Game 25: HOMECOMING against St. Bonaventure, Feb 15th, 6 PM, MASN

[Patriotfan49]

Our big men, consistently never actually had the ball in their hands with the chance to score. They always touched the ball up by the key or 3 point line.

Also, as much as I like Marko I dont think I have seen a D1 bball player deemed useless by such simple moves like a standing head fake to one side or the other.

 

[Patriot Lawdog]

I would say Jenkins, Copes, Moore and Holloway missing a combined 15 of their 16 shot attempts from the floor is a big problem. Our shooting percentage was skewed because Wright and Allen combined to shoot 62%.

This team can be very good on the rare night when three or four players contribute, as evidenced by the UMass game. Yesterday was an example of two guys showing up offensively and the rest of the team waiting for the homecoming parade to start.

Yea, but Tom if we play any kind of consistent defense, you can still win with guys like that not making shots. When your defense is atrocious, you need everyone playing well on the offensive end to win.

 

[GMUgemini]

Our big men, consistently never actually had the ball in their hands with the chance to score. They always touched the ball up by the key or 3 point line.

Also, as much as I like Marko I dont think I have seen a D1 bball player deemed useless by such simple moves like a standing head fake to one side or the other.

Improper instruction during practice. They aren't learning disciplined, position defense. But rather that mess Hewitt likes to call "high ball pressure defense." It's pretty much worthless unless you have superior length and athleticism, which this team does not have -- Marko is neither exceptionally long for a big, nor is he exceptionally athletic, he would look like a better defender if he was put into a scheme that allowed for better help side defense and asked him to utilize his strength and positioning to keep the player out of scoring position, rather than asking him to be a shot blocker or jump the passing lanes going for steals.

 

[gmutom]

And to put another question to you, do we HAVE to score 90+ points every game and shoot 60% from the floor to give ourselves a chance to win?

Pretty much. We essentially have overcompensate offensively for our defensive deficiencies. We've had a few decent defensive games where were were able to win in the 60s and 70s, but it makes us limited when there's only one of two plus-defenders on the roster (and even that might be generous).

I'd like to see us play zone 40 minutes a game, but I think yesterday's loss was just as much about our offensive ineptitude as it was our struggles defensively. Not a well played or coached game on either side of the court.

 

[Patriotfan49]

I feel we just use the press as a time saver....allow the other team to score quickly instead of burning 25 seconds and scoring. Lord knows it has nothing to do with actually playing defense.

 

[GMUgemini]

Pretty much. We essentially have overcompensate offensively for our defensive deficiencies. We've had a few decent defensive games where were were able to win in the 60s and 70s, but it makes us limited when there's only one of two plus-defenders on the roster (and even that might be generous).

I'd like to see us play zone 40 minutes a game, but I think yesterday's loss was just as much about our offensive ineptitude as it was our struggles defensively. Not a well played or coached game on either side of the court.

Really?

Team 1:

FG: 24-51 (47.1%)

3-pt 5-14 (35.7%)

Team 2:

FG: 24-52 (46.2%)

3-pt 6-13 (46.2%)

Which one of these teams were offensively inept?

 

[gmutom]

I feel we just use the press as a time saver....allow the other team to score quickly instead of burning 25 seconds and scoring. Lord knows it has nothing to do with actually playing defense.

Our press didn't work in the CAA, so I find it funny that Hewitt thinks it's going to work in a better league with much better guards. St. Bonaventure made us look like the team that plays the Harlem Globetrotters when we started pressing them.

 

[mkaufman1]

Our big men, consistently never actually had the ball in their hands with the chance to score. They always touched the ball up by the key or 3 point line.

Also, as much as I like Marko I dont think I have seen a D1 bball player deemed useless by such simple moves like a standing head fake to one side or the other.

You mean the players and staff couldn't adjust to the defense that St B was throwing at Mason...? Shocking, I know. The few times Jenkins got the ball in the post he was double teamed and smothered which usually led to a bad shot or a turnover.

Such a lack of adjusting yesterday and it showed. Mason got out coached (it appeared) like none other. Had no idea how to adjust to anything to give themselves a chance.

 

[gmutom]

Which one of these teams were offensively inept?

You conveniently left out that they were much more aggressive offensively, which led to them making 32 FTs compared to our 19 — which was the difference in the 12-point game.

We were lucky that Allen and Wright showed up, because the rest of the team combined to shoot 26% from the floor. It's a perfect example of how two very good performances can skew an entire box score.

 

[GMUgemini]

You conveniently left out that they were much more aggressive offensively, which led to them making 32 FTs compared to our 19 — which was the difference in the 12-point game.

We were lucky that Allen and Wright showed up, because the rest of the team combined to shoot 26% from the floor. It's a perfect example of how two very good performances can skew an entire box score.

So you're saying it was our defense, not our offense that cost us the game?

 

[NoCliche87]

I'd like to see us play zone 40 minutes a game, but I think yesterday's loss was just as much about our offensive ineptitude as it was our struggles defensively. Not a well played or coached game on either side of the court.

I saw us attempt to play zone defense in the first half and the Bona guards were still able to penetrate against it no problem... Which leads me to believe the UMASS players were on drugs as to why they weren't able to figure it out... Also, the constant switching on defense is extreme laziness to me and puts our bigs in danger of fouling when they end up matching up with a guard that drives on them from the top of the key or wing..

 

[Walter]

I expect Hewitt will announce his resignation at the after game press conference. Only a money hungry hack wouldn't.

I am assuming this did not happen. Anything scheduled for today?

 

[ArrozBlanco]

Come on. I didn't say the refs excused everything about the team's play, and I wasn't defending Hewitt either. But blame where blame is due. This was homecoming, after all.

Obviously the refs weren't the reason we lost, but I watched the repeat on TV last night and caught 5 blown calls in 2 minutes of game time.

 

[Patriotfan49]

You conveniently left out that they were much more aggressive offensively, which led to them making 32 FTs compared to our 19 — which was the difference in the 12-point game.

We were lucky that Allen and Wright showed up, because the rest of the team combined to shoot 26% from the floor. It's a perfect example of how two very good performances can skew an entire box score.

Id say 75% of the FT attempts had nothing to do with them being aggressive. Some horrible fouls from alot of our guys......coupled by some horrible calls.

 

[Patriotfan49]

I saw us attempt to play zone defense in the first half and the Bona guards were still able to penetrate against it no problem... Which leads me to believe the UMASS players were on drugs as to why they weren't able to figure it out... Also, the constant switching on defense is extreme laziness to me and puts our bigs in danger of fouling when they end up matching up with a guard that drives on them from the top of the key or wing..

The switching on defense especially while in zone.....is one of the dumbest things I think that Hewitt has in his "strategy" repertoire.

 

[rockster]

Well couldn't help but think about how bad next year is going to be. I am assuming TOC doesn't have the guts to make a change with Hewitt, but who in the world is going to score for us next year. You saw an omen of things to come with Wright and Allen doing the bulk of the scoring. So lets see who we have for scoring next year;
Marquis Moore - the ugliest jump shot I've ever seen. Eric Copes, no comment; Okolojie, Edwards, and Gray probably gone; Marco, please the guy is so slow and cant jump, his defense is non existent to boot. That leaves Holloway, Royal, and Jenkins as our only experienced players. Ok lets hope for the best from the rooks, but they are all forwards, just expect them to sub.

Bottom line, unless Royal is a scoring machine, then we have a major scoring issue.
I suspect that with the departure of some of the current players Hewitt is going to have to find a JC scoring guard or two who can start immediately.

best guess is we are in big trouble for next year. Which leaves me to the conclusion that Hewitt knows it and disappears into the sunset.

 

[PoorManProfit]

Maybe Arledge comes back...

 

[gmutom]

So you're saying it was our defense, not our offense that cost us the game?

I'm saying it's a combination of the two. We were bad on both ends of the floor. Our defense was atrocious, but our offense outside of Wright and Allen was God awful as well.

 

[GMUgemini]

I'm saying it's a combination of the two. We were bad on both ends of the floor. Our defense was atrocious, but our offense outside of Wright and Allen was God awful as well.

That's fine if you want to believe that, but an atrocious offense that still manages to put up 73 points coupled with a defense that can hold opponents in check would win most games, especially at home. Putting the opposing team on the line 36 times in a home game is just ridiculous.

The point is, we shouldn't have to hit 60% of our shots to win games. If we get 55 points from three players and score 73 overall, despite our other players shooting poorly, we should be able to win with solid defense.

Take our game against vcu earlier this year. They shot 36% from the floor. Their offense against us was just god awful the entire game. And you know what they did? Dialed up the defense in the second half and beat us by 12.

Defense, defense, defense, it has been an absolute joke for 3 years now.

 

[Washingtonian]

You know it is bad when there is a one paragraph blurb about yesterday's game in The Washington Post.

From a Buffalo newspaper:
http://www.buffalonews.com/sports/bona-mens-basketball/bona-pulls-away-from-george-mason-20140216

St. Bonaventure (15-10, 9-6 Atlantic 10) took the lead with an 8-0 run in the middle of the second half and went on to an 85-73 Atlantic 10 Conference victory over George Mason (9-16, 2-9) in the Patriot Center in Fairfax, Va.

Although they were outscored 54-53 from the field, the Bonnies more than made up for that by sinking 32 of 36 free throws (88.9 percent).