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Username Post: Harvard II
iogyhufi
Masters Student
Posts 681
03-02-24 05:07 PM - Post#364286    

The Harvard game always draws a good crowd of students, so this ought to be a fun one. Last time, Ajogbor gave Danny some trouble — I'll be interested to see what adjustments Coach Jones has made.
iogyhufi
Masters Student
Posts 681
03-02-24 10:12 PM - Post#364336    

Good performance tonight. The offense was scary good at times, and the team showed a great unselfish mentality on offense. Bez Mbeng with a tremendous double-double, and Danny Wolf looked much better against Ajogbor than he did last time.

Also, shout-out to Nick Townsend, who has looked extremely good these last two games.
james
Masters Student
Posts 801
03-02-24 11:07 PM - Post#364346    

bez is really finding himself as a true pg as i noted earlier and tonight was so impressive. so unselfish and his step back 3!

the bench is a great development. james thought this would be the case earlier but he but now is a good time.

aletans block tells you at worse we have our own ajogbar in the wings.

sadly princeton is in the drivers seat. however i think penn/princeton is an interesting setup even though advanced stats do not.

i also am quite impressed with brown. i never understood how they could blow so many games with their talent. but its coming together for them marked by the emergence of a few shooters who really make the core more dangerous by spreading the floor.

we have our hands full with them even at home given what we did to them last year especially.
but i dont think the 1 seed, while preferable, is a panacea.



james
Masters Student
Posts 801
03-02-24 11:13 PM - Post#364348    

i also like what i see from danny.
i played in a state final four in a mask. i cldnt function and my range was 10 ft without the mask. totally different deal but those things really suck on offense because if the nose is broken it still hurts even wearing the damn thing

good news is he is getting time to adjust and maybe depending on the diagnosis it comes off in 2 weeks
james
Masters Student
Posts 801
03-02-24 11:48 PM - Post#364350    

james quote tells me that i dont get paid enough as a high school volunteer coach for a team on the cusp of a ga state championship.

it is also very strong language and praise from the man. this bez if it sticks is very special.
and i dont mean the 10 assists i mean the efficient 8/5/4/2 bez with the d that comes in the package though the former is preferable.
what this team needs. god forbid wolf and knowling get fully healthy
iogyhufi
Masters Student
Posts 681
03-03-24 01:52 AM - Post#364358    

I'm so impressed with how this team has improved throughout the year. We're miles away from that home loss to Fairfield. The sort of ball movement (and off-ball movement) that we saw tonight is just unguardable.

One game away from a championship. Even if it's shared, that's still a tremendous accomplishment (especially since, to hear the media tell it, Princeton has basically lapped the field). But if Clark Slajchert wants to do his best Gabas Maldunas impersonation this Saturday, I won't complain.
james
Masters Student
Posts 801
03-03-24 10:06 AM - Post#364370    

yea. its also nice to beat harvard like that. i am old enough to remember peak amaker and it was frustrating.
now of course we move on to the next potential foils




james
Masters Student
Posts 801
03-03-24 01:50 PM - Post#364406    

i think you counteract this offense with switching defenses and some junk d or thats what we have seen anyway.
the good news is we have seen it and can practice for it now.
cornell does it with pressure and the occasional double.
wolf is doing a better job of not eating the ball and moving it esp when he's top of scouting report.
knowling always has that intention.
bez we discussed.

the go forward will be tough . but when you dont overly rely on the 3 ball and the only games you have lost so far ( knock on wood) had no knowling or the worst ft performance with volume i have maybe seen yale have...carry reasons for optimism even in a gauntlet.

cornell and princeton are handsy on d and physical. so assuming you have to beat both then certainly the whistle also plays a role

but you got 26 fts on the road at cornell and minus knowling didnt play tough finishing against princeton on road.
so on a neutral court this is an encouraging sign i hope


SRP
Postdoc
Posts 4919
03-04-24 12:11 AM - Post#364444    

In my observation against Princeton the last two seasons, when Mahoney and Pouthikades (sorry for the spelling) are scoring efficiently, then Yale is very hard to beat. That may be more an effect of good ball and player movement than an independent cause, but if it’s the other three carrying the load then efficiency is probably lower and the team isn’t quite as lethal.
iogyhufi
Masters Student
Posts 681
03-04-24 11:24 AM - Post#364468    

I'd agree with that. Put another way, if Yale is hitting from deep, they're tough to beat. Opposing teams have thrown a lot of zone concepts/paint-packing at Yale recently, and the only real way to stop that is by hitting the open threes that those defenses generate. James is right when he says Danny Wolf has gotten better at anticipating the double and passing out of it, which helps a lot.
james
Masters Student
Posts 801
03-04-24 08:57 PM - Post#364513    

iggyhugi pointed out long ago that yale has two legitimate deep threats and he was right. maybe you can add wolf but i think the mask and a long season are undermining his success from deep.

this reality coupled with the aforementioned defensive schemes have certainly created some frustrating inefficient moments for the offense to grind through. unfortunately this also means if they are off yale isnt able to stretch the defense.

i was hopeful that bez had found his stroke from 3 but this hasnt been the case despite the fact that he doesnt get guarded tight bc of his quickness and inconsistency.
but oddly not taking the bait and getting consistent paint touches has helped spur the offense as have the other variables discussed above.

townsend is also left wide open and has hit a few of late.
but i dont count on great shooting from 3.

if we roll forward saturday notwithstanding, you would think the ILT format would make the grind it out style an advantage if you can make the title game.
but as i write this i remember that columbia is a great shooters gym which plays to the competition more than yale


Bryan
Junior
Posts 234
03-04-24 09:33 PM - Post#364515    

James, which Ivy gyms do you think are good shooting (and bad shooting) gyms? Mainly due to lights, rims, or something else?
james
Masters Student
Posts 801
03-04-24 10:19 PM - Post#364518    

i keep it simple. it's usually the gym your practice in every day + ones with dull backdrops and no fans behind the baskets or any movement that creates distraction

so dartmouth harvard columbia and cornell stand out. i preferred the first three in no particular
order though maybe i was biased against cornell bc of the bus ride not the backdrop.

columbia as i recall is optimal bc the backdrop is a really dull grey wall as i recall.

james
Masters Student
Posts 801
03-06-24 11:10 PM - Post#364688    

i was thinking abt this question more as there was a nuisance to it i missed at first blush...ifs been awhile but most of the cited gyms have similar rims i'd imagine still.

but having just completed a season of high school ball that is not the case. our kids struggled in the state tournament with the depth perception of a small college gym and the rims were tighter though hard to know which variable had the larger impact.

good news is our size overcame this


james
Masters Student
Posts 801
03-06-24 11:12 PM - Post#364689    

*nuance. been a long year and i have the hands of a true back to basket post. ha



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