VoyForums
[ Show ]
Support VoyForums
[ Shrink ]
VoyForums Announcement: Programming and providing support for this service has been a labor of love since 1997. We are one of the few services online who values our users' privacy, and have never sold your information. We have even fought hard to defend your privacy in legal cases; however, we've done it with almost no financial support -- paying out of pocket to continue providing the service. Due to the issues imposed on us by advertisers, we also stopped hosting most ads on the forums many years ago. We hope you appreciate our efforts.

Show your support by donating any amount. (Note: We are still technically a for-profit company, so your contribution is not tax-deductible.) PayPal Acct: Feedback:

Donate to VoyForums (PayPal):

[ Login ] [ Contact Forum Admin ] [ Main index ] [ Post a new message ] [ Search | Check update time | Archives: 1, 2, [3], 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 ]

[ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]

Date Posted: Sunday, February 01, 09:29:08am
Author: jajk
Subject: " finishing what you start "

Do those words apply to Wesley's performance last night . He got us off to that great start that was so vital in this road game against a good opponent . Then after a quiet time for him and the team , he did finish off the Gaels in great style . Those last two three pointers brought back memories of one my all-time favorites " Mr. Clutch " , Jerry West . It is not easy to give an A+ to a player that had a few TOs and a bad defensive lapse or two . But Wesley's performance last night evidences that it is indeed possible . 36 minutes , two clutch threes after all those minutes , and overall solid defensive game that contributed to Iona's touted frosh guards being absolutely , totally shut down .

And Ryan was Ryan . Can't think of a bigger complement to give him . Battling and learning all the time . I really appreciate how he helps us break the press that you used to give us such trouble .I am one SPC fan who would not trade either for any player in the conference . They are fun to watch do their thing .

But this game by no means belongs to just those two players . Every player deserves congrats on job well done . We do not win this game without Leon's three pointer , great assist and drive to the bucket in our end game play . Brandon's game is getting more assured , and a three as well .. Akeem playing that defense we always get from him , and how about that J at the open and skying rebound at the end . And Jordan is becoming one of those SPC type players that was so important to our teams that won a helluva lot of MAAC games in the past. Hill in his brief minutes is looking like he is going to be a player for us for his next three seasons .

I always enjoy the cake , i.e . ,the effort, but it is indeed even more fun when you get the icing too , a big W .
Just one game ? Yes . But a helluva one .

[ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]

Replies:

[> Re: " finishing what you start " -- Cindy Crawford, Sunday, February 01, 10:50:53am [1]

Great summary.
Peacocks started strong for a change,saw a dreadful eight minute stretch in the middle where they were outscored 16-1,and sealed the deal at the end with lock down defense and clutch end game shooting. Wes and Nick could have eased the anxiety with a bit better free through shooting at the finish.
And speaking of free throws--let's get Hall straightened out.Few point guards struggle at the line as much as he has lately.
I watched the game again when I returned home and the one thing not apparent on the tube that was evident live was how physical Iona was with us both in defending the guards,hand checks,etc ,as well as on the boards.The officials let them play and it was frequently to our disadvantage.
That said,despite the criticism on TV,the offensive sets did get the ball into Wesley's and Ryan's hands in the right spots.
After four turnovers in the opening minutes -SPC had just eight more the entire game.This was due to Hall's good floor vision resulting in his ability to break the press.
I thought we found it easier to score early on after Hall entered while Iona was pressing. Once they called it off and dropped back we were more stifled .
When you look at the box ,what stands out is how even this game was. Number of field goals,3 pointers,free throws ,turnovers,steals were virtually identical. What differed was we made a better percentage ,except from the line,and they had more attempts by virtue of better rebounding numbers.
Unlike in tough losses vs Manhattan and Loyola,the simple difference was Jenkins knocking down his threes.Those take us over the hump and give us the Ws.
They also change your whole perspective on how you view the game,including making the coach look smarter.Shots fall, he's smart,they don't, not so.
A few other observations---nice size crowd,with few students due to meningitis scare. I was told many went home.
How about the horrible no call on the goaltending---How could all three zebras miss it.They all missed a serious bump Jenkins took driving the lane at the end of the half ,as well as missing the Gooding charge call at the end.
Most serious could have been on the final play of the game where Huffman-established in the front court,leaped into the back court to receive a pass.I believe it should have been a violation depriving the Gaels of a last secong chance to tie.
Regardless of the result,I don't find this game,all that surprising. Recently we have proven that we are on a par with the majority of MAAC teams. As a young team ,as many have said ,we will have our up and downs. Winning or losing will be determined by the kind of night that Wes,Nick,or Ryan have,whether a ball rolls off or in.
Fact is is that we are now competitive and fun to watch.It's fun to see the game by game improvement and as better days are ahead,hopefully more will come out to support the Peacocks.

Like a few others that went the wrong way


[ Edit | View ]

[> Re: " finishing what you start " -- oldtimer#1, Sunday, February 01, 10:55:25am [1]

Just to add to jajk's good post. Interesting to read the Iona Board which has several decent and rational posters. To some it was understandably a big let down. However, they attribute this to their "young" team, failing to understand that our team is even younger! Additionally,it is quite obvious that we have two players (Jenkins, Bacon) and possibly three (Leon) that would start on their team in a heartbeat. I can understand their frustration and optimism for the future but ours looks equally as bright (Conley, Belin) and I would argue brighter.


Our defense continues to improve game by game and if anyone hasn't noticed we've had little trouble with the press all year. Brandon, Nick and Wes all handle the ball well and it is quite obvious that press breaking techniques have been drilled with our bigs (Costner, Gooding and even Ryan and Hill) coming up from half-court to give help when needed. All four of those players are usually in proper position to give help and each handles the ball much better than their size would indicate.


Only continuing problem remains on offense. While the flow is very much improved ( IMO due to Ryan Bacon becoming a viable option) we still need to improve in this area. However, it's becoming obvious that our offensive problems are more due to personnel and learning a system than any lack of play design. Remember, that we are a team of freshmen and sophmores so that a system, any system is a learning experience.


Quote from the Daily News: John Dunne "At this point we'll take any win at any time...our guys have been resilient, they've been working hard every day in practice and in games, never giving up, and when they do that they want to see the light at the end of the tunnel.."


Without getting too overly optimistic ( too many unknowns such as Conley and Belin as well as another possible recruit) the future does look much better. We have some high caliber players and a coach and staff that is begginning to prove itself.


[ Edit | View ]

[> Re: " finishing what you start " -- Trainer, Sunday, February 01, 11:17:48am [1]

For those of us that actually attended the game, could we be seeing what's in store for the future with this team.
It was niece to see the team actually lead the entire first half,instead of having to come from behind.And then fight back from a ten point deficeit and pull out the win.You can not say that this team does not have heart, since Monmouth theses guy have been in or gotten back into every game that they have played.And what has made the defference is their ability to play defense.Yes we are lead by Nick,Wes and Ryan on the offensive end,but as what was proven last nigh(and most of the second half of the season) these guys can play defense.Wes,Akeem,Brandon and Ryan and now Nick who has bought into the concept really get after the opposistion.The guards who actually rotate among the three should be given credit for their ability to play entire games and still be abale to play hard nose defense.Akeem has proven that he also has the ability to hold guards and he does a great job.
Brandon is really becoming more comfortable at the point which is really helping the team.This allows Nick to be more offensive minded which now puts less pressure on Wes which now allows his game to come to him.Face it Wes, Nick and Ryan are the teams offensive power however as long as the team continues to play exceptional defense they will be in every game, which allows for the opportunity to win. Jordan has proven his importance to this team and must be on the court because he provides that outside threat JD making sure that he gets adequate time on the court.
I remember when I first started reading this forum all I heard was that SPC was a team with no talent they have one player and they suck.Well if you look through the MAAC there may be 1 team with a winning record and it seems that even that team is catching hell from second half of the leauge. Therefore give SPC 4 breaks and a total of 10 points and they are now 10-11 and 7-4 in the MAAC It sure does not seem to be a no talent team to me unless your saying that the leauge is terrible to. Remember this is the youngest team in the the MAAC and the way they have pulled together is a credit to their hearts and the coaching staff and their individual talents being messed into a team. If they continue in this direction they will be a team to reckon with and as had been previously mentioned I would not want to be one of the higher seats and have to face them in the playoff. If they maintain this defensive intensity they a few more wins in the wing for this season.


[ Edit | View ]

[> Brandon Hall -- SPC '91, Monday, February 02, 02:01:09pm [1]

Agree with what has been posted so far regarding the great win on Saturday.

The one big negative, I thought, was our foul shooting. We miss way too many and need to improve in this area.

Regarding Hall, I think he has done a tremendous job. I would even say that his contributions thus far have been as significant as Antoine Allen's during his freshman year. Maybe not a fair comparison because that squad ultimately won the MAAC championship and had 24-7 season. But significant nonetheless.


[ Edit | View ]


[ Contact Forum Admin ]

Forum timezone: GMT-5
VF Version: 3.00b, ConfDB:
Before posting please read our privacy policy.
VoyForums(tm) is a Free Service from Voyager Info-Systems.
Copyright © 1998-2019 Voyager Info-Systems. All Rights Reserved.