MBB at Drexel - 1/30, 4 PM

[Wags]

Nice dunk from Walker to put us up 59-56! Here's a video of it. https://twitter.com/CAABasketball/statu ... 8243707909

Good old pick and roll. I like the way his teammates came off the bench to congratulate Walker. Mayne now JAM will have more confidence in him.

Up only 1 with 3 1/2 left, that's HUGE! Happy for Walker to have his moment there. He sits most of the year and then to be ready to do that when called upon in a big spot, in an important win, it says a lot about him.

[EvanJ]

SNY didn't carry the Hofstra game because it was showing its annual high school basketball tournament, the SNY Invitational, live today.

I know that.

http://espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=400833329 is the Associated Press recap titled "Tanksley, Green lead Hofstra past Drexel 70-64." It has two mistakes, one about when Hofstra took their first lead, and one about Tavon Allen's previous career-high.

[cactus]

nice comeback win - didn't think it was going happen there a few minutes into the second half.

lack of video was annoying.

[EvanJ]

http://gohofstra.com/news/2016/1/30/MBB_0130165640.aspx is Hofstra's recap titled "MBB: Huge Second Half Run Propels Hofstra Past Drexel, 70-64." http://drexeldragons.com/news/2016/1/30 ... 60139.aspx is Drexel's recap titled "TAVON ALLEN'S CAREER DAY SPOILED BY LATE HOFSTRA COMEBACK SATURDAY, 70-64" (I apologize for the capital letters but that's how Drexel did it). Drexel pointed out that they had 23 offensive rebounds. The previous season-high by a Hofstra opponent was 18. It was the most offensive rebounds by a Hofstra opponent since at least 2005-2006. It was the first time a Hofstra opponent had more offensive rebounds than defensive rebounds since Farmingdale State on November 13, 2010. That was 183 games ago.

[ProudofPride]

JWF had a pretty sweet move in pregame warmups.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BBLW8-hKOBF/

[Polito]

This was a big road W, fantastic comeback, showed great fight heart and passion, the key ingredients missing last yr - I know Drexels record is awful, but this was really a strong road win for a few reasons

As I said this was a game I was cautious about, just like Elon - Drexel really in a tough spot this yr, lost their Green late and didn't have time or anyone to replace him - he would've challenged for POY - they actually have some complimentary pieces but not enough to overcome that - they are still hard nosed, play good D, and its a home game in a tough environment

HU weathered the storm beautifully, and overcame their own challenges to pull it out - props to the Philly boys, and their fans, for showing out!! And how about BB with a huge defensive stand on TA in final seconds - great job - RG what can you say, a light game and still his *8th* double-double - tremendous

So... I'd love to hear from the Walker doubters now - you folks who loved to challenge and hate on my thoughts of him playing, his value, his absolute need for PT, and his CLEAR defensive prowess - you can say I was right now if you have the guts to admit it but I'm sure you won't.

And JWF showing some glimpses of his super athleticism and ability - I continue to see stud in that young man

I think JM being forced into adjusting the game plan and rotation use is going to turn into a major strength - AW didn't just figure it out overnight, he HAS HAD the ability, just wasn't getting the chance - again, no way in heck does he replace RG nor should he - but he has impact ability when used properly - his athleticism cannot be denied - the dunk wasn't just a great dunk, it was a perfect pick and roll and he adjusted beautifully to the pressure from behind with the a dribble to shake it and create the space needed - yeah...sure, he just learned that in practice kid needs and is FINALLY getting floor time, period. TIME TO EAT AW, GO GET IT!!

I am JACKED at what I'm seeing from JM and these guys now, and I want to give JM credit especially for handling things extremely well of late - as much as I didn't agree with the spare bench use early on, I equally LOVE what he's doing now, even if it is forced - I have always loved a set starting 5, which he is great at developing, now this is the missing piece to me - this could be a turning point for this team in terms of their ability to win this whole farm thing - only thing missing was some effective depth - I think we are seeing the start of it these last couple of games - this could be the difference maker

On a related note, some may not want to admit this, but I think the poor 3 shooting recently is one result of starters burning minutes all yr long - hard to believe its just a coincidence that its the last stretch and the deep shots have been a struggle - it's a long season, heavy PT does have an impact - hopefully the new bench can help to ease things enough for these guys to get things straight again - will need those shots come CAAT

All in all, go Pride baby!! Special season growing here!!

[Flying Dutchmen]

So... I'd love to hear from the Walker doubters now - you folks who loved to challenge and hate on my thoughts of him playing, his value, his absolute need for PT, and his CLEAR defensive prowess - you can say I was right now if you have the guts to admit it but I'm sure you won't.

I've been in the Pro-Walker camp with you, I think most of us have to be honest, but even in 9 minutes, he was frustratingly inconsistent and sloppy, and his play led to a lot of Drexel offensive rebounds. I'm just glad AW's getting to play through these mistakes and flash his upside, he showed some good things today. We need 10 minutes a night from him, but they need to be better minutes than he showed today.

Great comeback, another gutty win we probably would have lost last year. The video feed kicked on as we were mounting our comeback, so I can't exactly say how we looked in the first half, other than it sounded rather uninspiring. We did a good job getting to the line in the second half, and hitting our free throws. Overall I thought we looked patient offensively, we did a good job drawing fouls, and hitting open looks. Defensively, we gave up 23 offensive rebounds, which usually equals a loss, but we overcame it because Drexel shot so poorly. I thought our defense was playing a little softer than usual, but Drexel had an awful day from the field, so it was good enough. Tank picking Allen's pocket late was a thing of beauty, and it sealed the win for us.

Great win, they're all not going to be pretty, but now we have a 1st place showdown at the MACK on Thursday.

[Wags]

So... I'd love to hear from the Walker doubters now - you folks who loved to challenge and hate on my thoughts of him playing, his value, his absolute need for PT, and his CLEAR defensive prowess - you can say I was right now if you have the guts to admit it but I'm sure you won't.

I've been in the Pro-Walker camp with you, I think most of us have to be honest, but even in 9 minutes, he was frustratingly inconsistent and sloppy, and his play led to a lot of Drexel offensive rebounds. I'm just glad AW's getting to play through these mistakes and flash his upside, he showed some good things today. We need 10 minutes a night from him, but they need to be better minutes than he showed today.

Yeah, I think because he got a whole 4 min. more than he usually did, and had the LONE dunk (his only shot of the game), along with the mere two boards and two blocks he'd usually get, some here are going a little overboard off of that VERY limited production in still very limited use to overvalue what he did and justify what they wanted to see all season.

Same goes for Buie (4 pts & 1 ast in 10 min) and Wright-Foreman (4 pts, nothing else, missed both of his 3s in 5 min).

And 3 fouls in 9 minutes for Walker? That's valuable for Rok when he has 4 fouls and Tanksley has 3, but that's NOT good defense or an indication that he'll be a player next year and beyond. But, we'll see.

Again, I didn't see this game, so maybe their D was solid and there were other intangibles they provided that don't show up in the boxscore, but it doesn't sound like it, especially from your assessment of Walker's play above.

The starters still took 40 of the 46 shots and scored 60 of the 70 pts, while playing 40, 31, 38, 31 and 36 min. The first two games without Nichols still aren't this large departure from what was done with Walker, Buie and JWF all season, and it's still going to remain largely on the starters, and for good reason. The bench really isn't all that productive (at least not yet, and I don't expect that we'll see much more from it than what we've seen to date).

[Dooku25]

I can't really comment too much without seeing video of this game, but just very happy they were able to come back and pull out the W. Glad to see Rok hitting clutch free throws down the stretch, we are going to need that again down the road! Also glad to see Walker and JWF contribute a little.

This team is racking up the wins. They've done a great job avoiding bad losses and beating teams they should beat. Hope to see a good crowd Thursday night, especially from the students but not holding my breath.

[ProudofPride]

We don't need AW to have Gustys-like stats, at all. We simply need him to contribute a little bit off the bench, and eat up some valuable minutes, especially when RG is in foul trouble. And that's exactly what he did last night. Based off of the audio of the game, since we couldn't watch it, it seemed that he was more confident out on the court, which is great. And he'll only get better as he gets more playing time, which will be great down the stretch.

[joeg1]

If Rok can hit about 2/3 of his fts, it bodes well for our chances. It really alters our makeup down the stretch

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[garyg]

I have been posting to give AW 5 minutes a half since the start of the season...yesterdays total of 9 minutes is close enough...LOL...also like what I saw from Rock at the FT line yesterday

[Pride97]

Just finished watching replay on SNY. I will say in the second half AW had a few rolls to the basket open. He moved off his picks well and if JG was looking for him, he could have had a few more chances at inside layups/slams. He also was called for a questionable travel that would have been another slam. I have been saying for a while he has looked lost on the offensive end in limited minutes, but I don't feel that way here. He was definitely looking to contribute and looked like he had a bit of a chip on his shoulder. I'm hoping he keeps that because if he continues to do what he did against Drexel, he may force JAM to give him more minutes.


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[pridehoops2015]

Just finished watching replay on SNY. I will say in the second half AW had a few rolls to the basket open. He moved off his picks well and if JG was looking for him, he could have had a few more chances at inside layups/slams. He also was called for a questionable travel that would have been another slam. I have been saying for a while he has looked lost on the offensive end in limited minutes, but I don't feel that way here. He was definitely looking to contribute and looked like he had a bit of a chip on his shoulder. I'm hoping he keeps that because if he continues to do what he did against Drexel, he may force JAM to give him more minutes.


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lets not make him out to be patrick ewing. he had a couple nice plays but on defense he was getting abused. lets face the facts people and stop trying to make up something that isnt there.

[stuball888]

So 2015 what would you do. Play the starters till they foul out. he needs to develop his game. I dont think practice alone will do that. No one is saying give him 20 minutes but 10 minutes a game he will not hurt the team.

[Pride97]

Saying he may force some more minutes as RGs backup is hardy calling him Ewing. Guess you didn't read that this was the first time I didn't think we was completely lost.


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[HofstraMathew]

So 2015 what would you do. Play the starters till they foul out. he needs to develop his game. I dont think practice alone will do that. No one is saying give him 20 minutes but 10 minutes a game he will not hurt the team.

Definitely agree his 10 minutes in fact helped us vs Drexel. If he didn't play and Gustys fouled out; would we have won that game with buie in there like the JMU game? Most likely not. Malik was playing 18 minutes per game. No reason 10 of those cant go to Walker.

[Wags]

So 2015 what would you do. Play the starters till they foul out. he needs to develop his game. I dont think practice alone will do that. No one is saying give him 20 minutes but 10 minutes a game he will not hurt the team.

Depends on the game. If it's 10 minutes you're taking away from Rok, it could help win the game like the way Walker's 9 minutes worked out at Drexel. But in other very big games, it could cost them the game if a tired, foul-plagued Rok would be the better option. We keep making blanket statements that A, B, C bench guys should always get X, Y, Z minutes because that has to be the winning formula and that's the only way HU can possibly win the CAA and win in Baltimore. Well, maybe that is the formula in one game (be it regular season or in Baltimore) but maybe the formula in other games is to not give the bench much time at all and put it even more on the starters (like in Boston recently). There IS no... "Give Walker 10 minutes, Buie 15, JWF 5 minutes per night, period." Every game is different and has to be managed as such.

[daHUPride]

So 2015 what would you do. Play the starters till they foul out. he needs to develop his game. I dont think practice alone will do that. No one is saying give him 20 minutes but 10 minutes a game he will not hurt the team.

Depends on the game. If it's 10 minutes you're taking away from Rok, it could help win the game like the way Walker's 9 minutes worked out at Drexel. But in other very big games, it could cost them the game if a tired, foul-plagued Rok would be the better option. We keep making blanket statements that A, B, C bench guys should always get X, Y, Z minutes because that has to be the winning formula and that's the only way HU can possibly win the CAA and win in Baltimore. Well, maybe that is the formula in one game (be it regular season or in Baltimore) but maybe the formula in other games is to not give the bench much time at all and put it even more on the starters (like in Boston recently). There IS no... "Give Walker 10 minutes, Buie 15, JWF 5 minutes per night, period." Every game is different and has to be managed as such.

The hard part is - how and where does AW get in the game - I am also a believer in 10 mpg for AW, also a long time advocate of AW playing more - however the development of RG wants him in for every minute - so AW plays to give give RG a breather/when RG gets in could trouble - can we ever play them together? JAM says "no" so I guess not but I can't see why not -

[Cards]

If Rok plays 30-35 per game, AW should get the rest of the minutes. Of course each situation and game are different, but "generally" 5-10 minutes should go to Walker.

First half, Rok always comes out for a breather 5-6 minutes in (replace with Walker for 2-3 minutes). Rok usually gets another break around 15 minutes in, so put AW in again. If Rok has two fouls in the first half and there is any chance of him picking up a third (physical game or poor refs) put Walker in for the last few minutes of the half. I would think that this is JMs plan going forward, that is, in the first half get AW 5 or so minutes to give Rok a breather and stay away from foul trouble. That can be a pretty steady reliable formula for the first half of almost every game.

Of course as you get into the second half, JM is going to use Rok as much as possible in any game that is close or he is not in foul trouble. That being said, can't see how AW doesn't get at least a couple of mintes around 5 minutes into the second half. After that, all bets are off, and JM will continue to use media time outs, and team time outs, to give guys a breather. Any close games will have the starting 5 (+DB maybe) for that final 8 minutes.

That's just the way it is, and as long as the guys aren't in foul trouble, I think I have to go with it also.