They made us look sluggish which is really really frustrating because this is a fairly athletic team.They took away the role and any point guard penetration at the start of the office. Made us a perimeter team again. We made shots in the first half and didn’t make the shots in the second half. They made shots and beat us.
Ask for points in the paint, their structured offense with down screens and curls gave them a lot more opportunities to get the ball in the paint then our perimeter passing did
In the first 12 minutes or so it looked like we were going to beat them at their own game. Don’t know if anyone else noticed or not but our body language looked a little too cocky at that point, almost lackadaisical. UVA on the other hand played with intensity the entire game. I had a bad feeling even before we lost the lead. And the crowd seemed completely flat and sat on their hands most of the night.When you play a good defensive team, you too must play good defense. And maximize your possesstions ( mimimize turnovers)
I didn’t get home until halftime & followed the game on my phone. Thought they were alive, having fun & starting a romp at 24-14. Having seen so many of their games, I could tell from just score changes that turnovers, poor rebounding and weakening defense let VA not just come back, but take control. The first thing I noticed watching the second half was body language. I didn’t see that “never give up” intensity on either end that has been so prevalent in other games. I didn’t see the Cincinnati or UGA games, but every game I did see on TV and live at MSG, I enjoyed watching them, win or lose. I didn’t enjoy that second half one bit and my body language reflected that in front of the TV no different than theirs did on the court. It’s contagious.In the first 12 minutes or so it looked like we were going to beat them at their own game. Don’t know if anyone else noticed or not but our body language looked a little too cocky at that point, almost lackadaisical. UVA on the other hand played with intensity the entire game. I had a bad feeling even before we lost the lead. And the crowd seemed completely flat and sat on their hands most of the night.
where was Sturdivant?One other thing, the end of that first half shows us how important it is to have George on the floor. He got his second foul with around 2:00 left, so coach pulled him out. We looked lost, including that final inbounds pass that led to the buzzer beater. They should not have touched the ball to end the half. That was a huge play. I actually wish they would have brought George in right there and let him throw the ball in with 2.5 seconds left.
This flatness shouldn't happen at home.I didn’t get home until halftime & followed the game on my phone. Thought they were alive, having fun & starting a romp at 24-14. Having seen so many of their games, I could tell from just score changes that turnovers, poor rebounding and weakening defense let VA not just come back, but take control. The first thing I noticed watching the second half was body language. I didn’t see that “never give up” intensity on either end that has been so prevalent in other games. I didn’t see the Cincinnati or UGA games, but every game I did see on TV and live at MSG, I enjoyed watching them, win or lose. I didn’t enjoy that second half one bit and my body language reflected that in front of the TV no different than theirs did on the court. It’s contagious.
They looked to be resigned to a loss shortly after the second half began. I didn’t see any fight and thought they looked tired. Way too young, athletic and in top physical shape to be physically tired, so I attribute it to being mentally tired. Nobody feels sorry for young men who get scholarships with or without NIL and get a free eduction to play ball every day, but a lot is asked of them and whatever the problem was, it looked like the entire team was suffering from it.
CDS’s presser is 18 minutes long. In between his
lines I get the feeling he knows most or all of the ACC is better than GT and he drives them hard and demands toughness in practice & games just to get them ready to compete & maybe steal a win occasionally. I saw a post where some mentioned that GT might be the best 9-8 team in the country. In most games they are playing so far above their collective talent that they look so much better than they are to everyone. But when that blogger wrote that, according to NET, only one 9-8 team in the entire country (Xavier) was ranked above Tech. So that assessment, much like fan expectation was highly exaggerated.
New opponent, different game Tuesday. Looking for this team to make them fun to watch again, win or lose. Just need to patiently get through the low spots of 2023-24. Thinking about where this program looks to be heading in the next few years is a big help getting there.
It’s very hard to play defense for 25 seconds every possession then see a guy hit a 3 point shot from the G in the GT logo. UVA makes opponents play hard at both ends of the court.Tony Bennett teams make a lot of teams look flat. When UVA dug-in on us, we looked more tight than flat to me.
I believe Bennett is 20-2 vs GT. OuchUVA owns us in hoops. Onto the next.
Good summary. I too was a little surprised by his attitude. I believe our biggest problem is allowing points in the paint.I finally sat down to watch Stoudamire's post game presser. If you haven't yet watched, do so. It is remarkable.
That was the first time I've seen him pissed and frustrated with his team. He did not praise a single GT player, or the team in any way.
He said that the team is "consistently inconsistent." He said that the players have to get tired of that.
He did not heap any respect on UVA. He said that "they run two plays" for their entire offense and that to defend them his players can't "get bored" of digging in defending their actions deep into the shot clock. he said that there wasn't a single UVA player that did anything that they don't usually do. Stoudamire was pissed that his players did not execute on defense how they were instructed to do it. And he thought that the break downs were all about toughness and competitiveness.
When asked if he could take away anything positive from the team cutting the lead to 5 points in the second half, he said something that I have never heard a coach say: he said that it is easy to play hard and come back when you have a double digit deficit. He remembered the moment when Gt got within two possession is the second half and Stoudamire said, "and them Miles left McNeely open for an uncontested 3."
With regard to his team growing a pair, Stoudamire said that "it is time."
He said that in three years time that "I won't be up here talking about this." I took that to mean that he WILL have a tough, competitive squad by then (or that he will be gone!).
Bottom line, Stoudamire boiled over post game UVA. He is frustrated by the lack of competitive consistency of his players. He does not think too much of UVA or what they do and thought that his players should have executed, especially defensively, much better than they did.
I think this is a good sign. I hope that he is able to find via recruiting the type of tough competitors that he thinks he needs to win against teams like UVA.