How many regular season wins for us in '17-'18

[23won]

I say 19.  Flame on if you disagree.


v. Saint Peter's (W)
Pennsylvania (W)
South Alabama (W)
Northwestern* (L)
Miami* (L)
Temple (W)
Towson* (W)
Drexel (W)
Villanova (L)
Mercer (W)
@ Bucknell (W)
Saint Louis (W)
Rhode Island (L)
VCU (L)
@massachusetts (W)
@duquesne(W)
Fordham(W)
Richmond(W)
Massachusetts(W)
Davidson(L)
Saint Joseph's(W)
George Washington(L)
@saint Louis(W)
St. Bonaventure(W)
George Mason(W)
Rhode Island(L)
Fordham(W)
Dayton (L)
@saint Joseph's (L)

[lasalle69bestever]

That's reasonable. Hoping for 20 wins here.

[ogbj20]

22-24 W's

[lasalle89]

16. If everything bounces our way...19

[MisterD]

At this point, I give up. The pessimist says we’re clearly less talented than last year. The optimist says the best Giannini team was when he had one true big and four slots to just go. Who knows?

[durenduren]

Common sense says this team is less talented than last year's squad - so more wins? Eh, tough sell on that logic alone. Consistency has been an major issue for the core of this team in past seasons also.

For those reasons, I don't see them stringing together too many 3-game win streaks, let alone a 5-game win streak in-conference, regardless of opponents. You just know every Giannini team is good for a real dud or two in OOC play. I just don't think this team has the talent to recover from those duds quickly. They'll probably show well against some higher quality teams too - it'll be all for nothing though, they'll toss up a bad loss following that will invalidate what seemed like progress. Again, inconsistency and playing to your opponents level for both better and worse, another Giannini-led team Hallmark, IMO.

The optimist in me wants to say better, but I can't ignore the flaws this core has already shown in years past, along with some of the personnel gaps remaining with Henry and Price gone. Make me eat crow, I'd love to be wrong.

14-18.

[durenduren]

Maybe someone can open my eyes - What's the rational for the significant increase in wins this year? I'm having a hard time finding a reason other than "because I want them to do well."

[blueandgold]

Oct 11, 2017 22:12:55 GMT -5 durenduren said:

Maybe someone can open my eyes - What's the rational for the significant increase in wins this year? I'm having a hard time finding a reason other than "because I want them to do well."

The only rationale would be the 3-pt D improves (it pretty much has to - question of how much), in part by taking Price out of equation on D (find me someone who thought he was at least average on D) and also that Washington’s limitations last year do not resurface so he can protect the middle (I’m on the fence)... combined with only a minor drop in scoring (Price was a pretty good scorer, though..)

Like you, I’ve been disappointed by inconsistency and some duds by G teams over the past decade - so I’m hesitant to make a projection.

[durenduren]

Price was nowhere at near as bad of a defender as he's been made out to be since he's graduated, credit to his occasionally blase attitude to defense.

But you're fooling yourself if you can blame Price for earning the 336th worst 3pt-D in the nation -- that's a team-wide, systemic issue. And Price's departure isn't going to magically solve it.

Replacing his scoring is another story, particularly because he was the guy you wanted to have the ball for the last shot.

[sweat83]

MY PREDICTIONS AND COMMENTS.


v. Saint Peter's (W) W BY 1 PT. BOARD IS HAPPY, BUT NOT THRILLED
Pennsylvania (W) W NICE WIN. HOPES ARE HIGH
South Alabama (W) W GOOD WIN. HOPES GETTING HIGHER
Northwestern* (L) W WOW! MAYBE WE ARE PRETTY GOOD THIS YEAR!
Miami* (L) L HAD LEAD WITH 4 MINS LEFT. 0 PTS AND 5 TO'S IN LAST 5 MINUTES
Temple (W) L BIG 5 TEAM. WE ALREADY WON THE ONE GAME AGAINST PENN
Towson* (W) L OOC LETDOWN LOSS TO TEAM WE SHOULD BEAT

DREXEL W WE SEEM TO BEAT DREXEL MORE OFTEN THAN NOT
Villanova (L) L BY 55
Mercer (W) L DECEMBER SWOON
@ Bucknell (W) L DECEMBER SWOON
Saint Louis (W) W BILLIKINS HAVE ISSUES.
Rhode Island (L) W BIG CONFERENCE WIN TO RAISE OUR HOPES
VCU (L) W BIG CONFERENCE WIN TO RAISE OUR HOPES EVEN MORE!
@massachusetts (W) L BUBBLE BURST
@duquesne(W) L BUBBLE BURST AGAIN
Fordham(W) L MAKE IT THREE
Richmond(W) W BOUNCE BACK WIN! WE NEED TO GET ON A ROLL TO END THE SEASON! GET THAT 7 SEED
Massachusetts(W) L HOW'D WE LOSE THIS GAME!
Davidson(L) W WE CAN BEAT DAVIDSON IN REG SEASON GAMES. A10 TOURNAMENT, NOT SO MUCH
Saint Joseph's(W) L BIG 5 TEAM...SEE TEMPLE COMMENT
George Washington(L) W START OF A MINI STREAK TO GET THAT COVETED 7 SEED
@saint Louis(W) W BILLIKINS SUCK
St. Bonaventure(W) W HERE WE GO! MAYBE 6TH SEED?
George Mason(W) L SHOULD BEAT THEM, BUT DON'T
Rhode Island(L) L LATE SEASON SWOON
Fordham(W) W THERES HOPE
Dayton (L) L STILL HOPE FOR THE 8TH SEED
@saint Joseph's (L) L 9 SEED GOING INTO THE A10 TOURNAMENT
[/quote]


PREDICTIONS ARE BASED WHAT WE'VE SEEN IT SEEMS, YEAR AFTER YEAR....

[JoeFedorowicz]

Oct 11, 2017 23:19:39 GMT -5 durenduren said:

Price was nowhere at near as bad of a defender as he's been made out to be since he's graduated, credit to his occasionally blase attitude to defense.

But you're fooling yourself if you can blame Price for earning the 336th worst 3pt-D in the nation -- that's a team-wide, systemic issue. And Price's departure isn't going to magically solve it.

Replacing his scoring is another story, particularly because he was the guy you wanted to have the ball for the last shot.

Its not that Price was a bad player, but that he was a bad fit for the pieces around him. In my opinion.

[durenduren]

Oct 12, 2017 5:06:59 GMT -5 sweat83 said:

Villanova (L) L BY 55

I laughed, but we all know we'll play this game super close until minutes left, but only after Miami beats the snot out of us (Hey Georgetown of last year), defying all logic that we could even have a chance. It's the Giannini way.

[23won]

Maybe some of you just watch the ball and therefore disagree... but whenever I saw a ridiculously open 3 made with no pressure (and without someone being prevented from defending due to a good screen), I would roll the DVR back and find JP flat footed far away from his man.

Not that this team’s D will be a panacea for mediocrity last year but Jordan was not alone. Cleon was not a good defender and often would shuffle along with his man out of position (not between the man and hoop) leading to easy layups; he also was slow recovering back to his man and gave up a good number of 3s off of a pick .

This squad should do better - it can’t do worse


6 points a game or more in defensive improvement will keep us in a lot of games (and change some outcomes) and swing close games in our favor.

We also have two of the best all around players in the league (something we could not honestly say since the Lionel years)*, a seasoned 5th year PG who can defend, score and dish, a Big who can finish around the rim and a tandem of wing players who, while unproven, clearly have the talent to enable us to win more.

* I think BJ can post double-double stats for many of the games this year and Pookie will have crazy point, rebound and assist stat lines.  They may not set La Salle records but will post in-season NCAA stats that will give announcers a lot to talk about during the year.

Add in the fact that a lot of the good teams’ best players graduated last year and I think we can improve to 19+ wins

The keys IMO are

Team chemistry and buying into two-way play (this happened in the Sweet 16 season but was absent when we relied on one way volume scorers)

Deas utilizing his talents and being smarter off Court (so G is comfortable putting him on the court)

Phiri adjusting to A10 speed of game and utilizing quickness ( to get an open shot and defend) instead of relying on brute force

Moultrie being utilized in an up tempo four out set (IMO G just needs to put in the package occasionally to change tempo and heavily against the right teams where we can create mismatch advantage opportunities)

Tony staying out of foul trouble

That is a lot more achievable/solvable than having players accounting for 50+ mpg reversing field and playing D

[sweat83]

Oct 12, 2017 6:50:00 GMT -5 durenduren said:

Oct 12, 2017 5:06:59 GMT -5 sweat83 said:

Villanova (L) L BY 55

I laughed, but we all know we'll play this game super close until minutes left, but only after Miami beats the snot out of us (Hey Georgetown of last year), defying all logic that we could even have a chance. It's the Giannini way.

There's a 55 pt loss somewhere in that schedule. Not sure if it's Villanova....or St. Louis.

[theneumann64]

14 or 15 seems about right to me.

[explorers2013]

I think 20 wins would be a fantastic season and don't think it is that unrealistic. If we can get out of the non-conference schedule with 3 or 4 losses the A10 seems to be wide open outside of URI. Talent wise the young guys like Deas and Phiri have a year of college basketball under their belts and should have an easier time adjusting to college basketball this year, both are talented on the offensive end and defensively the effort needs to be there. The losses of Cleon, Price and Henry honestly may be a good thing more than a bad thing, it didn't seem as though any of them provided much leadership and their wasn't a ton of effort on the defensive end. If BJ can be a leader on this team and get this team to put forth the effort on the defensive end I think we are talented enough to play with 99% of our schedule. Should be an exciting year of Explorer Basketball lot of young talent mixed with some good veteran leadership is always a good mix.

[lasalle89]

Oct 11, 2017 22:12:55 GMT -5 durenduren said:

Maybe someone can open my eyes - What's the rational for the significant increase in wins this year? I'm having a hard time finding a reason other than "because I want them to do well."

Mostly this. We are undefeated right now. I figured why not be positive. We have the whole season to analyze every game.
We do have an elite player in BJ and I am hoping Pookie has taken another step up. This can help us win a couple close games.

[coqui900]

They won 15 games with the worst defense in the A-10 and one of the worst in the country. They beat some really solid teams (URI and Bucknell and FGCU). Four of their losses were either in OT or by a single basket. They legitimately came a few breaks from being a 19-win team.

G's teams have usually been very solid defensive teams on a macro level. Tighten up on that end into a Top 150 defense and get a few RPI scalps (on top of the brand name opponents, Bucknell and maybe even Mercer should be Top 100 teams this year) and we're talking. The defense was absolutely horrendous from the perimeter last year. In general, G's teams don't even allow teams to shoot from deep, let alone make shots. Get back to that.

I really do think Price set the tone in a lot of bad ways last year. Very good player, but he definitely had a downside on the defensive end.

[SICguy84]

Talent on this team, yes; However,I refuse to be sucked in by this coach again. 16 wins. Recently, G is usually good for one big upset and a handful of real head scratchers.

Off the court highlight will be tailgating outside Wells Fargo Center that Sunday morning.

[durenduren]

Appreciating the optimism, but the majority of the positive arguments run counter to what we already know:

- The core is defensively flawed, even with Price gone. It will get better, simply because being 336th again is near impossible. But 'better' is relative when the same core struggled as much as they did.

- BJ & Pookie were two of the more talented players in the A10 last year also, with an arguably more talented cast around them. Chemistry issues aside, that combo didn't get it done last year so I'm struggling to be convinced they'll be able to carry the weight of the entire team this year.

- Giannini's teams are still good for a big upset, but a bunch of duds. He's good for a few coaching errors that end up hurting us also. Same coach, same story line.

- Tony Washington will be in foul trouble. And opponents will know there's a major question mark behind him, so they'll make sure Washington will get in trouble. Will Miles & Cian get it done? I'm not confident, that's a lot to ask out of a red shirt freshman that still appears to be very, very lean & a true freshman.

- But Giannini says Miles is great -- Okay, haven't heard that before.

- So our big men... We were 333rd in total rebounds last year. This is still going to be a bad stat line.

[23won]

Fair points Duren and SIC, but I think Tony will be fine for 25 minutes and we can go 4 out with BJ and 4 smaller player and still do fine in A10 play if we have to. Pookie is a great rebounder and Amar is capable. Shaggy is long and Saul can box out. Look at the UD and Bonnie teams that succeeded this way (and even VCU which often played most minutyes with guys under 6'7.

The A10 is a guard league. I don't buy the Brookins hype but I think Jamir can emerge and flourish and be a big piece to the puzzle ... if G lets him learn (unlike what he did with Shaggy last year).

[las71]

I think we will be better this year especially if Deas and Phiri rebound on the defensive end. I expect Amar,BJ and Pookie to be even better with another year of experience I hope Tony will have a solid year. Depth may be an issue. Not sure what we can expect from Brookins and wonder if some posters are expecting too much from Moultrie who is making the adjustment to college basketball without playing his senior year in high school. We do have Shuler who has been a starter and should provide quality off the bench. If Deas and Phiri step up and Brookins is capable of some steady minutes, it should be an exciting season.

[coqui900]

Does anyone know why Moultrie didn't play last year?

[jellybean]

Can someone show me where G said that Brookins will be great? I must have missed that one. I think he said he was excited because he is further advanced than your typical FR front court player. Remember since G has been in the A10 there have only been a handful of FR big guys who either started or contributed a lot.

[durenduren]

Re: Brookins, just going on what someone else said. But my logic was the same, effective freshman front court players are less common than La Salle conference tourney wins.

[23won]

I was reminded we have a two game tourney not in my list above so I am updating the prediction to 20. I feel like Jon Stark leaving the wall to seek white walkers in making this prediction (given the records since the Sweet 16). I just think this team is going to over-perform expectations and I am sticking with that!

I am officially joining Bobby in the 20 club. Anyone else want to join? If you don't now, you get a tiny seat at the back of the bandwagon later on :-)

[La Salle 08]

Oct 13, 2017 8:05:12 GMT -5 23won said:

Jon Stark

That's a violation.

[lasalle89]

Who was it that thought we were winnng 28 games last year? I want to hear his prediction.

[MisterD]

I knew I wouldn't go that high and yet I still felt the need to check knowing I was on the bullish side. I had 21. This year I have ... less.

[Deleted]

Oct 13, 2017 11:05:48 GMT -5 lasalle89 said:

Who was it that thought we were winnng 28 games last year? I want to hear his prediction.

dolphins2 and jimmywhispers were bullish but I don't remember specific number 28 and could not find it in prediction threads. They were in the 23 to 25+ range, I believe.