Joe Schmo's reaction in the first 43 seconds of the below video probably describes the current feeling of every Hoya fan across the whole entire world ( I know follower Ronald Ramon Says "74-65" is probably tickled pink by the inclusion of his favorite reality TV moment).
Well, I will tell you what is going on, by song. Thus I present to you "Holding Out for a Hero" by Bonnie Tyler.
Where are all the great leaders The real men, not the boys Where's the legend Jeffrey Green Jon Wallace and Big Roy Isn't there a Hoya who wants a tourney seed After games I cry and I blog and I long for what I need
Chorus: I need a hero I'm holding out for a hero to win us big games He's gotta be calm And he's gotta have guts And he's gotta not care about fame I need a hero I'm holding out for a hero with ice in his veins He's gotta be tough And he's gotta think quick And he's gotta play through any pain
Do you all remember Jon's shot against UNC At West Virginia, Ewing's block vs. UConn, Hibbert hit that three And against Vandy, Jeff hit the winning shot Now that they've all graduated, who will take their spot?
Chorus
Three All-Americans, a Jordan All-Star Add Jesse, there's our starting team A squad with so much talent, losing Makes me scream
In Durham, vs. the Hall, at Cincy Could have won, it was tight Took bad shots, lost the games Cause this team, has no fight
Tough day to be the favorite on the road. #1 Duke loses at Wake. #3 Pitt loses at Villanova. #15 Syracuse loses at Providence. And of course, #25 Georgetown loses at Cincinnati. Only one of those games has serious implications for NCAA Tournament and unfortunately for Hoya fans, it has to do with Georgetown. Since it is bad news, I'll try to sugarcoat it with a little pig in a bow tie.
Yes, I know I am being harsh. Yes, I know I am being pessimistic. And yes, I know that I am 100% correct. We have ten games left, five on the road and five at the neutral Verizon center. Five are against ranked opponents. So being optimistic, we go 5-5, end up 17-12 and 8-10 in conference play. We will still be in the top 50 RPI and have a top 10 SOS. But the selection committee will be hard-pressed to let a team into the tournament with an under .500 conference record and that hasn't had a good win since the middle of January. Oh well, at least we got these young players some valuable experience playing a tough OOC schedule, ahem bullshit. The only thing this schedule did was depress and discourage the now hopeless Hoyas. Perfect transition to tonight's wonderful display of basketball.
Simply put: another game, another last minute collapse. The Heart Break Hoyas continue to remind fans of the Esherick-era as they extend their season long losing steak to four. On the positive side, our losses should no longer be considered upsets, since we have shown the sports community why we are undeserving of a Top 25 ranking. This should serve as a lesson to all, if you expect the worst, you can never be disappointed.
Funny thing is, we actually didn't play that poorly... for the first 35 minutes of the game . We were careful with the ball, hit our foul shots, and rebounded well. But we have reverted back to our Esherick ways during the end of games. Thompson is still a remarkable 17-3 in games decided by three or less points, and 9-0 in the last three seasons. But this season, we have been so awful in the closing minutes that the games that should be decided by three or less points end up being blowouts.
So why do we suck during the last five minutes? Let's review the last two losses. To make it more or less confusing, depending on who is reading, I broke each game into five-minutes spans, for a total of eight. Then compared how well we shot in each five minute segment, and what types of shots we took.
Seton Hall We entered the final five minutes of the game with a tied score. We proceed to take 10 shots, making only 2. We took 5 three-pointers, tied for the most we have taken in a five minute span, and miss all of them. Combined with our 3 for 5 shooting from the free throw line, we end the final minutes shooting 5 for 15, our worst percentage for any five minute stretch of the game. Five players took shots, yet the player that was having the best shooting game (Monroe) took only one shot. The four other players combined to shoot 7 for 35 for that game. And oh, of those 5 three-point attempts, only one of them was taken when the team was down by three or more points. The other 4 were when we were down by one or two points, and a higher percentage shot would have made more sense. We were outscored 7-12 in the final stretch and lost by five.
Cincinnati We entered the final five minutes of the game down by two. We proceeded to take 8 shots, making only 2. We took 5 three-pointers, the most for any five minute stretch of a game, and made 1. We attempted no foul shots. The final minutes are tied for our worst shooting five minute stretch of the game. Five players took shots, yet the player that was having the best shooting game (Wright) took only two. The other four players combined to shoot 10 for 35 for the game. We are outscored 5-11 in the final minutes and lost by eight.
What Does This Mean - We don't take good shots at the end of the game. We rush to shoot rather than waiting for the open look. - We are remarkably inefficient at getting the ball to our hottest shooters. - We don't play the law of averages. We were 3 of 17 from beyond the arc entering the final five minutes of the Seton Hall game. Why were did we shoot 4 threes when a two-point shot could have tied or given us the lead? That is horrific coaching. - In two of the last three losses, JT3 has made a comment suggesting that it was a "blip" or we were getting "bad bounces". That is crap. We don't make buckets at the end of the game because we take bad shots, not because of bad bounces. - We do not have a go-to player. We do not have a star. Everyone attempts to make the highlight reel shot, but we have yet to see one go in.
Trouble on Saturday. Marquette is going to crush us. Especially if Summers isn't healthy. Get ready for the NIT Hoya fans, I guess it was true when they said it was going to be a rebuilding year. Mid-season review after the Marquette game. I'm feeling artsy so expect a song in the next few days.
Hope everyone has recovered from Sunday's catastrophe. Don't want to talk much about tomorrow's game because thinking about Georgetown basketball makes me sad. And when I'm sad, I cry. And when I cry, I get made fun of at work. And when I get made fun of at work, I cry more. It is a vicious cycle.
Why does this game matter? - We are currently tied for 9th place with the Bearcats - We play them again in ten days - We are a woeful 1-3 on the road - Another loss would put us at 3-5 in conference play, with five games left against ranked opponents, three of them on the road - Chances of finishing in top four of Big East and getting a double bye in the Big East Tournament are next to nothing - We need to finish between # 5-8 in the conference in order to qualify for a first round bye - Lunardi somehow has us at a #5-seed out West, he obviously hasn't been watching this team play
What to expect? - Cincinnati is a young but deep team - Eight players average over 15 minutes a game, compared to six on Georgetown - Those eight consist of two juniors, three sophomores and three freshman - Georgetown is 4-0 against common opponents so far, while Cincinnati is 0-4 - They rebound fairly well despite not having a height advantage over opponents - They are not good from the free throw line, with four of their eight players shooting 60% or lower - Deonta Vaughn, their leading scorer, accounts for one-third of Cincinnatti's three point attempts - Sapp needs to shut down Vaughn and Monroe needs to stop fellow freshman Yancy Gates from getting easy putbacks
First time since '06-'07 season that one of our Big East games is not broadcast on TV. That game was also at Cincinnati. If we don't win tomorrow, chalk this season up as a waste and pray for no transfers. Time to blame the red puffy eyes on my allergies to snow.
I haven't felt this dejected since January 29, 2003. That was the last time I realized that I had completely overestimated the drive, discipline and talent of a Georgetown team. It was then that I realized that I had hung my hopes on a team that didn't exhibit the same passion to win as I thought they had. And it was then that I realized that the losses weren't random stretches of misfortune and it was actually that the wins were random stretches of luck. Coincidentally, that moment occurred right after another embarrassing loss to Seton Hall. On that night, the Pirates sent the game into overtime with an alley-opp dunk over a emotionless Georgetown team. Funny thing was that Seton Hall had six men on the court for that final play, and no one caught it. Seton Hall ended up winning the game in overtime, outscoring the Hoyas 19-8 in the five minute extra period. Craig Esherick had this to say after that game:
"We've got to figure out who we have on our team that wants to win. Those people that want to win, and work to win, are going to play. Those who want to make excuses and don't want to win are not going to play."
Pretty sure JT3 can quote the above statement verbatim to his team after their embarrassing loss to Seton Hall today. Don't blame it on bad luck. Don't blame it on stiff rims. Don't blame it on off days. Every single player, coach and manager on this team needs to look themselves in the mirror realize the person starring back is at fault for the horrific display of basketball. Only then will things change.
Not much to say because it is all pretty obvious but here goes: - We shot 3-22 from beyond the arc. We are now 5-38 in the last two games. - I said it last time and I'll say it again. We are, or were, a good shooting team because we took good shots, not because we have good shooters. - We attempted 15 layups, 15 two-point jump shots and 22 three pointers. Something seems off there. - Excluding Greg Monroe, Georgetown was 3-9 on layups, and 0-4 on layups in the second half. - 17 turnovers against a terrible Seton Hall team. DaJuan had six himself. - Can't blame this on being a young team, returning starters were 5 of 25 from the field and 3 of 14 from beyond the arc. - We air-balled a three pointer twice in the final minutes of the game. - The announcer kept calling him Omar Wu-Todd. I liked it. And then I hated it. And then I threw something at my TV. - No Henry Sims, not that he would have added much. - First time I have ever seen JT3 call a timeout and the team actually look worse afterward. A turnover after he stopped a fast break on a timeout and then a three pointer off the side of the backboard after a Seton Hall timeout. That worries me. - Supposed to be our easy stretch before a brutal Marquette-Louisville-Villanova stretch to end February. Because of the last two losses this team could be under .500 in Big East play, and miss the NCAA Tournament. That saddens me. - Don't expect to be ranked come Monday.
When it rains, it pours. Unfortunately for fans, that adage applied to the Hoyas' performance last night against West Virginia. The Mountaineers handed Georgetown their worst loss of the season, defeating the sometimes hapless but mostly hopeless Hoyas by a 17 point margin. Might as well been a road game, the cheers of the inbred in yellow deafened the cries the home Hoyas.
How bad of a loss was it you ask? Well here are some tidbits to put it in perspective: - Largest margin of defeat since losing at UConn by 19 points on March 2, 2005, 127 games ago. This was JT3's first year. - Largest margin of defeat at home since losing to Temple by 18 points on November 22 2004, 73 home games ago. This was also in JT3's first year. - Largest margin of defeat at home against a Big East opponent since losing to Notre Dame by 23 points on March 4, 2000, 61 home Big East games ago. This was in Craig Esherick's first full year as head coach.
How did Georgetown lose this game? Well, they couldn't shoot, couldn't pass, couldn't rebound, couldn't take care of the ball and couldn't play defense. Other than that it was a pretty good game. Since this game was a "blip" and not the "norm" as JT3 stated after the game, I too shall stray from the norm and present my thoughts in a few paragraphs as opposed to standard random statements.
Shooting We went 2-16 from beyond the arc, resulting in a pitiful 12.5% three point percentage. I think it is important for all to recognize that Georgetown is a good shooting team not because they have good shooters, but because they take good shots. Subtle but incredibly important difference. There is no one on this team that is spot shooter. There is no one on this team that can consistently back an opponent down and hit a fadeaway. The success of this team and the program JT3 has built is dependent on ball movement, creating open looks and taking high percentage shots. Unfortunately this year's team has had a tendency to forget what made them successful. The players took shots with opponents in their face, threes after one pass and tried to make fancy SportsCenter Top Ten layups which ended up spinning off of the rim.
Passing Georgetown had 8 assists in this game. That is the fewest amount of assists they have had all season. They had 20 field goals on those 8 assists, which is tied for the lowest ratio on the season. The last time the Hoyas had fewer assists than they did last night was on November 29, 2006 in a loss to Oregon where they managed only 7 dimes. The last time Georgetown had an assist to field goal ratio lower than last night was also during the Oregon loss, 82 games ago. So far this season, Georgetown is averaging fewer assists per field goal than in any other season under JT3.
Rebounding The Hoyas were pitiful. The box score shows 25 rebounds, 9 of which were offensive but in reality the numbers are much lower. Six offensive rebounds came in the last two and half minutes, when West Virginia already had a double digit lead and was trying not to foul. The main reason the team doesn't rebound, other than not remembering the lyrics to the Box It Out song is they don't follow their shots. After every Georgetown three point shot the shooter ended up close to half court by the time the ball bounced off the rim. No one charges the basket on the offensive end when a shot goes up, and no one picks an opponent to push out of the lane. At this point, I would rather see every starter foul out of the game because of push-in-the-back or over-the-top fouls. At least it shows they are thinking about rebounding.
Turnovers Most turnovers since the loss to Tennessee. After an impressive start to his Big East career, Jason Clark regressed with five turnovers and no assists last night. Adding to the pain was Julian Vaughn who managed to hand the ball over to the Mountaineers three times in four minutes. Georgetown currently has a woeful 1:1 turnover to assist ratio, its worst under JT3.
Defense The poor defense is a result of all of the above. The Hoyas couldn't handle West Virginia's drive and pass offense. Da'Sean Butler crushed Georgetown, making twice as many threes as the entire Hoya squad. The turnovers led to quick buckets, the lack of rebounding led to easy put-backs and the inability to guard against drives led to open shots on the perimeter. I said West Virginia was not a good three point shooting team in the preview, and they are not, they have the worst three point percentage out of the top half of the Big East (by rankings, not standings) but when you let them attempt 23 threes, they are going to make a few.
So there you have it. One of the worst games ever under a John Thompson III coached team. We all knew the season was not going to be spectacular, but didn't think it would be ugly. Up against Seton Hall on Sunday, a team that has yet to win a conference game. Needlessness to say but this is a must win, Hoyas haven't lost three straight since '05-'06 season.
We need to win this game. West Virginia is right about where people expected them to be. Picked to finish off the top half of the Big East by the conference coaches in October, the Mountaineers are 13-4 with an impressive thrashing of Ohio State and win over Cleveland State (something Cuse couldn't do). They are 2-2 in the conference, winning the games they should (Seton Hall and South Florida) and losing the games against ranked opponents (UConn and Marquette).
Their offense revolves around senior guard Alex Ruoff and junior forward Da'Sean Butler. They suck at shooting threes, shoot 65% from the free throw line but don't turn the ball over too much. And they are without guard Joe Mazzulla, one of the heroes from last season's upset of Duke in the NCAA Tournament.
Last time they played Georgetown they were handily defeated in the semifinals of the Big East Tournament. That game was particularly memorable because the Hoyas went 1-7 from the FT line. Last time the two teams squared off in the regular season Georgetown won in the final seconds on a Patrick Ewing Jr. block. Whether it was a block or a goaltend is up to the viewer (video below) but the West Virginia fans, fairy new to the internet, showed their displeasure with the no-call by changing the Wikipedia definition of Goaltending. Wow, they really showed us. Not Wikipedia!
In other news, this is highly disturbing. When I was in 7th grade, I was trying to decide whether wearing sweatpants to school was still acceptable, not where I wanted to play college basketball.
Well apologies for the late post. A small event was happening in DC this weekend so I was a little preoccupied. It happens every four years, some sort of leap year celebration or something. By now I am sure everyone is well aware of the phantom technical foul on Greg Monroe that changed the landscape of the game. Follower caf38 sent along this gem regarding the foul. It is from someone who talked to Bryon Jansen the next day:
I saw Bryon at church today and asked him about the call. He said it was a fan behind the bench that yelled "bullshit" and then the ref turned and gave the technical to Greg, who was sitting there not saying anything. Ref's back was definitely toward the bench and was looking for an excuse to give a technical after Coach [Thompson] gave him grief for the previous call.
So since my last post was an epic, I will limit my incredulously livid response to the blatantly shady and Donaghy-eque call. In fact, I won't even use words to describe my thoughts on the foul and why it was called. They say a picture is worth a thousand words thus I present to you Exhibit A.
Shouldn't be a surprise to anyone that the officiating was horrendous at Durham. Follower blichman sent me the following to preemptively refute allegations of foul play by the officials.
I know you didn't like the "ACC fouls" but they ended up calling 19 on Gtown and 18 on Duke with Gtown shooting 5 more FT's, so it looks pretty even to me. And they did T up Singler, which was well-deserved. Also, it's probably good for Monroe to be exposed to different referees at this point of the season - can only help come tourney time when you probably won't have Big East calls.
I disagree good sir. It had nothing to do with the numbers of fouls called, it is all about the types of fouls. The ACC and especially Duke are notorious for flopping. See below video:
Flop (n.) - a blatant and pathetic attempt to draw the sympathy of a paid-off official to call an undeserving foul on the opposing team. Commonly associated with the ACC, Duke, Coach K and girl's middle school basketball.
Georgetown had 19 fouls in the game, 9 in the first half, 10 in the second. Of those 19 fouls, 7 led to foul shots. Of those 7 shooting fouls, 5 were because Georgetown was over the foul limit. So, of the 12 pre-limit fouls committed by Georgetown, only 2 led to foul shots, and one of them was the phantom technical foul. So in reality, only 1 out of the 12 pre-limit fouls was a Big EastFoul, the rest were ACC Fouls. This means they were hand-checks, moving screens, over-the-tops, charges, and other petty non-shooting infractions.
Duke had 18 fouls in the game, 7 in the first half, 11 in the second. Of those 18 fouls, 11 led to foul shots. Of those 11 shooting fouls, 5 were because Duke was over the foul limit. So, of the 12 pre-limit fouls committed by Duke, 6 led to foul shots. Thus 50% of Duke's first six fouls in each half fouls were hacks, and they didn't get as many of the crappy ACC Fouls called against them because Georgetown didn't flop on drives, fall after shots and most importantly, play grab-ass with the officials during timeouts.
Which is a perfect transition to my other observations: - Despite the fact that Duke was playing with 8 players (five wearing Duke jerseys, three wearing stripes), Georgetown should have won this game - Duke committed more shooting fouls, so Georgetown ended up with more foul shots. But like at Notre Dame, they couldn't hit the freebies. Georgetown was a pitiful 10-18 (56%) from the stripe, Duke was 12-13 (92%). That is where the game was lost. - I was not overly impressed by the once again over-hyped Duke team. Put them on a neutral court, with good refs I don't think they are a top ten team. Singler can easily be taken out of the game by a physical front line and Henderson can't win it all for them. Scheyer is the non-poetry writing version of Redick, he cannot create his own shot. - Don't know the number exactly but Monroe had something like a 30pt influence on the Georgetown squad. When he was on the court, Georgetown outscored Duke by 10, when he was off, Duke outscored them by 20. Don't hold me to that, I don't remember the exact numbers that were mentioned during the telecast. - Clark and Wattad got more playing time than Wright and Sapp. Good for the future, bad for the present - It is mental with Sapp at this point, first time all season he failed to score a point - Please stay four years DaJuan, even though there is no need for you to, you will easily be a lottery pick in this year's draft - Freeman is quietly putting together a first or second team all-Big East season - Duke fans. Wow. They wear face paint not only to show their pride but to hide what is beneath the layers of color. The student section is a couple of mis-assembled rope barricades away from resembling the DMV. - T^3 once pointed out Monroe's tendency to look shocked after being called for a foul. He looks funny but loses the after-foul face contest to Pitt's Tyrell Biggs:
- It's okay Tyrell, we have laundry machines that will clean whatever you just did in your pants.
There are a lot of significant numbers in American History. 13 colonies, 50 states, 49 meaningful states, 1492 Columbus discovers America, 1776 adoption of Declaration of Independence, 1984 birth year of greatest blogger of all-time, etc.
But there are only two sports scores that will forever be ingrained into American History. USA 4, USSR 3 and Georgetown 87, Duke 84. Both are beautiful and ageless stories of hope to pass to future generations. Both illustrate the underdog message and inspire one to never give up, regardless of the odds against. Messages akin to David vs. Goliath, Good vs. Evil, Democracy vs. Communism, the list is endless. Submitted for the approval of the Midnight Society, I call this story, The Rebirth of the Hoyas.
It was a chilly Friday night, as Georgetown Seniors lined up outside of Tom Tom's watering hole in Adams Morgan. It was nearing the end of January, which meant it was time for senior disorientation week. I was sporting a worn out baseball cap, which was the norm in my younger days. The hat had been through a lot. It had seen the heartbreaks and agony of the Esherick Era, a period so painful that the hat boasted the sweat and tears of passionate disgust as a badge. The hat also saw a season and half span of basketball under a new realm. A new dawn had begun but the low hanging clouds were still obstructing the rays of hope from shinning on the Hoya faithful. Bitterness was replaced by cautious intrigue. Anger replaced by guarded curiosity. Who was this John Thompson III? What was the deal with this funny offense? Why does our 7'2'' center play at the top of the key?
Thompson's first season at the helm was filled with ups and downs. We were destroyed at home in his first game by Temple, and later embarrassed by Oral Roberts. But in his first Big East game, he guided us to a victory at 16-ranked Pittsburgh, an arena where Georgetown had never won before. We won nail-biters at Villanova and against Notre Dame. Having "win" and "nail-biter" in the same sentence was foreign to Hoya fans, unless we were talking from opposing teams' perspectives. By February, Hoya fans started to believe in something they never thought they would see again, an NCAA Tournament berth. After a win over West Virginia the Hoyas were sitting at 16-6, 8-3 in conference play with five games left, three against teams they had already beaten. A small place inside of us all called hope started to peak its head out. And then in an ever so cruel twist, the collapse that everyone knew was coming, but just for once wanted to believe could be avoided, occurred. It was as if the ghost of disgraced coaches past (Craig Esherick) kicked the table that supported the house of cards we were building. And what hurt the most was that it wasn't a grandiose card sculpture, it wasn't something that drew the envy of neighbors. It was really just a few cards lined up against each other. A few decent wins here and there, combined with a few bad losses. But Esherick would have none of it. We lost our last five and any chance of an NCAA Tournament berth. And we all learned an important lesson. You see, hope is a dangerous thing. Drive a man insane.
Flash forward to that Friday night at Tom Tom's. The next morning Georgetown and Thompson faced its biggest challenge to date. The Duke Blue Devils were coming to town. Duke was the preseason #1 and hadn't left the top position for all nine weeks of the season. They were 17-0 going for a school record 18-0. They had absolutely destroyed opponents, with an average margin of victory of nearly 20 points. Meanwhile Georgetown was 11-4, with no key victories but no horrific losses. Some in line knew what was at stake the next day, although most did not. The last time Duke came to DC they absolutely humiliated the Hoyas 85-66. The ending score does not do the massacre justice; the score was 48-24 at halftime!
Thoughts of a sequel to that shame ran through my mind while in line for the bar. Thankfully, or so I thought, something interrupted my inner torment. A bouncer rudely and without cause accused me of cutting the line. I calmly responded that I had not and in fact was with the same group of friends I had arrived with. Although skeptical of my explanation, he regressed. As we approached the front entrance, I was ordered to remove my hat. I proposed that I put it in follower Furious Z's purse but was hastily denied. I reluctantly placed the headgear in what was my only option, a box so dark and deep it seemed bottomless. After having a reasonably miserable time at the bar, I left alongside follower blichman, a Dukie who had made the drive up from Durham to witness the contest the next day. As I reached into the box I knew something wasn't right. The accessory with which I had shared so many memories was not there. I did not need to dig through, I sensed its absence. I felt an emptiness in the air that could only occur when something so special and critical to your very existence vanishes, never to be seen again. I heard arguing in the background as follower blichman, a great friend and man of high moral stature, contended that the doorkeeps in fact purposely misplaced the hat as a form of cruel justice, since they were unable to convict me on their first accusation of cutting the line. To me it didn't matter, mere words or acknowledgment of foul play would not bring the hat back. It was gone, and for that I mourned.
I awoke the next morning to sounds of Cream's "Badge" playing through the house, as was our gameday ritual. But as I dressed I realized there was no song that could be more ill-fated for my morning routine. My badge was missing. Like a soldier without his medals, I felt as if I had lost the testament for my anguish. The lessons and pains endured had vanished. I reached for a new hat, which my mother had purchased for my birthday in hopes I would one day retire the old, dirty, sweaty and malformed cap. While I indeed expected the transition to a new hat to occur eventually, I didn't want it to happen like this, not under these circumstances, and not on this day out of all days. Like a knight without his shield, I marched into battle with my head down, expecting only to be wounded again, but without the proof that I had been scarred so many times before.
The atmosphere of the game was like nothing I had seen before. The fans, the players, the arena were trembling with anticipation. Nothing was as telling as when the students sang the national anthem faster than the lead singer. It was as if the students were saying to the person at halfcourt, this isn't your time to amaze us with your vocal abilities, this is our time to shock the world, so don't get fancy with the great anthem. The game started out slow with lots of missed layups by Duke and strong defensive stands by the Hoyas. Georgetown was able to jump out to an early lead but the game was close. The electricity still swarmed the arena as whispers of shock that Georgetown was playing even with the ranked Blue Devils buzzed across the stands. After the first official timeout Georgetown went on a 10-3 run, punctuated by the below video of the classic Princeton Offense play, a backdoor pass.
Again and again, plays like the above occurred. Consider the following: Before Duke decided to play zone at the 2:00 mark of the first half, Georgetown had converted 15 out of their 23 shot attempts, resulting in an incredible 65% shooting percentage. And this was not luck, of their 15 field goals, 12 were layups. Of those 12 layups, 7 came off of assists. The other 3 field goals were three pointers, 2 of which came off of assists. So 9 out of their 15 field goals were created by efficient passing. This was not the game Duke was used to. This was not isolation, not one on one basketball. This was fundamental team basketball, every single Georgetown player on the court had at least one field goal. And then Duke went to a zone defense, in hopes of tightening the inside passing lanes. Below is a video of the new defense, and how Georgetown reacted.
Best way to beat a zone is to hit outside shots. And that is exactly what Georgetown did. The half ended shortly thereafter with Georgetown going into the locker room with a 14 point lead.
In the second half Duke changed its offensive strategy and started driving to the basket. Big man Roy Hibbert sat most of the second half and Duke pushed Jeff Green to the perimeter. This created a gaping hole in the lane for the experienced Duke guards to penetrate. The drives led to fouls, and free throw shooting was something the Duke squad excelled at. The game went back and forth, with Georgetown maintaining its double digit lead until the 8:00 minute mark. Over the next four minutes, Duke went on a 16-8 run as Georgetown committed four fouls while only attempting four shots. The lead was now down to 2. Georgetown quickly responded with a layup and strong defensive stands as Duke went cold and missed their next three shots. With 1:15 left Georgetown had rebuilt the lead to an 8 point margin, but many in the stands were still weary. Weary of a veteran Duke team that had been in situations like this before. Two quick layups by Duke senior Sean Dockery closed the gap to 4 and Georgetown was forced to call a timeout with 47 second left on the clock.
The only thing stopping Georgetown from an improbable upset victory were free throws. By this point Georgetown had hit 12 out of 17 free throw attempts, but only 6 out of 10 in the second half. On the ensuing inbound, senior Ashanti Cook was immediately fouled. He missed the first but made the second. Georgetown had a 5 point lead with 44 seconds left. On the next possession, J.J. Redick had his three point attempt blocked and Georgetown was sent back to the free throw line, this time fellow senior Brandon Bowman was put on the spot. Bowman hit both and Georgetown pushed the lead to 7 with 28 seconds left. But Duke would not give up. A quick layup by Dockery cut the lead to 5 and then Greg Paulus picked up a loose ball for another layup to cut the lead to 3 with 18 seconds left. Bowman was immediately fouled on the inbound and hit 1 out of 2 three throws to make it a 4 point game. Dockery raced the ball upcourt and converted a long perimeter shot, just inches away from being a three. On the inbound Jonathan Wallace was fouled. As he toed the line the scoreboard read 86-84 with 6 seconds left.
Two free throws would seal the game. Wallace hit the first and there was a hush in the crowd. The silence across the arena was deafening. As the second shot went up the crowd's collective heart stopped. Most knew what was at stake. With that shot, a young, new coach would get his greatest victory. With that shot, a funny and complicated offense attributed to teams with lesser athletic talent would force the basketball community to take notice. With that shot, a group of misfits that were not highly recruited out of high school would become a team. And with that shot, the heartbreaks and disappointments of a fan base longing to believe in something would be washed away.
The shot went in, and then out. Hit the inside back rim, then the inside front rim, and then popped out. It was as if our old friend Craig Esherick had the ball on a string, toying with us as he mocked the hopes and faith of Hoya fans. Duke collected the rebound and raced upcourt. There was only one player allowed to shoot the ball in this instance, and it was All-American, senior guard J.J. Redick, who at this juncture had scored nearly half of Duke's points. As Paulus cut to the sideline to make room for a Redick three he lost control of the ball. The ball was loose and Bowman jumped on it. The horn sounded. The clock expired. The scoreboard was set. It read Georgetown 87, Duke 84. Georgetown had just done the unthinkable and the fans gathered at midcourt to celebrate.
The others raced by but I stood still. I blankly stared up at the scoreboard. I wasn't expecting it to change, I believed what I had just witnessed, but never thought I would see it happen. Not after all I had been through with this team, not after all the pain and hardship. But something was different, our past failures didn't weigh down on me. I wasn't stuck in the past, I was able to take joy in the present, and feel optimistic about the future. My shield, my medal, my badge, my hat was not with me. And it was then I realized that it is okay to let go of the past. It is okay to push the pain away. And it is okay to hope. You see, hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies.
I woke up this morning with the idea in my head. The tune was overwhelming, and words were flowing off my tongue. But after more thought, I decided it was a bad idea. I mean most folk already think I'm crazy, why add more fuel to the fire? But then on my way to work (yes, I actually have a job other than blogging) something happened that changed my mind. While doing my normal flip of the radio stations to avoid talk I stumbled across the song I had stuck in my head. I probably hadn't heard it in years but for some inexplicable reason 97.1 decided to play the tune. I took it as a sign from above, or possibly below, that the world needs to hear my message. So without further adieu, I present to you "How Deep is Your Bench" performed by Jim Boeheim and written by the Bee Gees.
I watched tapes of your games before Knew how to guard against your starting five And the moment that you decide to use your reserves Is the moment that we win the game
Then you put in some tall Russian guy Takes two shots, makes them both, gets a season high And its me you need to show
Chorus: How deep is your bench I really need to know Cause we're playing Georgetown again soon They're hard to scout With so many new players Who never play the same way
I feel like a fool I was too proud to scout Jason Clark Put my hopes in Convict Cheddar Bob Then was embarrassed on their floor Vaughn, Wattad, Henry Sims Who thought they would win Can't believe I just lost I had Johnny Flynn And it's me you need to show (repeat chorus)
Game observations: - Third straight win at home against Syracuse. First time that has happened since 1989. - Syracuse never had a lead in this game - 29 points from our bench. Second game in a row we have had strong bench play, will need it against Duke - We limited our turnovers, only two in the second half. We outscored them 29 to 13 on points off turnovers - Onuaku had as many offensive rebounds at the whole Georgetown team but... - We shot 59% from the field, highest since Savannah St. game - And we shot 57% from beyond the arc, highest since first round of Big East Tourney last year - So we didn't really have many opportunities for offensive rebounds - Sapp continued his streak of sucking. Clark actually saw more playing time than him in this game - Summers is scaring me. Can't afford to lose him at the end of this season. He is having phenomenal Big East season - Monroe mania is getting a bit too much. Yes he led the team in assists and rebounds. But he was dominated on the defensive end - We won this game because we were able to hit the mid-range elbow jumpers, which effectively took away the effectiveness of the zone. Good job on preparing the team, JT3 - We had 2 technical fouls called on us, hasn't happened since Radford game last year - They shot 44% from FT line. Rick Jackson shot a Macklin-esque 1-8 from the line - Two turning points in the game, both by bench players. (1) Nikita's second three, after Flynn answered his first. (2) Clark's three which halted an 8-0 Cuse run to start off the second half. - Officiating was pretty terrible - The most alarming missed call was committed by T^3 during the T-shirt toss. The foul was so egregious that it would qualify as a penalty in three different sports: Push in back in basketball, pass interference in football and catcher interference in baseball - I am now 0-2 in T-shirt tosses, both times I was violently fouled. The first time was when follower Long Time/First Time callously tossed me aside when Gerald Riley threw a shirt into the stands during the '03-'04 season. Neither of us ended up with the baby blue #32 Riley shirt, something I still long for - What T^3 didn't know was that I recently did an inventory of my wardrobe and noticed that I was lacking in gray, JT3 shirts. You broke my heart Fredo, you broke my heart. - Special thanks for referee Ed Hightower for the second acknowledgment of existence this season - Special thanks to Johnny Flynn for the acknowledgment of existence and subsequent offer of termination. I've never made a player actually come back out from the locker room tunnel to respond to one of my comments. I merely relayed to him my harmless observation that he was just embarrassed on national television. Guess that might have hurt his feelings or something
Well apparently lack of boxing out has nothing to do with Georgetown's rebounding woes. According to Big John Thompson, the reason Georgetown cannot rebound is because they don't have enough thugs. I thought Summers was a thug, I mean he has illegible tattoos and facial hair designs that the majority of the male species will never be able to grow.
Notre Dame demonstrated yesterday why a deep bench is necessary in this league. Similar to G'town, they have only one bench player worthy of time on the court. Last night in a fast-paced game against Louisville, their legs gave out from under them, and they managed to convert only one field goal in the last twelve minutes of the game. And then they lost. And then I found five dollars.
Cuse tomorrow. Can't really ever say anything positive about them. They are all guard play with undersized, over-achieving forwards. Flynn is their only real threat to drive and they have a lot of "thugs" in the box that can rebound. They haven't been playing their 2-3 zone as much as they usually do but I expect they will play it a lot against us, considering our only consistent scoring threats so far in Big East play are Monroe and Summers. I have pretty much given up on Sapp so we need Wright to match Flynn and Monroe to dominate Onuaku. They are a very poor free throw shooting team (under 65%) which could give us an advantage later in the game. In the last three games we have consistently failed in one key fundamental. Rebounds against Pitt, free throws against ND and turnovers against Providence. Can't really afford to let any of those happen against Cuse. And since Boeheim really has no control over his players, expect a lot of trash talking with the fans. Don't get too involved with Cheddar Bob, he might punch the girls around you. Can't spell ASSAULT without SU.
Meanwhile, Mr. Magoo is already prepping for his annual Selection Sunday speech. The address, delivered in a nasal, whinny tone, contends that everyone hates his team and he gets no respect. He then claims that despite undeserving credentials, his team should be granted a free pass to the NCAA Tournament. Boeheim gave us a preview of this year's speech last month.
Over 18 games, I’d say we play probably the toughest schedule in the Big East. We’ve got Georgetown twice, we’ve got Villanova twice, and last I looked they were both ranked in the top 15 in the country. Our double games are pretty hard. We have to go to Pittsburgh, Connecticut and Marquette, and last I looked they were 1, 5 and 15. So when you look at schedules, you look at the 18-game Big East schedule, I’d say we’ve got the toughest schedule.
Well let's see about that Boeheim. Cause I'm a math nerd I built a little model to calculate the Big East Strength of Schedule for each of the top nine teams as per the average of the AP and Coaches' Polls. Listed below are the teams, rankings and opponents
- Pittsburgh (avg. ranking #1) Home Games: UConn, WVU, Cuse, Marquette, ND Away Games: UConn, WVU, G'town, Louisville, Nova
- Connecticut (avg. ranking #4) Home Games: Pitt, ND, G'town, Cuse, Nova Away Games: Pitt, ND, Louisville, Marquette, WVU
- West Virginia (avg. ranking #37) Home Games: Pitt, Louisville, UConn, Nova, ND Away Games: Pitt, Louisville, G'town, Cuse, Marquette
I applied a simple formula:
Sum of opponents' rankings for home games x 1.5 + Sum of opponents' rankings for away games x 1.0.
The team with the lowest resulting figure has the hardest schedule, since they would play the most lower-seeded teams. Similar to RPI, I give more credit for a tougher road schedule than home schedule.
The results aren't very surprising given Boeheim's tendency to exaggerate, whine and complain without reason. Also, considering the fact that Boeheim himself is graduate of Syracuse, faulty and incorrect mental processing should be expected.
Toughest Big East Schedules as per January 12, 2009: 1 -West Virginia 2 - Villanova 3 - Connecticut 4 - Notre Dame 5 - Georgetown 6 - Marquette 7 - Louisville 8 - Pittsburgh 9 - Syracuse
Remarkable that Cuse comes out even below Pitt, which doesn't have the luxury of playing a #1 ranked team and lowering their schedule rating. You can't spell EXCUSE without CUSE.
That game had season-breaker written all over it. Also had Esherick written all over it. Some in the stands started to pack up their belongings and plan post-game festivities when we were up by 14 with a little over five minutes left. But those that have experienced St. Johns and UCLA in 2003 knew all too well what could happen. And it almost did. Providence surmounted an incredible comeback and was down three with possession with one minute left. Some will give credit to Georgetown for hanging on to a tough game in crunch time, but that recognition is very undeserved. Georgetown tried its best to lose this game by missing half of its free throws in the final minute and giving the Friars open looks at shots. But luckily for the Hoyas, the law of averages was on their side. Providence was shooting an incredible 50% from beyond the arc for most of the game, well above their season average of 31%. They ended the game missing their last three three-point attempts, and any chance of an upset road victory.
Some more thoughts: - Turnovers were a huge problem. The 18 mistakes led to 23 Providence points. - Represents the most turnovers by G'town since the loss to Tennessee in November - Most turnovers against a Big East team since the overtime victory against Marquette last season - Most turnovers at home since Seton Hall game last season - And most turnovers against an unranked opponent since Seton Hall last season - But wait, there's more! The 17 turnovers by the Hoya starters are the most turnovers by a Georgetown starting five since January 5, 2006 which was a Big East home game, against the unranked...wait for it... Providence Friars. Was also the last time we played Providence at home. - So we have gone three years, 106 games, back-to-back Big East regular season titles, two Big East Championship games, three NCAA Tournament appearances, one Sweet Sixteen and one Final Four since the last time a group of five Georgetown starters committed as many turnovers as they did yesterday. - But we REBOUNDED! - And hit our free throws, kinda. 69% from the charity line is still pretty awful and needs to be addressed - Another great game off the bench. Jason Clark and Henry Sims are finally showing a good understanding of the offense - Jason Clark's go-go-gadget arms are the only reason we won this game. He saved as least four turnovers by rescuing poor passes - Clark had almost as many minutes as Sapp, and more points - Before Clark's 1-2 yesterday, he was shooting 92% from the stripe. - We had major problems inbounding the ball, very alarming - Both Monroe and Summers have gotten into foul trouble early the last couple of games - Monroe was 2 assists away from a triple-double. He should start making his way from Big East Rookie of the Week to Player of the Week soon. - Welcome back Chris Wright and Austin Freeman. The two combined for 14-21 shooting - Jesse Sapp is awful. He went 1-9 from beyond the arc in the second half WARMUPS! (Yes, I was counting but that's besides the point). - JT3 referred to Monroe as Gregory in the press game conference, thereby taking away any street cred young Greg has built up over the past few months.
There goes Gary's chance of breaking the Top 25 this season, time to take away the 1 vote they got in the Coaches' Poll.
Over / Under on days left for Gary at UMCP: 100 Right around the time they fail to make the NCAA Tournament for the 4th time in 5 years.
And as for BenedictArnold College, you should have never left the Big East, but we're a lot better off because of it. So thank you.
Be weary of Providence on Saturday, they are a very good and experienced team. Four senior starters and one junior. And last night against Cincy their guards finally broke out of their season-long 3pt shooting slump. Must win for Hoyas, we've never started Big East season 1-3 under JT3. Game is won or loss depending on whether our guards decide to show up.
I just sat there. I wasn't angry or mad. Notre Dame won the game, they played better and they deserved the win. But something wasn't right. Something was wrong about what I had just witnessed. But I just couldn't put my finger on it. I figured maybe I should sleep on it and it would come to me in the morning. But I woke up blank, no rhyme or reason why I was so bothered by last night's game. I did my usual complete avoidance of all media reports of a game after a loss. I hoped what was troubling me would come from within. And now it just hit me.
That was not our team playing last night. The speed, the fast breaks, the REBOUNDS, the intensity, the urgency, the passion. I had never witnessed a JT3 game like that before. Even during some of the more emotional and memorable games, Duke in '06 and UNC in '07, the passion was reserved. The intensity was directed and channeled. The concentration was there for 40 minutes (45 for UNC). No matter what the situation, the team played the same. Stuck to what it knew best. This has become a trademark of a JT3 team.
Now I welcome the naysayers. Lay it on me. Yes, the backdoor passes were there last night. The quick passes around the perimeter were evident. We brought the shot clock below five on a few occasions. The passing big man was on prime display as Greg Monroe had his best game as a collegiate player. But consider this: JT3 has now been the coach of Georgetown for 149 games. In those 149 games, there have only been six occasions where the team attempted more shots than last night. And two of those six were overtime games. And it is not because we were chucking up shots when we were down. We attempted the same amount of field goals in both halves.
We have never been a running team. Or a one pass and shoot team. Nor have we ever been a bruiser team, judging by the 14 layups we missed last night. We won games by being us. The calm, collected and composed set of players that are able to put the scoreboard behind them at all times and play with restrained intensity and passion.
Now don't get me wrong. That was a great game to watch. And we easily could have and should have won if a couple of shots and bounces went our way. I said in the last paragraph that we have never been the team that showed up on the court last night, but that doesn't mean we can't become it. We can definitely compete in the league playing the offense we showed last night. The only problem is that it is exhausting and conducive to lots of fouls. Both require a deep bench to overcome. We don't have that.
I don't think the players have anything to hang their heads about, coming out of that three game stretch 1-2 is a great feat within itself. Problem is we have another four game stretch which could pose to be just as difficult. Luckily three of the four are at home. Some more thoughts to tickle your fancy:
- That was a HORRIBLY officiated game last night. Small hand-check fouls were called often, while on every shot in the paint someone gets hacked and there is no foul called. And I can objectively and surprisingly say that Harangody's 4th foul on the charge was a terrible call, but there were plenty of make up calls against G'town - But it's not like a better officiated game would have helped. I guess track number two on "Fundamentals of the Game of Basketball" will be about free throw shooting - I said it before but it needs to be repeated: WE REBOUNDED! - But we couldn't shoot. At all. We haven't shot that poorly from beyond the arc in our last thirteen Big East games. - Special thanks to our starting guards for showing up for the game. They are now shooting 27% from the field and 20% from three-point land for the last two games. - Brey did a good job of keeping Harangody away from the ball on defense after he picked up his 4th foul. That's why they won the game. - Harangody is a beast. Beasts are ugly, smelly and make terrible NBA players. Harangody is ugly, smelly and will make a terrible NBA player. Special shout-out to the transitive property for that one. - I'm scared Monroe is gonna go. Perhaps I will write a song about it. But probably not. - Two straight losses and we are still top four according to KenPom - We have a bench? They were the most surprisingly part of last night. Both Jason Clark and Henry Sims showed why they were highly touted recruits. 38 minutes and no turnovers between the two of them. Clark did a great job bringing the ball up and Sims was very, um, hard for me to say, solid. Don't let it go to your head.
Well that was humiliating. Pretty obvious to anyone that looks at the box score that this game was lost on the boards. Luckily for the Hoyas they don't have much time to dwell on the loss because they face a tough game in South Bend on Monday against a Notre Dame team looking to rebound after an embarrassing loss to St. Johns. Unfortunately for the readers, I have a lot of time to dwell on the loss so here goes.
I have never really questioned JT3 (the name of this blog is a joke for those who haven't caught on yet). He has brought the program back to national prominence in less five years, something that is remarkable considering how difficult of a task it is (just asked Norm Roberts or Bobby Gonzalez). But I raised the issue in the first game of the season and the team has not made any improvements or adjustments. WE CAN'T REBOUND. For those of you that had the pleasure of being in my presence during the post-game shenanigans it was a point I clearly couldn't get off my mind. Follower IAmHagel and I even devised a dance to remind the team what they should do in order to rebound. It is called "Box It Out" and below are the lyrics to the song.
When you see the shot go in the air, Don't throw your arms up in despair. Prepare yourself for the next phase, Don't get sad and start to glaze. If he shoots a shot you couldn't block, Just put your butt into his jock. Throw your arms out to the side, And give no room to move or slide. Bend those knees and get real low, When the ball comes close it's time to go. It doesn't matter how high you can jump, It's all based on how you use your rump. Easy to remember but I'll help you out, It's three simple words to know and shout. Box It Out. Box It Out. Just Box, Box It Out.
Look for the album entitled "Fundamentals of the Game of Basketball" to hit stores in late March, right around the time Georgetown gets eliminated from the NCAA Tournament. I'm bewildered by how we have been out-rebounded in every game yet there is no improvement from the team. When the ball goes in the air, our players just don't run to the ball. There is no boxing out, there is no one in the paint. We aren't a running team by any stretch of the imagination so there is no excuse for players to be hanging out on the top of the key. We run a slow, set offense so every player should be down in the paint hustling for rebounds. We had a height advantage on two of their forwards this game and we still couldn't prevent them from walking all over us. This was a problem with last year's team too. I'm fine with the fact that we won't get offensive rebounds because we play around the perimeter and take high percentage shots. But giving 18 offensive rebounds is embarrassing, and I want to know why this issue has not been addressed yet. Or why it doesn't seem like anyone cares. When asked about being out-rebounded, this is what Summers said:
"It was tough, but I don't want to take anything away from them (Pitt). As coach said, they are great players who did a good job at doing what they were supposed to do and we just need to do a better job at doing what we need to do. Weak side rebounding and pursing the ball...we're young and just need to do a better job at realizing that we need to get more boards."
A young team needs to do a better job of going into hostile environments for away games. A young team needs to learn how to deal with opposing fans. A young team needs to learn how to deal with the media. A young team should not have to get better at "realizing that [they] need to get more boards." That is something that should be ingrained in their heads since the first time they picked up a basketball. Poor rebounding is not a result of being young, it is a result of poor fundamentals and bad basketball habits. And it is a result of poor coaching. There, I said it.
But alas, all is not wrong. The sky isn't falling and JT3 is an incredible coach. We are still a very good team and have the opportunity to make a good run in the NCAA Tournament. And the conference is so stacked with good teams that games like this will happen. How the team comes out on Monday against Notre Dame will be a telling sign for the rest of the season. Here are some more random observations:
- This should not have been an early January game. It should be a March game, right before the BET. Pitt and G'town have a great rivalry and had some classic games in the past few years. - This is our third straight loss to Pitt - DeJuan Blair and DaJuan Summers have similar first names - Blair and Summers were the two best players today - I should name my kid DuJuan if I want him to be good at basketball - DeJuan Blair had 17 rebounds - The nine players that played for Georgetown had a total of 18 rebounds - We did a good job executing our defensive game plan, their guards were 6 of 21 from the floor and 1 of 11 from beyond the arc - Our starting guards were terrible, 4 of 22 from the floor and 2 of 12 from 3pt land. - Jesse Sapp continued his streak of sucking - Worst loss at home since JT3's first game against Temple - Greg Monroe, now officially a second semester freshman, had his first press conference as a Hoya - Begrudging and obligatory shout-out to followers Ronald Ramon Says "74-65" and Anov44 for winning this game and making me eat my words in the "Fallacy of a Top Ten Pitt" post. There, now you are famous.
