Fordham Game Thread Wed 7pm ESPN+

[brooklyn brownstone]

23 - Neptune was at FU 2 years ago, not last year. Last year, I would say it was the 25 wins. Their coach is energetic (overly so at times) so when winning, he's a perfect guy to boost the level of interest. When losing, it may grate quickly, dunno. Best of luck to him, it's one of the hardest D-1 jobs bc of history and playing in a top 8 league with bottom 8 resources. And it is a difficult place to get to by subway, I took a desolate D train back down getting home last night and there were a couple times I made conscious choices for safety reasons but still was in awkward spots.

Yes, mite - King and Quinn need to be ready to be the pressure valves if things bog down. Although - and it happened again last night - I really like Dji driving to the rim in key spots too.

I know we harp on it here, maybe too much, but Dji's FT form has to adjust to improve. His 2 misses had zero arc and his shot is essentially all wrist, with elbow out wide. He's having such a fantastic season, that is the only area I wish I could magically change. The only consolation to it last night was that the FU students got free Chik-Fil-A, which I laughed about bc it's such a dumb, perfectly college thing and they were so excited.

 

[brooklyn brownstone]

How much do the seats behind the steel beams in the upper deck go for?

haha, I was in the 2nd section but not the back row where the beams are. Considering the lower section has only 8 rows, and the upper section 2 rows, I was in row 9 - pretty good! They should do a Jim Beam partnership for ppl in those seats.

 

[97spiderfan]

This team plays such a complete and complimentary game. Trying to single out who played really well last night and who didn't. Outside of Jordan King, who was incredible again, everyone single player that stepped up on the court made meaningful contributions. Dji was awesome, Tynne gave us some much needed points off the bench, Hunt was his usual solid self. I usually can find fault with some players who might have had off games, but really couldn't last night.

 

[brooklyn brownstone]

97, um, Roche had a rough run of it last night. Moon was not happy in the first half.

 

[spider fan]

23 - Neptune was at FU 2 years ago, not last year. Last year, I would say it was the 25 wins. Their coach is energetic (overly so at times) so when winning, he's a perfect guy to boost the level of interest. When losing, it may grate quickly, dunno. Best of luck to him, it's one of the hardest D-1 jobs bc of history and playing in a top 8 league with bottom 8 resources. And it is a difficult place to get to by subway, I took a desolate D train back down getting home last night and there were a couple times I made conscious choices for safety reasons but still was in awkward spots.

Yes, mite - King and Quinn need to be ready to be the pressure valves if things bog down. Although - and it happened again last night - I really like Dji driving to the rim in key spots too.

I know we harp on it here, maybe too much, but Dji's FT form has to adjust to improve. His 2 misses had zero arc and his shot is essentially all wrist, with elbow out wide. He's having such a fantastic season, that is the only area I wish I could magically change. The only consolation to it last night was that the FU students got free Chik-Fil-A, which I laughed about bc it's such a dumb, perfectly college thing and they were so excited.

Wow - Chick- fil - A - that is definitely a step up. How can we get Robins Center in on that! And yeah - freebies are all the rage whether you need them or not. Had to do a massive spider t shirt donation to Amvets to get them out of the house. The student t shirt one against Dayton is a keeper because better quality and no walking advertisement for some Spider supporting company..................and yes I thank them just don't want to wear their name around...............

 

[spiderman]

97, um, Roche had a rough run of it last night. Moon was not happy in the first half.

he defended well. Rivera tried to drive on him and Roche showed really good feet, forcing a travel.

 

[97spiderfan]

97, um, Roche had a rough run of it last night. Moon was not happy in the first half.

Hmmm, didn't notice that. Honestly, my expectations for Roche are not great. I thought he grinded on defense out there, didn't hit any shots. Rest of the bench was good, in my opinion. Tynne finally took it to the hole and stopped shooting contested 3's, Walz was decent, had his usual bad TO though, Harris hit a big 3, played great defense as usual.

 

[spider fan]

Walz sank a sweet 3 and remember at the start of the season he was our best 3 point shooter percentage wise on something like 2 of 3 on his first attempts - don't know how many 3 pointers he has attempted now, but been a while since he hit one until last night..................

 

[spider23]

he defended well. Rivera tried to drive on him and Roche showed really good feet, forcing a travel.

Not trying to pile on Roche, but he fell down twice defending and was targeted like crazy.

 

[brooklyn brownstone]

yeah, disagree with spiderman here. he played hard on defense, but not well. they went at him as soon as he was in there and scored. Then he played a series of good defense and got the travel - the lone positive moment in his 9m. But then had 2 fouls where he was playing overly physically on defense and they whistled it, and then fell / was knocked down twice where FU got buckets both times when he didn't absorb the contact. Moon was not pleased on the sideline as the second one was just before half. It was a rough go. (It didn't help that Quinn didn't realize we were holding for last shot and threw away a turnover against their 1-3-1 and then they scored on ensuing possession. Moon very displeased going into locker room after that 45s sequence of events.)

Incidentally, Roche was the guy other than Harris I watched most in warmups and his shot is so good, I was hopeful he'd have a good game. Just consistent and smooth, making everything in warmups. More arc in person than it appears on television. We need to get him clean looks to see that shot more often. Feel like we get him in there and he gets rushed looks from less than ideal spots. I'm sure they're aware, but despite all his cutting and movement, he seems to get fewer open looks, likely bc he's not operating off the dribble and creating his own space. But some elevator doors plays and double screen action might help, dunno.

 

[97spiderfan]

Not trying to pile on Roche, but he fell down twice defending and was targeted like crazy.

If Roche isn't hitting 3's, he is a liability. Of the 9 guys in our rotation, Roche is the only one who can be routinely targeted on defense.

Yes, I give him all of the credit in the world for being a grinder on defense while he is out there and if we didn't have 8 other guys who were also grinders on defense but also really good defenders as well, he wouldn't stick out as much on defense like he does.

This is what makes our defense so great, we have 5 good defenders and they also defend with maximum intensity and effort at all times.

 

[fan2011]

If Roche isn't hitting 3's, he is a liability. Of the 9 guys in our rotation, Roche is the only one who can be routinely targeted on defense.

Yes, I give him all of the credit in the world for being a grinder on defense while he is out there and if we didn't have 8 other guys who were also grinders on defense but also really good defenders as well, he wouldn't stick out as much on defense like he does.

This is what makes our defense so great, we have 5 good defenders and they also defend with maximum intensity and effort at all times.

Wish we did more to get Roche looks when he is in. He is one of the lowest usage rate player on the team, and as a shooting specialist it doesn’t make as much sense to have him play if he isn’t getting shots. He is taking roughly 1 attempt for every 7 possessions he is on the court. Would like to see that double.

 

[97spiderfan]

Wish we did more to get Roche looks when he is in. He is one of the lowest usage rate player on the team, and as a shooting specialist it doesn’t make as much sense to have him play if he isn’t getting shots. He is taking roughly 1 attempt for every 7 possessions he is on the court. Would like to see that double.

Agreed, when Roche is in, we have to see if we can run a play to get him a good look early on. He is a shooter and if he sees one go down, the chances of him getting hot increase. Tough to get hot, if you don't get looks.

We are nit picking though, we have won 11 in a row, so I kind of don't want to change anything up right now. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

 

[urmite]

Agreed, when Roche is in, we have to see if we can run a play to get him a good look early on. He is a shooter and if he sees one go down, the chances of him getting hot increase. Tough to get hot, if you don't get looks.

We are nit picking though, we have won 11 in a row, so I kind of don't want to change anything up right now. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Unless it is the other team, then if ain’t broke, break it.

 

[fan2011]

Agreed, when Roche is in, we have to see if we can run a play to get him a good look early on. He is a shooter and if he sees one go down, the chances of him getting hot increase. Tough to get hot, if you don't get looks.

We are nit picking though, we have won 11 in a row, so I kind of don't want to change anything up right now. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

True, the formula we have now is proven to be very successful. I love seeing the success this team has had in conference play. I also like seeing success for individual players as well.

 

[spiderman]

yeah, disagree with spiderman here. he played hard on defense, but not well. they went at him as soon as he was in there and scored. Then he played a series of good defense and got the travel - the lone positive moment in his 9m. But then had 2 fouls where he was playing overly physically on defense and they whistled it, and then fell / was knocked down twice where FU got buckets both times when he didn't absorb the contact.

you forced me to go back and watch again! thought I must have missed stuff. but not really.

for one thing, he only had one foul. and I still don't see it. did a good job keeping himself between the player and the basket. guess they called lower body push? no big deal. ball out of bounds.

the guy he was on only scored twice in Roche's 9 minutes. both time were (as you said) when he was on the ground. the 1st, he played great defense but rolled his ankle when he stepped on Rivera's foot. with Roche down, Rivera hit a little baseline jumper. to me ... it wasn't bad defense at all. just a little unlucky.

the 2nd time, Quinn's man screened him and he fell. Quinn stayed with his man, and Roche's man hit a jumper. I'd like Roche to get over that. I'm sure he saw it. so yeah, that wasn't great. but it sometimes happens when a center screens a guy like Roche.

my bigger concern is I don't think Roche even touched the ball, much less shot it. I'm not one calling for plays for him. we run an offense and guys get shots. we're scoring a ton. we don't need to change anything.

 

[spider fan]

Roche's forte is the quick release after a pass when he has an open look at the basket. If the defender is too close and the shot is not there he does not attempt it. Keep waiting for that game to happen again when he gets good looks and hits 3 or 4 threes. In recent games the most I can remember is 3 threes but scoring more than one three has been much rarer than when he first became a Spider. Still expect him to light it up in an upcoming game.......................

 

[spider23]

In person, Roche kind of seemed like the odd man out on the court. I guess watching the tape he looked OK on D? In person 5 rows up, it seemed like he was struggling. Yes hustling and giving great effort, but struggling. And I want this guy to succeed, I am not a Roche hater. On O, he would be wide open in the corner waving his arms. I could see King see him, but when we are running the offense well and King is enfuego - he knows he throws that cross court pass and it is going right up. Again, I would like to see him incorporated into the game a little more, but the issue is other guys playing well on both sides of the court - so makes no sense to force him shots, etc.

 

[spiderman]

In person 5 rows up, it seemed like he was struggling.

well his guy only scored twice ... both times when he fell to the floor. not sure why he appeared struggling in person. maybe because his defense isn't as smooth looking as some hyper-athletic guys. Roche has to work. but I thought he was effective ... when not on his back.

 

[brooklyn brownstone]

OK, I must have been mistaken. Looks like he got caught on a switch on his first defensive possession but Dji saved him by knocking the ball out of a big guy's hands as he went for a layup on Roche's first possession. I do remember him getting a 2nd foul too, so clearly I am off here, maybe faulty retrospective memory bc of how the half ended. But zero shots is not what we need.

Same as others - I greatly want Roche to succeed. He's a great shooter who needs to get shots. We are emphasizing defense but he can open things up if teams key on King. We'll need that at some point (kind of needed it vs Dayton and he gave us that spark with 5 big first half points.) Would like to see us utilize him on offense more.

 

[Wood Hall]

Not sure what options Fordham has. Space on campus and close by in the Bronx is at a premium. Maybe find an alternate place to play for two years, completely gut the inside, and rebuild it seating 2500 or so.

Washington did that with Edmundson Pavilion about 15-20 years ago. The building is ancient, dating back to the 1920s. They totally gutted the inside and built an entirely new, modern arena, with the help of Alaska Airlines money.