Thank you Schroeder for turning a one possession game to a 2 possession game.

We are now officially DFL in the A-10.  Bravo.

Why didn’t Slu just hand the ball to Keegan Harvey on the inbounds?   He’s under the basket with .7 left so he wouldn’t have enough time to get or pass to the three point line. 

It worked out for them because of a quick whistle on Benny, but all they had to do was throw it inside the arc and it’s over.

Waiting for the day when we take a 3 point shot when a GW player is within 10 feet  of  baske for a rebound.

And Smith managed to accomplish all that negative in just 21 minutes of play.

This game sadly felt like a step back from the SJU game despite the late comeback. The offense and defense both sucked.

My only takeaway from SLU was that the Billikens also showed why they are at the bottom of the A10. I guess it was nice to see the other team also throw the ball into the stands and make boneheaded plays and not just GW for once. Off an inbounds play instead of taking a timeout when they couldn't get the ball in they threw the ball into the stands so GW could get the ball under the basket. Instead of killing some clock late Jimerson (a veteran player) decides to attack the hoop where Stretch blocks the shot. There were several other plays where SLU tried their hardest to give the game away but GW was kind enough to refuse.

I guess the offense was a tad bit better than the defense, but the team finishing with 12 assists despite putting up 91 points and making 31 field goals sums up how this team operates on that side of the ball. Way to waste another good shooting performance from JB. The team just dribbles for 15 seconds before Stretch trots out to set a pick. Everyone else stands around like a statue. Putting up 91 points on this SLU team isn't a great feat - they are disastrous defensively, but GW certainly made their job easier by standing around making them have to exert less effort to have to guard. Still hoping a day will come where GW finishes with more assists than the other team.

Losing JB will undoubtedly be a loss next year, but maybe it will be a good thing when the team doesn't run everything through him. Max and Jacoi occasionally get their chances to shoot in isolation without any passing but JB has been a get out of jail free card for GW. Next year may force GW to play more team ball. While JB is not perfect, I want to stress that this losing streak has not all been on him. I think CC could have done a better job putting better pieces around him while also still building for the future. I hope the team can win one more game for JB's sake.

Despite this tough stretch, I've loved what Jacoi has given the team. I really want Max to succeed and he does do some good things (I liked that he attacked the rim more today and he's always great on the boards) but man is he a frustrating watch at times with his decision making. He's still young, but this team needed him to grow up fast. That open three in the corner being way off when GW was on a run was a killer but it happens (he's also not at 100% too).

We all know that GW's defense is absolutely brutal, but giving up nearly 100 points without arguably their most dynamic weapon in Parker is unacceptable. Blaming this mess exclusively on the team being young would be a mistake. Time after time leaving the perimeter open for SLU to go through shooting practice when they came in shooting 36% from distance. No attempt to get out to contest those shots. GW was super fortunate that SLU couldn't hit anything in the second half because the defense wasn't any better after halftime. There were a couple of deep "heat check" threes that they made in the first half which was unfortunate, but the majority of threes made were poorly contested. On top of that, the team cannot end defensive possessions without giving up an offensive board or fouling. It feels like Stretch consistently has poor positioning trying to rebound the ball relative to the opponent's big and when he goes to block a shot no one picks him up by trying to box out or go for the rebound (unfortunately Smith was often the guilty party here).

There is simply nothing disruptive about this defense. I thought Caputo was the defensive coordinator at Miami? Granted, defense has been their weak spot the past few years. I'm just stunned that this team has no ability to get stops whatsoever even taking youth into consideration. It's so bad that I think a staff change may be warranted in the offseason. Getting "better defenders", "bigger players", or "more experienced guys" may all help, but I'm concerned that the defensive issues go beyond just the players.

Long Suffering Fan wrote:

Bonehead play of the game goes to Benny Schroeder:  GW down 2 with about 42 seconds left and he commits the foul. Do they just not understand a concept as simple as if you play strong defense, you get the ball back with at least 12 seconds left and a chance to tie the game or even win it with a 3.

Schroeder may have unintentionally fouled on that play, but I think a similar case could have been made on Stretch's foul just before even when GW was down four at the time. The only difference was that GW was a bit fortunate that SLU missed both free throws. Going back to the SJU game, CC took the same approach to foul with 30 some seconds left instead of playing out the possession. I guess it's based off the success GW had extending the game when they were trailing last year. I think more than anything else it shows just how little faith he has that the team can get a stop in a close game. It's preferable to hope for a FT miss which is just very sad.
 

The biggest concern now is how do we keep the young players from bolting after this disastrous season. As for Johnson, the assistant coach at the last President's Club lunch told me point blank that Johnson's hip wasn't the reason he wasn't playing. However, the announcers today said that it was. The bad news never ends. 

Maybe missed it in the exquisite announcing performance or missed it an injury, but why JB?
Or was it DB?
 In any case, GW sacrifice your body player of the game (and maybe the year) goes to Stretch, who is probably icing a sensitive area right now.

AT Hiker wrote:

Overall Benny played well; 3-4 from the field and 2-2 ft. He has great potential.

I hope you are right, AT Hiker, but I am seeing a player that is a horrible defender, does not shoot very well, is slow, doesn't rebound and generally cannot finish at the hoop unless its a dunk.   What are you seeing that I am missing?

moneybox wrote:

The biggest concern now is how do we keep the young players from bolting after this disastrous season. As for Johnson, the assistant coach at the last President's Club lunch told me point blank that Johnson's hip wasn't the reason he wasn't playing. However, the announcers today said that it was. The bad news never ends. 

Let's get to this post first.  First question, I suppose the facetious answer is that once you've lost 10 straight, maybe it's OK if the players bolt?  In reality, I think there is a nucleus of players who you will want to build around next year, including DBJ, Garrett, Jacoi and Trey (let's also not forget Christian and Ty).  I think it's been challenging to integrate these guys with JB and Max.  JB is playing for professional scouts and there is a certain level of respect from his teammates which suggests that JB should be allowed to showcase his skills.  I've thought since the beginning of the season that we would have a more difficult to defend team with the ball in Jacoi's hands than in JB's but everyone from CC on down understood that JB really needed to be a scorer playing the point. DBJ was the other player taking on that role which had more to do with his unique skill set for a player his size, which in turn would cause matchup problems.  The result is a great deal of isolation and one-on-one play, rather than a team that moves well, or at all, without the ball.

We know JB will be gone after this season but where does this leave Max?  Am not sure if I've ever felt so conflicted about a GW player.  Max is skilled to the point where he is a great defensive rebounder for a player his size, and is also a capable scorer and streaky three point shooter.  What I don't see from Max is someone who is striving to be a great team player.  It's one thing to be a step slow on defense; maybe this can be improved upon or maybe this is simply what it is.  It's another to take many ill advised shots and make otherwise questionable decisions.  My impression of Max is that he understands and even wants JB to be the leading scorer; however, he needs to make sure that he gets his points too.  I understand the philosophy that great shooters need to keep shooting even when they are cold but is Max a great shooter?  He doesn't always ignore the more difficult three point shot for the easy two, but his numbers would be so much better if he understood that the easier two ought to be the rule and not the exception.  With JB gone, does Max assume that he's the team's best option on offense?  I can't help but think that this would be a mistake.  So in the case of Max, a lot has to do with understanding what his future role will be (and not be), and playing much more of a team game.  If I knew he could adapt, I'd gladly say that he's a player worth having.  And to his credit, he has responded well to coming off the bench.  Like I said, very conflicted.

Secondly, GW has been saying for weeks now that Garrett has a hip injury which is unrelated to his prior health scares.  There was never any reason not to believe this.  Now, we're hearing that an Assistant Coach is saying that this isn't the truth?  This raises some questions, starting with why would the Assistant Coach say to anyone that the team isn't being forthright?  If that coach's identity were revealed, I suspect that he could lose his job so that's what he's risking by making mention of this at a luncheon.  Now, what's to be gained by saying this?  Can't think of a thing.