I spent a lot of the game thinking about how Toro had lost his job and basically was relegated to full time bench duty. Chase Paar has been great as a rookie big man, but tonight he got cold and rattled at the end of the game and became a liability at the line. Miss 3/4 shots from the line in clutch time will get you benched by most good coaches.

And in a moment of brilliance, Toro came in and was absolutely HUGE by scoring key buckets, hitting free throws, playing good defense, and most importantly, having the most energy on the court. Have to believe JC will find a better way to work Toro in because it would be a waste to have him on the bench for the entire game. Something must have happened off the court with JC and AT because AT is clearly better than a 12th man.

FredD wrote:

Anyway My ESPN+ froze in the second OT into the forth. So how crazy was Jameer’s layup to tie in the 3RD OT?

Here's a link to the drive: https://twitter.com/GW_MBB/status/1222708424770838529?s=20

Another Angle: https://twitter.com/FinestMagazine/status/1222708539510206464?s=20

Last edited by GW0509 (1/30/2020 9:01 am)

Dmvpiranha, Thomas and FQ!!!  I second every thing that you guys said. (old  Tuna Can, here)

TA has what seems to be a mental thing thing going finishing around the rim. Last night, he could have had 20 (LOL) . Like he doesn't trust that he can launch on his jump. Going 3 deep at the 5 is huge. This also introduces a whacky GW option for the coach--paying Paar at 4 for a minute or two in situations. We learned at the summer league that Paar has range.

Add my voice to the prayers for a quick return of Potter. The current GW team is some where the team that played Fordham and Davidson. Potter gave us scoring efficiency and his penatration moved defenders around. Jack, Battle, Harris and JR can on there day blow by a defender running at them on the arc and produce points. 

The connection between the players on the floor and the coach is great to watch. The team is demonstrating competitive "elastiveness"--they can absorb body blows and come back with a positive possession. One hopes that this will produce lots of win-favoring minor runs that gives GW the upperhand in upcoming games.

On Walker and the potention of a Juice return I actually see a future of a real use of "mayhem."  One amazing game doesn't make a season but it can open our eyes to options.

I'll second most of what everyone has been saying.

A few of other key points to me:

1. How great was the play design by JC to get Battle an open look to win it in regulation? I know Battle didn't hit the shot but still it doesn't get much better than that.
2. Walker gave us great minutes. I believe unfortunately we will get some news soon (although I am praying otherwise) that will require Shawn to step-up and play major minutes going forward.
3. Yes, Amir struggled but on several he was fouled including the missed dunk attempt. Thought the officiating was largely awful last night. Inconsistent as hell and the fact that Gudmundsson got away with murder most of the night was awful. Believe he was not called for a foul until the 3rd or 4th overtime.

Reality Check. I went to the Davidson site and listened to McKillop's comments on the game. Davidson really had the best chances in the OT's to win. They had possession of the ball at the end of the OT's but just missed. And McKillop said his players were gassed. So a lot of short shots. Toro was pretty fresh and it made a huge difference. Wonderful win.

Will this be remembered as the Maceo game?  Or, the AT game?  Or, the Jamison game?  My God, there's a lot to choose from.

Let's start with Maceo who allowed "shaky Maceo" to invade the Smith Center but was sandwiched by great Maceo.  Great Maceo not only hits from 3 but is also active in taking the ball to the rim and getting to the line.  Take away Maceo's first half and this game never even sniffs overtime.

Chase not only played his ass off but often looked like a genuine rim protector at times.  Not just the dominant block but a number of altered shots as a result of his defense as well.  

Amir was often beating his man off of the dribble so it's not like his shot selection was suspect.  He does need to find a way to make a few of these though because many are perfectly fine shots.  Meanwhile, his defense was sensational.  The last possession of what I think was the second OT (who can keep track) where he forced Jon Axel into a very difficult shot at the buzzer was perfect.

JNJ..We do have some haters here who still would like to point out his wreckless play despite just 2 turnovers in over 50 minutes of play.  How can everyone not see that this is exactly the kind of player you want to go to battle with.  Makes incredibly big plays, dives for loose balls, rebounds like JoeMac 2.0.  Yes, he is going to make mistakes but from a risk:reward perspective, he plays on my team any day.  Speaking of Battle:

Jamison: Was keyed on to death in the first half which allows for numerous open looks by Maceo.  Then, the keying switched to Maceo and Jamison started getting his looks.  I'm trying to think of the last GW freshman who was both this good and this poised.  Mike Hall comes to mind.

Armel: Am very concerned given GWRising's ominous note.  He has proven to be such an important piece to the puzzle that is this team.  Would hate to see such a productive season end in January.  Praying for vthe best.

AT: Must be nice to have fresh legs when everyone else around you has already played 40 minutes give or take.   Can't really recall a season quite like AT's this year.  Started out like a man on a mission.  Thoroughly dominant.  Then, the injury.  Then, the tentativeness once he returned from injury.  Then, the emergence of Chase.  And then, last night.  Not going to come down too hard on JC after a dramatic win but how are you not playing this guy at all until the overtimes?  Shouldn't he at least have the Ace Stallings role? My guess is that JC would say that AT needed to prove worthy of extended minutes again.  Well, now he has and then some.

JC:  There were some brilliant plays run last night (glad GWRising brought up the end-of-regulation play to Battle which was perfectly conceived).  Three points to make regarding JC:  1) The technical foul was a reaction to some bad officiating.  It was not a sign to pump up his team.  From a timing perspective, it actually came at a horrible time.  GW was down two and the result was to give Kellen Grady 4 free throws (in which he made 3).  2) I am all for letting guys play through situations but at one point, GW had 5 timeouts remaining and you only start with 4 for a regulation game.  Considering that no fewer than 5 GW players played their season high in minutes, shouldn't you let these guys get a breather? In my view, both teams were gassed, not just Davidson.  3) And despite #2, I have to give so much credit to these players for staying focused and determined during what had to have been an exhausting situation.

By my count, this was our third best victory against a NC team (trailing Charlotte and UNCW) .  For Smith Center victories, I'll place this behind #1 UMASS, UVA, Xavier to win the A10 West, Charlotte, each either against a top 6 team, to win a divisional championship, or to finish undefeated in-conference.  There is probably a Temple and/or another Xavier win that this is on par with.   

Not too long ago, the A10 would occasionally schedule teams with a Thursday/Saturday schedule.  This is what Saturday at Richmond will feel like for GW.  That's a shame as I really believe we are splitting games with the Spiders this year and said so a while back.  Hopefully, we will see 18-22 year olds bounce back but a lethargic effort would be understandable.  

GWRising wrote:

I'll second most of what everyone has been saying.

A few of other key points to me:

1. How great was the play design by JC to get Battle an open look to win it in regulation? I know Battle didn't hit the shot but still it doesn't get much better than that.
2. Walker gave us great minutes. I believe unfortunately we will get some news soon (although I am praying otherwise) that will require Shawn to step-up and play major minutes going forward.
3. Yes, Amir struggled but on several he was fouled including the missed dunk attempt. Thought the officiating was largely awful last night. Inconsistent as hell and the fact that Gudmundsson got away with murder most of the night was awful. Believe he was not called for a foul until the 3rd or 4th overtime.

I was also really impressed by the inbounds play that got Battle that fantastic look.  Really good stuff.  

Does anyone have any idea of what Potter's injury is?  I heard hip but nothing else.

I thought Toro looked like he had some hops last night - first time in a long while.  Had his free throw touch back as well.   Just to temper the enthusiasm a little - this not the same Davidson team that has torn up the A10 in the past.  They're not bad - just not as good as in the past.

I think the enthusiasm is that we were losing to really bad teams early in the year and barely beating other really bad teams. Two months ago we don't even compete with a top 100 kenpom team. Also a lot of my enthusiasm is now because of JC. The team has clearly grown drastically over the course of the season and quite frankly he has the team playing at a level that's above the talent it has.

I'm really getting to like JC - his positive attitude and his game coaching.  Others have already mentioned it, but it's so exciting to see a GW coach draw up a play during a time out AND have the team execute the play.  Wow.

JC was on the radio this morning - Carol Maloney Show.  Hour 1, about 20 minutes in.  I can't post a link because this is my first time here.