FWIW we got our KenPom down to 139 entering the South Carolina game and even after that beat down it was 151.  Then, we unfortunately had a string of bad games against bad teams followed by injuries in conference play.  Even 5 games into our losing streak we were #177.

All that's to say that we should've easily been sub-200 last season had either we won those December games by 10+ or had DBJ/GJ not gotten injured for so long.

Realistically, if we're worried about moving up KenPom, then the #1 task Caputo has to do is get us to play better defense, no matter the opponent.  Our offensive efficiency has been league average or better, while our defense has been second to worst both seasons.  Fix the defense, we move up in KenPom, and then become a more attractive opponent to better schools.  In 2014, our defense was top 50 in the country!

Last edited by GW0509 (7/02/2024 2:43 pm)

That should be a nice challenge, especially with the game being on the road. The Monarchs have historically been a solid squad and gritty defensively. Not sure if there will be a shift in identity since they are going from one Jones in Jeff Jones to another in Mike Jones (who?). It's unfortunate that Jeff Jones had to step away due to health issues. He was always a pretty solid coach and I wish him well in retirement.

ODU had a rough season last year, and their best player was kicked off the team in the middle of the year (he's now at TCU). They also lose their other two double figure scorers. A promising trio in Devin Ceaser, RJ Blakney, and Imo Essien return. Blakney's name should sound familiar as we recruited him out of HS and faced him a couple times at Dayton. I feel like he's been around forever. Essien was one of their best three point shooters (39%) although he didn't take many on a per-game basis.

(Mike) Jones did pretty well in the portal, notably landing Sean Durugordon (Siena) who is the definition of a high-volume player but fits a need as ODU needs a go-to guy. Stephaun Walker (Robert Morris) is a DC guy who averaged nearly 10 ppg as more of a slasher than a shooter. Robert Davis Jr. (UMass) is another guy we are familiar with who can get it going from distance. Finally, Caelum Swanton-Rodger (Maryland) gives them much needed size up front. The Canadien didn't do a lot for the Terrapins, but did take the court in most games so he's not completely raw. We also recruited true freshman Jaden Johnson back in the day.

GW0509 wrote:

Realistically, if we're worried about moving up KenPom, then the #1 task Caputo has to do is get us to play better defense, no matter the opponent.  Our offensive efficiency has been league average or better, while our defense has been second to worst both seasons.  Fix the defense, we move up in KenPom, and then become a more attractive opponent to better schools

This. CC was apparently the defensive coordinator at Miami which makes it all the more confusing that GW has been so bad on that side of the ball. Last year's performance on that side of the ball is probably partly due to youth and year 1 was filled with players who he didn't recruit, but it needs to get better this year. Another 50-60 spot improvement would still have GW as a below average unit.

It all starts along the perimeter and guarding the three better. Teams in conference shot 39.4% against GW, which was predictably the worst mark in the A10. JB and Max were probably our two worst defenders, but is Moss/Drumgoole a significant upgrade? Internal improvement from last year's freshmen should also help by default.
 

I agree with many of the sentiments above.  My hope for the coming season is that we have a fiery, competitive group led by a coach who instills that winning mentality whether it be in practice scrimmages or against the Celtics.

Speaking of the Celtics, it took one player to get the rest of the team to buy into the defensive side of the ball.  Until Jrue Holiday led by example, Tatum and Brown were mediocre on D at best.  They transformed into elite defensive players by putting in the time and work to learn proper lateral movement, positioning and footwork.  As a result they were on a string connected as a team always in the right positions.  It was gorgeous!  Prior to that, Tatum and Brown seemed to only be happy if their shots were falling.  They matured into complete players before our eyes.

Max and JB seemed defeated if their shots didn’t fall. They did start to buy into D just a bit but had a long way to go.

Last year Jacoi showed his competitive fire all over the court. So did Jun and Trey.  They have plenty to learn and my hope is that CC builds around or along with them this season.

GO REVS!!

On first glance, looks like we got a pretty good side of the draw.  Hope we get a chance to go up against Will Wade and McNeese.  Not only are they going to be one of the top LM/MM teams in the country, but we get a chance at revenge for the BS "Colin Goss" game.

Last edited by GW0509 (7/09/2024 10:00 am)

After seeing other A10 schedules, it's hard to complain about all the weak opponents on the schedule. It is what it is at this point.

Mercyhurst is obviously going to need a few years in order to get D1 level talent on their roster, and it's worth noting that last year's team was just a .500 one in D2. They do return their top two scorers in Jeff Planutis and Aidan Reichert. Planutis is the younger brother of Bobby Planutis who I believe was recruited by JC and also played a year at Bonaventure. He should be the star of the team. Reichert is the only decent rebounder statwise on the team but will be undersized in his transition to the D1 ranks at just 6'4" if he operates mostly down low. He is also a non-shooter.

Their best get from the portal was Shemar Rathan-Mayes who was a full-time starter and former double figure scorer as a freshman at Youngstown State, and was also in the rotation on a pretty decent UNC Wilmington squad last year. It's worth noting his role/production has continued to regress through his college career but in the NEC/playing on a team with not a whole lot of D1 talent he could be a star alongside Planutis.

There's more size than I expected on the roster - a couple 6'8" guys, a 6'7" guy, and a couple 6'6" players. The problem is both 6'8" guys are newcomers to the team, and the 6'7" one is more of a "stretch big" that missed a good part of the year. Hopefully it allows Rafael and Sean to really make their mark in the paint from game 1.

Mercyhurst seems to shoot the three ball very well. It only made up 35% of their shot attempts last year, but they did convert on 36% of their attempts (73rd in D2). They do lose ~40% of their makes, but they will probably still be enough of a threat to force GW to guard the arc. Unfortunately for the Lakers, they also allowed opponents to shoot 37% from behind the arc which negated any edge they got from there. They also appeared to move the ball well (14.3 apg - 90th in D2) and play decent on-ball defense (7.8 spg - 66th in D2).
 

Lot to pick apart from the schedule.
But DMV's ability to rapidly analyze well-known D1 basketball power Mercyhurst (Mercyhurst?!!!) is the one
bright spot in this dull opener to a lazy schedule.

Schedule looks perfect for now, this isn't 1998

Saw this and loved it:

April 12, 2025 will be the next Saturday without any college football or college basketball.

 

IMO, NFL Sundays and post-season baseball races. Those fall days, the US Open, NFL, baseball - Madden and Summerall and the voices of Fall.

But.... how about March Madness Thur-Sun for a close second? Hard to top.  

Imagine paying Georgetown prices to sit in a half empty Capital One Center to watch this home slate

Notre Dame
Lehigh
Fairfield
Mount St. Mary’s
St. Francis
Wagner
Albany
UMBC
Coppin State

EDIT: I just saw that the Lehigh and Wagner games are on campus at McDonough.  Frankly, outside of the Notre Dame game, all of them should be on campus. Would be sort of a cool way to start the season.

Last edited by GW0509 (8/27/2024 12:03 pm)