Their 3 point % is better than our FG %.

Playing better now, but we’re not good enough to come back from a double digit deficit against anyone.

I think it's established at this point that GW (both MBB and WBB) should never sign up to play against Big West teams unless they absolutely have to.

As CC said in the preseason, we may not be able to be able to win with who we have, but over the course of the season we need to learn how to eliminate losing.

Things that contributed to losing:
- Showing up with virtually no energy for the first 30 minutes of the game.
- Making "extra passes" that are uncatchable to someone that isn't open.
- Not communicating on defense leading to a wide open lane to the basket - happened multiple times.
- Recovering on defense - there were usually multiple UCSD players open from three.
- Coming down with a rebound after a stop - UCSD had 9 offensive rebounds. We are talking about the second WORST offensive rebounding team in the country last year.
- Taking care of the ball - the ball literally just slips out of the team's hand consistently. UCSD is not an aggressive defensive team - their 9 "steals" were a product of us just being careless with the ball.

GW0509 wrote:

This sums it up well. Was also thinking of the Kevin chili scene from The Office.

Player thoughts:
- JB - solid game offensively. There was one play where he should have shot a layup but was too unselfish and passed it out for what ended up being a missed three. When he has an open shot he needs to take it. Still has a ways to go on defense as he couldn't handle Pope's drives to the hoop.
- Brendan - seemed to be limping at the end so first off hope he is okay because having two key players hurt on this team will make things extremely tough. Had a good look from three at the end that unfortunately didn't fall. Would like to see him/the offense get things going a lot faster on offense - it shouldn't take 20 seconds to start running actions in the halfcourt. Also players need to be standing around a lot less. Liked the activity a bit more in the second half but there was still a lot of standing around.
- Max - liked his energy coming out of the second half. Surprised he actually had 7 FG attempts because it felt like a lot less. Needs to be a bit more aggressive looking for his shot, especially if Ricky ends up being sidelined for an extended period of time. Like the rest of the team, needs to also hold onto the ball.
- Ricky - first off hope he is okay because the sound from his fall was loud and scary. His threes aren't falling as frequently as last year, and glad he didn't settle. Had some really BAD defensive moments in the first half which led to open driving lanes for UCSD. Why he decided to stay with a big along the perimeter instead of helping on a drive with no one guarding a Triton player was poor decision making.
- Hunter - needs to stay on the court without fouling and be more involved on offense. He does a great job as a passer but like last year no one is respecting him because they know he is looking to hand off to Adams or Bishop. Did an okay job on the boards but needs to not get pushed around down low as much. Will definitely need him to rebound even more if Ricky is out.
- Keegan - look it's obvious he has to add strength in a major way but his offense is much needed from off the bench. I thought he was actually serviceable defensively - not as bad as I had feared. It probably still doesn't hold up against A10 competition but I think the biggest "win" of tonight was Keegan potentially showing that he can play a few minutes moving forward.
- Qwanzi - did a nice job taking a charge (two games in a row now) but otherwise is just a minutes eater. Hopefully he can get his shot going again soon because otherwise his impact isn't really felt in the game.
- Noel - I don't want to sound like a broken record, but the coaching staff needs to run ball catching skills for him during practice. I'm not kidding. I don't believe he's ever caught a pass cleanly this season. On a team that has major fumbling issues, his might be the worst. May need him as a rebounder moving forward.
- EJ - I like his energy on defense. I wish others would show that same energy. His three point attempt was off balanced but we need to get him more involved as a shooter - he is a decent passer as well.
- Amir - useful for depth/defense.

Look this team needs to realize that they aren't winning any games unless they show up with energy and play hard on both sides of the ball. This loss hopefully woke them up because the effort was pathetic for 3/4 of the game. The ref calls weren't in our favor, but that is secondary to team play.

The frustrating part is that this season is basically a waste of time because I'd expect the team to be completely different next year so looking for "growth" isn't really long term. Really watching for Max and I guess that's it. I know CC didn't want to sign guys for the "internet" but I continue to be baffled how our experiences from this year will make next year any better. Maybe the team culture outside of the game can benefit I guess.

Also one final note about the commentary. I actually like the addition of Patsos despite his voice - his commentary is good for the most part. I will definitely strongly disagree with him and Kerr that the first play out of halftime where Ricky took an isolation fadeaway was a good shot. In fact, it summed up how terrible the offense looked for three quarters. This UCSD team is not that talented or good defensively but they are still D1 and the team needs to learn how to play hard for 40 minutes. Passing is still better overall on the season but cutting action off the ball needs to be increased significantly.

 

We need better players.  We've got 2-3 good Guards, (one very good Guard) almost no frontcourt.

If you look at every game, we get production from the Guards,very little from the Bigs.  

Just like last year.  Zero depth too,
  
Somehow we ended up going 8-9 in the A10 last year though so maybe there's a sliver of hope, but basically... you're looking at a program that needs at least 2 years of recruiting classes, minimum to turn this around.    

We're 15 out of 15 A10 teams  in KenPom for a reason.     

Caputo will bring in better players and things will look very different, until then what's the use in overtly whining.    



 

Why are we fouling down 2 with 45 seconds left?  Play strong defense for 30 seconds and get the ball back with plenty of time for a tie or even a win. One of several coaching decisions that I admittedly did not understand.  Also, why is Bishop walking the ball up with us down 3 and about 15 seconds left?  As a result, he is fouled about 40 feet from the basket and even though he makes both FTs, the game is pretty much lost then.  Have him push the ball up the Court and either get himself within 3 point shooting range or pass it to someone within 3 point shooting range, so if you are fouled, you can try hoisting a shot and hopefully get 3 free throws.  

Let's go to the stats:
1) We still need to distribute the ball better and not depend on Bishop attempting 3pt shots. He is only 26% for the season. Not where your supposed best 3pt shooter should be. And while the the 44-point game was amazing, take away the 5 for 12 3 pt shooting in that game from his season totals and he is 4 for 22.  How about getting the ball more to Max. He is 54% FG and 47% 3 pt FG. He is the future.
2) Against 4 weak teams and  1 pretty good team, our turnovers are killing us: GW 73, Opponents 56. And more turnovers than assists. 

Any word on Ricky Lindo? I fear that he might have broken his wrist or arm on the rim trying to slam the ball.

Mike K wrote:

Long Suffering Fan wrote:

Why are we fouling down 2 with 45 seconds left?  Play strong defense for 30 seconds and get the ball back with plenty of time for a tie or even a win. One of several coaching decisions that I admittedly did not understand.  Also, why is Bishop walking the ball up with us down 3 and about 15 seconds left?  As a result, he is fouled about 40 feet from the basket and even though he makes both FTs, the game is pretty much lost then.  Have him push the ball up the Court and either get himself within 3 point shooting range or pass it to someone within 3 point shooting range, so if you are fouled, you can try hoisting a shot and hopefully get 3 free throws.  

Agree with these points, and what others have said. Lack of energy, poor D on drives to the hoop and leaving guys open for 3, and poor shooting. However, I loved the comeback that almost tied it with a 3 on the last possession. Granted, we were helped by SD’s GW-like free throw shooting.

I'll defend the decision to foul.  Extending the game by fouling was exactly what allowed GW to get back into the game.  UCSD missed all three front ends of their one-and-ones, and then continued to be shaky from the line down the stretch until Bryce pope made I believe his last 4.  The mistake was in fouling him late.  One time was unavoidable but the other was too quick and we could have forced him to give up the ball without fouling before fouling someone else.  Since Brendan had a clear look at a 3 to tie the game, it's difficult to justify criticism over the strategy of fouling and extending the game.  

The other items that Mike K pointed out are extremely valid. I understand that it's difficult to play with the same level of intensity in front of a below average crowd in November than it is against a much fuller conference game crowd in February, but this really can't be an excuse.  This team is way too careless with the ball.  UCSD was not exactly VCU, or even UMES, forcing these turnovers.  These guys need to have a collective pit in their stomachs each time they carelessly turn the ball over.  Just don't think that's the case.  It's been this way through all 5 games, not just last night.  The defensive rotations were slow and clearly lacked energy and intensity.  Not the case when GW was crawling back into the game, but why does the team have to wait until it reaches desperation mode for this to happen?

For seven years, I served as the public address announcer for a high school football team.  There were certain Friday nights when I knew our team was goint to win in a rout, or lose in a rout.  Some nights produced very cold weather and lots of rain (though I was under cover, but you get the point).  But to my way of thinking, I enjoyed the privilege of doing this five times each season.  My responsibility to do a good job by remaining informative and enthusiastic no matter the game or weather circumstances was one taken very seriously.  Maybe I would have had some "down" nights if I had to do 30 games a year instead of 5.  My guess though would be these would be very few and far between.

I wish this team would understand the importance of playing with intensity for 40 minutes, game in and game out.  That means not taking any opponent for granted.  I get that the intensity meter can't be at 100 out of 100 for all 40 minutes but nobody should sk for this.  Instead, I would more than settle for greater determination in taking care of the ball and playing defense aggressively.  The shots won't always fall but these are two things that barring few exceptions, ought to be within the team's control.  

Going to disagree with you on this Mayhem.   I contend that fouling when there is more than enough time left on the shot clock to regain possession and run a play is bad strategy, perhaqps with the exception being if you foul someone who is under a 50% free throw shooter.  Why give the other team a chance to extend the lead and perhaps make it a 2 possession game rather than one by sending them to the free throw line.  You play hard defense and get the ball back, not foul and pray that they miss their free throws.   Of course if the game clock was below 30-35 seconds or so, it would be a different situation.  We started fouling too early and got lucky because UCSD, which was not a very good team but had a hot player (I guess the same can be said for GW) decided to help us out by missing an incredibe 3 straight front ends.  Further, when you are down 3 but have the last possession, it is crucial that you avoid being fouled.  GW didn't seem to know that and it may have cost us a game.   I see so many fundamental deficiencies on this team that it is scary, not the least of which, as been previously mentioned, is being sloppy with the ball that goes well beyond not  simply not having a legitimate point guard.  It is especially disturbing in that the team on the court consists of only one underclasman (Max, who I also agree needs to get more touchs).  They just didn't seem to know what it took to win a ballgame.  Maybe it has been all those years of losing.   As the old saying goes, good teams find ways to win, bad teams find ways to lose.

Last edited by Long Suffering Fan (11/23/2022 1:20 pm)

Agree with LSF on numerous points, including that fouling with 45 seconds seemed odd, as we were going 
to get the ball back and have a chance to at least even things up, if we held them. I looked at the clock to doublecheck and wondered why we did that. Maybe it's an analytic thing now. Maybe CC couldn't count on our defense, which is not unreasonable.
Given the missed one-on-ones, the fouling did work, until of course it didn't. Having Pope, as a foul target
was not the best choice, if defense could have made a choice available, which is of course, easier said than done.
Sidelight: Pope scored a lot,but didn't seem to take too many or unnecessarily quick or bad shots. A good lesson for Max, who as pointed out, could actually take more shots.
   We did seem pretty flat in the first half, which would seem to be odd, as we should have been looking for revenge for last year's stunning beatdown. Also, the second half of the UMES game was a bit embarrassing, whether we won (against a JTIII-style favorite big lower-level underdog) or not.
    The comeback was impressive and glad we showed heart.
But it also is reminiscent of last couple of years, digging a deep hole and trying to fill it back in later.
  Agree with those, including DMV and Mayhem, who note that Keegan was a surprise. I literally had told a friend that Keegan (whom we rarely see) was a good shooter, but otherwise perhaps didn't add so much (in pithier, but G-rated language). Then he hits the boards a bit, including the great tapout to Brendan. We need his shooting, for sure, and he needs do some work on his strength and hitting the boards and at least as a vague threat inside using his height. Not Adamah Kah, but he could soon not be far off on being a big distraction on inbounds. Seems to have flustered San Diego into a timeout.
   Also, the sharing the ball philosophy that CC apparently distilled in the team to start the year, was not in evidence again. While there may have been an extra pass or two that didn't work out, and a couple that did (Max to Hunter and back, as I recall and Hunter maybe to Ricky or the other way around), there wasn't consistent ball movement. Some bad, inopportune shots taken, further imperiling a chance at a comeback.. 
And Keegan, who has a nice stroke and may have been hot, was overlooked several times when he was clearly open.
     Most important, haven't checked: How's Ricky? It did not look  good, but we'll see.
Sure we will all be here at some point tomorrow, while waiting for turkey.
   Meanwhile, Happy Thanksgiving in advance to the denizens here and the larger GW basketball family!