As it happens Bill is a tad indisposed this evening, so I'm going to go ahead and take my first crack at one of the hallowed GOOD, BAD, and UGLY posts! Bear with me here, I actually only tuned in for the last 1:30 of the game (originally thought I was going to miss it completely, oh lucky 2OT), so I'm relying heavily on box score data here. If I miss anything, make sure to let me know in the comments, your analysis is quite often superior to my own. Enough blathering, on to the G/B/U after the jump!
THE GOOD:
Stephen Lumpkins: 21 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks and 5 turnovers in 43 minutes is damn impressive. His sixth double-double of the year I believe is about double what our entire team managed over the past two seasons combined. I'm guessing we were really able to feed The Lump in the post, because as you'll soon see we didn't have much going on elsewhere. This is impressive, as we took real advantage of the fact that Navy is a very guard-oriented (read: short) team and really doesn't have anyone large and good enough to really stand up to a solid (at least by PL standards) big man like Lumpkins. This was particularly true in the first half, where Navy had to have been playing serious man-t0-man defense, as we pretty much manhandled them for the first 20 minutes of the game.
Simon McCormack: Simon is consistently ending up in this column, and it's a damn good feeling. I feel like Simon is one of those players who has truly been developing this year, and he doesn't get the credit he deserves because it doesn't always show in the point totals. As has been regurgitated ad infinitum, Simon defines hustle on the court. Tonight, he combined that by being...brace yourselves...an actual offensive threat with a career-high 16 points. Moreover, these points were split fairly evenly between the two halves of regulation, meaning that Simon was keeping the Midshipmen on their toes right up until overtime. Simon only had one assist, but he had 3 of our seven steals, which is usually an area where we're particularly lacking. Two turnovers to round out his stat-line over 36 minutes isn't necessarily mind-blowing, but when you consider that this is the type of support Lumpkins and Vlad need for us to consistently win games, I give it two giant thumbs up. Simon did end up fouling out near the end along with Hendra, but that's to be expected with 2OT.
ABYSMAL 3-point shooting: Also see the ugly column here, but I'm cross-listing this for a reason. Offensively, Jeff Jones has decided that we're going to shoot ridiculous numbers of threes to compensate for being a little underwhelming closer to the basket. We don't have much driving, guard penetration or fast break abilities and outside of Lumpkins, few threats in the post. So we shoot recklessly from beyond the arc, and we have paid the price when our opponents figure out they can crowd the paint and force us into taking bad shots. Sometimes this works, but tonight it just didn't. Yet WE STILL WON. How bad was it? 1/16 3-pointers, to the tune of SIX PERCENT. Yup, we won a game shooting 6% from downtown. Joe Hill only took two of them, which seems like a good deal of restraint on his part (or on the coaches), although it might be a product of him seeing only 8 minutes of play. More on Joe later, but I just want to reiterate that WE WON A GAME WITHOUT HAVING TO HIT THREES. The secret? Free throw shooting, but let's not get ahead of ourselves.
JOE "MOUNTAIN" HILL: Joe only made 2 points this game. He rode the bench for the most play, playing only 8 minutes out of fifty, some of them because Hendra ended up fouling out. He made 1-3 field goals, and was 0-2 from three point range. So why is he here? Simply put, he won the game. Yes, he WON THE GAME. For anyone who saw the video of his last-second shot in overtime 1 with 0.8 seconds remaining to tie it up at 72, I am incredibly jealous. More or less, with two seconds left we were tied, and Jordan Sugars makes a layup/field goal/something that scores two points, and Eagles fans heave a collective sigh of defeat. With no reasonable time left on the clock, we lob the ball across the court to try to get it to Lumpkins under the basket. It gets deflected straight into the hands of Joe, who MAKES THE FIELD GOAL, sending the game into 2OT. The collective reaction from everyone was "HOLY MOSES, THAT DID NOT JUST HAPPEN, BUT IT ACTUALLY DID." That's my understanding of it all, anyway. I suppose Joe built up a well of good karma at the Colgate game, because this is essentially the same thing but in our favor (and that's where poor Joe got nailed in the face). Also impressive is that Joe took just about as many shots from 2-point range as he did from 3. I can't even remember the last time he made a 2-point shot, but I'll darn well take this one. Good job, Joe. You've earned serious kudos from us.
Free Throw Shooting: 78% from the line won us this game. Navy shot 57%. Vlad was 10-11, Lump 5-7, Simon 6-8, Danny 4-5, Hendra 2-4, and Matt Wilson 2-2. If you add that up, that's 29 points from the charity stripe, which is at the very least a season record. Good to see that JJ has been drilling this during practice, it was sorely needed. This is one of the few things (only thing?) that we were good at in November that we seriously declined in as the season went on. Let's hope this continues into our last few games.
Vlad: For Vlad, 19 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals, 1 block and 2 turnovers is almost average. Sure, he was one rebound away from another double-double, but I think his real accomplishment was ending 2 overtime periods with only 4 fouls. Nope, Vlad didn't foul out of this one, and you can bet your collective Eagle feathers that I'm glad he didn't. With about 10 seconds left in the second overtime, Vlad made the field goal that put us up for good, 78-77. Consecutive free throws by Danny sealed the deal. Still, only 9 points from the field (and 10 from the line) almost feels a little low from The Impaler. He's seemed a little off the last few games, and some have speculated a minor injury at some point. I don't see it though, JJ takes care of his players and if something was wrong with Vlad, he wouldn't see play. Either way, Vlad had a solid performance tonight and makes it into the GOOD column.
The Number 14: Also of note, if anyone is reminded of the Patriot League Semifinal last season versus Army, it was #14 Brian Gilmore that made the three-pointer at the end that saved us from premature defeat. In this game, #14 Vlad Moldoveanu made the bucket that put us ahead almost at the end. Lucky #14, anyone? I was also very glad to see that Brian joined us from Switzerland for our liveblog earlier this evening. I'm sure he was shouting "IMPALED!" along with the rest of us from across the pond.
Tenacity: Dear readers, call me out if I'm wrong, but it strikes me that our team was out there giving it their damn bloody all for 50 minutes of play. Too many times I've seen our Eagles trudge out there and lose hope, and it's not pretty to see. Hanging on until the end and winning a game so similar to two others now in League play that we've lost, that's chutzpah if I've ever seen it.
Scoring Spread: Navy's Chris Harris had 30 points despite fouling out, and Jordan Sugars pitched in another 25 and a double-double. That's 55 of Navy's 77 points, meaning all of the other players who saw the floor tonight for the Midshipmen made less points (22) COMBINED than did either Harris or Sugars alone. How about us? Lumpkins' 21, Vlad's 19, and Simon's 16 account for 56 points, which looks a lot like what Harris and Sugars produced but spread between a third player. Danny pitched in another 8, and every Eagle who saw the floor tonight, including Matt Wilson, scored at least 2. This win was truly a team effort on our part, and the score reflects that. Lovin' it!
Sweep: This marks our first sweep of a Patriot League opponent this season. Considering Navy is far from the bottom of the pack, I'm impressed.
Honorable Mentions: Danny, Riley, Refs that didn't seem excessive with the fouls (but don't quote me on that, I wasn't there to see it).
THE BAD:
Hendra: 4 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 5 turnovers, and 5 fouls in 28 minutes is not a particularly great way for Hendra to celebrate regaining his starting spot. Luckily Simon picked up the slack, but wouldn't it be great if they could both get it going in the same game? I'm confident we'll be seeing that far more often next season. Heck, I hope we see it next game. We KNOW you can rock the court, Hendra, so let's get it in gear for Lafayette on Saturday! You can do it!
The Second Half Slump: I'm not sure what it was tonight, but we just didn't have the same oomph in the second that we did in the first. Sure, we came out of the gate firing, pushing our 8-point lead from the half to twelve, but Navy went on some serious runs to tie that up and push themselves ahead by five. The rest of the game was defined by runs, as we briefly went ahead again right near the end of regulation, and a big push at the end of 2OT won us the game (5-0 in the last 1:30 or so, it looks like). However, our ability to adjust at the half just isn't there. If it is, then our opponent's skills seems to dwarf ours here. It strikes me asan issue of being out-coached. Did Navy switch to a more effective zone defense? We have a lot of trouble with that one. Whatever it was, it wasn't pretty. We still pulled out the win, but frankly I think we could have done it in regulation.
Defense: Chris Harris scored 30 points, despite fouling out. In my preview I pointed out just how much of a beast Harris is, but putting 30 past our defense certainly doesn't land it in the GOOD column, that's for sure. Comparatively, we held Harris to (only) 21 in Bender.
THE UGLY:
Three-Point Shooting: I already mentioned this in the GOOD column, but it still ends up here as well. There's just nothing about 6% shooting from the three that ISN'T ugly, unless you happen to miraculously win while doing it. Still, this is pretty inexcusable. Admittedly, shooting only 16 threes is a bit on the low end for us, and might be indicative in a shift in JJ's overall strategy (that is, in this blogger's opinion, sorely needed). The only one we made came from The Impaler, with about 4 going way off target from Hendra, 3 from Luptak, 2 from Hill, one from GRAFFT (this should never, ever happen, he is SIX FREAKING FOOT ELEVEN), and even Vlad was only 1-6. Navy, comparatively, shot almost 40%. We still won? WHAT?
So as you can see, the GOOD tonight far outweighed the BAD and the UGLY. Here's to hoping that the same phenomenon occurs on Saturday versus the Lafayette Leopards. By some stroke of luck the Patriot League has deigned this game worthy of broadcast on CBS College Sports, so I hope to see you all there!
Pro Deo Et Patria and GO EAGLES,
Josh
Big, and fortunate, win by AU last night. At one point during the live blog I mentioned that Navy wanted it more as they were on a tear and AU seemed stagnant on both ends of the court. However, AU got into gear, made the necessary plays down the stretch and pulled out the W. Really solid games by Simon, Lump, and Vlad. Simon played great D, moved well with out the ball and found some easy buckets, attacked and got to the FT line and rebounded well. Lump finished opportunities and did a good job on the glass but would like to see him be a little strong in the post taking care of the ball when double teamed. Vlad, while he struggled offensively missing shots he typically makes, made some great passes, attracted attention on offense allowing others to get good looks, and made a big play late in the game by picking Harris's pocket and leading to an assist an easy two in transition. Good job by Joe Hill not giving up on the play and obviously hitting the game tying shot to force 2OT. Great to get a win when AU shoots 1-16 from deep, also. Hope to see a great game on Saturday.
ReplyDeleteI must apologize for the lack of tweets and photos from the game. I was inundated by little kids in our section and Alumni Hall, for all its splendor and tradition doesn't work too well with AT&T Wireless.
ReplyDeleteI am going to miss senior night this year, so I hope to make it out to the first round game of the PL tourny. First, congrats to Matt Wilson. Your contribution this year has been very helpful, especially on the defensive end. You are also a great motivator for our team. If Navy loses to Colgate and we beat Lafayette then the game will be at Bender. If the current standings hold then we will be back at Alumni Hall. Here hoping we can get AU fans out to the game.
Okay, on to last night....
My thoughts from the game: AU played hard throughout the game. Even though we had an offensive drought in the second half, and a lapse in judgment when it came to defense, we played the entire 50 minutes. Jeff Jones has to be proud of the play of Simon McCormack. He has truly grown this year into a well-rounded player. We are lucky to have him.
Honorable Mention to Steve Luptak as well. His dribbling has improved a lot and also his ball handling.
There were only about 20 or so AU fans in the sea of midshipmen and alumni that made up the crowd yesterday. But with 1.5 seconds left on the clock and many people heading to the exit, myself included, a silence fell over the Academy as the wind was knocked out of Navy's sails. Navy lost this game. They were not covering Lumpkins in the paint at the other end and his deflection put the ball in Joe Hill's arms. Without him there, that basket would not of gone in. Rarely, can you point to someone who won you the game, Joe Hill won us this game. I hope to see that play on ESPN, but I will settle for MASN or CSN. Oh and Joe was fouled when he put up that shot. I was right there.
Thoughts on the Navy program:
The Naval Academy is a must visit for anyone who is a fan of PL Hoops. It is a great place, though parking can be a pain, you have to visit. The Hall was built in 1991 and is filled with maritime charm. The arena is a rowdy one and you automatically are overcome with a sense of pride when you walk onto the campus. You are surrounded by people in blue and gold. At half, they play a game at dodgeball, that, by just watching it, gives you bruises. They also, at the end of every sporting event, sing the Academy’s alma mater, Navy Blue and Gold. It is a somber and poignant song for sure.
Lyrics:
Now colleges from sea to sea
May sing of colors true,
But who has better right than we
To hoist a symbol hue?
For sailors brave in battle fair
Since fighting days of old,
Have proved a sailor's right to wear
The Navy Blue and Gold.
So hoist our colors, hoist them high,
And vow allegiance true,
So long as sunset gilds the sky
Above the ocean blue,
Unlowered shall those colors be
Whatever fate they meet,
So glorious in victory,
Triumphant in defeat.
Four years together by the Bay
Where Severn joins the tide,
Then by the Service called away,
We've scattered far and wide;
But still when two or three shall meet,
And old tales be retold,
From low to highest in the Fleet
Will pledge the Blue and Gold.
Since you didn't see the game, I'll try to add to your analysis. We schooled a Navy defense that was neither here or there. We showed character and intelligence against a team that didn't put much pressure on the ball in the first half, nor did they collapse and clog up the middle. Our missed threes were mostly decent shots. We just missed them. We could have had a much bigger lead if any of those went in. Our teamwork resulted in a parade of shots and opportunities that made us look like one of those Princeton, Carolina or Richmond teams of old, when suddenly someone is so wide open you have to wonder if there is a sixth man on the floor.
ReplyDeleteBut when Navy amped up the pressure, their small and agressive lineup not only closed the gap, but gave them a cushion of their own. After they piled up the fouls, AU had the opportunity to make it tight.
Chris Harris scored thirty because of tremendous individual effort and a game plan that is highly focused on getting him the ball. He has developed the same kind of fall away turn around in the middle of the lane that made Mishipmen Kaleo Kina and Greg Spinks such tremendous weapons, equal to what you see in the power conferences. But it doesn't happen in a vaccuum. It is strategy to have your strong guard curl into the lane against a man-to-man, receive the ball and go for that tough shot with the defender trailing. It's really hard to stop if the individual talent is there. But I don't think it is by chance that three Navy stars in succession have done this.
Big kudos for everyone involved to score TWICE with last second plays - at the end of the first half and the end of the game. Awesome.
A good game for AU, and a different game than against other PL opponents.
I just want to add a couple of things I have noticed about Nick Hendra in the PL. His play has become fundamentally inhibited by PL officiating and defensive strategy - with the Navy game being a prime example.
ReplyDeleteHe is the victim of tight traveling calls that border on the insane. He also is a victim of flopping in the PL which has reached epic proportions this year. In one possession late in the Navy game, Nick did everything he could to avoid the charge, and still the guy went down like a ton of bricks. Finally the officials wised up when the clock was running down in Double OT, Jordan Sugars collapsed at the baseline against Vlad, no contact, and there was no call.
We are the bigger, slower team in the PL this year, and that makes us an easy target. As much as anything, I think this helps explain why a player can be an offensive flashpoint against Georgetown and come up empty in a PL game.
Last night showed how much growth this team has made this season. No, they did not always play well. But they played hard, and they played together. They moved the ball and found the open man. And when they had to, they made winning plays down the stretch.
ReplyDeleteYes, Navy is a small team. But good teams take advantage of their advantages. And if we play them again next week, I hope we keep pounding it inside and spreading them out.
Again, happy for Lump, happy for Simon, happy for Joe Hill, happy for Danny Munoz--who have taken a beating in these comments over the past few weeks.
Where are all the posters. 55 posts(mostly negative) after a loss, and only 5 after a road win against a team in the upper tier of the league. Very interesting.
ReplyDeleteAnyways a couple things to point out from what I saw. Simon played very well-scored, grabbed loose balls, steals-and most importantly his matchup against Chris Harris. Harris did go for 30, but he earned every point and Simon had him frustrated into taking poor shots when the game was on the line, and got him in foul trouble. Lumpkins played like a beast and we really need to continue feeding him down the last stretch. Danny got their PG into foul trouble with good penetration, eventually fouling him out, while holding him to 6 pts. Scored when needed and hit 2 big free throws to seal it. Luptak played good defense, kept the ball clean, and brought great positive energy out there. Hill-nothing needs to be said here-unreal shot, great to see us finally catch a break after all the buzzer beater we've been on the other end of this year. Like NJJ said, these kids have shown alot of fight and improvement in league play.
I'll be here to heap effusive praise on the team for this win a little later, believe you me. GREAT win.
ReplyDeleteWhere is Lord Baltimore?
ReplyDeletehere i am ! Of course i am delighted with the win. i was at the game from my Baltimore headquarters. What i saw was an AU team that came out with intensity and played that way thru the entire first half and most of the second half on both ends of the court. The opposite of the Holy Cross game. Everyone including the Coaches and subs seemed charged up. I guess the reason why is that this was a "do or die" game for a .500 season and a shot at a home game. For whatever reason it was good to see.
ReplyDeleteIt was an ugly win. My buddy said it was like watching two undercard heavyweights slug it out. There was nothing pretty about the AU 3 point shooting. Navy dared us to shoot from 3. Once they adjusted to stopping Lump inside at halftime, AU had to struggle to score. Jones sends in Hill for a possible 3 pt shot with 2.4 seoonds and serendipity has him putting back Lump's miss to tie the score. I think it was Luptak who made the length of the court throw, and his accurate throw was the key to the play. Kudos to him, Lump, and Hill for sending Navy home empty handed.
There were also two other keys: AU shooting foul shots at about 80% and Navy a bit over 50%. And once Harris fouled out- then Navy was a different team.
So what to take from this victory other than our kids played with intensity and escaped with a win. Our coaches shrewdly designed plays to take advantage of Navy playing 5 guards most of the first half. But without the win then its still a team with no top quality guards, and poor 3 point shooters. That is why Lehigh is at the top and we are near the bottom. I did not see the great penetration you mentioned. When you get smoked for 30 and 28 points by two opponents you cannot get too excited about your team's defense. But it was nice to win, and i will enjoy another victory on Saturday. This is League of mediocre teams and hopefully AU can continue the season with the type of intensity they brought against Navy ! And that is my unbiased opinion !
Well, I finally got a free minute in my day to talk about last night's game. First of all, thanks to Josh for writing the Good, Bad, and Ugly. It was more or less what I would've written. I won't rehash too much of what's been said here, but this is a great win for AU. Lots of heart, even when we let them go up by 8 on us. Joe Hill, obviously I'm singing your praises today. Amazing play from you. The Lafayette game will be key, and we should have a fired up Bender Blue Crew.
ReplyDeleteSteve - Thanks for pointing that out about Hendra. The 3 charges called on him last night were absolutely insane. I tried to leap through my computer screen to manhandle the referees. I failed.
Viddy - they do the alma mater thing at GW too. I like it there. I would like it here. I'd settle for more people knowing the AU fight song first.
Posts coming.
One game does not change things but only points out there are still major issues that do not seem to be changing. I need to agree with LB. 1.) This is a team that can't shoot from three and takes too many for how badly they shoot. 5 for 38/13% over the last two games and 36 for 128 over the last 6. The too many threes may be camoflaging the real lack of ability to do anything else on the offensive end. Pass the ball around the perimeter until the shoot clock goes down and there is no alternative but to hoist up a three.
ReplyDelete2.) Too many of the players only take up space with little or no offensive skills. Simon had a good game but is still limited as are Matt, Steve Luptak, JH. When the others go cold or are shut down, there is no one to take up the slack.
3.) Nick's offensive fouls were not borderline calls and were mostly deserved. I was at the game and it was evenly called. Navy had three starters foul out and are a more disciplined team. Stop crowing about traveling calls on Nick from a month ago, the leagure refsare not out to get American. He tends to be inconsistent. Let's not forget the last 2 games and performances of 1-7, 1-6,1-9, 0-4,0-2, 4-14, 6-16 from earlier in the year. Others would never see the court after these performances.
Navy was a small team and this was the reason AU won by being able to get the ball in to Lump or Vlad which led to many of the easy buckets on passes that AU had. Help defense had to rescue the smaller defenders in the post.
My math puts American at 5 for 38 (13 percent) on 3-pointers over the last two road games.
ReplyDeleteIn their last two home games, the Eagles have shot 17-40 (42.5 percent) on 3-pointers.
Just in terms of confidence when it comes to shooting the basketball, getting a home game in the first round PL tournament would be big.
"Let's not forget the last 2 games and performances of 1-7, 1-6,1-9, 0-4,0-2, 4-14, 6-16 from earlier in the year. Others would never see the court after these performances."
ReplyDeleteThat's what makes me think Brewer starts over Hendra next year.
Folks, you have to come to grips with the reality of the team this season: it's not good offensively. You can complain all you want about the three-point shooting, but I'd rather have a guy with an open look shooting a three than have us forcing shots through double-teams or having the guards just put their heads down when there's nowhere to go. We are not a good ballhandling team,so as much as we'd all love for Danny, Simon, Luptak and the others to cross guys over and get to the rim, it isn't going to happen.
ReplyDeleteYou don't have to shoot a great percentage on threes for them to be effective. Shooting 40 percent (four of 10) on threes is the same as shooting 50 percent (six of 12) on twos. So, while 36 of 128 isn't great, it isn't as bad as you make it out to be.
We don't play Navy every game. Most teams zone up on us or double the post against Lump and/or Vlad. The only way to get teams out of playing zone is to move the ball and make some threes. We don't have a B Gilmore that can take the ball at the foul line against a zone as a triple-threat option and break the D down. All we can do is reverse the ball as we do, try to get the defense moving and hope we make shots. (I would like to see some more back cuts, though, from Simon and Nick, just to give the D a different look from time to time.)
NJJ says "you have to come to grips with the reality of the team this season, it is not good offensively"- isn't that what i have been saying about the guard play all season on this blog. Again what is troubling is that i do not see this getting much better next season from these guards. ...maybe the transfers but not these guys. Our guys are generally too slow and that is not going to change. That blame falls on the recruiting and who we have playing for us. And NJJ- "shooting 40% on 3's is the same as shooting 50% on 2's". How about for example when we are shooting 36 for 128 and our opponents are shooting 50 for 128 ? Then how many 2's do we need. Let's hope thru hard work that Simon, Munoz, Bersch, and Blake can become real offensive threats like some of the underclassmen playing for other PL teams.
ReplyDeleteThe difference, LB, is that I think the kids are getting better and should be encouraged, while you think they're never going to get better because of our supposedly bad coaching. I think they're perfectly fine recruits--Derrick Mercers don't come along every cycle--that are progressing about as you'd expect for freshmen and sophomores, while you constantly point out their shortcomings and failings, and blame JJ for not doing better by them.
ReplyDeleteAnd, while I don't think they're ready now, I have by no means come to the conclusion that we won't get anything out of Jolivette and Bersch. Like Carr, like Gilmore, like a dozen other kids that have come through the program this decade, they need to grow and mature physically and emotionally, and learn that defensive effort is central to getting on the court if you want to play for JJ.
It DOESN'T BOTHER ME if we struggle this season. We have, figuratively, an entire new team. It seems to bother you greatly. (And, based on the paucity of comments after a great road win, other folks also seem to have a problem reacting to positive developments with the team rather than negative ones.)
This season posed some really tough challenges for the coaching staff. JJ had to make some hard choices. There was no clear path to sucess, just overwhelming problems to solve. We have some good things to offer our fans for next year, but it does not add up to success in the PL this year. If we get a home game in the PL tournament, we have to consider that as an encouraging achievement.
ReplyDelete"And, based on the paucity of comments after a great road win, other folks also seem to have a problem reacting to positive developments with the team rather than negative ones."
ReplyDeleteSecond time this has been raised. The reason there's a dearth of comments post-win is because it's a win. Everyone feels good after a win, and rarely are people going to criticize the team too hard after they just fought tooth and nail to pull that victory out. After a loss, people feel bad, I feel bad. I second guess the team. Do I still second guess things? Yes, am I going to bring it up after a win? No. Call me inconsistent or hypocritical. You'd be correct on both.
The other thing is, there were 55 comments after the last GBU. It was, I imagine, mostly the same 4-8 people debating. If 6 of those people are content, 2 people, on the same side no less, do not a noteworthy discussion make.
I for one think that Jeff and his coaching staff has done a better job with this team than last years team. Any coach in the league should have been able to guide AU to a PL championship last year with the talent that was present.
ReplyDeleteIf not for a loss in overtime to Bucknell earlier and a double OT lost to Colgate both on the road and both games we should have won, AU would be 8-5 hoping to be 9-5 with a group of ballplayers that nothing was really expected this year. I have been to every league game as well as a great number of the non conference games this year and every year for quite a few years and this is the least talented team we have had since I have been attending but yet for me, I have enjoyed this year more than any other. Congrats to Coach Jones, Donahue, Jackson and Burke. Were mistakes made, absolutely, are mistakes made every year? Yep... but I don't think there is another coaching staff in the PL that gets the amount of wins out of this group of players. Without VLAD we win one game this entire year, but with VLAD and with the other players playing harder and coming together they have made a respectable showing in the league. Thanks Staff for a very enjoyable year and I enjoyed it more than even last year. Don't get me wrong, I loved going to the NCAA's as much as the next guy but this is what it's all about,, THE STRUGGLE..
tony and the "half fullers". my goal was also a home game in the conference. if we get that i am satified, if we don't no biggie. what concerns me is (without the transfers) the quality of our guards and how they match up with other guards in the PL. Some seem to think Munoz is going to be a top guard. i surely hope so, but i do not see it now. i see it in the Lehigh guard, and Bucknell guard, but not on AU. I hope i am wrong and you "half fullers" are right. After watching AU for more years than most of you have been on this Earth, i am looking for building on success. I do not want 2 yrs. of success and 4 down years. So i see next year as key to our program. If we have another 7-7 or 6-8 season that is not acceptable to me or most of us.
ReplyDeleteLB-very hard to follow your logic regarding your Munoz comment. Danny is a PG-McCollum and B. Johnson are strictly 2's. Unless Im mistaken I thought the PG for lehigh was Hall, who is a SENIOR and the PG from Bucknell is Shazier whose a JUNIOR. They do not play the same position. 2 guards are expected to score-PG run the team. Actually all the PG in this league are juniors or seniors with the exception of Danny and Rolls from Colgate. Never have I seen players compared who don't even play the same position. Next LB will compare the frosh big from Bucknell to Goens the backup frosh PG from holy cross.
ReplyDeleteLots of interesting comments here!!!!!
ReplyDeleteAs for this year, I'd like to see us close out by taking the the easiest 3s or 2s we can get as late as possible in the possession. With rebounders in position if (when) we miss. If the defense is collapsing - which is a real possibility with Lafayette - I'd like to see us not bite so quickly. It makes the pace of the game quicker and we wind up rushing those 3s for no apparent reason.
When we play Navy in the PL Tournament, it is almost a sure thing they will come at us hard, which gave them so much success in the second half. In that case we could be in trouble. But we are not the type of team that should ever rush shots or possessions. We are not going to suddenly become a running or pressure team. I do not foresee us creating turnovers or turning opponent errors into points.
Some of the young guards in the league are impressive - even more so than Mercer or Carr were as freshmen, so let's not take too much of a lesson from that.
I also don't agree with the statement that any coach could have won a championship with that team. Two starters were not offensive threats. We lost two hopeful starters - one due to graduation (although he still had eligibility), and the other due to injury. One of our stars, Carr, struggled with his shot for much of the year. In fact, it wasn't until the PL final against HC that he had the kind of sensational game we'd been hoping to see in the conference regular season.
Quote: "If not for a loss in overtime to Bucknell earlier and a double OT lost to Colgate both on the road and both games we should have won, AU would be 8-5 hoping to be 9-5"
ReplyDeleteAU also won two equally close games, including the Navy game which they should have lost, so these things have balanced out. AU's 6-7 is probably about what they deserve.
Bucknell's Bryson Johnson IS a PG, but he also plays the two since Shazier is a two-year starter at PG. When Shazier is out, then Johnson plays the point. When Shazier graduates after next year, then Johnson may be the PG for Bucknell for his last two years.
ReplyDeletei said guards, not point guards. of course i know Munoz is a point guard. but we get little scoring from our guards- period. after the regular season is over tomorrow i will look up the stats for the freshmen guards and see where the AU guards rank among their rival PL freshmen guards. i will post on Sunday so we can all rejoice in that knowledge.
ReplyDeleteSteve,, what I said was any coach should (not could) have been able to win with the talent we had, I was simply showing that Jeff Jones has done an incredible job LAST YEAR with a much more talented team and meant that his coaching last year TO ME isn't what it is this year with a far lesser talented team. Man you guys are tough and just look for anything you can to argue about. I definitely am a HALF FULLER,, I live my life that way so I will take that as a compliment LB,, LOL... THANKS!!!
ReplyDeleteAnonymous, we could definitely have lost the games you state, again, my point is, we could easily be 8-5 though, nothing more or less was meant,,, and yes, I agree we are probably right where we should be but was making a point that AU could be shooting for 9-5 with a team that wasn't considered a contender at ALL. Oh well, not going to argue. We are 6-7, I think we over achieved to this point, I ENJOYED THE SEASON, and I think we have a great shot at going to the finals of the PL with any kind of luck at all. Lehigh is the only team I don't want to play right out of the chute and I don't think that is a concern so anything can happen. I will be traveling where ever we play so I hope to see you all there at the game.
So B. Johnson is a PG, but will spend half his college career at the shooting guard spot. Again, don't follow the logic. Ill tell you what, when he moves to that spot in 2 years, come back and we will compare production at that time.LB-if you have the time to do so, I think that would be great. Just make sure the groups the players are in, are by postion to make an accurate assesment. So if its the PG spot you are wanting to compare, it should be-Danny, Blake, Rolls (Colgate), Goens (Holy Cross), and Johnson (Lafayette).
ReplyDeleteI really wasn't going to comment again until after the game Saturday--don't want to dominate the comment thread, B-Cubed--but comparing statistics on players on different teams to determine who's "better" is ridiculous. Every team is different; this isn't NASCAR, where everybody's got the same ride. Some teams play inside-out (AU), some are three-point happy (Lafayette), some use multiple guard sets (Navy), some are more dribble-drive (Lehigh). People have different responsibiliites on each of those teams. Who's "better": Greivis Vasquez or Jon Scheyer? They have different responsibilties. They play in completely different systems. It's impossible to compare them.
ReplyDeleteBy this logic, Andrew Brown was "better" than Derrick Mercer because he averaged more points last season. Forget that Brown was Lafayette's only real scoring option, and that Mercer was on a team with the PL's all-time leader in threes, along with Gilmore, Simon, etc. But Brown scored more! So he was better!
That's absurd.
Just to take this to its "logical" conclusion: for example, how many games has Johnson started this season for Lafayette? That would be zero. So, he comes off the bench, where he likely plays more against reserves. Think it might be a little easier to score against bench guys? Think Johnson has more freedom to look to the basket when he gets in the game?
Danny has started 17 games. He is not supposed to shoot; his job is to start our offense, and make sure Vlad and Lump get touches. They are our offensive strength, obviously. I'm not saying he couldn't shoot better, but shooting/scoring isn't his job. And he's playing against the other team's best point guard, not its backup.
What Danny needs to work on is turnovers (his assist/turnover ratio is 1.26, which is mediocre/poor for a point guard; good ones are at least 2.5-1, and outstanding guards are 3/1). I think adding strength in the weight room and being smarter because of his experiences this season will help immensely next season.
I know I stand little chance of convincing LB and the others. But, really, statistical comparisons in a vacuum don't tell you anything.
I was sitting at the Navy game and I swore the game was in front of me but yet the whole game I heard whining from behind me about the refs and while I was watching Jeff Jones in front of me most of the coaching was going on behind me. LOL funny how people only yelled about the calls that went Navy way and didn't acknowledge the calls that went AU's way. I always gotta laugh when people have all the answers from the bleachers. What's nice is I only have to hear them from certain games. It's not a constant thing. LOL.... as one that has been hard on Munoz not being a shooter, I want to say he has done a pretty damn good job of shooting free throws when the money is on the line for a freshman. No I don't have his overall stats so he could be a 60% overall free throw shooter but he hit some huge free throws in the late moments of other games and hit some very clutch ones during Navy. Can't wait for someone to fill me in on his overall now, LOL
ReplyDeleteIt's not an illusion, Tony, Danny shoots 81.1% from the line for the season (30-37). In terms of overall percentage, he's behind Luptak (94% 16-17) and Bersch (100% 2-2). I think it's pretty clear that this means Bersch should be getting more play time (SARCASM, SARCASM, SARCASM, I swear to God if someone takes me seriously on that comment I will go berserk).
ReplyDeleteAlso, Tony, re: the refs, I try to make a point of telling the Blue Crew members around me when I think a call has gone AU's way or when a call against AU is missed (i.e. we just got away with a travel and they didn't call it). Can't say I always do that, but I agree, people need to be cognizant about the sword that cuts both ways.
Good point about statistics in a vacuum, NJJ. Context is king in anything. Danny is never going to be a consistent game-changing scorer; it's not his game. He is going to be an excellent field general though, you can take it to the bank. Also, don't worry about dominating the comments, I'm not about to complain about that. For a long time I just wished someone, anyone, would comment on the posts. Now not only do people comment, but they often bring more to the table than my actual posts do.
NJJ have you played or coached basketball at some level? You seem to analyze the game the way a coach would. Nothing against just regular fans, but you seem to have a firm grasp on the game of basketball. I agree with B3-keep posting because you bring the credibility of this board up in my opinion.
ReplyDeleteOh come on now, this site is a paragon of basketball insight and credibility. Sometimes.
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