I had to chew on this for a day (Well, he helped me).
This wasn’t the way the Hoyas expected to enter 2015. Coming off an exciting, come from behind victory over the Indiana Hoosiers on December 27th and enjoying a Top 25 ranking for less than a week, Hoya fans assumed that nothing would come easy at Xavier on New Year’s Eve, in the finale of the BIG EAST New Year’s Even Marathon on Fox Sports One, yet expected a tight game, win or lose. In a day that brought some exciting BIG EAST basketball and showcased rising teams and players in what appears to be a talent-laden conference, the Finale was nothing but a huge disappointment for Hoya fans and clearly for the team and coach. The game started in 2014 and finished in the early morning initial minutes of 2015.
It will be difficult to point to anything positive that came from this contest so I will start with the Problems and end with the “Promise”. In no certain order, here goes:
1. Over-reliance on DSR and Josh Smith: Some may say the Hoya season will not be successful without the strong play of our junior guard and senior Big Man. However, this alone cannot be the strategy of this team or it will lead to failure. First, DSR. DSR led Hoya scorers in this game but clearly that won’t be the key to success unless he is capable of scoring 40 points per game, which he is not. The key to this team is a balanced attack and the team showed nothing of the sort on New Year’s Eve in Ohio. Not only did DSR get into early and uncharacteristic foul trouble, but the checking in and out of the game of DSR seemed to disrupt the team’s flow rather than contribute to a comeback. As to Josh Smith, foul trouble is a continued problem for him and the entire team that evening. Smth’s fouls continue to be a combination of his poor judgment and bad calls by the officials, yet to blame the Refs all season won’t be the answer. This game was billed in part as a battle between two BIG EAST Bigs, Smith and Matt Stainbrook of Xavier, and Stainbrook’s team came out on top in this contest. The Big Men seemed to neutralize each other. Fortunately for the Hoyas, there aren’t many other big men the size of Stainbrook in the BIG EAST.
2. Team Fouls and Turnovers: These have been a problem all season, to a greater or lesser extent, but when you commit 26 fouls and 16 turnovers (DSR and Josh each had 4 TOs), that alone is a very bad sign. It means sloppyness, frustration and difficulty handling the ball. The Hoyas never really had a handle on the ball, or the game, and the stats support that. Whether it was because DSR was on the bench for long stretches after two quick first half fouls, Josh was putting the ball on the floor (a “no no” from this point on, almost always leads to a turnover) or whether the freshmen were unprepared for conference play on the road, these are issues that must be corrected promptly, starting on Saturday 4:30pm vs the Creighton Blue Jays at home where the Hoyas will aim to go 1-1 in conference play. Smith, Trawick and Peak finished the game with 4 fouls each and Hopkins fouled out after playing 30 minutes, with 5 boards, 3 blocks , 2 steals and 0 points.
3. Horrendous Team Shooting: Shooting percentages were low across the board and while some may credit the Xavier defense with part of it, I wouldn’t give the Musketeers too much credit. With 36% shooting from the field, 15% from 3-point line and 68% from the free throw line, the Hoyas were off their game, not moving the ball well, finding the open man or missing shots, open or covered. Peak and Trawick, of the starters, finished with 6 points each and if Trawick had as great an offensive game as his will and fight on the court, the Hoyas would be golden. Same could be said of Sixth Man Aaron Bowen, who gives 110% every game. Bowen finished with 6 points on 2 for 6 shooting. Paul White was cold (although we know he can shoot). Hopefully the freshmen will shake off their nerves before the Creighton game. Campbell saw more minutes at point guard (14) and finished with 2 points, 3 rebounds and 0 turnovers (a good sign).
4. Lack of Confidence: There is no stat for this, but something that an observer sees. This is something I have seen with many Hoya teams barring that exceptional 2006-07 team led by Green, Hibbert, Wallace and Sixth Man Pat Ewing Jr. I am still awaiting another team with Swag who starts games thinking if not knowing that they should or will win, instead of playing scared or tentatively, and then finishes them.
For the Musketeers, power forward Jalen Reynolds led the team in scoring with a career high 17 points. Remy Abell, who played tough defense on DSR, and Dee Davis added 12 points each to lead Xavier, 10-3 and now 1-0 in conference play, over the Hoyas. While Xavier led 31-25 at the half and some Hoya fans may have expected their team to come out of the break hot as they did against Indiana, that did not transpire. Rather the Hoyas seemed to be out of this contest for the entire second half as Xavier gradually added to its lead. Xavier may end up being part of the top tier of the conference with Villanova and [Question Mark at this point–could it be Providence?] but that does not explain the Hoyas’ poor team performance.
Now, for the “Promise”:
1. Blocked Shots and Relatively Good Defense: The Hoyas blocked 10 shots and held the Musketeers 11 points below their season average. However, if you don’t score more than the other team, …. well, you know what happens.
2. DSR and Smith, the Flip Side: DSR scored 18 points for the Hoyas (8-4, 0-1), who had won three in a row and four of five. While Smith added 10 points, Xavier shut down the rest of the Hoya team and held them to their lowest point total of the season. Without a balanced and confident scoring attack, DSR and Smith are not going to carry this team through the conference season.
3. Super Freshmen: The sooner that White, Copeland and Peak and Campbell become part of the offense, the sooner the Hoyas will be successful. In my opinion, we need 5 scoring threats on the floor at most times to compete in this talented conference. If we can go even deeper on the bench, that would be helpful, although other than Cameron and Hayes, we have not yet seen much from Mourning. Will we have to wait until next season to see Trey?
So here’s to 2015, may it begin at home on 1-3 vs the Blue Jays. Will the Real Hoyas please stand up?
Hoyas Struggle Mightily in New Year’s (Eve and Day) Loss to Xavier, 70-53
I had to chew on this for a day (Well, he helped me).
This wasn’t the way the Hoyas expected to enter 2015. Coming off an exciting, come from behind victory over the Indiana Hoosiers on December 27th and enjoying a Top 25 ranking for less than a week, Hoya fans assumed that nothing would come easy at Xavier on New Year’s Eve, in the finale of the BIG EAST New Year’s Even Marathon on Fox Sports One, yet expected a tight game, win or lose. In a day that brought some exciting BIG EAST basketball and showcased rising teams and players in what appears to be a talent-laden conference, the Finale was nothing but a huge disappointment for Hoya fans and clearly for the team and coach. The game started in 2014 and finished in the early morning initial minutes of 2015.
It will be difficult to point to anything positive that came from this contest so I will start with the Problems and end with the “Promise”. In no certain order, here goes:
1. Over-reliance on DSR and Josh Smith: Some may say the Hoya season will not be successful without the strong play of our junior guard and senior Big Man. However, this alone cannot be the strategy of this team or it will lead to failure. First, DSR. DSR led Hoya scorers in this game but clearly that won’t be the key to success unless he is capable of scoring 40 points per game, which he is not. The key to this team is a balanced attack and the team showed nothing of the sort on New Year’s Eve in Ohio. Not only did DSR get into early and uncharacteristic foul trouble, but the checking in and out of the game of DSR seemed to disrupt the team’s flow rather than contribute to a comeback. As to Josh Smith, foul trouble is a continued problem for him and the entire team that evening. Smth’s fouls continue to be a combination of his poor judgment and bad calls by the officials, yet to blame the Refs all season won’t be the answer. This game was billed in part as a battle between two BIG EAST Bigs, Smith and Matt Stainbrook of Xavier, and Stainbrook’s team came out on top in this contest. The Big Men seemed to neutralize each other. Fortunately for the Hoyas, there aren’t many other big men the size of Stainbrook in the BIG EAST.
2. Team Fouls and Turnovers: These have been a problem all season, to a greater or lesser extent, but when you commit 26 fouls and 16 turnovers (DSR and Josh each had 4 TOs), that alone is a very bad sign. It means sloppyness, frustration and difficulty handling the ball. The Hoyas never really had a handle on the ball, or the game, and the stats support that. Whether it was because DSR was on the bench for long stretches after two quick first half fouls, Josh was putting the ball on the floor (a “no no” from this point on, almost always leads to a turnover) or whether the freshmen were unprepared for conference play on the road, these are issues that must be corrected promptly, starting on Saturday 4:30pm vs the Creighton Blue Jays at home where the Hoyas will aim to go 1-1 in conference play. Smith, Trawick and Peak finished the game with 4 fouls each and Hopkins fouled out after playing 30 minutes, with 5 boards, 3 blocks , 2 steals and 0 points.
3. Horrendous Team Shooting: Shooting percentages were low across the board and while some may credit the Xavier defense with part of it, I wouldn’t give the Musketeers too much credit. With 36% shooting from the field, 15% from 3-point line and 68% from the free throw line, the Hoyas were off their game, not moving the ball well, finding the open man or missing shots, open or covered. Peak and Trawick, of the starters, finished with 6 points each and if Trawick had as great an offensive game as his will and fight on the court, the Hoyas would be golden. Same could be said of Sixth Man Aaron Bowen, who gives 110% every game. Bowen finished with 6 points on 2 for 6 shooting. Paul White was cold (although we know he can shoot). Hopefully the freshmen will shake off their nerves before the Creighton game. Campbell saw more minutes at point guard (14) and finished with 2 points, 3 rebounds and 0 turnovers (a good sign).
4. Lack of Confidence: There is no stat for this, but something that an observer sees. This is something I have seen with many Hoya teams barring that exceptional 2006-07 team led by Green, Hibbert, Wallace and Sixth Man Pat Ewing Jr. I am still awaiting another team with Swag who starts games thinking if not knowing that they should or will win, instead of playing scared or tentatively, and then finishes them.
For the Musketeers, power forward Jalen Reynolds led the team in scoring with a career high 17 points. Remy Abell, who played tough defense on DSR, and Dee Davis added 12 points each to lead Xavier, 10-3 and now 1-0 in conference play, over the Hoyas. While Xavier led 31-25 at the half and some Hoya fans may have expected their team to come out of the break hot as they did against Indiana, that did not transpire. Rather the Hoyas seemed to be out of this contest for the entire second half as Xavier gradually added to its lead. Xavier may end up being part of the top tier of the conference with Villanova and [Question Mark at this point–could it be Providence?] but that does not explain the Hoyas’ poor team performance.
Now, for the “Promise”:
1. Blocked Shots and Relatively Good Defense: The Hoyas blocked 10 shots and held the Musketeers 11 points below their season average. However, if you don’t score more than the other team, …. well, you know what happens.
2. DSR and Smith, the Flip Side: DSR scored 18 points for the Hoyas (8-4, 0-1), who had won three in a row and four of five. While Smith added 10 points, Xavier shut down the rest of the Hoya team and held them to their lowest point total of the season. Without a balanced and confident scoring attack, DSR and Smith are not going to carry this team through the conference season.
3. Super Freshmen: The sooner that White, Copeland and Peak and Campbell become part of the offense, the sooner the Hoyas will be successful. In my opinion, we need 5 scoring threats on the floor at most times to compete in this talented conference. If we can go even deeper on the bench, that would be helpful, although other than Cameron and Hayes, we have not yet seen much from Mourning. Will we have to wait until next season to see Trey?
So here’s to 2015, may it begin at home on 1-3 vs the Blue Jays. Will the Real Hoyas please stand up?