BET - Nova Game Thread 3-15-19

[skyhops]

Naji and Q were 10 for 46 the last two games and still continued to shoot when Scruggs should have the ball. That’s why we lost.

[FickforX]

Correct on the Naji charge on the last shot in regulation. He was clearly in the air and shooting when the guy took 2 steps to be in his way. Clear foul on Villanova and 2 shots. Steele was clearly upset about it in his press conference. O’Connell is a disgrace to all refs. He also made the call on the non foul on Booth’s layup

[harryfe]

Q is always a horrible shooter. Naji sometimes is a little better. As many have said Q has a horrible bb IQ. I would not be at all disappointed if he does not return. He has some nice assists but too many turnovers. And I guess we have said enough about his shooting prowess.

[FickforX]

one question to everyone out there: when Brian O'Connell called Naji for a charge why didn't he realize that Naji was in the air before the Nova player Gillespie slide in not giving Naji a place to land?

Correct the guy took 2 steps with Naji in the air. It should have been 2 free throws. O’Connell is a disgrace

[joeabe]

I agree, I thought the rule was the shooter has to have space to land. V defender slid in front of him late leaving no space for Naji to land. watch coaches face when asked the question in the press conference.....HUGE CALL. Great game , great gut wrenching performance by our guys as well as coach Steele and staff!!

[X4LIFE]

Disappointed of course. But, if someone told me X would even have a chance at the BE tourney when they were 11-13 I would have thought they were crazy. Very happy how they improved and fought back these last 10 games.
My only concern is with Q. He has great athletic ability but, does he have the determination to improve his outside shooting? I think of Michael Jordan back in the day when people said he couldn’t shoot outside. He worked and worked to develop an outside shot. Not saying Q is Jordan but I sure hope he has the will to win like him and will do anything to help the team win.

[muskieman]

I wish someone like Tu or Chalmers would visit Q, Paul, and Marshall and show them how they would drive and initiate contact using their physical advantage, of course, a better handle on all of them would go a long way in giving them more confidence. On THE FOUL even if there was a no call Jones rebounded and was at the rim for a possible put back. I think a call like that we have seen this year and has certainly had an effect on the team as a whole and their reluctance to drive to the rim unless wide open. I believe the guys drove more at the beginning of the year but it slowed when certain refs made so many charging calls on Jones, Q and Naji and while it didn't stop them completely it certainly slowed the number of drives. When the calls went against them those guys would get in foul trouble early and some were calling Naji and Paul foul machines. I will not begin to talk about the blind refs that couldn't call using a hand by Nova to get around the corner on their drives. Nova has made an art of it and while still a foul they have perfected making it invisible to refs even it is evident to announcers and fans.

[skyhops]

The defensive player seems to get the benefit of not really being in position these days. Naji was just out of control, which didn’t help but I agree with MM that could have been a put back after. Why Naji and q have to have the ball in their hands at all times is beyond me. That grey hair ref never gives us a call. If Booth gets those calls so should we.

[Anti-Homer]

I wish someone like Tu or Chalmers would visit Q, Paul, and Marshall and show them how they would drive and initiate contact using their physical advantage, of course, a better handle on all of them would go a long way in giving them more confidence. On THE FOUL even if there was a no call Jones rebounded and was at the rim for a possible put back. I think a call like that we have seen this year and has certainly had an effect on the team as a whole and their reluctance to drive to the rim unless wide open. I believe the guys drove more at the beginning of the year but it slowed when certain refs made so many charging calls on Jones, Q and Naji and while it didn't stop them completely it certainly slowed the number of drives. When the calls went against them those guys would get in foul trouble early and some were calling Naji and Paul foul machines. I will not begin to talk about the blind refs that couldn't call using a hand by Nova to get around the corner on their drives. Nova has made an art of it and while still a foul they have perfected making it invisible to refs even it is evident to announcers and fans.

I believe the guys drove more at the beginning of the year but it slowed when certain refs made so many charging calls on Jones, Q and Naji and while it didn't stop them completely it certainly slowed the number of drives

The call was clearly blown, but X would have had only had 1.8 seconds on the clock, so odds are X was going into overtime regardless.

I also don't think your conspiracy theory about the refs had any impact about their alleged reluctance to drive, which I don't think is the case at all. In my mind, three things dictated it. First of all, neither are great ball handlers. Q is strictly a downhill dribbler, who struggles changing directions in traffic, and is a one trick pony in the lane. Naj dribbles too high and wide, which is why he got his pocket picked, or dribbled it off of his knee several times a game.

Secondly, they deluded themselves into thinking they were good outside shooters, despite the statistical and eye test evidence. When opposing teams put up a net to protect fans in the 1st 10 rows when X came to play, that should have been a hint. There is a reason teams backed off on them when they got the ball further than 10 feet from the basket. Unfortunately, they took the bait all year. They were collectively: 9 for 46 from the field, including 1 for 23 from 3 point range in the tourney. Stats like this sabotoged any momentum X had. Steele was brilliant the 2nd half of the year, but he owns some of this as well. I get that Marshall and to a lesser extent Q played really good D, but all of that is more than neutralized with their horrendous offensive performance, during this tourney, and basically all year.

Lastly, when teams saw their shooting percentages on stat sheets before playing X, they packed it in, hoping guys not named Scruggs or Welage took the outside shot. Scruggs was too unselfish, who by far was the best 3 point shooter along with Welage. Despite missing several games, Q, and of course Marshall, led the team in threes. That's more appalling than if a stat sheet showed Welage led the team in turnovers.

As usual, I'll end this post on an uplifting note. Marshall and Q have the potential to be two of the best players on the team next year, if they significantly improve their shooting, dribbling, and bball I.Q. They should also spray paint in gigantic letters, the word Team on their bedroom walls. Hopefully, 2-3 of the freshman, and at least one grad transfer can contribute 15-20 minutes a game next year, so Q and Marshall can visit the pine when they play hero ball. As good as X was defensively, they are losing their best defensive, and overall player in Hankins. Even with him, the offense isn't what spurred their resurgence. It was the D. Q and Marshall were great contributors to the latter as well. As 87 pointed out, Marshall needs to channel Burrell, while Q needs to channel Lavender. Seacrest out.

[Anti-Homer]

They all will be. All had to take lesser roles than they had with their previous teams, yet they never complained, and gave great effort whenever they were called on. I though Welage was underused, but it's a difficult roster to manage, because everyone except Scruggs and Hankins had serious holes in their game. They also were CEREBRAL players, who put the TEAM 1st. I sense a theme here.

Agree on Welage being under-utilized.
He shot 42% on 139 attempts this year.
Marshall shot 27% on 161 attempts and missed 2 games
Goodin shot 28% on 133 attempts. Probably would have had the 2nd most attempts if he had not missed 4 games

I think I’m the only one that disagreed on welage all year. While he’s obviously a great shooter, he was so single faceted in offense and just a horrific defender and rebounder that it would be hard as a coach to keep him out there.

He could only catch and shoot. He couldn’t even come off screens and catch and shot bc he’s slow and forget creating a shot. He was smart with the ball and as the season went on seemed more confident playing st this level. But he’s a complete ball stopper offensively and that’s hard to run and offense through, especially when the defense knows they only need to watch one thing with him.

I disagree on most points. X lacked good long range shooters, so like Redford, Travis employed him to stay behind the arc and stretch the D, which he did very well. However, when players started to body him like they did with Bluiett, and forced him to put in on the floor, he did that, and showed the ability to hit a floating ten footer.

Though he was not a great defensive player, he definitely improved in that facet as well. I don't think he was exposed in this area any more than Bluiett was.

I have no defense for his rebounding. He was however, a great contributor in my mind. I'd love to have him back for another year, along with the other g.t.s