12/15 Game Thread: St. Bonaventure vs. Akron (in Believeland)

Bona03,

Who else in the A10 has gotten marquee games? URI-57, Dayton-3, Rich-38, VCU-68, SLU-49 and Davidson-75 were all top 75 in the NET rankings last year while Bona was 122.

That ranking is not going to do you any favors when it comes to scheduling. It's as simple as that. Could we have scheduled a low end game for last week and one more for this week? Probably, but those games aren't helping our RPI, so they don't do us a world of good.

If it weren't for our positive test, we would most likely have scheduled replacement games for the MTE Tournament.
Im not trying to be a dick but look around. St Joes just scheduled Tennessee the other day. They also played Auburn, Kansas and were supposed to play Nova. Rhody had an awesome schedule with WKU, Seton Hall (last minute game), BC Wisconsin (also scheduled at the last minute). Meanwhile Cuse was actively looking for a game and we didnt get them. Teams are scheduling so many games off the cuff and we havent gotten one. We have an at large caliber team and the A10 is strong but we will not sniff one with our schedule.

ETA: St Francis was a game we schedule after the fact
 
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Dom will get it rolling. He shot poorly early last season. He's going to be one of the better players on the court every game he suits up, his overall game just gets better and better. AJ did not acquit himself well with shot selection. The 1-on-everyone bullshit is not Schmidt basketball. Winston has to figure out the D he's too good a player not to get it right. He makes the offense better when settled in. He just doesn't handle the short leash well and would be better off playing a solid 5 minutes and not touching the box score - that will get him playing time. He gets in there and thinks he needs to score 8 points in 2 minutes to impress Schmidt, but that's not what he's looking for. Lofton will have to play every possession like it counts, he got careless when we were up big. He's another one that's too good to be careless, ever. Shoon was great, he will be tested more than yesterday for sure. Jalen and Jaren were very solid. Creal seems to have a nose for the basketball. There were a lot of positives.

ETA:
Im not trying to be a dick but look around. St Joes just scheduled Tennessee the other day. They also played Auburn, Kansas and were supposed to play Nova. Rhody had an awesome schedule with WKU, Seton Hall (last minute game), BC Wisconsin (also scheduled at the last minute). Meanwhile Cuse was actively looking for a game and we didnt get them. Teams are scheduling so many games off the cuff and we havent gotten one. We have an at large caliber team and the A10 is strong but we will not sniff one with our schedule.
I agree with '03. Our Athletics administration is not beyond criticism. Teams are contracting games left and right and we've gotten nothing extra. At this point it might be too late. Even if you just say, hey we'll pack up and travel to you. No money needed, whatever, just get. a. game.
 
Dom will get it rolling. He shot poorly early last season. He's going to be one of the better players on the court every game he suits up, his overall game just gets better and better. AJ did not acquit himself well with shot selection. The 1-on-everyone bullshit is not Schmidt basketball. Winston has to figure out the D he's too good a player not to get it right. He makes the offense better when settled in. He just doesn't handle the short leash well and would be better off playing a solid 5 minutes and not touching the box score - that will get him playing time. He gets in there and thinks he needs to score 8 points in 2 minutes to impress Schmidt, but that's not what he's looking for. Lofton will have to play every possession like it counts, he got careless when we were up big. He's another one that's too good to be careless, ever. Shoon was great, he will be tested more than yesterday for sure. Jalen and Jaren were very solid. Creal seems to have a nose for the basketball. There were a lot of positives.

ETA:

I agree with '03. Our Athletics administration is not beyond criticism. Teams are contracting games left and right and we've gotten nothing extra. At this point it might be too late. Even if you just say, hey we'll pack up and travel to you. No money needed, whatever, just get. a. game.
BI, that is exactly my point. I am not the type to rail on the athletic deparment like some on the Bannedwagon but I dont like the sit on our hands approach to this season at all.
 
As far as Welch shooting off the dribble vs catch and shoot. Last year he made 72 threes, 62 were assisted. So depending on how many of those assisted 3s were catch, pump, side dribble, shoot, I'd say he does ok in catch and shoot situations. What I cant tell you is how many of those opportunities he had or his shooting % on purely catch and shoot. I dont see him as a guy that is going to dribble into a pick and roll and pull up to shoot which is how Bonnies teams of the past have generated off the dribble 3s.

I noticed 3 sets where Adaway set a screen in front of Dom designed to get him an open catch and shoot look from 3. 2 of the times the ball was late getting to Dom and the D recovered I belive 1 was a missed shot, 1 he passed out of the shot, and the 1 time he drove down the lane and scored on a layup. These sets could have been run more but I had one eye on my TV and 1 eye on my laptop.

Dom also looked a lot bettrer going to the rim yesterday. That was something completely missing from his game year 1, and last year it seemed like he had some issures finishing once he got to the rim.
 
I rewatched this last night because I was multitasking with keeping up my appearances on Twitter and trying to do some actual work during the game that needed to get done (actually had to miss the middle 8-10 minutes of the 2nd half, truly the worst thing to happen in 2020), so now I'm studying game film because I'm a psychopath.

You can read these notes like Stugotz's Weekend Observations, like individual, unnecessary B*ndwag*n posts, or don't read them at all!

First Half

I can already see Schmidt vs. mask over nose will be a top 5 rivalry in the A10 this season.
Loving all these backdoor cuts, don't remember running that play that much last season. Shoon's 2 before the U16 were sexy as fuck...
Winston with a weird hitch in his 3-point release.
Welch with the only made three right before the U12 was off the dribble. Not sure why he likes it so much more than a catch-and-shoot.
Gotta love how Creal bounced back after his first play of his career, he got swatted into next Tuesday.
I wanna see a little more of Shaw, loved the assist and him laughing at the Akron dude on the jump ball in his one minute of action.
The Lofton-Adaway-Welch passing fastbreak for the and-1 without dribbling a single time might have been the coolest play of the game. Chemistry already feels very high for these guys.
Solid first half on defense, thought we did a great job limiting transition, which is hard to do when you crash the offensive boards.

Second Half

I could watch the Lofton handoff to Osun after LCJ flopped and Shoon dunks it and gets fouled allllllll day too...
Shoon's hook shots were mostly on point in this one. Gonna be huge to get some high-percentage shots like that if the outside shots aren't falling like in this one.
Dom also did a great job setting off-ball screens to free up guys cutting to the bucket.
PS4 glitching out and pissed me off, so I gave up after the U8 and went to bed, we already know how it ended, oh well...
 
I think everyone covered all of the many positives pretty well, I have nothing to add. So, I'll be the fun guy, and focus on a few of the less than positives.

Defense- overall pleased, and improved in several areas. One area which was still a little too laxed for my comfort was the number of open looks from 3. It's a hallmark of our teams and a consequence of our overall strategy on defense. I get that, accept that, and am used to it by now. But it's still real, and so it always leaves me with the lingering feeling of knowing it'll burn us a couple times throughout the year.

Winston- Yes, he needs a longer leash. And yes, a longer leash would lead to less frustration and overcompensation on his part, thus giving him room for a longer leash yet. Vicious cycle and all, I get that, and agree. However, I had close eyes on his limited time yesterday- defensively speaking, underwhelming would be a marked improvement over yesterday. Improvement throughout gameplay this year is possible and I sorely hope it happens. Nevertheless, he was a little discouraging yesterday.

Too many glue guys? This one could be a candidate for freezing cold takes, and I would be thrilled if it is. Adaway and Creal brought a lot to like. I was very pleased with both of them. Holmes was his usual pleasant self. The problem is, we know Holmes isn't (consistently, anyway) a 'let me take this game over' type of scorer. I don't get the sense Adaway is. It seems fairly obvious that Creal, at least at this point in time, is not. I hope I'm wrong on all of that and that you can all star this and tell me how stupid I am 2.5 months from now. That's all fine, but it begs the question how much room is there for all of them- and still leaves us with a void. That said- what I saw from Dom yesterday and the fact the Roberts debut is still forthcoming- there is hope of that void being filled.

Schedule- I have nothing to add to this except ditto to 03/BI85's comments above
 
I think everyone covered all of the many positives pretty well, I have nothing to add. So, I'll be the fun guy, and focus on a few of the less than positives.

Defense- overall pleased, and improved in several areas. One area which was still a little too laxed for my comfort was the number of open looks from 3. It's a hallmark of our teams and a consequence of our overall strategy on defense. I get that, accept that, and am used to it by now. But it's still real, and so it always leaves me with the lingering feeling of knowing it'll burn us a couple times throughout the year.

Winston- Yes, he needs a longer leash. And yes, a longer leash would lead to less frustration and overcompensation on his part, thus giving him room for a longer leash yet. Vicious cycle and all, I get that, and agree. However, I had close eyes on his limited time yesterday- defensively speaking, underwhelming would be a marked improvement over yesterday. Improvement throughout gameplay this year is possible and I sorely hope it happens. Nevertheless, he was a little discouraging yesterday.

Too many glue guys? This one could be a candidate for freezing cold takes, and I would be thrilled if it is. Adaway and Creal brought a lot to like. I was very pleased with both of them. Holmes was his usual pleasant self. The problem is, we know Holmes isn't (consistently, anyway) a 'let me take this game over' type of scorer. I don't get the sense Adaway is. It seems fairly obvious that Creal, at least at this point in time, is not. I hope I'm wrong on all of that and that you can all star this and tell me how stupid I am 2.5 months from now. That's all fine, but it begs the question how much room is there for all of them- and still leaves us with a void. That said- what I saw from Dom yesterday and the fact the Roberts debut is still forthcoming- there is hope of that void being filled.

Schedule- I have nothing to add to this except ditto to 03/BI85's comments above
Roberts will be that guy. He’s good. It will be interesting to see how Schmidt spreads the minutes between Lofton, Welch, Holmes, Roberts, and Vasquez. All of them need to play, but I worry AJV, by no real fault of his own, could slip through the cracks of Schmidt’s typically short rotation.
 
Im not trying to be a dick but look around. St Joes just scheduled Tennessee the other day. They also played Auburn, Kansas and were supposed to play Nova. Rhody had an awesome schedule with WKU, Seton Hall (last minute game), BC Wisconsin (also scheduled at the last minute). Meanwhile Cuse was actively looking for a game and we didnt get them. Teams are scheduling so many games off the cuff and we havent gotten one. We have an at large caliber team and the A10 is strong but we will not sniff one with our schedule.

ETA: St Francis was a game we schedule after the fact

It is frustrating to see all the other A10s year in and out have quality games on the schedule. My only thought on the matter would be we aren't getting the games because we aren't a surefire quality (top-50) win yet & because of our RPI last year, and we aren't a guaranteed win like a Saint Joe's would be.

If the staff wanted to play SU in place of Northeastern, I think we could have done but they must have felt they need more practice - who knows. I think this team is good enough for an at-large, but like you said the OOC won't do us any good.

In the years where we get multiple "p5s" on the schedule, it seems that we are always on the radar nationally as a true tourney contender. 2012, 2018 and 2021.

I just don't believe the staff would put together a poor schedule intentionally. Maybe I am naive, but Pappano seems to do a good job most years at putting together the schedule given the four locks on our schedule each year.
 
It is frustrating to see all the other A10s year in and out have quality games on the schedule. My only thought on the matter would be we aren't getting the games because we aren't a surefire quality (top-50) win yet & because of our RPI last year, and we aren't a guaranteed win like a Saint Joe's would be.

If the staff wanted to play SU in place of Northeastern, I think we could have done but they must have felt they need more practice - who knows. I think this team is good enough for an at-large, but like you said the OOC won't do us any good.

In the years where we get multiple "p5s" on the schedule, it seems that we are always on the radar nationally as a true tourney contender. 2012, 2018 and 2021.

I just don't believe the staff would put together a poor schedule intentionally. Maybe I am naive, but Pappano seems to do a good job most years at putting together the schedule given the four locks on our schedule each year.
I usually dont have many gripes about the schedule and I understand that this season is a crap shoot. Given that, its all the more reason to be creative and proactive, which is something I dont feel they have been. Many games have been scheduled without cares of NET, RPI..etc. Even our games in Bubbleville, they were OK but lacked pizzazz. I wont beat this drum anymore, I am a positive person. I just felt like there were missed opportunities and the team I saw the other day is an at large caliber team but they will have to do all their damage in the A10 and we know that will not be easy.
 
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