Jameer takes a lot of stick here, and understandably some times - but the box score shows ZERO turnovers and 6-6 FTs. Those are stellar

Block or Charge wrote:

Also, another huge factor in the win yesterday was the team going 18-19 from the line with the only miss coming late in the game on the last attempt.

This is incredible. Didn't even realize it.

Yes! I love Paar bc I can’t remember the last time an unheralded freshmen big did enough good to stay on the court. Very encouraging that Mezzie is getting minutes. On to Rose Hill!

Wasn't able to watch the game completely, but saw most of it. I guess we just matchup well against UMass, having won eight in a row against them now. JC and Mojo are now a combined 5-0 against them as GW head coach!

We had our best defensive performance of the season, with a rating of 79.7 according to Bart Torvik. We are currently 207th in KenPom, and if that holds up, that will be Jamion's highest ever finish as a head coach (his previous highest was 209 with Mount St. Mary's). It was nice to see JNJ and Maceo generate steals by getting into passing lanes and taking it the other way for transition opportunities. I guess I jinxed the team by discussing our great shot blocking in the previous game though! Taking away the three/making them take tough shots proved to be successful. Pierre was their best shooter and he went just 3-10. We tried double teaming Mitchell, but he's a good enough passer to get out of a double team. I was fine with him getting his points as long as we made him adjust. He likes to go up with his left hand, and Chase did a good job limiting him. In the second half, Mitchell found himself camped out along the perimeter several times, and daring him to shoot threes was also a smart approach, considering he was less than 30% going in.

I want to highlight the offense though which was really fun to watch. Part of the reason Armel looks so much better this year than last is (1) he is fully healthy this year (I believe he missed seven games last year because of an ankle issue) and (2) this offense really fits his style well. When we were running the flex last year there were virtually no lanes to drive and the floor spacing was really poor. The addition of Jamison has helped a lot in terms of shooting, but his floor spacing has helped just as much. Armel actually had his worst assist to turnover ratio of his GW career (he had never had more turnovers than assists before Saturday) but I don't think anyone will care about that. His continued aggressiveness to drive to the hoop even when things don't necessarily work out earlier in the game has been rewarding. He now has an incredible 9 games this season where he has posted 13+ points after halftime. Shoutout to JNJ for not turning the ball over at all and finishing with four assists! His three point shooting is really coming around as well. His defender slipped under a screen on one play and Jameer was able to make his defender pay by converting on a long range shot.

If I remember correctly, all of Maceo's three point makes came from the corner. It's amazing just how well executed our plays were on Saturday. There was one play where we found Maceo on the weak side passing in the ball with no UMass defender around him, as I'm sure almost everyone expected us to throw it in to Potter. While we don't always execute and finish off the plays, we definitely showed improvement there on Saturday. After watching us all of last season drive through narrow lanes and chuck the ball towards the hoop, even poor execution or a miss off a good set play makes me happy.

Jamison as others have said did a good job to not force the issue now that he is on the top of most scouting reports. He shot the ball just three times, and his lone three point make was in transition, so credit UMass for literally having a guy hugging him all game. Jamison is also really good at faking his shot and knocking down pullup jumpers. I believe he credited Sloan for showing him how to pump fake effectively. He continues to do a great job rebounding and boxing guys out defensively (and even more importantly, secure the ball when he comes down with it) and had some real nice moments guarding Mitchell one-on-one. With him drawing a lot attention, that opened things up for Maceo, and it was nice to see Jack come through. He didn't do much else in terms of rebounding or assisting, but his scoring is his biggest asset and he showed that. It was also nice to see him go back to slashing to the hoop. When he gets his threes to fall, he is able to fake guys out and get to the hoop with not much resistance. He has definitely shown an improvement as a defender (and probably shows the most energy of anyone on that side of the ball), but still needs to improve his foot speed hanging with guys getting to the hoop.

Mezie had a couple plays near the hoop where if he had gone up straight with it, he probably could have scored but because of slight overthinking/him hesitating (Mezie was hesie hehe) it forced him to pass the ball back out. Still nice to see a few strong performances overall when he's in the game.

Amir had some nice drives to the hoop as usual, but he definitely still does not look fully healthy. From his highlights in Nebraska and high school, he looked a lot more explosive so maybe his ankle ailment is slowing him down a bit. He also coughed the ball up a few too many times, especially when UMass moved to zone (before they decided to ditch that for whatever reason even when it was working). I don't think he re-entered the game after that run they went on (credit JC for taking timeouts at the right times, he even said he was going to take a timeout if UMass made three shots in a row). Anyways, I'm not too concerned long-term about Amir, because I'm sure he will probably look a lot better as he heals up.

Agree with the notion that Chase has great potential (I wouldn't call him unheralded as a three star big - he was probably actually our most heralded player of the freshman class apart from maybe JNJ). Maybe he's been asked not to shoot the three (or he isn't confident enough yet) but he seemed to show a great stroke in Kenner and that midrange he made in a previous game was money (as well as his performances from the FT line). If he can add a bit of strength, he will be a great foundational piece to build on along with JNJ and Jamison.

Ace gave us his energy down low as he always does. His offensive rebound and putback was really nice and looked tough to do based on the angle. Reminded me of the many opportunities Weathers got and did the same thing in the Duquesne game.

Nice to see us clear the bench at the end of the game, but I think we did it a little too late. McCall had clearly given up after the final media timeout as his walk-ons were playing with four minutes to go and we should have done the same. I guess Miles isn't going to see any action this year.

Also, UMass clearly needs a good PG. I get why they signed three freshmen PGs, though I believe Buggs is out for the season. East has shown flashes during the season, but their offense seemed to lack any rhythm to it. The plan was to either feed Mitchell or hoist away from three (with some floating jumpers thrown in here and there), and McCall effectively took away the first option by having him sit most of the first half with two fouls (good for us!). Surprised that Clergeot and Diallo didn't play more, especially since Clergeot could give them some offense, and Diallo was getting a lot of rebounds for them. I wouldn't be surprised if McCall is on the hot seat by the end of the year honestly.
 

When GW's 22 point lead was cut to 8, it was largely the result of GW's 9 turnovers over the course of the first 9 minutes of the second half.  UMASS pressed to speed up the game and GW looked as if it was playing right into their hands.  And then, the light bulb went off.  GW really wasn't having any problems breaking the press so why was it determined to play fast even after breaking the press?  After the 12 minute timeout, they strategically slowed down the game.  The results were that: a) they stopped turning the ball over, b) they got some good shots out of their half-court offense and c) feeling the pressure of trying to make up a big deficit with fewer possessions remaining than they would otherwise like, UMASS's shot selection once again turned to awful.  The fact that GW regained its poise was the key to the victory IMO.  Huge credit goes to the coaching staff and players for figuring this out and executing.

Armel is on quite a roll.  The next step in his development will be to effectively pass when double teamed off of penetration.  Given the way he has taken on the role of "team closer" so to speak, I expect opponents will start double teaming him a lot when the ball is in his hands during the late stages of games.  

Well, perhaps Maceo took a look at my proposal (for a reduction in playing time) and said "take that mayhem."  With AT still out and Amir not at 100%, it's easy to see why Jack's minutes have remained.  However, the UMASS game was clearly "Exhibit A" as to why he should be on the floor. The made 3's are always going to come and go with a shooter like Maceo but the numbers that are important are 3-5, 2-2.  Maceo was 3-5 on two point shots and 2-2 from the line which was nearly an old fashioned three point play.  For Maceo to play 30+ minutes, he must be more than a stationery catch and shoot three point shooter.  On this day, Maceo was very active without the ball and worked to get to the basket on his 6 attempts inside the arc.  It's no coincidence that putting some higher percentage shots in the basket also helps produce confidence when taking the 3's as well.  Great effort from a player who really needed one.
 

Dayton's Jalen Crutcher won PoW with less impressive stats compiled during wins vs SLU & VCU including a last second game winner.  Armel and Jamison got shoutouts in the press release.

Stats aren't everything, circumstances, opponents, game winning shots and more are also probably factored in.  Armel and Jamison will have other chances.