Cannot say I disagree (although I was a student during the 1-27 season so being "back" is actually not something I aspire to, if we are going to split linguistic hairs here). Of course, the erratic world of transfers could speed up or delay the timeframe and is an unpredictable element to be taken in to consideration. Not to put any pressure on him, but if Paar continues on his upward curve of improvement, this team could be much better quickly with both inside and outside scoring threats. Otherwise, patience and appreciation for the little things will make life much easier for those of us in the stands.

GW Alum Abroad wrote:

Not to put any pressure on him, but if Paar continues on his upward curve of improvement, this team could be much better quickly with both inside and outside scoring threats.

GWAA, I watching Paar this summer playing on the Gtown campus, the part of his game that is improving the most rapidly is D. This summer he bit on every upfake. What we did learn this summer is that he can shot from outside. He seems to be a good match for this coaching staff. Makes you wonder what we will see when Noel Brown steps on campus
 

Last edited by russianthistle (1/20/2020 9:28 am)

Agree with GWRising. I do appreciate the author for even releasing a piece on GW though - A10talk seems to shun us! I know we're bad, but they only cover a small section of teams.

He released a similar piece on St. Joe's today, and actually said that they would be relevant again before us. Not sure I agree with that. It seems like he's putting a ton of weight on the transfers of Bishop and Foster based on their HS rankings and schools they transferred from. Obviously SJU didn't go through what we did a few years ago, but Martelli's departure definitely left the cupboard bare. I would take our current freshmen over theirs. Ryan Daly is a lot of fun to watch though, and hoping a guy like Lincoln Ball can become that guy for us long-term.

As for our getting back to the postseason, it will be dependent on the frontcourt. I think if JNJ can continue to cut down on the turnovers and make sound decisions with the ball he and Amir (as long as he stays healthy) can make a good tandem in the backcourt and Tyler Brelsford looks like a really good piece moving forward as well.

Assuming AT is moving on next year, our frontcourt will consist of Javier (he'll probably be back healthy by next season), Ace (both seniors), Chase, Hunter, and Noel. Javier and Ace are solid backups who can give us minutes here and there. Chase will continue to start and hopefully will make a sophomore jump. Not sure what we can get from Hunter midseason - he had good scoring and rebounding stats from HS in Louisiana, but may have not been a good fit in Southern Miss under a coach he didn't originally sign up to play for. Noel is the most interesting piece, based on his size and potential as a rim protector and scorer. He has had 40+ point performances multiple times in HS, and I think with some development he can emerge as one the best A10 bigs down the line. If he can bring that, we can certainly contend with our improved shooting coming in. Probably a conversation we'll have again in the offseason.

In the short-term though, I'm willing to wait and have been pleased with our progression (in a lot of ways, the team has actually surpassed my low expectations of just remaining competitive!) The fact that we are starting three freshmen and all four have had starting experience this year bodes well for the future.
 

I don't see any of our first year players leaving.-- right now I put this team as it is playing right now about 5-8 best in A10. Assuming as next year shapes up like it looks like on paper,  I see few folks walking. I also thnk that this team will keep ramping up the D and bringing more pressure. 



 

The criticisms of this article are all well-founded.  I get that we all watch nearly every play of every game whereas any writer will not be as knowledgeable about the team.  Still, to make statements like Chase Paar doesn't play a lot when it's obvious to us that his playing time is very much on the upswing, or that Sloan will have two years of eligibility left when he will have three, or that Lonergan destroyed the reputation of this program (which really should never be written without Nero's name appearing in the same paragraph) or that GW should be commended for giving MoJo 3 years (why exactly?  This held back our rebuild by two full years) all speaks to a lack of knowledge and insight concerning this program.   

I was also taken a back by the notion that Battle and Nelson may leave.  Guess what?  Every player at every school,with remaining eligibility MAY leave.  I have said from Day 1 that as long as Martelli stays at Michigan, you'd have to keep your eye on JNJ leaving for Ann Arbor.  This is a reality of the sport.  But the counterargument is that if JC is turning this program around the right way, and these two players are an important part of this turnaround, and if they really enjoy life at GW, why would they want to leave.  Check out the article in The Hatchet on these two freshmen roommates and let me know if you think either or both is transferring out of the program after this season.

Funny, when I ready LSF say people won't like the answer I was dreading reading the article but I actually really like the answer! Been sort of checked out with the team as I moved right as everything was falling apart but mentally have been reengaging under the premise that if this Battle/Nelson/Paar group as Seniors was similar to the TJ/Tamal class that was like the transition to the good years that is the best case scenario. So hopefully dude is right. 

Last edited by Tim04 (1/22/2020 5:14 pm)