It has been 5 weeks since our last win and we’re all trying to figure out why: weak OOC schedule? maybe.  Inexperience? maybe.  Roster construction? maybe. Poor coaching? maybe.

Tom Izzo says he would play anybody anywhere anytime.  He has a developmental plan that extends from Nov to March with his team peaking for tourney time.  Yes not apples to apples but one coaching philosophy.

From biddy basketball in grade school to big boy D1 there has always been 2 sides to the game.  Defensive skills are never ignored.  Most players enjoy the offensive side way more because it gets rewarded with accolades.  Not so on D.  D is hard work and under appreciated.  Very few pros are labeled lockdown defenders so why bother?

We don’t have a lot of foot speed.  We get beat off the dribble, get picked off to oblivion, get beat in transition, and only when the rainbow 3’s fall 35% of the time do we show any signs of life. 

I’ve watched Miami a bit lately to seek any similarities to our team.  They seem to take many 3’s early in the shot clock just like us.  But they bust their tails on D and on the boards.

Just curious when a whole new starting 5 is tried.  What have we got to lose?  Something went wrong 5 weeks ago that hasn’t been remedied.

Let’s go Revs!!!

Hope the injuries aren’t serious.
Let’s see if anyone steps up and shines.

Interestingly, as of Dec. 21, GW was in the top 20 in the country in defensive FG %.  Today, we are 114th which sounds better than I would have thought but is obviously helped by the OOC opponents that helped land us in the Top 20. 

32 points for JBIV on just 22 shots.  4-6 from 3, 8-9 from the Line.   

 inching closer to the top of  the all time leading scorer list.  

Not going to win A10 POY but another 1st Team All A10  seems likely top 3 in the league in both assists and points 

  3% way up Free throw % way up.

 

Last edited by The Dude (2/21/2024 11:20 pm)

GW69 wrote:

I forgot to mention how much I’ve enjoyed being part of this community.Some really fine people on the 
Board.I’ve been impressed with the knowledge imparted here.I’ve learned so much about the game from all of you.Special shout outs to LSF-Mayhem-Rising and of course,the master-DMVpiranha.

Appreciate it GW69. I agree that NIL is ruining the game and it's not the same. It's harder to get invested in a team that may be comprised of guys here today and gone tomorrow. Gone are the days where the name on the front of jersey matters more than the name on the back. But what is the alternative?  The genie is out of the bottle and it's probably never going back in. This is the new reality but it is still just entertainment for me. When it stops being entertainment then I'm out. I think we all just need to get used to change. Nothing stays the same. Probably our ancestors would say the same about what we saw in the last 25-30 years or so.

Long Suffering Fan wrote:

[THis will be a cruicial off season in retaining what we have and bringing in some serious up front help.

This will be a very interesting off season now that the NCAA is enjoined from enforcing ANY NIL regulations including recruiting inducements and tampering

https://apnews.com/article/tennessee-ncaa-lawsuit-nil-7ecfad9c88f8c8baa7e0f4bb00f22ec9

Congratulations to James for scoring 2000 points at GW. A tremendous accomplishment.

An old basketball adage….There is no more overrated player than the leading scorer on a bad team

The Dude wrote:

With 34 points and 6 assists James now climbs closer to the All Time top of both lists, his 7 made 3s on 11 attempts notably have him shooting nearly 40% from 3 for the season

He was 1st Team All A10 last year shooting 29.9%.  

He shot 30.3% from three last year. But he also shot over 50% from 2 and this year he’s barely shooting 40% from 2.  Despite the improved 3pt shooting, both his effective field goal percentage and offensive efficiency are both down from last year.

Of course, none of that changes the fact that he was absolutely brilliant from 3 last game and nearly willed us to a short handed victory.

James Bishop IV has been named the A-10 Player of the Week for a third time this season!

Looking like a 1st Team All A10 pick

Bishop posted a pair of phenomenal performances at Saint Joseph's and Saint Louis, averaging 33.0 ppg, 5.0 apg, 3.0 rpg and 1.5 spg while shooting an incredibly efficient 50% FG (21-42), 64.7% 3FG (11-17) and 81.3% FT (13-16). All came while Bishop played 79 of a possible 80 minutes in the two games.

The 66-point week pushed Bishop over 2,000 points in his decorated GW career, becoming just the third player in program history to achieve the accomplishment. It also gave him 500 points for the third straight season, just one of seven players in NCAA history to do so.

Here's a 1st Team All A10 case.  He leads all players from  the 15 team conference in points produced, a measure of your offensive production via assists and points, same as he did last year
He's top 10 in all 4 years at GW but #1 trhe A10, this year and last:

2020-21 A-10 336 (5th)
2021-22 A-10 462 (10th)
2022-23 A-10 700 (1st)
2023-24 A-10 509 (1st)

Last edited by The Dude (2/26/2024 4:02 pm)