games and our opponent was never down 20 with 5 minutes to play. So no disagreement about those guys not developing last year. Hopefully they grew in practice. But this season is this season and sophomores and freshmen can both partake in the fruit of our losing. We have lousy 3 pt. shooters and Bersch broke all sort of 3 pt records in South Jersey for 3 pointers- why not 5 minutes ? The answer is Jeff Jones thinks he is not ready, and that is only true in his head. unfortuneately for us malcontents he has the final say. hopefully he will wake up if we are down 20 to Navy.
ReplyDeleteI truly believe that part of their record is due to the absence of a strong leader on and off the court. Yes, we expected it to be Hendra, but for whatever reason he can't assume that position.
ReplyDeleteEach time the starting lineup is announced I can't help but feel a lack of excitement and readiness on the part of the players. I think they are having a hard time finding a new goal and vision for the team after such an incredible season last year.
Lord Baltimore has some real issues. Unfortunately he has no idea what he is talking about. Both Blake and Danny have done as good or better than any other fresman point guard in this league. When you take into consideration our lack of offense I would argue they have been the best freshman point guards in the league.
ReplyDeleteIt's difficult to create assists when the team has difficulty converting.
I am sure if you look back at the players Mercer had around him his freshman year it would be a much stronger team than ours.
Next year with Brewer and Hinkle filling the lanes I'm confident that whoever the point guard is will have a very successful year.
with all due respect last anon you are the one who needs a refraction- even the glass is half full contributors to this blog agree that Danny is not near the top of the freshmen point guards in this league. we wish he was, and we wish he will be, but as of today he is not. check the stats, and watch the games.
ReplyDeletewow, I have to agree with LB on this one, our point guards are no where near the quality of the other point guards in the league. Danny has absolutely no shot unless completely left alone. Blake while I enjoyed him at the beginning of the year hasn't played but one minute of the second over time at Colgate in the past 10 games. I am just throwing 10 out there, it may be more or less than that. With our guards we are always playing a man down because the other teams do not need to guard our guards whole heartedly because they know they are not a serious threat to score. Basically we are a three against five because Simon is not a REAL threat either although his hustle gets him some buckets. Anonymous, I really like most of your points most of the time considering this is the same anonymous, lol... but saying our point guards are as good as even the other freshmen guards is laughable at best......... to hear Jeff yell at Hill at the Holy Cross game " YOU'RE TOO SLOW AT EVERYTHING YOU DO" summed it up for me. I will go on record saying you will not see much of JOE HILL next season, I think you will see little if any of Blake for one more year,, you will see the two new transfers, VLAD, RILEY, LUMPKINS, Danny, Nick and Simon. maybe one more person and those other guys are going to be riding pine again next year again. Think Jeff will write them off as bad recruits and start looking for a new foundation since he has one to two years with the bunch listed above.. Just my speculation... Bersch will not have a future, Blake unless he does something to drastically change the coaches opinion is history and so are a lot of the others already riding the bench.
ReplyDeleteAfter seeing them on the bench so much this year, I have to agree that coach Jones has written Bersch and Blake off totally and they won't see much time. Both are quality players and highly recruited. A google search on Bersch shows he was 18 for 25 in threes over three games leading his team to large division NJ state championship including 10 for 12 in one game and got interest from many good schools including an offer from Holy Cross. I think going 4 for 22 yesterday AU maybe could have used that shooting. Blake also had many offers.
ReplyDeleteI just don't understand the precipitous drop in playing time Bersch saw. He was cruising along, scored 16 in that game against Manhattan. Looking like a great roleplayer. I was even foolishly talking about him breaking the AU 3-point record if he could keep it up for 4 years (I'm a foolish guy, you should all realize that by now). And then all of a sudden, once the Georgetown game hit, nothing.
ReplyDeleteHere were the 3 games before that:
Manhattan - 16 points on 6-13 shooting (4-11 from 3), 7 rebounds, 3 assists in 23 minutes
UMES - 0-5 (0-3), 4 turnovers, 2 rebs in 23 minutes
Howard - 0-2 (0-2), 3 turnovers, 12 minutes
So he had two bad games and then got relegated to the bench. Yeah the games against Howard and UMES were ugly, but were they uglier than Joe Hill's 4-15 effort against Lehigh? I submit to you that they were not. Bersch is also taller and has a quicker shot, unlike Joe who gets towered over by almost anyone on the court and has a slower shot with an uglier mechanic.
Should Bersch be playing 23 minutes a game? No. He shouldn't even be getting 10 minutes a game. Would it kill us to have him play Matt Wilson's minutes? No, it wouldn't. At least teams would have to respect Bersch on the offensive end.
Could they transfer to another PL school? Both of these kids are quality players. But remember guys, these kids are freshman. They have time to develop. With the addition of the more athletic players next year I think Blake will play a lot and he will look better with those guys. Bersch will also play more as the defenses will have to respect the other guys which will allow Bersch to put up shots. The key will be JJ's willingness to play at a faster pace than what we see now. He will have the personell to run but not sure if he will. I think the new additions will put pressure on Hendra who is only starting because we have no one. Dont see him starting next year. Lump will be better and Vlad will be even better as teams will not be able to double him. Danny will also be better and I think he and Blake will split time. But, I am not JJ. JJ is a smart guy and he will figure it out. I hope no one will leave...
ReplyDeleteA couple of comments:
ReplyDeleteThe AU turnout at the game was very diverse and a great crowd. I sat with people who graduated from AU in '02 and just got married. We reminisced about fraternity life, the dorms, etc. We have to recognize that there are things that transcend basketball, and the 40 minutes of playing time is a chance to share a bond someone you never met before. End of AU alumni love.
Second, I am not ready to give up on Jeff Jones and his coaching or even call this year a lost cause. There have been some very low low points, but also signs of growth. I loved being able to sit behind the AU bench and listen to the coaching staff. What we all hear/see as grunts, yelling, and frustration is actually genuine teaching moments wrapped inside grunts, yelling, and frustration.
I think where this team has grown the most over the year is in its chemistry. Seeing them talk to one another now is looking at another team. Their language is not strained and it looks more familiar. Hopefully that level of familiarity will lead to comfort on the court and the ability to anticipate your teammates' next move.
Viddy
I think there are two things going on here with playing time:
ReplyDeleteFirst, it is unlikely that more time for Mike Bersch or Blake Jolivette would have changed much for this year.
Second, there are players out there, including Bersch and Jolivette, who need playing time and experience as part of the equation of developing a team, especially as you try to progress from year-to-year. I have never liked the idea of the 'doghouse.'
Yes, the reality is we lost almost all of our experience and point production from last year.
Also very real is that it is by Design, not Divine Law, that our cupboard was left bare. Lumpkins was ignored for games last year when we needed to see more of him. Hendra was ignored for nine games before Bryce Simon got hurt.
From previous seasons, we saw very limited playing time for Jordan Nichols, despite the fact that he had talents that we were lacking otherwise. Every time he stepped out on the court, from his first time as a freshman, I thought he showed promise and 'played well with others.' I don't think he was given his due until JJ gave up on Frane Markusovic his senior year. And he probably never would have contributed his senior year if Guibunda had returned. This is a prime example of how a player can develop with minutes in D1.
I'd like JJ to take some inspiration from this.
Short drive?!? Depends on Traffic. I will be there.
ReplyDelete"One of the kids constantly mentioned here about not seeing minutes, performs so bad even in practice that they can't even use him on the scout team a lot of the time"
ReplyDeleteHas to be either Holton or Blake you're talking about because you go on to discuss Bersch by name. There hasn't been a ton of clamor for Holton to play from this blog (though there's been a little from some of the commenters). I really hope you're talking about Holton because we saw Blake earlier this year, he isn't talentless. Quite the opposite, in fact. He needs to be developed, yes, but he's got a boatload of raw talent.
You mention a lack of experience and talent, which I find surprising. Why are we recruiting talentless people then? I find that to be a faulty supposition. What we're really lacking, according to you and the coach you spoke with, is conditioning. That's easily remedied. Conditioning is easily fixed in the off-season. GET RUNNING. Sprinting regimens. Pyramids. Long runs. Plyometrics. Hit the weight room. A lack of conditioning is much more easily fixed than either a lack of experience or talent. But it requires drive and willpower and, sometimes, a leader nipping at your heels kicking you in the ass. As has been mentioned, this team has no leader right now.
Thanks for sharing that e-mail with us. Always interesting to hear from the coaches as we don't get that side of the story that often! Keep it coming if you can, within reason!
Man, the Jolivette/Bersch Society will never be silenced!
ReplyDeleteThere is no grand conspiracy, and no stupidity: they don't play because they AREN'T READY TO PLAY. Period. Just, please, take a minute to ask yourself a question: if the season could be at all rescued by getting Blake and/Mike on the court, don't you think JJ would have done it by now? If Blake or Mike were killing in practice, believe me, word would have leaked out. The object of all this is to win games. Is JJ so stubborn that he'd ruin a season, not to mention increase the possibility of two of his top recruits transferring, by not playing them if they were at all capable of contributing?
Part of coaching, especially at the college level, is teaching kids how to work, how to prepare, how to be disciplined. Most of these kids--even at the PL level--dominated in high school. They've never played against guys as talented as they are. They usually don't have great practice/study habits. I think the coach is making it as clear as he can: at least one, and likely more than one, of these kids needs to work a little harder.
And this revisionist history about JJ and playing time is just wrong.
I loved Jordan Nichols. I love his family. But he was not "held back." He was a hard-working kid who was extremely limited offensively and whose best role was as a rotation guy coming off the bench (and, if Guibunda had come back last season, Jordan would have still been coming off the bench). Basically, he, Gilmore and Travis Lay split the minutes at power forward for two seasons:
06-07: Nichols: 11.7 min/game; Lay: 15.4 min/game; Gilmore: 10/3 min/game
07-08: JN: 17.7/game; TL: 20.9/game: BG: 22.5/game (some of those minutes came at center)
Travis Lay was not a great offensive player either, but he was a very good low post defender and rebounder that gave us presence in the paint (that we could really use now, for example).
By contrast, Lump was not ready for significant minutes last season. He was weak and couldn't hold his position inside and couldn't finish with contact(things that he has dramatically improved this season, for those of you who think that people never get better playing for JJ).
You guys seem to have this notion that this is like a 6-year-old T-ball team, where everybody is guaranteed an at-bat and gets a participation ribbon. You EARN playing time. You earn it by kicking the other guy's butt in practice so bad your coach will have a mutiny on your hands if he doesn't get you in the game. Players know who can ball and who can't. That's why we started hearing last year how good Vlad was, and why we're hearing now how good Troy Brewer is. Because they kicked butt in PRACTICE. That's when you get a chance to show JJ you deserve some PT.
..that should say "your coach will have a mutiny on HIS hands if he doesn't get you in the game." Sorry.
ReplyDeleteCan I interest you in a "Free Mike Bersch" t-shirt, NJJ? Selling like hotcakes for just $10.
ReplyDeleteNot Juan Jones-your last post (#36) is the best post Ive seen hear all year. Posters on here saying theres a conspiracy are out of line. Blake played in 16 games-started 10-we still weren't very good. Had chances in practice as well. Bersch may not have played as much, but still got chances. I dont think results would be any different. If they would, JJ would play other players, because at the end of the day he wants to win. Its clear JJ wants kids that buy into his system and will take his lumps this year. THEY WILL DEVELOP. Add the 2 athletic wings and the next 2 years looks bright. Playing time is earned, not guaranteed. Earned every practice, film session, etc. The rotation thats out there does seem to respect eachother and will eventually will begin gelling (we've seen signs of this) A rotation was needed. JJ tried different combos and players during the year, but made the decision on a rotation for league play. Players had chances all year to crack that rotation. If you dont see that, then you are fooling yourself. Again well said Not Juan Jones. Glad someone recognized the obvious.
ReplyDeletePeople who keep throwing out "conspiracy" have it wrong. No one is saying JJ is trying to undermine the team or conspiring against Bersch or Blake. At least, I'm not saying that. I think categorizing our criticism as a "conspiracy" is a mischaracterization. Does what NJJ says make sense? Yes, per usual. But we're fans...do I, for example, defer to Jim Riggleman, manager of the Nats, on everything? No. If he keeps Strasburg in the minors on Opening Day, I'll still want him on the team and voice that opinion. Having opinions that conflict (or coincide) with what a team and a coach does is, as far as I'm concerned, part of being a fan. Having conflicting views and wanting to see something that the coach doesn't want to do happen does not constitute being a conspiracy theorist. If I was going to sit back and say to myself, "Eh, JJ's got it right 100% of the time, he's beyond reproach or question, and I shouldn't question anything the players do, their effort, etc. because I don't know and I'm not in a place to know because I'm not a coach, I don't go to practices, and I'm not an insider" then having this blog be POINTLESS. I tend to feel it isn't pointless, and so I'll continue to speculate and lobby for things I want to see as a fan. If I'm "wrong" then so be it, I'll continue to be called out, but hopefully as an idiot with more to learn, not as a conspiracy theorist.
ReplyDeleteB3-I understand you want to see if different lineups may work. Please look at the minutes before league play and ask yourself if everyone except for Jordan and Jeff, got a fair chance to play. If your answer is no, then you are indeed dillusional. You said "and so I'll continue to speculate and lobby for things I want to see as a fan." Now I ask, what player or rotation do you want to see as a fan, that wasn't tried by JJ before league play? He tried every combo you could fathom. (Luptak at the 2-Graft instead of Lumpkins-Danny and Blake on the court together-Simon at the 2)Im sure theres more. We had won 3 games up to that point and have won 5 with this set rotation-2 other league games have been lost in overtime. Looking at that alone Id say he made a pretty good decision. The talent isn't there yet. With the 2 transfers and summer development of this rotation, I see very good things.
ReplyDeleteWhat happened when Bryce Simon got hurt? Was Hendra magically ready to come on the court? Nine game sitting, zero minutes, although he contributed earlier in the season?
ReplyDelete"We have won 5 with this set rotation," your sentence starts, last Anonymous, however, it does not end with, "because it contains Vlad" and so, it is, to me, fundamentally flawed.
ReplyDeleteYour point is fine; everyone except Jeff and Jordan got their fair share of minutes. I guess I disagree with you and the coaching staff that Mike Bersch didn't deserve more minutes based on how he used the opportunity he got. Agree to disagree. Fine. Bersch isn't going to play anyway, and I'm tired of wasting my breath about it. I'm done on that topic (for the second time this season, mind you) until I muster up enough of a desire to get beaten down about it again.
Steve: What happened when Bryce got hurt? Nick came in and played his butt off and helped us beat Army in the PL semis. He wasn't moping about the games he didn't play; he was ready when called upon. I would suggest he was ready because he knew by the end of the season what JJ wanted, and because he spent the year learning in practice and in the film room, he was in a position to contribute at a big moment. That's a good lesson for this year's freshmen to learn. Any of them could be on the court tomorrow, or in the tournament next week.
ReplyDeleteNice. It is a good lesson to learn, but such a tough lesson if that guy in front of you doesn't get injured.
ReplyDelete"no playing time for you!"
What I'm saying is: there was a moment when he was ready, but only an accident got him off the bench.
Zero minutes in nine games in the PL sounds like a trust problem. As much as I appreciate the coaching staff, maybe this is a problem that JJ has not come to terms with. I already know he's a very good coach, I just want him to be even better.
"Both Blake and Danny have done as good or better than any other fresman point guard in this league. When you take into consideration our lack of offense I would argue they have been the best freshman point guards in the league.
ReplyDelete"
- - - - -
The above is clearly NOT true. Mitch Rolls of Colgate is way ahead of Danny or Blake - and he doesn't have much offensive help around him. The AU frosh PG's are at about the same level as Goens of Holy Cross and Johnson of Lafayette (although he has been hurt lately).
when AU cannot score points even into the high 50's in the last 2 games, then one wonders why Mike Bersch is not spotted in instead of Matt Wilson for instance? Even if he is not an "every day player" getting regular spot in the rotation, certainly he can pinch hit for 6 minutes to see if he can score some points and light a fire under this dreadful offense. How nice it would be if he (or anyone) could come in a shoot some accurate 3's. Again i question whether Jones is being a hard head more than he wants to score points. Spoting Matt Wilson in 6 minutes for Lumpkins is not going to budge the scoreboard. So how dreadful a defensive player is Bersch ? how awful a teammate is he ? how bad is his work ethic ? ZERO minutes in the past 10 or so games... That's how bad. I guess he also forgot how to shoot in practice?
ReplyDeleteit's not all about whether a guy is a better shooter. coach jones makes it pretty clear that you must play defense first in order to stay on the court, it's the very reason that it held garrison carr back for 2 years. do you think garrison magically became a great 3 point shooter his junior year? he killed guys offensively in practice his first two years but coach thought he was a liability on the defensive end. you may disagree with his decision there but he's sticking to his guns and i think it's respectable because great teams are defensively solid as was AU the last two years.
ReplyDeleteand Munoz is not a liablity on defense? and Vlad is not a liablity on defense? and Lump is not a liablity on defense? sometimes you need a pinch hitter to step up to the plate and lay down a bunt. he may not be an every day player but he can bunt. get it?
ReplyDeleteLord Baltimore as usual you don't deal in facts. With the exception of Army we have allowed the fewest points of any Patriot league team. A player can have average speed and still play excellent team defense. GET THE FACTS AND STATISTICS STRAIGHT BEFORE JUMPING TO CONCLUSIONS.
ReplyDeletewe lose because we do not score points. we are talking about points and what a shooter like Bersch might bring in spot duty. our last 5 game point totals- 65, 59, 74 (2 ot's), 54, and 51. Those are facts and statistics. please take check them out and get back to me. will AU score 70 points tonite? i hope so, but most likely not. Then stew on why we lost.
ReplyDeleteLB's comment broke our all-time (since August :P) record for number of comments on a thread. Someday I'm sure we'll see 100. It's a great day to be an AUHoops fan. (kinda)
ReplyDeleteAU is 5th in the PL in points allowed per possession - the only way to accurately measure defense. The stat cited above, points per game, is largely irrelevant because it is completely dependent on how fast or slow a team plays. AU has one of the slowest pace of plays in the nation - so of course they don't allow many points. Take a look at Pomeroy's stats:
ReplyDeletehttp://kenpom.com/stats.php?y=2010&s=18
Points per game isn't largely "irrelevant" as a stat, though it isn't definitive alone. It does give some indication of a team's defensive capabilities, b/c even though pace matters, there are teams that play up and down who still don't allow as many points as teams that are much more deliberate.
ReplyDeletePace is an important metric, though, and AU does play very, very slow this season. But we are also subpar defensively because we do not force any turnovers and we are not a good ballhandling unit (and thus, we get next to no opportunities in transition).
Offense also helps your defense. Our poor shooting means a) we almost never have a big lead, which would necessitate a quicker paced game as the opposition tries to catch up, which would lead to move scoring chances for us, and b) means the opponents don't take the ball out of the net nearly as much, which would allow our defense more time to set up downcourt.
And, if you're honest, LB, you'll admit you just hit on one of JJ's dilemmas: does he play bad defenders (Vlad, Munoz) or ever WORSE defenders (Bersch, Jolivette)? This is part of why Matt Wilson plays, and why Luptak plays. No, they're not good offensively. But they're vastly superior on D. Our only chance to win this season is to keep it slow and close, which we cannot do when we're turning it over 20+ times a game or being sieve-like defensively. Unfortunately, those were constants in the early games where Blake and Mike played.
When we have better athletes on the court next season, we may be able to hide Blake and Mike, as we were able to do with G Carr because Mercer was creating havoc out front and we had solid post defenders in the back. Hopefully Lump and/or Grafft become adequate as post defenders (Vlad is hopeless, I'm afraid). Hendra has the quick feet and reach to be a better wing defender, too.
And B-Cubed, I'm not trying to break LB's record, but one clarifcation: I'm not saying Carr was a horrible defender, b/c he actually wasn't that bad when people tried to post him up. But he wasn't as good as Mercer, Nichols, etc, and he improved significantly his last two years--as he admitted to the Post.
ReplyDeletePlease don't talk about stats. Lopsided games inflate point totals. Start fouling at the end of a game and you could easily add ten points to a player's total.
ReplyDeletePL teams are struggling to score against AU. Not necessarily because of what we are doing. The PL is super weak this year. AU can certainly be in every game if not for massive scoring droughts.