Thanks Kevin. Can always count on you to give us the unvarnished truth. I'm sure that Coach Kim will have this game in his mind as he approaches the off season. You learn a lot about a player through adversity. The transfer portal is both a blessing and a curse. He has two very nice freshman to build around. We need to stay positive.
I started to write a comment but it was too negative.
So I say let’s turn the page and see what happens in Milwaukee. It is up to KE and his staff to fix this as much as they can with the players available. (I would play Bonke instead of Essondoko if we need to sit Oswin.)
Let’s hope there is no repeat of last night when we play UCONN on national tv. At least we will be at the AMP. Go FRIARS!
The Coaches are desperate and we never see Bonke, and since they see him in practice every day and choose not to play him...there's probably a reason. So I *wonder* why we never see him--but that's not the same thing as *wanting* to see him. He averages 4.8 turnovers per 40 minutes, and thats with most of his touches being on dunk attempts and put backs...if he were actually intentionally passed the ball in the course of the game it would probably rise to like 14.8 per 40. On the flip side, Eli averages 10.6 fouls per 40 min, which makes Oswin seem like a passive perimeter defender by contrast. So I guess it's pick your poison and they've chosen Eli's fouls (and slightly noticeable stretch 5 shooting competency) over Bonke's turnovers during those desperate moments.
Watching the Friars right now when Oswin is in foul trouble I am transported back in time when I was the coach on a youth baseball team that didn't have enough pitching. Every now and then in the midst of a 15-2 thrashing on the first game of a double header and a second game about to start after this one hit the mercy rule...there would be a rumble in the dugout and the crowd of "hey, why haven't we seen Johnny pitch in a couple of weeks; he certainly can't do worse than this!". Well...the reality is that little Johnny actual could do worse than this, and that's why we stopped pitching him and had no intention of proving ourselves right once again. That's Bonke and Eli at this point in time. Perhaps not next year. But it's where we are now.
Georgetown crowds are small so tickets are cheap and I was basically front row last night for next to nothing in terms of dollars. Here's what I saw:
1.) Georgetown is noticeably bigger and longer than us. And that was the difference. At times I thought Pierre and Benz were giving up 5-7 inches on the guy they were guarding because of a switch, and then I realized: nope, GTown is just way bigger. That was the issue at the rim: size-- not effort. How many times did Benz get to the rim and miss? Five? Because he wasn't hustling? or because he was in the midst of the tall, tall trees at the base of that zone?
2.) I am not on the anti-Pierre bandwagon like some; I think he's a nice scorer and would love to see him finish out his career here next year. But I was shocked to see him start the game as the PG and stay there for a long time; he doesn't have that skillset and Benz is clearly better with the ball in is hands up top. It was odd to watch. Also, some of Pierre's offensive struggles last night might have had something to do with the fact that he was asked to exert a little more defensively last night due to size difference, and the fact that he never, ever gets a rest.
3.) Oswin is on 8.7 foul per 40 minute pace since the first G'town game. And he catches and lands and then has to jump again after gathering on alley oop passe more than anyone else I've ever seen. The two things are connected, I believe. He's springy, but not super coordinated. Not sure the fouls will ever go away and as a result I don't know if he's going to ever going to be a batman at the five; will always need a Robin and he might be the Robin.
4.) I like all of these players, Mela included. And I see the rebounds and the loose ball magnet ability he has. But I don't get the movement for him to be a point forward and the uncritical eye that his performance and abilities get. He's a liability on defense - gets completely blown by time and time again in man. He also simply cannot go left, everybody knows it, he passes up wide open threes that no joke I as a 50 year old man would take and knock down--and the offense is limited when he touches the ball. Again, love him, but it's odd to me that Pierre has become the scapegoat on nights like this as there are other candidates....
5.) All season long in conference play the Friars performance has matched - either up or down - two primary factors: (1) home versus away games, and (2) the actual level of competition they face. They kinda are what they are, and the objective and clearly visible talent (and size) discrepancies they match up against are getting overlooked and ignored in favor of subjective criticisms of "effort", or "focus" or something else - and this is the hallmark fan analysis of a team in the midst of a frustrating season. We don't have a star, though we have a decent amount of nice supporting actors. Stars draw defensive attention to their actions and movements and free up time and space for the players around them--giving them the degrees of freedom that allow their talents to shine brighter. We need a star and more size. Short of that, our performance will ebb and flow with the tide in a manner consistent with the physics of the situation.
6.) The body language one sees on the court from some players and candidly the Coach right now isn't good. Pierre and Barron are constantly whiney, and sorry, but the fouls the Friars are being called for are 95% of the time....fouls. What happened to "Mindset?" The refs aren't biased, they aren't one sided, and the reason we are getting more fouls in most games is because we are in fact a step too slow and three inches too short on most individual matchups. I felt last night like I was at a little league game where the coaches and players were complaining about balls and strikes. English needs to stop leading the blame-shifting charge here, it's gotten contagious.
Thanks Kevin. Can always count on you to give us the unvarnished truth. I'm sure that Coach Kim will have this game in his mind as he approaches the off season. You learn a lot about a player through adversity. The transfer portal is both a blessing and a curse. He has two very nice freshman to build around. We need to stay positive.
I hope we can keep Oswin and Mela here after this debacle of a season.
I started to write a comment but it was too negative.
So I say let’s turn the page and see what happens in Milwaukee. It is up to KE and his staff to fix this as much as they can with the players available. (I would play Bonke instead of Essondoko if we need to sit Oswin.)
Let’s hope there is no repeat of last night when we play UCONN on national tv. At least we will be at the AMP. Go FRIARS!
The Coaches are desperate and we never see Bonke, and since they see him in practice every day and choose not to play him...there's probably a reason. So I *wonder* why we never see him--but that's not the same thing as *wanting* to see him. He averages 4.8 turnovers per 40 minutes, and thats with most of his touches being on dunk attempts and put backs...if he were actually intentionally passed the ball in the course of the game it would probably rise to like 14.8 per 40. On the flip side, Eli averages 10.6 fouls per 40 min, which makes Oswin seem like a passive perimeter defender by contrast. So I guess it's pick your poison and they've chosen Eli's fouls (and slightly noticeable stretch 5 shooting competency) over Bonke's turnovers during those desperate moments.
Watching the Friars right now when Oswin is in foul trouble I am transported back in time when I was the coach on a youth baseball team that didn't have enough pitching. Every now and then in the midst of a 15-2 thrashing on the first game of a double header and a second game about to start after this one hit the mercy rule...there would be a rumble in the dugout and the crowd of "hey, why haven't we seen Johnny pitch in a couple of weeks; he certainly can't do worse than this!". Well...the reality is that little Johnny actual could do worse than this, and that's why we stopped pitching him and had no intention of proving ourselves right once again. That's Bonke and Eli at this point in time. Perhaps not next year. But it's where we are now.
Georgetown crowds are small so tickets are cheap and I was basically front row last night for next to nothing in terms of dollars. Here's what I saw:
1.) Georgetown is noticeably bigger and longer than us. And that was the difference. At times I thought Pierre and Benz were giving up 5-7 inches on the guy they were guarding because of a switch, and then I realized: nope, GTown is just way bigger. That was the issue at the rim: size-- not effort. How many times did Benz get to the rim and miss? Five? Because he wasn't hustling? or because he was in the midst of the tall, tall trees at the base of that zone?
2.) I am not on the anti-Pierre bandwagon like some; I think he's a nice scorer and would love to see him finish out his career here next year. But I was shocked to see him start the game as the PG and stay there for a long time; he doesn't have that skillset and Benz is clearly better with the ball in is hands up top. It was odd to watch. Also, some of Pierre's offensive struggles last night might have had something to do with the fact that he was asked to exert a little more defensively last night due to size difference, and the fact that he never, ever gets a rest.
3.) Oswin is on 8.7 foul per 40 minute pace since the first G'town game. And he catches and lands and then has to jump again after gathering on alley oop passe more than anyone else I've ever seen. The two things are connected, I believe. He's springy, but not super coordinated. Not sure the fouls will ever go away and as a result I don't know if he's going to ever going to be a batman at the five; will always need a Robin and he might be the Robin.
4.) I like all of these players, Mela included. And I see the rebounds and the loose ball magnet ability he has. But I don't get the movement for him to be a point forward and the uncritical eye that his performance and abilities get. He's a liability on defense - gets completely blown by time and time again in man. He also simply cannot go left, everybody knows it, he passes up wide open threes that no joke I as a 50 year old man would take and knock down--and the offense is limited when he touches the ball. Again, love him, but it's odd to me that Pierre has become the scapegoat on nights like this as there are other candidates....
5.) All season long in conference play the Friars performance has matched - either up or down - two primary factors: (1) home versus away games, and (2) the actual level of competition they face. They kinda are what they are, and the objective and clearly visible talent (and size) discrepancies they match up against are getting overlooked and ignored in favor of subjective criticisms of "effort", or "focus" or something else - and this is the hallmark fan analysis of a team in the midst of a frustrating season. We don't have a star, though we have a decent amount of nice supporting actors. Stars draw defensive attention to their actions and movements and free up time and space for the players around them--giving them the degrees of freedom that allow their talents to shine brighter. We need a star and more size. Short of that, our performance will ebb and flow with the tide in a manner consistent with the physics of the situation.
6.) The body language one sees on the court from some players and candidly the Coach right now isn't good. Pierre and Barron are constantly whiney, and sorry, but the fouls the Friars are being called for are 95% of the time....fouls. What happened to "Mindset?" The refs aren't biased, they aren't one sided, and the reason we are getting more fouls in most games is because we are in fact a step too slow and three inches too short on most individual matchups. I felt last night like I was at a little league game where the coaches and players were complaining about balls and strikes. English needs to stop leading the blame-shifting charge here, it's gotten contagious.