Old Dominion 12/19
- Thread starter CH_Spider
- Start date
It was a hard earned, well deserved win today. Lots of stats did not go our way, just a few key ones, shots from floor, ODU 23-68, UR 17-42; rbds ODU 20/24/44, UR 5/26/31. In my mind the key stat for us today, fts ODU 12-17, UR 27-33. My evaluation our guys found a way to win, that's what good teams do,
They took 26 more shoots than we did. It's no surprise. I'm glad they can't shoot.
Dont forget. This ODU team plays a tough brand of defense. Jeff Jones's teams are like St. Louis' teams. It was in your face defense, which affected our performance. I would take a win over any ODU team. Our lifetime record against ODU is not stellar. The record now stands at 33-28, in favor of ODU.
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The amount of offensive rebounds we were giving up was infuriating. If ODU could shoot, we would've gotten destroyed. Good thing they can't.
I’ll of course take it but he’s shooting 43.5% on the year. That’s not a typo, 43.5%.
Whoever adjusted his form should be fired. I assume we can agree that whatever that is looks totally horrible and should be corrected stat.
I really think Dji will be getting more minutes as the season goes on. He been impressive on both end of the court in the minutes he's been getting in my opinion. Wouldn't be surprised if he averages 15 to 20 minutes per game in conference play. Next year I think he will be getting closer to 30.
He should play more but history shows us CM has his guys and pretty much sticks with them no matter what.
Dji and Crabtree made a difference rebounding. I thought Nick was getting beat on the boards badly.
I think at one point we had Gilly, Dji, Crabtree, Burton and Golden on floor and ODU were not getting
the boards. CM used quite a few different lineups.
I think at one point we had Gilly, Dji, Crabtree, Burton and Golden on floor and ODU were not getting
the boards. CM used quite a few different lineups.
I never really bought this. When players are actually good and able to contribute Mooney will play them. Problem is we have had a bunch of poor players on the bench in the past that fans want to play more for whatever reason, Mooney didn't play them and people got upset. That isn't the case with Dji.
This is ODU basketball. Big, strong, can't shoot well, but super physical and crash the boards. They are a bit the anti-thesis of what we try to do. I expected a really close game, two teams with opposite approaches, playing to each other weaknesses. I personally throw the NET and profile out the window on this game. I now ODU is gonna give us a good game and think the fact that we had to turnaround less than 48 hours after a big NC State win, while ODU had a nice break between games and yet we still came out and won the game is a really good sign for this team.
To that point, Dji, came in yesterday and made immediate impact. In the first minute, he took a charge, got fouled and converted 2 free throws, and then blocked his man's shot the next trip down the court. No coincidence that he got his most minutes yesterday of the season after that.
It is tough for a bench guy to come and make an immediate impact and often times that is the prerequisite for a bench guy to earn more minutes. Starters get a lot more leeway to earn their minutes. They get a few minutes to get their feet wet in a game situation, reserves are not afforded that same opportunity.
The reality that I have been preaching since the offseason with Dji, is that he has a unique skill set that is a huge asset to this team and that is why he needs to play. We saw that yesterday. I hope Mooney continues to give him ample opportunities to play and impact the game.
I'd love to see him and Wilson out there together and with Gilly get some more rest each game. Gilly played 39 minutes yesterday and I don't remember him really impacting the game all that greatly. Obviously, he runs the show out there and attracts a lot of attention on both ends of the floor, but again think he is most effective when he gets some breathers out there and we have proven guys who can play when he is not out there.
It didn't hurt that Wilson had some foul trouble. Dji is certainly showing he deserves more time though.
I think what it so surprising so far this year is that Mooney has strayed from this and strayed from his past of playing his “guy”. Sherod went from starting to the bench. Another of Mooney’s bench guys in Sal has had his minutes rightly dry up. Call me crazy but this is the most (and more importantly better/correct) lineup changes from his guys to younger guys than I can ever remember during the past decade.
Personally I felt last game Dji should have started the second half last game. But to me the guard opposite Gilyard is the only starting spot I don’t feel is written in stone. And I feel Mooney is exploring it appropriately and not just sticking with “his guy”
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I personally think the whole "playing his guy" and "playing seniors" thing has always been more myth than truth. I think he plays the guys that he thinks give us the best chance to win. fans may not always agree with his choices, of course.
Dji and Isaiah are a good one-two punch at the 2, with complimentary skillsets. Zay's offense is really improving (don't look now, but he's our third best percentage from 3, for anyone with 10 attempts or more). If he cleans up the dribble drive turnovers, he'll really blossom. I am fine with mixing and matching these two according to the matchup the other team presents--Zay on the smaller quicker guys, and Dji on the bigger wings.
I generally agree although there have definitely been some questionable decisions over the years. I suspect a lot of it has to do with having some really suspect bench depth and this a correlative effect on the true “starter-ready” quality of the main lineup. This year is the first time in a long time we have pretty deep quality bench.
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