Villanova post game thread | Page 13 | The Boneyard

Villanova post game thread

3rdbass said:
Jamie is more athletic than McNeeley and a little better creating offense but I can see some comparisons. Though Jaime was a Sr. and McNeeley is only a Freshman so he had a lot more time to mature his game. I hope McNeeley can get more athletic as I think that is the only part that holding him back a little(Still a decent athlete).
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Yeah he doesn’t have the athleticism of a Jaime and he doesn’t have the length of a Deni, but they’re good comps for him skill wise.
 
Drfla said:
Reed can do some serious damage if we get him the ball where he needs it. One good thing I noticed yesterday was that Solo made a couple of nice passes into the post to Reed. Love just about everything about Diarra but the thing I noticed is that he is terrible feeding the post. So maybe Solo will be a better option getting the ball to Reed in the right place.
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My question has been whether Reed makes himself available enough as I have watched him daisy pick on offense. Yesterday he was sealing his man actively, often and calling for the ball. We missed plenty of opportunities dumping the ball into him. Need more of that.
 
3rdbass said:
I don't see it. Also, Jaime has Liam beat in pure athleticism. He is a really good jumper and can move laterally pretty well. I think this is where Liam needs to improve to bring his game to the next level.
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He’s more athletic, he’s not like some crazy athlete though, and certainly doesn’t play like one.
 
CardiacAndre7 said:
He’s more athletic, he’s not like some crazy athlete though, and certainly doesn’t play like one.
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Not sure Liam will ever jump as high as him but definitely an area where he can improve is his lateral quickness which will help him do well in the NBA.
 
Iluvsuebird said:
I used to feel badly about commenting mid-year on whether certain players should or should not return. I no longer feel that way. College players are free agents every year. They can leave at will for greener pastures. Why should I not comment on their status, whether positively or negatively? With that premise out of the way, Ross and Stewart are not what we thought they were. Aidan is not what we thought he was. Reed, Jr. is an enigma; which version do you get on a given night? Grizzly Bear or Pooh? Nowell and Abraham clearly must suck in practice because if they brought anything to the table they would have played more this year. I know that we cannot and will not replace all of these guys. I am not saying we should. All I am saying that these players were recruitment errors. Five recruitment errors in the same time frame is hard to overcome. If we want to recreate the last two years, we need to plug those holes.
Next year's roster is incomplete. And while I think that Alex is playing himself into a 4th year of college ball, these errors have to be fixed.
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I don't know about errors just yet - Ross and Abraham were sort of out of the "instant help" section of the recruiting rankings and were more guys we hoped to develop into role players or maybe more. Stewart was a little higher, but wasn't necessarily a plug and play type either, and he had some key contributions last year. Nowell higher than that, but hard to know if his trajectory would have been different if he had been healthy. Half the battle is doing things in practice enough that they become more instinctual on gamedays, rather than something you have to think about.

But all 13 guys aren't going to play and you need some guys waiting in the wings and pushing the starters in practice. Ball and Ross and Singare and Romuglou all had their behind the scenes part in last year's title too, even without playing time.

Mahaney was a miss and it's sort of hard to figure that one out. We watched hours and hours of St. Mary's tape a couple years ago, and scouted him heavily and put in a game plan on how to defend him (and exploit him). We saw him up close and it didn't look like he was out of place on the floor against us. But he hasn't turned the corner with multiple opportunities and it is what it is at this point - and I feel like our staff maybe should have recognized that he is stuck between positions and not a natural for our system (unless maybe we had size at the 1, such as Newton or Castle). Otherwise, our roster construction would probably be ok - with plenty of scoring punch in the starting lineup with some defensive (Diarra, Ross) and offensive (Stewart, Reed) options off the bench, plus whatever Nowell could give us as he cut his teeth.
 
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RuffRuff said:
Not sure we've ever had anyone quite like AK in a prime role. When we orbit around him, we feel like a stodgy team. When you stuff him in a 4-5 man role, he can splinter off productivity being in the periphery. He's best when he's hiding in the weeds, sneaking into the lane, popping out for an open 3, grabbing an offensive board. Clandestine he is, focal point he is not.
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Closest comparison I can think of who struggled with heavier leadership expectations and becoming the focal point is Albert Mouring. He was a bench/role guy on the title team, made a bit of a leap as a junior and was very efficient around KEA/Free/Jake, and then was sort of in a "I have to be the veteran leader" mode as a senior when we brought in Caron and Taliek. He was sort of a quiet, unassuming guy who was better suited in a complementary role.
 
aceboon said:
I get what you're saying but they also would have had a 20pt advantage in that first half instead of 14 if AK could have made a wide open 3 before sitting with 2 fouls, they would have had more of a cushion to play with if he could make a basket on top off of all of the other things he does. he's had way too many disappearing acts offensively in these close losses.
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AK is averaging 10 points per game on 16% three point shooting against the 5 top Big East teams this season- St. John's, Marquette, Creighton, Xavier, Nova.
 
Drfla said:
Ball did a nice job feeding the post; running the fast break, not so good.
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Baby steps! Though we are in the neck of the woods where you'd like to see all of these things starting to come together.

One thing is for certain, against St. Johns it would be very key for him to have his second great half court passing game in a row. Reed will be the predominant 5 in that one, and absolutely needs to be involved early and often.
 
superjohn said:
AK is averaging 10 points per game on 16% three point shooting against the 5 top Big East teams this season- St. John's, Marquette, Creighton, Xavier, Nova.
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...and when you point this out people think we want him to be Gonzaga Adam Morrison, going for 25+. We just want him to try to get 15 points in games they're losing by 1 or 2 possessions. His lack of production is killing them in these close games.
 
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Gurleyman said:
Closest comparison I can think of who struggled with heavier leadership expectations and becoming the focal point is Albert Mouring. He was a bench/role guy on the title team, made a bit of a leap as a junior and was very efficient around KEA/Free/Jake, and then was sort of in a "I have to be the veteran leader" mode as a senior when we brought in Caron and Taliek. He was sort of a quiet, unassuming guy who was better suited in a complementary role.
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Didn't Calhoun want Albert to wait a year to start playing?

Speaking of Mouring and NY guards, I remember a game against St. Johns. Albert was guarding Omar Cook. Omar seemed pretty cocky to me. You could easily read Omar's lips saying to Albert, "you think you're macho beech". Cracked me up.
 
RuffRuff said:
My question has been whether Reed makes himself available enough as I have watched him daisy pick on offense. Yesterday he was sealing his man actively, often and calling for the ball. We missed plenty of opportunities dumping the ball into him. Need more of that.
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Is there any part of our offense that emphasizes getting the ball to the low post?
 
aceboon said:
...and when you point this out people think we want him to be Gonzaga Adam Morrison, going for 25+. We just want him to try to get 15 points in games they're losing by 1 or 2 possessions. His lack of production is killing them in these close games.
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The reality is you're not that important on the floor when those are your #'s. I'm rooting hard for him and we need him to start playing way better if we want to make a little noise but there's no getting around his rough season.
 
HuskyWarrior611 said:
Man every single person on this board who watched Nowell in person absolutely raved about him before he got here and so did Hurley.

Now all of a sudden he isn’t good enough. It’s the same story every time outside of lottery picks Hurley can’t find excuses not to play because they’re NBA ready.

Also I’m happy you asked about other players. Every single top 50 PG and combo guard (which is what Nowell was) is playing in some capacity for their team.

Some standouts are

John Mobley Jr. who is 6’1 and the 3rd leading scorer at 13.5 per game for OSU ranked 49th on 247.

Labaron is averaging 10 a game for top ranked Alabama ranked 34

Zoom Diallo is averaging 11 a game as the 3rd leading scorer for Washington and he was ranked 55.

There’s actually only one guy receiving limited minutes out of this top 50 group and that’s Trent Perry at UCLA but he still plays more than Nowell.

Nowell is actually having the most struggles out of the whole group and I don’t even need to talk about the players ranked higher than him.



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Trent Perry was #28 player on Espnu 100, 8 spots higher than Nowell. He is only averaging 3.7 ppg in 11.7 minutes for UCLA.

Given UConn’s problems at the PG spot, if Nowell was ready and healthy he would be playing more. He hasn’t played well when he has been given minutes. Also hard to say how much his injuries have impacted his performance. That said I would like to see UConn play him more even if he plays poorly as I don’t think this years team is going anywhere and he has upside and could become a good player for next year.

Also UConn’s offense might not be the best for young PGs. It is a lot of long sets with goal of getting open 3s and cuts and dunks. Probably harder to learn than a team that plays more of a street ball style or trap and fast break style.

One criticism of coaches might be that they are playing a style of ball that worked great for the last couple years teams, but maybe not the right fit for this years team. Given the struggles on defense maybe they should have done more with full court press.
 
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giddyup said:
Na, this was more like pulling a plane out of nose dive that could have been unrecoverable if they lost.
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a win is only important at this time its followed up with a win and the team getting better
Gurleyman said:
One weird outlier is that Caron was pretty much the 9th best player on the floor in that famous 100-98 win at Arizona when Emeka and Ben had their national introductions.

But sophomore Taliek also had 21 on 8-11 shooting, 2-3 from 3 and 3-3 at the line, with five assists and one turnover - and hit back to back driving layups in OT to take us from down 3 to up 1. He looked like the player we thought we were getting.
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Freshman Gorden made the huge three to either win or send it to OT
AZHuskie (not Me , my son ) was at that game in Tuscon wearing Uconn stuff and took a little grief but still talks about it as one of the greatest games he ever saw.
Gurleyman said:
I don't know about errors just yet - Ross and Abraham were sort of out of the "instant help" section of the recruiting rankings and were more guys we hoped to develop into role players or maybe more. Stewart was a little higher, but wasn't necessarily a plug and play type either, and he had some key contributions last year. Nowell higher than that, but hard to know if his trajectory would have been different if he had been healthy. Half the battle is doing things in practice enough that they become more instinctual on gamedays, rather than something you have to think about.

But all 13 guys aren't going to play and you need some guys waiting in the wings and pushing the starters in practice. Ball and Ross and Singare and Romuglou all had their behind the scenes part in last year's title too, even without playing time.

Mahaney was a miss and it's sort of hard to figure that one out. We watched hours and hours of St. Mary's tape a couple years ago, and scouted him heavily and put in a game plan on how to defend him (and exploit him). We saw him up close and it didn't look like he was out of place on the floor against us. But he hasn't turned the corner with multiple opportunities and it is what it is at this point - and I feel like our staff maybe should have recognized that he is stuck between positions and not a natural for our system (unless maybe we had size at the 1, such as Newton or Castle). Otherwise, our roster construction would probably be ok - with plenty of scoring punch in the starting lineup with some defensive (Diarra, Ross) and offensive (Stewart, Reed) options off the bench, plus whatever Nowell could give us as he cut his teeth.
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As good a team of recruiters as Hurley has that one is baffling .
Getting another experienced ball handler who can shoot and average 8-10 a game plus 4_5 assists , who could defend the position and this is a different team.
Given our clout that was extremely doable . Guards are the most competitive commodity out there.plus where not looking for a superstar
Pitino’s correct the freshman that have had an impact were in the top echelon , McNeeley, Castle, Clingan.
The next level players like Ball has emerged as a soph , but Stewart and Ross are still erratic
Hawkins emerged as a soph in 2023..However his freshman year was hindered by injury that changed. that seasons trajectory.
Maybe they were high on Spencer success but he was a one of a kind mentality as Clingan was Physically .
 
husky429 said:
I think the problem is Hurley continues to put the ball in his hands at the end of games and in tight spots expecting magic like Tristen could make, but it just doesn't happen. We need the ball in McNeeley's or Reed's hands in those moments.
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Reed’s hands, really? It feels like he shots 60% from ft line. There is only one answer. Inside of a 4 min, let Liam take over. I want the ball in his hand 100% of the time.
 
djct1999 said:
Think what you want. He is a natural 4 and plays like it.
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Modern PFs have to be able to stretch the floor and Reed hasn’t taken a single 3 pointer all season, he’s a pure 5, more of a 5 than sanogo was. I’m sorry This might be the worst basketball take of 2025 thus far.
 
RuffRuff said:
Samson brings energy to the team? Um no. Samson is status quo.
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Samson gets down the court as fast as anyone and he can hit the floor and get back up in a blink. Hell, yeah, he brings brings energy. He high hedges and get back to lane very quickly. I get you love Reed. But you don't have to blow out Samson's candle to make Reed shine brighter.
 
bendm said:
Modern PFs have to be able to stretch the floor and Reed hasn’t taken a single 3 pointer all season, he’s a pure 5, more of a 5 than sanogo was. I’m sorry This might be the worst basketball take of 2025 thus far.
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This is so dumb you will be the first person I ignore.
 
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CardiacAndre7 said:
Dying on the hill that Reed is a natural 4 is genuinely one of the craziest things I have read on this board.
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There are some interesting goats in this Yard.
If there was a BY yearbook (scary thought) this one would get most likely to require mercury detox.
 
djct1999 said:
So is Hassan. And Alex is the consummate role guy. Turns out, the roster was built poorly and at best we can go 7 deep. That makes things difficult.
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The roster wasn’t built poorly, we had an exceptional freshman and sophomore last year and both left to be NBA lottery picks. Those holes were filled as well as could have been expected with McNeeley and Reed.

In retrospect, the only roster building issue was not bringing in a top point guard. He thought Mahaney and Nowell would be able to compete for starting point guard. He was wrong as it turned out, but not because he didn’t look at point guard when considering roster construction.
 
superjohn said:
Yep but the really insane thing is Hurley never starting him and going away from him. He's so obviously our best big to anyone who watches and he provides all the things the rest of the team is so bad at. Being big, getting buckets down low, and rebounding on both ends of the court. Danny is stubborn but this has been next level stubbornness from him.
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His stubbornness this year has cost us a minimum of 2-3 wins. But who are we to judge, he’s the best F’ng coach in the country according to someone.
 
Scottobot said:
Trent Perry was #28 player on Espnu 100, 8 spots higher than Nowell. He is only averaging 3.7 ppg in 11.7 minutes for UCLA.

Given UConn’s problems at the PG spot, if Nowell was ready and healthy he would be playing more. He hasn’t played well when he has been given minutes. Also hard to say how much his injuries have impacted his performance. That said I would like to see UConn play him more even if he plays poorly as I don’t think this years team is going anywhere and he has upside and could become a good player for next year.

Also UConn’s offense might not be the best for young PGs. It is a lot of long sets with goal of getting open 3s and cuts and dunks. Probably harder to learn than a team that plays more of a street ball style or trap and fast break style.

One criticism of coaches might be that they are playing a style of ball that worked great for the last couple years teams, but maybe not the right fit for this years team. Given the struggles on defense maybe they should have done more with full court press.
Expand ...
We need to simplify our offense. The long clock has resulted in many turnovers and rushed shots from weak positions. The wrong players are left with ball. This is also a problem with inbounding IMO. Our five needs to be part of the relief system when inbounding from the baseline. Stay away from the corners.
 
Gurleyman said:
I don't know about errors just yet - Ross and Abraham were sort of out of the "instant help" section of the recruiting rankings and were more guys we hoped to develop into role players or maybe more. Stewart was a little higher, but wasn't necessarily a plug and play type either, and he had some key contributions last year. Nowell higher than that, but hard to know if his trajectory would have been different if he had been healthy. Half the battle is doing things in practice enough that they become more instinctual on gamedays, rather than something you have to think about.

But all 13 guys aren't going to play and you need some guys waiting in the wings and pushing the starters in practice. Ball and Ross and Singare and Romuglou all had their behind the scenes part in last year's title too, even without playing time.

Mahaney was a miss and it's sort of hard to figure that one out. We watched hours and hours of St. Mary's tape a couple years ago, and scouted him heavily and put in a game plan on how to defend him (and exploit him). We saw him up close and it didn't look like he was out of place on the floor against us. But he hasn't turned the corner with multiple opportunities and it is what it is at this point - and I feel like our staff maybe should have recognized that he is stuck between positions and not a natural for our system (unless maybe we had size at the 1, such as Newton or Castle). Otherwise, our roster construction would probably be ok - with plenty of scoring punch in the starting lineup with some defensive (Diarra, Ross) and offensive (Stewart, Reed) options off the bench, plus whatever Nowell could give us as he cut his teeth.
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The "square peg into round hole" "trying to make him a PG" arguments thrown around here are absolute rubbish.

At StMU, he sure appeared to be capable of the following basic things you want ANY guard to do with reasonable prowess against reasonable sample size of reasonable comp:

  • Bring the ball up the court and start the offense, when needed (NOT even "be a PG")
  • Serve as an effective perimeter part of a reasonably-designed offensive set
  • Drive and create a pass/shot when the opportunities are there
  • Make shots at a reasonable rate
  • Make a clutch shot or two late in the shot clock to bail out the offense

Here with us, every trip up the floor to try and start the offense is a hold-your-breath adventure. Backcourt violations, getting bullied, ball stripped. More often than not, the offense grinds to a halt whenever he gets the ball. Either as an initiator or as a cog in the set. Yes he's occasionally driven into the lane with some success, but it's been wildly inefficient and inconsistent. In BE play, he's shot 38% from the field overall, 28% from 3. Ast:TO of 16:11. Serviceable defense has never materialized.

If this guy can somehow find a way to become a Joey C for 5 minutes a game, that would go a long way toward us being more of a menace as we head towards the tourney. It seems like a reasonable ask, but we're in the home stretch.

I absolutely hate that I was right about my worries about him from the open summer practice.

I'm all here for an epic redemption arc...
 
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