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Post by HC1843 on Dec 30, 2018 16:09:04 GMT -5
I don’t care what Iona’s record is. That is a solid win for this young team. My preseason prognostication was a “somewhat pessimistic 8-5” for the ooc portion of the schedule. Here’s hoping that my “somewhat pessimistic 13-5” in-conference is at least similarly in error. The “young team” excuse doesn’t carry water with the number of players who have either been thrown off the team/out of school or are non-contributors as upper classmen. You don’t get to have that many scholarship misses & disciplinary issues, then get to make an excuse that the team is young. 9-4 is certainly a better record that what’s been happening the last few years of dreadful basketball, but a 2-4* record vs teams with a winning record leaves something to be desired. 10-3 with a win over URI or Harvard would have made this a much more impressive OOC. But my biggest issue is that the team has not been playing good basketball in the four games since the big UMASS win, including the last 3 against teams who are 3-8, 5-8, 2-9. *corrected Yawns, exaggerated eye roll, yawns (again)....enjoys the W. Cheers.
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Post by KY Crusader 75 on Dec 30, 2018 16:09:09 GMT -5
HC OReb%: 40% Who woulda thunk that winning extra free possessions on the glass would be a good thing! Far and away the best performance on the O-boards this year, besting the previous high of 29% vs. SHU. Especially helpful today since HC was -4 in TOs, just the second time we committed more than caused. Did we do something different today such as crashing the boards or did more rebounds just bounce our way?
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Post by timholycross on Dec 30, 2018 16:14:06 GMT -5
Forgot all about the game- that's what you get for playing it at kickoff time on an NFL Sunday.
When I started reading the thread there were only three pages. Knew for sure that HC won, only human nature to have more complaints than praise.
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Post by rgs318 on Dec 30, 2018 16:18:47 GMT -5
For some pre-tipoff reading, some thoughts from the Iona board. Very optimistic we finish 2018 with a win here.
Some good insights. My favorite post: "The stands won’t be empty. Expect a lot of Holy Cross fans." There were a few more from HC (mostly alums) than Iona. Some good spin: "Hey look to the bright side. We are at least playing .500 ball at home" (Yup, they are now 1-1). :
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Post by bringbackcaro on Dec 30, 2018 16:21:05 GMT -5
Far and away the best performance on the O-boards this year, besting the previous high of 29% vs. SHU. Especially helpful today since HC was -4 in TOs, just the second time we committed more than caused. Did we do something different today such as crashing the boards or did more rebounds just bounce our way? A few of the rebounds came from put-backs on missed layups (ex: there was one possession in which Grandison had 3 attempts at a layup so would be credited with 2 ORebs), but there was also just more guys actively going after the ball on the glass against a team that was quite lazy on the boards (#320 on KenPom). There was one possession at around the 7 minute mark in the second half in which Benzan had two offensive rebounds, we ended up holding the ball for over a minute, and then hit a 3 to stretch the lead to 10. Even though the layup put-backs could be considered “cheap” ORebs, at least they are the result of an aggressive play to the rim. The stubbornness to never consistently go after offense rebounds hurts the team.
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Post by rgs318 on Dec 30, 2018 16:21:38 GMT -5
T against Butler looked weak. He got pushed and never pushed back but said something in return. Push vs. verbal. No shots given to either team and since Grandy had the charge, it just meant Iona brought the ball up. Butler does much better when he hits a couple of early 3s, then he seems to play looser and gets to the basket for 2s and seems to play better on D. I think it was what he said that brought on the shove he received.
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Post by thecrossisback on Dec 30, 2018 16:27:30 GMT -5
Iona Board- "Have to feel for the Crusaders. They have many local alumns, and they won't know what hit them come Sunday. Gaels feast on home cooking, and win big" HAHA 3 Wins in a row!
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Post by bigfan on Dec 30, 2018 16:37:24 GMT -5
I heard that Vermont wanted to play us this year and we would not schedule them. Regarding next year unless we bring in a big rebounder we will be in trouble in rebounding as we do not have enough big men who could rebound against athletic teams.
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Post by thecrossisback on Dec 30, 2018 16:43:09 GMT -5
I heard that Vermont wanted to play us this year and we would not schedule them. Regarding next year unless we bring in a big rebounder we will be in trouble in rebounding as we do not have enough big men who could rebound against athletic teams. Wished we played them, but who needs rebounding when we make the shots.
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Post by rgs318 on Dec 30, 2018 16:47:38 GMT -5
I have to disagree. Today HC had 33 rebounds and next year those who got 23 of them will be back. There seemed to be more of an effort to follow shots for put backs (and an off-reb). Bigfan, I heard the moon is made of green cheese so we refrained from scheduling any Wisconsin teams since they might have moon creatures on the team. It seems funny how uncited rumors can be so far off the mark. I am not sure a team willing to play Michigan, Providence, URI would shy away from VT. Nice crowd, good HC energy. Some very poor calls by one official in particular brought on a chorus of boos from the stands. A couple of times I thought HCBC was going to have a coronry over a call (or no call). The refs did take a look at the videotape on the last second shot by Faw. The tape showed it left his hand after the shot clock hit 0:00. That was a nice job.
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Post by rgs318 on Dec 30, 2018 16:53:07 GMT -5
HC takes a 9-4 record into PL play (including 3 wins over MAAC opponents). Now on to Loyola MD.
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Post by KY Crusader 75 on Dec 30, 2018 17:13:58 GMT -5
You beat me to it-key part of the ongoing narrative.HC will never have a good win with Coach Carmody We currently have two wins against teams with a winning record this year. Sorry, but that’s just a fact.Okay--let's compare to some prior HC teams. Ralph Willard's 2005-06 Crusaders finished 20-12 and KenPom had at #129. Sagarin had HC at #122 with #210 for strength of schedule In Out of Conference play Holy Cross was 3-5 against teams with a winning record at season's end1-1 against teams with a .500 record at season's end 4-1 against teams with a losing record at season's end Ralph Willard's 2006-07 Crusaders finished 25-9 and KenPom had at #93. Sagarin had HC at #97 with #212 for strength of schedule In Out of Conference play (excludes tourney loss to So Ill) Holy Cross was 2-6 against teams with a winning record at season's end1-0 against teams with a .500 record at season's end 6-0 against teams with a losing record at season's end See--I think that's just the nature (and mathematics) of college basketball: you beat up on the teams that end up with losing records and don't do nearly as well against the teams that win more than they lose
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Post by rgs318 on Dec 30, 2018 17:16:37 GMT -5
Let's remember that 9 of this year's opponent losses came courtesy of the Crusaders.
That's just a fact as well.
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Post by rgs318 on Dec 30, 2018 17:19:17 GMT -5
I find it interesting how some look at this year's stats and project the same onto next year - improvement is not an option for them.
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Post by Ignutz on Dec 30, 2018 17:20:43 GMT -5
HC's 4 losses are to Michigan(Big Ten), URI (A10), Providence(Big East) all of which are programs at far higher levels than HC. Our fourth loss was to Harvard which in recent years has had highly talented teams. So to criticize HC for those 4 losses and dismissing our wins against all the others is misleading. You can only defeat those teams which you play against. I would hope someone more knowledgeable than I would fill in the positive details of both wins and losses as well. LoveHC And at 13-0, Michigan is currently #2 in the polls. No shame in that loss (nor in our not-insignificant halftime lead).
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Post by sader81 on Dec 30, 2018 17:24:12 GMT -5
HC takes a 9-4 record into PL play (including 3 wins over MAAC opponents). Now on to Loyola MD. Think it’s four - Siena 2, Iona & Canisius
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Post by rgs318 on Dec 30, 2018 17:25:00 GMT -5
In an aside, some HC fans said that we looked like a much better team once #11 (Benzan) came into the game. He did not score a lot, but he did show leadership on the court and chipped in with 4 points, 5 rebounds, 2 steals and 2 assists. He had no turnovers. It does help to be an experienced senior.
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Post by rgs318 on Dec 30, 2018 17:25:45 GMT -5
HC takes a 9-4 record into PL play (including 3 wins over MAAC opponents). Now on to Loyola MD. Think it’s four - Siena 2, Iona & Canisius Right you are. I should have said over 3 MAAC opponents.
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Post by bringbackcaro on Dec 30, 2018 17:31:52 GMT -5
The “young team” excuse doesn’t carry water with the number of players who have either been thrown off the team/out of school or are non-contributors as upper classmen. You don’t get to have that many scholarship misses & disciplinary issues, then get to make an excuse that the team is young. 9-4 is certainly a better record that what’s been happening the last few years of dreadful basketball, but a 2-4* record vs teams with a winning record leaves something to be desired. 10-3 with a win over URI or Harvard would have made this a much more impressive OOC. But my biggest issue is that the team has not been playing good basketball in the four games since the big UMASS win, including the last 3 against teams who are 3-8, 5-8, 2-9. *corrected Yawns, exaggerated eye roll, yawns (again)....enjoys the W. Cheers. The best college basketball analyst this side of Dick Vitale, ladies and gentlemen! Great stuff! Cheers!
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purple71
Crusader Century Club
Posts: 169
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Post by purple71 on Dec 30, 2018 17:34:05 GMT -5
I have stayed away from the Board the last couple of years as I found that it seemed that “camps” were developing vis a vis CBC. I have seen the team play twice in person this year and liked what I saw (Albany and Siena). The Siena game was the first time I saw the facility improvements, WOW! I guess my point is that wins over UMass, Iona and Siena twice are good win in an historical context as we have struggled against those same teams in the past. I really don’t see the need to deprecate those wins. I really have an issue with criticism of players such as occurred on the Iona Board today,particularly so given the anonymity of the internet. At the risk of sounding like a cheerleader (perhaps a synonym for a proud alum) I look forward to a winning season and a long relationship with CBC.
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Post by Ray on Dec 30, 2018 17:36:39 GMT -5
Post game, Dick Lutsk said this was HC's best OOC start in 10-12 years. 2005-2006 went 6-7 OOC 2006-2007 went 8-6 OOC 2007-2008 went 8-5 OOC 2008-2009 went 4-10 OOC So I am not sure what his reference years is. 2007-08 was 9-4 OOC, 10-4 if you include the February win over Northeastern.
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Post by rgs318 on Dec 30, 2018 17:51:00 GMT -5
As to the Iona site... 1. It looks like a clone of the glorified high school gym at Sacred Heart. 2. The layout is awful - buy tickets at an outdoor ticket window (in the cold), then walk along the front of the building to enter at a lower floor, then climb a flight of stairs and walk along a corridor to enter the gym - right across from where you bought your ticket. They kept those doors locked so you could not enter there. 3. The food looked to be OK, but the wait for food at the half was almost an hour and those who stayed the course missed the start of the second half. (Of course, if you waited, there was actually food there to be purchased). 4. The two large video boards were impressive, but they were not used often to show video of the game. They did show the disallowed shot and a couple of foul calls (like the double technicals). I wish we had similar boards at the Hart.
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Post by efg72 on Dec 30, 2018 18:11:04 GMT -5
In an aside, some HC fans said that we looked like a much better team once #11 (Benzan) came into the game. He did not score a lot, but he did show leadership on the court and chipped in with 4 points, 5 rebounds, 2 steals and 2 assists. It does help to be an experienced senior. Perhaps for today and please understand I truly love his energy but with all respect he deserves I think we will be significantly better with our guard recruits next year-
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Post by KY Crusader 75 on Dec 30, 2018 18:19:09 GMT -5
How about this gem of a post from a delusional Iona supporter on the Iona board:
"I say this with all seriousness, I could guard the Holy Cross players 1-3. I’m 5’10 and have about 3 inches on them. Embarrassing defensive effort."
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Post by hchoops on Dec 30, 2018 18:22:21 GMT -5
Was the author “tiny Archibald, or Calvin Murphy ?
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