Old Bear
Postdoc
Posts: 4008
Reg: 11-23-04
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02-21-09 05:48 PM - Post#59417
My first in-person and I was more impressed by Columbia that I had expected to be. Keep in mind that Brown has lost Friske (Mono) for the season and now has one (injured) Sr., Skrelja, and one Jr., Mullary, playing. I doubt we have enough to win more than one more game. Brown shot .222 Williams and Sullivan were 2 for 14) from three while Columbia shot .533. If Brown doesn't shot better from the outside the won't beat anyone.
Foley was the key, played under control took only good shots and dealt the ball well. Ampin was huge, he's still learning but his using his bulk well on O. Looks like he has some way to go on D but has a lot of upside. Yale's bigs will be an interesting match up, he might have foul trouble. Without Friske in the line up, he had no match up. Matsui can shoot but seems somewhat limited otherwise. I now have an appreciation for the enthusiasm for Agho. He has a great presence on the offensive end, good shooter, on balance, not a great defender or passer. He's not a finished product but certainly a great deal of upside. I might still favor Rosen for POY but there is an arguement.
Let's not debate Miller vs. Mullary any longer. Miller had 4 pts, 2 Rbs. and 4 fouls and 2 of his points were on a dunk after the game was over. Mullary had 21 pts., 8 rbs., and 4 blocks and schooled both Miller and Crimmins.
Yale will be a problem tonight. I still see Columbia above 500 but nothing is certain this year. I don't understand what's going on with Cornell and Dartmouth.
Edited by Old Bear on 02-21-09 05:49 PM. Reason for edit: No reason given.
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internetter
Postdoc
Posts: 3400
Loc: Los Angeles
Reg: 11-21-04
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02-21-09 06:42 PM - Post#59421
In response to Old Bear
Yale will certainly be formidable tonight.
For whatever reasons, no Eli scored in double figures at Levien where they made 35% of their FG tries, under 10% of threes.
And, Miller had 11 RBs against that front line, 16 pts, on 8 of 10, one PF.
Perhaps the Lions have some sort of advantage in match-ups; perhaps.
http://www.gocolumbialions.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SP...
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Dr. V
PhD Student
Posts: 1539
Reg: 11-21-04
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02-21-09 07:00 PM - Post#59422
In response to internetter
Didn't see the Brown game, so can't comment on that, but Agho HAS been a very good on th ball defender (leads team in steals, is 4th in league); it's his offense that has only recently begun to fire on multiple cylinders.
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ibnsmi
Freshman
Posts: 75
Reg: 08-21-07
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02-21-09 07:01 PM - Post#59423
In response to internetter
I'm sure it will be a tough game. Interesting to note, though, that after starting out 1-6 in their first 7 games against Yale under JJ, Columbia has now won four straight in this rivalry. I wonder if Joe has figured something out about the way his brother's teams approach the game...
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AndreG
Sophomore
Posts: 174
Reg: 10-28-07
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02-22-09 12:49 AM - Post#59467
In response to ibnsmi
Agho has been a good defender, rebounder with scoring and shooting as well but Old bear is correct that he isn't a good passer and sometimes gets tunnel vision. Tonight is a perfect example of that, once he makes his mind up to drive he goes no matter how many defenders are in the way. He doesn't seem to see the floor well. He and Pat Foley often go one on one too much and put up too many forced shoots. Hopefully Agho who is still young and learning will improve in that area. I still say that Columbia must find a good point guard who can set up teammates better. Columbia had some good spurts in the game but played less as a team I thought than they usually do. Yale's big advantage however was the huge edge in FTs. Yale deserves their credit since they were more able to execute their game plan than Columbia it seems, especially down the stretch.
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skiba34
Masters Student
Posts: 952
Reg: 03-11-06
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02-22-09 01:05 AM - Post#59469
In response to AndreG
One of the reasons I like Agho because he does play aggressively and goes to the basket. But you are right tonight he forced too many shots that were not there. He does need to see the floor better. But as you said he is only a freshman.
Foley's best assets is sometimes his weakness and that is going one on one. I think if Columbia or any team could find a true point guard they would have one by now. But a good true point guard is hard to come by. Zach Rosen may be one of the few. The winner of the ROY (Agho, Rosen)may come down to what team finishes better this year. It may come down to the game of Penn at CU the last weekend of the year.
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internetter
Postdoc
Posts: 3400
Loc: Los Angeles
Reg: 11-21-04
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02-22-09 01:59 AM - Post#59473
In response to skiba34
Princeton's Davis is also a good candidate for ROY. The final games (Ps at Col, P@P) will put them all in the spotlight. I'd guess the final standing will mean little.
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Dr. V
PhD Student
Posts: 1539
Reg: 11-21-04
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02-22-09 05:33 AM - Post#59476
In response to internetter
Boy, it's sure more fun to reflect on a first year player's specific weaknesses in relation to his many strenghts than it is trying to figure out whether he'll ever contribute anything before he leaves.
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Columbia 37P6
Postdoc
Posts: 2184
Reg: 02-14-06
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02-22-09 12:14 PM - Post#59501
In response to Dr. V
I'm with Andre about the point guard problem, as it affects the team's future. Patrick is a terrific scorer, but obviously not sturdy enough to play 30-40 minutes per game, every game of the season. He just needs to get stronger, if he's going to lead this team to an Ivy League Championship in 2010-2011 which will be his senior season. Steve Agee has the speed and athleticism to be a very good Ivy League point guard, but his play has been very inconsistent and he doesn't score enough. Against Yale last night, he missed an important easy lay-up after driving to the basket. Chris Crockett was in street clothes at Yale and has seen virtually no playing time the entire season. Does anyone know what's up with him? Maybe he's not fully recovered from his kneecap surgey. Crocket was a standout high school running back in Ohio so you know he's a great athlete. Kevin Bulger is unstoppable when he drives to the basket for his runners, but doesn't shot well from the outside. Matt Johnson, another possible point guard, seems to be having trouble stepping up to the tougher competition he's facing in college. He probably needs to hang around the playgrounds this summer in New York City or Los Angeles. He seem to have the athletic talent to be a star player in the Ivy League, perhaps as early as next year, but needs plenty of experience against tougher players. Finally, regarding recruiting for next year, Coach Jones' style at Columbia has been to recruit aggressively in late February and March. At this time, we only have two publicly named recruits (Craig and Cisco) and they are both front court players. Obviously, he needs to snare a couple of big-time guards.
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GoLions
Freshman
Posts: 7
Reg: 03-02-08
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02-22-09 01:18 PM - Post#59513
In response to Columbia 37P6
I think Foley can do the job at point guard IF he can stay healthy. Clearly, that has been a problem for him during his Columbia career. I think one of the reasons he probably does too much one on one is that we have so few legitimate offensive threats. In almost every game, we go into long offensive droughts. We had one at the beginning of last night's game, then another long one after taking the nine point lead. I believe we scored thirty or thirty-tow of our forty-nine points during an eighteen minute stretch that started midway through the first half and ended with fourteen minutes left in the game. Clearly, Miller has exceeded all expectations this year, and Agho looks like he's going to be a very good Ivy player. But, we still need one or two more real offensive threats. Last night, with KJ having a bad night and our shooting just 1-11 in threes, Yale could guard against our drives and our inside game, and the offense, after looking quite good as we took and built a lead, completely stalled.
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AndreG
Sophomore
Posts: 174
Reg: 10-28-07
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02-22-09 03:26 PM - Post#59528
In response to GoLions
I am not sure why any observations or criticisms against Agho should not be made since every player on Columbia and every other team has received their share. Incidentally the Lions board is considerably less abrasive in that category as compared to members of Penn for example. On the Foley comments: Columbia 37P6, Foley's last season will be next year - 09/10 as he is a senior. For that reason alone Columbia will need to find a suitable replacement. But also for the reason stated by Columbia 37P6 - that Foley can not be counted on to play many minutes or stay healthy. What if Columbia does make a run at the title and Foley goes down again? The assertion by GoLions that Foley goes one on one due to the lack of scorers has some merit but players like Ampim and Miller would do well if Foley gave them an easy basket occasionally and might help lift the confidence of a player like Ampim and help him play better. Also Scott is an terrific scorer when given the chance but has been held to 7 shots combined this weekend to Foley's 24 respectively in similar minutes. We may all have different views on how or what Columbia should do, but I guess we all want the same thing.
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Dr. V
PhD Student
Posts: 1539
Reg: 11-21-04
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02-22-09 04:50 PM - Post#59531
In response to AndreG
If the comment about Agho being a fair subject of criticim is directed to my above post, you may have misunderstood my post, or perhaps it was unclear. I was serious rather than being sarcastic, and simply noting my pleasure at CU's having a player who is substantial enough at this point in his career that we can talk about his strengths and weaknesses rather than merely about whether he'll ever develop enough to contribute anything. I was not suggesting that any player's performance should be out of bounds.
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AndreG
Sophomore
Posts: 174
Reg: 10-28-07
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02-23-09 01:33 AM - Post#59564
In response to Dr. V
Perhaps I misunderstood, but I think everyone can agree that Agho is already a fine player. But like everyone else there is always something that he and Columbia can improve upon.
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