GW Hoops

You are not logged in. Would you like to login or register?



10/20/2021 1:22 pm  #1


Buff and Blue tip-off

Reminder that there will be an open scrimmage, followed by a Q and A with men’s and women’s coach on Friday, October 29th at 5:30 pm. Of course I am very interested in seeing our many newcomers for the first time, but it may also be the first time to assess how much of a hit the program has taken after a prolonged stretch of poor performances as well as Covid. I would love to know where we stand on season tickets/Colonial Club renewals. Based upon the notification, it appears no mask requirement for the vaccinated or the recently tested, which appears to be a recent decision. Also appears to be on the honor system.As for the scrimmage itself, what are the things people will be looking for?

 

10/20/2021 2:16 pm  #2


Re: Buff and Blue tip-off

Think GW has a mask requirement in general, which it should in the Smith Center and elsewhere.

 

10/29/2021 4:30 pm  #3


Re: Buff and Blue tip-off

Despite the email that suggested otherwise, there is indeed a mask requirement

     Thread Starter
 

10/29/2021 7:55 pm  #4


Re: Buff and Blue tip-off

Looked like there were several hundred fans in the scrimmage.  Women's team went first.  I don't really follow their team but was happy to learn that Darryl Webster's daughter was on the team.  (Darryl was a solid forward on the Mike Brown team of the early 80s.    Could not tell much from the 15 minute men's scrimmage, in which approximately 100 points were scored and there was not even a pretext of defense being played.  What was clear to me was Bamisile looked like a stud, with one monster dunk after another, sprinkled in with a 3 point shot, Brown, who is still listed at 6'11" and 270 pounds, is in much better shape and really does look like a force inside; Brendan Adams showed incredible 3 point range and likewise appears to be a player and that Samuels likewise seems like a very versatile player, with 3 point range to go along with inside moves, and some quickness.   FWIW...by my count, Bishop already launched 5 shots in the first 3 minutes and looked like, well, Bishop.    If you liked Hunter Dean last season, you should like him again, as he looked the same.    Didn't notice too much about freshman Nixon and Freeman, but they both looked like players.  The team seems to have upgraded its athleticism over the past several years and should be improved.   My many gripes with the team last season included its bad defense,  its inability to protect the ball, lack of athleticism (they were just slow) and lack of scoring options.   Seems like athleticism and scoring options should be improved but certainly unable to tell if either the defense or protection of the ball were improved.  The Q & A session with the coach was a waste of time.   Submitted softball question that didn't seem to provide much insight.   Don't recall anything worth sharing

     Thread Starter
 

10/29/2021 8:01 pm  #5


Re: Buff and Blue tip-off

Long Suffering Fan wrote:

Looked like there were several hundred fans in the scrimmage.  Women's team went first.  I don't really follow their team but was happy to learn that Darryl Webster's daughter was on the team.  (Darryl was a solid forward on the Mike Brown team of the early 80s.    Could not tell much from the 15 minute men's scrimmage, in which approximately 100 points were scored and there was not even a pretext of defense being played.  What was clear to me was Bamisile looked like a stud, with one monster dunk after another, sprinkled in with a 3 point shot, Brown, who is still listed at 6'11" and 270 pounds, is in much better shape and really does look like a force inside; Brendan Adams showed incredible 3 point range and likewise appears to be a player and that Samuels likewise seems like a very versatile player, with 3 point range to go along with inside moves, and some quickness.   FWIW...by my count, Bishop already launched 5 shots in the first 3 minutes and looked like, well, Bishop.    If you liked Hunter Dean last season, you should like him again, as he looked the same.    Didn't notice too much about freshman Nixon and Freeman, but they both looked like players.  The team seems to have upgraded its athleticism over the past several years and should be improved.   My many gripes with the team last season included its bad defense,  its inability to protect the ball, lack of athleticism (they were just slow) and lack of scoring options.   Seems like athleticism and scoring options should be improved but certainly unable to tell if either the defense or protection of the ball were improved.  The Q & A session with the coach was a waste of time.   Submitted softball question that didn't seem to provide much insight.   Don't recall anything worth sharing

Thanks LSF, appreciate the recap.  I couldn't make it tonight due to the weather.  Looking forward to finally getting back to Smith Center for a game soon.

Sad to hear the Q's were all softballs.  Like you said I think the biggest question hanging out there is what are we doing to strengthen our defense because it shouldn't be the case that we've been somehow worse than the 9-24 Mojo team. We really could use an answer for that.
 

Last edited by GW0509 (10/29/2021 8:29 pm)

 

10/29/2021 9:02 pm  #6


Re: Buff and Blue tip-off

Hard to put much stock in the scrimmage since no defense was played, but it was nice to see what the new guys could do. Agree that the Q&A was useless. I had submitted some specific questions about the defense for MBB and the offensive system that WBB will run but neither got answered. Perhaps I submitted them a bit late.

Joe Bamisile was a lot of fun to watch. My goodness does he have a lot of bounce. Maybe the most athletic GW guy I've seen in quite some time. I think he even brought out a reverse dunk during the scrimmage. He seems like he has good range as well and a nice looking stroke.

Brendan Adams as mentioned above looked good shooting from distance which was pretty encouraging. He made a half court shot and an additional really deep three (he had a couple other makes from distance as well). I think more consistent playing time will do him a lot of good (as with Joe).

James Bishop was pretty much the same - definitely not afraid to put a shot up though he was having an off night from distance. Maybe it's the effect of watching him in person for the first time in a GW uniform but he can really get downhill fast. He had a nice dump-off to Noel during the scrimmage. Given how infrequently we involved the bigs in our offense last year, that was nice to see.

Qwanzi Samuels was a pleasant surprise. He definitely showed that he has stretch big potential (going under the assumption he'll play the 4 off the bench). He made a three from the top of the key and also had a nice move where he knifed through the lane for a basket. This might be his first healthy season in a couple years - I am guessing that played a role in his inefficiency at Florida Gulf Coast.

Noel Brown definitely looks stronger and seemed to have better positioning near the hoop compared to last year. I believe his splits showed that he held up pretty well defensively in limited time but he definitely showed some rawness offensively. If he can man the 5 for us this year that would be huge (maybe providing some rim protection??).

Hunter Dean was more or less the same guy we saw last year. Like last year's scrimmage, he attempted some threes, something I don't believe he did in any regular season games last season. He seemed to hit the back rim on all of them, but if he could knock those down in the future a true 5 out look could be really interesting on offense. He is also pretty athletic and threw down a few alley-oops. Made me remember the times we used to lead of games in the ML era with the alley-oop dunk. I feel like as a team we just haven't dunked the ball much in recent seasons. Hope we do that more - let's get Hunter and Noel actually involved more on offense this year. Dean also had a block in the game.

Brayon Freeman was a bit erratic at times (it's just a scrimmage so whatever) but he had a really nice acrobatic layup late in the scrimmage. He is really crafty getting downhill and finishing near the basket. Threes weren't falling, but perhaps it was an off day.

Daniel Nixon seemed to defer a bit, but he definitely has a college ready body and should be a useful piece down the road. JC in recent interviews seemed to indicate that he might need to be eased in a bit to get a better understanding of where to be on the floor at certain stages of the game.

Bryan Knapp seems like he can play the three point specialist role pretty well on this team. He has a swagger about him that I do like. While his defensive numbers at Cornell are definitely below average, they aren't Seymour bad so perhaps he can see the floor a bit more depending on the situation.

Laziz Talipov showed a nice stroke in shootaround. Tyler Warner looked pretty good defensively - I think he deflected one of Noel's attempts near the rim. Theofanis Stamoulis even bounced in a corner three.

Amir Harris was off to the side working on some drills. Ricky Lindo was in a cast as mentioned above - was nervous to see that, but it appears not too serious. Nice to see Ira Lee was walking around a bit - there were pictures earlier with him in a wheelchair so by all accounts he seems to be progressing well in rehab from injury.

No scrimmage from WBB as their exhibition is tomorrow. I was unfortunately looking more on one side compared to the other, but Nya Lok caught my eye as someone who can really give us a boost offensively. Sheslanie Laureano was in a boot like Ricky but not sure how serious the injury is. Kyara Frames is a bit undersized, but was one of the more consistent shooters I saw (which gives her an edge over Aurea Gingras) and by all accounts seems like to start at point on day one with her experience. Maddie Loder looked a bit more consistent in shootaround from 3, and I think Leila Patel gives us another option from distance. Definitely good to see more shooting on this team - while still not the most consistent, it's hard to be worse than we were last year from distance.
 

 

10/29/2021 9:12 pm  #7


Re: Buff and Blue tip-off

Tonight was a great atmosphere. Kudos to GW for putting on the event. Here's a problem that overshadowed it all --- I couldn't agree more that the Q&A with JC was a waste of time. In fact, it was an insult to those in attendance. Especially with the shrinking fan base it doesn't seem like insulting the fans is the smart thing to do. GW and JC could have actually given fans information. For example, (1) what's with Ricky Lindo wearing a boot and not playing? Maybe we could have been told about the injury instead of JC blathering in coach speak about how excited he is for this team. (2) What's the injury status of Amir Harris? Unless I missed it -- somebody please correct me if I am wrong -- Harris didn't play in the scrimmage. Is he hurt? What his health status for this season? (3) How about a serious discussion by the coach about the team or the players or our defense or just insight into basketball? We all know too well that isn't JC's style too often isn't to talk thoughtfully and get rid of the BS coach speak. .Maybe I am expecting too much for JC to be much different than most college coaches. The bottom line is that tonight there were truly dedicated  GW fans looking forward to hearing some information and may even serious insights from JC. They didn't get it. I heard some grumbling. It was a chance for JC to connect with fans. He missed an opportunity. He says he values support from GW fans.  I think he might need their support if it is a rocky season.  

 

10/29/2021 10:27 pm  #8


Re: Buff and Blue tip-off

Bamisile looked electric and will be a star at GW.

We're going to be very thin this year, talented atop the roster but very, very thin on depth.


 

 

10/30/2021 7:56 am  #9


Re: Buff and Blue tip-off

thanks for the updates guys. 
 

 

10/30/2021 10:25 am  #10


Re: Buff and Blue tip-off

I know it is ridiculous to try to evaluate talent in a scrimmage that was barely more than a glorified shoot around.  How do you assess a player that you have not seen dribble, pass, (seriously) defend, rebound, etc?   Still, I could not help leaving the scrimmage without feeling good.   There appears to be real talent on the team, and 2 of the better players (Lindo and Harris) weren't even on the Court.  Nearly everyone on the court had a three point eye and appeared athletic.   Moreover, I have a feeling that we are going to get help from 2 unexpected sources, namely a faster and stronger Brown and a versatile Qwanzi Samuels.   This team really  may be underrated.   I know you are thinking "LSF, have you lost your mind?  You know better than that", but hey, its October, the time for unbridled optimism throughout the college basketball world.  Maybe I shouldn't read GWRisings posts during the off season, as they have a side effect of making one delusional.  For me, It will be a major disappointment if we go out and lose to the likes of Navy and UMBC this season, and I am in no mood to hear excuses for early season bad losses.

Last edited by Long Suffering Fan (10/30/2021 10:55 am)

     Thread Starter
 

10/30/2021 10:43 am  #11


Re: Buff and Blue tip-off

The one thing we'll never truly know is how toxic the locker room was at the beginning of last year, culminating in the transfers of JNJ & Maceo, and the loss of Ace Stallings.

Not for nothing, it seems like everyone likes each other this year.

 

10/30/2021 10:52 am  #12


Re: Buff and Blue tip-off

As for the event itself, you probably didn't miss anything by not attending if you were simply looking to learn much about the team.   There wasn't much to learn (other than tidbits of information such as Lindo's health status and Lee returning to the team next season).  In the end, for me it was worth the drive from Fredericksburg and I am glad I went.  It felt good wearing the gear again, being in the Smitty, seeing familiar faces (even if I don't know hardly anybody's name) and cheering in person for the players.   It also has sunk in that after an interminable wait, college basketball is here once again, and I will be attending a game in a little over 48 hours.  

     Thread Starter
 

10/30/2021 3:15 pm  #13


Re: Buff and Blue tip-off

LSF - see you on Monday.  I registered online to confirm my vac status online - was not aware of that

 

10/30/2021 3:55 pm  #14


Re: Buff and Blue tip-off

Exciting to have potential talent. However, after two seasons and an abysmal 17-32 record, will Christian and his staff finally begin to coach this season? The jury is out. The other big problem: Too few players with any real experience. 

 

10/30/2021 5:36 pm  #15


Re: Buff and Blue tip-off

I also left the event feeling more optimistic about the upcoming season than when I arrived. I was impressed with the athleticism of Bamisle and several other newcomers. Samuels also had great length and looked good shooting threes. Brayon's outside shot wasn't falling, but his handle looked very impressive and appeared to play with a ton of confidence. I was looking at the roster after the event and assuming lindo and Harris get healthy could really see this team playing 9 or 10 deep, and finally have the depth and types of players that could apply pressure for 94 feet for several minutes each half without everyone being fatigued at the end of games. I'm hoping we finally get to see Mayhem this year.

 

10/31/2021 11:50 am  #16


Re: Buff and Blue tip-off

To those of you who actually made it through the rain to attend, thank you very much for the recaps.

 

Board footera

 

Powered by Boardhost. Create a Free Forum