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Username Post: Lafayette
bradley
PhD Student
Posts 1842
11-21-17 10:44 PM - Post#237307    

52pt win two years ago at Jadwin and a 16pt win at Lafayette last year. Lafayette continues to play an incredibly challenging schedule. Klinewski, 6'8" senior, has been their best player the last two years. Similar player with a better inside game than St. Joe's freshmen who killed Tigers last weekend.

Needless to say, Tigers need to get their confidence back and after Lafayette, they have FDU (away) and Legigh (home) -- time to get to a 3-3 record.

Ivy League continues to struggle in week #2. Hopefully, the proper word is just disappointing rather than the teams not being all that good. Still early but ..... not pretty.
jadwinjungle
Freshman
Posts 45
11-21-17 11:49 PM - Post#237313    

IMO these next 3 are must wins for the Tigers to get some kind of confidence going heading into an extremely challenging December with Miami, GW, Monmouth, USC, and the Hawaii tournament all still looming.

Would be nice to get a big win tomorrow where the role players can see some shots go in.
bradley
PhD Student
Posts 1842
11-22-17 10:05 AM - Post#237323    

It was interesting that Henderson identified the turning point to last season being the Monmouth 96-90 loss followed by the win against a good Bucknell team at Bucknell. The Monmouth game followed the St. Joe's debacle at Jadwin. Lafayette, FDU and Lehigh games probably do not meet the acid test as to providing a turn around although these games can restore some level of confidence as you point out. A loss or losses would to Lafayette or FDU would be a whole different story.

It is also interesting that the Coach did not describe any of the statistical measurements as to why there was a turnaround other than the "will to win" last year. He did comment that the additional minutes for Myles Stephens was a significant factor to the turnaround.

So far, the Tigers have not yet displayed the will to win even though there were opportunities during the first three games but it is still very early. It will be interesting to see if Harvard capitalizes on its play against Manhattan during the second half as a defining moment or will they continue to muddle on. At some point and time, good teams with talented players need to put a stake in the ground if they get off to an indifferent start.
Tiger69
Postdoc
Posts 2801
11-22-17 10:43 AM - Post#237328    

Too much Hollywood and melodrama here. The coaches and players just have to figure how to best work together to use their collective talents. Confidence will come when that is achieved.
Tiger69
Postdoc
Posts 2801
11-22-17 09:04 PM - Post#237399    

A truly awful half against a mediocre, at best, opponent. When we missed several wide open shots early in the half, Amir Bell decided to play one on one ball (with one nice exception where he set up Aririguzoh with an open dunk) with less than success. I'm sorry to say that Alec Brennan is still playing like a freshman and I cringe whenever he gets the ball inside. Desrosiers is still a dissappointment. There seems to be no flow with this team. Much work to be done. If we manage to lose this game, it will be very disappointing
umbrellaman
Masters Student
Posts 469
umbrellaman
11-22-17 09:06 PM - Post#237400    

Henderson uses 12 players in the first half, Cannady with 14 but Bell and Stephens are scoreless - remaining 9 players with 13 points, to be down 29-27. Henderson seems to be asking who wants minutes, who wants to step up?
Tiger69
Postdoc
Posts 2801
11-22-17 09:40 PM - Post#237406    

LeBlanc, then Much, stepping forward. Finally. Sit Bell until mid season (when he finally got going last year).
umbrellaman
Masters Student
Posts 469
umbrellaman
11-22-17 10:19 PM - Post#237411    

Much appears to have arrived. Hope to catch the replay, took me all of the second half to figure out they have an app and that the mobile browser doesn‘t work.
TigerFan
PhD Student
Posts 1871
11-22-17 10:34 PM - Post#237414    

Another brutal half of basketball but the team came out of the break firing and playing better defense. The interior defense in first half was woeful but a little better in the 2nd half. I'm afraid that Brennan is as soft inside on D as he is weak inside on O. Stephens seemed like he was not feeling well and was substituted for frequently. Bell's shooting is way off--similar to the start of last year but I'm sure his touch will return. Cannady was terrific as usual. And it looks like Much has arrived!

Anyone have news on Gladson?!
SRP
Postdoc
Posts 4894
11-23-17 03:18 AM - Post#237429    

Brennan has always been a perimeter player on offense and a good help defender but so-so primary post defender. He is a stretch four, not a center, and has constantly been forced to play out of position. I didn't think he was that terrible in this game, but he is not going to be effective playing back to the basket or defending players whose backs are to the basket.

It was great to see Much look like the touted recruit he is. Without the swarming athletic defenders he faced in the first three games, his confidence blossomed and he was able to get good looks. LeBlanc had a terrific game as well, tipping balls, diving on the floor, grabbing rebounds, and hitting some open shots. This might be the best game I've seen from Aririguzoh as well, perhaps because he got a lot of PT.

The defense was better in the second half--the Leopard big man hardly got any shots after dominating in the first half--but aside from good rebounding, I didn't see much to get excited about. Lafayette missed a number of good looks in the second half and except for a couple of spurts there wasn't enough ball pressure to get them uncomfortable. The fouling did drop off in the second half and that helped a lot.

Good confidence booster for the team, with two of the big three not scoring much and other guys picking up the slack. Moreover, even when shots were missed, almost every possession yielded a good look (sometimes passed up) and there was better ball movement overall and good passing from a number of different players, which is always a good sign. If they can just be more aggressive defensively from the get-go as far as chasing teams off the three-point line, getting hands on the basketball, and collapsing/helping inside then they will be tough to beat.
bradley
PhD Student
Posts 1842
11-23-17 08:22 AM - Post#237435    

The Tigers appeared out of sync on offense for most of the game including Bell and surprisingly Stephens. Cannady played well once again and is bringing energy to the floor both ways as is LeBlanc. LeBlanc appears to be earning the fourth regular spot on the floor based on his defense, rebounding and 3 pt shot. 5th spot may eventually be Much/Arirguzoh although it would be good to see if Gladson adds something to the mix although Arirguzoh may become the primary center with Much/LeBlanc sharing time. Everyone else including Brennan, Young, Morales and other freshmen appear to be question marks although Young may become primary 3rd guard.

Lafayette is not very good so it is tough to judge although overall sense was that Tigers' play was not very good. Work-in-progress but a lot of work needs to be done.

Will be a challenging season but it is very early.
1LotteryPick1969
Postdoc
Posts 2262
1LotteryPick1969
11-23-17 09:10 AM - Post#237438    

I agree that Aririguzoh may earn a starting spot.

Gladson did not play low post in high school, and did not see much (any?) time there last year. I see him more as a Brase type player.

We need a low post defender--both NCAA teams had such a player. Hope is fading that we will recruit one for next years class, but Aririguzoh was a very late recruit.
Tiger69
Postdoc
Posts 2801
11-23-17 11:41 AM - Post#237448    

Rotation for now: Stephens, Cannady, Leblanc, Aririguzoh, Young starters, with Bell and Much off bench after a short look. Then Gladson, if healthy, followed by Morales, Desrosiers, Schwiegert and Brennan in no particular order as they gain seasoning and confidence. That's an eight man rotation with three more developing for the future and Brennan in the hope that he will finally break out with some assertion in his three point value when unguarded.
bradley
PhD Student
Posts 1842
11-23-17 12:30 PM - Post#237457    

I really doubt that Coach is going to take Bell out of the starting line up as he is a senior and co-captain although if he continues to shoot poorly -- it is possible down the road but Amir is probably going to be on a long leash.

It will be interesting to see how Harvard plays against St. Mary's, #21 rank, today. Crimson are 12 pt underdogs. Tigers will be playing highly ranked teams, Miami and USC in the not too distant future. Always a good measuring stick when playing very strong competition. The "dream" of a 2 team IL representation at the Big Dance will be tested out in non-coonference play.


HARVARDDADGRAD
Postdoc
Posts 2685
11-23-17 01:23 PM - Post#237461    

You may still be dreaming of 2bid Ivy, but I'm assuming you plan on waking up for 2018-19. Early OOC losses by Tigers and Crimson and Eli's injuries sealed the deal already.
bradley
PhD Student
Posts 1842
11-23-17 01:30 PM - Post#237467    

I am dreaming and kidding although the 2 bid IL representation theory was one of the arguing points by IL Tournament advocates as you may remember.
HARVARDDADGRAD
Postdoc
Posts 2685
11-23-17 02:35 PM - Post#237472    

I remember too well.
I'm not nor was I ever a fan of the Tournament. Once Penn wins it at the Palestra as a #4 seed things will be rethought.
If HYP keep struggling, could be this year.
84grad
Junior
Posts 277
11-23-17 02:51 PM - Post#237473    

Couldn’t agree more re: tourney. As a Harvard fan, I remember leaving the Columbia loss last year and feeling like it was no big deal. Normally I would have been depressed, and the fact that I wasn’t was confirmation of what the tournament takes away from the 14 game tournament. Like most sports fans, masochism is an undeniable part of why we like the games so much. I love the Palestra, but once a year is enough for me. The regular season champ is good enough for the European soccer leagues, and I always was happy that the Ivy League was the last holdout.
mrjames
Professor
Posts 6062
11-23-17 03:13 PM - Post#237475    

Good news is that it won’t be The Palestra in 2019. Imagine it’ll be at The Palestra a lot going forward, but this is the last year in succession.
HARVARDDADGRAD
Postdoc
Posts 2685
11-23-17 04:46 PM - Post#237483    

Can I make my reservations at Mohegan Sun yet?
Tiger69
Postdoc
Posts 2801
11-23-17 09:11 PM - Post#237494    

Only fair that it goes to Jadwin for two years, then New Haven....etc.
HARVARDDADGRAD
Postdoc
Posts 2685
11-23-17 10:51 PM - Post#237499    

How about giving it to the 4th seeded team every year?
Sort of like a golfers handicap




Eric Von Zipper
Senior
Posts 343
11-24-17 08:58 AM - Post#237509    

Harvard's 18 point loss to St. Mary's gets them St. Joe's today.

Let's see how they handle the Hawks.
Tiger69
Postdoc
Posts 2801
11-24-17 09:58 AM - Post#237510    

Is it possible that some of those 4* recruits up in Cambridge might be saddled with 4* egos? Always a risk.
Tiger69
Postdoc
Posts 2801
11-24-17 10:03 AM - Post#237511    

Why not the entire trip? Eight team Tourney at eighth seed campus. It would be worth it to see teams jockeying for last
bradley
PhD Student
Posts 1842
11-24-17 10:21 AM - Post#237512    

St. Mary's is a very good experienced team playing close to home. After watching some of the game, it strikes me that Harvard has the most talented team in the Ivies but they are currently playing 3 on 5 basketball like the Tigers although they have slightly better players 3 on 3 and overall a more talented squad. What is the team chemistry -- who knows?

They should be getting their act together as the season goes along as they are still very young. Will they reach the hype of #10 ESPN recruiting class probably not but they will get better over time.

The fear that the 2016-17 Crimson freshmen were simply going to run the table to four IL championships based on their 3 and 4 star high school ratings was unfounded and the IL Tournament may well be a neutralizer for their remaining 3 years. It would not be surprising if Yale would have won the IL crown this year like the Tigers last year if not for injuries but we will never know.

The one good thing is that when the Ivies play the Ivies this year, one team will get a win. Unfortunately, the RPI of many IL teams may not be very good if non-conference results continue on. Hopefully, Mitch and the boys will come up with the winning formula in league play but the Crimson will be a challenge.
mrjames
Professor
Posts 6062
11-24-17 12:41 PM - Post#237521    

It's worth addressing all of this chatter about Harvard and its recruiting class and yada yada yada...

Harvard mostly whiffed on every recruiting class after the huge 2011 class that netted Wes, Steve, Jonah, Kenyatta and Corbin. Some of that was players not reaching potential, some of that was narrowly missing on a ton of wings, some of that was recurring injuries to players they did get. But the 2012 - 2015 classes essentially yielded Siyani, some elite moments from Zena, Corey Johnson and (maybe) Tommy McCarthy.

Which means that 2016-17 really needed to be viewed as the start of a complete rebuild, not sustaining something from the past. Harvard's 10th rated freshman class was worth 11 win shares last season (easily a record for an Ivy freshman class) and so far this season has been worth nearly 2 win shares (pacing for 12ish). Corey Johnson is the only player to have seen the rotation from the 2014 or 2015 classes. Harvard's team is actually younger than it was last year.

I don't know who had this fear that Harvard's freshmen would just run the table for four years, but it badly overestimated what was left in the cupboard to support that 2016 class. Harvard's 2016 class added to a stable core of a mostly upperclassmen starting five would have been competitive with Princeton last year and could have fulfilled that "all four years" talk, but that simply wasn't there.

Once the luck starts to regress (105 ORAT on poss with a 3-pointer will rise to the 130 neighborhood, for instance), Harvard's going to hit its stride and be just fine.
Eric Von Zipper
Senior
Posts 343
11-24-17 01:18 PM - Post#237527    

St. Joe's opens the 2 1/2 point favorite on the neutral court.
Eric Von Zipper
Senior
Posts 343
11-24-17 08:50 PM - Post#237540    

Cantabs go wire to wire, 77-71.



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