Picked up the intensity just enough to pull it out. That and some clutch FTs from Jacoi. Phew!

One thing that hasn’t changed is just how horrible Patsos is. Game in and game out - flat out horrible.

Happy with the win and also noted many of the positives some of you have as well:
- FT shooting was off the charts
- They didn't put their heads down when NC A&T went on a run and kept it close
- 11 steals, most of which seemed to be in the first half

Other Observations:
- This team just can't shoot the ball from range. We have yet to see a consistent 3-point threat emerge with Garrett Johnson being out for the year. As noted above, teams are going to pack the paint and force us to win by the 3.
- Maybe I'm wrong but it seemed like DBJ got hacked a bunch and never got the calls. Should have gone to the line way more than he did
- Castro was dominant in the 1st half but seemed to disappear in the 2nd. Not sure if that was due to some minor foul trouble or NC A&T focusing on him more. Still, his steal/spin move dunk was amazing to see. I don't think we've had a big like him since Zeke Armwood. Such a breath of fresh air
- Again, so much props to the guys for their performance at the FT line. Very impressive to see that
- NC A&T hit some ridiculous shots that rarely go in. Props to them for that but this came could have easily been a 10-12 point win.
- I'm still not quite sure what the coaching staff is planning on doing with Hansen. He was billed as a stretch 4 but I'm not sure he's taken a jumper all year. I'd like to see him in a 5-out set, see if he can make 1 or 2 a game, and make more room for Darren to get downhill.
All in all another win in the books. Looking forward to the game on Monday.

Last edited by MG14 (11/12/2024 10:11 pm)

Hugh wrote:

MG14 wrote:

- Maybe I'm wrong but it seemed like DBJ got hacked a bunch and never got the calls. Should have gone to the line way more than he did

CC came about as close as close to the line as he could in criticizing the refs in the press conference on this point.

MG14 wrote:

- I'm still not quite sure what the coaching staff is planning on doing with Hansen. He was billed as a stretch 4 but I'm not sure he's taken a jumper all year. I'd like to see him in a 5-out set, see if he can make 1 or 2 a game, and make more room for Darren to get downhill.

First possession he was in the game was a drawn up 3 for him which he hit. CC mentioned after last game that the guards aren't used to playing with a pick-and-pop big man so they weren't looking for him. I'd expect him to get more looks moving forward. 

I somehow completely forgot about that Hansen 3. More of that please

Each half looked like two very different games.  Players are taught at a very young age not to go up in the air with the ball unless they know what they'll be doing with it.  This was a lesson apparently lost on NC A&T as they spent much of the first half taking wild shots or committing crazy turnovers as a result of being stuck in the air with no good options.  Knocking off this careless play, along with getting hot from the perimeter, brought the Aggies back into the game.  

GW played very well in the first half despite turning the ball over 8 times.  That's easy to live with when the guys are playing like a team, looking for one another be it a pick and roll or a baseline cut.  Once again, no real "hero ball" to speak of. Jun and Castro used their size to GW's advantage in building an 11 point halftime lead (should it have been 13?  Did Autry not get that shot off after the quick steal in time?)

The second half was emblematic of a bigger picture pertaining to the way this offense is supposed to run.  As someone (guessing 0509 or DMV) recently provided a shot chart from the Mercthurst game and evidenced from the two subsequent games, you can see that the midrange game has all but disappeared from GW's offense.  Baskets are to be scored either in the paint or from 3, practically exclusively.  While I understand the efficiency aspects behind this, a team must have the personnel to pull it off.  

Against NC A&T, the team shot 28% from 3 and 61.5% from 2.  This team is now shooting 24% from 3 this season, averaging 25 attempts and 6 makes.  Many of these misses have been wide open attempts which is again what the coaching staff wants to see (the wide open part).  This is only a 3 game sample size, and this sport is such that a 9-19 night from 3 and a 1-14 night from 3 are likely both in GW's future.  

Last night, the three point misses took place while GW was trying to protect a lead which only added to the lunacy.  These empty possessions helped the Aggies stick around in this game for a long time.  Since A&T did a much better job at clogging the lane during the second half, why not position the shooters 15-18 feet from the basket rather than in three point land?  Yes, when the ball is kicked back to them, the basket will only be worth 2 points rather than 3.  BUT, the shot will be a much higher percentage shot to take.  Effective FG % should not be ignored when considering this.

As for the long range shooters:

Jacoi  and Trey A. are very capable but need to be more consistent.  Trey is the more naturally gifted shooter while Jacoi is the one I'd rather see taking a clutch shot.

Trey M. does not strike me as a long range shooter at all. Many of his attempts have been very short and well off the mark. That he's taken the second highest number of three point attempts on the team strikes me as inefficient.

Gerald has taken the most attempts with nearly twice as many as Trey M.  He has appeared to be a streak shooter who is likely "pressing" early on.  I'd keep giving him the green light particularly from the corners where he is obviously comfortable.

Jun has yet to make a 3 in 7 attempts.  He's been charged with improving this aspect of his game but his long-range shot appears flat and unnatural.  More 3's during practices, please.

My jury is still out on Christian Jones (2-7 from 3 thus far).

It does not appear that a natural three point shooter is on this active roster.  (Yes, Garrett would have been the one.)  Maybe I'll be wrong about this over time.  But for now, we're running an offense that's designed to generate open three point looks, the team is by and large receiving these open looks, and is shooting at a 24% clip.  Would love to see the team start making easier perimeter shots, even if they'll only count for two points.   
 

Just a few ramblings after the first 3 games.  Clearly far too early too tell anything, but...
1.   As a team, I like both our offense and defense better than last season.   On offsne, the ball is quickly rotating, with lots of players getting touches, and our shot selection has been mostly good.   As for defense, after a slow first half in the first game and some lapses in subsequent games, the defense has been pretty good.  We are generally not being hurt inside (admittedly we have been bigger and stronger than our first 3 opponents), and are not giving up many easy looks.   Our defense was very good yesterday, and has been pointed out, NC A & T was throwing in some very good shots, but they were usually well defended.
2.   I like our combination of Castro/Hansen at the 5, although both offer vastly different skills.   Continuing to see glimpses of Hansen's skill set with his passing (and finally a 3 point shot taken).   Still acclamating to the GW game.   There were small stretches in all 3 games when both Castro and Hensen were on the court together.   Not sure I have seen any benefit to this yet.
3.     Although Jacoi's shooting has been a bit off to start the season, I have been impressed with the manner in which he runs the team.  He has all the skill sets that I look for in a point guard.   He runs the team well, can penetrate and hit from deep.   Hits his free throws.  He also defends well.  His assist to turn over ratoi 10/8 could be a little better, however many of his turnovers are coming off of high risk/high gain passes.   Next to Buchanan, I believe him to be the second best player on the team.
4.     Unquestionably Buchanan is the best player on the team, as well as being the team leader.   We all know what he can do when he gets a step on his defender.  He even made all 4 of his free throws yesterday.   The couple of issues I am having with Jun are (1) if he is clearly an NBA prospect, or even an all conference candidtate, he needs to shoot the ball better.  Overpowering smaller teams from weaker conferences alone is not going to advance your career.  He needs to show an ability to knock down the mid to occasional long range shot (he is 0-7 from season on the 3); and (2) he seems to be forcing the issue a bit too much, resulting in too many turnovers.
5.   Drumgoole/Moss:   I am listing them together, because to me they have borth early on fallen into my category of disappointing transfers.   They are a combined 24-64 from the field (37.5%) and 7-34 from the three (21%).   Shot selection (especially Drumgoole) seems to be poor; and the defense seems MEH.   Moss' next assist will be his first.   I believe that both have the ability to get hot and carry a team for brief stretches at a time, but this has not happened often these first 3 games.  Again, this is very early and I am hoping that they are still shaking off some early season, change of scenery jitters, but so far neither appears to be much of an an upgrade.
6.     Christian Jones:   Numbers aren't there yet, but I am very upbeat on him.   Seems to be playing with confidence, defends and doesn't turn the ball over.   He is only averaging 14.7 minutes per game, but I believe he is being used correctly, as he is being eased in.    I suspect that as the season progresses, his average minutes will tick up into the 20s, especially if Drumgoole and Moss don't pick up their games.
7.   Ty Bevins/Dyan Nessah:     Ty has played only 14 minutes so far and Dyan not at all,   One of these 2 (if not both) may be the "wild card" to the season.   Ty is a very high ranked recruit (I saw some publications had given him 4 stars) and, like Christian, is being eased into the rotation.   What I have read and heard about Dyan is that he is a very gifted player, an elite 3 point shooter and a great passer who makes everyone on the team better.  One or both of them may be the answer to our 3 point shooting woes.
8.  Trey Autry:  Don't know what to think of Trey.   I see some improvement in his overall game, but he seems somewhat limited on what he can do on the court, even though he does seem to have expanded his offensive game somewhat, as he has taken the ball to the basket on a few occasions rather than just waiting for someone to pass him the ball as he waits at the 3 point line.   He has made some 3s, but others have just been of the awful miss variety.   Hoping to get more scoring from him as his ability to hit the 3 on a consistent basis may very well be the key to the number of minutes he gets.
9.    Keegan Harvey:   Bless his heart.   He is clearly one of those 30-30-30 players who is not part of the rotation, yet he chose to return to GW rather than transferring down, which could have gotten him off the bench.  Say what you want about the guy, but he is 6'11" and has a nice touch from the 3.  There are over 360 D-1 teams and hundreds of D-11 and D-111 teams in the country.  There must have been a spot open for him somewhere, but he chose to stay at GW, presumably because the degree is more important to him than playing basketball.
Now...just one more thing to add.   I know that there is only so much that can be discussed regarding the health of the team, but a bit more transparency would be appreciated.   I am speaking of Nessah in particular.  Prior to the first game, we were told he was out with a minor injury in what was led to believe was just normal bumps and bruise.   Now he has missed 3 games. There were also suggestions that we were down some players due to injury during the secret scrimages.   The "glass half empty" part of me is now waiting for the "we hope to have him back in time for St. Thomas", we hope to have him back in time for the start of conference play, we hope to have him back before the end of the season, to "he's a medical redshirt)".   Let's see what happens with Bevins now.    Same with Zam.
So far, this season has the feel of last season, which admittedly left a bitter taste in my mouth.   Last season, we finished with a great OOC record because of the 2nd weakest schedule in the country), then dead last in conference play.  This season, we are again 3-0 against what has to be one of the weakest schedules in the country, and like last season, struggling somewhat against this competition.   I think we are better than last season, notwithstanding the loss of Bishop and Max, but again I have to question whether playing such a soft schedule is preparing us for play against what seems to be an improved A-10.

Last edited by Long Suffering Fan (11/13/2024 11:51 am)

LA, What was your major? Wonder if we had some classes together. I graduated in May of '72 also. Madison Hall was home base. Safe during all the riots and protests around the area.

First episode of GW Basketball Insiders, a podcast started with the help of Matt Modderno (who provides phenomenal DMV hoops coverage, particularly for the Wizards). I hope you guys like it and please let us know if you have any feedback or things you think we should talk about next time.

https://www.youtube.com/live/UraWQSfYf0k?si=djHu2YHhabxVLfWd 

PS- Go Birds