Gwmayhem wrote:

1) Ricky Lindo becomes the #2 go-to option on this team.  If you had Brendan Adams in this role before the season started, a role where he is fully entrenched for at least the time being, I'm impressed.  I suspect many envisioned that Ricky would be playing the more than capable Robin on offense to James Bishop's Batman once Ricky decided to return to GW.  Ricky is shooting 55% from the floor but he shoots just over half as much as Brendan has despite Brendan playing just 10 more minutes per game.

Ricky becoming a #2 go-to option doesn't feel realistic given his inability to create his own shot consistently. His production offensively the last four games definitely feels like a step in the right direction, but I think he's at his best when his attempts are assisted with him cutting to the basket and finishing down low. To CC's credit, more of his production has come that way as of late. Much like the rest of the team, I would like to see him be more aggressive attacking the basket and trying to get to the line. Lindo is a great FT shooter, but is averaging just 2.9 attempts per game. If he can become a consistent #3 option (10 ppg) with the occasional scoring explosion that will be a success.

I will say I think better days are ahead with his 3-point shooting. He probably won't hit 38% like last year, but I figure he will get closer to 30% than the 20% that he's currently at. His responsibilities defensively will also probably prevent him from being a true #2 option offensively. Ricky is far and away the best defender on a team that is largely devoid of impactful ones.

I would be really surprised if any saw BA in the #2 role coming into the year largely due to his spotty three point shooting. Adams showed early last year that he wasn't afraid to let it fly so I'm not surprised by his confidence but he continued to shoot roughly his career average from his time at UConn. BA deserves a lot of credit for continuing to work on his shot (and taking fewer that are 40 feet away from the basket - he is at least closer to the line this year). Like Ricky though we aren't taking full advantage of BA's good FT shooting because he settles too much for jumpers. If he attacks the hoop more (like he did against UNH) I think BA still has some upside despite his production thus far. We are partly unaggressive due to limited depth so it is somewhat understandable.

Gwmayhem wrote:

2) The team's turnover margin will improve.  It is hard to believe that GW has been committing two more turnovers per game than their opponents.  Two is not a huge number, but after considering the caliber of our OOC opponents to date, it's surreal that we are presently in the red.  While it's true that the schedule will only get more difficult from here on in, the awareness of this problem might be such that the team starts making a more concerted effort at protecting the ball.

I'm going to say this doesn't seem likely either (at least significantly), but it's not going to be because of our inability to protect the ball. I think we have already shown some improvement from earlier in the year when it comes to taking care of the ball (which has been largely unforced errors on our part than other teams doing anything), and we are certainly better than we were last year. We have faced three MEAC teams on the year, and the primary strength of those teams is being able to turn teams over. I think A10 teams will be less aggressive when it comes to trying to turn teams over sans like a VCU.

The reason I think the margin won't improve is because arguably the biggest weakness on this team (and in the past several years) is the ability to turn other teams over. Opposing teams will likely not have any difficulty running stuff against us or face enormous pressure. JC certainly tried to change that last year, but the number of fouls we were called for didn't seem to make the number of turnovers we actually generated worth it. Given Miami's history in being able to generate steals, I am sure CC would be for applying more ball pressure but the personnel is just not there this year. We have like three guards and maybe 1.5 will be able to play good defense at any time. I think our defense will improve over the course of the year (we can really only go up from where we're at) but being able to turn teams over won't be among the improvements due to roster construction.

Gwmayhem wrote:

3) Hunter Dean starts putting up more shot attempts.  Assuming good health, will the team start calling more plays for a guy who is shooting nearly 83% from the field (you read that right) yet attempts fewer than 4 shots per outing?  While nobody should be expecting Hunter to become a Tyler Cavanaugh, Zeke Armwood or even a Ricky Lindo on offense, it stands to reason that more energy should be directed to a player who knows how to free himself up for short shots as well as finish off of pick and rolls.

This is one that I'm hopeful we'll see as the season progresses. The two plays we ran for Hunter in the second half of the New Hampshire game was certainly a positive development. With Hunter I think part of the issue is that a lot of the time when he gets the ball he's catching it in the high post where he is used as more of a "facilitator". There's nothing wrong with that for stretches - Hunter is certainly a good passer, but like the rest of the team he isn't one to necessarily attack the hoop unless there's a wide open lane for him to just go for the dunk. I get the sense that he's not comfortable as a true post up threat, but giving him more attempts (assisting rather than asking him to create his own shot) right near the hoop can't hurt. He's been fairly reliable from the line and as you mentioned has had a great start to the year finishing when given the opportunity.

Gwmayhem wrote:

4) Will the team play more zone defense?  I think this one will be a "Yes".  My sense is that we have not shown very much of this so as to not have opponents view it on film, but that the teams looks improved and more comfortable playing zone based on the few glimpses we have seen.

I also think this one is a yes, especially since it seems like this year's team at least understands what a zone defense should at least look like. The team needs to do a better job accounting for the corners when rotating/closing out on shooters, but otherwise I think our zone has at least caught teams off guard. The guards on this team don't have the foot speed to stay with their man when in man-to-man and bad things happen once the other team is that deep into the paint. We are currently allowing teams to shoot 34% from distance, the second worst mark in the A10. Three point attempts will likely increase when we play more zone, but hopefully we have more luck with percentages moving forward. I still figure certain teams will still warrant playing man here or there.

Gwmayhem wrote:

5) Can GW possibly keep up this free throw defensive percentage rate?  I'll end on this humorous one.  While the team is shooting 74% from the line, our opponents are 100-166 or a paltry 60.2% from the line this season.  And you wondered why GW kept fouling down the stretch of the UCSD game!!!

Obviously this is a product of a great deal of luck given we are 3rd in the country in this statistic and we are due for a team to shoot very well from the line against us (which hopefully comes with a regression from 3 as mentioned above). The funny thing is the WBB team is just the opposite - they are in the bottom 25 in FT percentage defense with teams shooting 75.8% against them.

Beyond just luck though, a hostile home environment can certainly make things tough on other teams. We have played the majority of our games at home this year. Once again Ryan and George's Army deserve a shoutout for making the Smith Center loud as well as the cheerleaders and band who make it distracting to shoot free throws.