The team certainly fought hard which was good to see following the Rhody game. It's a shame to see it result in another loss, especially at home. I felt badly seeing JB and Garrett's faces in the postgame. Everyone played hard and left it out there for Stretch and Jun once they couldn't return to the game. Agree that with Jun this game is won.

It was nice to see the shots fall a bit more (and shots on the other side fall a bit less). I think by default that was bound to happen sooner or later. Periods of play on both sides were better, but the same issues that have plagued the team remain.

Offensively, I hate to say it but it doesn't feel that different from what JC was running at this point. Loyola was top 75-ish in defensive assist rate (as CC alluded to it's hard to make passes against them), but so are like at least half the teams in the A10. What can GW do to counter that? There's just too much standing around off ball. JB accounts for 7 of the 11 assists. He probably ranks high in assist percentage again! But just like in the JC era there's just one pass being made and a shot. A good shot at times, but not one given up for a great one. I said in the preview that I fully expected Loyola to greatly outclass GW in passing but it was still disappointing nonetheless.

It's nice when JB and Max are on (great to see that happen more today) but they are shooting mostly low quality shots. When Max had the ball in the halfcourt, everyone watching knew he was going up with it within a few seconds. I know Max is a very willing passer (he showed that during the game) but I can't fault him for just jacking up a shot because no one is ever trying to get open off the ball. You can copy and paste the same thing I said for JB although he of course has the added threat of driving the ball. JB has returned to taking the midrange, but suddenly it feels like he doesn't know where his sweet spot is and chucked up multiple contested ones. I don't know how this team can ever win without putting up at least 80 points. The GMU game feels like an outlier. The one bad luck factor against GW has definitely been opponent FT shooting at home - it feels like every team has been automatic this year. That wasn't the case last year so things even out I guess.

Defense is as big of a question mark. The effort rotating on defense was certainly better today (especially in the first half), but if I'm being objective Loyola missing a bunch of threes for the majority of the second half was luck. The Ramblers whipped the ball around and got open look after open look (quality shots) but the shots did not fall. They weren't missing because the shots were being contested. There were still moments double teaming the post and then being late to get back to the perimeter as well. The past couple of games neither URI nor Loyola has been absurd from 3 or anything (URI made just four threes, Loyola was at about their average) but whether it was dominating in the paint or crushing GW's transition defense there are just too many holes to exploit right now. The team is young and CC is still feeling things out as a first time coach, but I thought he was the defensive guy at Miami. Outside of blocked shots, the defense has been largely disappointing and not disruptive. It was nice today to see multiple forced shot clock violations in the first half though.

The final point of discussion has to deal with roster construction. It's a point that I felt tempted to write about a couple months back, and again late in OOC play when CC showed visible frustrations about the NCAA ruling allowing second-time transfers to play (at least the rest of this season, but we all know where it's going). GW had to fill a ton of spots last offseason, but I can't think of another team that filled so many spots with the number of unprovens that CC did (outside of Antoine Smith). Was this due to CC thinking it was the best roster he could build with respect to the transfer rules at the time (he's definitely been screwed over by this) or is it the reality of GW's NIL situation compared to A10 peers? Maybe both? St. Joe's didn't do much, but they had a lot returning. La Salle and Davidson are the only other schools that come to mind that didn't do well in the transfer portal and have as a result also found themselves towards the bottom of the conference (although I think both schools again brought back more than GW and Davidson doesn't have a grad school which hurts). CC has scouted unprovens very well thus far but I don't know that continuing to do this almost exclusively is sustainable.

Last year, there weren't enough guards and CC addressed that. Now if seems there are too few frontcourt players? The concern for me coming into the season was what happens if Stretch gets into foul trouble or injured. Keegan was dominant at Kenner as usual but I think we all knew he wasn't getting non-garbage time minutes. I think we expected Jun to take over as a small ball 5 which has happened, but that now leaves multiple holes down low if Stretch and Jun are out either due to foul trouble or injury.

Let's be honest - while players have missed a game or two here and there, GW has been very fortunate with regards to injuries (credit the support staff for sure). Jun is an absolute warrior - he has hit the floor hard many times this year but fortunately he was able to absorb the blows prior to today. So what happens with both Stretch and Jun unavailable? Antoine had some great plays defensively during the game and has provided a lift on offense at times this year but the URI game showed that it's probably unfair to expect him to guard inside for prolonged stretches. Zam definitely still needs another offseason. I guess whether it's due to injuries, illness, or otherwise Benny has been a bit disappointing. Maybe he was expected to play a bigger role this year and it didn't pan out? I just feel like there was no plan if Stretch and Jun are unable to be on the court. Garrett is more of a wing than a guy who plays in the post (although he did have a nice block in the game). The offensive rebounds and layups by Adelekun hurt and decided the game (I thought he was going to be one of the harder guys to defend coming in).

It will be interesting to see what happens in the offseason. I like the young core a lot and hope we can keep all of them. But will CC be able to land guys with previous production from the portal this coming offseason with JB, Antoine, and Stretch out of the fold (I assume Akingbola isn't doing the extra year)? GW will need experienced pieces, but also ones that have actually played and produced in some fashion. Don't think a Loyola haul from last offseason is realistic but even half of that would be nice. In the meantime, praying that Jun's injury isn't a long term one.
 

Looked like we were gonna get that badly needed W, but it wasn’t meant to be.  As fans we have our theories about what’s wrong, but what really matters is what the coaches think and do. Before we can even look at analytics we need to look at basics and fundamentals!

We loved Joe Mac and Ty Cav!  Why?  They played the game the right way.  Hard nosed, 2 feet on the ground, and with physical presence.  They played D the right way.  The same way summer camps teach kids. You play D with your legs.  That’s why Shaka Smart has a drill where he ties hands behind their backs so they don’t reach!  Reaching is a sign of laziness ala every goddamn and-one yesterday!  Not every play needs to be a blocked shot.  Wonder if the coaching staff would consider that drill, or maybe show film of Jrue Holiday.

On offense just come to the ball to receive a pass.  Or make a hard cut!  I don’t know, I’m just a fan.

I’m just curious what a team meeting of coaches is seeing as weaknesses.  Is it different from what we see?

There is no doubt that this team has worked hard.
Hope they get the W at Mason.  Go Revs!!!

dmvpiranha wrote:

The team certainly fought hard which was good to see following the Rhody game. It's a shame to see it result in another loss, especially at home. I felt badly seeing JB and Garrett's faces in the postgame. Everyone played hard and left it out there for Stretch and Jun once they couldn't return to the game. Agree that with Jun this game is won.

It was nice to see the shots fall a bit more (and shots on the other side fall a bit less). I think by default that was bound to happen sooner or later. Periods of play on both sides were better, but the same issues that have plagued the team remain.

Offensively, I hate to say it but it doesn't feel that different from what JC was running at this point. Loyola was top 75-ish in defensive assist rate (as CC alluded to it's hard to make passes against them), but so are like at least half the teams in the A10. What can GW do to counter that? There's just too much standing around off ball. JB accounts for 7 of the 11 assists. He probably ranks high in assist percentage again! But just like in the JC era there's just one pass being made and a shot. A good shot at times, but not one given up for a great one. I said in the preview that I fully expected Loyola to greatly outclass GW in passing but it was still disappointing nonetheless.

It's nice when JB and Max are on (great to see that happen more today) but they are shooting mostly low quality shots. When Max had the ball in the halfcourt, everyone watching knew he was going up with it within a few seconds. I know Max is a very willing passer (he showed that during the game) but I can't fault him for just jacking up a shot because no one is ever trying to get open off the ball. You can copy and paste the same thing I said for JB although he of course has the added threat of driving the ball. JB has returned to taking the midrange, but suddenly it feels like he doesn't know where his sweet spot is and chucked up multiple contested ones. I don't know how this team can ever win without putting up at least 80 points. The GMU game feels like an outlier. The one bad luck factor against GW has definitely been opponent FT shooting at home - it feels like every team has been automatic this year. That wasn't the case last year so things even out I guess.

Defense is as big of a question mark. The effort rotating on defense was certainly better today (especially in the first half), but if I'm being objective Loyola missing a bunch of threes for the majority of the second half was luck. The Ramblers whipped the ball around and got open look after open look (quality shots) but the shots did not fall. They weren't missing because the shots were being contested. There were still moments double teaming the post and then being late to get back to the perimeter as well. The past couple of games neither URI nor Loyola has been absurd from 3 or anything (URI made just four threes, Loyola was at about their average) but whether it was dominating in the paint or crushing GW's transition defense there are just too many holes to exploit right now. The team is young and CC is still feeling things out as a first time coach, but I thought he was the defensive guy at Miami. Outside of blocked shots, the defense has been largely disappointing and not disruptive. It was nice today to see multiple forced shot clock violations in the first half though.

The final point of discussion has to deal with roster construction. It's a point that I felt tempted to write about a couple months back, and again late in OOC play when CC showed visible frustrations about the NCAA ruling allowing second-time transfers to play (at least the rest of this season, but we all know where it's going). GW had to fill a ton of spots last offseason, but I can't think of another team that filled so many spots with the number of unprovens that CC did (outside of Antoine Smith). Was this due to CC thinking it was the best roster he could build with respect to the transfer rules at the time (he's definitely been screwed over by this) or is it the reality of GW's NIL situation compared to A10 peers? Maybe both? St. Joe's didn't do much, but they had a lot returning. La Salle and Davidson are the only other schools that come to mind that didn't do well in the transfer portal and have as a result also found themselves towards the bottom of the conference (although I think both schools again brought back more than GW and Davidson doesn't have a grad school which hurts). CC has scouted unprovens very well thus far but I don't know that continuing to do this almost exclusively is sustainable.

Last year, there weren't enough guards and CC addressed that. Now if seems there are too few frontcourt players? The concern for me coming into the season was what happens if Stretch gets into foul trouble or injured. Keegan was dominant at Kenner as usual but I think we all knew he wasn't getting non-garbage time minutes. I think we expected Jun to take over as a small ball 5 which has happened, but that now leaves multiple holes down low if Stretch and Jun are out either due to foul trouble or injury.

Let's be honest - while players have missed a game or two here and there, GW has been very fortunate with regards to injuries (credit the support staff for sure). Jun is an absolute warrior - he has hit the floor hard many times this year but fortunately he was able to absorb the blows prior to today. So what happens with both Stretch and Jun unavailable? Antoine had some great plays defensively during the game and has provided a lift on offense at times this year but the URI game showed that it's probably unfair to expect him to guard inside for prolonged stretches. Zam definitely still needs another offseason. I guess whether it's due to injuries, illness, or otherwise Benny has been a bit disappointing. Maybe he was expected to play a bigger role this year and it didn't pan out? I just feel like there was no plan if Stretch and Jun are unable to be on the court. Garrett is more of a wing than a guy who plays in the post (although he did have a nice block in the game). The offensive rebounds and layups by Adelekun hurt and decided the game (I thought he was going to be one of the harder guys to defend coming in).

It will be interesting to see what happens in the offseason. I like the young core a lot and hope we can keep all of them. But will CC be able to land guys with previous production from the portal this coming offseason with JB, Antoine, and Stretch out of the fold (I assume Akingbola isn't doing the extra year)? GW will need experienced pieces, but also ones that have actually played and produced in some fashion. Don't think a Loyola haul from last offseason is realistic but even half of that would be nice. In the meantime, praying that Jun's injury isn't a long term one.
 

Just a couple points here.

Other than Jun and Johnson, I don't think the young core has done enough to warrant that much attention from other schools. That's not to say they won't leave just that the market is not going to be very strong. As for Jun and Johnson, both have been other places and they are both local kids. They may recognize that the grass is not always greener elsewhere. We will see but I am not convinced any of these guys leave at least for next year.

You mentioned Keegan. This should be example  no. (more than 20) at GW of why Kenner doesn't mean anything. I know by next summer there will be another kid who will be reviewed here as a difference maker who will play very sparingly. People in general (not you) just have to understand what Kenner is and what it is not. It's painfully obvious that the coaching staff who watches practice every day does not believe Keegan can help in any way or he would be playing, especially in light of our shortcomings as far as front court depth. People can think what they want about Kenner but nobody has watched Keegan play more than CC.

Last edited by GWRising (2/12/2024 10:22 am)

At least the team didn't get blown out in the second half like has been happening in the last few games. Maybe coach figured something out.

Agree with everyone else about shot selection. The offense towards the end was just dribble and try to beat your man off the dribble, and that didn't work.