Not taking anything away from Potter's game, but have to be a bit concerned about the 5-14 shooting (including 0-4 from the 3) and the 5 turnovers.   Still, we did appear to be better with Potter in the game rather than Nelson, who hardly played yesterday due to foul trouble or today due to coach's decision.  

Milwaukee Panthers fan wrote:

Excellent preview/write-up about Milwaukee, by the way!

Thanks for the kind words Milwaukee Panthers Fan. Hope Lucas is okay. He looks like a player even if he had a bit of an off game today. Best of luck to your team moving forward.

Anyways, another solid step in the right direction for the team today. Minus AT, we still managed to win the rebounding battle 33-32 (or should I say rebounding BATTLE as Jamison has really stepped it up on the boards of late, today his best effort yet). We also did a much better job moving the ball today, when it seemed like the past game and a half we were trending towards a bit of isolation ball. 

Offense: The offensive playbook has just been infinitely better this year compared to the last. Our scoring output has increased with much of the same personnel because we have been able to generate more open shots, and actually run structured plays. In the short season thus far, I have seen the spacing on the floor improve dramatically. It only makes sense that Maceo and Jamison share the court for long stretches given they are our main three point threats on the team. The issue is that pretty much every team has taken both away over the course of games. It will be harder for defenses to do that in the future if we are able to find a third threat. Right now that remains a question mark. I know Shawn went just 1-4 today, but his stroke looks really good so maybe he can be that for us in the future (I mean for this season - it's assumed Sloan becomes that for us next year). Anyways, as has been mentioned here, the execution finishing plays on offense is still a work in progress. When we went cold for a long stretch in the second half, we just weren't able to convert on shots close to the hoop although the plays were set up well by Armel (this is another thing that has improved in just a couple games - down the stretch of the UMKC game, we were stagnant and not operating within our offense; today, I think we did a bit better job continuing to move the ball and hopefully later in the season we can finish off more shots).

Defense: Again, having a help defender underneath the hoop double team a player from getting an easy 2 has been a big improvement the past two games. It helps that Milwaukee and Evansville were ice cold from 3 (which is always an element of luck), but I will also credit our ability to run guys off the line and rush their shot a bit. As mentioned yesterday, the addition of a rim protector could really make this defense look pretty good (although I'm still waiting on us generating turnovers - we aren't too good at turning teams over but maybe that improves in the future).

I also just want to say I was slightly upset about the last minute of the game. I know it doesn't mean much at the end of the day, but winning by just 3 was slightly disappointing (I know, I'll take any win we can get but we probably should have won by closer to 7-8). I'm not talking about the Armel foul on a three (which seems like a make-up call in some respects - I'll say we got away with a few traveling calls) but rather the turnover hitting the ceiling of the ballroom. Did the players know that hitting the ceiling results in a turnover? I think we were able to convert on a similar play in the Howard game with the football pass, but why not take a timeout or just attempt to throw it in a tight window? At least give yourself a chance to not automatically turn the ball over but anyways it doesn't matter as much at the end of the day. We should have also not fouled on Milwaukee's drive to the hoop after that, but anyways I'm just happy about the win.

Game Ball: Once again, has to go to Armel, who is just playing with great confidence right now. 66 points in the past three games! While at times him driving near the baseline gives me great anxiety, his vision finding guys behind the arc and near the hoop is really what I find extraordinary. He also put a bit more effort on rebounding which is an added bonus. Honorable mention to Jamison. He came in top 50 nationally in made threes, and I believe has raised his three point percentage to a team best 45%. But, his rebounding was bigger than just the number (12). He has sure hands pulling down the boards.

Player Breakdown:

Armel - earned his first start today. I'll say this - I know some around here are surprised by what he has shown, but this is what I knew he could give us last year itself (from a scoring standpoint; admittedly his passing has been the real surprise for me). Last year, Armel was hampered by an injury and lack of confidence. This offseason, JC not only made him one of the captains on the team, but a chance to grow as a leader. The impact of this will probably go unnoticed, but it has given Armel a world of confidence that he simply did not have last season. Of course, his impact offensively will always lead to the thought of what we could have looked like had he played significant minutes from game 1, but this is why you trust your seniors who have experience under their belt. Nothing against JNJ, but he will get his chance as soon as next year. It also leads to the thought that it took Justin to have less of a role and eventually transfer before Armel could shine. Now I want to be clear that I'm not knocking Justin at all - I truly wish we could have played this season where they both could play meaningful minutes, but I guess it wasn't meant to be. For what it's worth, Justin posted on his IG story congratulating Armel on reaching 1k points in his career, so it's nice to see he didn't leave on bad terms with his teammates. Defensively, I'm not sure how Armel finds himself having to defend the opposition underneath the hoop so frequently (he has no chance to stop a shot at that point) but the charge he took was a nice moment. Not sure if Justin is watching from afar, but I'm sure if he was he would smile on that play as something he was known for while here at Foggy Bottom. Hope Armel keeps this up. Looking forward to the upcoming Armel vs. Jair battle as of course both spent a year together when Armel sat out.

Jamison - the reason I just want to mention his rebounding again is because it felt at times we had the tendency to have the ball slip out of our hands off a rebound, or not secure it completely. When Jamison came down with a rebound (sometimes he had to reach for them) he pulled it down without fumbling the ball which was huge in my opinion. Of course, his three point shooting remains excellent. I know there was one play in the first half where he passed up a three for a shot closer to the hoop and he missed on two tries near the hoop, but I liked the idea. He will be that much harder to guard from deep if he is a threat to get to the hoop as well. Another solid outing today.

Maceo aka MILES JACK - didn't have as good a shooting day from deep, but man that dunk was awesome. I believe he had a similar one last year against Duquesne I think? Maceo accounted for both of our steals defensively, including an intercepted pass along the sideline with 45 seconds left that probably ended up bigger than it seemed at the time (given the final score). Again, I'll just say that down the stretches of game we will have to find creative ways to get Jamison/Maceo space and attempts to shoot the ball. As it stands, both are doing a good job shaking defenders to find any space they can get. Still had a pretty good game overall. Automatic from the line, and I believe his dad was in attendance so it's always nice to show out with family in the audience (on a side note - I feel like Evansville and Milwaukee had a better audience than us from the telecast the past two games).

Shawn - his composure at times is an element that is much needed on this team at times. His patience is amazing for a freshman. As mentioned earlier, he has a nice three point stroke (had one three canceled out by an illegal screen from Javier) and that hesitation dribble recovering off a near steal was awesome. He passed up a three along the sideline at one point that I wished he had taken (it ended up a Mezie miss I believe). I genuinely feel like he deserves to continue starting. Again will mention his ability to take the reigns at the point for stretches to spell JNJ and Armel which is a very underrated element of his game. It was cool to see Armel guiding him bringing the ball up the court beside him during the game. The connective-ness of this team is apparent. His final totals of 17 points, 5 rebounds, and 9 assists in three games in the Bahamas will probably go unnoticed based on the play of Armel, but Shawn has honestly developed into an x-factor for this team. Another solid effort.

Javier - it was cool to see him swish a three (his body language suggests he is hesitant to attempt many at this point) and throw down a dunk, but it's hard to not point the number of times he was fed an easy shot close to the rim that he needs to convert that he didn't. As I've said, the attention to detail finishing near the hoop is still not there for him. Still, he can hold his own defensively and had his usual block. Really hope AT is ready for the South Carolina game, and that Chase can play real soon. Nothing against Javier, but he left a number of points on the floor with his missed layups which doesn't merit a ton of minutes when everyone is healthy. Again, solid for stretches, but not a guy you want out there for overly long periods.

Ace - did not see his performance in the first half coming (no one did), but I can see why he was on scholarship at Mount St. Mary's based on today (I think he had a career high in points within the first like seven minutes of the game). He understands JC's system really well whether it comes to passing to a cutting player, or finishing as the roll man in the PnR offense. Ace was big for this team in the first half, and honestly I was surprised he didn't see more run in the second half based on how well he was playing. He had three fouls, but Javier had 4. He is probably not the defender Javier is, but honestly is a bit more sure-handed offensively.

MENZIE aka Mezie - his performances are volatile from game to game. Today was one of the not so good games. I'm not quite sure why he looks so nervous when out on the court. He had a nice moment finding a cutting Armel for an and one but like Javier, left a lot of points on the floor on shots really close to the hoop. Hoping more court time will help his nerves. The talent is there, but he is still overthinking, and that pass that just completely slipped out of his hands in the second half (and was catchable) was tough to see.

JNJ - didn't see much time today as Armel continues to emerge, but he did have a nice pass into Javier that he didn't convert that would have been a sure assist (again, many such plays today like that). His shot attempts were somewhat off-balanced and contested. I think learning from the sidelines will help him some. Glad he is still getting court time to learn, but I don't think he needs to be playing heavy minutes right now with Armel playing well.

Juice - I believe he has taken one shot each game this tournament and missed on all of them. Not sure why we are continuing to have him continue to launch from deep and play along the perimeter. He did close last year shooting well from deep, but his value comes from rebounding (which this team can always use with AT out) and making hustle plays down low.

Next up as mentioned is a road game against the Gamecocks of South Carolina, the first game of a weird home-and-home-and-home series over the next few years (so a Jair return to the Smith Center will happen in 2020-21 barring him transferring again) one week from today. Hopefully this slight break will give some of the injured guys extra time to heal and maybe return to game action soon (specifically AT). South Carolina has dropped some questionable games in OOC play the past couple years so you just never know what might happen. Overall, nice to see the team leave the Bahamas 2-1 and win the consolation bracket. That will definitely provide a confidence boost for the team moving forward.
 

Again, this is why I am not too high after these games or was too low after American, Morgan St. or UMKC. This is a work in progress and we have some talent but not enough yet. We will win some games this year we shouldn't and we will lose some games we shouldn't. Some talent will be developed by JC from the players already here and some will need to come from players not currently on the roster. If you are going to rise/fall with every game as I said before .... good luck to you because its going to be a roller coaster of emotions for the next 4 months or so. I predicted 15 wins but if we get less I won't worry as long as I know the building blocks are being laid that will enable us to return to challenging for the top 4 of the A-10 and an NCAA berth. Patience will be in order here.

The last 2 wins don't make me more encouraged anymore than the last three losses left me discouraged. Trust the process and in the end I'm betting we will all be very happy.

Last edited by GWRising (11/24/2019 8:36 pm)

JC finally making adjustments to the lineup and structure of the offense, (though Armel may have been pretty gassed going from little to surprisingly all playing time) seems to have made a difference.
Kudos to everyone for salvaging a looming disaster this weekend and coming back strong. But particularly Armel, of course for coming up huge, and Jamison for adding sorely needed dimensions to his game and working inside more.
But again, everyone connected with the team for not hanging their heads and following a difficult loss, still going out to win two games.
Maceo for his big shooting game.
And Ace for making a difference in the last game, even though he is a walk on. Appreciate Ace's efforts and success Sunday as a walk on trying to fill Arnaldo's big shoes.
 

Not a lot of time for posting today but congratulations to the team on back-to-back wins.  Probably not a big coincidence that the team averaged about 10 fewer three point attempts in each of the  Bahamas games than it did in each of their first four games.  (It also helped that we averaged about 1/2 a make more per game in the Bahamas despite so many fewer attempts.)