Big East Beatdown
December 29, 2008 9:25 pm by Big Willie Style
After one Big East game this season, we now know that we should not forget about the two time defending regular season champions. As ESPN announcer Jay Bilas said during the broadcast, “It isn’t shocking that Georgetown came into Hartford and won. What was shocking was the ease in which they did so.” And for that, he was exactly right. The Hoyas 11 point victory was about as smooth a victory you could imagine for an opponent facing a #2 ranked team in the conference opener.
For those of you who didn’t see the game, Georgetown opened with a 15-1 lead. The Huskies quickly climbed back in the first half cutting the lead to 4 and eventually trailing at halftime by 9. At the half the Hoyas were still in control, but a UConn victory would not have been surprising at all. The Huskies immediately closed the gap and the usual docile XL Center crowd finally made some noise. It appeared as if UConn would blow pass the Hoyas, however, the young Georgetown players remained calm, and their 2-3 zone eventually squeezed the life out of the UConn offense. Georgetown’s fantastic foul shooting helped the cruise to a victory in the opening Big East game of the year.
What do I take from this game?
-A good zone will stop UConn.
-Greg Monroe is a very impressive player, and is years ahead of Hasheem Thabeet.
-Georgetown’s bench is very weak. If you can get them in foul trouble, they’re very vulnerable.
-In order to win in postseason tournaments, UConn will have to be able to make outside shots.
-Chris Wright will be discussed in first team All-Big talks. Keep in mind, the 1st team is like, 10 players.
-Georgetown will be a very difficult team to to come back on. Thinking of their free throw shooting as if they have a good bullpen. Once they get a lead, they should be able to hang on to it and slam the door on their opponents, as they did tonight.
-In the Big East this year, if you show up with anything less than 100% energy, you’re going to get beat. I’m not knocking the UConn effort, I thought the players played very hard. However, they were clearly outworked by the Hoyas.
-JTIII is a better coach the Jim Calhoun. UConn has better recruiting, and better athletes. But G’town plays better basketball.
10 Responses to “Big East Beatdown”
Good call on JT3 being a better coach that Jim Calhoun. Anyone who really follows the Big East won’t find this controversial, but it’s quite a statement if you think about it — Calhoun has won nearly 800 games, won two national championships, and single-handedly made Connecticut a “program”. And yet, when it comes down to Xs and Os, there’s zero doubt that JT3 is better than Calhoun. It will be interesting to follow JT3′s career. It’s also interesting to see all the ex-Princeton players (Carmody, JT3, Craig Robinson, Joe Scott, Chris Mooney, Sidney Johnson) become coaches. Carrill has totally left a legacy.
Greg Monroe = left-handed, more athletic Jeff Green. Way further along in his basketball than Jeff Green ever was.
UConn too often calls the “Josh Boone” play (throw up a shot, beat people on physicality and athleticism on the offensive glass, and get a quick bucket). It’s pretty ridiculous to see how good they are just by calling “Boone” on each play.
Big Willie is right on all counts. Somebody must have taught you the game very well. I’ve been saying for years that Calhoun doesn’t teach a half court offense. As long as the Huskies can play transition basketball they look good. Any team that doesn’t play a zone against them is asking for a tough game. A 2-3 zone gives the opposition an advantage.
As far as Monroe goes, he is good, very good. I read preseason where Thabeet said that he was better than Harangody and Hansbrough. He’s not even as good as a freshman playing in his 1st Big East game. Someone has told both the kid and the media that Thabeet is an All-American. He is no Okafor. He is no Harangody. He is no Monroe!
The one thing to consider in the Calhoun vs JTIII debate, is that Calhoun’s style of play will always attract better recruits. We can watch Thompson over the years, but he may never have the amount of athletes that UConn has had over the past two decades. So far, he has done very well recruiting, but if I’m a top flight high school athlete, I choose the playground style over structure any day. It lets me showcase my NBA style much more.
I forgot to make my point. My point is that JTIII may never record the amount of wins or winning percentage that Calhoun has because of inferior talent.
I forgot to make my point. My point is that JTIII may never record the amount of wins or winning percentage that Calhoun has because of inferior talent.
Calhoun recruits by displaying the number of NBA players he has turned Gtown is a TEAM. Case in point. Rudy Gay played his last year at UConn just enough not to get hurt. Thabeet already knows he is getting drafted and he is doing the same. An interesting article from the Connecticut Post hints at that and also states how amazed the 24 NBA scouts in the building last night were at the out come of the Thabeet-Monroe matchup. Here is the link:
http://ctpost.com/sports/ci_11333062
Or the New London Day article:
http://www.theday.com/re.aspx?re=b7c54be1-ac97-42aa-b307-38c7cb2d70cb
In the wake of an easy 11-point thrashing, it’s easy to dismiss UConn and Calhoun in favor of Georgetown and JT3. But the rankings and story leading to the game were entirely misleading. Sagarin had them as equals going into the game, and Pomeroy predicted a 2-point Hoya victory despite the home advantage. Those systems are infinitely more successful at predicting team quality and outcomes than several dozen random media voters. Georgetown was #1 by Pomeroy Ratings before the game and is now significantly ahead of the rest (WVU and Pitt are #2 and #3 by the way).
As for UConn’s offense, the proof is in the pudding and the ends justify the means. Calhoun does not teach *traditional* half-court offense, yet UConn has been more efficient on offense (points per possession) than all but six other schools this year. That’s an elite offense. It’s not all transition basketball either–they play only slightly faster than the average team. I think UConn *looks* incredibly ugly on offense but pile up the points per possession anyway. Amazingly, they’re solid according to all four of Pomeroy’s four factors. 35th in effective FG%, 28th in turnover rate, 34th in offensive rebounding, and 6th in FTM/FGA. Georgetown is better at the traditional things; they’re 13th in effective FG% and 4th in FT rate, but they are very mediocre in ball protection and rebounding.
UConn will also be an underdog at West Virginia shortly and could easily be 1-2 in a week. It’s going to be a lot of fun at the top of the Big East this year.
lol, my last name is Boone, but I’m not Josh or anyone in his family, at least I don’t think I am, but you never know, lol. Just thought I say this, dem Younggunz, the Hoyas, can flat out do it. Totally what you call ‘TEAM” basketball, the key is the “communication”, it’s awesome. You shoulda seen the younggunz this past summer at the famed James “Jabbo” Kenner League, very impressive especially against teams full of pro players, there was no doubt in my mind the Hoyas would play hard, play smart, and have fun, as a matter of fact the Hoyas played very smart. Just want to say to Big Willie, I respect your opinion about the bench, but this is not true, those players that are on the bench can play and will play, some of those players are doing the right things at the right time of the game, for instance, Jason Clark’s tip in, with the lengthy arms and fingers, this young man is so graceful, I see Sleepy, Reggie Williams, Charles Smith in Jason, lol…Jason’s defense is “stellar”. He will put the clamps on ya! Omar made one nice, lovely, sweet, smart, slick bounce pass in the post for the deuce right at the right time. We are a “TEAM” these are “our pieces” to “our puzzle”…WE ARE GEORGETOWN!
The communication to get back on defense before opponent gets down the court…
Kudos to you Boone. I have watched UConn and Georgetown play for just about 30 years now. Many memorable games!! The Hoyas are for real. And so are about 7 other Big East teams this year. Hang On! It’s gonna be a 3 month war!!! Gotta love BE hoops.