News: GU Entrance Video; Jimmy V Recap

Saw this on Hoyatalk:

Today at 15:09, hoyamarketing wrote:

The pre game video is now available on-line. Enjoy.

You can get a copy here (changed link to a better copy made by hoyastrong).


Ray Floriani is back with a report from MSG on Notre Dame in the Jimmy V. Classic:

NEW YORK CITY – The Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday gave an opportunity to see a few talented ‘one and done’ frosh and a good look as well at Notre Dame. The Irish earned a hard fought 68-59 victory in the opening contest.

Entering the contest the two teams pace and efficiency were:

	Possessions	Off Eff	Def Eff
Kansas State	80	100	90
Notre Dame	67	116	90

The game turned out a 72 possession contest

	Off Eff
Kansas State	82
Notre Dame	94

Four factors boxscore:

	eFG%	TO%	OR%	FTRate
Kansas State	41.4	23.5	36.3	14.1
Notre Dame	42.4	20.8	41.4	15.3

About the only discernible difference was rebounding on the offensive end. Notre Dame had a slight edge but that was enough in this close contest. K-State coach Frank Martin addressed the rebounding as he led off his press conference. With a one possession game in the stretch, several times the Irish kept or built their lead by rebounding a miss. Martin, a former Cincinnati assistant, knows the Big East and said, “I told them this would be the most physical team we’ve faced to date. The Big East is about rebounding.”

Notes on ND’s key players…

Luke Harangody 6’8”So.

Went for 19 points 14 boards against K-State. A very hard worker inside Harnagody said he developed a few post moves and worked on his left over the summer. Rebounds well, mixes it up in classic Big East style. Only criticism is his tendency to shoot a fallaway on an in-the-paint power move. Excellent inside threat.

Tory Jackson 5’11” S.

Runs the club, quick and gets in the lane. Nice lead guard whom you want with the ball against pressure. Twelve points, 5 assists but did have 7 turnovers tonight.

Kyle McAlarney 6’ Jr.

Nice perimeter shooter, stroked a huge three with Irish up two and ninety seconds left. This was McAlarney’s first game in New York since last January’s suspension imposed by the school. He had a wealth of questions to answer, got a lot of attention and had his friends and family from Staten Island in attendance. Still, none of that distracted him from producing a solid 18 point effort.

Rob Kurz 6’9” Sr.

Had six points 3 rebounds. Provides size inside and takes some pressure off Harangody, when he is playing effectively.

Ryan Ayers 6’8” Jr.

Listed as a swingman. Scored five points and is more of a two than three. Entered the game with 65% of his field goal attempts from beyond the arc. Not a bad percentage (15 of 28 for 54%) on those attempts, either.

Highly touted Michael Beasley, the nation’s leading scorer and rebounder, had 19 points, 13 rebounds versus the Irish. Beasley had 15 points 7 boards at the half when ND mentor Mike Brey instructed his club to double down more and get physical in the paint. It worked as the Wildcat freshman cooled off the final 20 minutes.

ND showed a lot of balance and toughness in this win. As Brey noted, “It was a big win against a very good team on the big stage with the bright lights on.” Only real negative might be that the Irish were bothered a bit by some of K-State’s full court pressure, as the 15 turnovers (21% TO rate) attest.

In the nightcap Memphis edged Southern Cal 62-58 in overtime. The highly touted OJ Mayo- Derrick Rose meeting was very ordinary.

Using the NBA efficiency formula [((PTS + REB + AST + STL + BLK) - ((FGA - FGM) + (FTA - FTM) + TO)) / Min] the pre-game figures were:

Derrick Rose .646
OJ Mayo .446

The figures for tonight’s contest:

Rose .359
Mayo .220

Both mirrored their team’s struggles. In an 80 possession game the offensive efficiency:

Memphis 78
USC 73

Turnover rates (Memphis 28%, USC 26%) plus effective field goal percentage (Memphis 42 %, USC 30%) gave further indication this was not an offensive work of art. Still, it was an intense competitive contest between two squads hoping (expecting?) to play deep into March Madness.