I'm amazed at how amazingly positive and optimistic after last nights game. These guys have all the tools they just are gonna have to grow up. Didn't expect them to be duke by game 4.

11/22/2010 1:25:59 PM

I won't comment on the game, since everything I would say has already been said, but I just have to say (which should come as no surprise) that we have so many stupid ass fucking fans. There was a group behind me who kept chiming in the with criticism of Sid after Howell shot the 3, or after CJL had a shot go over the backboard. Then they kept complaining when Lorenzo was taking the few opportunities to run the fast break, wishing instead that they would slow it down. Then it was how the freshman weren't very good. Jesus titty-fucking Christ, people. If it weren't for Sid, none of those freshman wouldn't have even been in that game. And if they weren't in the game, we would have lost by about 40. I get angry during the game too, but I don't start making things up to place the blame on.

Sometimes you just need to step back, and realize that your team - which consisted of mostly 3 freshman (playing in their 4th college game ever) and 2 sophomores (1 of which was never expected to be a starter) - hung in with the now-ranked 16th team in the country for a good chunk of the game.

Luckily, there were also plenty of good fans there that cheered the team on until the end of the game. Coming back from a timeout after Georgetown went on a run, we started jumping and then along with it were going "ooooooooooooo" and getting louder like "OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH" and then switched to "PACK! PACK! PACK! PACK! OOOOOO PACK! PACK! PACK! PACK! OOOOOOOOOOOO! POWER PACK! POWER PACK! BACK THE PACK!" and then they played a loud rockin rap song or somethin. it got things crazy.

11/22/2010 5:58:13 PM

Quote :

"Not sure how I feel about a one leading the team in shots taken.. Especially when he is sitting at 40% Ana 18% from 3. That needs to change quickly when Tracy gets back."

harrow takes a lot of shots that put our bigs in position to get offensive rebounds and put backs as opposed to jump shots that we never get rebounds off of because no one on our team boxes out

jonny flynn did this at syracuse to great effect

11/22/2010 6:10:35 PM

^ That's a great point. I'd like to see how many of Howell/Painter's points came off of one of Harrow's floaters. He penetrated the lane pretty damn well given his size, and the fact that he was playing Georgetown. When he put them up, they either went in, or floated right around the rim, which is ripe for our bigs' picking. I know Howell capitalized on several of those.

Completely unrelated, but Vandenberg appears to have worked on his free throws quite a bit in the offseason. I'd almost rather have him go up to the basket strong instead of Howell if he is going to keep shooting 2-5 from the line.

11/22/2010 6:17:51 PM

i sat down front again last night for the game and had the spurs scout sitting beside me last night and the timberwolves beside me the night before. we talked much of the game and i came away with this.

zo is the best player we have. both scouts said he is what ray allen looked like as a freshmen. they both say is confidence is off the charts and he is very smooth. they both think he has more upside than they had expected to see. they both agree that leslie is NOT a one and done. they both say until he learns to not play like a freshmen (meaning poor shot selection) then no one will take on the project. they both pointed out his bad body language. they gave different input on harrow. the spurs guy liked him and said with some bulk he could be a serious offensive threat. he also said he expects to see him a starter by mid season. the t'wolves guy said he is at best a 4 year player without the frame to play on the nba.

it is fun to talk to a guy that has a legit perspective.

11/22/2010 6:24:16 PM

I'm not that concerned about the loss to Georgetown. Maybe it's the elation from the UNC football game, but I don't think so. I knew it'd be a tough game that we would probably lose even if we had Tracy Smith. The Hoyas are just as talented as us, and more experienced, especially at the point guard position with Wright (man I wish we could have gotten him). The fact that it was tied at halftime shows that we can compete at a high level. We just need to learn from this game, and figure out ways to prevent scoring droughts. Our team has shown a lot of promise. Get to the NCAA Tournament this year and finish well in the ACC standings, and I'll be very happy with this young team.

11/22/2010 6:25:01 PM

i sat down front again last night for the game and had the spurs scout sitting beside me last night and the timberwolves beside me the night before. we talked much of the game and i came away with this.

zo is the best player we have. both scouts said he is what ray allen looked like as a freshmen. they both say is confidence is off the charts and he is very smooth. they both think he has more upside than they had expected to see. they both agree that leslie is NOT a one and done. they both say until he learns to not play like a freshmen (meaning poor shot selection) then no one will take on the project. they both pointed out his bad body language. they gave different input on harrow. the spurs guy liked him and said with some bulk he could be a serious offensive threat. he also said he expects to see him a starter by mid season. the t'wolves guy said he is at best a 4 year player without the frame to play on the nba.

it is fun to talk to a guy that has a legit perspective.

11/22/2010 6:32:50 PM

We got it the first time, chief.

11/22/2010 6:39:00 PM

Quote :

"he also said he expects to see him a starter by mid season."

i don't know who sidney lowe thinks he's fooling by starting javi and then subbing harrow at the first break.

11/22/2010 6:55:09 PM

i'm really on the fence with Scott Wood, he seems to be our best defender and when he's hitting his 3-pointers he can be an absolute game-changer. However, his good shooting games come like maybe 1 in every 10 games, he's much more of an offensive liability than a benefit at this point. If he can solidify his game a little and learn how to make a shot with a hand in his face and/or create he own shot, then he is the perfect compliment to the playmakers we have. He could be our version of the Chicago Bulls' John Paxson or Steve Kerr, the assassin 3-point shooter who keeps the defense honest and spreads the floor out for our numerous playmakers.

I really like the "parts" we have on this team: a solid, game manager type point guard with experience (Javi), a highlight reel point guard (Harrow), a multipurpose all-around complete player (LoBrown), a flashy above the rim power forward (Leslie), an experienced big man down low (Tracy), a lock down defender and three point assassin (Wood), solid bench players who can come into the game and wont be a defensive or offensive liability and can maintain a lead while the starters get rest (CJ Williams, Painter, Howell). We just have to gel a little bit better, but we really dont have any "weak" positions on the floor anymore, Sidney has done a great job collecting quality players at each position - all of which are young and have a chance to develop and grow with each other. I just wish Howell would go up strong and quit trying to lay the ball up when hes at the basket, and use his massive frame to dominate the boards on the offensive and defensive ends of the court.

If we can learn how to rebound on both ends, go up strong around the basket, make our free throws, and make enough threes to keep the defense honest, then we can go really far with this team. If Harrow, Brown and CJL all stay for 3-4 years, we're going to be scary good

11/22/2010 8:14:33 PM

^just saying, scott shot 37% from 3 last year, and is shooting 34.5% this year (9th in the ACC, and 2nd in 3s taken)

11/22/2010 8:18:36 PM

I thought Wood's release looked quicker.

11/22/2010 8:30:38 PM

^^ yep. scott wood is a good player, and far from a liability on either end of the floor.

11/22/2010 8:33:59 PM

Wood's defense has been more hit or miss than his shooting so far. He got out of position a lot in Charleston, playing help or sliding the wrong way on a screen.

His offense is always going to appear frustrating as long as he's a spot shooter and he isn't hitting 100% of his shots. He needs to learn to create shots or become the greatest outside shooter of all-time. Anything else and people are going to bitch every time he misses.

I'm completely against playing Wood from the bench unless he just tanks. If he's not on the court getting shots, he's useless.

11/22/2010 8:38:21 PM

Though I have been pleasantly surprised by the new confidence they've shown, Painter and Vandy were outmatched on an individual level by just about every Gtown player.

We need Tracy back when we play seasoned teams like them in the future. CJL can hold his own, but he's obviously still too young to lead. Its like he gets frustrated when things arent flowing well instead of helping to settle things down.

11/22/2010 9:23:12 PM

Still so pumped for this season despite the loss. ACC is week like it is in football. Maybe the pack can capitalize for in two sports.

11/22/2010 9:33:59 PM

If Wood would pull out some Horner pump fakes, it would help out his game IMO.

11/23/2010 8:29:18 AM

Quote :

"Quote : "I think our freshman really needed this loss. I think that may also be why he didn't put Javi in at the end." I hate the fucking wolfweb "

Obviously I didn't want us to lose jackass, but we weren't going to go undefeated and I'd much rather get a learning loss out of the system now, than closer to the start of ACC play. It was clear they hit panic mode and wouldn't settle. When you get kids that are used to winning, they don't always listen to coach, they think they know what they are doing. They just found out they don't. That was my point. It was a learning experience, that's the point of these tournaments--see where your team stands.

11/23/2010 9:54:26 AM

Quote :

"ACC is week"

11/23/2010 9:55:53 AM

Quote :

"If Wood would pull out some Horner pump fakes, it would help out his game IMO."

Ehh, I'm not so sure. When his feet are set, Wood's 3-pt shot is a thing of beauty. Every now and then, he'll pass on the 3 and try a one dribble jumper inside the arch. Inevitably, it bricks off the back iron because it's too flat.

Honestly, I'd rather him just shoot 3's or finish underneath on the fast break, which he's shown he can do.

11/23/2010 10:25:41 AM

Zo dunk



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-Ihqi91Xq0

11/23/2010 4:25:12 PM

Quote :

" If Wood would pull out some Horner pump fakes, it would help out his game IMO. "

D-HORNNNNN

11/23/2010 4:32:05 PM

Quote :

"Wood's defense has been more hit or miss than his shooting so far."

I felt this way too during the GT game. I don't know if it was him being tired because of the amount of minutes he played in that amount of time or what, but he was caught a step behind on several of the backdoor plays GT used and he also got beat badly during their fastbreak a couple times.

11/23/2010 4:52:40 PM

4^ I was joking when I made that post. But honestly if Wood did ball fake his man he could possibly get some penetration to the basket and draw a defender off Smith/Painter/Howell/Leslie.

It would make him much more effective on the offense as opposed to just standing around and occasionally getting a pass and then passing it back to a guard.




[Edited on November 23, 2010 at 5:27 PM. Reason : er]

11/23/2010 5:19:26 PM

He needs to learn something

To head fake and step up, or create off the dribble or something

No one loves an average catch and release shooter who's also getting beat on defense

11/23/2010 5:22:23 PM

11/23/2010 6:24:29 PM

Quote :

"His offense is always going to appear frustrating as long as he's a spot shooter and he isn't hitting 100% of his shots. He needs to learn to create shots or become the greatest outside shooter of all-time. Anything else and people are going to bitch every time he misses."

exactly, he goes 4 of 10 from 3 and people focus on the six misses

11/23/2010 6:58:52 PM