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| Username | Post: Virginia Tech |
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bradley PhD Student Posts 1842 |
03-15-16 03:53 PM - Post#204573
Tigers are 3 pt underdog against VT -- not bad. Realtime has the Tigers losing 79-72. VT will probably have a noisy ACC crowd attending the game. Against Miami and Maryland, the Tigers more athletic players --- Bell, Caruso, Cook and Cannady competed at a high level. Bell has regressed somewhat but let's see how the Tigers perform. Against Miami and Maryland, Weisz and Cook had their 3 pt shots off. It would be nice to see the Tigers play well against good competition. |
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Tiger69 Postdoc Posts 2816 |
03-15-16 04:27 PM - Post#204579
Another chance to show what we can do against a Power Conference opponent. We'll need to win games like this next year if we want to go anywhere. |
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SRP Postdoc Posts 4911 |
03-15-16 04:56 PM - Post#204582
Mildly surprise the world! |
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TigerFan PhD Student Posts 1890 |
03-16-16 08:08 PM - Post#204689
Great start! Up 12-2 at the under 16 mark. |
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TigerFan PhD Student Posts 1890 |
03-16-16 08:18 PM - Post#204691
Suddenly a lid on the basket. Hokies score 11 in a row. Down 13-12 |
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TigerFan PhD Student Posts 1890 |
03-16-16 08:18 PM - Post#204692
Getting open shots. Just gotta make em. |
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1LotteryPick1969 Postdoc Posts 2275 
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03-16-16 08:23 PM - Post#204693
I can't look at Buzz Williams without thinking his head is going to explode. |
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TigerFan PhD Student Posts 1890 |
03-16-16 08:23 PM - Post#204694
Not Carusos best tonight. Air from wide open 3. TO Uggh 17-12 |
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1LotteryPick1969 Postdoc Posts 2275
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03-16-16 08:27 PM - Post#204695
Lots of hand action on defense by the Hokies; refs not calling it. |
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Old Bear Postdoc Posts 3998 |
03-16-16 08:33 PM - Post#204696
Buzz's collar is too tight PU looks a little tight from 3. |
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TigerFan PhD Student Posts 1890 |
03-16-16 08:34 PM - Post#204698
Not our night. Not just missing open shots but missing BADLY. Bricks and near air balls. Va Tech is good but this is really a disappointing showing by the Tigers. Down 28-17. |
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TigerFan PhD Student Posts 1890 |
03-16-16 08:38 PM - Post#204699
I stand corrected. Mitch calls a timeout. Tigers turn up the defensive pressure, start hitting shots and score 7 straight. 28-24 with the ball at under 4 timeout. |
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1LotteryPick1969 Postdoc Posts 2275
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03-16-16 08:47 PM - Post#204701
Nice comeback. But Bell misses open three, then ill-fated drive to hoop before the end of the half. |
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TigerFan PhD Student Posts 1890 |
03-16-16 08:47 PM - Post#204702
Terrible non-call on Bell drive to the hoop, Hokies foul (no call) run the other way for a breakaway hoop as the buzzer sounds. Down 6 at the break after a brutal 4-point swing. That hurts! |
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gokinsmen Postdoc Posts 3669 |
03-16-16 08:49 PM - Post#204703
Homecourt refs giving us zero FTs despite getting hammered every drive. Other than that, a ton of missed wide-open 3s. Playing way below our ability, but it'll be good experience either way. VT is being physical, so that's good preparation for next year. |
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TigerFan PhD Student Posts 1890 |
03-16-16 08:50 PM - Post#204704
After brilliant start, Tigers go 7 minutes without scoring, go down 11, come back to trail by 6 at half. With 9 first half turnovers and 4/16 shooting from beyond the arc, score could be worse. |
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gokinsmen Postdoc Posts 3669 |
03-16-16 09:08 PM - Post#204711
Game over. We're getting easy wide-open 3s every single time but can't make them. Homecourt is huge for VT. The guys look like they just want to go home right now. |
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TigerFan PhD Student Posts 1890 |
03-16-16 09:08 PM - Post#204713
The Tigers just keep missing w-i-d-e o-p-e-n threes. They mind as well be shooting from half court. Down 11. If they start hitting they could come back quickly but so far very frustrating game. |
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sparman PhD Student Posts 1347 
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03-16-16 09:10 PM - Post#204715
When they go into masonry mode, they really do some major building. |
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TigerFan PhD Student Posts 1890 |
03-16-16 09:13 PM - Post#204716
Cook has started driving the ball and scoring to cut lead to 8. Others just keep getting wide open threes and missing. Will the kid ever come off the hoop? |
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TigerFan PhD Student Posts 1890 |
03-16-16 09:14 PM - Post#204717
Ther are new brick structures all over Blacksburg. |
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gokinsmen Postdoc Posts 3669 |
03-16-16 09:17 PM - Post#204718
It's comical how clear and easy these 3pt looks are. No one within 8ft of the shooter on most of these tries. I'd give VT more credit, but this just happens every now and then -- in the Columbia OT thriller, the guys shot 6-21 from deep. *shrug* Caruso and Cannady seem to have hit the wall. Caruso isn't used to playing this much and Devin is a freshman so that's probably just "the rookie wall." |
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TigerFan PhD Student Posts 1890 |
03-16-16 09:25 PM - Post#204721
Missing all these wide open threes is bad enough. Your 6-11 center taking a beautiful feed and missing a bunny (instead of dunking the ball) is just ridiculous. Then Amir misses a free throw. Just not our night. Virginia Tech seems to have one guy but otherwise we match up very well. |
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sparman PhD Student Posts 1347
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03-16-16 09:26 PM - Post#204722
While Tigers are shooting just 20% on 3PT, VT is only shooting 15% (2-13). This game is winnable if they can, um, wake up. |
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sparman PhD Student Posts 1347
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03-16-16 09:27 PM - Post#204724
Well, maybe not, after that prayer. |
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TigerFan PhD Student Posts 1890 |
03-16-16 09:44 PM - Post#204725
What a crazy game! Tigers up 61-60 after Cooks behind the back pass to Bell for the THREEE!!!! |
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gokinsmen Postdoc Posts 3669 |
03-16-16 10:02 PM - Post#204728
Despite my anti-jinx, that horrible, humiliating unforced TO is going to cost us this game. Just a mental freeze by Weisz. |
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gokinsmen Postdoc Posts 3669 |
03-16-16 10:07 PM - Post#204729
We had our chance. Mental collapse costs us another big game. |
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gokinsmen Postdoc Posts 3669 |
03-16-16 10:19 PM - Post#204730
Mental mistakes and homecooked refs. Not a good combo. Disappointing season for our guys. What else is new? More of the same coming next season. |
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sparman PhD Student Posts 1347
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03-16-16 10:20 PM - Post#204731
Another chapter in the long book called Opportunities Extended But Not Seized. Team played hard throughout, at least. The game was disappointing, but not the season. |
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TigerFan PhD Student Posts 1890 |
03-16-16 10:30 PM - Post#204733
Really disappointing outcome. Tigers played well in spurts in a really tough environment against a good (clearly not great) team. We shot terribly, the officiating was horrendous, but our guys played with a lot of guts and this is good experience for next year. Up 2 with the ball with 30 seconds left, who would have thought that Weisz, of all people, would lose his composure and throw it out of bounds... If Brennan had just come down with the rebound of Canadays miss at the end of regulation, I think he had plenty of time to gather and jam it for the win. He almost made an unnecessarily difficult tip-in. So I have the same awful feeling in the pit of my stomach I did at the end of the season in '76, '83, '89, '90, '91, '92, '97, '98, '99, '11 (and I'm sure I'm missing some). We lose a game we easily could have won to a major conference team. Well at least I decided against driving to Blacksburg. |
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gokinsmen Postdoc Posts 3669 |
03-16-16 10:33 PM - Post#204734
The final minutes of regulation perfectly sum up a Mitch Henderson Princeton Team. 1) Brilliantly drawn-up play to confuse VT and get Stephens an easy bucket. 2) Losing mental focus on a simple inbounds play causing a game-costing TO. Carmody is doing the exact opposite for Holy Cross. He's always -- and only -- winning the big games. Our guys need to go on some sort of corporate Tony Robbins retreat or something. They keep choking in big situations. |
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TigerFan PhD Student Posts 1890 |
03-16-16 10:37 PM - Post#204735
You can't hold anything agaijst Mitch for that game. We could not make open shots and the officiating was just awful. He kept the team's head in the game even when things appeared very bleak. That is a really difficult place to play and our guys--players and coaches--gave it a hell of an effort. |
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thelaird Freshman Posts 33 
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03-16-16 10:41 PM - Post#204736
Come'on down 11 five minutes into the second half, great game by a very good team that's coming back next year.....these kids played their heart out all season...I'm sure they are disappointed, but I enjoyed every minute. I hope that MH is back next year, this is his team, first (?) completely recruited team he has molded in his image, forget the past, live for the future.... |
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bradley PhD Student Posts 1842 |
03-16-16 10:41 PM - Post#204737
During the 1st half, a game of incredible runs --- Tigers up 12-2 then down 28-17, then 28-26, then 36-30 at half time. Down by 11 pts with 8 minutes to go but a remarkable comeback. Weisz inbound pass to Caruso going out of bounds was a killer with Tigers up by 2 with 26 seconds to go. Cannady open shot with no time left and rims out. At the end of the day, the Tigers could not handle 6'7" forward with size. They need some additional height and bulk with Brase coming back plus Miller/Brennan need to get much stronger. So many little things added up to a loss. If they only hit a few additional 3s' on wide open shots. Upside was absolutely no quit and they stayed calm under a lot of pressure when they were down by 11 points during most of the 2nd half. They also did it at a very loud ACC crowd. Cook and Cannady -- no fear and just as athletic as VT players. |
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TigerFan PhD Student Posts 1890 |
03-16-16 10:55 PM - Post#204738
Big four point swing at end of first half. It looked to me like Bell got hammered going to the hoop but instead there is no call, the shot is "blocked" and Tech runs the other way to score on break with 1 second left. Big swing right there! |
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thelaird Freshman Posts 33
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03-16-16 10:58 PM - Post#204739
What about the no-look three with time running out in the air, can't defended against that... |
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gokinsmen Postdoc Posts 3669 |
03-16-16 10:59 PM - Post#204741
Every season, there's a new excuse for choking down the stretch. The truth is EVERY single team has obstacles and weaknesses -- it's just that the good ones overcome them. Yale had to deal with the whole Montague situation and they did fine -- beat us, held serve and they're dancing. That's how it's done. Personally, I'd like to move on from MH this summer to have a chance at avoiding the inevitable choke job next year against Harvard. But since that won't happen, he needs to deliver a title AND a NCAA upset. That's the only way to make up for his repeated choke jobs. MH is a great basketball mind, but he hasn't gotten it done even once since he's been here, and he's running out of excuses. At some point, his skills as a motivator have to be questioned. Our guys are always falling short and making big mistakes down the stretch. |
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gokinsmen Postdoc Posts 3669 |
03-16-16 11:06 PM - Post#204746
As for the officiating, it was biased in terms of FTs/contact, but hey that happens. Unless you're Duke, you're gonna deal with that. No more excuses for an endless string of horrible choke jobs in big games. If it weren't for Devin Cannady's individual magic touch, this season would really have been ugly and program-destroying. |
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bradley PhD Student Posts 1842 |
03-16-16 11:09 PM - Post#204747
So I guess your point is that the Tigers wins against Yale and Columbia (2) was just a mirage as apparently, you think that the Tigers should be simply rolling over the competition. They were two points away from being 13-1 and in a playoff with Yale after being one game down to Yale after the loss in New Haven. 12-2 gives the Tigers the Ivy crown or playoff game in 80%+ of the seasons. They finished 22-7 with no seniors and they just simply cannot get it done?? They go to Blacksburg in front of an intense crowd and make a comeback. If they lose next year to a potentially dominant Harvard team, the Tigers will have choked due to Mitch? Let's get a little reality going. They have actually taken the next step from where they were last year and they are positioned to the next step if Harvard freshmen cooperate. |
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TigerFan PhD Student Posts 1890 |
03-16-16 11:15 PM - Post#204748
What about the no-look three with time running out in the air, can't defended against that... Yup that was nuts. Came at the tail end of a great defensive stand too. A real heartbreaker... |
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Vonsid Sophomore Posts 145 |
03-16-16 11:20 PM - Post#204749
As for the officiating, it was biased in terms of FTs/contact, but hey that happens. Unless you're Duke, you're gonna deal with that. No more excuses for an endless string of horrible choke jobs in big games. If it weren't for Devin Cannady's individual magic touch, this season would really have been ugly and program-destroying. I've been lurking here for 5 or so years. I signed up tonight to literally say that I can't stand your posts and negativity. A new brand of basketball is being built at Princeton. High octane. MH has done a fantastic job of instituting the change and is finally getting to oversee his own players. HINT: We weren't even supposed to be in this position at the beginning of the season!!! Nobody agrees with you that MH was the problem tonight. Hats off to MH, BE, and the rest of the Tigers. I cannot wait for next year...it's going to be a lot of fun. |
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thelaird Freshman Posts 33
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03-16-16 11:35 PM - Post#204752
Of course Columbia could say the same thing......a great season to build on for the Tigers |
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sparman PhD Student Posts 1347
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03-16-16 11:41 PM - Post#204753
If you're criticizing Mitch for never quite winning the big one, you may not remember the number of tournament games almost won but ultimately lost under Pete Carril. |
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TigerFan PhD Student Posts 1890 |
03-16-16 11:41 PM - Post#204754
Vonsid, welcome out of the shadows. And amen to you post. This year exceeded expectations and next year should be a hell of a lot of fun. Go Tigers! |
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umbrellaman Masters Student Posts 476 
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03-16-16 11:42 PM - Post#204755
Look the screw up by high basketball IQ Weisz is hard to take. But I was amazed by the team's ability to withstand the speed and pressure by VT. I don't think that choking is the hallmark of Henderson's teams. I do think that compared to JTIII, and SJ he is an offensive coach, not a defensive one. And defense is less likely to go cold on road weekend - that is the secret of Yale's success - and for all the firepower that the Harvard teams had they were largely defense first squads. So the run and gunning Tigers are fun to watch - but Championships are won with defense. Did see some great disruption of passing lanes in the second half, but losing Stephens to fouls on defense was a big turning point. |
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bradley PhD Student Posts 1842 |
03-17-16 12:06 AM - Post#204757
I believe that the Tigers have made improvement regarding how they defend during the past year and I believe that it is backed up by statistics. The players have demonstrated commitment to defense and rebounding. They are small with Caruso and Stephens on the floor when they are playing big guys but Stephens clearly has defensive ability. Tonight, Brennan,Miller, Bell and other contested shots. The team does need more bulk and strength. I agree that the next step includes taking defense to another level as Harvard will have multiple bigs next year. Yale has the benefit of Sears, Sherrod and Victor on the front line with size and strength and I would not be the least bit surprised if they compete against Baylor on the boards. |
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JadwinGeorge Senior Posts 357 |
03-17-16 08:20 AM - Post#204764
Thank heavens you arrived. I thought it was just me. I don't know why kinsmen bothers to watch these kids at all. He surely has the right to his opinion, as I do. In my opinion kinsmen is an genius. |
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bradley PhD Student Posts 1842 |
03-17-16 09:03 AM - Post#204765
A friend of mine who is not a Tiger fan watched the game last night after seeing the Princeton/St. Joe's game earlier in the year. He accurately described the game as heart breaking and thought that the key play was the failed inbounds pass by Weisz with less than 30 seconds to play -- very surprising play by Weisz considering his track record throughout the year. He also thought that Brennan had sufficient time to catch Cannady's missed shot at the end of regulation and put it back in vs. trying to tip in -- possibly, due to his inexperience. At the end of the day, he was very impressed with Princeton's athleticism and the back door cuts but thought that Princeton needs to develop an inside game rather than placing too much emphasis on 3 pt shots. Coaching staff does need to work with Miller and Brennan to get some type of interior offensive presence if at all possible. |
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Tiger69 Postdoc Posts 2816 |
03-17-16 11:21 AM - Post#204769
A tough way to end a season that certainly had some exciting moments -- it will be an especially difficult one for Spencer, who has WON so many games for us with the right play at the right time, to put behind him. But, moving on. We have a great cast of hungry players returning who are also fun to watch. There's lots of work to be done to make this an even better team. It even appears that we have a slightly growing and younger fan base on this board who will, eventually, grow to understand that OGs like Gokinsmen and me are frustrated Tigers who are running out of time and are prone to use any self-deceiving superstition we can think of to get our Guys to bleed another win. "Tune every heart ... ". It is going to be a looong offseason. 
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1LotteryPick1969 Postdoc Posts 2275
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03-17-16 11:22 AM - Post#204770
We are very vulnerable to any team with a big man who can score inside/outside, and defend the paint: Stony Brook, St. Jo, now V Tech. I don't think Miller will ever have that inside game you want, nor do I think Brennan is likely to develop one. Brase shooting the three ball is the only weapon that would have opened up the middle for Weisz et al. FYI here is what they said after the game: LeDay: “They didn’t run an offense necessarily at the end of the game. They were just going off the dribble and taking advantage of mismatches, and once we contained the dribble, we were good. We knew we could score on offense." |
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puband09 Masters Student Posts 782 |
03-17-16 12:37 PM - Post#204773
Tiger69, I have always been under the impression that gokinsmen is closer to my age than yours, haha! I share in some of gokinsmen's frustration. We haven't been consistently good in over a decade. There have been flashes of goodness (SJ's final two years, and even this year), but we all know some level of consistency is what any good program needs. During my first few years as a Tigers fan, I watched optimistically, hoping that each year might be the one where we turned the page and started winning (conference) championships again. After 11 years of waiting, I can't help but roll my eyes a bit when people mention things like our "program" or "legacy." Unlike gokinsmen, I don't think MH shoulders all the blame. I think the Athl. Dept. needs to reevaluate its commitment to winning at men's basketball. |
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sparman PhD Student Posts 1347
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03-17-16 12:40 PM - Post#204774
We are very vulnerable to any team with a big man who can score inside/outside, and defend the paint: Stony Brook, St. Jo, now V Tech This has been our issue as long as I can remember - which, while not as long as it used to be, still predates Mitch. |
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1LotteryPick1969 Postdoc Posts 2275
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03-17-16 02:28 PM - Post#204781
We are very vulnerable to any team with a big man who can score inside/outside, and defend the paint: Stony Brook, St. Jo, now V Tech This has been our issue as long as I can remember - which, while not as long as it used to be, still predates Mitch. So what you are saying is, you don't remember Chris Thomforde or Andy Rimol? 
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IvyHoopsFan01 Freshman Posts 68 |
03-17-16 03:16 PM - Post#204783
I agree that this issue should be better addressed. MH would be smart to consider significantly tweaking his recruiting approach in the near future (especially after next season when the Tigers graduate a lot of talented seniors). In past, the smaller Princeton teams could match up fairly well with other Ivies who typically played only one true post or big body forward player at a time combined with four guards/wing players. Harvard’s incoming freshman class will change the dynamic within the league due to their recruitment of four very athletic, huge wingspan and height recruits (Seth Towns 6’8â€, Chris Lewis 6’8â€, Robert Baker 6’9†and Henry Walsh 6’10â€) who will create tough match up issues for Princeton’s typical smaller (6’4†to 6’5â€), but athletic and skilled wing players. Moving forward, Harvard will probably have two athletic, immense wingspan players on the court at all times. Princeton should look to place higher priority on bringing in more 6’7†to 6’9†athletic forwards (like Yale’s new 4-star 6’9†Jordan Bruner) to better matchup with the Crimson and the Bulldogs. Along these lines, maybe MH will be able to secure Jarod Simmons of Cushing Academy, a big body 6’9†3-star recruit. |
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sparman PhD Student Posts 1347
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03-17-16 03:28 PM - Post#204784
Rimol, you have a point. Would you say Chris Thomforde was an inside presence who would have been able to handle today's kind of big men? |
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1LotteryPick1969 Postdoc Posts 2275
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03-17-16 03:32 PM - Post#204785
That's a really good question. The game has changed so much, so I can't be sure. He was certainly quick, and a good defender. I suspect he would hold his own on defense and would be able to score with his short jumper on offense. |
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umbrellaman Masters Student Posts 476
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03-17-16 03:37 PM - Post#204786
My sense is that post-Walters the Athletic Department seems to have recommitted itself to the Basketball program. One big difference is that the rest of the league has too. The days of on average winning every other championship are long gone. The program is competitive, we are continuing to attract good players, and looks to continue to contend for the title. If Harvard and Yale are going to contend because of the enhanced financial aid, and if Donahue revives Penn - right there is half the league. Columbia, Cornell appear to be serious and I just don't know enough about Brown and Dartmouth. But yeah, the team could use an athletic forward in the mold of a Kareem Maddox. |
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bradley PhD Student Posts 1842 |
03-17-16 04:08 PM - Post#204789
You described the perfect player, Kareem Maddox, that the Tigers needed this year and to a somewhat lesser degree next year with Brase's return although Maddox defended at a much higher level than Brase. Looking at the 1st half, Baylor could not dominate the boards against Yale but they would probably have dominated against the Tigers based on their size -- Stephens could simply not compete based on his size vs. Miller/Brennan. My opinion is that Mitch absolutely needs to get Miller/Brennan and Brase on the floor at the same time next year not only against Harvard but big large non-conference teams if you want to compete at the Big Dance. Caruso can give you instant offense off the bench. Sears, Sherrod and Victor can compete and Makai Mason is ridiculous. Do some critics now think that the Tigers impressive win against Yale at home was a step in the right direction??? |
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1LotteryPick1969 Postdoc Posts 2275
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03-17-16 04:10 PM - Post#204790
MH would be smart to consider significantly tweaking his recruiting approach in the near future (especially after next season when the Tigers graduate a lot of talented seniors). But wasn't that the track record at Northwestern also? For YEARS Carmody/Henderson attracted tall skinny shooters who could not match up with the horses in the Big 10.
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puband09 Masters Student Posts 782 |
03-17-16 04:33 PM - Post#204792
The days of on average winning every other championship are long gone. I think most posters here overblow this point. If Amaker leaves (and even more so if Jones also leaves) this League would start to look a lot like it did in the '90s, and a space could open up for a team to win every couple years. |
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TigerFan PhD Student Posts 1890 |
03-17-16 04:35 PM - Post#204793
So what you are saying is, you don't remember Chris Thomforde or Andy Rimol? The best Princeton teams of the '70s, '80s, '90s (and almost the '00s) had one thing in common: a center who could handle the ball, pass from the high post, set the high screen and nail a little hook shot. Rimol, Simkus, Mueller, Goodrich, Young (ah what might have been) could all do this. I think Pete Miller has come a long way (and was impressed by Brennan's defense last night), but we haven't had the classic Princeton "point center" in quite a while. I think that is the missing piece that differentiates what is a really good Princeton team from the great teams that won the league and games in the NCAA tournament. |
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IvyHoopsFan01 Freshman Posts 68 |
03-17-16 04:38 PM - Post#204794
Excellent point. I watched a ton of Northwestern games over the years. Under Carmody, NU would look good for three quarters, but lose in the fourth quarter as they would gradually wear down, get pounded on the offensive glass and have to overcome shooting a ton fewer free throws due to facing much more athletic Big ten teams. Carmody's style and recruiting approach is a perfect fit for the Patriot League, which struggles to recruit the more athletic, immense wingspan players. |
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sparman PhD Student Posts 1347
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03-17-16 04:42 PM - Post#204795
Fair enough as to offense, and good names, but my recollection is they tended to get so worn down playing D against the "horses" that their offense typically suffered as the game went on, a problem compounded by the very short or even non-existent rotations usually employed. Also, I defer to the experts, but is there really a role for the old "point center" on the offense as now run? |
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TigerFan PhD Student Posts 1890 |
03-17-16 04:52 PM - Post#204799
I may be dating myself with the "point center" reference but I don't remember Richie Simkus wearing down against Oklahoma State's Leroy Combs or Steve Goodrich tiring. |
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TigerFan PhD Student Posts 1890 |
03-17-16 04:54 PM - Post#204800
By the way folks, the fact that Yale is holding a strong lead over Baylor without Sears or Sherrod in the game is scary. They have a lot more coming back next year than I thought... |
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gokinsmen Postdoc Posts 3669 |
03-17-16 05:41 PM - Post#204838
Yale showing us how it's done. Great leadership from Jones and Mason. I hope Mitch and the players saw the game and learned something. Or at least got some motivation out of it -- that could have been us; that should have been us. But it wasn't. No more excuses and self-handicapping. No more "moral victories." The idea that no human being from the Ivy could possibly win a tough game is ridiculous. We just need to stay focused for 48 minutes. |
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SRP Postdoc Posts 4911 |
03-18-16 04:06 AM - Post#204865
As a defense-first kind of fan (who actually enjoyed watching Butler in those two NCAA runs to the Final Four and now gets a kick out of Wichita State), I have some issues with how MH puts a team together. This year I thought they took a step forward on D but needed to take two steps. Against VT, which had little good outside shooting, it was very frustrating to see the guys overextending and leaving the middle open, and to see so little zone defense. This team is made for the amoeba defense that Holy Cross has been using for the last five games with great success. On the offensive end, I do not really love the simplified version of the Princeton offense that we've seen this year, but on the whole it has been remarkably efficient. Against the Hokies, the Tigers got a ton of really good open treys and just couldn't hit a thing. The problem, of course, is that all that reliance on the trey creates high variance and some nights turn out like that. The St. Joe's game had the same feel. We need more good options for scoring inside, whether that be by post-up or cut to the hoop, because we won't always be able to find a favorable mismatch on drives against the better defensive teams. Miller was a good defensive option most of the year, but he really needs to be more involved offensively against stronger defenses. I think he's a good passer and it would be nice to see some possessions run through him at the mid-post or high post. We had one sequence against VT where Stephens played high-post center and scored on a beautiful fake handoff, counter spin, and drive to the basket. Don't expect to see that set very much, but it might not be a bad idea. Brennan looked pretty good against the Hokies--it might have been his best all-around game--but he still needs to work on a lot of things. The player who has disappointed me the most this year is probably Bell. He did many, many good things but except for one or two games tended to disappear when things weren't going well. You need your point guard to stop the bleeding, both during bad offensive possessions and during bad halves. At some point next year, Cannady may need to take the starting job with Bell coming off the bench. |
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palestra38 Professor Posts 32833 |
03-18-16 08:17 AM - Post#204870
40 minutes in college.... |
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1LotteryPick1969 Postdoc Posts 2275
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03-18-16 08:25 AM - Post#204871
Against VT, which had little good outside shooting, it was very frustrating to see the guys overextending and leaving the middle open, and to see so little zone defense. This team is made for the amoeba defense that Holy Cross has been using for the last five games with great success. On the offensive end, I do not really love the simplified version of the Princeton offense that we've seen this year, but on the whole it has been remarkably efficient. Miller was a good defensive option most of the year, but he really needs to be more involved offensively against stronger defenses. Brennan looked pretty good against the Hokies--it might have been his best all-around game--but he still needs to work on a lot of things. The player who has disappointed me the most this year is probably Bell. At some point next year, Cannady may need to take the starting job with Bell coming off the bench. All very good points. I do not expect Miller to become a different offensive player, but Brennan could improve dramatically a la Caruso. Let us hope. Mason showed the kind of leadership that Bell will need to provide, or risk losing the starting job to Cannady. The Ivy tournament next year, with the Harvard freshmen having played together all year, is going to be a real pressure cooker. We will need more than anything strong guard leadership. |
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1LotteryPick1969 Postdoc Posts 2275
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03-18-16 08:30 AM - Post#204872
That could have been us; that should have been us. But it wasn't. A sad epitaph to an exciting season. I feel for the team. They worked so hard and came so close. |
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JadwinGeorge Senior Posts 357 |
03-18-16 09:10 AM - Post#204876
Steve: We are very much on the same page on most issues. Identifying a need (offense from the post) and filling it are two much different things. Princeton has a difficult time getting the Zena-type big men, for a number of reasons, most of them, shall we say, institutional. Henderson figured out that scoring is maximized by taking a lot of threes by kids who can make more than their share. Of course, that leads to "high variance" outcomes but mostly it led to an unbeaten season at home and an overall record of 22-7 (maybe 5-6 possessions from 26-3)I saw what you saw from Brennan at the end and, sadly, I share your concern about Bell. He was not the same player that he was at Penn in Game 1. I know the staff to a man believes that Brennan has a huge upside. He remains much too predictable with the ball, but could take some big strides between soph and junior seasons. With Brase back Bell could be the odd man out. I think Cannady needs more minutes although Bell probably defends Mason and Chambers better than anyone else we have. Interesting year ahead. |
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SecS3 Junior Posts 246 |
03-18-16 10:51 AM - Post#204890
I guess you can call me Vonsid the 2nd because I too have been reading this board for years but have not posted anything since correspondence was done via emails on Jon Solomon's board. I am also utterly amazed at gokinsmen's lambasting of Mitch Henderson and especially flabbergasted by him calling the team chokers. Does he even watch the games? Saying that there will be more of the same next year makes me wonder if I should even bother renewing my season tickets as apparently we are about to undergo the second coming of Joe Scott. I think gokinsmen needs to find another team to "support". Rutgers could probably use some more fans. They seemed to be happy with their coach and they never choke away any games. The Tigers shortcomings are as plain as black and wh....uhhh sorry, black and orange. We have a lot of nice players but they're all 6'3" - 6'5" except for Cannady who's a little smaller. Hence we have problems defending the interior against strong, athletic big men. The level of the center play is not equal to the other four guys on the court with him. Miller has improved and has been much more aggressive rebounding this year. He's a good help defender, decent passer and has some quickness. He's not a good low post one on one defender and he can't shoot. All his scoring is a foot from the basket. This is not meant to belittle him, it's just the way it is. Brennan can shoot but he doesn't have that confident aggressiveness yet. I don't want to run on too long beating a soon to be dead horse and I apologize for chiming in so late on this but I had trouble registering and couldn't post until now. As an added note, you have to include '67 to the list of tough to swallow post season loses. I'm also surprised no one mentioned John Hummer when discussing centers. He was arguably the best defensive center in the history of the league. |
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bradley PhD Student Posts 1842 |
03-18-16 12:25 PM - Post#204895
I like your analysis and agree with the vast majority. Hopefully, Coach H not only has the goal of getting to the NCAA tournament next year but actually trying to get to the sweet 16. The days of just getting to the tournament should not be the sole goal based on how the Ivy League is improving. How might the Tigers compete against the big boys out of conference, Harvard, and in the NCAA tournament? Need to play Miller/Brennan for at least 30 minutes per game Get Brase to play PF as a defensive player and try to keep him from just shooting 3 pointers or try, unlikely to succeed, giving Brennan some time as a PF. Have Caruso come off the bench for instant offense and favorable match ups Have Cannady start as you will need his offense with Miller/Brennan and Brase on the floor. Cannady does need to improve his defense and Bell should provide defense off the bench when needed. Maybe, Bell can take a big step forward and change the plan. Play Cook and Weisz a lot and let Cook's athleticism fully kick in and have Stephens come in with the right match ups to use his athleticism but not defending against 6'8" opposing players. The wild card is can Brase play PF and be successful. If not, the Tigers are in trouble. Major challenge will be can Coach H manage players' egos with changes to personnel and distributing minutes -- very tough. Big picture, Coach H needs to move away from just having a small team on the floor although that type of team can win a lot of games next year other than the big boys. |
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SRP Postdoc Posts 4911 |
03-18-16 03:17 PM - Post#204916
Miller has improved every year. I wonder if his very limited offensive role by design hasn't hindered his development. Having all those better options might lead to a competency trap for the team, where they never develop an inside game because it's always more expedient to put up another trey. |
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bradley PhD Student Posts 1842 |
03-20-16 08:27 AM - Post#205056
Yale showing us how it's done. Great leadership from Jones and Mason. I hope Mitch and the players saw the game and learned something. Or at least got some motivation out of it -- that could have been us; that should have been us. But it wasn't. No more excuses and self-handicapping. No more "moral victories." The idea that no human being from the Ivy could possibly win a tough game is ridiculous. We just need to stay focused for 48 minutes. After watching the Yale/Duke, I thought about your comment "that could have been us; that should have been us". I thought about Sears, Sherrod, Victor and Mason's play against Baylor and Yale. The statement that it could have been us is plausible although unlikely that the Tigers would have been able to beat Yale twice. The statement that "should have been us" is a typical emotional fan's response to not winning. I am not sure that if the Tigers lost to Baylor or Duke, your commentary would have been that Coach Henderson is a choke artist and the team just cannot step up in crunch time. The Ivy League is very competitive and it is not easy to win --- get used to it. The Tigers are competitive and the mere fact that they beat Yale handily at home in a very tough game says so much as to character and ability. |
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sparman PhD Student Posts 1347
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03-20-16 10:21 AM - Post#205061
After watching the Yale/Duke, I thought about your comment "that could have been us; that should have been us". I thought about Sears, Sherrod, Victor and Mason's play against Baylor and Yale. I thought about Sears originally being a near-PU recruit. I doubt he meant Yale's first half versus Duke. |
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