postGame: Cats’ depth overwhelms Pirates

Posted by Chris on February 03, 2010
Big East Play
No Gravatar

Let me just start this off with a rant about ESPNU. I hate it. Not the channel itself, but the whole concept. You want to show me more college sports? Fine. I love you. You want to make it so certain TV providers cannot show ESPNU? Go to hell.

That’s what I went through last night. I felt like crap and all I wanted to do was watch my Cats on my HDTV. But I had to drive across town to a friend’s house to accomplish this. I spite the day you were born, ESPNU.

Anyways, the game went pretty well. We won by 10 in the end, but I was concerned this was a trap game beforehand for a few reasons:

  • The long layoff
  • The wine and cheese crowd at The Pavilion
  • Jeremy Hazell

Through the first 35 minutes, all 3 of my worst fears came to life. We looked lacksidaisical at times on the court and were’nt playing as well as we were capable. The building was silent, and it wasn’t just the alums.

(Side rant: Are you kidding me students? You wait until Seton Hall takes the lead in the 2nd half before we hear a Let’s Go Nova chant? I hope you aren’t feeling entitled that you have the #2 team in the country. Please provide with a homecourt advantage. Rant over.)

And then finally, Hazell couldn’t miss a damn shot. We actually were playing great defense on him too. Sure he has unlimited range and got some open looks. But he also hit some circus shots. Quick shout-out to Bobby G. for benching him down the stretch. We all really appreciate it!

Oh yeah, and a certain somebody got to 2,000 points, and rightly heard his name belted out by the masses. Side note here too — really happy they didn’t stop the game and make a big deal. That would go against everything Scottie is about. He’s humble, and that moment was too. Glad the fans reacted accordingly though with a standing ovation.

Jamie rightly pointed out to me last night, “Why is it that we dick around for 30 minutes and then decide, f*ck it, let’s just go win this damn thing?” I have no idea, but a lot of it has to do with our depth. We’re just fresher at the end. Seton Hall gave us their absolute best shot last night, and never did I really think we were in trouble. That says a lot about this team.

Other thoughts…

  • Congrats again to Scottie. Whoever that guy was guarding him was doing a great job not letting him get free. But he still got what he deserved. Now go and get Kerry.
  • How big was Corey Stokes in the 2nd half? THAT was the player we’ve been waiting to see all year. Sign of things to come? Let’s hope, as his offense could take this team to another level.
  • Antonio Peña was a beast. No other way around it. 16 points and 8 boards. He won a good test against the league’s top rebounder, Herb Pope.
  • The next time we see Jeremy Hazell is entirely too soon.
  • Dominic Cheek was great in the 1st half, but I didn’t really see him much in the 2nd. Liked how he was attacking the basket, which is something we haven’t seen much of from him lately.
  • Maalik Wayns may have put himself in a mini-doghouse last night. Only 11 minutes and it wasn’t the prettiest he’s played.
  • Isaiah Armwood and Taylor King really battled on the glass hard. I’d like to see more assertiveness on the offensive end from both, and in King’s case that doesn’t mean launching more 3’s. Get inside where you’ve been surprisingly (to me at least) very effective.
  • How much has Corey Fisher improved his jumper? Damn.
  • You probably didn’t notice Reggie Redding much, but he had a very solid game I thought. 7 points 4 rebounds and 4 assists. Not bad.

The Cats travel to Georgetown on Saturday where the Hoyas will be looking for revenge. Q&A with our pals at Casual Hoya will be up soon.

Tags: ,

14 Comments to postGame: Cats’ depth overwhelms Pirates

Seamus
February 3, 2010

Great to get the win. Seton Hall did put up a decent fight. I thought Wayns tried to do too much and his shot wasn’t falling. I’m sure he will bounce back nicely versus Gtown. Have to say that I wish that King would get in a rythm. Maybe get an inside basket before it is bombs away. He has not been hitting them lately.

Chocolate Thunder
February 3, 2010

Evidently Gonzales was attempting to reassert control over his team by benching that alien freak who was apparently designed in a lab to have crazy weird ears and the ability to hit 3s over 2 defenders falling out of bounds. Hazell is an absolute monster, but the whole team seemed to give up with him out. There was a point with two or three minutes left that they were down by a very manageable 10 points or so, and they just straight dicked around, taking 30 seconds before launching up a useless 3. Until it became clear that Hazell wasn’t coming back, I was actually worried about finishing this game.

regred
February 3, 2010

agreed about the crowd…i dont know whats up with the students but they need to get rowdy!! perhaps they are now complacent with the number 2 ranking, who knows…but we need that place rocking for EVERY game from START to FINISH. COME ON!!

Chris
February 3, 2010

LOL at CT. Absolutely true on all accounts.

And yeah, I was really disappointed in the crowd. I know it’s Tuesday, but give me a break — you are college students and it is Dollar Drinks at Kelly’s. We all know you are getting plastered after the game.

Hard to complain about the alums in The Pavilion because it has been like that for years but the students were disappointing.

Sean
February 3, 2010

Congrats to Scottie, I loved hearing that SCOTTIE REYNOLDS chant through my tv speakers! Otherwise I agree the crowd was too quiet for most of the game.

login77
February 3, 2010

I agree on the crowd, my god we can be so much louder. Also i see so many little kids there, I mean that’s nice but I would rather see us there screaming and yelling.

Also beware if Stokes gets his shot back. this thing will be over no one is going to beat us with Wayne s going to the basket like he is Labron and our outside shooting.

Also why was Cal Ripken Junior at the game. I thought that was interesting.

Chris
February 3, 2010

There was an article the other day that somebody in the PDN wrote about the amount of celebs that are beginning to show up at Villanova games.

They said a bunch of Flyers players were at the ND game on Wednesday and apparently 3-4 76ers players requested tickets to last night’s game as well.

Not sure WHY Ripken was there, but hey if he’s a fan I’ve got no problem. Love me some Iron Man.

Brian
February 3, 2010

In addition to Cal Ripken being there, Curtis Sumpter, Ed Pinckney, and Lou Williams were in attendance. I’m sure there were others I didn’t hear about as well.

login77
February 3, 2010

It’s cool I am glad Ripken is a fan. Also here is what I think about our defense. If you notice our offense this year is probably scoring int he first 10 seconds we have the ball this year. I think last year we took longer to score and the ohter team had less chances to score. THis year it seems to be more up and down. Also when our defense has to be good it is dam good. Does anyone have any stats on how long we take to score on offense this year compared to last year.

novanova
February 3, 2010

i think you guys just can’t hear the student section during the game. the crew from what i’m told usually tries to block out crowd noise unless it is an acceptable form of cheering (hence scottie chant). i feel like the stadium was probably more rocking last night than we think

Pope of the Hardwoods
February 3, 2010

I had the pleasure of hearing Ripken speak a few years ago in Vegas, just before his book Get in the Game: 8 Elements of Perseverance that make a difference was published. A.He’s an outstanding human being B. He’s a very good speaker and C. He’s a winner.

I think this team possess the attributes he writes about. Individually and collectively. With continued focus, more hard work and a little bit of luck they’ll be cutting down the nets in April. That’s not to say there won’t be a few bumps and bruises along the way. Shake em off guys, and learn from them, and enjoy the ride.

Big Daddy D
February 3, 2010

I would add one thing to Chris’ observation. I was most pleased with Mouph’s play last night. I know he wasn’t in long, but he looked much more confidant and composed and he got 5 rebounds, some moving several feet to gather a longer rebound. This was the best I have seen him play and I hope he gets more burn in future games.

Chris
February 3, 2010

I agree BDD. I forgot to mention him. He continues to look better every night. He’s on track to be a solid contributor come March.

dave32
February 4, 2010

We (the students) were well short of the needed volume level Tuesday night except a few times – when the score got close, Scottie’s 2,000th, and the end. I don’t know what to attribute it to but on a side note nobody was actually going to Kelly’s after the game. We’re boycotting right now because they raised the dollar drinks cover to $5 and moved the time up to 9-11 (!). They’ve also started charging a cover every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday night (I know they’ve done this in the past but why we’re at it, why not try to get some more concessions. We did this to Brownies earlier in the year and it worked magically.

Leave a comment

WP_Big_City