mountainred
Masters Student
Posts: 513
Age: 57
Loc: Charleston, WV
Reg: 04-11-10
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01-16-11 11:39 AM - Post#93232
Don't want people thinking I'm a fair weather fan.
Some encouraging notes (Ferry's second half shooting, overall rally in the second half), but you want more than "encouraging" after the league slate begins. The team is still way too dependant on three point shooting which results in long scoring droughts. Columbia went on a 16-2 run between the 13 minute and the 3 minute mark in the first half. The boom/bust nature of this offense is demonstrated by this first half/second half spit: Wrobo and Ferry shoot 1-16, no FT's (3 points) in the first half and 11-14, 6-7 FT (34 points) in the second half. That's not a winning formula.
Some other observations about Cornell:
1) I hope Coach C's recruits can play inside. Half of the Big Red's rebounds came from seniors (Coury, Wire and Osgood). Of the 56 minutes Cornell received from its 4's and 5's, all but eight of those minutes will graduate.
2) Jake Matthews is in Coach C's good graces. Double digit minutes in three of the last four games. He's needs work defensively, which isn't uncommon for a frosh, but it's good to see at least one freshman getting minutes. Not an indictment of the class, Scelfo is injured and Tarwater has mono, just good to see.
3) Would you believe Johnathan Gray is 5th on the team in offensive rebounds? His decision-making needs work, but he attacks the basket which is something only Wrobo and Peck seem interested in doing.
4) Josh Figini wants to Jon Jaques. Which would work if Donahue were still in Ithaca. However, it seems to be frustrating Courtney. There are minutes there for Josh -- but he keeps making a first half appearance and sitting throughout the second half. I still think he can be a useful player, but maybe not in this system.
This team isn't winning the league. Nor is it finishing a competitive third. That's fine, I've rooted for plenty of Big Red teams that didn't. This, however, is looking like a "lost" season. That's distinguished from a "rebuilding" season, because I don't see building but just making the best of the season until Courtney gets his guys in place. I really thought this team had enough talent to do more than fight to get to ten wins.
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CUJacob
Senior
Posts: 353
Reg: 12-05-04
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01-16-11 07:17 PM - Post#93264
In response to mountainred
I can't really disagree with this at all. Best development of the year is Peck's solid play after his horrible start. I still think he can be a first team All-Ivy caliber before he's done at Cornell, but quite a ways to go yet before he's that.
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TheLine
Professor
Posts: 5597
Age: 60
Reg: 07-07-09
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Columbia 79 Cornell 75
01-18-11 04:00 PM - Post#93424
In response to CUJacob
This is the first time I've seen Cornell this season so maybe I'm reacting to having seen just one game, but I left thinking that Cornell could have won this game if Smith hadn't out-coached Courtney.
At the end of the first half Courtney was too slow to remove backups who weren't getting the job done. Playing Figini and Chemerinski a combined 8 minutes as the lone Cornell big man was a mistake. Also playing stretches with only one good shooter on the court and minimal post presence just made life easy for the Columbia defense. The result : Cornell digs itself a 14 point hole.
The second half featured yet another missed opportunity. Courtney went with a very short lineup for much of the second half and it worked well for awhile, but when Smith adjusted his lineup, Courtney never responded. Courtney seems to fall in love with scrappy hustle guys like Asafo-Adjei, Matthews and Gray. Asafo-Adjei certainly has his use as a defensive stopper, while Gray and Matthews certainly hustle around the court, but they don't contribute enough to be playing a combined 35 minutes. Meanwhile, Adam Wire, who despite his total lack of athleticism is a pretty good player on both ends of the court, sat out almost the entire second half. Sure, he needed to sit after he collected his 4th foul but why not bring him or Groebe back at the end of the game when Cornell could have used some size and more skill out there?
Maybe Courtney is coaching more for next season than this one and is shuffling through his roster to see what he has?
Edited by TheLine on 01-18-11 04:01 PM. Reason for edit: No reason given.
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mountainred
Masters Student
Posts: 513
Age: 57
Loc: Charleston, WV
Reg: 04-11-10
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Re: Columbia 79 Cornell 75
01-30-11 01:07 PM - Post#94691
In response to TheLine
I think the phrase is that "the jury is still out" on Courtney as a bench coach. Though, I will say his reliance on Matthews, MAA and Grey is partially a function of his other options at guard: 1) Wrobo, who hasn't right all year (hip flexor is the latest issue, I think) so his minutes are medically limited; 2) Ferry, who doesn't give you much unless he's in the middle of on his shooting streaks; and 3) Groebe, who is like Ferry, only streakier and with less defense.
As I wrote on another site, Courtney's use of players has a real feeling of frustration mixed with desperation. 13 players have STARTED this season. So, I wouldn't be the least bit surprised to find out that he's really using this is a long scrimmage for next season.
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