Highlight in those games ColonialNY referenced was taking 3 OTs to beat Duquesne,which had lost 14 in a row.
At our home.

Bad end to a bad season. More of the same next year? Not looking good at all. Sigh!

ColonialNY wrote:

Anyone else feel like all the progress we thought we made during the middle to later portion of A-10 regular season play disappeared in the past 10 days with the games against Mason, Fordham and now this one?

I think what this team is in immature.  When things are going well, they seem to be able to focus and play relatively sound basketball and take good shots (Richmond game notwithstanding but they are a senior laden team with far better talent).  However, if the shots are not falling or the calls are not going their way, they immediately revert to hero ball and get sloppy with their decision-making: trying to force low percentage passes or dribbling through multiple defenders.  Also look at our defense when things aren't going well.  How many times did you see our guys throwing up their arms like a temper tantrum?

Outside of bringing in new talent (job #1), JC needs to promote some fundamental elements in the offense and defense.  I know he talks about wanting to give his players autonomy and freedom to make mistakes but sometimes that lends itself to players not sticking to the game plan.  Gotta strike the right balance between that and being a micromanager. 
 

Last edited by GW0509 (3/10/2022 8:29 pm)

I think EVERY team in the country can have hope for next year with the transfer portal. GW has a good trio with Bishop, Bamisile and Freeman returning, I'm sure JC and the staff are already monitoring the power forwards and centers on the transfer portal. 

About this season, at least GW took care of business against the bad teams(for the most part) and finished with 8 wins in conference!

Off topic, I just realized that the play-by-play man for the game was Cris Collinsworth's son. I didn't know he announced basketball games too, I'd seen him doing the NBC primetime NFL games with his father. 

DC Native wrote:

Disappointing outing, but nothing has changed. The team this year was definitely better than it has been the last few years, but we need to keep our guards (the three Bs) and upgrade our front court to move up in the A10.

Well, overcooked liver is better than runny porridge, so I guess that holds true. I´d still rather have a medium-rare fillet mignion. Then again, I used to drive a Soviet-built LADA so my current car (a Kia) is "definitely better".
 

DC Native wrote:

GW Alum Abroad wrote:

DC Native wrote:

Disappointing outing, but nothing has changed. The team this year was definitely better than it has been the last few years, but we need to keep our guards (the three Bs) and upgrade our front court to move up in the A10.

Well, overcooked liver is better than runny porridge, so I guess that holds true. I´d still rather have a medium-rare fillet mignion. Then again, I used to drive a Soviet-built LADA so my current car (a Kia) is "definitely better".
 

Thanks for making me laugh out loud with that one! I definitely want a filet season too, but wasn’t expecting it this year. And to me, winning the NIT is not a filet season. Its more like your overcooked liver with a really nice dessert to make up for the bad meal. Haven’t had a filet season since 2006, imho.

To keep it going 2007 was what? A sirloin from Outback? and 2014 a burger from Shake Shack?

Three really talented players--Bamisile, Bishop, Freeman-- handicapped all season by poor coaching. This is all about coaching and Christian is not the answer!. 

Just an absolutely gutless performance tonight. It's unfortunate to say because there has been an improvement overall during conference play. At the end of the day though this team has to get a lot better if we want to continue moving up in the A10. Through two days of the conference tournament, we were the only higher seed to lose.

It seemed from the tip that we were really nervous. Not sure whether it was the venue or the simple fact that we were considered the "home team" of the tournament. It was even more disappointing with the Mo Creek homecoming. Glad he's back safe and wish we could have got the W for him. No one was on the same page on offense, and we were fortunate to not have thrown the ball away a few more times if I'm being honest.

UMass had a lot to play for. They clearly rallied behind McCall after it was announced he wouldn't be returning next year. The Minutemen had more seniors who didn't want their college careers to end, the momentum coming into the game, and also the fact that they hadn't beat us in a long time. It showed in the way they played.

That's the thing that was upsetting about the game. We weren't remotely competitive pretty much the entire 40 minutes. We weren't going to make it beyond tomorrow anyways, but the fact that we didn't show up with the right energy was more upsetting than the loss. The team the past few games has simply not played with full effort. Fortunately in the Duquesne game we were given the opportunity to turn it on in overtime because the Dukes were severely inexperienced, but otherwise we have looked like we have been just going through the motions. As 0509 mentioned, this team shows a certain level of immaturity when things don't go their way. They start taking poorly contested shots on offense and don't get back on defense. The attention to detail is missing at times. I can only hope that more experience will fix this because much of the team is still on the younger side.

I appreciate JC burning a couple timeouts early on, but it was clear the game was over after the first 10 minutes. We got crossed over multiple times on defense (literally fell to the floor) as UMass showed us how you should be sharing the ball on offense. There needs to be A MAJOR focus this offseason teaching the guards to stay in front of their man. Our rotation on the back line is bad but they are put in such a tough position because we let the opposition get such good positioning in the paint whether that's through driving the ball or letting other bigs post up. This is partly because we run opposing guards off the three point line (and maybe a better big will erase more shots) but it can't be ignored that we have been a sieve near the rim under JC on the defensive end.

There was too much isolation ball today. While we did put up 88 points which is more than enough on most nights, that's partly because UMass has one of the worst defenses in the country. I was surprised to see we actually finished the night shooting better from the field than them. We tend to jack up contested jumpers in the halfcourt when the offense is stagnant. There is no belief that we can find a better shot so we settle.

Despite a few bad turnovers today, Brayon continues to be a bright spot getting to the hoop on offense, finding others in the halfcourt, and playing good on-ball defense. I'm excited to see how he grows next year.

Joe's cool demeanor whether we're winning or losing is fascinating to me. I've just never seen a player quite like him. The next step in his development is becoming more consistent on both sides of the ball. He has had some great plays defensively but can take plays off at times. Offensively, he has to figure out when is a good time to take a three and when is not. The recent Mason and Fordham games stick out as examples where there could have been better decision making on some shots. This feels especially true given we won the first Mason game by him actually getting to the hoop.

While this team has been frustrating to watch at times, Brayon and Bamisile certainly provide a lot of excitement moving forward.

It's been two seasons now and I still don't really know how I feel about Bishop. It's neither good nor bad. There's no doubt he has made some strides this year. He is less afraid to let out emotion on the court now which is nice to see as it looks like he's having a lot more fun out there. There is more effort being shown on defense although he still tends to lose his man at times. Offensively, I know he is at the top of the scouting report but we need James to be more consistent as a shooter. He shot under 40% in seven out of the last eight games. Bishop finished the year shooting under 40% from the field which is bad off the ball. To be clear, Bishop is far from the biggest of the team's problems, but the team goes as he goes. If he isn't giving full effort (like tonight or the St. Joe's game from earlier in the year), we are likely to lose. Going into next year, we cannot afford to have him disappear in games because that has happened quite a few times this season. I'm glad he got third-team honors, but truthfully he is a volume-dependent scorer. He improved from the FT line but has actually taken a step back in his efficiency despite being placed off the ball.

It was nice to see Ricky go out going a perfect 4-4 in what is likely to be his final game in a GW uniform. We saw the good and the bad from Ricky this game as we have seen in many games this year. He has developed a lot offensively. While there were times during the season where it felt he wasn't getting the ball consistently enough (and times where he was settling from three), I think he finished the year on a high note mixing in drives to the hoop to keep defenses honest. I am thankful for his hustle on the boards and for providing much needed rim protection at times down low. It wouldn't be a Ricky game without him being in foul trouble. To be fair, some of the fouls are on him because he tends to commit silly fouls slapping wrists but he has been put in a bad position a lot of times due to our poor rotation defensively down low. I'm not going to lie, I don't blame Ricky one bit for being frustrated game after game of not having any help in the frontcourt. I hate to see him go. We now have a gaping hole in the frontcourt (it was big anyways, but now its going to take some significant patching).

Hunter really stepped up in the second half of the year and was a big reason we got the 7th seed in the tournament. He is a good offensive player and I still believe we should have gone to him more this season than we did. The two consecutive plays that he actually got to the rim resulted in 4 points (a dunk and two FTs). The biggest gripe I have with JC is the imbalance on offense. Playing like NBA teams is cool and all (and there's no doubt guards run the game) but you have to be able to go to the post in some capacity. I'm not convinced Hunter cannot do that more times than he has this season. There's no way Bamisile or Bishop can improve their efficiency without forcing defenses to account for other guys down low. While Dean is missing a consistent post up move, he sets good screens (I don't remember many illegal screens that he got called for this year) and does a pretty good job finishing down low when he gets the ball. I also think he has pretty good rotation on his FTs. He needs to improve defensively, but adding another frontcourt player to help him out against better bigs in the league would also be helpful.

Qwanzi definitely proved his worth during A10 play as a solid glue guy from off the bench. It was nice to see him start knocking down open looks when defenses were disrespecting him and I think he can continue to be a useful rotational piece. I still question whether he can match against the bigger/stronger teams in the league (he can get overmatched on defense as he's on the skinnier side) but he can certainly give the team a boost at times.

Brendan embracing his role was another big reason the team took a step forward this year. While I hope we add a lot to the frontcourt so he isn't forced to guard guys much taller than him, Brendan does a great job in many areas. He's a great on-ball defender, can bring the ball up late in games, and make free throws/big shots when needed. His made shot at the end of the shot clock was one of the best decisions anyone on the team made tonight. It would be great if he improved his efficiency next year, but he is what he is at this point. As long as he's not taking threes early in the shot clock, he gives us good minutes.

Glad Amir got a few minutes in one last time but it was pretty clear this year he wasn't himself all year. I'm happy he stayed committed despite the number of obstacles he had to overcome to play again and he gave the team some much needed veteran experience. Wish him, Bryan, Ira, Miles, and Theo all the best with whatever they do post college.

Another season is in the books and while it sucks that we ended it with this performance it will be exciting to see how we address our weaknesses for next year. The 2022-23 season is the prove it year for JC.
 

Very well done by DMV on our vulnerabilities and lack of team play.
Can address specifics later.
But the bottom line was that we were thoroughly throttled by Umass in our first game of the tournament, despite the advantage of it being within walking distance of our home court.
  And even announcers noted,every loose ball,50-50 ball and maybe even long rebounds up for grabs were UMass. They wanted it more and it clearly showed.
  Players with a lack of energy or desire--other than personal glory--are left in the game.
Brayon seemed to be trying to will us to come back at points and Ricky, as noted,had to try  do the job of 2 or more players,as was often the case. Business as usual. And we don't try something/someone different.
DMV thoroughly notes our offensive lack of sharing/ team effort,along with defensive disinterest at times.
  Does the great athleticism and pedigree of coming from a big program help if you are down to Umass by 20 at one point,blocks from your home court?
Or is it the "unselfish" team play of lesser talents that McCall (ironically the coach being fired) noted post game as his team moved on and ours ended?

When Dean was recruited, he was highlighted as a guy who could shoot from outside and stretch the D.  Or maybe I am mistaken or senile.