Gonzaga Post Game Thread | Page 12 | The Boneyard

Gonzaga Post Game Thread

A couple points I want to make:
  1. The crowd was electric. Sometimes the sound technicians really mute out the crowd noise and it's hard to tell from home how loud it is at the arena. But that was clearly not the case last night. I loved Jimmy Jackson's answer right at the beginning of the broadcast when Jason Benetti mentioned the pro-UConn tilt. He goes, 'Ya think?' And then our boys played lights out to start the game and both sides were feeding off each others' energy. It was awesome to watch -- I wish I was there.

  2. I love Hass -- he might be my favorite player on the team. He's getting people involved, limiting his turnovers, and playing tough minded defense. But the one thing I haven't liked is the execution near the end of halves/games. Far too many times Hass has just thrown up a contested three-ball and that happened again at the end of the first half. The only time I can remember a good decision being made was at the end of regulation against Memphis and he found Solo for a game-tying three. This isn't all on Hass -- his teammates need to get open too. But considering how efficiently our offense operates during the games, I hope we can apply that to end of half/game type situations too. And maybe it means leaning more on Liam to create his own offense.
 
RuffRuff said:
All this off the ball stuff with AM - do we even need that piece? An undersized poor defensive 2 to go alongside a small PG? You can’t force it. Trying to maximize his offense only makes him a bigger defensive liability. This isn’t a charity game, it’s trying to win. The only way he offers any value is with his dribble. We don’t need a small spot up shooter who is only has a pretty good shot.
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I think he can play some key minutes subbing for Ball and he can create his own shot off the ball. He has proven it. Yeah i'm still confused why Hurley picked him up. I thought he would be at least and average athlete but he is sub par from what I have seen.
 
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Boost'ED said:
I don't think I ever posted that I was rooting for Mahaney to fail, or insulted him in any way (other than the Nick Timberlake comparison).

I'll cheer him whenever he plays, as it can only benefit our team.


Just observing that his play has been (to date) poor.
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You would have been better off just not using that comparison. It's clear AM is struggling and so far doesn't look like a good fit for what he was brought here to fill.

Based on Hurley’s reaction the other game when Mahaney had that nice stretch, he wants to develop him but is doing so by giving him spot opportunities to do so.

Let's all show some restraint and try to root for him to get back his confidence and improve. It's okay if folks constructively criticize him, but try not to trash him or lose all hope.

Maybe he'll surprise us and turn things around before it's all said and done.
 
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Mike Honcho said:
A couple points I want to make:
  1. The crowd was electric. Sometimes the sound technicians really mute out the crowd noise and it's hard to tell from home how loud it is at the arena. But that was clearly not the case last night. I loved Jimmy Jackson's answer right at the beginning of the broadcast when Jason Benetti mentioned the pro-UConn tilt. He goes, 'Ya think?' And then our boys played lights out to start the game and both sides were feeding off each others' energy. It was awesome to watch -- I wish I was there.

  2. I love Hass -- he might be my favorite player on the team. He's getting people involved, limiting his turnovers, and playing tough minded defense. But the one thing I haven't liked is the execution near the end of halves/games. Far too many times Hass has just thrown up a contested three-ball and that happened again at the end of the first half. The only time I can remember a good decision being made was at the end of regulation against Memphis and he found Solo for a game-tying three. This isn't all on Hass -- his teammates need to get open too. But considering how efficiently our offense operates during the games, I hope we can apply that to end of half/game type situations too. And maybe it means leaning more on Liam to create his own offense.
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Love Hass too - has every intangible quality you want in a player. His spin move in the lane for 2 yesterday was unreal.

Touché Goodman!

 
1999GoodSon said:
Massive overreaction.
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In what way? He took some bad shots and looks like he's forcing it. He shoots like 10% from a few feet off the NBA line and that's where all his takes were from.
 
housekeys said:
Shout out to Diarra. Not the best scoreline and the ill-advised 3, at the end, stands out, BUT, the guy is a warrior. Lot's of minutes doing probably the most essential job on a team. Played all but 4 minutes, hustled and delivered early to Samson and always great for 1 spectacular (spin in the lane) moment. UConn fans are so spoiled and have such a high standard, his play goes almost unnoticed.
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Diarra's spin move off the rebound was unbelievable. The head scratcher came late in the game. He caught the inbounds close to the left sideline and then somehow escaped the double team and dribbled past mid-court. Why he chose to pick up his dribble in the frontcourt and trap himself along the sideline is beyond explanation. On balance, a very good game for Diarra.
 
Iluvsuebird said:
1. Hurley‘s change to put Ross defending the point was brilliant. Changed momentum. having a a longer guy guarding the ”best point guard“ in the country changed everything.
2. Liam is a Stud.
3. Alex had a bad game. I think Alex is a Robin, not a Batman. Liam is Batman.
4. Samson played his best 8 minutes as a big boy player in a husky uniform. Wish him well, and a quick return. If he plays like that going forward, we are in good shape.
5. Ross needs to embrace being this team’s Lyman DePriest. If he does, this team will be hard to beat.
6. Reed, Jr. is a nice big man. More impressed with him each time I see him. That said, stop falling for fhe first ball fake for Pete’s sake.
7. HD is coming into his own. Happy for this kid. Showing he is more than a Back up.
8. Stewart looked good. Big plays. But I still think that Abraham brings more to the table because he is a better defensive player.
9. For the love of God, can I see Nowell back up Diarra. That combo will be hard to overcome by opponents. I do not need to see Aidan play anymore. He cannot defend at a championship level. This is “ole” defense. He does not even make an effort to fight the screens to step in front of the 3 point shooter. One thing is to try a fail. Aidan ain’t even trying to fight the screen. This was a bad pick up by the team.
10. This team is legit. Come March, if Liam progresses, teams win have a tough time beating us.

Good night.
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The last 3 games have shown the depth and length of this team…something Few talked about in relation to not getting Ike going. I think it also was a reason for the layups they were missing in the second half.
 
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Diarra really blew the defense letting the Zag player drive the length of the court for a shot that he made at the end of the 1st half. I do not understand how he could let that happen. Failure in focus?
 
RuffRuff said:
All this off the ball stuff with AM - do we even need that piece? An undersized poor defensive 2 to go alongside a small PG? You can’t force it. Trying to maximize his offense only makes him a bigger defensive liability. This isn’t a charity game, it’s trying to win. The only way he offers any value is with his dribble. We don’t need a small spot up shooter who is only has a pretty good shot.
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It’s down to Ross and Mahaney for those backup SG minutes so may the best man win.

in terms of backcourt size, Nowell/Mahaney are only a combined 2” shorter than our ‘23 backup duo of Diarra/Joey
 
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RuffRuff said:
All this off the ball stuff with AM - do we even need that piece? An undersized poor defensive 2 to go alongside a small PG? You can’t force it. Trying to maximize his offense only makes him a bigger defensive liability. This isn’t a charity game, it’s trying to win. The only way he offers any value is with his dribble. We don’t need a small spot up shooter who is only has a pretty good shot.
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Yes, that is a very valuable piece and one we need. With Ball starting we don't have a good option as a backup 2 guard
 
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Gonzaga fans are salty about the lucky shots that went down. Seemingly no recognition of the totally open shots that Karaban usually drains that didn't go down. It all evens out.
 
Interesting reading here for sure. I loved Diarra’s efforts. He is going to grow into the point guard role. He’ll get better every game. A good point guard attacks their defender. Straight line attack, knock them on to their heels and then go by them. He’ll be there soon.

With respect to Mahaney, I’m pretty sure Hurley sees what everybody else sees but he’s at UCONN because he is the right kind of kid. Obviously he’s not a point guard but I think people are being a little premature giving up on him. Trust this coaching staff. I bet he’ll make some good contributions before it’s over.
 
navery12 said:
Yes, that is a very valuable piece and one we need. With Ball starting we don't have a good option as a backup 2 guard
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Agreed. Bench offense at the guard spot is a work in progress right now. Stewart has shown well as a wing/forward, but the team really hasn’t found consistent offense out of Mahaney or Ross, which seem to be the two options behind Ball. Establishing Mahaney as a bench scorer would be a great weapon and a good insurance policy.
 
alphasigko said:
Diarra really blew the defense letting the Zag player drive the length of the court for a shot that he made at the end of the 1st half. I do not understand how he could let that happen. Failure in focus?
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You cannot overlook the je ne sais quois factor Hassan brings out there. His mistakes are often part of trying to make things happen, which energize the team. This team needs that level of leadership. As he firms up as the 1 and the other guys get comfortable in their roles, things will continue to click. The question will be how much rest he needs during the 40 to keep fresh legs.
 
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Leebo said:
Gonzaga fans are salty about the lucky shots that went down. Seemingly no recognition of the totally open shots that Karaban usually drains that didn't go down. It all evens out.
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The play after Liam’s circus shot, Ajayi threw up a prayer from the left baseline with his back completely to the hoop. It went in plus they called a horrible foul on Reed. How did their fans assess that shot?
 
superjohn said:
We were 5 for 24 on mostly open threes. If we shot decently from three we would've blown them out.
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tbf, they also missed several layups you would expect them to make with slightly higher % than they did (even given the defense). We probably lost a few more points to "luck" than they did, but it wasn't entirely one sided, IMO. probably ~12pt win IMO if each team played to their potential last night.

Now....with a healthy SJ.....we would have won by 50.
 
uh-no said:
tbf, they also missed several layups you would expect them to make with slightly higher % than they did (even given the defense). We probably lost a few more points to "luck" than they did, but it wasn't entirely one sided, IMO. probably ~12pt win IMO if each team played to their potential last night.

Now....with a healthy Samson Johnson.....we would have won by 50.
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Begs the question, does Tarris start Wednesday with SJ potentially on concussion protocol? Does he relinquish the role if so?
 
RuffRuff said:
Begs the question, does Tarris start Wednesday with Samson Johnson potentially on concussion protocol? Does he relinquish the role if so?
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YS starts to keep reed as the killer sub. you heard it here first!
 
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