Hofstra game observations

[97spiderfan]

A couple observations from last night.

1. To me the momentum in this game swung when we put Isiah on Cooks. Cooks was hot, his dribble penetration was killing us as was his shot making ability. He was working Gilly over. Mooney switched and put Zay on him and Zay locked him down. He didn't score another point and in fact got sent to the bench because Zay had bothered him so much. So, if I got a game ball last night, I'm giving it to Wilson because his defense completely changed the momentum in the second half. Other thing I'll say about Zay, he is super intense out there, that is infectious, particularly because most of our senior players do not play with that same dog in them as Zay has.

2. As noted, our defense was god awful in the first half. Burton and Crabtree couldn't stop dribble penetration, Grant was hedging out again and then getting beat down low because he couldn't rotate back quick enough. Grant is never going to be a great defender, but Mooney puts him in the worst positions by having him hedge so much. Just stop it Mooney.

3. I will credit Mooney for the second half defensive adjustments. Yes, Hofstra missed some wide open shots in the second but our defensive intensity and assignments were much improved in the second. Credit to the coaches on that one.

4. Tyler is making a play for A-10 POY with his regular performances.

5. Shoutout to Cayo. Yeah, his first few games were bad but the dude takes most of his shots from inside 5 feet, he wasn't going to keep missing them. Last night, we saw what Cayo can and will bring to this team. Side note: What in hell is going on with his foul shot. That is a ridiculous hitch he has in it this year. He's gonna shoot under 50% with that. Why did someone try to fix something that wasn't broken?

6. Minutes last night: Not enough for Dji (he makes good things happen when he is in the game). Sal, only getting mop up minutes was deserved. Sherod at 14 minutes seems about right as well. This is what I thought it would be coming into this season. Sherod is a role player, who can offer a change of pace with his great 3 point shooting. If he is not hitting 3's with regularity though, this will be his minutes. I'm cool with that, we need Zay's defense out there. If anyone doubted that before, the second half of last night should have put that baby to bed.

 

[spiderman]

one other observation. all first half we were too far in help position (when not necessary again) from the corner. we've done this before. the announcer eventually mentioned it. Nathan was in the lane twice when the ball was passed to his man in the corner. he's too far away to recover. 3's were hit.
happened to Sherod and Gilly too.

I didn't notice it in the 2nd half. maybe it was addressed and we adjusted. I sure hope so.

 

[RichmondNative]

I posted my thoughts in the game thread right as you were posting this 97, but I saw some of the same things as you. Not sure what Nate is trying to do with his foul shot form, but obviously it isn’t working.

 

[gcarter52]

I posted my thoughts in the game thread right as you were posting this 97, but I saw some of the same things as you. Not sure what Nate is trying to do with his foul shot form, but obviously it isn’t working.

He needs to go back to last year’s technique.

 

[SFspidur]

one other observation. all first half we were too far in help position (when not necessary again) from the corner. we've done this before. the announcer eventually mentioned it. Nathan was in the lane twice when the ball was passed to his man in the corner. he's too far away to recover. 3's were hit.
happened to Sherod and Gilly too.

I didn't notice it in the 2nd half. maybe it was addressed and we adjusted. I sure hope so.

It starts with the hedging way up top though. When our big is hedging out beyond the three point line, there's just a vast amount of open space that needs to be covered. Whoever is along the baseline has to collapse into the paint to take away as much as possible and hope that either they can recover to a corner three or just that the guy misses the shot.

A Gilly one stands out in my memory. You could see the corner three coming, but there was really nothing he could do given the amount of space he was responsible for.

 

[97spiderfan]

Mooney mentioned in the postgame that they made adjustments on the ball screens in the second half. I didn't fully understand what he was saying but he did say our guys on defense have multiple responsibilities on ball screens. Just him explaining it was confusing and probably a bit confusing to our players in a game situation having to make so many decisions simultaneously. Whatever adjustment he made in the second half was a good one though and perhaps making things simpler for out guys is the way to go.

Hofrsta took advantage of Grant hedging out several times by getting the ball inside quickly before he could recover. Other teams are ready for that, it almost seems perfunctory when Grant does it because he knows he has to bust his ass to get back inside.

 

[CH_Spider]

Going into the half, I wasn’t optimistic at all. 2.6 seconds left on the clock and our inbounds play wasn’t even drawn up. Seems like Mooney was saying “let’s just get to halftime and then adjust”. Why not call a timeout when he sees Hofstra is open in the corner constantly and address it then?

 

[spiderman]

It starts with the hedging way up top though. When our big is hedging out beyond the three point line, there's just a vast amount of open space that needs to be covered. Whoever is along the baseline has to collapse into the paint to take away as much as possible and hope that either they can recover to a corner three or just that the guy misses the shot.

A Gilly one stands out in my memory. You could see the corner three coming, but there was really nothing he could do given the amount of space he was responsible for.

be in help position, but until needed you can't be so far from your guy that you can't recover. and help has to come from the opposite side corner defender. never from the ball-side corner. at least that's a tougher pass, and help to that corner can come from off-side wing.

 

[Eight Legger]

I know (at least in theory) that Mooney likes to over-defend the ball, but when doing so always leaves a guy wide open in the corner (either by design or error), what is the point? At some point, let's just start defending all five guys and take our chances. We obviously aren't able to prevent the ball from getting to the open guy anyway, which defeats the whole purpose.

 

[plydogg]

I was a fan of no Sal in this game. Especially with the early 14 point deficit I thought putting Sal in would have made it really hard to overcome that. Not sure if he’s lost his spot in the rotation or if this was due to the early deficit.

Also thought Sherod had a pretty poor game. Only took 4 shots for his 5 points, which was nice, but for a stretch in the first half he was getting blown by defensively every possession. Seemed like we were really setting him up for failure. But I think that’s more on the coaches to figure out a way to not leave him iso defending in space. Have to figure out a defensive scheme that works better

 

[SFspidur]

Definitely held my breath when Nick was running that fast break...could just see a repeat of Drake with the slow-motion charge. The defender tried to draw it, but fortunately it turned out okay. Still think he should have given it up though.

 

[SpiderGuy]

Definitely held my breath when Nick was running that fast break...could just see a repeat of Drake with the slow-motion charge. The defender tried to draw it, but fortunately it turned out okay. Still think he should have given it up though.

Agree. That happened near to my seats, and I had a real close look at the play. It was slow happening, & I was just waiting for the whistle & a charge call, but they let that one go.

 

[97spiderfan]

Sherod just does not look physically ready to play. I give him all the credit in the world for coming back and he is gonna hit some big 3 balls for us this year, but I think we need to be honest about his physical limitations out there. Wilson has supplanted him as a starter.

Sherod brings offense to the table. The issue is our offense is pretty darn good already, where we need help is on the defensive end. Wilson, Dji, and Goose (assuming he is healthy) are all good defenders. It's gonna be real interesting when Goose comes back and then what happens rotation wise with these players. Sherod may be on the shorter ends of the stick.

 

[CH_Spider]

And no, I don't care about loyalty with Sherod. Like 97 said, kudos for coming back, but we need defense.

 

[fan2011]

The problem with Wilson is that he is a liability on offense. Sherod will have a role, even with his current athleticism he is a scorer.

 

[plydogg]

The problem with Wilson is that he is a liability on offense. Sherod will have a role, even with his current athleticism he is a scorer.

While this may be partially true, I think wilson is a liability on offense when asked to shoot. He’s entirely comfortable moving within the offense and passing.

But with that said, in my opinion, Wilson’s defense brings more to this team than Sherod’s offense and Sherod’s defense is worse than Wilson’s offense.

I definitely think there is a role for Nick, but if the coaching staff think they’ve solved it then they’re setting him up for failure

 

[fan2011]

While this may be partially true, I think wilson is a liability on offense when asked to shoot. He’s entirely comfortable moving within the offense and passing.

But with that said, in my opinion, Wilson’s defense brings more to this team than Sherod’s offense and Sherod’s defense is worse than Wilson’s offense.

I definitely think there is a role for Nick, but if the coaching staff think they’ve solved it then they’re setting him up for failure

He is tied for most turnovers on the team and leads the team in turnover rate by a pretty big margin. He is tied with Matt Grace on assists despite playing almost twice as many minutes, and being a point guard. He has a tendency to get himself into tough situations on offense. It isn’t just his shooting.

he is a great defensive player and I think he will be an offensive threat eventually, he just has a long way to go currently.

 

[whampas]

While this may be partially true, I think wilson is a liability on offense when asked to shoot. He’s entirely comfortable moving within the offense and passing.

But with that said, in my opinion, Wilson’s defense brings more to this team than Sherod’s offense and Sherod’s defense is worse than Wilson’s offense.

I definitely think there is a role for Nick, but if the coaching staff think they’ve solved it then they’re setting him up for failure

Bailey brings offense and defense. He should be playing more. I think as the season progresses he will get more time.

 

[Long Island Spiders]

Bailey brings offense and defense. He should be playing more. I think as the season progresses he will get more time.

I agree, but think minutes get even harder when goose comes back.

 

[spiderjpo]

I agree with Bailey getting more time and I see that happening if he continues to gain confidence. He provides solid defense with additional height, offensive capability and sound ball handling.

 

[MrTbone]

#freeDji

 

[spider23]

#freeDji

Easy there, I was planning to wait a bit longer to break that out . Especially considering the #FreeQuis campaign.

 

[Spider2020]

Wilson's only move on offense is to dribble drive then pass. He often jumps to pass before he sees if anyone is actually open, which leads to a lot of the turnovers. His on ball defense is much needed though and I don't think we can take him out of the starting lineup unless someone else proves they can pressure the ball as well as he can.
As for Sherod, I really liked what Mooney did rotation wise in the Georgia State game. He was bringing Sherod in with Grace, and subbing off Grant and Nate. This lets Nick defend the 3 instead of the 2, Burton slides to the 4 (where I think he's better defensively), and it gives our offense another scorer while Grant is resting.

 

[97spiderfan]

He is tied for most turnovers on the team and leads the team in turnover rate by a pretty big margin. He is tied with Matt Grace on assists despite playing almost twice as many minutes, and being a point guard. He has a tendency to get himself into tough situations on offense. It isn’t just his shooting.

he is a great defensive player and I think he will be an offensive threat eventually, he just has a long way to go currently.

Good points all true. Still think his value as a great defender on a team with a bunch of subpar defenders outweigh his offensive limitations on a team with a bunch of great offensive players.

 

[MrTbone]

I think Isaiah needs new kicks. He is slipping a lot. End of observation.

 

[SpiderDogg]

Definitely think Wilson has done a good job overall, his defense outweighs any limitations right now on offense, and he deserves to keep starting. However, if this team wants to be considered elite, I think if goose/Dji can provide the same defensive intensity (with more height) and be more of an offensive threat, it would really help our team. I think it’s possible one of these guys could step up and provide this.

 

[PhillySpider]

So I am one that is certainly in the "Mooney's time has come and gone" camp, but will give him some credit on Wilson. Historically, defensive strength and offensive shortcomings means a nice seat on the end of the bench while someone with strong offense and terrible defense gets tons of time. I complain about this all the time - - - both about Mooney and many of this board. Wilson is being given a chance to grow into a role. He's already good on defense (easily and by a wide margin our best on ball defender) and i think we all hope that his offense will come. I give Moon some credit for giving the time on the court to develop.

As for Sherod, I think his minutes need to be really strategic - - - before putting him in, coaches need to KNOW there is a defensive assignment he can handle (which means playing against other teams 7-8th guys that lack skills to exploit Nick's physical limitations. Offensively, we also need to use him strategically (e.g. against zones where we are able to generat looks with ball movement etc. and just need to knock down those looks or sub-heavy teams). Nick can help, but for at leat right now, we need to really pick and choose the spots and not just rotate him based on some pre-determined rotation (i.e not like we do for Grace/Golden which happens om schedule pretty much all the time.)

 

[gcarter52]

Definitely think Wilson has done a good job overall, his defense outweighs any limitations right now on offense, and he deserves to keep starting. However, if this team wants to be considered elite, I think if goose/Dji can provide the same defensive intensity (with more height) and be more of an offensive threat, it would really help our team. I think it’s possible one of these guys could step up and provide this.

I am feeling that something good is about to happen for. I know it is just a feeling but I’m just encouraged.

So I am one that is certainly in the "Mooney's time has come and gone" camp, but will give him some credit on Wilson. Historically, defensive strength and offensive shortcomings means a nice seat on the end of the bench while someone with strong offense and terrible defense gets tons of time. I complain about this all the time - - - both about Mooney and many of this board. Wilson is being given a chance to grow into a role. He's already good on defense (easily and by a wide margin our best on ball defender) and i think we all hope that his offense will come. I give Moon some credit for giving the time on the court to develop.

As for Sherod, I think his minutes need to be really strategic - - - before putting him in, coaches need to KNOW there is a defensive assignment he can handle (which means playing against other teams 7-8th guys that lack skills to exploit Nick's physical limitations. Offensively, we also need to use him strategically (e.g. against zones where we are able to generat looks with ball movement etc. and just need to knock down those looks or sub-heavy teams). Nick can help, but for at leat right now, we need to really pick and choose the spots and not just rotate him based on some pre-determined rotation (i.e not like we do for Grace/Golden which happens om schedule pretty much all the time.)

I agree with you. Before his two surgeries, he was a better defender.