HARVARDDADGRAD
Postdoc
Posts: 2701
Loc: New Jersey
Reg: 01-21-14
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02-22-20 12:22 PM - Post#301206
Penn will be desperate. We better be ready this time.
Observation: Broduer likes to take 2 or 3 three's a game but is shooting 24.5%. He's make more than 1 such shot in a game only twice all season. Value is more to open up the lane when he gets the ball away from the hoop. I say let him shoot and watch the passing from the high post.
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mobrien
Masters Student
Posts: 403
Loc: New York
Reg: 04-18-17
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Penn II 02-22-20 02:20 PM - Post#301225
In response to HARVARDDADGRAD
Kenpom has us as 7 point favorites, but, again, I’m expecting a close, close game. This team seems incapable of playing anything other than a one possession game.
Penn is going to be desperate, but so should we. This game is just as important for us. The big thing defensively is just making Penn earn everything by finishing over our length; no backdoors. Will be interesting if Forbes is able to hold up against Brodeur like he did against Aririguzoh last night. In any case, we’re probably going to need another big defensive game from Lewis, and hopefully some offense out of him too.
We were able to punish Penn on the offensive glass at the Palestra; it’d be huge if we could get some easy buckets that way again given our difficulties at times scoring in the half court without Aiken. Need Juzang and Kirkwood to both be aggressive attacking the basket too. And Baker is always the X-factor for us. He didn’t get lost on any back cuts last night, made some big threes, and got some big blocks. We’ll need more of that tonight.
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HARVARDDADGRAD
Postdoc
Posts: 2701
Loc: New Jersey
Reg: 01-21-14
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02-22-20 02:27 PM - Post#301228
In response to mobrien
Bassey was key at the Palestra, he owned the boards.
Maybe a Djuricic sighting? Bad matchup for him last night. Glad to see Rio start to hit some 3's - important.
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mobrien
Masters Student
Posts: 403
Loc: New York
Reg: 04-18-17
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02-22-20 04:16 PM - Post#301241
In response to HARVARDDADGRAD
Good point. This should set up as a good game for both Bassey and Ledlum. They’re the kind of big, physical wings that Penn has tended to struggle with.
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PennFan10
Postdoc
Posts: 3590
Reg: 02-15-15
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02-22-20 04:45 PM - Post#301242
In response to mobrien
Bassey has been a Penn Killer. Ledlum, after 1 game as a datapoint, not so much. Kirkwood has struggled at times and killed us at times.
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HARVARDDADGRAD
Postdoc
Posts: 2701
Loc: New Jersey
Reg: 01-21-14
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02-22-20 08:27 PM - Post#301294
In response to PennFan10
After missing 4 at the hoop, starting to control the boards and looking better.
Kirkwood and Goodman with 2 fouls
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HARVARDDADGRAD
Postdoc
Posts: 2701
Loc: New Jersey
Reg: 01-21-14
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02-22-20 08:54 PM - Post#301338
In response to HARVARDDADGRAD
Offense looks awful without Noah. Hopefully he avoids more foul trouble.
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mobrien
Masters Student
Posts: 403
Loc: New York
Reg: 04-18-17
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02-22-20 09:07 PM - Post#301357
In response to HARVARDDADGRAD
For some reason, Penn is trying to guard our best player with their worst defender. Thank you for not coaching. Noah is lighting Martz up.
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HARVARDDADGRAD
Postdoc
Posts: 2701
Loc: New Jersey
Reg: 01-21-14
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02-22-20 09:09 PM - Post#301358
In response to mobrien
Harvard should be fresher down the stretch.
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HARVARDDADGRAD
Postdoc
Posts: 2701
Loc: New Jersey
Reg: 01-21-14
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02-22-20 09:25 PM - Post#301397
In response to HARVARDDADGRAD
Really impressed with contributions deep off the bench. Tretout with two effective drives. Bassey misses a 3 from the corner and rifles in for rebound and put back.
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mobrien
Masters Student
Posts: 403
Loc: New York
Reg: 04-18-17
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02-22-20 09:49 PM - Post#301444
In response to HARVARDDADGRAD
Up 4 and we didn’t foul! Great win. Given our track record, a four point margin feels like a blowout.
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HARVARDDADGRAD
Postdoc
Posts: 2701
Loc: New Jersey
Reg: 01-21-14
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02-22-20 09:50 PM - Post#301446
In response to HARVARDDADGRAD
Nice weekend sweep of the P’s!
Followed the script. A well rested Harvard team outlasted a tired Brodeur and company.
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digamma
Masters Student
Posts: 468
Loc: Minneapolis
Reg: 11-27-11
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02-22-20 09:53 PM - Post#301447
In response to HARVARDDADGRAD
Great win and weekend! Defense controlled all weekend.
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84grad
Junior
Posts: 277
Age: 64
Reg: 11-09-17
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02-22-20 11:32 PM - Post#301463
In response to digamma
Kirkwood. Nothing more need be said.
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mobrien
Masters Student
Posts: 403
Loc: New York
Reg: 04-18-17
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02-22-20 11:41 PM - Post#301465
In response to digamma
Pretty impressive that we won despite Penn shooting 40% from three. The reason was we absolutely crushed them on the offensive glass again; we had a 42% offensive rebound rate tonight, which even more impressively was a real collective effort.
Steve Donohue also deserves some credit for our win. He had Martz on Kirkwood and Simmons on Lewis — almost free baskets for us — for long stretches of the game, even when their better defenders weren’t in foul trouble. I get that he was trying to buy Brodeur some rest on the defensive end, but they just couldn’t afford to do that.
Tretout is emerging as an intriguing option off the bench. He has an unflappability about him, and a good sense for when to attack off the dribble. Missed a couple of threes, but otherwise gave us great minutes.
And finally, Bassey continued his ownage of Penn. Great work on the offensive glass, great hustle, and made a big three to give us our first lead in forever in that second half. He was the Kenpom MVP of the game.
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whitakk
Masters Student
Posts: 523
Age: 33
Reg: 11-11-14
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02-23-20 12:23 PM - Post#301512
In response to mobrien
11 of last 12 games have been decided by five points or less, what an absurd season.
The record for most close games (<=5 points or OT) in an Ivy season is 10, by Penn in 1984. Harvard is already at 9 (tied with several others, including Columbia last year and in 2012) with two weekends to go.
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HARVARDDADGRAD
Postdoc
Posts: 2701
Loc: New Jersey
Reg: 01-21-14
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02-23-20 12:32 PM - Post#301516
In response to whitakk
Moving this here and repeating for discussion.
There is more to Harvard's depth. Harvard has been weathering weak first halves, wearing down opponents, adjusting when necessary at halftime, then battling back in the second half. Been the formula vs Penn and other teams that rely on a few key starters for years. Players like Brodeur, Llewellyn and Smith are examples in just the past 3 games. I have been hard on Amaker for weak starts, but his genius is in the adjustments, stretching out his lineup and having the confidence to go with guys like Tretout (vs Penn) and Forbes (vs Princeton) late in games when circumstances call for a change in plans.
Here's the thing about Amaker that sets him apart. Amaker put together a 2019-20 team for the Ivy ages. Had everyone been healthy, the expectation of some professional prognosticators was to enter the Ivy season with 2 or less losses, coming only in the Orlando Tournament. An undefeated Ivy campaign was more than possible. Scoff if you want, but this team could have been 23-2 and in the top 25. Here's where Amaker is different. This rarified opportunity comes around once a decade in this league, or less frequently. Unfortunately, this opportunity was lost - but only due to injuries.
Without Aiken and Towns, Amaker and Harvard has pivoted. It's not easy, nor pretty, but this team is a few calls or shots away from being 10-0 at this point. That's impressive.
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mrjames
Professor
Posts: 6062
Loc: Montclair, NJ
Reg: 11-21-04
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02-23-20 06:02 PM - Post#301570
In response to HARVARDDADGRAD
Amaker is an elite program builder and recruiter. Great at keeping the team focused and motivated. Talent development has been okay, but sort of a mixed bag. In-game coaching and strategy has been... no bueno.
As someone who started following Harvard under a coach who was exactly the opposite, it seems pretty obvious which combination is more important.
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iogyhufi
Masters Student
Posts: 681
Age: 27
Reg: 10-10-17
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02-23-20 06:52 PM - Post#301583
In response to mrjames
As a coach once remarked to me: "You know what makes you look like a genius? Good players."
I think Amaker's weakness in the tactical department puts an upper limit on how good Harvard can ever be, but look at where they were before! 100% of Harvard's IL titles came under Amaker! If this is their upper bound, then Harvard should be absolutely thrilled with it. Lotta worse things to be than "perennial Ivy League contender."
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whitakk
Masters Student
Posts: 523
Age: 33
Reg: 11-11-14
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02-24-20 01:08 AM - Post#301606
In response to whitakk
11 of last 12 games have been decided by five points or less, what an absurd season.
The record for most close games (<=5 points or OT) in an Ivy season is 10, by Penn in 1984. Harvard is already at 9 (tied with several others, including Columbia last year and in 2012) with two weekends to go.
One more: Harvard's streak of eight straight games decided by five points or fewer (before the Cornell game) was tied for the third-longest in DI since 2002 (Delaware went nine in 2013 and South Carolina State went 11 last year)
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