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Post by calidelphia on Aug 27, 2014 15:06:43 GMT -5
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Post by belfieldhappyhour on Aug 27, 2014 17:26:54 GMT -5
Pardon my french, but WTF is up with two Sun-Wed road game sets, at UMass and VCU, at St. Louis and Fordham. WOOF |
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Post by blueandgold on Aug 27, 2014 19:37:52 GMT -5
I am worried. 3 of our first 4 conference games are 2014 NCAA teams, with the two at home occurring before students will be back to pack the stands. our last 3 conference games, assuming Rhode Island moves into contention this year, are all in Philly during "spring" break. senior day is the last one at home against Dayton. I know St. Joe's is not expected to be quite as good this year but still.
always tough to get good numbers during breaks, but if the season is .500-ish again, the fans might not go the extra mile when we need them most. hopefully we get off to a blazing start and then take at least 2 of 4 between Nov 28 and Dec 6.
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Post by 23won on Aug 28, 2014 7:31:23 GMT -5
It's not the time to start making excuses or thinking about .500.
This is a team with depth, talent and experience. Unlike last year, we are not as prone to mismatches on the court, and the first few games should allow the team to gel and build confidence. The NY tourney is important but should be viewed as how much progress we gain, not whether we win it (which would be great but not essential). When January rolls in, it is time to lock down on D and shoot lights out. If we win, students will show up when on break etc. Gotta get that winning mojo going and start strong.
Let's go Explorers!
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Post by a10champion15 on Aug 28, 2014 10:34:01 GMT -5
I wouldn't be too concerned about the schedule yet in terms of tough stretches just yet. I really don't expect Saint Louis to be good whatsoever or SJU for that manner. Will have to see how these teams are looking after non con play as well as a number of other A10 teams.
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Post by coqui900 on Aug 28, 2014 12:20:16 GMT -5
I have absolutely zero expectations going into this season. By that, I don't mean they'll finish 5-25 or whatever. But this is a team that has three seniors who have played together constantly, a glue guy in Rohan capable of giving quality spot minutes, a big man who played maybe three minutes of competitive basketball last season, a guard who essentially no-showed due to nagging injuries and a bunch of dudes who never played together before that includes two freshmen.
I mean, it's a total crapshoot. We know what the seniors bring. JW and Steve both have All A-10 First Team potential. But they also had a bunch of experienced guards feeding them the ball over the past few years. But now? Who knows what the hell will happen.
It could all come together fabulously well with Cleon or Jordan Price becoming a total star or Amare or Johnny really setting the league on fire or Tony Washington being a defensive stud. But it could also all fall apart with no consistent play and no chemistry.
I think anyone trying to predict this season is nuts. There's absolutely no way to make a guess.
Dr. G's not afraid to experiment -- the five-in/five-out stuff, the Rodney class of all swingmen, changing it up to a four guards, getting good local transfers, etc. This is another really interesting gamble.
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big5vet
Utility Bench Player
Posts: 176
Likes: 38
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Post by big5vet on Aug 28, 2014 12:40:27 GMT -5
I won't put pressure on "G" or the team by guessing how many games they might win. Last season's squad won 7 in the conference and 15 overall. That was with a very inconsistent offense. I believe this season's roster has more talent and more depth than last's. If that conclusion proves to be true on the court, I won't be disappointed with the results. Most games should be very to highly competitive and wins will not come easily at any level in the conference. OOC represents opportunities if the team gels early. I'm looking forward to the ride.
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Post by coqui900 on Aug 28, 2014 13:02:12 GMT -5
I'm really not excited when a team that's not experienced playing with each other loses to someone perceived worse than we are in the early part of the season. The bridge this board will jump off of...
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Post by talkinbball on Aug 28, 2014 13:14:34 GMT -5
Hate the fact that the Villanova game is midweek and starts at 8:30!!
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Post by lwc4591 on Aug 28, 2014 13:58:06 GMT -5
Difficult to say what will happen but from an optimistic point of view I see the team shooting better (which won't take a whole lot) as well as rebounding better which should bode well for us. Still believe Shuler should start at point due to better ball handling skills and shooting but no chance of that happening until at least 10 games into the season. If Stukes is shooting better it will be a big plus.
I think Roberts and Price will be fine after they adjust (minimum 5 games) from being out a full season.
Brown is a nice 7th or 8th man and Washington has to be a surprise and give us 2 or 3 points per game along with 2 or 3 rebounds in 10-12 minutes per game. Lewis could very well be the key because he has to give us more than last season for team to finish on plus side of .500.
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Post by calidelphia on Nov 4, 2014 15:18:40 GMT -5
The AP top 25 poll was released a few days ago and I hadn't heard much discussion about it on here. I thought is was interesting that we are looking at 3 games against top #15 opponents at this date. Two of those games are back to back slobberknockers against top #10 preseason Virginia and Villanova.
Villanova is ranked as high as #8 in some alternative polls like SI's and as low as #12 in the others. Columnists are saying they should easily win the Big East over the likes of Providence, Georgetown and Seton Hall. That sounds likely considering the current level of competition in that conference with the key here being their recruit of 6'5" guard Josh Hart. They lost only one player in the last year as far as I am aware and are returning a really solid group of players in a system that they are a great fit for. Jay Wright will have this team coached up and ready to win some big games.
VCU comes in at #15 on the nose and is returning starters Graham and Weber as the focal point of Shaka "flapjack" Smarts' team. They are going to open things up for Melvin Johnson. They will protect the ball and force turnovers, however, if we can break their press like Duren was able to do in the past we have the quickness and length in the frontcourt and the size and strength in the backcourt to give them fits again this year. Their spot on this list is no surprise to anyone as they are expected to compete for the A10 title with the likes of GW and sleeper URI.
Virginia #9 also brings back 3 starters. One (parrentes) is currently injured with a foot problem and another (Marial) had a pulled hamstring and a knee scope. They lost Harris, ACC tourney mvp as well as leading rebounder and all acc defensive team selection Mitchell, two of the stars from last years run. Lone senior Darion Atkins took over the leadership role of their young yet deep squad. If you remember they also lost some tough games early last year before taking the ACC by storm. I would expect them to play more aggressively early in the year, especially during the stretch where we match up. While I do like the depth I think this is over rating them a bit. Last year was something very special for them and they are now very young.
Other notes I saw were that in various polls St. Louis, Umass, Dayton and George Washington all got votes with GW getting the most love. No love for URI who is a favorite among those more familiar with the A10 right now.
It looks like the A10 has the attention of AP and coaches with 5 teams getting votes in preseason polls again. Still, it's no surprise that the stretch from Nov. 28th to Dec 6th will be the time that we learn the most about our squad. As this poll is showing, that run could get us the national attention to close the big spring recruits we are all clamoring about right now. The more I look at it, the more excited I get about this season being another special one for us. This team is WAY under the radar is so differently constructed from the past that many teams (and fans) may be caught by surprise. If we go 3-0 against the big V's this year, we get a nod for post season. Not likely, but one can hope.
Vasalos, any input here ?
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Post by a10champion15 on Nov 4, 2014 20:37:50 GMT -5
I'll tell you this I like our matchups in most of our A10 home and home series and I think we can pull off a win against Nova or Virginia. As stated so many times before this season hinges on our guards. Price, Stukes/Shuler and Roberts have to be everything they been hyped to be which is asking a lot. Washington and Brown need to help Wright/Zack with some quality minutes. Peterson and Khalid need to take a step forward. We go about 8 or 9 deep I say. I am not sure how many minutes Washington and Brown will legitimately get. However looking at our match ups......
Our home record the past three years is really impressive. Its nearly 80% and we haven't been blown out once. 6 of our losses are either in OT or by one possession.
Looking at the NCAA likely/hopefuls...
George Washington - Wright and Zack have to beat their front court of Larsen, Kopriva and Garino. Lucky, we play them at home but Garino is just a really difficult player to defend. Beat this team with depth that they don't really have.
UMass-Good team not sure if they are exactly an NCAA team yet but I think they are going to be. A lot of nice pieces in Gordon, Esho, Lalanne and Trey Davis. I bet if we win one of these games it because they had trouble defending our guards.
URI-I just don't see how this team isn't going to be one of the best in the league. So much depth, high level of talent and some experience. How we beat this team? Making less mistakes and turnovers.
Dayton-Honestly I don't see how Dayton returns this year too many injuries and their front court is probably among one of the worst in the A10. If we can contain their guards we should be fine. Zack and Wright can win this one for us if the refs let them.
VCU-I am just not going to get into this one. Yea, we beat them once away but twice...ehhh doubtful.
Richmond-I also am not going to get into them too much. They are right there with us as a sleeper and they have a number of pieces coming into play with Jones in the starting role and transfer Cline. Honestly, I am not really sure how Mooney is running this team this season but it can't hurt we play them at the Gola IF they are a very good team.
More importantly that first week of December stretch...already discussed Temple so I won't get into that.
Nova-This is the matchup I hate the most. Their guards are better...much better. Archy is always clutch, Ennis was a really good guard off the bench and Hillard is outstanding. However, with Bell gone, Pinkston and Ochefu who hasn't met expectations yet along with an inexperienced sophomore class with Jenkins and Hart we have to beat them through our bigs. This is a game where Zack being able to shoot will go a LONG way. Also, going into this game with a solid record against a ranked Nova team in the Gola. Students could make the difference in this game.
Virginia-I like this matchup better than Nova plus being on neutral court helps. Virginia wasn't a team that got going until league play. I kind of expect the same thing. I know London was injured but he will be back by that point. Their starting five is Brogden, Parrentes, Anderson, Gill, and Tobey. This game is going to be a gritty one. They aren't a team thats going to light us up they will just prevent us from getting into any type of offensive flow. How we beat them is through the distraction of our front court which I think is better than theirs. I also don't think their guards are light years better. G has the right guards on Brogden, Parrentes and Anderson we could pull this one out. Wright can handle Gill and Zack can handle Tobey.
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