Boston College 9:00 pm on Wednesday

OG-T

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BC is not very talented. We were clearly more elite. And an ACC road win is a big+ no matter, but really big this year. I have been and continue to be a giant fan of Coleman. He already does many things and expect a noticeable jump next year. Maxwell, as others have said, has that it and not afraid to take the shot or stick his nose in the moment. Love that there’s no hesitation if feet are set. He’s a little better defender than I imagined. If he got a little leaner - needs run from being off so long - he could be consistent threat. Let’s believe he builds from here. Young guns could be a lot of fun. Enjoy watching shooters all over floor.
 

lv20gt

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Always great to get a win, especially on the road. Maxwell obviously had a huge game shooting 7-11 on threes. Coleman had a good all around game with 11 points, 5 rebs, 2 assists, and 2 steals. Smith had a similar line with 9/5/3/1 and 2 blocks. Devoe wasn't his usual super scoring self with only 13 points, but he also grabbed 9 boards, had 4 assists and 4 blocks so he had a big impact nonetheless.

That being said going tiny and choosing to not play an interior player at all is not a winning strategy. We won despite doing that, not because of it. Sure our offense looks better because we're running it through a senior wing rather than an inexperienced big, but there is no reason to force the offense to run through the big. It made sense in year one when we had a big with a skill set that fit it and no true PG. It doesn't make sense now. We can and should be running our offense through our guards/wings, not through the 5 position. But it shouldn't take going tiny to do that. It's normal to be able to play a true interior player and still run the offense through the guards/wings.
 

bke1984

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Always great to get a win, especially on the road. Maxwell obviously had a huge game shooting 7-11 on threes. Coleman had a good all around game with 11 points, 5 rebs, 2 assists, and 2 steals. Smith had a similar line with 9/5/3/1 and 2 blocks. Devoe wasn't his usual super scoring self with only 13 points, but he also grabbed 9 boards, had 4 assists and 4 blocks so he had a big impact nonetheless.

That being said going tiny and choosing to not play an interior player at all is not a winning strategy. We won despite doing that, not because of it. Sure our offense looks better because we're running it through a senior wing rather than an inexperienced big, but there is no reason to force the offense to run through the big. It made sense in year one when we had a big with a skill set that fit it and no true PG. It doesn't make sense now. We can and should be running our offense through our guards/wings, not through the 5 position. But it shouldn't take going tiny to do that. It's normal to be able to play a true interior player and still run the offense through the guards/wings.
Sure, but then you’d have growing pains of trying to learn a new offense. This was the fastest way back to looking better of offense. The tough part is that it basically lets the other team dunk all over you all game (as we saw), which will backfire against anyone (see last night) but even more so when we play a team with a really talented 5.
 

ChristoGT

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I'm sorry I made the game as close a game as it was. Tuned in with a minute to go in the half and we were down. Didn't get back on until we were up by 10 and then over the next 10 or so minutes of watching we were then down by 4 (it seemed like we went 0 for 20 during that stretch) and I turned it off to stop the bleeding. I'll sacrifice for everyone else by not watching (live) if that's what it takes.
 

orientalnc

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That being said going tiny and choosing to not play an interior player at all is not a winning strategy. We won despite doing that, not because of it.
I don't disagree with your post, but Meka and Saba are hurting the team on both ends most of the time. Neither is an ACC level player and I applaud Pastner for sticking with the lineup that was working last night (even at the end of the 1st half when BC went on that run). When Howard is ready to return, he will get the minutes.
 

CuseJacket

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Devoe held to 13 points (no made 3s) and Ush fouls out. Exactly how we thought we’d get it done.

As @lv20gt pointed out, Devoe stuffed the stat sheet otherwise. Overall big contribution.

Re: Maxwell, he was huge. One thing to consider is how he ultimately contributes elsewhere when his shot is not falling. Last night he had 1 reb and no assists, steals or blocks in 26 min of PT. It’s almost hard to do that. In his prior 18 minutes this season he has 1 rebound and nothing else. He’ll have to do more in order to stay on the court if his first few shots don’t fall any given game. This isn’t a dig or concern - he’s young and coming back from being out. Just more he needs to work on while getting his sea legs.
 

lv20gt

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I don't disagree with your post, but Meka and Saba are hurting the team on both ends most of the time. Neither is an ACC level player and I applaud Pastner for sticking with the lineup that was working last night (even at the end of the 1st half when BC went on that run). When Howard is ready to return, he will get the minutes.

I agree they are hurting us on defense compared to what we need from the position. However, compared to what we saw last night I don't agree. We were worse defensively last night than usual.

Post and Karninick average right at 17 a game together in 40 minutes shooting under 50% from the field. Against us they combined for 32 points in right at 40 minutes shooting 13 - 18 combined (72%). And it wasn't like they were doing anything much special to do it. They just had such a size advantage and we never tried to throw them off even when it was their only reliable plan on offense. And in general, BC scored nearly 10 points more than their average and their second most of any game all year. Some times that happens because a team just shoots lights out and you tip your hat and move on. That isn't what happened though. They were mostly scoring in predictable ways against a glaring weakness that we just decided to have for little reason. If we go tiny that is an effect that we can expect every game

Offensively sure, they are hurting and having another wing probably helps. But if we want to get more shooting threats on the court then we should either sit Moore, or play Mike at the point and sit Smith and Sturdivant. That makes even more sense considering we aren't really using a PG to run the show much at all.
 

orientalnc

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I agree they are hurting us on defense compared to what we need from the position. However, compared to what we saw last night I don't agree. We were worse defensively last night than usual.

Post and Karninick average right at 17 a game together in 40 minutes shooting under 50% from the field. Against us they combined for 32 points in right at 40 minutes shooting 13 - 18 combined (72%). And it wasn't like they were doing anything much special to do it. They just had such a size advantage and we never tried to throw them off even when it was their only reliable plan on offense. And in general, BC scored nearly 10 points more than their average and their second most of any game all year. Some times that happens because a team just shoots lights out and you tip your hat and move on. That isn't what happened though. They were mostly scoring in predictable ways against a glaring weakness that we just decided to have for little reason. If we go tiny that is an effect that we can expect every game

Offensively sure, they are hurting and having another wing probably helps. But if we want to get more shooting threats on the court then we should either sit Moore, or play Mike at the point and sit Smith and Sturdivant. That makes even more sense considering we aren't really using a PG to run the show much at all.
I think Pastner & Rev made the decision to simply outscore BC on the offensive end last night. It almost failed, but Post is not going to be the guy BC normally depends on, so it was a defensible strategy.
 

awbuzz

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I said in the ND thread that Maxwell has that "it" factor when he has the ball in his hands. I didn't get to watch the game live, but looking forward to watching the replay especially to watch Maxwell. The young guys looked like they took a step forward, and we got a lot of production from them.

Good to get a win.
You'll mostly like what you see... exception being some of the other stats.
 

forensicbuzz

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I don't disagree with your post, but Meka and Saba are hurting the team on both ends most of the time. Neither is an ACC level player yet and I applaud Pastner for sticking with the lineup that was working last night (even at the end of the 1st half when BC went on that run). When Howard is ready to return, he will get the minutes.
Fixed it for you
 

lv20gt

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I think Pastner & Rev made the decision to simply outscore BC on the offensive end last night. It almost failed, but Post is not going to be the guy BC normally depends on, so it was a defensible strategy.

Yes, BC doesn't normally depend on Post. But when you have a 7 footer going virtually unchallenged, it doesn't really matter if you usually depend on him or not. It's not like we were leaving open a guard and forcing a role player to get hot from deep. IMO we could play them again tomorrow, and if we don't play a true big, he'd drop 20+ on us again. To me, what we did was akin to an opposing team letting us get 15 from Howard without much contest. Sure, you can win despite it, but there is no reason to allow it.
 

SecretAgentBuzz

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What a great game. Nice to get an ACC road win! I've been feeling like all we needed was a little bit of confidence and maybe some luck and we can turn this ship around, and last night's game was a good start.

I don't expect this kind of production out of Maxwell, but when defenses key on Devoe, someone else has to step up. Not only did Maxwell have a marvelous game, but Smith, Sturdivant, Coleman, and Kelly all had big moments. That's progress!

I don't think we can get away with going small against most teams. BC killed us inside, but we survived with good shooting and quickness. That won't work against UNC and others. Maybe we could buy 5-10 minutes without a big man, but not much more.

This game gives me hope that we can go on a run. I guess we will find out. Go Jackets!
 

Connell62

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Deivon Smith's 2nd half looked really good...at least from the gamecast. Another player I'm looking forward to watching on replay.
Yes, he needed that as he had been scuffling, but I thought that this was the best he has looked all year against quality competition.

Played under control, was all over the boards, and he even got in on the scoring a bit. Glad to hear CJP talk about how his attitude has been great as I've been a little worried about him.

His demeanor hasn't been great, but I think it is just who he is. He doesn't always have the best body language.

Even after dunking on someone's face, he doesn't show a lot of emotion.
 

bob4gt

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145
According to the AJC, Maxwell told Pastner at 5:30 he would not be able to play - cut on his right hand. He tried during warmups and said he could go. Played with the hand taped.

It is much easier to win when you can shoot the ball - team shot 50% for the game. Maybe it will continue.

Bob THWG
 
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