This is mostly for the benefit of IPB who was under the weather and was unable to experience the wonders of the RAC (which looks oddly like a Star Wars bunker); however, sitting up with Jonah I figured I'd jot down my thoughts on today's game. Like I opined in in the parking lot before the game, it was probably a good bet to bet on GU not to cover the spread; the last few minutes of the game looked like JTIII had taken some of that action given some of the shot selection and general malaise that was seen on the floor by the boys in blue. What surprised me the most is not that GU almost covered the spread but the fact that Rutgers point total resembled more of a high school girl JV game score.
I'll take a conference win as much as the next guy; however, by no means was this a "good" victory. Based on JTIII's post-game comments, he apparently didn't think so either. My humble opinion based upon limited viewing of the Hoyas thus far this year is that they don't look hungry. In many ways they resemble this year's Mets - walking around with the assumption that the league is theirs yet not bringing it to the game. Hopefully, the Hoyas have a different fate than my Mets. They appeared flat from what I saw in the Memphis game and today they definitely came out looking like as though they arrived at the arena the same time as Diamond. Not that they should be slapping on war paint for Rutgers, but conference play is big and Rutgers clearly came out looking to be a spoiler. My opinion - there's a leadership role lacking. I think DaJuan is ultimately that guy, but until he grows into that role, somebody else (i.e. - Roy) needs to step to the plate and command the troops. While certainly there is much more hoops left in this year and this year's bugs will get worked out just fine, I think next year's interplay b/w Freeman & DeJuan will be much like Roy & Jeff last year and be entertaining to watch.
Roy seems to be going backwards with todays performance of as many rebounds as fouls and not much else to show for nearly 30 minutes of playing time. Something wrong with the fact that Macklin schooled Roy at the foul line. In addition to appearing lost & confused on the floor, he seems to be timid and a far cry from the monster that carried GU to the Final Four last year. Does he just need the pressure / high stakes of a big game? Or perhaps, he just needs a little help from DaJuan? Or a worthy big man foe? At any rate, Hoya "D" looked good despite the anemic offense. And, the Hoyas won a must win game. I can't imagine that it was a postive bus ride back though.
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2 comments:
Thank you Stallion. I cannot even begin to tell you how disappointed I was to miss the VBB's first road trip. Taking in a game at the RAC has been a dream of mine for many years; hopefully we can do it again.
I did catch the game on TV and agree with your comments. I'm not making excuses for the team, but sometimes you wind up sinking to the level of your opponent, and this game may have been one of those examples. Rutgers looked like a JV squad.
On a positive note, Vernon Macklin shot an encouraging 50% from the free throw line.
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