Gwmayhem, I liked your post a lot. Like BM's post yesterday, it got me thinking about things and makes me feel like we're on a good path. 

I feel our returning players have a lot of talent and are going to be really good this season.  And, I believe in JC and that he has recruited many more talented players to play with the returning core. So I am very optimistic about the quantity and quality of our players.  I am very interested to see how the coaches put all the pieces together this year.  It seems to me that we have so many more options and so much more athleticism that I can't help but to expect the team building transformation is going to be successful. By the end of the year, I think the fan base will be extremely happy.  And luck always is part of the equation. But I feel JC and the players are also somewhat responsible for making their own luck, and I am pretty certain that's going to happen because of the positive energy he (JC) brings to the program.  I understand sometimes good luck means not getting hurt, or catching an opponent on a bad night, or even making some shots or grabbing some rebounds that doesn't normally happen.  And bad luck means the opposite. I believe that during the season there's always a bit of both, but the coach's job is to make sure the team is put into a position to have more good luck than bad.  And I am as sure as I can be that JC is that kind of coach because he's student of the game with a wonderful perspective and attitude.  Lastly, we have to have a season!  I don't know that anyone has any control over that.  But I am hopeful the NCAA will find a way, just like I'm hopeful, maybe we'll find a way to eliminate or reduce the threat of the virus 
 

Last edited by 22ndandF (6/17/2020 10:34 am)

I have said from Day One this was a fantastic hire by GW. I think some of you are learning that it might take a minute but the man has a plan. I will be shocked if it doesn't work out given his tireless energy and passion for being a coach along with his attention to every detail. Yes, we lost to Fordham 3 times, lost to American and Morgan State. It takes time for a plan to come together and get the right personnel to execute that plan. We are now on our way. I am pretty certain that in 2-3 years no one is going to concern themselves with those losses. The concern will then be can we keep him here. We are about to enter another good era of GW basketball - perhaps as good as any before. 

GWRising, I don't know why you're of the mindset that anyone who expresses outrage, disappointment, or any other justifiable emotion after some truly inexcusable losses are incapable of understanding that JC was a good hire, or that he had a plan.  The losses you mentioned were all terrible.  Losing to AU and Morgan State on our home court?  Losing three times to a Fordham team which didn't beat any other A10 team all season?  Those losses deserved to be scrutinized and I don't care at what stage of the plan JC and staff were at or even what our personnel looked like.  (And yet, it would stand to reason that our personnel those days were more talented than those of AU, Morgan state or Fordham.)

The same people who were pissed over these losses were also celebrating big wins against Davidson and at Duquesne.  Does that make them hypocrites?  No, it makes them fans.

Tell me who's been suggesting that JC was the wrong hire all along?  Tell me who claimed that he can't coach?  Tell me who is wondering whether he even has a plan?

You sound like you're waiting to pounce on people once this team turns the corner with a great big "I told you so."  But, who has opposed your point of view?  Who do you feel you're going up against?  People who were taken aback and then some by several embarrassing losses?  It may interest you to know that it's OK to be embarrassed by these losses and yet simultaneously have faith in JC and his staff.

The irony is not lost on me.  Several weeks ago, in a political discussion, you were accusing others of labeling, stereotyping, etc.  Why can't someone be a bit embarrassed by our President's words and actions and yet still be supportive of his policies, you wondered.  And here you are, doing the very same thing from a GW basketball perspective as you suggested others were guilty of doing from a political perspective. 
 

Gwmayhem wrote:

GWRising, I don't know why you're of the mindset that anyone who expresses outrage, disappointment, or any other justifiable emotion after some truly inexcusable losses are incapable of understanding that JC was a good hire, or that he had a plan.  The losses you mentioned were all terrible.  Losing to AU and Morgan State on our home court?  Losing three times to a Fordham team which didn't beat any other A10 team all season?  Those losses deserved to be scrutinized and I don't care at what stage of the plan JC and staff were at or even what our personnel looked like.  (And yet, it would stand to reason that our personnel those days were more talented than those of AU, Morgan state or Fordham.)

The same people who were pissed over these losses were also celebrating big wins against Davidson and at Duquesne.  Does that make them hypocrites?  No, it makes them fans.

Tell me who's been suggesting that JC was the wrong hire all along?  Tell me who claimed that he can't coach?  Tell me who is wondering whether he even has a plan?

You sound like you're waiting to pounce on people once this team turns the corner with a great big "I told you so."  But, who has opposed your point of view?  Who do you feel you're going up against?  People who were taken aback and then some by several embarrassing losses?  It may interest you to know that it's OK to be embarrassed by these losses and yet simultaneously have faith in JC and his staff.

The irony is not lost on me.  Several weeks ago, in a political discussion, you were accusing others of labeling, stereotyping, etc.  Why can't someone be a bit embarrassed by our President's words and actions and yet still be supportive of his policies, you wondered.  And here you are, doing the very same thing from a GW basketball perspective as you suggested others were guilty of doing from a political perspective. 
 

Wow all that from a three line post? Not sure who crapped in your cornflakes today but none of that remotely resembles my post or intention.

Actually, I am emphasizing why there are good signs as you called them. No one said those were good losses or that if you thought those were bad losses you were against JC. I said no one will be concerned with them in 2-3 years assuming JC is successful. No one called anyone hypocrites. Some here did in fact suggest JC was not the right hire but my post wasn't even aimed at them. And why would it be? We went 12-17 last year. Not waiting to pounce on anyone because we haven't turned the corner yet except perhaps on paper.

It seems your post is looking for an argument. Have it with someone else. I am not playing.


 

I will say guardedly optimistic.  We hardly have a strong returning team, as we have lost our leading scorer.  We lost our leading scorer and assist player (Potter) and rebounder (Toro) from a 20 loss team that had far more embarassing losses than impressive wins.   Returning are 3 somewhat proven players in Jack, Nelson and Battle, and they each have holes in their game that need to be mended (although I think Jack came a long way on defense over the course of the season).   Otherwise, we are returning one player who showed us a brief glimpse (Chase Paar) and...am I leaving anyone out.   The rest are unproven freshmen or players transferring down from higher divisions who may or may not be solid A-10 players, the key word being "unproven".   I hope everything the program is saying about the newcomers is correct, but I need to see if for myself before I drink the Kool Aid.

GWRising, go back and reread the first two sentences of your first post on this thread,  Sentence one:  you've said from Day One that JC would be good for GW.  Sorry if you didn't mean it this way but I hope you can see how this comes off sounding a bit self-serving.  You could have just as easily said that JC has been a good coach everywhere he has been and GW should be no exception.  I hope you can understand the distinction between these two sentences.  Sentence two:  I think some of you are learning....  Do you have any idea how condescending or patronizing that sounds?  Why not just say, it's good to see that some of you are learning what I've known all along.  

Not looking to drag this out.  Suffice it to say that if you don't understand where I am coming from on this, I really can't explain it any differently.

LSF, there are of course never any guarantees for success so in that vain, we all must see it before we can believe it.  Nevertheless, there are some historical parameters that are worth noting.  First, the three GW successful coaching models I would hold up that I am familiar with are Jarvis, Hobbs and Lonergan.

Jarvis is really the exception to the rule.  Unlike Penders who inherited a very talented team from Jarvis and made an NCAA appearance in his first year, Jarvis took over a 14-17 squad who of course had been 1-27  a season earlier.  John Kuester's final team saw Mike Jones depart but almost everyone in the rotation to returned to Jarvis.  This included Ellis McKennie, Glen Sitney, Sonni Holland, Dirkk Surles and Rodney Patterson.  (I tend to forget that guys like Sonni and Dirkk were John Kuester recruits.)  Jarvis's main addition in Year 1 (aside from Bill Brigham sitting out as a transfer) was Alvin Pearsall.  Pearsall and Patterson took the reins at the point guard position, primarily from Ellis who had been playing the point under Kuester out of necessity.  Jarvis went 19-12 in that first season which I believe included an NIT appearance.  In Year 2, the team added Nimbo Hammons and of course, Brigham became eligible.  That team actually took a step backwards and finished 16-12.  Year 3 should be considered the first season with a practically full Mike Jarvis imprint.  Yinka, Kwame and Vaughn arrived as freshmen while Omo Moses transferred from Pitt.  This of course was the 21-9 Sweet 16 team.

For Karl Hobbs, he was hired late in the game.  Incoming freshmen included Penders recruits TJ Thompson (who Hobbs was initially not sold upon as his point guard) and Tamal Forchion.  The only true Hobbs recruit in year one was Darrio Scott.  The Pops/Mike/Omar class came in for Year 2 but it would take time for this team, still led by Chris Monroe, to gel.  Again, Year 3 might be considered the first practically full Hobbs imprint, adding Carl Elliott, JR Pinnock and Herndon's own Ricky Lucas.  After consecutive 12 win seasons under Hobbs, Year 3 resulted in an 18-12 record and an NIT appearance.  It of course preceded the first of three consecutive NCAA appearances.

The Lonergan trajectory was similar to Hobbs.  Year 1 consisted of coaching Hobbs's players almost exclusively (John Kopriva was the sole Lonergan recruit while Zeke Armwood sat out as a transfer) and Year 2 brought in the Core 4 plus an eligible Zeke.  Again, it took a while for the team to gel and a 10 win season was followed-up with a 13 win season.  Year 3 saw Mo Creek join the team and the result was a 24-9 record and an NCAA appearance.

While there is a solid core of Battle, Nelson Jr., Jack, and I would most certainly add Paar to this group, and am assuming Harris will not be playing, I think it would be a tall order to ask for great improvement next season.  Lindo needs to sit.  Moyer will help but has not been a true difference maker throughout his college career.  Bishop may or may not be eligible.  Three freshmen, plus Seymour and Dean, all must learn how to play with the returning players and among one another.  Then consider 2021-22 when only Jack and Moyer will be leaving, freshmen become sophomores, a high schooler from New Zealand looks to have a very high ceiling, Lindo gets to play, Bishop too if he had to sit out, and hopefully, Amir can contribute, you are then looking at a team with lots of depth and lots of options.  So again, Year 3 could be the magic formula.

The last point I'll make is that while past results are never an indicator of future success, GW has had a pretty good track record with transfers who have arrived from major programs.  This century, we have seen Armwood, Creek and Tyler Cavanaugh all succeed at a very high level at GW.  Transfers from midmajor or lower level programs, like Alex Mitiola, Patrick Steeves and Bo Ziegler, have each been serviceable but have not panned out quite the same way as those transferring down from major programs.    

The last thing GWRising needs or wants is other posters speaking for him. Still, I can’t help myself on this one. He and I are pretty far apart when it comes to politics and I seriously doubt that gap will ever be bridged. No matter. By nature, GW fans are skeptical and cynical about the school’s administrators and most particularly men’s basketball. JC’s hiring was met with the usual doubts and hopes as fan favorites and speculations, realistic and pipe dreams, were not hired. GWRising was first to the scene with enthusiastic endorsement of the selection based on personal knowledge. As always, he has been steadfast in his support of JC even as others worried about player departures, losses to AU and Morgan State and 3 times to Fordham, the lack of a zone defense in their repertoire, and an injury-driven drop off at the end of the season. We’ve been through these first year transformations before. I just don’t see how anyone can’t share the enthusiasm of the coaching staff, the players, and yes, the  strongly worded advocacy of GWRising. Christian has won everywhere he’s coached and the A10 is not a bridge too far. I get LSF’s personality-based caution but I also sense his underlying hope and optimism. The influx of talent is real. JC and Nima are ambassadors extraordinaire. If you think it’s a Kool-Aid party, fine. But we’ll be here waiting for the rest of the bus riders when all is said and done.

Joel Joseph wrote:

Looks like GWrising is taking over The Dude's spot on this site.

Attack anyone who has a different opinion.

You and Dude may be the only ones left in 3 years if we don't start winning.

Also, I still have a full time job (explains my limited posts compared to yours) which pays very well and comes with a lifetime pension. My day trading hobby is purely "play money" for me. Here's a free tip for you Rising (so you can donate a few dollars to the "Colonial Fund") - Buy Southwest stock (LUV) - was at $25 a month ago and will be back up around $60 by the end of the year when travel starts back up!

You see Joel there you go again ... LATE. I was in on Southwest (LUV) stock back in mid-May. Believe I got it for 24.875 on May 14th. But thanks for the tip anyways. I am sure we will hear about JC from you after his first NCAA appearance. LATE.

Poog wrote:

The last thing GWRising needs or wants is other posters speaking for him. Still, I can’t help myself on this one. He and I are pretty far apart when it comes to politics and I seriously doubt that gap will ever be bridged. No matter. By nature, GW fans are skeptical and cynical about the school’s administrators and most particularly men’s basketball. JC’s hiring was met with the usual doubts and hopes as fan favorites and speculations, realistic and pipe dreams, were not hired. GWRising was first to the scene with enthusiastic endorsement of the selection based on personal knowledge. As always, he has been steadfast in his support of JC even as others worried about player departures, losses to AU and Morgan State and 3 times to Fordham, the lack of a zone defense in their repertoire, and an injury-driven drop off at the end of the season. We’ve been through these first year transformations before. I just don’t see how anyone can’t share the enthusiasm of the coaching staff, the players, and yes, the strongly worded advocacy of GWRising. Christian has won everywhere he’s coached and the A10 is not a bridge too far. I get LSF’s personality-based caution but I also sense his underlying hope and optimism. The influx of talent is real. JC and Nima are ambassadors extraordinaire. If you think it’s a Kool-Aid party, fine. But we’ll be here waiting for the rest of the bus riders when all is said and done.

Poog, I'm happy to hear confirmation that JC and Nima are both great representatives for GW and GW basketball.  I think those skills alone will go a long way to creating an exciting Smith Center!  When you couple the ability to promote with great coaching skills, GW won't have to wait for me to get on the bus. I'm on it now!