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Post by trimster on Jan 6, 2023 10:47:32 GMT -5
Up 5 with 21 seconds to go with a foul to give. Along with the turnover by Bo and the missed second FT, I thought that we should have committed a foul there. Having said that, Dorsey played excellent D on O’Neil who made a tremendous shot…as did Sprouse at the end. As SOV indicated, the finish was reminiscent of the end of the Loyola (Chic) game in November, 2009 where we were up 8 with about 1:20 to go and lost the game in regulation. Also made me think of the Halley’s Comet PL tournament run in 2016 where Champion hit the 3 pointer vs. Bucknell in the first OT. Why was I reminded of that? Because like tonight, most of the time in my memory HC has been on the wrong end of those last minute finishes (UMASS at the Hart Center in 1977, UCONN at the Boston Garden in 1980, Perry Moss of Northeastern in the ECAC North tournament in the early ‘80s, Jean Prioleau of Fordham in the inaugural PL tournament in ‘91, the ‘09 Loyola game and the game tonight) but that was one time when fortune favored HC. The cliche is that “things even out over the long haul”. If true, HC should have many future moments to enjoy. Last year's women's semi-final playoff game vs. AWP. BTW, the UMass game that you reference was actually a 1978 game. (Was it Mike Pyatt who hit the buzzer-beater from half-court?) A Sports Illustrated writer was in the house working on an article on basketball "pits". While the Hart was certainly a "pit" those days (I believe our record since the opening was 30-3), that loss eliminated us from being included in the article. The UMass player was Derek Claiborne. Pyatt may have been the player who tied up Garry Witts with a bearhug in the corner that somehow wasn't a foul and created the jump ball which, well you know the rest.
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Post by hchoops on Jan 6, 2023 10:49:05 GMT -5
One key to our competing vs AU was we lost the rebounding by only 41-37 This while playing most of the time vs two 6’10”s with a 7 footer coming off the bench
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Post by Tom on Jan 6, 2023 10:54:45 GMT -5
It is really amazing how competitive we have been so far in the PL. IMO this team: 1) lacks size 2) does not shoot very well 3) does not have a true PG 4) is really poor at ball handling, and 5) has very little depth And yet their defense has been so outstanding that they have been in every league game so far. The "core 6" have really gelled together. We have something right now with this group. You could tell the last couple minutes + OT that our starters were out of gas, especially Bo. Bo and Dorsey both played more than 40 minutes. That's a lot for a college game
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Post by hchoops on Jan 6, 2023 10:56:14 GMT -5
Up 5 with 21 seconds to go with a foul to give. Along with the turnover by Bo and the missed second FT, I thought that we should have committed a foul there. Having said that, Dorsey played excellent D on O’Neil who made a tremendous shot…as did Sprouse at the end. As SOV indicated, the finish was reminiscent of the end of the Loyola (Chic) game in November, 2009 where we were up 8 with about 1:20 to go and lost the game in regulation. Also made me think of the Halley’s Comet PL tournament run in 2016 where Champion hit the 3 pointer vs. Bucknell in the first OT. Why was I reminded of that? Because like tonight, most of the time in my memory HC has been on the wrong end of those last minute finishes (UMASS at the Hart Center in 1977, UCONN at the Boston Garden in 1980, Perry Moss of Northeastern in the ECAC North tournament in the early ‘80s, Jean Prioleau of Fordham in the inaugural PL tournament in ‘91, the ‘09 Loyola game and the game tonight) but that was one time when fortune favored HC. The cliche is that “things even out over the long haul”. If true, HC should have many future moments to enjoy. Last year's women's semi-final playoff game vs. AWP. BTW, the UMass game that you reference was actually a 1978 game. (Was it Mike Pyatt who hit the buzzer-beater from half-court?) A Sports Illustrated writer was in the house working on an article on basketball "pits". While the Hart was certainly a "pit" those days (I believe our record since the opening was 30-3), that loss eliminated us from being included in the article. [bra I coached against Mike Pyatt when he played for Bishop Dubois in Manhattan He was a very good HS player, skilled and athletic
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Post by crusader1970 on Jan 6, 2023 11:28:45 GMT -5
When our future opponents watch the film of this game, I would be surprised if we don't see more full court pressure.
Granted HC was tired at the point that AU put the press on, but, frankly, we looked ill-prepared and confused when it came down to getting the ball out of the backcourt.
Hopefully, Nelson picked up on this and will work on it in practice.
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Post by cmo on Jan 6, 2023 13:39:07 GMT -5
If you watch the game tying shot, Sprouse starts his motion before the inbounder had the ball ( was this by design or was he antsy?) we defended him pretty well trying to get over the top. As a result of starting his motion early, he had time to come back down, use a back screen and then get to the corner.
Tough break.
Great shot.
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Post by hchoops on Jan 6, 2023 13:49:59 GMT -5
You referring to foot, not hand motion, correct ?
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Post by notjuanjones on Jan 6, 2023 14:09:54 GMT -5
If you watch the game tying shot, Sprouse starts his motion before the inbounder had the ball ( was this by design or was he antsy?) we defended him pretty well trying to get over the top. As a result of starting his motion early, he had time to come back down, use a back screen and then get to the corner. Tough break. Great shot. He wasn't antsy. It's a great play design. Sprouse fakes a curl around O'Neil to start the action, then doubles back the opposite way and executes an Iverson cut to perfection. (If you look at the replays, you can see Brennan pointing to the corner before Stephens inbounds the ball, because that's where Sprouse is supposed to wind up – which, he does). It works because the defender (Kenney) is face guarding Sprouse on the inbounds, not trailing him. So Kenney is just a tick late reacting to the Iverson cut. But, he recovers well, and then does a really good job of contesting the shot with his opposite (left) hand, rather than challenging with his right hand, which may have sent him into Sprouse's body, drawing a foul. The pass is perfect, and Sprouse does an incredible job of catching, gathering and shooting in one motion. Great shooters make that look easy. It isn't.
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Post by hchoops on Jan 6, 2023 14:16:17 GMT -5
Nice breakdown Just to add that because he is a lefty, Kenney almost always blocks shots with his left hand.
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Post by cmo on Jan 6, 2023 14:51:26 GMT -5
If you watch the game tying shot, Sprouse starts his motion before the inbounder had the ball ( was this by design or was he antsy?) we defended him pretty well trying to get over the top. As a result of starting his motion early, he had time to come back down, use a back screen and then get to the corner. Tough break. Great shot. He wasn't antsy. It's a great play design. Sprouse fakes a curl around O'Neil to start the action, then doubles back the opposite way and executes an Iverson cut to perfection. (If you look at the replays, you can see Brennan pointing to the corner before Stephens inbounds the ball, because that's where Sprouse is supposed to wind up – which, he does). It works because the defender (Kenney) is face guarding Sprouse on the inbounds, not trailing him. So Kenney is just a tick late reacting to the Iverson cut. But, he recovers well, and then does a really good job of contesting the shot with his opposite (left) hand, rather than challenging with his right hand, which may have sent him into Sprouse's body, drawing a foul. The pass is perfect, and Sprouse does an incredible job of catching, gathering and shooting in one motion. Great shooters make that look easy. It isn't. Executed perfectly
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Post by alum on Jan 6, 2023 14:58:04 GMT -5
Kevin Gale has gotten annoying with his repetitiveness. He constantly uses terms like HC playing “small ball” now. We have played small ball since game 1. Louth’s two game season and Rabs’ cameos were our only lineups with players taller than the 8 who currently play.( a bit of Wilbar excepted) He also makes more than a few errors. Sometimes I wonder what game he is watching. I would be happy if he retired, "hoop and harm" as well.
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Post by timholycross on Jan 6, 2023 14:58:15 GMT -5
Last year's women's semi-final playoff game vs. AWP. BTW, the UMass game that you reference was actually a 1978 game. (Was it Mike Pyatt who hit the buzzer-beater from half-court?) A Sports Illustrated writer was in the house working on an article on basketball "pits". While the Hart was certainly a "pit" those days (I believe our record since the opening was 30-3), that loss eliminated us from being included in the article. The UMass player was Derek Claiborne. Pyatt may have been the player who tied up Garry Witts with a bearhug in the corner that somehow wasn't a foul and created the jump ball which, well you know the rest. All I remember was the guy was facing the other basket, grabbed it and threw it up in the correct direction in one motion. It was probably a 25 footer or thereabouts and had an arc several feet higher than a normal shot. Don't think it touched the rim and I don't think it would have gone in if it did with that trajectory. Vicens, Potter and company beat that bunch at least 5 times; they were pretty good so, overall, not much to complain about there. Maybe that cost us a NIT bid, but that was a strange set of circumstances that caused a 20-6 team to not get invited anywhere.
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Post by Ignutz on Jan 6, 2023 15:44:54 GMT -5
The UMass player was Derek Claiborne. Pyatt may have been the player who tied up Garry Witts with a bearhug in the corner that somehow wasn't a foul and created the jump ball which, well you know the rest. All I remember was the guy was facing the other basket, grabbed it and threw it up in the correct direction in one motion. It was probably a 25 footer or thereabouts and had an arc several feet higher than a normal shot. Don't think it touched the rim and I don't think it would have gone in if it did with that trajectory. Vicens, Potter and company beat that bunch at least 5 times; they were pretty good so, overall, not much to complain about there. Maybe that cost us a NIT bid, but that was a strange set of circumstances that caused a 20-6 team to not get invited anywhere. Certainly a post-season disappointment after NIT in '75 and '76 and the NCAA trip in '77. One would have thought that twenty wins, throwing a scare into #1 Michigan a year earlier, our pre-season SI #9 ranking and mid-season rankings in the low teens would have at least put us in MSG - despite losing three of our last five games, two of which were close losses to ranked teams (and one of which likely would not have occurred if it weren't for Joey Hassett's blatant (non-called) elbow cheap shot to Leo Kane's head. Leo was absolutely shutting him down prior to that, but had too come out of the game.
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Post by trimster on Jan 6, 2023 16:56:00 GMT -5
If you watch the game tying shot, Sprouse starts his motion before the inbounder had the ball ( was this by design or was he antsy?) we defended him pretty well trying to get over the top. As a result of starting his motion early, he had time to come back down, use a back screen and then get to the corner. Tough break. Great shot. In retrospect, I think the foul with 3 seconds left worked to AU's benefit.
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Post by efg72 on Jan 6, 2023 18:02:19 GMT -5
In a perfect world that happened at 1.5 or 2 seconds. But a great OB play, well executed, and they made a big shot.
I thought Dorsey kept us in the game by never letting the taller and talented O’Neill get into a rhythm/flow. We had chances to pull away but AU never let it get out of reach. Give them credit as that is a pretty good team, and we were able to compete
As someone mentioned 2-1 after 3 games was at best a dream.
I am still shocked by the defensive performance, because it has never, and I repeat never, been played near this level since Nelson arrived, and probably for a few years before his leading the program.
Who came in over the break to move us there? Did Nelson just hand it over to RJ and staff? Did he realize delegating responsibilities can make him a better coach and HC a better team?
I would be shocked if it just happened without one of those options, and if correct that would go down as the best coaching decision Nelson made in his time at Holy Cross
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Post by Xmassader on Jan 6, 2023 18:03:07 GMT -5
Up 5 with 21 seconds to go with a foul to give. Along with the turnover by Bo and the missed second FT, I thought that we should have committed a foul there. Having said that, Dorsey played excellent D on O’Neil who made a tremendous shot…as did Sprouse at the end. As SOV indicated, the finish was reminiscent of the end of the Loyola (Chic) game in November, 2009 where we were up 8 with about 1:20 to go and lost the game in regulation. Also made me think of the Halley’s Comet PL tournament run in 2016 where Champion hit the 3 pointer vs. Bucknell in the first OT. Why was I reminded of that? Because like tonight, most of the time in my memory HC has been on the wrong end of those last minute finishes (UMASS at the Hart Center in 1977, UCONN at the Boston Garden in 1980, Perry Moss of Northeastern in the ECAC North tournament in the early ‘80s, Jean Prioleau of Fordham in the inaugural PL tournament in ‘91, the ‘09 Loyola game and the game tonight) but that was one time when fortune favored HC. The cliche is that “things even out over the long haul”. If true, HC should have many future moments to enjoy. Last year's women's semi-final playoff game vs. AWP. BTW, the UMass game that you reference was actually a 1978 game. (Was it Mike Pyatt who hit the buzzer-beater from half-court?) A Sports Illustrated writer was in the house working on an article on basketball "pits". While the Hart was certainly a "pit" those days (I believe our record since the opening was 30-3), that loss eliminated us from being included in the article. Ignutz You’re correct. Had the year wrong for the UMass game but the pain right.
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Post by timholycross on Jan 6, 2023 19:39:32 GMT -5
All I remember was the guy was facing the other basket, grabbed it and threw it up in the correct direction in one motion. It was probably a 25 footer or thereabouts and had an arc several feet higher than a normal shot. Don't think it touched the rim and I don't think it would have gone in if it did with that trajectory. Vicens, Potter and company beat that bunch at least 5 times; they were pretty good so, overall, not much to complain about there. Maybe that cost us a NIT bid, but that was a strange set of circumstances that caused a 20-6 team to not get invited anywhere. Certainly a post-season disappointment after NIT in '75 and '76 and the NCAA trip in '77. One would have thought that twenty wins, throwing a scare into #1 Michigan a year earlier, our pre-season SI #9 ranking and mid-season rankings in the low teens would have at least put us in MSG - despite losing three of our last five games, two of which were close losses to ranked teams (and one of which likely would not have occurred if it weren't for Joey Hassett's blatant (non-called) elbow cheap shot to Leo Kane's head. Leo was absolutely shutting him down prior to that, but had too come out of the game. I think HC was in the wrong place at the wrong time. The NIT decided to invite a lot more teams from the big, further away leagues; move the games to campus sites; and not increase the number of teams in the tournament (16...became 32 after a few years). They invited Rutgers, Fairfield and Army as local schools, no one else.
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Post by Crosser on Jan 6, 2023 20:52:51 GMT -5
I keep thinking that if we had only made a couple more of all those missed bunnies we had in the first half we would have had a little more cushion in the final minute and could have denied American’s heroics. Gut punch loss, but we now seem to be in a better place than we were in the OOC games.
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Post by DiMarz on Jan 6, 2023 21:10:02 GMT -5
I keep thinking that if we had only made a couple more of all those missed bunnies we had in the first half we would have had a little more cushion in the final minute and could have denied American’s heroics. Gut punch loss, but we now seem to be in a better place than we were in the OOC games. Players forget how important the early part of the game is the final part of the game...I preached "play every possession like the final one in the game".. I don't know if it helped, but it seemed like a good thought to get the kids to focus early... "
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