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Post by crusader1970 on Mar 8, 2024 9:21:23 GMT -5
I agree with virtually all the comments here as they relate to next year.
The one thing I think many are overlooking is how much this team missed not having a true point guard.
Batch and Williams took their turns manning that position and the results speak for themselves.
I've always felt that the two most important positions on a team are the PG and the center.
Although undersized, Kenney did an outstanding job holding down the center position very respectfully.
Next year we get a TRUE PG in Tyler Boston. I've watched several of his games at Bullis and he will help tremendously. He is a take charge kind of player who is explosive off the dribble and sees the entire court. Also, unlike most freshman, whose bodies need a lot of maturing to compete at the college level, Tyler is solidly built and should be more prepared to take the physical bumping he is sure to face.
Glad to close the book on this season and looking forward to better seasons ahead.
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Post by crusader1970 on Mar 7, 2024 13:44:51 GMT -5
The more I hear the more excited I get about the arrival of Tyler B next season And for good reason.
He is "special".
If we had him this year, we might have won 14 or 15 games.
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Post by crusader1970 on Mar 6, 2024 10:41:23 GMT -5
Watching Caleb Kenney sink those critical foul shots last night, it struck me on how much he has improved his overall game since his freshman year.
Then I wondered, who are the HC players over the last 25 years (2000-2024) who have improved their game the most?
Here are my candidates:
Caleb Kenney Jehyve Floyd Pat Whearty Malcolm Miller
Who am I missing?
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Post by crusader1970 on Mar 6, 2024 8:48:11 GMT -5
It took an entire season, but Dave Paulsen taught these Crusaders, who had not experienced victories, especially playoff success, exactly HOW to win. The team played with a confidence to take the lead and expand on it throughout the second half. Caleb’s block of that Army dunk attempt has to be in the ESPN top 10.Your guess was correct.
It was #4
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Post by crusader1970 on Mar 4, 2024 17:21:57 GMT -5
The Saturday night games in the late 60's at the Worcester Auditorium sometimes didn't tip off until 8:15 or 8:30 PM.
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Post by crusader1970 on Mar 4, 2024 17:13:13 GMT -5
Mark Butler is an interesting selection for the All Rookie team. He had a boatload of assists but shot 0-17 from three.
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Post by crusader1970 on Mar 2, 2024 13:44:02 GMT -5
I've counted 5 total HC air balls on jump shots today.
That must be some kind of record.
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Post by crusader1970 on Mar 2, 2024 12:55:10 GMT -5
Don't believe Paulsen is a screamer in the locker room.
But if there ever were a time to explode, it is at halftime today.
Disgraceful performance.
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Post by crusader1970 on Mar 2, 2024 12:50:57 GMT -5
In a year of some really horrific performances, this first half vs BU has to rank up there near the top.
Has HC EVER put on the floor a worse defensive team?
Tough to watch.
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Post by crusader1970 on Feb 29, 2024 16:49:49 GMT -5
Morales did not play last game, and he is a bit of a matchup problem. Most opponent players are matchup problems for HC. I know DP is a man to man guy but if this continues early next year, I hope he has some wrinkles in mind. The one coach who has been successful at HC in the last 25 years confounded opponents with a D other than man to man. 100%
I have seen teams come out of a time out with a zone for 3 or 4 possessions and totally confound the opposition.
Being unpredictable is normally an advantage.
Regardless of whether you play a truly great MTM or a great zone, good teams will adjust to it and find the holes.
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Post by crusader1970 on Feb 29, 2024 9:25:01 GMT -5
This team is BAD. We need to get better athletes and try to join the A-10. The PL has killed our basketball program. Attendance is low and the students don't even show up, last night only a handful of students at the game.Win and they will come.
If you want to check out student apathy, look at the stands at the Conte Forum last night for the UVA/BC game. There were entire sections of seats with no one in them. The announced crowd was 4,800. I think 2,500 was more realistic from the TV shots.
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Post by crusader1970 on Feb 29, 2024 9:19:50 GMT -5
Difficult to see progress and skeptical of the talent that's being brought in (because if the kids were any good, why would they choose Holy Cross). Hope they surprise me. You could have said the same thing when Gilmore was fired and Chesney took over the football program. Look how that turned out.
Patience.
Paulsen is a proven winner and has a good chance of getting HC to the top of the PL with a few years of his recruits and coaching.
I've watched extensive videos on several of the 4 recruits coming in next year and I really like what I see.
I understand your frustration. Nelson was a horrible hire and did severe damage to the basketball program. Thank almighty God he is gone! But I truly believe that the next two seasons will show significant improvement.
I for one am willing to be patient.
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Post by crusader1970 on Feb 26, 2024 10:36:20 GMT -5
One notable item from yesterday, Begnini scored 20, Batch zero. MacDonald was pretty much held in check after the first half. At least they figured him out. I think it's fair to say that Batch has had a very disappointing Sophomore season and, with the freshmen coming in next year, I'm not sure where he fits.
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Post by crusader1970 on Feb 26, 2024 10:02:35 GMT -5
Tyler is strong, stays very low on his dribble giving him maximum control. He is under control with his head up, making the correct decision. His vision seems to be one of his best assets, along with the decision making.. Today he would have controlled the game on both ends, Green and Richards would have been terrific at the 2/3 and will be welcome additions to the roster and possibly to the starting lineup next year Based on what I have seen on video so far, IMO Boston is the recruit who is most ready to get a starting role opening day.
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Post by crusader1970 on Feb 26, 2024 9:49:06 GMT -5
A couple of non-coach offensive observations: 1) they rarely throw skip passes to try to find an open shooter on the other side of the court; 2) while several guys do try to put the ball on the floor and go to the hoop, they rarely go all the way to the rim. Most often, they come to a hard stop, pivot, and then either look around for someone close by to pass it to,or force up a shot. You almost never see someone drive and then quickly kick it out to someone behind the 3 point line. I don't think lack of shooters is the problem, imho. I think the ball rarely gets to where it needs to be on many possessions. With Tyler Boston at the point, you will see a lot more of that.
In the game he played against GT he did each of the passes you mention.
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Post by crusader1970 on Feb 26, 2024 9:47:00 GMT -5
0-4 vs. Army/Navy; 6-6 vs the rest of the PL. And likely to play either Army or Navy in the first round.
Heh.....maybe the old adage of "It's hard to beat a team three times in a row." will prevail.
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Post by crusader1970 on Feb 25, 2024 16:18:42 GMT -5
If you watch the Bullis/Georgetown Prep video and see how dynamic a PG Tyler Boston is, you can take some consolation in the thought that with him in charge at the point, we are going to be a better team next year.
Add some additional scoring with Max Green and better times are ahead.
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Post by crusader1970 on Feb 22, 2024 12:12:26 GMT -5
If HC wins this weekend, they will likely avoid travelling for the play in game. There is still a chance they could end up in a tie with Navy, if that happens Navy would have the tiebreaker over HC and leave HC at #9. This would require HC losing its last two and Navy winning its last two. If HC goes 2-1 (presumably losing to Colgate), HC would finish 8-10. If American and Lehigh both tank the last 3 games, the 3rd place team could potentially also be 8-10. With 3 games left for everyone (even though this presumes results for 3 of the parties), there are frankly more permutations than I care to go through. I will likely re-visit early next week For those that care about such things, Montgomery has scored 910 career points, with at least 4 to go. To paraphrase Bill Belichick - on to Navy The injury this year cost him 7 games. 1000 pts still possible but very unlikely.
He'd need 4 games as good as last night's performance to get there.
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Post by crusader1970 on Feb 22, 2024 7:51:00 GMT -5
The game is so much easier when the ball goes in the basket - for our team it’s that simple That totally captures last night.
A baseball team that is in a team hitting slump looks like they aren't trying.
A basketball team that is constantly shooting poorly can demonstrate they are "trying hard" by their effort on the defensive end. But, when they lose because they simply couldn't put the ball in the basket, one thinks "they just stink".
The truth on this HC team lies somewhere in-between IMO.
Assuming that Max Green (3G) and Tyler Boston (PG) give us some help next year at two aspects of the game that we are currently poor at, 3 pt shooting and PG play, respectively, things could improve quite a bit next year.
In any case, it was fun to watch a HC basketball game where the team looked like they had some confidence in their offensive game and executed efficiently.
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Post by crusader1970 on Feb 21, 2024 14:33:04 GMT -5
Nova has far better facilities, inc a new on campus arena It took a great coach a few years Pitino may not have the time His negatives may also be a hindrance that Wright did not have Ask most parents whether they'd rather have their son play in a new campus arena or MSG, I think the latter wins.
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Post by crusader1970 on Feb 21, 2024 12:12:22 GMT -5
He wants to win another championship. He didn't want to move, IIRC: St. John's is not where one wins it all; or comes close; any more.I concur with all the negative things said here about RP.
That said, I do NOT agree that St John's cannot be built into a national championship contender.
If Jay Wright can do it at Villanova, the right coach (maybe RP) can do it at St John's.
Rich tradition. Same league. Access to MSG for home games. Lower academic standards than V. And the necessary NIL money will be there from some well-to-do alumni.
IMO it may take a while. But it definitely can be done.
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Post by crusader1970 on Feb 19, 2024 16:58:22 GMT -5
Kyrell Luc has played 21 minutes total in the last 5 games. Started every game for HC and every game for SBU last season. Wonder if his bags are already packed. If they are, he's only got one year left -- no benefit of the corona year for him. I'll be shocked if he is not in the Portal in March,
Maybe he and Pridgen can join up.
Luc made a big mistake (at least in terms of playing time) by leaving HC.
Pridgen apparently is not happy ANYWHERE.
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Post by crusader1970 on Feb 14, 2024 9:31:06 GMT -5
Here's the link to the video of the game:
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Post by crusader1970 on Feb 12, 2024 11:36:59 GMT -5
O'Brien is reported to have received a salary of $5 million a year plus incentives.
I'm sure Bob Chesney is thinking "what might have been" with just a little different timing.
Don't worry, Bob. That BC job will be open again in 3 years.
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Post by crusader1970 on Feb 11, 2024 10:58:13 GMT -5
AU kinda choked that away in my mind…but HC does get credit for tough defense down the stretch and making shots. Did the AU board criticize Rogers for his bonehead move of grabbing Caleb’s jersey? Yes - that's part of the reasoning of the AU giveaway. Course Caleb was beating him down the floor. I do understand their thinking, but I just feel many fans sometimes forget there is a second team on the court competing. One other thing I am starting to get very curious about is AJ's minutes. It seems apparent now he is one of the few guys on the team that can create his own shot, whether it be off the dribble or creating space for his J. Yet his minutes seem to be very limited. Is he a worse defender than the others? Does CDP feel the law of diminishing returns will kick in if he over extends him? Or dare I ask, in this current age of poaching - is CDP deliberately trying to keep him under wraps, so to speak? It just seems he should be out there more often. I totally agree with you.
Love to see more of him. He plays with energy and confidence.
In his 322 min he is shooting 40% from three, 80% from the line, and has an Assist/TO ratio of 2.33.
I sincerely doubt whether CDP is hiding him. If he continues his current play, I would bet his minutes will increase.
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