Villanova Post Game Thread

[REB1094]

It’s hard to believe that Baylor team was the worst FT shooting team of this group. They were one of the best 3pt shooting teams I’ve ever seen. What a weird dynamic

Nothing was more automatic than a Davion Mitchell crossover into a pull-up midrange. That was a fun team

 

[Umami Zen]

We beat a tough team on the road. They'll be playing in March Madness and will make things interesting at MSG during BE Tournament. Played well enough at crunch time for the W.

Don't get the criticism on Clingan for his second game back. Thought the team did a really good job of containing Dixon and not letting him have a huge game.

Got a week to get in reps and fix some stuff before X game.

 

[Deleted at users request]

Strength is definitely an issue. He gets bullied down low way too often both on post-ups and rebounding. That combined with being average at best height for center is going to make it tough. Hopefully another offseason will allow him to get stronger, I’m just not sure we can assume that will happen.

He’s not strong but he also doesn’t play very physical. He never looks for contact out there when rebounding. He kind of just lets guys get a body into him and does nothing about it.

If I was Hurley I’d make SJ focus on nothing but physically boxing guys all the way out for a few practices. Like don’t let Clingan get a rebound or he runs. Make it a life or death situation to get it through his head how physical he has to be when boxing out. He’s way too soft with that right now.

I’ve actually seen something like that done before and the kid was a much better rebounder for it.

 

[HooperScooper]

75% . Need 80%+ in this league

I don't know why people post stuff like this. Do you know how many teams average at least 80% from the free throw line for the season so far? 2. Out of 362 teams. Villanova and Wake Forest. That's it. And neither are ranked.

NCAA College Men's Basketball DI current team Stats | NCAA.com

Discover the current NCAA Division I Men's Basketball leaders in every stats category, as well as historic leaders.

www.ncaa.com

UConn's average takes a hit from Clingan and Johnson. Everyone else that will be playing big minutes is pretty good. Karaban and Spencer at 88%. Newton at 79.3% (I'd bet that will go over 80% by season's end). Castle is at 71.7%. Diarra has been great at 81.5%.

 

[HooperScooper]

Not to pile on, but… there are exactly two teams in D1 that shoot 80% as a team. Villanova 81.8% and Stetson 81.1%. Maybe we can round up and include Wake Forest at 79.9%

Recent champions -
UConn 76.1%
Kansas 71.7%
Baylor 70.8%
Virginia 74.4%
Villanova 77.9%

I should have read your post before I posted. Lol. The stats were updated this morning and Stetson went under 80% and WF went over 80%. So still only 2 teams over 80%.

 

[upstater]

Want to see Castle isolated, backing down his man and posting up. We need him to do what Villanova and Marquette have been living off for ages.

 

[Scottobot]

I'm pissed it came down to the final seconds. Clingan should not have played 24 minutes. I mean, he was just not good.

Clingan looked good to me. Cleared defensive rebounds, blocked 2 shots, and deterred several drives to hoop and turned into shot clock violations. Also added 6 points of low post offense. UConn. Is way better at getting stops and clearing the rebound when he is in there.

 

[mauconnfan]

I understand why this post got 40+ likes. @superjohn is a great poster and we all love Cam for his toughness, creativity, leadership, shooting ability and pure emotion. But his defense remains a liability. Of the players who get meaningful minutes on this team, he is the worst defender, and it’s not even close. Nova exploited the heck out of him and they have Kyle Neptune as a coach. I’m not sure if there’s a solution, but this is a concern whether we want to admit it or not.

Yeah it’s close. He makes plays off the ball others don’t as well. He and Newton are both liabilities but admittedly Tristen seems to have stepped it up as of the last 2. The thing is you have to accept his defensive shortcomings because of his outstanding abilities on the other end. Add to that he mixes it up in going for rebounds in traffic on the defensive end. And if DC stays healthy it will be less obvious as well. Samson again, not a great help defender doesn’t read naturally ahead of time.

I’ll keep Cam lol!

 

[DogMania]

Newton, Karaban and Spencer can all play 33 minutes or more, so having a 7 man rotation is not the end of the world. Whenever Ball
and Stewart enter the game, we immediately lose momentum, so I’d ratherboth just stay on the bench.

So Hurley shouldn't bother trying to develop these two young players who will be important pieces of next year's team by no longer giving them any non-mop-up minutes?

And what happens if injuries happen this season or they get into serious foul trouble?

I'm not saying they should get minutes every game, but keeping them on the bench is not the answer. Depending on the game situations will dictate when Hurley puts them in the game. Both have contributed, though there have been and will be games where they will make mistakes or don't do enough.

Lastly, our deep shooters need some rest during the game, especially against teams that make them work hard on D. Tired bodies often result in missed Js. I'm fine with one or both getting a few minutes and when they perform well, a tad more.

 

[OceanDoggie]

Diarra's contributions have been both timely and extremely impactful. If Diarra, Johnson and Castle continue to evolve and can consistently show that evolution in games, this team will be unbeatable. The only concern I'd have is Ball has had zero points and assists in 4 straight games. Hate to see regression from any of the young Guys.

 

[uconnfan68]

Perhaps Johnson just doesn't have enough BB experience to be good at rebounding? I am curious how we'll look next year but that's a problem for April.

I was hoping for more shot blocking too. He seems frozen at times.

 

[Captbluefin]

So Hurley shouldn't bother trying to develop these two young players who will be important pieces of next year's team by no longer giving them any non-mop-up minutes?

And what happens if injuries happen this season or they get into serious foul trouble?

I'm not saying they should get minutes every game, but keeping them on the bench is not the answer. Depending on the game situations will dictate when Hurley puts them in the game. Both have contributed, though there have been and will be games where they will make mistakes or don't do enough.

Lastly, our deep shooters need some rest during the game, especially against teams that make them work hard on D. Tired bodies often result in missed Js. I'm fine with one or both getting a few minutes and when they perform well, a tad more.

Tell me when did you want Hurley to throw some freshmen in last night to develop them?

When we were up a couple baskets on the road or when we were down.

That was not the game or environment for that last night

 

[DogMania]

To your point, SJ had TWO rebounds. Every other player that played meaningful minutes had at least 2 rebounds. You would think that at 6’10” he’d get 4 or 5 rebounds by accident.

Rebound stats can be deceptive. UConn team rebounds where the bigs box our and our guards crash the paint to rebound in the open gaps. It's no accident that our perimeter players are getting solid rebounding numbers. Take a look at the box score. Not only did Newton get 6 rebounds last night, but Diarra had 2. Spencer had 4 and Castle 3.

With that said, I'd have to rewatch the game to see if SJ was not in good rebounding position and/or showing bad technique. I do think he needs to improve and get bigger and stronger.

 

[Hunt for 7]

My biggest question on Samson. All the insiders said he had a three point shot. C’mon man that had to be hype that was not even close to being accurate. I assume anyone who makes it to playing at this level can make a wide open 21 ft shot more than they miss it. Players like Spencer, Newton and Karaban are shooting contested threes. From what I have seen I just don’t know how anyone would label him a three point threat. But Castle is a different story, he has to find two or three spots he likes, put up hundreds of threes from those spots over the course of the next week. I just refuse to believe that someone with his form, ball rotation, basically very good mechanics cannot get to a place where they can make 40% of those wide open threes. That is going to happen you can count on it. By BE tourney time teams will not be able to play five feet away from Castle when he is on the perimeter. It will start at Gampel where he practices and once he gains some confidence he will become a weapon. He is a few games away. I can feel it.

 

[RichCTBB]

Want to see Castle isolated, backing down his man and posting up. We need him to do what Villanova and Marquette have been living off for ages.

I don’t see that happening. The offense stalls as soon as he gets the ball as it is. Our multiple layers of action and constant movement is our strength

 

[DogMania]

Tell me when did you want Hurley to throw some freshmen in last night to develop them?

When we were up a couple baskets on the road or when we were down.

That was not the game or environment for that last night

There are going to be a lot of conference games like last night. I'm not saying that Hurley should put them in during any situation, but them learning to contribute in some pressure situations is a good learning opportunity.

I'm confident that the coach knows what he's doing. Beyond my pay grade.

 

[Captbluefin]

There are going to be a lot of conference games like last night. I'm not saying that Hurley should put them in during any situation, but them learning to contribute in some pressure situations is a good learning opportunity.

I'm confident that the coach knows what he's doing. Beyond my pay grade.

And who will be the first to complain when we loose a close one? “ Hurley screwed up
and had Ball or Stewart get burned “

You want to develop players in game for next year or win a Championship this year ????? They aren’t ready. They are on the bench on the defending National champs who are currently ranked #1. Go play for DePaul if they feel they need to start.

Stop being afraid of transfers and go play to win every night looking for blood.

They will get their turn

 

[3rdbass]

Want to see Castle isolated, backing down his man and posting up. We need him to do what Villanova and Marquette have been living off for ages.

I want to see him drive and dish more like he did with that pass to Samson under the basket. Posting up is fine but sometimes he starts to far out and ends up with an offensive charge trying to get closer.

 

[DogMania]

One observation. Did anyone notice that Nova was leaving a gaping path between SJ (probably Clingan too) from the top of the key to about a few feet below the foul line when he received the ball in the motion offense? Never once turned around anfmd took it to the open lane.

I was surprised that Hurley didn't instruct him to turn and dribble it as far into the paint as possible and either take a short uncontested or lightly contested J, kick it back to a shooter or feed it to a teammate near the basket if the bottom half of their D came out to stop him or to a player back cutting towards the basket.

Hopefully they'll see this in the tape and add that as an option. Our bigs never drove it down into that open gap to prevent them from overplaying the other 4 teammates. Not sure other teams will play that soft up the middle though.

Note I'm note saying our bigs should drive it wildly in traffic where they could get stripped or draw an offensive foul, but SJ could have covered a lot of ground with 2 to 3 dribbles and made one of those 4 decisions before he would get surrounded risking a turnover or a 3 second violation. If they're fine with passing it to our bigs in the paint for short Js or kickouts, then exploiting that gap with a few quick power dribbles should be a viable option.

Did anyone else notice this happen a number of times?

 

[REB1094]

On observation. Did anyone notice that Nova was leaving a gaping path between SJ (probably Clingan too) from the top of the key to about a few feet below the foul line when he received the ball in the motion offense? Never once turned around anfmd took it to the open lane.

I was surprised that Hurley didn't instruct him to turn and dribble it as far into the paint as possible and either take a short uncontested or lightly contested J, kick it back to a shooter or feed it to a teammate near the basket if the bottom half of their D came out to stop him or to a player back cutting towards the basket.

Hopefully they'll see this in the tape and add that as an option. Our bigs never drove it down into that open gap to prevent them from overplaying the other 4 teammates. Not sure other teams will play that soft up the middle though.

Note I'm note saying our bigs should drive it wildly in traffic where they could get stripped or draw an offensive foul, but SJ could have covered a lot of ground with 2 to 3 dribbles and made one of those 4 decisions before he would get surrounded risking a turnover or a 3 second violation. If they're fine with passing it to our bigs in the paint for short Js or kickouts, then exploiting that gap with a few quick power dribbles should be a viable option.

Did anyone else notice this happen a number of times?

Xavier did the same thing. No defense within 12-15 feet on Samson and Castle, and their defenders just zone up to disrupt our off ball movement

Smart strategy. If Samson had a reliable jumper from there, I'm sure he'd have a green light to shoot it. We've seen him make a few floaters or short jumpers before so it's a decent strategy just to keep defenses honest. Otherwise we get a lot of perimeter passing for 25 seconds before asking Tristen or Cam to bail us out

DC is a much better passer (and being 7'2 helps) so I feel like he could be pretty dangerous from 15 feet to make a quick move to the hoop or to find an open guy after drawing in extra defenders

 

[WeAreUCONN]

So Hurley shouldn't bother trying to develop these two young players who will be important pieces of next year's team by no longer giving them any non-mop-up minutes?

And what happens if injuries happen this season or they get into serious foul trouble?

I'm not saying they should get minutes every game, but keeping them on the bench is not the answer. Depending on the game situations will dictate when Hurley puts them in the game. Both have contributed, though there have been and will be games where they will make mistakes or don't do enough.

Lastly, our deep shooters need some rest during the game, especially against teams that make them work hard on D. Tired bodies often result in missed Js. I'm fine with one or both getting a few minutes and when they perform well, a tad more.

Hurley is giving both Ball and Stewart a few minutes in the first half but neither are doing well. They both look like they are not ready for good competition. They’ll both continue to play when the score dictates it but if we are counting on either to contribute heavily next season, we are probably asking too much. Ball showed flashes of potential earlier in the season but Stewart has not shown anything.

 

[freshler40]

I understand why this post got 40+ likes. @superjohn is a great poster and we all love Cam for his toughness, creativity, leadership, shooting ability and pure emotion. But his defense remains a liability. Of the players who get meaningful minutes on this team, he is the worst defender, and it’s not even close. Nova exploited the heck out of him and they have Kyle Neptune as a coach. I’m not sure if there’s a solution, but this is a concern whether we want to admit it or not.

I see more pluses with Cam. He is a help defender at times, rebounds beyond his size and, like Newton can dribble penetrate when needed. I haven't even talked about his great hands. Glad to have him! We are 17-2. Number one (1).
Yes, he can be beat, but if Clingan is on the floor there is an eraser behind him. Can's plusses are far beyond most players. We have great coaches to have identified this missing piece.

 

[freshler40]

I was hoping for more shot blocking too. He seems frozen at times.

Johnson isn't reading the floor well but has the quickness to respond. He lacks confidence. Hurley likes his big's to high double team at times. When Johnson does that, his size against other 5's puts him in poor rebounding position.
I do agree with several posters that both of our five's could look for the open cutter or move themselves toward the hoop for a pull up or better. Johnson has indeed done that in a few earlier games to the astonishment of the opponent and our great entertainment.

 

[Punkbo]

I see more pluses with Cam. He is a help defender at times, rebounds beyond his size and, like Newton can dribble penetrate when needed. I haven't even talked about his great hands. Glad to have him! We are 17-2. Number one (1).
Yes, he can be beat, but if Clingan is on the floor there is an eraser behind him. Can's plusses are far beyond most players. We have great coaches to have identified this missing piece.

We all agree. Cam is a great piece to the puzzle. His offensive skills and intangibles are off the charts. Cam, AK and Newt will all continue to get massive minutes as the games become more important. Having DC to protect the rim is a huge advantage. With that being said, teams will continue to target Cam and he needs to step up the effort on the defensive end.

 

[mauconnfan]

We all agree. Cam is a great piece to the puzzle. His offensive skills and intangibles are off the charts. Cam, AK and Newt will all continue to get massive minutes as the games become more important. Having DC to protect the rim is a huge advantage. With that being said, teams will continue to target Cam and he needs to step up the effort on the defensive end.

I think I know you didn’t mean “effort” in this post. I mean he works as hard or harder than anyone so it’s not that at all. But agree we could use him to be better. Dan’s a great coach so by no means would I question him or any college coach. But to me put Cam on the less impact shooter and let him give him space so he has time to move his feet and react. Slower footed defenders need to allow space can’t be getting in their grill at 28 feet from the basket. Help him be better.

 

[navery12]

One observation. Did anyone notice that Nova was leaving a gaping path between SJ (probably Clingan too) from the top of the key to about a few feet below the foul line when he received the ball in the motion offense? Never once turned around anfmd took it to the open lane.

I was surprised that Hurley didn't instruct him to turn and dribble it as far into the paint as possible and either take a short uncontested or lightly contested J, kick it back to a shooter or feed it to a teammate near the basket if the bottom half of their D came out to stop him or to a player back cutting towards the basket.

Hopefully they'll see this in the tape and add that as an option. Our bigs never drove it down into that open gap to prevent them from overplaying the other 4 teammates. Not sure other teams will play that soft up the middle though.

Note I'm note saying our bigs should drive it wildly in traffic where they could get stripped or draw an offensive foul, but SJ could have covered a lot of ground with 2 to 3 dribbles and made one of those 4 decisions before he would get surrounded risking a turnover or a 3 second violation. If they're fine with passing it to our bigs in the paint for short Js or kickouts, then exploiting that gap with a few quick power dribbles should be a viable option.

Did anyone else notice this happen a number of times?

That's exactly what Villanova wanted and we would have been playing into their hands. Samson Johnson dribbling into multiple defenders in the paint is a recipe for turnovers all night

 

[Sole]

We all agree. Cam is a great piece to the puzzle. His offensive skills and intangibles are off the charts. Cam, AK and Newt will all continue to get massive minutes as the games become more important. Having DC to protect the rim is a huge advantage. With that being said, teams will continue to target Cam and he needs to step up the effort on the defensive end.

I wouldn’t change a thing with Cam’s game..such a heady player..great great offensive player and and very heady defensive player.. the biggest thing is he plays with a lot fire

 

[DogMania]

That's exactly what Villanova wanted and we would have been playing into their hands. Samson Johnson dribbling into multiple defenders in the paint is a recipe for turnovers all night

I don't think that's what they wanted at all. They probably stayed the course until UConn adjusted, which they never did.

I'm interested to see if they'll add that to their offense in the upcoming games if defenses try to do the same. I remember back when JC coached the team, he'd tell his bigs to turn around and take it to the foul line. I'm not saying dribble into traffic, but if the middle is wide open take that real estate and make a play from there.

 

[Tenspro2002]

75% . Need 80%+ in this league

You realize that Villanova leads the universe and (almost?) set an all-time record at like 82%, right? 80%+ as a team is off the charts.

 

[Griggs]

Or insane…

If you are considered a 1st round NBA pick, you should be a somewhat dominant college player and I don't Clinglan is there yet. Just park yourself on the low block, don't dribble when you get the ball and hit that turn around jump hook