GW Hoops / Jamison Battle

**Posted by GW Alum Abroad** 12/03/2019 12:57 pm

Long Suffering Fan wrote:
Sitting in DC Court of Appeals with some time to kill before my case is called, and what better way is there to kill time than to visit the board and talk GW hoops. Battle has come to GW as a skilled 3 point shooter...that is quite obvious. Let us see how the current coaching staff can develop his game. Will his offense be expanded beyond just standing behind the 3 point line and waiting for a pass? Will he be able to get his shot off against stiffer competition? Will he develop a mid range game? Can he dribble, or take the ball inside? To be able to beat a defender off the dribble really opens up a players game. Can he defend both on and off the ball. Can he be a rebounding force. (He had 18 in last 2 games). This is where the player development aspect of coaching becomes crucial. So let’s celebrate the arrival of a skilled 3 point shooter, but time will tell if he can become an all conference quality player .

I am going take LSF´s comment to 11. Is Battle going to wind up being a Greg Collucci mark 2.0? Will limitations in his game resign him to a bit role where he rides the pine until unfairly being asked to hit a trey at the buzzer without having taken a shot in the previous 39 mins of play? I hope that does not happen, but I have Collucci flashbacks every time I see him on the court.
Also, if LSF loses his appeal, will he still be allowed to stay out on bail so he can attend GW games?

**Posted by Long Suffering Fan** 12/03/2019 1:10 pm

If I lose my appeal, the Court may sentence me to attend GW games.

**Posted by Long Suffering Fan** 12/03/2019 1:14 pm

GWMayhem...Mikic is exactly who I had in mind. I am hoping Battle can be so much more. As Mike Lonergan use to say...if a player is having an off night scoring, he is still expected to be able to help the team in other ways. Will we be able to say that about Battle? Can we say that about Potter? Or Maceo? Or the others?

**Posted by Gwmayhem** 12/03/2019 2:04 pm

Long Suffering Fan...The Lonergan staff's approach towards making Mikic a more well-rounded player clearly backfired. Not only did Nemanja not become a better rebounder, passer, defense, etc., but his shooting suffered. He made 75 3's on 43.6% three point shooting as a freshman, then never made more than 51 on 35.7% shooting during any of his three remaining seasons. I would hate to see this coaching staff "get inside Jameson's head" to the possible detriment of what he already does well. As has been said, he has shown a willingness and an ability to rebound on the defensive end. I agree it would be a bonus if he could learn to effectively pump fake a 3 and drive past his opponent. But, if ball handling is not his forte or if he can make that move but then not effectively finish, I am more than content with him being a three point specialist (just as Seymour was last year at Siena). I believe Armel has already shown an ability to run the half court offense more smoothly than most anyone on the team. (Shawn has too small a sample size and JNJ with the high number of turnovers is not there yet.) He should be able to be an effective scorer and distributor throughout this season as long as he is afforded the opportunity. Maceo is a one dimensional player who I would very much like to see do more. Unfortunately, I am not in love with most of his game except his free throw shooting (though he doesn't get to the line nearly enough to take advantage) and when the outside shots are falling. Against SC, he shot 0-11 from the floor, grabbed 4 rebounds and had 1 assist, in an astounding 40 minutes of play. Anyone who plays a full 40 minutes has to show something to warrant a coach's decision to not be taken out of a game.

We both agree that we are trying to win games. The difference is that you feel we will have the best chance of doing so by having our players be more well-rounded. While that would be nice, I saw what happened with Mikic and am of the mindset that the keys to our success are for the coaches to emphasize the strengths of each player while doing their best to hide weaknesses.

**Posted by The Dude** 12/03/2019 3:15 pm

Mikic was rail thin, lacked bulk, Battle is put together physically as a true Freshman, big difference.

**Posted by jf** **Online!** 12/03/2019 3:31 pm

Mikic wasn't bulked up, but don't think he was rail thin, at least for most of his GW career. Certainly weighed more than Omar Williams, who could and did play inside the 3 point line.
Seymour, who can really shoot, looks rail thin.
Didn't realize Maceo played 40 minutes against SC. That's just bizarre, given his day. However, Maceo did hustle and scrap for the ball, so that's a plus. Just an off day for a shooter and believe and hope he will get it back.
Jamison has the basketball IQ, body and smarts to develop his game. For one simple reason, as noted, if Jamison can become a credible threat going inside or playing inside at times (he was our de facto center at pint in the S.C. game), he will get more openings from the 3 point line.
He's probably not Yuta in ball handling and shouldn't play the point, but if he wants to contribute the most, as well as play professionally overseas, it's a good idea to develop as much of an all around game as he can, without Jamison sacrificing his shooting.
To Jamison's credit, he really seems to be working more inside for rebounds, which we really need, especially with Arnaldo out. Hope he keeps up. Also hope Arnaldo is back.

**Posted by The Dude** 12/03/2019 3:36 pm

Certain guys though, have strong lower halves, some guys get pushed around, some guys can hold their ground. Omar was a much better athlete, than Mikic who got pushed around. Zeke was very thin but also a stronger lower half and was also an off the charts great athlete.
Guys without that need proper bulk bodies and Battle has that, Mikic did not.

Very pleased to see the instant contributions of Jamison Battle right out of the gate as a Freshman.

**Posted by Tim04** 12/03/2019 5:17 pm

GW0509 wrote:
THREE-POINT FIELD GOALS MADE
1. T.J. Thompson (2001-05) - 229
2. Shawnta Rogers (1995-99) - 223
3. Kwame Evans (1992-96) - 220
4. Chris Monroe (1999-03) - 203
5. Nemanja Mikic (2010-14) - 189
6. Greg Collucci (2000-04) - 160

Man I watched every game of Monroe's last 3 years at GW and I can barely remember him making 3s. His bulldog drives and mid-range game are etched in my mind. Would've never guessed he was top 4 all-time.

**Posted by The Dude** 12/03/2019 7:17 pm

Agreed about Chris Monroe.

Anyone a little surprised not to see Pato?

**Posted by Free Quebec** 12/04/2019 10:18 am

Interestingly on KenPom’s similarity scores, Mikic as a freshman is one of battle’s top 10 comps.

However I’ve already seen a lot more from battle to make me think he’ll improve and be more well rounded. Agree with dude about his physical make up, but also his rebounding, his pump fake/step back, and his general court presence show me a guy who should continue getting better.

I’ve previously compared him to Sean McDermott from Butler. McDermott averages about 10 and 5 right now as a (5th year) senior. I watched a little of McDermott last night - and while he’s a good player, Battle now as a freshman may be about as good as McDermott as a senior (or close to it). It might be selling battle short to make that comparison.

**Posted by Gwmayhem** 12/04/2019 11:24 am

Physical makeup has to take a backseat to both how a player likes to play and how a coaching staff wants to utilize a player. 87% of Jameson's shot attempts thus far have been three point attempts. He is shooting over 43% from 3 and is just 3-10 on his two point attempts while only going to the line 6 times. He is already more well-rounded than Nemanja based on his rebounding alone. Sure, we would all like to see him become a better defensive player but in an offense that's predicated on taking lots of three point shots, I'm not sure why you would want to alter Jameson's game on the offensive end. Fully agree that he'll continue to improve but as for becoming more well-rounded, I am more than content with his ability to knock down 3's and better open up driving lanes for others.

**Posted by The Dude** 12/04/2019 2:21 pm

Well stated FQ. Spot on.

**Posted by russianthistle** 12/04/2019 2:39 pm

FQ, my area BB buddies who saw him paly at GU over the summer saw him as a gem for the GW program based how rounded his game is.

**Posted by The Dude** 12/05/2019 2:54 pm

Jamison is the best GW Freshman, since Yuta.

**Posted by GWRising** 12/05/2019 3:21 pm

Jamison is definitely going to be a key player for us. That said, he needs to get stronger so he can defend/rebound better and he needs to improve his offense so that he can drive to the basket. He shoots very few free throws and make little attempt to go to the rim. Jamison is a shooter whereas guys like Monroe, TJ Thompson were scorers. You will see that once we get into league play and the scouting is better (they now have a book on him) teams will look to drive Jamison off the three-point line. So he needs to keep them honest by being able to score at the rim and mid-range jumpers.

**Posted by Gwmayhem** 12/05/2019 3:36 pm

Jamison may not even be the best freshman on this year's team, and that's not at all an insult.

**Posted by The Dude** 12/05/2019 4:32 pm

IMO, best GW Freshman since Yuta.

**Posted by Gwmayhem** 12/05/2019 4:48 pm

Yes, you had already expressed that opinion. When you state an opinion and then I offer a differing opinion, there is absolutely no need for you to restate your opinion.

**Posted by The Dude** 12/05/2019 5:26 pm

That was my nice way of trying to say, I am not interested in arguing with you Mailvan, merely stating my opinion.

**Posted by Gwmayhem** 12/05/2019 5:36 pm

Sorry for misunderstanding Dude. I thought it was your annoying way of saying, "I'm going to say what I've already said, like I often do, so that I get the last word in." Again, no need to state your opinion a second time without providing any additional information. Everyone here can read.