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Nov 23, 2018 13:35:46 GMT -5
Post by sader81 on Nov 23, 2018 13:35:46 GMT -5
we still may have some rough patches this year, but it dawned on me how easy the sophomores have made things like at times this season. and they have almost three years of perfecting this system ahead of them!!! which is why losing a shot-blocker extraordinaire in floyd and a gutsy veteran in benzan will not have the absolutely devastating effect that some have unconvincingly hypothesized. in fact, while next year could go either way and at this point i would expect a fairly similar performance (though a lot of basketball still to be played to inform that view), i fully expect us to be a far better team two years from now than we are this year. and i think we are pretty darn good this year and will compete for the pl title. Let me agree and disagree. I saw absolutely no comments that we would be unable to recruit and/or develop a player like Benzan in the near term. We have players with his skills and essentially his experience already. Nobody has hypothesized regarding the irreplaceability of Benzan. I saw many comments that it is unlikely we will have a player of Floyd's current skill set on the floor for us next year. And those are very valuable skills. They can be decisive v PL- level competition. (I don't see anybody on the bench developing his size/skills and a recruit possessing what he has now would be a very difficult get for HC...) IIRC, the “glass half empty” folks here were not impressed at all when fcmb signed Floyd - he didn’t have any offers were the cries at the time. JF’s freshmen and sophomore years weren’t especially noteworthy, but he showed much raw talent. So you can’t tell at this point whether one of the younger players that HC has now will develop into something special. Quality time in the weight room for Faw, Niego, Grandy, Hargis and Verbeek may produce some extraordinary results as it did for JF.
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Nov 23, 2018 13:40:24 GMT -5
Post by WorcesterGray on Nov 23, 2018 13:40:24 GMT -5
The assist per FGM does not solely guarantee a winning season. There are many factors that contribute to wins and losses, but passing the ball unselfishly clearly is a positive stat that contributes to winning basketball.And, likewise, if you allow your opponents to do the same unto you at a very high rate, it probably doesn't contribute to winning basketball (unless you're the opponent I guess).
Carmody Opponent A/FGM Rank.
17-18. 324th 16-17. 347th 15-16. 308th
12-13. 302nd 11-12. 315th 10-11. 262nd 09-10. 346th 08-09. 339th 07-08. 341st 06-07. 334th 05-06. 286th 04-05 237th 03-04. 285th 02-03. 256th 01-02. 309th 00-01. 298th
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Post by efg72 on Nov 23, 2018 14:13:49 GMT -5
I also was very concerned about our defense next year without JF. I became a bit encouraged when our defense played pretty well without him in the Michigan first half and somewhat in the PC game, in both of which he was sitting with fouls. While our D may suffer somewhat, we could be at least a slightly better offensive team with a probable 5 man who can shoot from the outside. We will most likely have 4-5 perimeter shooters on the court all the time next season making us a more difficult team to defend than this season’s squad. I agree it is difficult to judge how much the team will progress defensively without the seniors, and they will be missed, but it is quite possible the matchup zone could be better by time we hit league play next season- perhaps the growing confidence and trust they have in each other might result in more consistent execution. Offensively this group should get better and have more options, depth and flexibility over the next two years
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Nov 23, 2018 14:40:40 GMT -5
Post by WorcesterGray on Nov 23, 2018 14:40:40 GMT -5
Holy Cross "Four Factors" (last season in parens) Offensive EFG% 51.0 (52.6). Down a little,year-over-year. Much better three-point shooting but poorer two-point shooting (and a significantly lower rate of threes this season)
TO% 15.0 (18.7). A big improvement over last year, when HC was ranked 260th. Currently ranked 26th. As NAD noted, we take good care of the ball.
OR% 22.3 (17.2). Still not very good, but another big improvement over last year.
FTR. 19.7% (29.6%). Very poor - for whatever reason(s), we just don't get to the line much. What's interesting to me is that we've gotten steadily worse at this - 36.1% in 15-16, 34.4% in 16-17.
Defensive EFG% 49.2 (51.0). Better. Similar to performance at the other end - much better defending the three, worse defending the two (and a significantly lower rate of threes by opponents).
TO% 20.0 (19.6). Unchanged - still turn over opponents at a pretty high rate. DR%. 68.4 (70.3). Maybe the most troubling for me - teams that don't rebound decently at the defensive end are rarely successful. Was 72.4 in 15-16.
FTR. 29.9% (33.9%). Better. Opponents getting fewer opportunities at the line
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Nov 23, 2018 14:47:39 GMT -5
Post by hchoops on Nov 23, 2018 14:47:39 GMT -5
Helpful stats, but remember that we have already played one very strong opponent and another strong opponent. Michigan certainly is much better than anyone we saw last season. PC is comparable, perhaps stronger, to URI last season. So this season’s stats in a 6 game sample probably are against an overall higher level of competition than last season.
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Post by Non Alum Dave on Nov 23, 2018 15:15:53 GMT -5
One general observation from watching lots of games this week: most teams seem to dribble the ball a lot more than our guys do now.
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Nov 23, 2018 15:41:22 GMT -5
Post by hcpride on Nov 23, 2018 15:41:22 GMT -5
Let me agree and disagree. I saw absolutely no comments that we would be unable to recruit and/or develop a player like Benzan in the near term. We have players with his skills and essentially his experience already. Nobody has hypothesized regarding the irreplaceability of Benzan. I saw many comments that it is unlikely we will have a player of Floyd's current skill set on the floor for us next year. And those are very valuable skills. They can be decisive v PL- level competition. (I don't see anybody on the bench developing his size/skills and a recruit possessing what he has now would be a very difficult get for HC...) IIRC, the “glass half empty” folks here were not impressed at all when fcmb signed Floyd - he didn’t have any offers were the cries at the time. JF’s freshmen and sophomore years weren’t especially noteworthy, but he showed much raw talent. So you can’t tell at this point whether one of the younger players that HC has now will develop into something special. Quality time in the weight room for Faw, Niego, Grandy, Hargis and Verbeek may produce some extraordinary results as it did for JF. I agree he showed tremendous athleticism for the PL...what one might describe as "much raw talent". Don't see that sort of thing on the roster now. Certainly don't see a recruit coming in with the game JF has now. (The point many folks have made is that there is no one to fill his shoes next year...so we need to take advantage of the strong PL inside plus outside game we now have by putting together a PL run this year.) It is certainly a valid question when a kid has no other offers...we're beyond the valid question = glass half fill and criticism= haters type stuff as dadominate noted.
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Nov 23, 2018 15:42:52 GMT -5
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Post by crosspride on Nov 23, 2018 15:42:52 GMT -5
Here's a thought on the defensive end of the game. I turned my car radio on the other day and a UK basketball call-in show was on the air. The hosts were the play-by-play guy and the color man, the great UK star of the late 1980's, Rex Chapman. The caller asked "why don't we use a zone defense every once in a while to throw opponents off balance?" Rex's answer was that UK had so many freshmen that were used to playing man-to-man from high school and that it would be tough--would take a long time- to teach them zone. If there is some truth in that, it could be that our great improvement (to-date in this young season) in defense is because our guys have moved farther along that learning curve. They were taught the defense last year and made some progress but now it's become intuitive for them? i think you hit the nail on the head, ky. not just at holy cross, but everywhere. experience and time playing together is why gonzaga can beat duke, despite not having the likely 1 and 2 picks in the nba draft or overall talent level. we still may have some rough patches this year, but it dawned on me how easy the sophomores have made things like at times this season. and they have almost three years of perfecting this system ahead of them!!! which is why losing a shot-blocker extraordinaire in floyd and a gutsy veteran in benzan will not have the absolutely devastating effect that some have unconvincingly hypothesized. in fact, while next year could go either way and at this point i would expect a fairly similar performance (though a lot of basketball still to be played to inform that view), i fully expect us to be a far better team two years from now than we are this year. and i think we are pretty darn good this year and will compete for the pl title. You make the statement that some have “unconvincingly hypothesized” a belief that Floyd has defensive and rebounding skills that won’t be replaced, then make a post filled with opinions and no facts to back them up. Fine to do on a message board, but can’t criticize others with a different viewpoint for doing the same thing. Also, I gave a concrete example of Floyd’s impact vs Providence when it was posted that the team was better with Floyd off the court. The exact opposite of that was true. The runs by Prov came while he was off the court. Another example is Albany. Floyd was subbed out with 12:44 remaining in the 2nd half, and that’s when Albany’s run began. HC was up 44-27. So, through 27+ minutes of action, Albany scored 27 points. Over the next 3 and a half minutes, with Floyd on the bench, they scored 10. And cut the the lead to 14. Obviously over the next 12 minutes with Floyd in the game the lead went to 0, but Albany gained momentum and finally started making shots without Floyd in the game. Not saying Floyd is the the greatest shot blocker and defender of all time, but no one on the roster currently has a ceiling where Floyd currently is IMO. Forgetting about those examples, just watching the games, his intimidation factor is so clear. At Albany, with about 14 min left in the game, Floyd swatted Clark’s shot literally 10 rows into the seats. Albany’s next shot on the same possession was a missed pull up jumper from 17 feet instead, even though there was of a lane to drive. Guessing the guy didn’t want Floyd to embarrass him like he did Clark. Do I think the sophs will improve over the next year? Yes, of course. Do I think they will improve enough to replace Floyd’s defensive presence? Not even close. Rebounding impact? No. That’s why I think this year is the year to win.
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Nov 23, 2018 16:10:27 GMT -5
Post by dadominate on Nov 23, 2018 16:10:27 GMT -5
i think you hit the nail on the head, ky. not just at holy cross, but everywhere. experience and time playing together is why gonzaga can beat duke, despite not having the likely 1 and 2 picks in the nba draft or overall talent level. we still may have some rough patches this year, but it dawned on me how easy the sophomores have made things like at times this season. and they have almost three years of perfecting this system ahead of them!!! which is why losing a shot-blocker extraordinaire in floyd and a gutsy veteran in benzan will not have the absolutely devastating effect that some have unconvincingly hypothesized. in fact, while next year could go either way and at this point i would expect a fairly similar performance (though a lot of basketball still to be played to inform that view), i fully expect us to be a far better team two years from now than we are this year. and i think we are pretty darn good this year and will compete for the pl title. You make the statement that some have “unconvincingly hypothesized” a belief that Floyd has defensive and rebounding skills that won’t be replaced, then make a post filled with opinions and no facts to back them up. Fine to do on a message board, but can’t criticize others with a different viewpoint for doing the same thing. Also, I gave a concrete example of Floyd’s impact vs Providence when it was posted that the team was better with Floyd off the court. The exact opposite of that was true. The runs by Prov came while he was off the court. Another example is Albany. Floyd was subbed out with 12:44 remaining in the 2nd half, and that’s when Albany’s run began. HC was up 44-27. So, through 27+ minutes of action, Albany scored 27 points. Over the next 3 and a half minutes, with Floyd on the bench, they scored 10. And cut the the lead to 14. Obviously over the next 12 minutes with Floyd in the game the lead went to 0, but Albany gained momentum and finally started making shots without Floyd in the game. Not saying Floyd is the the greatest shot blocker and defender of all time, but no one on the roster currently has a ceiling where Floyd currently is IMO. Forgetting about those examples, just watching the games, his intimidation factor is so clear. At Albany, with about 14 min left in the game, Floyd swatted Clark’s shot literally 10 rows into the seats. Albany’s next shot on the same possession was a missed pull up jumper from 17 feet instead, even though there was of a lane to drive. Guessing the guy didn’t want Floyd to embarrass him like he did Clark. Do I think the sophs will improve over the next year? Yes, of course. Do I think they will improve enough to replace Floyd’s defensive presence? Not even close. Rebounding impact? No. That’s why I think this year is the year to win. i'm so deeply grateful that you've deemed my post acceptable for a message board! it's always important to get that confirmation after 20 years and thousands of posts. seriously what "facts", other than a crystal ball into the future, can prove one way or another what happens next year? that is pure conjecture for everyone and is by its very definition opinion. i happen to disagree with your opinion that this program will fall apart when floyd graduates. i see no evidence for that whatsoever and you are certainly welcome to disagree with my opinion that i think we will be good next year and very, very good the year after that. the limited facts that you provide about floyd in the providence game that you cite as evidence are not at all convincing, especially in light of the fact that we actually played better without him in the michigan game. the fact is that floyd is currently third on the team in rebounding. while he is an elite shot blocker, who alters even more shots than he blocks aginst pl competition to possum's point, i would consider him a good but not great rebounder and i don't see much change overall in that regard next year as it is not an emphasis of carmody's. are we better with floyd this year than without him? of course we are. he's a very good player for our level. how floyd's graduation will translate into the performance of next year's team in consideration of the additional experience for our current bigs, the improvement of the rest of the many players that are returning, the offensive skills that will be gained in floyd's departure counterbalanced by the defensive skills that are lost as hchoops pointed out, the impact of next year's highly-rated freshmen class, and literally dozens of other factors make it very difficult to predict. most prognosticators would agree that our returning four of five starters, including most likely our top two scorers and two of our top three rebounders, would lead to an improvement. floyd is a very good player who i expect to be pretty dominant in the patriot league, but he is far from a one man team.
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Post by hcpride on Nov 23, 2018 16:24:29 GMT -5
improvement. floyd is a very good player who i expect to be pretty dominant in the patriot league, but he is far from a one man team.Haven't seen anyone suggest he is a one-man team. I have seen suggestions that there is no one to fill his shoes next year...so we need to take advantage of the strong PL inside plus outside game we now have by putting together a PL run this year. (His skill set now seems markedly different from the other players on our team...this is not at all to suggest he is the best outside or mid range shooter, ball-handler, etc. None of our incoming recruits strike me as strong inside players - the tallest is a 6'5" forward and the other two are smaller guards - that could possibly have the qualities that the 6'8" JF has now).
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Post by dadominate on Nov 23, 2018 16:50:10 GMT -5
improvement. floyd is a very good player who i expect to be pretty dominant in the patriot league, but he is far from a one man team.Haven't seen anyone suggest he is a one-man team. I have seen suggestions that there is no one to fill his shoes next year...so we need to take advantage of the strong PL inside plus outside game we now have by putting together a PL run this year. (His skill set now seems markedly different from the other players on our team...this is not at all to suggest he is the best outside or mid range shooter, ball-handler, etc. None of our incoming recruits strike me as strong inside players - the tallest is a 6'5" forward and the other two are smaller guards - that could possibly have the qualities that the 6'8" JF has now). and the ability to stretch the floor with whatever big fills floyd's minutes will expand our offensive capability tremendously. defenders will no longer be able to sag off of our center since floyd poses no offensive threat outside of 10 feet and whoever fills his minutes (faw, niego, verbeek, etc.) will shoot opponents out of that real fast if they try it. this has been a missing ingredient in carmody's formula for success. floyd brings other offensive attributes to the table, but his inability to shoot limits his efficacy in this offense. fortunately, he has made up for that deficiency with outstanding passing. he has developed that facet of his game, and while some give carmody no credit whatsoever, that is something that has clearly been developed. furthermore, if you are thinking about more than just our pl performance (as i do), next year's lineup makes us far more dangerous offensively. floyd was manhandled against michigan's superior bigs and was rendered completely ineffective offensively, as his athleticism was nullified by their superior size and talent. he also doesn't intimidate michigan, providence, or any team of that caliber. having a 6'8+ player drain threes will likely make opponents uncomfortable, especially the classic bigs who would rather be around the basket. many see this in immutable black or white terms as they do the p word, but i think floyd's loss will be a shade of gray. we lose an outstanding defender who can also score in the pl, but gain offensive versatility and match-up nightmares for anyone, including top-level competition. that's my last post on next year. i'm too excited about the rest of THIS season.
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Post by efg72 on Nov 23, 2018 17:00:56 GMT -5
As stated by dadominate offensively there is every indication we will be improved next year because of versatility but also another year of running the offense, and additional quickness and depth at guard. I am a believer that before we finish the 19-20 season we will be better defensively and our 6-9 will be much more impactful.
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Post by crosspride on Nov 23, 2018 17:09:52 GMT -5
i'm so deeply grateful that you've deemed my post acceptable for a message board! it's always important to get that confirmation after 20 years and thousands of posts. seriously what "facts", other than a crystal ball into the future, can prove one way or another what happens next year? that is pure conjecture for everyone and is by its very definition opinion. i happen to disagree with your opinion that this program will fall apart when floyd graduates. i see no evidence for that whatsoever and you are certainly welcome to disagree with my opinion that i think we will be good next year and very, very good the year after that. the limited facts that you provide about floyd in the providence game that you cite as evidence are not at all convincing, especially in light of the fact that we actually played better without him in the michigan game. the fact is that floyd is currently third on the team in rebounding. while he is an elite shot blocker, who alters even more shots than he blocks aginst pl competition to possum's point, i would consider him a good but not great rebounder and i don't see much change overall in that regard next year as it is not an emphasis of carmody's. are we better with floyd this year than without him? of course we are. he's a very good player for our level. how floyd's graduation will translate into the performance of next year's team in consideration of the additional experience for our current bigs, the improvement of the rest of the many players that are returning, the offensive skills that will be gained in floyd's departure counterbalanced by the defensive skills that are lost as hchoops pointed out, the impact of next year's highly-rated freshmen class, and literally dozens of other factors make it very difficult to predict. most prognosticators would agree that our returning four of five starters, including most likely our top two scorers and two of our top three rebounders, would lead to an improvement. floyd is a very good player who i expect to be pretty dominant in the patriot league, but he is far from a one man team. Quote where I said the team will fall apart. And save the sarcasm. Trying to have a civil conversation about Holy Cross basketball.
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Post by efg72 on Nov 23, 2018 17:33:06 GMT -5
A few areas where we can all agree
We want the team to win and be successful Offensively we are better and improving Matchup zone is getting better and has the potential to be an asset this year Floyd is a terrific player on this team Sophomore class holds the key to the program advancing This HS recruiting class is filled with quickness and talent Offense and defenses we run are not natural for high school players/freshmen so time and adjustments are needed If players buy in and develop we are dangerous in the PL and most other conferences Where we might disagree isn’t worth the energy or time
This is a great board to bring people together who know the game and want HC to win-we are all on the same team and enjoy a diversity of opinions
Go Crusaders
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Post by possum on Nov 23, 2018 17:53:07 GMT -5
After reading how badly Floyd hurts our offense and is ineffective against Power 5 talent maybe we should make the change to five shooters now, then we can just out score everyone and won't have to worry about defense.
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Post by efg72 on Nov 23, 2018 18:02:52 GMT -5
After reading how badly Floyd hurts our offense and is ineffective against Power 5 talent maybe we should make the change to five shooters now, then we can just out score everyone and won't have to worry about defense. Nobody is close to suggesting that statement, and you know that to be fact. Floyd is a terrific player for this team and his best days are ahead of him this winter.
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Post by DiMarz on Nov 23, 2018 18:46:26 GMT -5
JF has a different skill set than any other player out there..When he is on the floor, he can dominate around the rims..when he is out and CN is on the floor, he brings a shooter to the game..He gets to take that 15 footer and a 3 pointer...CN and te team will have to up there D to, or change what they do, to "make up" for what JF brings to the D....JF's game has flourished in the last 2 years, last season he was known on Offense as a scorer, this season so far, he has become a "facilitator"...I see him blending all facets of the game as the season progresses, giving fits to the PL!
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Nov 23, 2018 18:49:44 GMT -5
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Post by bringbackcaro on Nov 23, 2018 18:49:44 GMT -5
it's nice to see a strong identity being reestablished for the program as evidenced by this important statistic. while we may not be best in the nation at the end of the year, i have a feeling we will remain in the top 25 or so and i think there will continue to be a strong link to our ability to pass the ball effectively and winning games.It's something Carmody's team have always done very well. But if there's a correlation between A/FGM and W-L, I don't see it.
Carmody Team A/FGM Rank. Winning (W) or Losing (L) Season Record in parens.
17-18. 52nd (L) 16-17. 4th (L) 15-16. 16th (L)
12-13. 1st (L) 11-12. 3rd (W) 10-11. 5th (W) 09-10. 2nd (W) 08-09. 2nd (W) 07-08. 2nd (L) 06-07. 1st (L) 05-06. 1st (L) 04-05. 1st (L) 03-04. 2nd (L) 02-03 2nd (L) 01-02 3rd (W 00-01. 6th (L)
Unless there is some type of evidence of a correlation between A/FGM and winning, I don’t see it as some type of stat that proves the offense is great. Carmody’s offense is based on passes and most shots come off the pass, rather than on drives to the rim, pull-ups, etc. That mere fact alone is going to generate a high A/FGM, because almost every made jump shot/3 pointer is off a pass, and therefore an assist, even if the pass/passer isn’t the one who created the open shot. If all of our assists were on backdoors for open layups, A/FGM would be a much more meaningful stat. But a pass to someone who makes a 3 pointer generally has more to do with the shooter than the assist. I struggle to see how we can maintain an “identity” of being a good passing/shooting team and have that be enough to beat more talented teams like other traits (defense, rebounding, deflections, possession battle, etc) that aren’t as reliant upon talent and skill.
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Post by efg72 on Nov 23, 2018 18:53:49 GMT -5
The significance of stats is important, but more importantly for opponents it is about this team and future teams being a tough out or nasty team to play.
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Post by hchoops on Nov 24, 2018 9:34:27 GMT -5
JF is up to #8 in the nation in blocks per game
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Nov 24, 2018 9:48:45 GMT -5
Post by KY Crusader 75 on Nov 24, 2018 9:48:45 GMT -5
Unless there is some type of evidence of a correlation between A/FGM and winning, I don’t see it as some type of stat that proves the offense is great.
Carmody’s offense is based on passes and most shots come off the pass, rather than on drives to the rim, pull-ups, etc. That mere fact alone is going to generate a high A/FGM, because almost every made jump shot/3 pointer is off a pass, and therefore an assist, even if the pass/passer isn’t the one who created the open shot. If all of our assists were on backdoors for open layups, A/FGM would be a much more meaningful stat. But a pass to someone who makes a 3 pointer generally has more to do with the shooter than the assist. I struggle to see how we can maintain an “identity” of being a good passing/shooting team and have that be enough to beat more talented teams like other traits (defense, rebounding, deflections, possession battle, etc) that aren’t as reliant upon talent and skill. Here's a quick look at the A/FGM ranking of the Top 10 and Bottom 10 teams per KenPom Top 10 teams rank as follows in A/FGM 170 for # 1 team overall 130 37 49 83 82 41 6 149 5 So all are in top half of D-1 and the median ranking is #62 The bottom 10 teams rank as follows 337 325 303 106 166 257 24 173 248 128 for lowest ranked team in D-1 median ranking for A/FGM is #210
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Nov 24, 2018 10:12:29 GMT -5
Post by hchoops on Nov 24, 2018 10:12:29 GMT -5
Thanks Ky That would seem to be a correlation
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Post by dadominate on Nov 24, 2018 10:18:07 GMT -5
Unless there is some type of evidence of a correlation between A/FGM and winning, I don’t see it as some type of stat that proves the offense is great. Carmody’s offense is based on passes and most shots come off the pass, rather than on drives to the rim, pull-ups, etc. That mere fact alone is going to generate a high A/FGM, because almost every made jump shot/3 pointer is off a pass, and therefore an assist, even if the pass/passer isn’t the one who created the open shot. If all of our assists were on backdoors for open layups, A/FGM would be a much more meaningful stat. But a pass to someone who makes a 3 pointer generally has more to do with the shooter than the assist. I struggle to see how we can maintain an “identity” of being a good passing/shooting team and have that be enough to beat more talented teams like other traits (defense, rebounding, deflections, possession battle, etc) that aren’t as reliant upon talent and skill.i think it comes down to how we conceptualize the "talent" differential. keep in mind that defense, rebounding, etc. are all themselves measures of basketball talent. players can be - and usually are - more talented in these dimensions relative to others. some players are gloves with extraordinary defensive instincts, others have a knack for seeing the angle of a shot and anticipating where the rebound will fall, etc. of course, a lot of these dimensions come down to effort, but to think that shooting is talent and defense is not talent is a mistake. i imagine you will agree with this. what i really think we are talking about here is not talent, which is hugely multi-dimensional, but rather - ATHLETICISM discrepancy. that's what rw often talked about as has carmody at various points of his career. defense and rebounding are one way to overcome an athleticism discrepancy. although it is almost impossible to argue that athleticism plays a major role in defense (lateral speed, overall quickness, jumping ability, etc.) and rebounding (strength, jumping ability, quickness, etc.). for some reason, it seems that you and some others here refuse to acknowledge that shooting and passing are another way - proven by many teams over the years - to overcome an athleticism discrepancy. in fact, i would actually argue that shooting and ball movement are less reliant upon athleticism than defense and rebounding for the aforementioned reasons. as i have said many times here over the years, i personally prefer strong defensive minded teams. it was my calling card as a player and coach in baltimore who every night was going up against more athletic teams. and my favorite team in college basketball is virginia as bennett is the master at defense. however, defense is not the only way and not being able to score puts you at major risk. just look at virginia in the big dance last year! or our frustrating close but no cigar results so many times under rw, when we just couldn't buy a bucket. the fact is that there are teams and programs all over the country and at every level - from high school (christian brothers academy) to college (gonzaga) to the nba (golden state warriors) - that utilize a shooting and passing focus to maintain success. what does this mean at hc? just as i loved how we used to recruit guys under rw who were a little too short, too thin, too heavy, not athletic enough - but had potential for defensive prowess - we are now recruiting guys who are a little too short, too thin, not athletic enough, etc. - but have exceptional potential for offensive (namely shooting and passing) prowess. when all is said and done, we may not look back at the carmody era as a success at hc - i happen to think we will - but the key is that it is a fallacy to think there is only one way to skin the cat of overcoming an athleticism differential. i'm sure some who refuse to see things any other way than their own preference will cherry pick individual elements of this post, but i think it is hard to argue against my bolded conclusion.
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Nov 24, 2018 10:22:24 GMT -5
Post by hchoops on Nov 24, 2018 10:22:24 GMT -5
Very well argued, Dado. Which CBA are you referring to ?
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Nov 24, 2018 10:28:54 GMT -5
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Post by cmo on Nov 24, 2018 10:28:54 GMT -5
With the way the game is called today, would HC’s defense that we ran under RW be less effective?
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