At least we looked like a normal team again.


Even the announcers know that we got jobbed, that the final foul wasn’t a foul the rest of the game.  I’ve heard of refs swallowing the whistle at the end of a game, but rarely do they call one they’ve been letting go all game.

I am not one to easily blame officials, but they are fault here missing the call. Duquesne announcers agree that they blew it saying after replay that they could see why GW doesn’t think that’s a foul, but saying, it is what it is. And that’s correct. We lose again. A last place season. How many on this board would have predicted last place?

Last edited by GW73 (3/09/2024 4:11 pm)

Shot our self in foot by stupid decisions and lazy play. Bad refs again. Not as bad as what happened in a High School tourney game in NJ. Manasquan, a huge underdog, won a game against Camden. But wait, refs wiped out the winning basket. Camden wins. Oh. NJSIAA says it was a bad call. Videos show the ball was in the basket with .5 left. Ref said it was good. Great upset. No. Two other refs overruled  the 3rd. Too bad. Suck it up. You were screwed. Accept it. Protest? . How dare you. You were screwed fair and square. Judge says Manasquan was evil for protesting bad call. Sickening.

Can point fingers all over the place in this one.  I’m gonna leave the refs alone and the boneheaded momentum killing turnovers as well.

At 8:57 to go in 2nd half with score tied 52-52 we had possession with momentum after a good stretch and called a timeout. Coming out of t.o. we are handed the ball and all of our guys were out of position!  They were totally confused and dead in the water.  Bad pass was intercepted and led to breakaway foul and 2 point deficit.

That was completely on the coaching staff and lack of preparation and execution was on full display.

Was also surprised that Max didn’t call t.o. from half court with 1.9 seconds to advance. Oh well.

Hope the young guys continue to learn in the tourney.

Last edited by H&R..71 (3/09/2024 5:39 pm)

Alum '04 wrote:

GW0509 wrote:

Only one road win this season and it was at our usual house of horrors VCU

Incredible. How did it happen?

Well only playing one true road game in OOC against your toughest opponent is a big factor haha.

Also outside of La Salle and SLU (where we’ve never won) our conference road schedule was sneaky tough.

Was very happy with the way MBB played on both sides of the ball against a solid squad. Unfortunate to come up short because the team played well enough to win. So many things have to go right in order to get a win on the road in CBB, but if Jun was healthier earlier in the year and the team played with this connectivity for much of conference play they wouldn't have finished in last.

Loved the extra passes being made on offense. Will never complain about a 15 assist performance while the other team only gets 10. There were a few plays where JB ended up hoisting a very deep shot in the first half, but even that was corrected in the second. I believe JB only took two threes in general after halftime and did a good job driving the ball or getting a closer shot when the three wasn't falling earlier.

Defensively, it felt like the first time we saw the other team actually settle for low quality shots at times. GW was recovering well, rotating, and keeping their man in front of them. Duquesne didn't have much to work with along the perimeter and only took 12 threes all game. Grant was held in check, but Dixon as expected ended up being a tough matchup down low and Clark along the perimeter defensively.

I'm more neutral when it comes to the refs. I personally don't think that final foul call should be made in a close game unless it's really egregious (felt the same way about the San Diego State-Creighton game last year) but there were definitely a couple of games this season where I had more complaints about the refs than this one. Duquesne averages around 17 fouls a game and were only called for 9 yesterday, but GW was also only called for 11 on the road so a slight home whistle is understandable. The reality is that JB has not been getting the calls on his drives all year (I get CC's frustration along the sidelines) and Jun probably has to draw a bit more contact before losing the ball on his takes to the basket.

As others mentioned, turnovers have plagued the team at inopportune times all year. GW has generally let teams back in the game once they take the lead in games because of miscues or poor offensive execution.

H&R..71 wrote:

Can point fingers all over the place in this one. I’m gonna leave the refs alone and the boneheaded momentum killing turnovers as well.

At 8:57 to go in 2nd half with score tied 52-52 we had possession with momentum after a good stretch and called a timeout. Coming out of t.o. we are handed the ball and all of our guys were out of position! They were totally confused and dead in the water. Bad pass was intercepted and led to breakaway foul and 2 point deficit.

That was completely on the coaching staff and lack of preparation and execution was on full display.

Was also surprised that Max didn’t call t.o. from half court with 1.9 seconds to advance. Oh well.

Agree with all of this. Something broke down on that play, but I was confused where GW was trying to go with the ball. Jun was just dribbling for several seconds and it didn't seem like the play was going anywhere. Against Clark who is top 10 nationally in steals you have to be on guard at all times. Was also hoping for a better final shot but I thought otherwise Max played more in control (not hoisting shots quickly once he touches the ball) and good defense again.

GW73 wrote:

Note no Bishop on floor when we need defense

Free Quebec wrote:

Disappointing play by James, just getting out hustled for the loose ball. James generally playing well today, but I’ve seen that play multiple times this year where he doesn’t hustle for a loose ball, not expecting the other team to go after it hard and then the guy playing harder gets it.

I also noticed CC pulling JB on defense late to improve the team's chances at getting a stop. During the team's losing streak I refrained from putting much blame on JB as there were a lot of problems in general but I did mention once that he tends to jog back on defense when missing a layup leading to an advantage for the other team. He's also good for at least a few plays every game where he just coughs up the ball or makes baffling decisions. In a close game, unfortunately those matter. JB got his pocket picked multiple times. I would understand Jacoi as a freshman, but JB has to be better there as a senior. I also noticed CC has also been giving Coi more ball handling duties down the stretch compared to JB. You can point to plays by other players as well that matter in a close game (Jacoi missed a point blank layup on a drive), but the one where JB was out-hustled for a loose ball and didn't dive on it to at least force a jump ball is losing basketball. He has actually fought for a couple loose balls this season, but the effort is inconsistent. He's a very dynamic player offensively, a legend at the school, and I'll miss his shot creation but I can't help but feel like the freshmen are more consistent and will get even better next year with a season under their belt.

Next up is matchup #3 against La Salle. I have great respect for what Dunphy has done there but it would be pretty disappointing to lose to the Explorers three times this year. The potential following game against St. Bona followed by Loyola seems like the most favorable ones GW could have drawn (having Jun should help) but obviously Dayton potentially after that would be extremely challenging. Hoping to get one win (two would be great!) but I'm looking to the offseason at this point.
 

All the whining here about the officiating is laughable. The ref's aren't the reason we are 15th in a 15 team weak conference this year. 

Mayhem, I know we've been bad for so long that it's easy to fall into the trap and blame others. Whether it's the "last 2 calls" as you like to say or the entire game, we (as the few remaining GW fans who giver a shit) lead the conference and nation in blaming the refs. I'm a fan of several other D-1 teams and frequent their boards and NONE of the other teams comment on the reff'ing after each and every loss.
On another note, maybe we can finally beat LaSalle after 3 attempts. I'm not as confident as others because we lack any depth and the depth we do have has not developed as you would expect from an A-10 Conference team. We can always hope.

Joel for someone who has been around the program as long as you claim, I am surprised that GW fans complaining about refs is new to you. It's been a time honored tradition dating back to the Jarvis era and happens whether the team is good or bad.

However, having watched the Duquesne game, there is but little question that we did not get a great whistle and in a two point game that has more of an impact than in a 20-point game. That said, no, the refs aren't the reason we are in 15th place. Don't believe anyone has claimed that here.

Last edited by GWRising (3/11/2024 5:19 pm)