sutomcat
No recent Cali or Iggy awards; Mr Irrelevant
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- Aug 15, 2011
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First crowd of the year I would consider good, both in terms of numbers (27K+) and in terms of support. It was pretty loud and the crowd was in the game pretty much the whole way. Good to see.
An adult woman SU grad sang the NA, did a good job, especially near the end when she nailed the high note and belted out the last couple of lines to much applause. Solid.
The student body was comprised of the kids who arrived early specifically to watch the game. Maybe 25% of what would normally show, maybe less. The SSS numbers were way down too. But the cheerleaders and dance team were there in big numbers. The cheerleaders have been prepping for nationals hard and will be headed there later this month (in Hawaii; nice!), They gave out orange leis to the court side aristocrats.
They played part of the now famous Shafer Hello World intro press conference at halftime, then introduced SS to much applause. Don't know if he had help or just sensed his message was the perfect thing to say to SU fans but he has generated some enthusiasm and I think he has struck a chord with the fanbase with his blue collar hardnose we want to be like you and be a team you will be proud of message. Anyway, he repeated some of his major points and urged the crowd to support the basketball team in the 2nd half (we were behind for the second straight game at the half). In contrast to DM's suit and tie, SS wore an orange long sleeve shirt and jeans. He is definitely off to a good start.
Today was a reunion day for alums of the hoops program. There was a great turnout and they all had a chance to walk on the court and get introduced at halftime. Too bad it was rushed, pretty botched and very hard to match the players with the introductions. Hope they can do it better in the future (they have struggled every time I have seen it).
On to the game...
VU opened in man and stayed with it all game, ignoring SU's struggles with the zone and the good possibility they would struggle even more without top zone buster outside shooter JS able to play. To their credit, they did a good job with it. They have adopted a very physical. clutch and grab style of defense not unlike that of fellow Pennsylvania program Pittsburgh and it gave SU trouble most of the game. They packed it in the paint, dared SU to shoot 3s and when MCW got in the paint, they stayed on the shooters on the perimeter, which surprised him and led to several TOs where Mike threw the ball directly to a defender. He had many chances to finish against a single defender. Was able to finish a few times, but missed easy shots a number of times and rarely was able to draw a foul (at least one that was called; the refs for the most part really let both teams play). This almost led to a fight at one point when DC2 fought a VU player for a loose ball and almost ripped him through the floor with an aggressive pivot of his uber strong body.
We again struggled to get a basket early; the crowd stood for a good long time. That might have helped DC2, who got an unusual amount of early PT and did pretty well in a game his physical style was well suited for. But his extra PT was at least partly driven by the absense of JS, which led toJB playing RC more at PF than he has played most of the season. Despite playing with a big lineup, we didn't rebound well early and in fact I believe we were outrebounded by 6 in the first half. Props to Nova for really working hard on the boards. They got a lot of tip outs to their guards when on offense, often in situations where we had 3 guys in position and they had one.
We have to do a better job on the defensive boards. Seemed like VU's best play today was throwing an air ball, getting the rebound and making an unchallenged bunny. Anyway. I thought the officials were inconsistent, usually letting the teams play on both sides but sometimes really calling a bunch of ticky tack fouls. This got SU in some trouble early in the 2nd half but they were able to overcome it.
Thought the big turning point in the game was when BT got his 4th PF early in the 2nd half and JB inserted TC to replace him. We used 3 frosh, TC, JG and DC2 for an extended period and rather than falling further behind, the youngsters, led by savvy vet CJ, made a nice run to take the lead and take control of the game. Great to see.
DC2 got some big rebounds, scored some big baskets inside and for the first time in a big game played solid defense for an extended period. Big step forward for him.
JG was his usual steady self, played excellent defense, rebounded, got some scores inside and drew some fouls. He has a way of being in the right place at the right time. The kids that play like a senior when they are frosh tend to be special. Not a good FT shooter but when he had 2 big ones in crunch time, it was not surprise he knocked them both down.
Lastly. TC was pressed into extended action by BT's foul trouble and he did a fine job. Played much better defense than he has been playing, was steady and hit a couple of daggers that changed the game. Great to see him contribute as well.
CJ had another fine game. He appears to be emerging as our go to guy. Does a little of everything; rebounds, plays fine defense (had another couple of weak side blocks and drew a charge down the stretch that was huge). And he made some FTs and finished in the paint. His inspired play during the rally that won the game early in the 2nd half, with 3 frosh and MCW surrounding him, was perhaps the highlight of his career to date.
MCW was pretty inconsistent but I would have categorized his game as a good one until some disjointed play down the stretch kept the Wildcats in the game a lot longer than was needed. He needs to make better decisions in crunch time. But I am sure he got a bunch of assists, scored some big points and played very good defense.
Not a good game for BMK, who tends to struggle in physical games.
RC had a couple of big blocks, some nice finishes in the paint, rebounded adequately. His defense was generally good. Not up the level of the PC game but not bad.
Nova has Arrou?. who is pretty solid and I like their cocky hotdog PG with the long name, who made a bunch of nice plays to keep them in the game down the stretch. Looks like he is a very smart player who can draw fouls and can hit clutch shots. Good passer too. Glad we won't be seeing much more of him after this year.
Good win. VU played hard and with a few breaks here and there might have gotten the W. Saw maybe a hundred VU fans at the Dome. Glad they brought some people up. Always liked playing the Wildcats. I wish them well in the brave new world of the Big Catholic.
An adult woman SU grad sang the NA, did a good job, especially near the end when she nailed the high note and belted out the last couple of lines to much applause. Solid.
The student body was comprised of the kids who arrived early specifically to watch the game. Maybe 25% of what would normally show, maybe less. The SSS numbers were way down too. But the cheerleaders and dance team were there in big numbers. The cheerleaders have been prepping for nationals hard and will be headed there later this month (in Hawaii; nice!), They gave out orange leis to the court side aristocrats.
They played part of the now famous Shafer Hello World intro press conference at halftime, then introduced SS to much applause. Don't know if he had help or just sensed his message was the perfect thing to say to SU fans but he has generated some enthusiasm and I think he has struck a chord with the fanbase with his blue collar hardnose we want to be like you and be a team you will be proud of message. Anyway, he repeated some of his major points and urged the crowd to support the basketball team in the 2nd half (we were behind for the second straight game at the half). In contrast to DM's suit and tie, SS wore an orange long sleeve shirt and jeans. He is definitely off to a good start.
Today was a reunion day for alums of the hoops program. There was a great turnout and they all had a chance to walk on the court and get introduced at halftime. Too bad it was rushed, pretty botched and very hard to match the players with the introductions. Hope they can do it better in the future (they have struggled every time I have seen it).
On to the game...
VU opened in man and stayed with it all game, ignoring SU's struggles with the zone and the good possibility they would struggle even more without top zone buster outside shooter JS able to play. To their credit, they did a good job with it. They have adopted a very physical. clutch and grab style of defense not unlike that of fellow Pennsylvania program Pittsburgh and it gave SU trouble most of the game. They packed it in the paint, dared SU to shoot 3s and when MCW got in the paint, they stayed on the shooters on the perimeter, which surprised him and led to several TOs where Mike threw the ball directly to a defender. He had many chances to finish against a single defender. Was able to finish a few times, but missed easy shots a number of times and rarely was able to draw a foul (at least one that was called; the refs for the most part really let both teams play). This almost led to a fight at one point when DC2 fought a VU player for a loose ball and almost ripped him through the floor with an aggressive pivot of his uber strong body.
We again struggled to get a basket early; the crowd stood for a good long time. That might have helped DC2, who got an unusual amount of early PT and did pretty well in a game his physical style was well suited for. But his extra PT was at least partly driven by the absense of JS, which led toJB playing RC more at PF than he has played most of the season. Despite playing with a big lineup, we didn't rebound well early and in fact I believe we were outrebounded by 6 in the first half. Props to Nova for really working hard on the boards. They got a lot of tip outs to their guards when on offense, often in situations where we had 3 guys in position and they had one.
We have to do a better job on the defensive boards. Seemed like VU's best play today was throwing an air ball, getting the rebound and making an unchallenged bunny. Anyway. I thought the officials were inconsistent, usually letting the teams play on both sides but sometimes really calling a bunch of ticky tack fouls. This got SU in some trouble early in the 2nd half but they were able to overcome it.
Thought the big turning point in the game was when BT got his 4th PF early in the 2nd half and JB inserted TC to replace him. We used 3 frosh, TC, JG and DC2 for an extended period and rather than falling further behind, the youngsters, led by savvy vet CJ, made a nice run to take the lead and take control of the game. Great to see.
DC2 got some big rebounds, scored some big baskets inside and for the first time in a big game played solid defense for an extended period. Big step forward for him.
JG was his usual steady self, played excellent defense, rebounded, got some scores inside and drew some fouls. He has a way of being in the right place at the right time. The kids that play like a senior when they are frosh tend to be special. Not a good FT shooter but when he had 2 big ones in crunch time, it was not surprise he knocked them both down.
Lastly. TC was pressed into extended action by BT's foul trouble and he did a fine job. Played much better defense than he has been playing, was steady and hit a couple of daggers that changed the game. Great to see him contribute as well.
CJ had another fine game. He appears to be emerging as our go to guy. Does a little of everything; rebounds, plays fine defense (had another couple of weak side blocks and drew a charge down the stretch that was huge). And he made some FTs and finished in the paint. His inspired play during the rally that won the game early in the 2nd half, with 3 frosh and MCW surrounding him, was perhaps the highlight of his career to date.
MCW was pretty inconsistent but I would have categorized his game as a good one until some disjointed play down the stretch kept the Wildcats in the game a lot longer than was needed. He needs to make better decisions in crunch time. But I am sure he got a bunch of assists, scored some big points and played very good defense.
Not a good game for BMK, who tends to struggle in physical games.
RC had a couple of big blocks, some nice finishes in the paint, rebounded adequately. His defense was generally good. Not up the level of the PC game but not bad.
Nova has Arrou?. who is pretty solid and I like their cocky hotdog PG with the long name, who made a bunch of nice plays to keep them in the game down the stretch. Looks like he is a very smart player who can draw fouls and can hit clutch shots. Good passer too. Glad we won't be seeing much more of him after this year.
Good win. VU played hard and with a few breaks here and there might have gotten the W. Saw maybe a hundred VU fans at the Dome. Glad they brought some people up. Always liked playing the Wildcats. I wish them well in the brave new world of the Big Catholic.
