At one point, when Bamisile was getting in position to shoot a foul shot, JBIV was standing nearby and you could see a (rare) smile on James's face as he bantered with Bamisile. so, it appeared that they might still be on good terms.

This block by stretch was unreal:

https://twitter.com/david_korn4/status/1743769195815309669

Last edited by MG14 (1/06/2024 11:17 pm)

MG14 wrote:

This block by stretch was unreal:

https://twitter.com/david_korn4/status/1743769195815309669

this block was in fact, exceptional.  What a pogo stick jumper JoeBam is too.

Doctor John mentioned Stretch is #2 in the nation, anyone else notice Doctor John was 1000x better than Patsos? What a difference 

Very proud of the way the team responded after the heartbreaker the other night. I would have been content with just a competitive game, but it feels great to finally end a six game losing streak to VCU. Thankfully, the Shulga shot didn't go (I thought he might have traveled too).

As LSF mentioned, things looked ominous as the team dug itself into yet another hole to start, but credit the team for chipping away and getting things back to even after the first ten minutes or so. It was great to see Antoine and Zam get some action for a few minutes in the first half. While I don't think either guy will probably see more than a few minutes right now, any made shots from either will be big for the team. Both seem like great shooters, but Smith was very late closing out on JoeBam's three in the corner if I remember correctly and paid the price for that.

It's hard to ignore that the team went on a run in the first half when Stretch was pulled after picking up his second foul. Would CC have pulled Akingbola at that point if he hadn't been called for the second foul? It's interesting to think about, but it ended up benefitting the team at that point. Determining when Stretch should play has to be tough. There's no denying his elite blocking ability (that block on JoeBam was one of the best moments of the season; coming into the game, VCU's opponents only blocked 1.6 shots per game against them - Stretch definitely changed that) but he does hamper the offense at times (although it may be unfair to blame him for two of JB's turnovers where he was trying to make the extra pass to Stretch but there was no opening to make that pass). I originally thought Akingbola was playing too much in the second half but he proved me wrong by finishing some crucial dunks (one was a great decision from Max who could have easily shot a 3 on a play) and making timely defensive stops.

As the game progressed, I was wondering whether the team we were facing was actually VCU or a bunch of imposters because they did not look like previous teams at all. It's not just the lack of havoc, but their offense was all over the place and they somehow looked worse defensively than GW which isn't easy to do (the Revs looked more disruptive taking the ball away - especially late in the first half - than VCU showed at any point in the game). Case in point, GW did not miss a shot in the final eight minutes of the game. That's incredible against any team, but this is VCU we're talking about. There are actually VCU teams in the past that prevented GW from scoring at all for eight minute periods. I know they are integrating Bam and Bairstow mid-season which can't be easy, but throughout the game I was thinking "wow this game looks winnable" which is something that's never crossed my mind in a GW-VCU game in a very long time. I'm sure Odom will have things moving in the right direction next year though.

Speaking of turnovers, I know GW only finished with 11, but so many were still so unforced. Not going to dwell on them after a win, but from JB passing it to no one to Jun/Trey not being on the same page more than half could have been avoided. I only mention this because these felt like they happened whenever GW had a chance to cut into VCU's lead further or go up two possessions but instead allowed VCU to often tie or go up 1 after coughing the ball up.

As for the defense, I thought there were at least periods of this game where it felt that GW did a better job limiting open looks (especially in the first half) compared to the conference opener. There were definitely still lapses along the perimeter - VCU made 11 threes at a 46% clip, we fouled them multiple times from deep, and they put up 47 after halftime but the team could only go up from the Fordham game and I'll give the team the benefit of the doubt that fatigue played a role as well. We were a bit fortunate that Bairstow was way off today because he had a number of great looks.

I was thinking during the game whether the defense would look better if GW would run the opposition off the three point line similar to what JC used to do. The difference now is a guy like Stretch would actually prevent the opposition from scoring on easy layups that those previous teams allowed constantly. The midrange may still be exposed, but I think you can live with that (although I understand why CC may not want to do this as we don't have another guy like Stretch inside if Akingbola gets into foul trouble).

I think this team has the chance to avoid the play-in game, but the ceiling is capped if teams are going to continue to torch us from distance. This is D1, anyone can make an open three point shot. VCU also hurt GW on the offensive glass more than I thought they would, given they were a mediocre 261st coming into the game. That's still a work in progress (it feels like other teams successfully rebound on half the possessions they miss) but regardless GW did enough to win.

Shout out to the team for making their free throws. That is something that will be forgotten but going 21/26 in a tough environment is huge. Garrett in particular made two big ones late in the game - his calm demeanor in general has been really big for the team in pivotal moments.

Max was fantastic today and it's good to see him back playing at the level we know he's capable of. Also nice to see Trey make some corner threes - he had a similar look in the Fordham game that didn't fall but it happens. He looks like a player. Jacoi had somewhat of a rough game, forcing a couple shots (I think he's at his best shooting when he's off the ball in rhythm rather than him creating his shot right now) and picking up three fouls in 40 seconds during the second half but he'll be fine moving forward. Jun had some huge and-ones but almost cost the game with the late turnover + fouling Joe on the three (that shot was also very close to going in). A learning opportunity for him, but it'd be better to have JB bring the ball up at the end of games while we still have him. It does feel great to have DBJ bring the ball up when needed though.

As for JB, what else is there to say? Just a big-time player who makes big-time shots. It was an incredibly tough shot on a possession where VCU played fantastic defense but JB's offense was just a bit better. Something I've noticed about JB since CC took over is it looks like he's just having more fun in general out there. Winning helps, but just a couple years ago I would have never imagined that JB would show so much emotion during the game. Earlier at GW, he was pretty emotionless and I can't help but smile when I see him just so happy to be winning and having good moments out on the court towards the end of his GW career.

It does definitely look that JoeBam looks bigger compared to his time at GW. He was a bit less erratic offensively than a couple years back, but definitely still takes questionable shots at times (there was a deep three that was horrendous earlier in the game that was not needed during a possession). Bam still takes many possessions off defensively though which we knew all too well at GW even with all the highlights. Glad he was able to have a good game while GW came out on top (although I thought Odom sat him for too long in the game).

As for the postgame clip, I don't take that much from it. Bam was probably a bit upset from losing a heartbreaker and I can't blame him for not wanting to talk about JB at that time. Honestly, I can't imagine anyone being on bad terms with JB (he seems pretty low-key, much like Bam). Now whether Joe enjoyed his time at GW I don't know (and that question may never be answered). Is he still releasing music/making artwork? He did include some GW students in one of his music videos. Anyways, hope VCU was what he was looking for and he gets his degree.
 

A couple of interesting points, including noticed here above and WRGW.
Even playing Smith and Zam for a little bit in the first half helped. Both can shoot the 3, would like to see more if they can defend enough to justify. Benny provides some energy in general when healthy, though this may not have been the game for him to play much. We do need to get a little bit more from the bench beyond Trey and Jacoi. Just for rest sake, as we saw against Fordham.
The defense, still a work in progress, was better. While not a high bar to improve, it was against VCU at home. Obviously, fouling 3-point shooters, especially Bamisile, not ideal, but calls could be questionable. Would have been a great irony if he made the shot and a FT.
    One thing that may have been alluded to: at some point, think it was early to mid in the second half, VCU made a mini-run and recall anyway, that CC uncharacteristically called a timeout. It might not have stopped a score, but did seem to settle the team down.
    Overall, very impressive to go toe to toe with VCU and win at the Siegel Center.
We really exceeded expectations and that came from the heart. Everyone contributed on the court and rooting on the bench.
     
      

Class 'o 70 wrote:

At one point, when Bamisile was getting in position to shoot a foul shot, JBIV was standing nearby and you could see a (rare) smile on James's face as he bantered with Bamisile. so, it appeared that they might still be on good terms.

That was right after Bam got a friendly bounce on a free throw off the top of the backboard. Class, I had the two of them laughing after that and I will share.


 

Last edited by russianthistle (1/07/2024 2:46 pm)

dmvpiranha wrote:

It's hard to ignore that the team went on a run in the first half when Stretch was pulled after picking up his second foul. Would CC have pulled Akingbola at that point if he hadn't been called for the second foul? It's interesting to think about, but it ended up benefitting the team at that point. Determining when Stretch should play has to be tough. There's no denying his elite blocking ability (that block on JoeBam was one of the best moments of the season; coming into the game,
 

After the Navy game, I got yelled at about the 11 block performance may be a cloud with dark lining when Draper got 16 boards including 6 offensives on the way to scoring 19 after coming off the bench to log over 36 minutes for Navy..

Before the Fordham game, I suggested that the coach may take Stretch off the court and play small by adding a big guard. GW played with two subs ( our two leading freshmen guards). What does standout on the states are the number of offensive rebounds that we surrendered and the 3 point shooting by Fordham. Both stats can be credited to by getting breaks by the starter players at the 1-4.

Against VCU, we closed out one players shooting the 3 Pt. We shall as always run into hot shooting teams. It will cost a game or two. It is the new game.

As you point out, when Akingbola picked up his 2nd foul, CC made a move to go with Smith who had the most game experience at this level.. Then he inserted Zam after a couple of minutes. Zam hit a big 3, which was a bonus. At that point, with the use of Jocoi and Trey, he had gone nine deep.That mad GW dangerous as we could lean on the four major scorers from the starters.

Our subs won the Plus-minus battle. Jocoi had his best game at both ends. Trey out rebounded Joe and Joe scored 9 points of his 18 on 3s that he took.

The other clear thing was that Akingbola is fighting to control his man on the boards. One can see that they are working with him on his technique. His 4 points were critical. He seemed to sense when his defender left him and he went straight to the rim for a good catch and stuff.

The next two weeks will be the next stage forward or just show that we got luck. The staff has to keep adding to Akingbola game and buy time with the bench. We have to also keep our 4 core players fresh as well. Look for JR getting tested in this period. Mason was lucky to get  St. Louis now and at home. Davidson will test our young guards.

Fun will be had byt all!!!














 

Stretch's numbers:   27 minutes, 4 points (2-2 from the field, I believe both dunks), 1 rebound, 1 assist, 5 blocks, 2 fouls.  5 rebounds is amazing, but we need more than 4 points and 1 rebound from our big.

Russianthistle, you get two separate "thank you" comments from me.  First, thank you for posting that amazing picture of the two JB's.  There is little doubt that JBIV made some kind of joke about JoeBam's free throw going in after nearly hitting the top of the backboard.  This was a very human moment during an incredibly tense time during the game.  Second, thank you for serving all of us a reminder as to how truly raw Stretch's game is.  We see an athlete that size who can block shots with great regularity and just assume that as a 22-23 year old, his game is fully polished.  It's a great example of how not playing in competitive games the better part of the past 4 years can really take a toll on a player.

As for the game, first and foremost, thank you to JB for coming back for one more season.  GW is not winning that game without him and I guarantee that's not the last time I make that statement this season.  Are his drives and scoop shots in the paint easy buckets?  They clearly are not yet he makes them look so easy.  The team needs two points and he just finds a way to get them.  The future is very bright for this program but boy will he be missed once he's gone.

After contributing in the little ways, often without the ball, in the loss to Fordham, Max showed up quite big in this win.  As in practically carrying the team by himself throughout the first half.  Nice to see that stroke return.

Just when I start thinking that maybe this isn't the game for Garrett (due to defense), he comes out of the 8 minute time out to score 7 points over the next 2+ minutes, coverts a dunk to go up 5 with a minute left, and notably sinks a pair of free throws with 31 seconds left to give GW  a 2 point lead.  Yup, he's got to play down the stretch of close games.

Nice to see Trey knock down a pair of 3's as well as Zam sinking his corner 3. 

Three point shooting should be critical for this team.  The plan to allow DBJ to handle the ball as much as he does inevitably results in double teams.  It's critical that DBJ gets proficient at knowing when to finish himself and when to find an open shooter.  He will be a great weapon to have if he can master this. 

As exciting as it was to beat VCU on their home court, there was still a part of me that realizes this is no longer the havoc version, which is really the only version GW has known this century dating back to when VCU upset GW in the CBI.  Ryan Odom is a successful coach and he may very well maintain continued success at VCU, but it will be different.  Havoc was a style of play that most GW teams could not solve (who can recall those Larsen/Savage/Garino cross court passes to break their press) and which by definition, was intended to intimidate.  GW did not look intimidated on Saturday because nothing intimidating was thrown at them.  This does seem like the end of an era, thankfully from the perspective of GW fans.