HARVARDDADGRAD
Postdoc
Posts: 2695
Loc: New Jersey
Reg: 01-21-14
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11-13-17 04:31 PM - Post#236140
Welcome to 2017-18 Harvard Basketball. Saw MIT online and was at Lavietes Sunday. Mike James has supplied some analytics on twitter while Kevin Whitaker summed things up on NYCBuckets. Time for some less professional observations:
- Lavietes looks great! Thanks for the legroom
- UMass students far outnumbered Harvard students. Need to stop accepting driven achievers who have their own things to do. Can't "spectator" count as an extra-curricular activity?
- Thanks to refs. Some helpful calls late.
As for the game:
- Aiken was great. Hope he can withstand the beating he will likely take as he continues to drive the lane.
- Towns was stifled on offense Sunday after scoring 20 on Friday. Did really step up on defense. Seth's defense on CJ Anderson was a key to the victory as UMass offense down the stretch consisted of screening/isolating for Anderson. Harvard will need Seth to show up on offense more consistently though.
- Lewis was great against 300lb+ Holloway. He needs to make bunnies though, not just dunks. Staying out of foul trouble Sunday while pushing a mountain was impressive.
- Nice game by Johnson. Quiet 10 points, some big plays on defense. Key late three pointer.
- Amaker focused on defense, utilizing Baker and Haskett off the bench more than anyone else.
By the way, thanks for the OT. Made 7 hrs of driving worthwhile.
Looking forward:
- Someone other than Johnson/Aiken needs to hit a three. Among Towns, Bassey, Djuricic and McCarthy, it will happen.
- Rebounding: Aiken should not be the leading rebounder. Lewis with only 4 disappointing, but could reflect an effort not to foul and/or the task of bodying Holloway. Baker was strong on the boards (6rebs/14min). Egi will help when he returns.
- Point Guard: Haskett and Juzang are serviceable, but not strenghths at the point. McCarthy on his return could be the answer. Remember, he started his entire freshman year at PG. Good shooter as well.
- Although Siyani was awesome, it has been noted that because Amaker's offensive scheme uses much of the shot clock that the PG needs to be able to create as the clock runs down - often with a step back 3. Aiken is remarkable at something that was not Siyani's strength.
End of Game:
- Did anyone doubt Aiken was going to take the last shot, and then the next last shot? Got to the rim the first time (miss), hit the 25 footer the next time. Gonna be exciting, and stressful.
- Great defense on UMass' Anderson. But, at end of regulation and at end of OT, UMass was down by 3 and hit a three each time. Wonder if playing 6'10" Baker on a shooter might be an option (e.g., remember Agunwa Okolie). I recall that Penn's Donahue hit a game winning 3 over Baker late last year, but he had to retreat to about 35 feet to do so.
Bottom line: Harvard did not look like Ivy Champ against MIT or UMass. A lot of work to do.
This week:
Thursday: at Holy Cross. Somehow, HC has won last three years. Lightning quick PG Benzan was apparently at Lavietes scouting Bryce Sunday. Interesting to see what happens when an opponent focuses on shutting down Bryce.
Saturday: See you at Manhattan! Great excuse to stop by Arthur Avenue after the 2pm game (and before the Dec. 6th Fordham game as well).
Edited by HARVARDDADGRAD on 11-13-17 04:36 PM. Reason for edit: No reason given.
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