Just a great win.

It has never been about talent as far as JB has been concerned.  It has always been about decision-making.  Great that CC emphasized this point in his press conference.

On offense, Max carried the team in the first half.  His development is fantastic to see.  JB shouldered the load in the second half.  Brendan came out of the bullpen to wrap up the save.

With Malachi Smith still playing his way back into shape, Dayton had nobody who could stay with JB's drives to the hoop.  They figured him out once or twice at the rim but that was about it.

If we're going to give credit to Hunter (and Noel's) defense on Holmes, it's only fair to mention Ricky Lindo.  Throughout the first half, each time Holmes took a pass in the lane, Ricky showed up with an immediate double team.  The reason why Holmes was so much more effective in the second half was because Ricky had to stop helping once he picked up his third foul.

Rebounding, sharing the ball, shot selection, team defense....all get grades of A today.

Finally, 5-14 as a team from 3.  That translates to 9 missed three point shots.  Not 29.  Not 19.  Just 9.  A poor shooting performance from 3 would have played right into Dayton's hands today.  An all-around great job with shot selection.

Long Suffering Fan wrote:

It was a masterpiece.  A work of beauty.  They showed no fear of Dayton and took it right to them.  At the pre-game reception, the assistant said our game plan was to double team Holmes (their leading scorer at 18.6 per game) every time he touched the ball inside.  This is exactly what we did.   As a result, he was 1-8 at the half and scored only 4 points.   On offense, when someone in the crowd asked what Dayton's weakness was, he said that their guards were not very quick, and Bishop and Adams exploited them all game.   Dayton starts the tallest team in D-1 and we out rebounded them 34-25, as the boxing out was excellent.  That backdoor pass from Bishop to Edwards for a dunk in the first half was just incredible. I know we lose Adams, Lindo and likely Biship next season, but it is hard not to look forward to our immediate future, as this staff seems to know what they are doing.     Feeling very proud this evening.

Win or lose, it’s a joy to be watching a well-coached team again.  I know having great and experienced guards means a ton and that next year with a bunch of freshman isn’t going to be smooth sailing, but I share your optimism about the future with this staff. And can’t wait to see Maximus develop.

Free Quebec wrote:

And can’t wait to see Maximus develop.

He's got a lot of talent, like the next Bishop.

My wife and I were surrounded by Dayton fans in the Blue seats, which is to say that there was a disappointing amount of alumni in that area. Apparently a lot of seats in that area unsokld for the season. But that said, our red-shirted Ohio neighbors sure got quiet in the last few minutes as Bishop and Adams sealed the deal at the foul line.
as I can't get enough of this win, is there anywhere - youtibe? instagram? - where I can watch some highlights? Loved JB4's creative passes in traffic.

Played smart ball. Good coaching, something we haven't seen in years. Loved what the coach said in post game interview. Team finally learning how to block out. And get rebounds. Been waiting for this for years. Smart play and winning is fun.

Most important, it was a team win, done by smart,tough defense and passing the ball. Not just relying on 3 pointers.
Max really willed it in first half, realkystarting the knockout blow. James and Brendan finished finished it.
Hunter and Ricky 's double teaming defense,along with Noel in the paint,made a real difference in limiting their high scorer inside. Qanzi and Amir also contributed from the bench.
Of course,CC in this game showed the incredible strides that can be made with the same personnel and some scorer losses,except for the real plus recruit Max. Coach brought defense and rebounding to a team desperately in need of it,along with teamwork.
  The usual Dayton fan superiority roses drained out of it. Fun to see the frown in a woman in red's face deepen as she suddenly realized they weren't going to snatch victory in the final minutes.

Last edited by jf (1/22/2023 12:23 am)

A wonderful article on the game.  Also found the Caputo post game interview faciniating, especially on rebounding  ('we are biggish" as opposed to being big) and the emphasis being placed on defense during practice.  And of course who wouldn't love the quote from Max to start the article  “100%, there is no one in the locker room that thinks we can’t [win the A-10].”
And it doesn't sound so ludicrous anymore, does it?   

https://gwradio.com/gw-upsets-dayton-79-69-in-front-of-lively-home-crowd/

Last edited by Long Suffering Fan (1/22/2023 3:04 pm)

Absolutely stunned in a good way. When this team comes out playing with energy like that they are hard to beat. Getting Max involved early was key - you know JB and BA will get going at some point in the game, but when Edwards is able to pick up 13 points before halftime that's really huge.

I'm not surprised that we double teamed Holmes, but I figured that would open things up for Camara. For whatever reason, Camara seemed hellbent on camping out along the perimeter and taking threes instead of being more aggressive. To his credit, he went 2-5 from 3, but you would think Grant would run some high-low action between the two, or even get Camara to cut to the basket with us doubling Holmes but I didn't see much of either.

That was easily our best defensive performance since the Washington State game, and the team has really made some progress on that side of the ball in the past two games. Hunter had that big block against Holmes and Ricky had some big defensive plays as well. Those two really were the difference because let's be honest, with Smith and Elvis at 50% at best Dayton needed Holmes/Camara to have strong games and credit Hunter and Ricky for leading that effort (Noel too!). Rebounding has been mentioned here as another difference maker and rightfully so.

From the times I've watched Dayton this year, I haven't been impressed with their offensive execution - Smith being out is only part of that. They have the athletes to go more uptempo, but they don't. There were several stretches where they had momentum on their side but instead of pushing in transition they slowed it down in the halfcourt. They limited their possessions in a game where they were already trailing. It made me think of the Virginias and North Texas's of the world that play so slow - when you're used to playing that way it's hard to shift to another gear when losing. That's why I personally prefer playing at least at an average tempo. By the looks of it CC knows especially with this team that our offense is just better when we speed things up (though that requires fresh legs which we don't have on this team - CC's subbing patterns have been fantastic all season). Our offense has looked even better recently because we have actually gotten stops on defense and can get more buckets in transition. Dayton has a big team with a few shooters but their floor spacing is pretty poor.

The final score was padded by a lot of made free throws at the end but I was arguably even more impressed by the offense than the defense. I said in the preview that we would 100% lose this game if we settled for threes. From the very first play of the game when Max drove for the dunk, it was evident that we had an attacking mentality and a gameplan to break down Dayton's defense. We finished with just 14 threes for the game, and they were all pretty much good shots within the flow of the offense. Getting Camara in foul trouble for part of the game was helpful as well.

Dayton wanted to make this a low scoring game in the 50s/low 60s, but we found ways to put the ball in the basket, whether it was setting a screen for BA or JB to operate in the midrange or find an opening down low for Hunter/Ricky. As a GW fan, you want these games to be high scoring because there are few teams that can keep up with us when we're attacking. It's why the team is currently #1 in offensive efficiency during conference play by a fairly sizable margin.

Amir's drive to the basket may end up being forgotten in this game, but the fact that he took it to the basket and did not look to pass it back out is a sign of improved confidence on the offensive end. It's all about the starters this year, but good minutes from Noel/Amir/Qwanzi are also important for maintaining a lead or avoiding a larger deficit.

This was unofficially a matchup between two potential player of the year candidates and JB came out on top by a long shot. He was stellar as usual picking his spots whether to score or distribute - his midrange shots were great (loved that HORSE shot!), and there were just so many beautifully executed assists - the ones to Hunter and Noel, and obviously the backdoor pass to Max which was my personal favorite. Also liked that he took just four threes to 15 twos - a couple threes were a bit forced but that's nitpicking with the game he had. James has a really good stutter step on his drives to the hoop - that's something that I've noticed several times during conference play. The defender usually stumbles a bit and as a result is a step too slow by which time Bishop has already made a layup. That's just pure offensive talent.

The next game against St. Joe's has the possibility of being a letdown game. The Hawks are coming in with some momentum, and as much as the team has improved defensively of late perimeter defense can still be shaky. If we go under too many screens we could be burned really bad on Wednesday. St. Joe's should be a good test to see how we account for several shooters on the floor at once. They also have many local players which will give them added motivation.

I don't want to look too ahead, but as of now we have played the second hardest schedule in the league and have the second easiest schedule remaining. It's absolutely nuts that we have a realistic shot at a double bye but I would still be happy with a top half finish in the league.

One final point about Dayton. Beating them feels that much better because their fanbase is definitely the worst in the league. They have a solid squad, but someone needs to tell them that it's not easy to win on the road in conference against anyone in any league. Teams do a better job scouting and know teams better. CC of course played this squad last year while at Miami so it wasn't exactly the same as a first time coach facing them for the first time. All you have to know is on their board they have a thread with a poll about which player was the worst in yesterday's game. Glad we don't have anything like that around here.
 

Minsk wrote:

Random question: I saw lots of folks in the stands holding up DC license plates with “GDUB.” Anybody know where one could purchase said license plate? I don’t live in the DC area anymore. 

GW's Twitter account is running a contest to win a license plate 
https://twitter.com/GW_MBB/status/1617932126304739329

I'm sure if you send them a DM they may be able to send you one as well.

Instructive, that the sport is mostly about talent and not some magic wand the Coach waves, or doesn't wave, not to chalk everything (when at most its a factor only at the very margins) to Coaching.    

GW had a great 3 game stretch, followed by the exact opposite.   Caliber of the Coach stayed the same, results could not be more disparate.

Players get hot and cold, shots fall one night that don't another, the ball bounces your way, the calls go your way, then they dont- the beauty of sports.