hopkins head coach what did you think ?

[otisco]

i think i'd certainly make it a consideration. many college games are decided at the line.

No.

Just an epically brutal series of posts from you from the the get-go in this thread. Shake it off, get a good nights sleep, and come back strong tomorrow.

 

[CuseCPT]

Hop is too classy a guy to stray far from the script while he's just filling in. Can you imagine the shitstorm if he played man to man and used his whole bench or something and the team went on a tear? He'd never do that too his boss. Not saying that's what would happen if he did those things, just trying to illustrate why he wouldn't coach much differently then JB in these 9 games even if he someday might change things up a bit.

E: If anything he strayed from the script more than I thought he would in terms of sub patterns, and I liked it.

 

[NYCSUGrad]

very poor. my bad . he's 0-1 by the way.

Hop lost to our arch rival, on the road, with two days prep time, by 7 points. I can't remember the exact number of points our regular HOF coach lost by the last or next to last time we played this team. 20 points? 25? 30? Something in that neighborhood. It was a debacle. Today wasn't great but the team fought back and if they hadn't had three baskets disallowed in what IIRC were dubious circumstances the outcome might have been different. So yes you are WAY too harsh about Hop's debut.

 

[HoustonCuse]

Hop lost to our arch rival, on the road, with two days prep time, by 7 points. I can't remember the exact number of points our regular HOF coach lost by the last or next to last time we played this team. 20 points? 25? 30? Something in that neighborhood. It was a debacle. Today wasn't great but the team fought back and if they hadn't had three baskets disallowed in what IIRC were dubious circumstances the outcome might have been different. So yes you are WAY too harsh about Hop's debut.

And JB did it with a Final Four caliber squad!

 

[Ghost]

He did fine, kind of hard to judge much of anything from one game under the circumstances he was given.

I would have gone away from Mali a little bit sooner while he was struggling to rebound/hit a shot, but the rotations were good overall. Thought, as someone else mentioned, that we could have used a timeout a bit sooner on at least one occasion. No big complaints.

 

[jr4750]

Hop lost to our arch rival, on the road, with two days prep time, by 7 points. I can't remember the exact number of points our regular HOF coach lost by the last or next to last time we played this team. 20 points? 25? 30? Something in that neighborhood. It was a debacle. Today wasn't great but the team fought back and if they hadn't had three baskets disallowed in what IIRC were dubious circumstances the outcome might have been different. So yes you are WAY too harsh about Hop's debut.

Yep. I watched carefully how he looked in that role. I am not worried about him at all. Tough game for the kids emotionally, Hop is a fire ball, and it was refreshing to see that. I love the jack off, tie messed up, sleeves rolled up look. He was in it!

 

[TinyManInside]

I thought the first 25 minutes or so Hop was too passive. That's not his personality. I really liked the way he coached the last 12 minutes or so, lots of substitutions, some aggressive wrinkles to the zone, and some meaningful use of players who hadn't been given meaningful roles this year (DC and Howard). Personally I thought there was a lot to like near the end the game, but early on he didn't seem engaged the way I expected or hoped.

I thought there were opportunities for him to make some adjustments in the first half that he didn't make, whereas he was much more adaptive in the second half. Hopefully that is a lesson learned going forward. I'd like to see him work the refs more and be more animated.

I like the idea of having a more flexible system. It will be interesting to see how much of his own 'stamp' he puts on the team in the upcoming weeks. It's a difficult situation in that he has to turn the team back over to JB after the suspension, so he can't veer too much from the script. This isn't the same situation as when he gets the full reins after JB retires, it's more confining.

Mason

 

[jr4750]

I thought the first 25 minutes or so Hop was too passive. That's not his personality. I really liked the way he coached the last 12 minutes or so, lots of substitutions, some aggressive wrinkles to the zone, and some meaningful use of players who hadn't been given meaningful roles this year (DC and Howard). Personally I thought there was a lot to like near the end the game, but early on he didn't seem engaged the way I expected or hoped.

I thought there were opportunities for him to make some adjustments in the first half that he didn't make, whereas he was much more adaptive in the second half. Hopefully that is a lesson learned going forward. I'd like to see him work the refs more and be more animated.

I like the idea of having a more flexible system. It will be interesting to see how much of his own 'stamp' he puts on the team in the upcoming weeks. It's a difficult situation in that he has to turn the team back over to JB after the suspension, so he can't veer too much from the script. This isn't the same situation as when he gets the full reins after JB retires, it's more confining.

Mason

You nailed it Mason. Thankfully we have 5 games in a row where we should be able to win without too many problems. However, as you said, I like Hop to be himself, but I imagine he will have to keep to the script as JB returns and that dynamic can't be messed up.

 

[Bayside44]

I thought the first 25 minutes or so Hop was too passive. That's not his personality. I really liked the way he coached the last 12 minutes or so, lots of substitutions, some aggressive wrinkles to the zone, and some meaningful use of players who hadn't been given meaningful roles this year (DC and Howard). Personally I thought there was a lot to like near the end the game, but early on he didn't seem engaged the way I expected or hoped.

I thought there were opportunities for him to make some adjustments in the first half that he didn't make, whereas he was much more adaptive in the second half. Hopefully that is a lesson learned going forward. I'd like to see him work the refs more and be more animated.

I like the idea of having a more flexible system. It will be interesting to see how much of his own 'stamp' he puts on the team in the upcoming weeks. It's a difficult situation in that he has to turn the team back over to JB after the suspension, so he can't veer too much from the script. This isn't the same situation as when he gets the full reins after JB retires, it's more confining.

Mason

This is a great post.

1st half he seemed like a CYO coached glued to the bench (from my vantage point anyway). In the 2nd he was far more animated, vocally coaching, getting the team motivated. First time I can remember losing 6 points in a half on 3 charge calls.

 

[tbonezone]

toss out the whole two days prep time. just doesn't wash. HOP didn't just walk in the door. he's been here siting shotgun for twenty years. as JT3 said postgame this transition should be seamless. hopkins has been anointed next coach for what 5 years now ? if he wasn't ready for that long awaited debut then he'll never be ready. so we take off the training wheels !
i liked the fact that he finally subbed a bit more liberally but he never entirely solved the whole puzzle.
unless you happen to think the hoyas are just the superior team. could be the case this year. so NC hopes ?

 

[cuseinseattle]

Anyone who rips Hop after this game is a douchenozzle and should be banned from posting for the remainder of JB's suspension.

We played like a very young team without their HOF coach. And guess what, we are a very young team. Even our vaunted frosh aren't immune to playing like the kids they are sometimes, and I didn't expect miracles in this game, even going in. I knew we would get hurt on the glass. What I didn't expect was for us to be cold all around. I mean NO ONE could get a ball to drop in the first half. Unfortunately it had to happen against he Hoyas. Oh well. Doesn't mean we suck. Doesn't mean they are great. It means we have to figure out how to rebound, defend and score from the interior. The word is out afterAtlantis, and both opponents since have basically done the same thing on D, which is clog up the middle at the high post and prevent the drive. I was quite deflated by the first half.

However, these guys sucked it up and really left it all on the floor in the second half. Their effort was amazing, but too little to late, unfortunately.

And it finally dawned on me that the problem with DC is that DC is basically a ROOKIE out there, making rookie mistakes. Hell, he hasn't played in two years, so what else should we have expected? We have to cut the kid some slack and let him shake that rust off. The only way he gets better is to play through it and learn.

Someone needs to teach these guys to attack the basket and ELEVATE STRAIGHT UP for bank shots instead of committing offensive fouls. For crying out loud we've had more this season so far than the last season's total! At least it seems that way.

Last thought: this game is going to help us down the road. Our guys played probably the worst half of ball they have played all season, in a very hostile environment, with no time to adjust to the JB situation. Considering all the chips that were against us, I think those kids represented well by the final buzzer, and it's clear they will give it all for Hop. It's also clear that Hop isn't afraid to mix it up more than JB. I like his press at the end. All out hustle. It was practically man2man.

Let's win the rest before the ACC games start and begin anew. This team is going to take some time to figure things out, and now we have some.

PS: I think Kaleb might not see a lot of time if Howard keeps getting looks. May be a scholarship waiting to open next year? We'll see. It's a long season, but I think this game should temper anyone's worries about one-and-dones. Mal and Tyler have a ways to go.

I agree with just about everything you said. I think the DC2 thing is really on point and people need to remember that. The thing I would say is that I think the stuff Hop did to get back in the game is the exact same thing that JAB does. JAB talks about pressing to speed up the game and get a team moving faster and that is what I feel like Hop did so I don't think there is a difference.

 

[cuseinseattle]

toss out the whole two days prep time. just doesn't wash. HOP didn't just walk in the door. he's been here siting shotgun for twenty years. as JT3 said postgame this transition should be seamless. hopkins has been anointed next coach for what 5 years now ? if he wasn't ready for that long awaited debut then he'll never be ready. so we take off the training wheels !
i liked the fact that he finally subbed a bit more liberally but he never entirely solved the whole puzzle.
unless you happen to think the hoyas are just the superior team. could be the case this year. so NC hopes ?

I think Hop did fine. Our issue was shooting the ball as a team and not anything to do with in game coaching. Can we agree on that?