Roundup: Ahhh, college

Roundup: Broadus Makes it Official

Coach Kevin Broadus was officially announced as the new head coach for Binghamton University (go Bearcats!) this afternoon. So far, no info on who his assistant coaches will be. Broadus will stay with the Hoyas until the season concludes.

As they say, you can't hardly swing a cat (or search Technorati or Google News) and not hit a bunch of Georgetown stories these days. I'd just like to point out this one:

After the 2005 Final Four, Illinois held a celebration at Memorial Stadium. As Deron Williams trotted out, the fans chanted “one more year”, and I just smiled. An hour later my wife and I were having dinner at Zorbas when Bruce Webber walked in to order food for his family. My wife said, “nice job coach,” and in a quiet raspy voice Webber responded, “thank you.”

A Webber media interview the next day expressed a different encounter with a fan. “I ran into a fan today and he said, next year we’ll win 38 games. I want to make this clear, 37-2 is a special season. I hope the fans had as much fun as we did. I hope they enjoyed the ride, because a season like this doesn’t come around very often.”

And this one:

Ewing's basket off a missed Green shot in the final minutes helped draw the Hoyas within one, and his effort on the defensive end embodied Georgetown's pressure against North Carolina, which had no answer for the Hoyas' zone defense the final seven minutes of the game. Ewing wept for joy afterward, saying: "I had to let out. All those years people said I wouldn't live up to my father. And to accomplish something he did in college, to go to the Final Four and hopefully win a national championship, I just lost it when I saw him and my family."

And a reader sent in some stats analysis:

Since KenPom didn't do an HD box, I thought I'd calculate +/- numbers for players by half. Data source here, and I'm not sure how complete the substitution data is. For example, Wallace is shown exiting at 2H 4:35, making 2 FTs at 2H 3:15, and returning to the game at 2H :45. JWall is awesome, but not so awesome he can score while not in the game. With that disclaimer...

	1st	2nd	Reg	OT	Total
Wallace	+1	+5	+6	+12	+18
Hibbert	-1	+7	+6	+12	+18
Sapp	-7	+8	+1	+12	+13
Ewing	+4	+7	+11	--	+11
Green	-12	+8	-4	+12	+8
Summers	-3	-1	-4	+12	+8
Macklin	-6	-1	-7	--	-7
Rivers	-6	-3	-9	--	-9

Yes, PE2 is awesome. No, I didn't think Green played that badly in the first half, either.

Still elated,
-Tom

Recap: Floriani's GU-UNC Running Diary

Ray Floriani, our man in N.J., kept a running account for us while watching the game from press row. Edited; now with pictures (as always, click to enlarge).

EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ - Arrived at Continental Airlines Arena about an hour before game time. Already there’s excitement in the air. Fans in Carolina blue and Georgetown T-shirts are either hanging out front on this sunny day near 60 degree day or starting to make their way to the facility.

About 30 minutes prior to game time see one of the Carolina cheerleaders who said Jason Ray, the UNC mascot hit by a car Friday, is in the same critical condition. Said Jason is in our prayers, wished her squad well and moved to the press room.

Georgetown cheerleaders are stretching and I ask if they knew the significance of the UNC-Hoya game 25 years ago. They did. “I watched it on my computer,” said Janine Visalli a sophomore Linguistics major from Wildwood Crest, NJ. What did you think, wasn’t it a classic? “Actually, I thought it was a bad game,” she said. “We lost.”

Georgetown cheer coach Samantha Hunter said yesterday was a relaxed day. The squad gets to see New York at the Big East Tournament so making a trip to back isn’t a priority.

Settling into my press seat I see on the monitor Florida has just closed out Oregon 85-77 to punch a ticket to Atlanta.


20:00 - 15:29, 13-11 UNC
Both teams are out hot. Carolina scores the first five possessions, Georgetown 4 of 5. Tar Heels are getting offensive boards early. Not a good sign for Georgetown.

15:29 - 10:39, 26-22 UNC
Roy Hibbert is asserting himself inside. Georgetown buries to threes to build a seven point lead. UNC comes right back with a spurt to regain the lead. Coach John Thompson III gets a T at 12:30 mark. He didn’t seem to be going extra hard on the officials.

10:39 - 7:16, 35-26 UNC
Jeff Green is scoreless and forces one penetration. He might be pressing. Reyshawn Terry of UNC buries a couple of threes. Hoya fans start to get on officials.

7:16 - 3:52, 42-35 UNC
Green goes back door at 6:40 to get his first points. UNC coach Roy Williams is shuffling big men in and out. The fresh rotation works as the Heels can keep running and pounding the glass.

3:52 - 0:00, 50-44 UNC
Hoyas start to run off UNC turnovers. They start to trim the lead. Ewing fouls a rebounder at 0.8 to go. Alex Stepheson hit one of two. Hoyas down 6 at the break.

Efficiency totals are off the chart. A 34 possession game and efficiency is:
UNC - 147
G’town - 129

Off reb % is glaring stat :
UNC - .588
G’town - .250

Carolina’s Tyler Hansbrough and Brandan Wright lead with 12 points. Hibbert paces the Hoyas with 11.

Walk out for the second half with my coffee. I am stopped and told it has to be in an NCAA cup. I comply. You can’t make this stuff up.


20:00 - 15:37 , 59-53 UNC
Georgetown shows zone and opens up keeping pace with Carolina.

15:37 - 13:22, 65-56 UNC
Opportunities are wasted. Georgetown gets stops and throws it away. One sequence after a stop, the Hoya pass is intercepted and put back in.

13:22 - 7:51 , 73-65 UNC
A Jessie Sapp trey cuts it to 8 at the 12 minute mark and the Hoya faithful come alive. Still 8 points somehow feels like 18.

7:51 - 4:44, 75-72 UNC
Hoyas are gradually making that run. Green and Sapp hit. Hibbert goes baseline, spins, slams and the deficit is three with under 5 remaining.

4:14 - 0:00, 81-81
Georgetown remains patient trailing and the clock ticking. Hansbrough makes a tough post move doubled inside to put UNC up 81-78 with 1:40 to go. Jonathan Wallace buries a three with 30 seconds to go. Tie. Wayne Ellington comes off a screen for a good look on the perimeter with seconds left. Miss, rebound Hoyas, time out. Two seconds left Georgetown can’t get a good shot off following the time out.

5:00 - 0:00 - 96-84 Georgetown
Hoyas draw first blood thirty seconds in on a Wallace layup and never look back. To the delight of Hoya faithful the offense clicks, Carolina is misfiring and not getting any transition. A Ty Lawson three with 8 seconds to go are the lone Tar Heel points.

Hansbrough led all scorers with 26 points. Green captured Most Outstanding Player honors with a 22 point 9 rebound effort.

Turned out to be a 75 possession game with the efficiency:
Georgetown - 128
UNC - 112

North Carolina still held the OR% edge .44 to .33 but it was less severe than halftime. Better second half rebounding by Georgetown was a factor in the victory.


Post Game
It’s pandemonium at the buzzer. I head down and say to Fordham AD Frank McLaughlin, impartiality is a must but you feel good for these urban, Northeast, Catholic schools. He smiles and agrees.

It is a wild celebration. Hoya players hug John Thompson Sr. at courtside. Fans are high-fiving me. Cheer coach Samantha Hunter hugs me and says, “Keep covering us, you’re good luck.” Among all this I snap pictures and interview Wallace on the floor. He reiterated the possession by possession philosophy. “We knew they (North Carolina) would run and have spurts,” he said. “We just took everything a possession at a time. We’ve done it all season.”

Patrick Ewing Sr. joins in and is interviewed. Jerome Williams is also on the floor congratulating and giving interviews. Some Hoya players high five cheerleaders and pep band members as a thank you. Players graciously accepted congratulations from media members as well. Roy Hibbert’s parents are on the floor. A fairly well dressed young lady is also congratulating everyone. She says she works in the Georgetown ticket office and is thrilled to go to Atlanta. It was a party on the floor Hoya faithful did not want to end.

Post game interviews move on. First, North Carolina in a subdued mood. Georgetown followed. Thrilled but also realizing there’s preparation for Ohio State next weekend. Following interviews it is about 8:52 p.m. when I exit the arena. Drained and exhausted I feel like I played in the game. And all I did was witness one of the greatest in my 30 years of writing.

All photos: © R. Floriani, 2007

News: Hoyas Win! Hoyas Win! On to the Final 4

Sorry, way too drained for any coherent analysis until tomorrow (can't wait to see the 1st half / 2nd half splits). But, I have cobbled together some highlights from the last 6 minutes and overtime (higher resolution version here). Enjoy.

TEMPO-FREE BOX SCORE
 
.            Visitor                         Home      
.            Georgetown                      North Carolina         
.            1st Half  2nd Half   Total      1st Half  2nd Half   Total
Pace            34        31        66

Effic.        126.9     130.3     128.7       144.2      85.2     112.6 

eFG%           65.6      61.8      63.6        53.2      27.5      38.7 
TO%            11.5      15.0      13.4        11.5      12.5      12.1 
OR%            25.0      41.2      33.3        58.8      35.5      43.8 
FT Rate        15.6      38.2      27.3        64.5      35.0      47.9 

Assist Rate    68.4      68.4      68.4        73.3      40.0      60.0 
Block Rate     29.6      12.5      21.6         7.7       7.7       7.7 
Steal Rate      5.8       5.0       5.4         8.7       5.0       6.7 

2FG%           57.7      57.7      57.7        44.4      33.3      39.2 
3FG%           66.7      50.0      57.1        75.0      12.5      25.0 
FT%            40.0      76.9      66.7        85.0      85.7      85.3

INDIVIDUAL NET POINTS STATS

Georgetown            Off    Poss           Individ     Def             Individ                        
Player                Poss   Used    ORtg   Pts Prod    Poss    DRtg   Pts Allow   Net Pts
SUMMERS, DaJuan        58    10.8   118.7    12.9        57    104.6     11.9       +1.0   
GREEN, Jeff            68    14.7   118.0    17.3        69     99.0     13.7       +3.6   
HIBBERT, Roy           51    11.3   160.6    18.2        51     95.1      9.7       +8.5   
WALLACE, Jonathan      60    12.1   153.6    18.6        57    117.0     13.3       +5.3   
SAPP, Jessie           60    14.8   125.7    18.6        60    112.8     13.5       +5.0   
MACKLIN, Vernon        12     2.1   111.2     2.3        12    164.0      3.9       -1.6   
RIVERS, Jeremiah       28     3.4    60.8     2.1        31    147.0      9.1       -7.0   
EWING, Patrick         28     2.9   137.1     4.0        28    110.5      6.2       -2.2   
TOTALS                 73    72.1   130.2    93.9        74    110.0     81.4      +12.5    

North Carolina        Off    Poss           Individ     Def             Individ             
Player                Poss   Used    ORtg   Pts Prod    Poss    DRtg   Pts Allow   Net Pts
Wright, Brandan        39     7.8   173.0    13.5        39    142.8     11.1       +2.4   
Hansbrough, Tyler      56    20.7   123.6    25.6        54    131.9     14.2      +11.3   
Ginyard, Marcus        28     2.3    93.8     2.1        29    144.1      8.4       -6.2   
Ellington, Wayne       42     7.6    57.8     4.4        40    122.2      9.8       -5.4   
Lawson, Ty             66    10.6    47.7     5.1        66    128.8     17.0      -11.9   
Terry, Reyshawn        55     8.4    98.2     8.2        53    133.3     14.1       -5.9   
Frasor, Bobby           4     0.8   300.0     2.2         4    100.0      0.8       +1.4   
Thomas, Quentin         3     0.7   200.0     1.3         3    183.3      1.1       +0.2   
Green, Danny           16     4.3    55.9     2.4        16     49.7      1.6       +0.8   
Thompson, Deon         30     8.2   159.4    13.0        32    107.7      6.9       +6.1   
Miller, Wes            21     0.3   255.0     0.9        22    136.1      6.0       -5.1   
Stepheson, Alex        10     2.7   184.9     5.0        11    120.0      2.6       +2.4   
TOTALS                 74    74.3   112.8    83.8        73    128.3     93.7       -9.9

HD BOX SCORE

Georgetown vs North Carolina
03/25/07 5:12 pm at Continental Airlines Arena,Rutherford NJ
Final score: Georgetown 96, North Carolina 84

Georgetown              Min   +/-   Pts  2PM-A 3PM-A FTM-A  FGA    A    Stl    TO   Blk    OR    DR   PF
SUMMERS, DaJuan        35:42  +10  20/77  5- 7  2- 4  4- 4 11/50  0/22  1/57  3/58  2/45  0/25  6/41   1
GREEN, Jeff            42:39  + 8  22/87  9-16  1- 1  1- 3 17/60  3/25  2/69  1/68  1/49  0/30  9/46   1
HIBBERT, Roy           30:25  +16  13/71  6-10  0- 0  1- 1 10/46  4/22  1/51  1/51  6/35  5/20  6/32   4
WALLACE, Jonathan      36:28  +20  19/81  4- 7  3- 4  2- 2 11/53  7/24  0/57  1/60  0/45  2/24  1/42   1
SAPP, Jessie           35:40  +13  15/78  3- 5  2- 4  3- 5  9/54  8/26  0/60  2/60  0/35  2/28  2/36   3
MACKLIN, Vernon        08:05  - 7   2/12  1- 3  0- 0  0- 1  3/12  0/ 4  0/12  0/12  0/ 9  1/ 8  0/ 7   3
RIVERS, Jeremiah       19:03  -11   1/33  0- 1  0- 0  1- 2  1/27  2/14  0/31  2/28  1/22  0/16  1/18   1
EWING, Patrick         16:58  +11   4/41  2- 3  0- 1  0- 0  4/28  2/15  0/28  0/28  1/15  0/14  2/18   4
TOTALS                 45:00       96    30-52  8-14 12-18    66 26/38  4/74 10/73 11/51 11/33 27/48  18
.                                        0.577 0.571 0.667       0.684 0.054 0.137 0.216 0.333 0.562    

North Carolina          Min   +/-   Pts  2PM-A 3PM-A FTM-A  FGA    A    Stl    TO   Blk    OR    DR   PF
Wright, Brandan        25:13  -12  14/45  4- 8  0- 0  6- 6  8/37  0/10  0/39  0/39  1/29  3/23  3/13   4
Hansbrough, Tyler      32:29  -13  26/60  6-15  0- 0 14-16 15/53  3/11  0/54  1/56  0/37  6/37  5/23   4
Ginyard, Marcus        18:41  -16   2/27  0- 0  0- 0  2- 2  0/22  2/ 7  0/29  1/28  0/20  0/16  3/11   0
Ellington, Wayne       23:30  + 2   5/50  1- 5  1- 6  0- 0 11/39  0/12  0/40  1/42  0/26  1/26  1/19   2
Lawson, Ty             40:18  -16   5/71  1- 5  1- 4  0- 0  9/66  6/19  1/66  5/66  0/44  0/47  0/28   3
Terry, Reyshawn        32:03  -15  10/61  2- 8  2- 5  0- 0 13/52  0/13  1/53  0/55  0/38  2/36  4/22   2
Frasor, Bobby          02:23  + 5   0/ 9  0- 0  0- 0  0- 0  0/ 2  1/ 2  0/ 4  0/ 4  0/ 5  0/ 0  0/ 4   0
Thomas, Quentin        02:19  - 1   0/ 4  0- 0  0- 0  0- 0  0/ 3  2/ 2  0/ 3  0/ 3  0/ 3  0/ 1  0/ 1   0
Green, Danny           08:54  + 3   3/15  0- 2  0- 4  3- 4  6/21  0/ 5  2/16  0/16  1/ 9  1/18  0/10   2
Thompson, Deon         20:31  + 2  14/41  6- 7  0- 0  2- 2  7/32  0/ 7  1/32  1/30  2/25  4/19  2/17   1
Miller, Wes            13:57  - 1   3/28  0- 0  1- 1  0- 0  1/23  1/ 9  0/22  0/21  0/17  0/14  0/10   0
Stepheson, Alex        07:30  + 1   2/15  0- 1  0- 0  2- 4  1/11  0/ 5  0/11  0/10  0/ 9  3/ 7  3/ 7   1
TOTALS                 45:33       84    20-51  5-20 29-34    71 15/25  5/73  9/74  4/52 21/48 22/33  19
.                                        0.392 0.250 0.853       0.600 0.068 0.122 0.077 0.438 0.667    

Efficiency: Georgetown 1.315, North Carolina 1.135
eFG%: Georgetown 0.636, North Carolina 0.387
Substitutions: Georgetown 39, North Carolina 47

2-pt Shot Selection:
Dunks: Georgetown 7-7, North Carolina 2-2
Layups/Tips: Georgetown 21-37, North Carolina 14-31
Jumpers: Georgetown 2-8, North Carolina 4-18

Fast break pts: Georgetown 7 (0.083), North Carolina 7 (0.127)
Seconds per off. poss: Georgetown 19.7, North Carolina 17.4

Roundup: Spanning the Internets . . .

. . . so you don't have to.

A couple of interesting items, by way of Big East Hoops

• PantherRants notes the correlation between Sweet 16 victories and top-50 recruits (link currently down??)
• Is Jay Wright headed towards Calhoun territory?

Ken Pomeroy picks UNC as a 3 point favorite (64%). FWIW, UCLA was a nearly identical underdog today.

A UNC blogger reports that someone named King traveled in George Washington's win against Vanderbilt. Credible source, that.

Nike's one shining moment? Not so much.

And if you didn't get a chance to see the end of today's Div. II basketball final, try here or here. Incredible.


Sunday additions

Hack the Bracket provides a nice preview of the game. Ken Pomeroy discusses what he expects for the game pace.

Good article in the Star-Ledger debunking some "Prince-town" offense myths:

"He had a lot of trust in his players," said Max Schafer, a freshman point guard on [the 2004] Ivy championship team. "He instilled a faith in us, so we weren't constantly looking over to the sidelines for what we should be doing. That was tremendous from a player's standpoint because you felt you had total control of what you were doing. You didn't have a coach who was micromanaging your every move."

"I've said from the beginning that I don't want to have just a good team," Thompson said. "I don't want to be a cute pick. I want to get to the point with this program where it's not the cute, trendy thing to say Georgetown, but it's a foregone conclusion that you're going to say Georgetown."

Sill waiting to hear good news about the injured UNC student (Charlotte Observer).

Camille Powell and Mike Wise offer slightly different takes on the Thompson family (Wash Post).

A Look Back and a Glimpse of What's To Come

Thanks to Jeff Green's miraculous shot (it wasn't a travel, read the rules) the Hoyas now advance to face the North Carolina Tar Heels on Sunday. After surviving such a tough game against an opponent the Hoyas dominated earlier in the year, it's worth noting a few observations from this Sweet 16 contest.

• In the first meeting this season, Georgetown was able to get the ball inside with impunity early in the game. Whether the Hoyas were deterred by an (atrocious) early charge call on Hibbert or by Vandy's defenders, GU did not get the ball down low where they are most effective until the early going of the second half. As soon as Georgetown did so, that eight-point Vandy halftime lead disappeared in a hurry.

• Foul shooting was poor at best, with the Hoyas missing 6 of 14 free throw attempts. The effort was well below GU's usual 71.6% clip. Those were six big points that nearly sent the Hoyas packing.

At first glance it appears that next round's outcome will be decided by the pace of the game. If GU can slow the pace down into a half court game, the Hoyas will likely prevail. If the Heels get out and run, UNC likely moves on. But if the NCAA Tournament has proven anything over the years, it's that nothing is guaranteed.

North Carolina and its No. 2 ranked offense rely heavily on transition baskets for the majority of its points. When the Heels do get into a half court set, they usually look inside to freshman Brandan Wright or Tyler Hansbrough, where their size and strength usually translate to points in the paint. Against the Hoyas and Roy Hibbert, that advantage disappears and if the Hoyas can force the Heels to shoot from behind the arc (where UNC ranks 240th in 3-pointers made) GU will have a tremendous advantage. But that all starts by the Hoyas not turning the ball over and getting back on defense. If Jesse Sapp and Jonathan Wallace start turning the ball over, it will be a long day for the Hoyas, as every turnover at the top of the key will probably equate to two Tar Heel points.

Defensively, Georgetown needs to be patient and try to cut off dribble penetration. Look for a lot of zone defense from the Hoyas tomorrow. If they go man to man, or even a matchup zone and start chasing players like they did in the first half against Vanderbilt, North Carolina will make them pay.

This game more than ever it seems it will be important for the Hoyas to go inside early. While North Carolina is deep, Hansbrough and Wright are their only players capable of hanging with Hibbert and Green in the post. If the Hoyas can force one or both to the bench with early foul trouble, the Hoyas will exploit it all day. Of course, that cuts both ways. If Hibbert is forced to the bench, it will be a lot to ask for either Patrick Ewing Jr. to body up on Hansbrough or for Vernon Macklin to hang with Brandan Wright.

Despite the vastly contrasting styles, the Elite 8 game at the Meadowlands on Sunday should be evenly matched, and presumably one of the best games the Tournament could produce from here on out. The only thing for certain is that for all of the talent on the floor tomorrow, Billy Packer will be able to find 40-minutes worth of flaws. THAT I guarantee.

Recap: Our man Floriani

Ray Floriani made the trek to the Meadowlands. Here's his report:

EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ - Forty minutes away ! Georgetown survived an outstanding effort by Vanderbilt to move on to the regional final against North Carolina. Game time is 5:05 pm on Sunday.

Georgetown 66 Vanderbilt 65

The keys to the Hoya victory:

• Better defense
• Poise while trailing by double digits
• Jeff Green

Coming in, Georgetown coach John Thompson III was concerned with Vanderbilt’s perimeter game. After trailing early, the SEC reps started firing up from the perimeter and built a double digit lead midway through the first half. Quick ball reversal and/or kick outs to the perimeter left the Commodores with some outstanding looks; Vanderbilt shot 46 % during the first half (40% from 3).

The Hoyas stuck to a philosophy they used against Notre Dame two weeks ago: don’t try to get the deficit trimmed in a minute; take it possession by possession.

One way they did it was to come out a little harder defensively to afford Vanderbilt less room on the perimeter. During the final 20 minutes, the Commodores cooled down to 36 % from the field and 25% beyond the arc. Hoyas just did a better job of ball pressure and locating shooters.

Offensively the Hoyas also made an effort to look inside a little more. Roy Hibbert had but three points in the 1st half, all the last six minutes. He finished with 12 and asserted himself inside the final half. Vanderbilt’s 6’11" center Ted Skuchas was soon saddled with foul trouble; the Commodores simply showed more 2-3 and packed it in.

With the Hoyas trailing by one and the season on the line, Jeff Green showed why he is Big East Player of the Year and one of the nation’s best talents.

Thompson called for two cutters to the high post and look for a back door. “I told Jeff if he gets it and can’t find Patrick [Ewing Jr.], to take it himself.” Green told the media he got the ball high, found the cutting Ewing covered and took it on a spin move. “I was double-teamed and just went up hard and sent it off the glass.” Green’s shot kissed the backboard and fell through. “I think he was more triple- rather than double-teamed on that shot,” Thompson added.

Green and DaJuan Summers had 15 pts. each for Georgetown. Dan Cage and SEC Player of the Year Derrick Byars led all with 17 points.


North Carolina 74 USC 64

USC led by 9 at the break and increased it to 18 early second half. Hoya fans were backing the Trojans - rooting for the lower seed, plus the Song Girls were near the Georgetown section. How could they not root for the SC Song Girls?

Carolina regrouped much the same way Georgetown did: take it possession by possession and don’t panic.

Taj Gibson (16 pts., 12 rebs.) was hit with second half foul trouble. Gibson is USC’s inside presence, but his absence didn’t entirely explain the collapse - Southern Cal went 9 of 27 from the field in the second half. The Tar Heels pounded USC on the offensive boards and ran. Trojans also rushed some shots and took some ill-advised attempts. Limiting the offensive boards and stopping transition will be keys for the Hoyas Sunday.

Tyler Hansbrough was asked the significance of Georgetown meeting North Carolina a quarter century ago. “I watched the video of that (‘82) championship game,” Hansbrough said. “I know it was a great game and we have (Carolina) players from that team come to our games. It's a big part of tradition."

A great answer at 12:25 a.m.