Thompson on his team's ball sharing vs creighton

"i think if you go back and look at our last game, and then look at this game, our offense the difference is light years apart in that we made the extra pass today. The ball moved around. The guys did a very good job of sharing it.

"We have very good offensive players...And we have a threat inside and we have guys that can make shots outside. So when they move the ball, we're going to end up with good shots.

"The last game, and I'm not trying to put it all on us and take anything away from Xavier, but it was a series of I throw it to you, you work on your one on one moves, if it doesn't work you throw it to the next guy. We didn't have any movement. It was too stagnant.

"Today, they did a really good job of staying with our sets , moving it to the next person, the next person, and you end up with a good shot. I mean we end up shooting 75% in the second half".







mcdermott on this year's hoya unit and impact of smith

"i think last year, Starks and Smith-Rivera seemed to dominate the ball alot. John put them in situatins where those two guys were going to take the lions share of the shots.

'they have more weapons now. And Josh just creates a whole set of problems when he's in the game becuase you have to, have to commit more than one guy to him. We're not blessed with a guy like Stainbrook where you can just play one on one and take your chances. So we had to commit more and he's a good enough passer he gets it out of there and he can hurt you.

"the fact that you are committing more, you are a little late getting out to the shooter and now they're knocking it down in the second half (was crucial).

"So I really like their team. I think it's a team as the season goes on it's just going to continue to get better and better as those young guys continue to improve and unerstand the role that John wants them to play.

i can say it now that i've confirmed: akoy agau.

6'8", 230...remade his body, can shoot out to three now, really good passer. good rebounder.

on nebraska, which he visited this week and will do so again soon:


"it was alright".

hung out with guys? "not necessarily hung out with them. was with them in walk through" prior to huskers' game with indiana.

on the miles/crean dust up: "i thought it was a little crazy. i heard some things...i thought it got a little crazy".

on wichita state:

"i like them. i watched practice. the practice were really intense. they talk about defensively how good they are, and i witnessed it".

"coach gregg marshall has worked his way up to one of the best coaches in america"

on marquette:

"i really liked it down there. i thought the coaching staff was great, coach (mark) phelps i've known him since 8th grade when he was at drake...coach mojo is a genuine guy. the system fits me pretty well".

on Broadus

"that's my man right there. i've got really close to him. he recruited me the first time and did a really good job".

broadus apparently remained good friends with akoy's coach.


background:

hails initially from "southern sudan" as "i was born there".

came to usa "when i was about the age of nine. i also lived in egypt".

off the court: "i'm close with the guys, just hanging out with my teammates. going to movies, being a regular guy".

We took a huge hit in the AP poll, dropping almost out of getting any votes. We had about 7 votes, while in the Coaches poll, we only dropped 1 spot to 27. Not sure what to draw from that other than most coaches were too busy on new years eve either coaching or drinking to see our Xavier game. I do think our Saturday win at home would have helped stay higher in the AP poll, but it doesn't mean that much at this point.

Bracketology, we are a 9 seed, which feels about 2-3 seeds lower than where I personally think we'll end up and about 1 seed lower than I think we deserve now. An 8 feels better with the likes of LSU, Washington, Stanford and Ohio State, but I can't imagine Lunardi gives us any favors considering our past tourney collapses. Interesting thing with the bracket is that the BE has 7 bids currently, higher than any other league (Big 12 and ACC has 6 each). Although I think all of the BE teams will get beat up during the season and we may end up around 6, our out of conference performance as a league will absolutely help us come march. Our Indiana win is going to be a really big one for us come March and maybe Florida figures it out. Chuck is looking more correct each game that Florida isn't good. Although a counterpoint, their only bad loss looks to be Florida State, who isn't a cupcake by any means.

Stuart Scott passed away over the weekend. He was one of the great SportsCenter anchors of all time and a trailblazer in sports broadcasting. Rest in peace my brother. My deepest condolences to his family.

BJ



This post was edited on 1/5 12:38 PM by BJahi

Josh Hart with an extremely dirty move against ?Delgado in today's game.

If Ron or anyone knows of or sees any recruits at today's game, please let us know. I imagine Agau will be there front and center, right behind the Hoya bench. Thanks

tidbits:

personally i expect the hoyas to use more zone than conventional wisdom suggests...cray doesn't seem to have a good zone offense, at least not against provy.

josh has to get off against these guys...soften them up, slow them down

vs pack line, you have to make shots...who on the hoyas will? shots after ball movement are crucial, including inside touches


jt3

tray

josh

ticks are avaiable....lower bowlers starting at like $21 clams as of RIGHT NOW. get your tix and come on down

article has link.

Ticket Watch: Creighton

will be on wol 1450 am this sunday, at 1230p.

he'll discuss his team's political statement, the clerk squad, and other things.



harrison to appear on 1450a

The Hoyas typically don't play well against Xavier on the road. Quite honestly, I did not expect a victory, however it is very frustrating to watch this group play. I made the comment after the Indiana game that I had doubts about the Hoyas continuing to play well, mainly because the upperclassmen are too inconsistent and JT III showed more intensity than normal against Indiana, which I did not expect to continue.

The question that I just don't understand is, if your more experienced players continue to make the same mistakes throughout the season, why are they allowed to play the most minutes? The Indiana game is the only game all of the upperclassmen played well this year. I seriously doubt that will happen again all season. Ike Copeland plays 7-8 minutes when the players ahead of him are making the same mistakes. Very talented players like Copeland need consistent minutes to develop and build confidence. He should have played at least 20-minutes. So few minutes is limiting his development. Paul White should play 30-minutes against teams like Xavier, because he'll create more scoring opportunities, and his overall floor game is much better than anyone else on Georgetown.

I'd like to see Georgetown get past the first or second round of the NCAA tournament, but I seriously have my doubts. Xavier is a well-coached team, and a NCAA tournament team, however Georgetown is a more talented team. Georgetown's more experienced players should not play as poorly as they did against Xavier at this point in their respective careers.

BJ
This post was edited on 1/1 1:37 PM by BJahi

is here.

Call me old fashioned but I wish we would stay with the blue and grey.
And, this side trim that looked to me that our design mirrored at hockey stick looked ridiculous.
Really liked the new jerseys at the start of the year with the thin trim...reminded me somewhat of what we had when I went to school...more importantly when we would blow away teams like Xavier.

What is your take on our uniforms?

a guy this weekend. more later as confimred.

This post was edited on 12/31 8:11 PM by ron19

This post was edited on 12/31 8:13 PM by ron19

I am pumped for the game tonight. Ready to get the BE season going. Tonight won't be easy, on the road against a good solid team on NYE, but if we can get a win I think it really could propel us to a big BE season...maybe 12 or 13 wins.

Should be a great game if we can overcome the crowd and emtion early on.

i'm liking this tarik turner guy on the color. like his breakdowns.

cray can be run on. pg really triggers offense. pack line defense can give up shots on quick skips.

provy's dunn is doing that thing. driving, dishing, defending, scoring.

is here.

ill be on it, to join the fun. hahaha

Mayo of Marquette/Westchester NBDL team was suspended for hitting Chris Wright of Georgetown/Bakersfield NBDL in the head last night.

the GSW just slaughtered the Sixers by 40 and I didn't have tonight's game but caught the telecast.

Bob Fitzgerald and Jim Barnett said a lot of nice thing about Henry.

There was a play with 5 minutes to go and the Sixers down by 38 where Nerlens Noel got blocked. Henry ran the court both ways hard and ended up finishing with a dunk while fouled.

Barnett then said that's what he likes about Sims. He mentioned how Noel got blocked and Henry just raced pass him getting to the defensive end (and he really did). Then when the Sixers got the rebound he raced pass Noel again for the finish.

Then Fitzgerald talked about how that's exactly what you have to do as an undrafted player.

I was very pumped hearing that conversation about our guy Henry!

Muskies:
the are a terrific offensive team...personally i think they are the best offensive team the hoyas have faced so far...

they lead league in reg and 3 shooting percentages...points also. and dimes.

the have post, middle and long games. use on balls...incl pick and pop, pick and rolls. find the open guys...bigs and littles will pass the rock.

can push. can walk it up.

look for farr to pass well and step out beyond the arc

stainbrook qb's them...but they also iso for him, where he can score with both hands around the rim.

reynolds is the x factor...a coo coo bird, but he's very long, atheltic, and is becoming a heckuva player

davis guys can shoot (myles but also dee) and drive (particularly dee)

they bring a shooter off the bench that has promise.

frosh bluett leads them in scoring...and he passes. is a smart player that takes what you give.

x played pretty good defense vs gulf coast, but haven't really strapped all year

resultantly...

Hoyas:

expect them to push the rock hard. test x's transition defense.

the matchup of josh and stainbrook will test smith...he MUST defend the big man, but also not get frustrated b/c matt will score on him. expect a gang of on balls he must defend (smith)

big hops vs farr matchup. mikael will be drawn away from cup sometimes.

they don't have a real guy to matchup with peak imo...but peak must not force EVERYTHING to rim.

hope the hoyas challenge stainbrook with on balls themselves...make him play in space

of course the skips are important...x does that.





This post was edited on 12/31 2:08 PM by ron19

Here is a kid to keep an eye on.

One of Manute Bol's sons

The Indiana victory was one of JT III's best coaching jobs in his career. His in-game coaching decisions and strategy were pivotal to the Hoyas making a comeback. The Hoyas were also hustling and diving all over the floor, and he was giving the officials a mouth full of criticism. Its been a while since I felt JT III's venom on the sidelines. He is usually so reserved and mild mannered. Unlike the Indiana loss a few years ago, JT III's intensity and the Hoyas effort was there all game. The Hoyas wanted this game, and it showed with their intensity. In spite of several questionable first half calls, the Hoyas maintained their composure and showed a great deal of fortitude. Today's victory is a great learning tool for the players and coaches, and let's hope it is consistently duplicated from this point forward.

BJ

Akoy agau out of Louisville. Did not see much playing time in college. a forward more known for his defense and shot blocking than his offense.

No surprise here. Beat out Paul White. Just joking with the posters who claim White is the Hoyas "best" player. Maybe someday, but not today.

This post was edited on 12/29 3:06 PM by SFSHoya

Great win today. JT3 has to be given credit for loosening the reigns on his basketball team. The way this team plays is fun and not as mechanical as many of his previous teams. Guards and other players like this style of play, he'll start to attract better players because of this.. A structured offense,but one that gets up and down. Calhoun called it perfectly when he said that this was the missing piece to the Hoya offense. As an opposing team, I love when you walk the ball up and have to set up your offense. Adding running makes it much more difficult to defend and it also changes the flow of the game. He's also sticking with players who make mistakes (Peak) longer than he has in previous years. This will pay off later in the year.

I mentioned earlier this year, as goes Josh as goes this Hoya team, no better proof than today. Josh is as unique a college player as there is today. A skilled big man who is a match-up problem for any opposing team. He automatically draws a double when they feed the post. The team is especially dangerous if DSR is feeding him as the other team has to pick their poison. If DSR can become more consistent, I think this team can be special.

This post was edited on 12/27 3:09 PM by bsure

On masn