David Korn got a good quote from JB about the defense last night.

“I think they really tried to play the pick and rolls two on two, they took a lot of the shooters away on the weak side so there wasn’t a lot of help and opportunities for us to kick to shooters.”

Caputo had this to say after the SJU loss:
“I think people are playing us a certain way… you cant play beautiful offense if three guys are guarding you if other guys aren’t taking advantage. I’m not blaming any of our guys, its our group.”

“If you wanna see the ball popping around like the Spurs or Warriors, five guys need to be able to pass dribble and shoot…”

“There’s a way to play against us that we don’t have great answers for so we are grasping to find answers for it.”

This is not to absolve CC for any poor coaching decisions or strategy concerning defense and timeouts, but the fact is our bigs are basically invisible on offense and I don't think it's because of a lack of trying by the coaching staff.  At some point Dean and Brown have to try and get better too. For all those complaining about a stagnant offense, do you REALLY want to see Brown and Dean putting it on the floor dribbling around like Oduro?

Ultimately, we probably have seen the ceiling of this team and now are left to hope for hot shooting nights from JB and BA.  I think CC has the right idea on how to coach offense. CC does not think standing around playing iso ball constitutes offense like JC did.  We just don't have the parts to execute the pro style offense CC wants to install.  

Getting quality bigs from the portal will be priority #1 this spring.  Maybe we have space for a 2023 like Sultan Adewale to come in as well, but I think CC has hinted that he wants experienced players next year to compliment the three young guards.
 

Last edited by GW0509 (2/16/2023 10:11 am)

How many assists last night? 6     Hey, UT beat #1 Alabama last night. I think UT had a few more assists than that.

DEK wrote:

It seems they have been told not to shoot the ball at that distance even if no defender around.

I don't think that's the case. At least early in the season the ACs talked about how they were trying to encourage Dean to be more assertive on offense.  Dean looks more afraid to shoot when given an open jumper than acting on the direction of the coaching staff.  Brown at least tries some stuff on offense, but I feel like he could get called for travelling every time he touches the ball.  I shudder to think what his 8-10 ft. jump shot looks like.  

I think we've been getting near maximum production from our bigs. It's not a lot, and I too would like to see Dean shoot the foul line jumper when he's standing there abandoned by defenders like he'd just farted. (Maybe protecting that 75% FG stat early in the season.) I'd also like to see Noel not miss dunks, not travel five times a game, not be called for charges when he's essentially undefended, not ever dribble. And call me crazy (because that is true), but I'd like to see us trade the $300K in scholarship benefits for, I dunno, like 5-8 mpg from Nixon, who is perhaps more reviled by our staff(s) than his presidential namesake and appears to have some kind of radioactive condition such that his minutes per season is now smaller than the Trump legal team prospect list? Why not? It's clear CC has been scripting the offense such that NB and HD both get a play or two per half (intentionally no more than that) -- a pick and roll or two, usually toward the middle of each half -- to keep defenses off the guards, and these plays have usually been successful. But asking for more -- as watching Dean bring it up on the press break or Noel attempting a drop-step in the lane  -- is probably ill advised. Any millisecond Ricky spends beyond the arc is equivalent to 5 missed rebounds, 6-10 second-chance points and a 5-10% downward revision in our FG percentage. Stop running the Lindo-from-the-corner-3 play and put him in pick-and-rolls and ball screens to free the guards and clean up hustle play misses for easy putbacks. "There's a reason you're open."
Likewise, I still think our backcourt is the best in the conference, but only when they're in the 30-32-mpg range each, not the 36-38 that's forced on them which has bred the obvious ball-pressure defensive game plan our opponents have been using to great success lately. Max has been a revelation -- and also a reliable source of a half-dozen TOs per game. BA, who I once wanted to transfer to Delaware State, has done serious work and could be conference MIP (if not for the season, then surely over the balance of his GW career). JBIV is an automatic First Team All Conference selection who, none of us should complain, has the green light to shoot 30 times a game. Whether you actually want JBIV to shoot 30 times a game or not is irrelevant, and though it will vary from game to game, media timeout to media timeout, there's no denying that if he is gassed, everything falls apart, on both ends, unless BA hits 7 3s a game and/or Edwards manages to stay fully awake.
Beyond those 5, what does CC have, especially without the nice 8-12 utility minutes we lost when EJC went down? Samuels is a less tough Ricky, with the same ill-advised jumper and screens a flea could penetrate. The solution to that is not Keegan Harvey, producing roughly the same 3FG % and defensive mobility as Samuels. Amir's effective in a press, when he can force >3 TOs and collect >2 boards, but that effectiveness diminishes by a multiple of 5 for every FGA.
Given the depth issue, I'm OK if all roads lead to JBIV here out. Gear the offense to get him a showtime 28 PPG with a variety of lane drives and 3s off screens. Would be nice to see more pressing and a fast break offense but, again, not enough oxygen.

Mentzinger wrote:

And call me crazy (because that is true), but I'd like to see us trade the $300K in scholarship benefits for, I dunno, like 5-8 mpg from Nixon, who is perhaps more reviled by our staff(s) than his presidential namesake and appears to have some kind of radioactive condition such that his minutes per season is now smaller than the Trump legal team prospect list? Why not?

He had season ending knee surgery, so he's got an excuse.

Although, a fun thought experiment would be how many minutes he'd actually play if healthy.  

We played best, South Carolina for example, when we weren't a one-man or two-man show. We can
and have won with a two-man show.
   There are no excuses for the very veteran players we have, the level of talent (even with a lack of depth) and some of the games we disappeared. We often just don't play as a team. You just have to look at how the teams beating us, from lesser leagues to the A-10 and how they share the ball with envy.
    For some reason, we can't play with consistency, either from game to game, half to half or minutes to minutes.
    Having said that, JB has made great strides as mature player in sharing the ball, which is good for his ultimate goals. He is a tremendous scorer when hot. But also in reality, can be a great passer, sometimes at a higher level than his teammates can handle. Brendan has greatly improved himself, as everyone notes, and at times, has like JB, willed us to win.
    For my money, Max is the best all-around player we have, since he hits the boards on a team that is very frontcourt challenged and has great potential. But he's a freshman, so he naturally still has a lot to learn despite Max's very impressive talent and he is playing with a group that has a lot of experience playing together. Both Hunter and Noel, sometimes turn in surprisingly good performances, sometimes let's say a bit less so. Amir and Qwanzi seem who they are at this point though Qwanzi at one point in previous years demonstrated he is capable of making a contribution, and Amir has admirably battled back from injury.
    Yes,we are often gassed, but for those aspiring to pro careers, the games are longer and much more frequent. And John Chaney did pretty well with playing his starting five
pretty close to all game, though that was a different era. In any case, we needed to come up with some strategy to use what we have in the most efficient way possible, even if it's bringing in the walkons for 40 seconds before a media timeout.
   CC is learning, but no reason yet not to believe in him and his impressive assistant credentials and basketball mind. He obviously has basketball smarts, understand the team's problem in passing, according to the remarks above, and seems to have had some success sometimes in getting the team to prepare, execute at times, and regroup with different strategy.
    One problem is our veterans never really had to prioritize team play before CC came here, and it's hard to change things overnight without your players, preferably playing in your system. CC doesn't have that luxury.
   All of which to say that if our guys play as hard as they can, and don't seem flat or disinterested, we should and do support them and cheer them on as long as they are trying their best. They've gone through trying periods, too, and deserve that.
   But yes, while never saying never and hoping for the opposite result, this season appears to be over in terms of high or possibly even medium hopes. If we somehow catch lightning in a bottle, it sure doesn't seem like we have the depth to pull a run through the entire A-10 tournament, which is of course, a great understatement. That's been pointed out above and by numerous posters.
   So yes, while we shouldn't give up, we also need to face reality. Fine if CC devotes less time to game planning and more time to getting us the players we absolutely need and building a frontcourt that is essential to our future. 
   We don't have to mail it in or quit prematurely. Just happy if we play with dignity and pride and do our absolute best.
         But as CC and staff undoubtedly know, the future is way more important than the present. Presumably, and hopefully, we are focusing on that.

Gwmayhem wrote:

GWRising wrote:

I don't think it's a question of CC learning and more of a question of CC trying to do what he can with basically no bench and serious deficiencies in the front court. He may look back at this as one of his better coaching jobs given what he has to work with this season. Frankly, I had him winning 8-10 games maximum this season. In reality, he is coaching someone else's guys within his system. Adams and Bishop can only take this team so far. Any coach worth his salt can find ways to limit them. The only way you beat that is to have the other guys make them pay. Unfortunately, none of the other guys have shown the consistent ability to be an offensive threat. Max has his moments so does Ricky. There is a Hunter sighting on offense every now and then. It's just the consistency. When all those guys play well, we win. But many nights they aren't going to all play well. And then what answers does CC have on the bench? 

So again, take the wins we get. When we go to Brooklyn, we will be asking the impossible on back to back days with 8 guys. Enjoy the rest of the season. For this program, what will matter most is what transpires post-season in terms of recruiting players.

I'll go one better Rising.  I'd contend that we haven't really even seen CC's system yet.  Given what he's inherited coupled with a serious and increasing lack of depth, CC has opted to devise ways to keep his players out of foul trouble as best he can.  This means challenging far fewer shots defensively than his teams otherwise might.  Realizing that this translates to giving up more easy points than he would like, the philosophy has been to outscore opponents in high scoring games.  Consider that GW has scored at least 75 points in all but one of its victories this season.  The team is the 95th highest scoring team in the country, out of 360+ Division 1 programs.

And yet, my sense is that CC would love to win by playing great defense first and foremost.  In time, he will have a roster comprised entirely of his guys, and will have the luxury of playing the way he would like his teams to play.

I think CC is doing a fantastic job with very limited resources. I like the way he works with his assistant coaches to figure out what kind of changes he can make to swing the game in our favor. I also like that he's letting his best players play within a system they can thrive in.  I wouldn't expect us to win as many games next season with both James and Branden gone, assuming JBIV doesn't return. It'll be nice to see what our 3 new guards can do along with any upgrade CC can make to the front court.  I'd expect to know if we're on the right track, not next season, but the following one.

Last edited by 22ndandF (2/16/2023 5:04 pm)