After the Bryant debacle, I didn't know what to expect tonight as BC took on Penn State. Fortunately we won. The game was one of many streaks. BC built up a huge lead in the second half as Penn State couldn't buy a shot. Then PSU started pressing...and it got ugly. Remember when Skinner's teams struggled with full court pressure? This was like that only much worse. The lead was cut to four. BC finally calmed down thanks to the freshmen guards. Here are my other thoughts. Leave yours below.
Likes
-- Solid minutes from Van Nest. Who knows when Clifford will be 100%. We are very lucky that Van Nest can step up. He finished close to the basket. He played good D and made some big shots.
-- Hanlan closing out the game. When it looked like things would fall apart Hanlan made some big plays. He also converted most of his foul shots.
-- Improved 3-point shooting. Donahue's system is dependent upon the 3. We haven't been making them until tonight.
Dislikes
-- The ballhandling during the press. This is where we miss Jordan Daniels. I expect other teams to watch this tape and try the same thing.
-- Mental errors from Jackson and Heckmann. There were plenty of errors for the whole team but these two guys had some real headscratchers (i.e. Jackson fouling on a 3-point attempt).
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
7 comments:
I was ok with Heckmann's game today. He had one moment where he was trying to get cute with an entry pass, but even his only turnover was him trying to pass out of the press rather than dribble (which a few of our young guys were doing). No one came to the ball and PSU got a tip.
As for Jackson, he knocked down a couple of 3 balls, but his defense has been tough. He has been slow to rotate, but definitely looks better off of the bench when he doesnt have to worry about the other team's 3.
Odio also had some questionable moments including the intentional foul after he got pick pocketed on the other end of the floor. It seems as though he has beat out KC for our other "big" man spot, but that is just more of an illustration of how thin we are on the front line.
IMO Donahue needs a recruiting class of 3 this year, he needs two prospects that look like Hanlan and Rahon, and one that is a solid contributor. That is a pretty slim margin for error, but not impossible.
Speaking of Rahon and Hanlan - great game. Hanlan needs to keep moving the ball towards the basket and either finishing or finding the open man. I also like Rahon's aggressiveness, but he leads the team in player control fouls on the offensive end. He needs to be aware of where those defenders are setting up down there.
Good win though. First true road win for this group of kids. They had significant troubles on the road last year, and their trip to Charleston didnt exactly instill confidence on the road.
What is wrong with Clifford? I didn't know he was injured. I was starting to chalk him up as a major sophomore slump candidate.
I missed the majority of the first half due to ESPNU technical difficulties that just about triggered a seizure (and ESPN3 was blacked out).
BC dealt with the press just fine for a while until Penn State amped up the pressure. Then they looked like they had in fact gone into seizure. I understand passing rather than dribbling to avoid traps, but no one was moving. Most disturbing was that Donohue didn't seem to have a clue as to how to adjust, even after three or four very ugly turnovers, culminated by a turnover and three-point play coming out of a friggin' time out!
Any team that doesn't apply full court pressure against BC after this should be boiled in its own pudding.
Luckily, Hanlon has upperclassman stones. Kudos to him and Rahon for hitting clutch FTs down the stretch.
By the way, did Anderson play last night? (rhetorical question)
agree about Anderson, he was a complete no-show.
Hanlan is a BOSS and i'm excited to see 4 years of him.
i'm not sure how good this team will be this year, i think if we were to win 15-16 games (around 500) it'd be a "good season" but the next year and the year after are going to be very good years. a team of anderson/clifford/jackson/heckmann as seniors and hanlan/rahon as juniors (and my boy garland owns coming next year) is going to be tough to deal with. it seems like when one guy has a good game (Hanlan last night), other guys don't show up (Anderson and Clifford last night). we need a few games where everyone comes to play to see the true potential of this team.
agree the press was frustrating, but that's what happens with 2 freshman guards in the game. losing daniels definitely hurts a guard heavy attack and in breaking the press. oh well.
Bill, I think you are often too critical of Heck. Last night he had 6 pts, 6 boards, 3 assts and 3 steals in 35 minutes. Only turned it over once. Heck is very important to this team and I still think he has tremendous upside.
i liked Heckman's production as well, and think he should be starting with Hanlan and Rahon. gives us more size, and Lonnie's game is better suited to come off the bench. Heckmann seems more focused when he starts the game.
Harvard on Tuesday, can we please beat the Crimson this year!!!! we have played them every year since 08-09 and lost each game, lets go! last time we beat them was 12-22-05, when Dudley had 16 pts 8 rebound 5 assists and MARQUEZ HAYNES (remember him) had 13 off the bench.
Maybe I just haven't seen enough of him, but Heckmann just doesn't look good to me. He's got a very nice stroke on the open look, but otherwise appears to be playing underwater, like the game is just moving way too fast for him. Hence, the sloppy passes, poor footwork on defense. There are several people here that say very positive things about him, but I just haven't seen the justification for it. Yet.
Post a Comment