Just one of those days where everything was going right for Duquesne and nothing was for GW.

Lack of depth and fatigue were of course once again at the forefront, but it's hard to believe we can be this bad defensively at times. I know Duquesne had a good shooting day, but nothing is contested. The times we trapped I thought we had more success and wish it was done more - especially after a score.

Rotations were slow but the guys are clearly tired and I feel bad for them. Hunter needed a breather but Noel picking up several fouls in quick succession didn't make that possible. Laziz and Theo should have entered the game earlier. The result was already decided and it would have given the starters more rest.

I thought out of the timeouts we showed a bit more energy at times but the past few games have reverted to too much isolation ball which brought back bad memories of the JC era. JB and BA may have to make something out of nothing at times on this team but early in the shot clock there is next to no passing. What happened to the cuts and things that were working in the Dayton game? Duquesne trapped JB and BA consistently (as they should) but instead of passing it out we kept dribbling closer and closer to the half court line. Surprised we were never called for a backcourt violation. Reminded me of Jair during the Mojo era.

The team was out of sorts and was hoisting up three after three and missing them early on. It was funny to see Ricky and Qwanzi go 2-2 from 3 today of all days. One of the few things that went right today. Max was the main bright spot again. Edwards brings a certain swagger every game that seemingly no one else does. BA clearly didn't look 100% and was leaving so many of his shots short.

If anything, this Duquesne squad should be the model for how GW rebuilds the roster in the offseason. Keep a few pieces (likely in the frontcourt like the Dukes) and rebuild the backcourt with guys who can make threes at a relatively good clip and be pesky on-ball guys.
 

Only one GW player had more assists than turnovers. That says so much about what is going wrong. Yes, this is better to watch than the lockdown era teams, but that does not say much. This team is thin, for sure, but there are ways to mask that with pace and ball movement. Right?
So, has the team peaked, is it slumping or have A10 coaches tweaked their scouting books on GW to halt what was working just a few weeks ago?

GW Alum Abroad wrote:

Only one GW player had more assists than turnovers. That says so much about what is going wrong. Yes, this is better to watch than the lockdown era teams, but that does not say much. This team is thin, for sure, but there are ways to mask that with pace and ball movement. Right?
So, has the team peaked, is it slumping or have A10 coaches tweaked their scouting books on GW to halt what was working just a few weeks ago?

I found myself envious of Duquesne's quick, precise passing, with surgical precision. They moved the ball around really well setting themselves up for great shots. GW isn't poor passers but man, DU knew how to move the ball around and get open.

That's what I said to a seatmate, but no reports of that, so far. It only seemed like they were stricken
with something.

At the pregame dinner coaches scouting report, it was mentioned that Duquesne's strengths were speed and three point shooting.  An excellent scouting report.  I didn't fully apprecaite how slow GW is until I saw them try to guard Duquesne.  In singint the praises of Caputo, I have been saying that we may not be hitting them all, but GW has been taking good shots all season.  That hss certainly not been the case against Fordham or Duquesne. Duquesne did a masterful job of ball rotation while all we did was dribble until such time as we turned it over or took a bad shot with the clock expiring.  At any given time in the game, we have 2 of the 5 players on the Court not in a position to score.  And as slow as the offensive rotations were, the defensive rotations were even slower.   We are just not quick enough to double team the ball handler.  When we do so, it results in far more open looks for them than turnovers for us.   The only defensive instructions that need to be given when playing us is do not let Bishop or Adams beat us.  They are now a combined 26-76 over the last 3 games, all losses.  And we have given up 253 points in the last 3 games.   We are simply outmanned, and I try to tell myself that and not let myself get too down, but that is hard to do after these last 3 games.   But on a high note...I can now tell everybody that I saw Samuels hit a 3.

1. We don't have a true PG on the roster. BA and JB do their best but neither is a great ballhandler.
2. We have no guards off the bench to help with ball handling.

Add those together against teams that can really push up and guard in the half court = turnovers.

I think Saturday was a combination of no guard depth, no true PG, and BA and JB hitting a wall with regard to heavy minutes.

Again, can't cry about what we don't have this year. Moving on to the next game.