9+ Game Winning Streak - EDIT: NEVERMIND!

[rambunctiousrowdyram]

Why only 9?

Honestly we need a lot more then 9 straight if we want bubble consideration. We need a major winning streak and some quality road wins. Otherwise everything is in the A10 tourney.

 

[rampart]

Personally I'd rather focus on a 5 game winning streak meaning we win all 5 of our remaining non-con games before Christmas.
I don't care what the final score is, I just want to get BETTER.

Like a few of you said, Raddy will probably be the toughest test. I'd also watch out for Navy, they upset Virginia at JPJ last season.

My *hope* is that we win all 5 of these games and hopefully a few of these aren't really close. If that happens, we can build some momentum heading into A10 play and we can look back at the KS game and chalk it up as a fluke bad game w/o two of our best players.

For years, we have done our best when we were not thinking we were going to get an easy win. I hope the team takes every opponent seriously and focuses on one game at a time.

 

[Celticguy]

To the basketball experts, no secret we have had a ton of scoring droughts this year. Why? We haven't exactly played any elite defensive teams except maybe ASU. Is it schemes we run, the players, a combination? I keep hearing players will play, but to my untrained eye, the offense looks like a mess. Given that, I don't think a nine game win streak is in the cards.

IMHO the players do not yet know where their team mates will be in any given scenario of the defense. This is why they start to "gel" in Jan or Feb as they learn from one another. I have to wonder why this happens. Sure ALL teams take SOME time to gel but it seems like since Smart we take longer than others. My best guess is that in recruiting we favor athleticism over "basketball IQ". Blue bloods gobble up kids that possess both. McKillop at Davidson recruited IQ over athleticism (we will see if his kid does the same). Mooney does as well.

 

[bighornn]

VCU is embarking on what I call the "Safe Demolition Derby" style of moving up in the ranks ... while others are suffering losses by going head-to-head vs. programs on similar footing, the Rams are content to sit back, safely, piling up victories over mediocre to poor foes ... it works (and the fans will love it) ... you'll see, after what figures to be a long home winning streak vs. lesser lights, the NET will be cut in half .... I actually saw guy do that in a real Demo Derby at Southside Speedway ... he didn't challenge anyone but kind of hid and wound up second after the real demo kind of guys knocked each other out.

 

[share the ball]

IMHO the players do not yet know where their team mates will be in any given scenario of the defense. This is why they start to "gel" in Jan or Feb as they learn from one another. I have to wonder why this happens. Sure ALL teams take SOME time to gel but it seems like since Smart we take longer than others. My best guess is that in recruiting we favor athleticism over "basketball IQ". Blue bloods gobble up kids that possess both. McKillop at Davidson recruited IQ over athleticism (we will see if his kid does the same). Mooney does as well.

IMHO we do a lot more aggressive hedging on the pick n roll with our bigs - thus creating more situations where we are scrambling on defense when our opponent doesn't passively back the ball out - with lots of different players and combos on the floor our closing out open players is very inconsistent (we typically have a deeper rotation 10 or 11 in some game and this year 6 guys new to our defense (3 freshman and 3 portal signees)
we also are more aggressive in trying to deny passing lanes which creates situations where once again we are scrambling and rotating

IMO a lot easier to teach defense to new players etc when it is more conservative (stay between your man and the hoop and drop toward the lane when you are weak side etc

bottom line it is a function of MRs defensive approach which candidly I like and the numbers say is effective

I can remember similar issues of rotations with JD Barnetts team because if the ball went to the low post it was doubled and sometimes tripled to force it out which then created the fire drill rotations

 

[AlienAiden]

Put some alpha dog into Johns. Maybe Ace can donate him some blood.

 

[BaNgMyPrOgRaM]

If we win nine, who is our tenth opponent?

 

[AlienAiden]

If we win nine, who is our tenth opponent?

Have you ever looked at the top of this site? Do it and click schedule.

 

[Mr X]

I'm far from a basketball expert, but in my amateur opinion it is difficult to score or get into a rhythm when you turn to ball over... uh, frequently. As to how we fix that, there's always Stick'Um!

And maybe the gloves that the wide receivers use to make the one handed catches in football.

 

[Celticguy]

If we win nine, who is our tenth opponent?

Dayton, but 7, 8 and 9 are not gimmes. I'm thinking 6-8 are doable, 6 very doable.

 

[Celticguy]

And maybe the gloves that the wide receivers use to make the one handed catches in football.

Mo does his with his giant hands.

 

[Ramlove81]

Why only 9?

Yes, with the momentum (and hopefully putting a lot of things together) gained from 9 straight wins, I'm hoping we can pull off a big road win over Dayton. I'll be there.

 

[rampart]

Mo does his with his giant hands.

Mo could have used a little stickum last night.

 

[RamJamFan]

Personally I'd rather focus on a 5 game winning streak meaning we win all 5 of our remaining non-con games before Christmas.
I don't care what the final score is, I just want to get BETTER.

Like a few of you said, Raddy will probably be the toughest test. I'd also watch out for Navy, they upset Virginia at JPJ last season.

My *hope* is that we win all 5 of these games and hopefully a few of these aren't really close. If that happens, we can build some momentum heading into A10 play and we can look back at the KS game and chalk it up as a fluke bad game w/o two of our best players.

I agree with you, however, my disappointment is that it unfortunately won’t mean much if we win all 5. We should win all 5, and winning any one of them doesn’t do much for our chances to dance come March. That’s my expectation. Our play to date, and scheduling agreed to earlier this year, has put us in this position. Only a very long winning streak will impact it. Why must we find ourselves in this position so early in the year? Much more complicated then Ace missing a few games.

 

[theyaintwantit]

I agree with you, however, my disappointment is that it unfortunately won’t mean much if we win all 5. We should win all 5, and winning any one of them doesn’t do much for our chances to dance come March. That’s my expectation. Our play to date, and scheduling agreed to earlier this year, has put us in this position. Only a very long winning streak will impact it. Why must we find ourselves in this position so early in the year? Much more complicated then Ace missing a few games.

I agree with all of what you said. I'm just condensing my focus to the rest of non-con play. A 5-0 record and what appears to be team & individual improvements will give me confidence ahead of our home game vs La Salle on NYE.