Just the Facts, Ma’am: Seton Hall took over in the third quarter to beat the Rams 89-61. Donnaizha Fountain had game-highs of 22 points and 10 rebounds to pace the Hall’s balanced attack. Rachel Day and Jessica Kaminski each had 14 points to lead the Rams.
For lots of players, exciting freshmen, dubious seniors, some communication issues, and height differences, join your intrepid and exhausted blogger after the jump.
I’m starting to wonder if PATH trains have some kind of signal blocker built into them. Wi-fi was fine in the station, and as soon as I got on the train I started having issues. Guys, I just want to post yesterday’s notes and finish using my complimentary wi-fi session.
Yes, it’s off to Seton Hall, or at least it will be once this train starts moving. It’s time for their annual exhibition against Philadelphia (though apparently the school merged with another school and is now going by Jefferson). As always, going the long way around is cheaper, though fraught with peril and delays. At least that means they’re actually doing work on it? Yay?
For I have no wi-fi and I must scream: the trials and travails of going without a hotspot. (Fell out of my pocket on a bus. I don’t think I’m getting it back.)
Oh. Okay. Single-track service through Harrison. I think they might actually be moving the station a little to the east.
At halftime, Seton Hall is up 41-36 on the Rams. Donnaizha Fountain has made a very good first impression with 12 points, some strong rebounding, and a knack for fixing broken plays. Shadeen Samuels also looks good, with 10 on a lot of breakaways.
Kaela Hilaire and Nicole Jimenez make up on the smallest backcourts I’ve ever seen. I’m not sure if it’s more travel size or fun size, but I’m afraid KK would kick my ass either way.
Average-height Lauren DeFalco trying to simultaneously huddle with 5-3 Kaela Hilaire and 6-4 Jayla Jones-Pack looks awkward for all parties concerned.
Look, Pirate, you want to dance with the coach’s daughter, that’s fine, but be ready for the consequences. We might be talking finding Bronc’s head in your bed in the morning.
The defense is a little too aggressive at times, but I’d rather that than not aggressive enough. Seton Hall definitely has depth in their favor; Tony’s played more players in the first half than St. John’s is carrying, period. (Yes. This annoys me. You’re probably going to hear about it all season.)
The conundrum: it’s under 30 seconds to go in the half and Coach has clearly called for one shot to run out the clock. But you’ve got a player wide open under the basket with 15 seconds left. Do you pass around to run down the clock and risk not getting a good look, or do you set up that shot and then gamble on defense? Seton Hall took door number 2 with Nicole Jimenez passing to Selena Philoxy. We held on defense, but I’m still not sure it was the right play by Nicole. (I’m not saying Selena shouldn’t have taken the shot. We’ve had enough trouble with her getting shots at the basket already.)
I’m pretty sure one of these refs worked the Fordham game yesterday. He looks as tired as I feel.
Ohmahgawd, Shakena Richardson and a medium-small child is too full of adorable.
We’re under two minutes to go in the half and Seton Hall still hasn’t come out. Tony must be giving them multiple circles of hell.
Well, it looks like Seton Hall will be the most fun of my teams to watch this year. High-octane offense and a lot of depth, combined with energetic defense- sounds good to me.
The disadvantage of games where everyone goes deep into the bench is that there are a lot of players to write about, and Sidearm only gives first initials to start my memory up. Carly Kovin and Caroline Duffy only got into the game very late- I didn’t even realize until Duffy scored and I started comparing numbers on the floor with numbers on the roster. Do better with substitutions for the opposing team, PA man. Sabria Lytes is decently tall, and I get the feeling they might use her more in the regular season. I think I missed Valez Jackson’s initial arrival into the game, so I don’t know that I can adequately speak to her minutes.
Kelsey Jones ended up on the floor a lot, especially later in the game. Some of it was charge-taking, some of it was getting all up into people’s personal space, and one time was Kaela shoving her. No matter how annoying the opponent is, you shouldn’t shove them. Caitlyn Cunningham came on stronger nearer the end of the game. I think that was when she got most of her minutes; I know her initial entry into the game was postponed when the coach pulled back the sub. Alexandra Warren threw up an airball that we all gave her the socially acceptable amount of grief for. Ayoola Oguntuase was physical down low- a big body who gave a lot of hard contact, and had the fouls to prove it. She started the second half in place of Beverly Kum.
Kum and Oguntuase provide very different looks. While Oguntuase is a more traditionally physical wide-body center, Kum is a little bit taller and a lot slimmer and springier. But her shooting right at the rim was a disaster, which might be why her minutes got cut. She had opportunities and missed them badly. She did, however, whoop the hell out of JaQuan Jackson on a block. Erin Maher was mostly quiet, though she had a nice three set up by a hard Jones screen (which goes to show that guards are perfectly capable of setting screens for forwards, it doesn’t always have to be the other way around).
Rachel Day was killing us from outside- she had the threes, and the two she hit was so long I thought it was also a three. I like her toughness. Jessica Kaminski got the scoring started early for the Rams- for much of the first quarter, she had all their points until Day got loose for a three. We were able to reorient our defense on her, even though that left other players open for threes. Alynna Williams ran the show, and was a pest on defense- she hassled the ballhandler coming upcourt, and most of our guards were extremely uncomfortable with the pressure. That’s going to be a problem unless someone other than Kaela can handle pressure.
The Rams’ upperclassmen give them the confidence to be sure that they’re never out of a game- they kept the game closer than it had any right to be until the fourth quarter. I don’t know where they’re predicted to finish in their conference, but I think they’ll surprise people.
So many reserves! This is a luxury to which I am not accustomed! I don’t know if I can deal! Who am I kidding, of course I can deal. Kaity Healy and Tyeisha Smith didn’t play until very close to the end of the game- Tony put them in right around the times we were thinking about getting the band to start the appropriate chant. I don’t think Tye wanted to dodge the billion by getting a foul, but at least Kaity had a rebound. I don’t know if Kimi Evans’s mobility is an issue or if she’s just not used to the three-second rule. (Apparently some states don’t have that in high school.) I need her to finish better at the rim, but it’s only the first game, so I guess I can deal with that. Deja Winters was mostly a three-point specialist from the corners. I like her three-point shot, but I don’t like when it’s the only thing she does.
The most worrisome takeaway from this game was JaQuan Jackson’s shooting. I don’t know if we need Quanny to be the offensive workhorse the way we did last year, but that’s not the problem. The problem is that Quanny’s defense is predicated on being in the flow of her offense; when her head’s not in the game offensively, she’s not mentally there as much on defense either. That’s a problem. If that’s the approach she took to this game, it’s no wonder Tony brought her off the bench. I love Selena Philoxy’s rebounding. Dare I say, her moxie? I get the feeling that’s going to be a very common piece of wordplay during her Seton Hall career. She needs to work on her free throw shooting, and her shot needs to be stronger (whether that’s upper body conditioning or work with a shooting coach, I don’t know). But it’s going to be fun to watch her versus Maya Singleton during the Awkward Bowl. Shadeen Samuels had herself a day. The jumper isn’t necessarily there, but she did work on the breakaway. I love watching her at the basket. I don’t know how to say it, other than I just really enjoy watching Shadeen play. Inja Butina was a good defensive floor general. She wasn’t looking for her shot until late in the game, but that might just be okay. I really enjoyed watching her on defense, though- she’s caught up to the team pretty quickly and taken a strong leadership role.
I’m concerned about Jayla Jones-Pack and her propensity to commit stupid fouls. Tony had to juggle the lineups a lot in the first half because she picked up two early ones, and this is not of the good. While we have a lot of players who can do work in the middle, she’s the only true center we’re carrying right now, and that’s important. Her rebounding is inconsistent- she can be strong and ferocious on one play, and let the ball bounce off her hands the next. Taylor Brown did some work on the offensive glass- going up for putbacks with power and doing work down low. If I knew the circumstances behind her transfer from WKU better, I’d know whether waving the rally towel for her baskets would be an appropriate shoutout, or if it would bring back bad memories. I already think it’s a damn shame we’re only getting one year of Donnaizha Fountain. Why did you waste time fiddling around with Georgia Tech and Temple when you could have been doing awesome things at Seton Hall the whole time? Maybe today was a fluke, but from what I saw today, I’m completely in love with her game- her defense, her offense, her ability to fix broken plays, everything. She’s got fantastic energy on the bench (there was a sequence near the end of the game where she was egging the band on to get the “DE-FENSE!” chant going). Worth the price of admission, and not just on days when there’s no tickets.
I don’t think Tony and Nicole Jimenez are on the same page yet. I do think they’re at least in the same book, but she still seems to be trying to reconcile the “go-go-go” attitude Tony usually has to offense with the need to slow it down at the ends of quarters. I like her passing, and I like her three-point shot, but there were a couple of moments where it was clear she didn’t want to shoot into taller defenders, or that she couldn’t see an opportunity over the defender. Kaela Hilaire has made it abundantly clear that she doesn’t believe offensive players are entitled to personal space. I lke this philosophy. I’m not so sure about her driving late in the game when Kaity and Tyeisha were boht open on the wing and might have wanted baskets, though. Didn’t help that she missed the lay-up, either. I like Kaela, but sometimes I have to wonder about her judgment. And it weirds me out that she can go from 0 to 60 on defense in the space of a couple of possessions; yes, on one hand, she doesn’t believe the opponent has any right to personal space, but sometimes she’ll back off way too early on drives. I don’t get it.
Not to say I got into the game or anything, but I banged my clipboard against the bleachers so hard one of the pens in there was pulverized, almost literally in the sense of being reduced to dust.
Traveling seems to be a point of emphasis, at least in the preseason. Lots of calls that weren’t being made in previous years. I don’t think I like this.
Note to self: find out where Seton Hall gets their pizza and make sure never to order from there. Postgame meal was in the Walsh lobby, and the pizza looked burned and cheap.
This looks like it could be a fun and interesting year. I’m okay with this.
Also, the vodka sauce at Stony’s is amaaaaaaazing, and the burgers are always good.
Saturday, November 4, 2017
November 4th, 2017: Thomas Jefferson at Seton Hall
Sunday, November 6, 2016
November 5th, 2016: Philadelphia at Seton Hall
Just the Facts, Ma'am: JaQuan Jackson scorched the nets with 31 points, 25 in the first half, as Seton Hall dispatched the Rams of Philadelphia University 80-54. LaTecia Smith added a well-rounded eight points, five boards, six assists, and five steals. Alexandra Warren led Philadelphia with 15 points, with Rachel Day adding 14.
For lots of traveling, a new perspective, unnecessary shots, multiple chances, and lots of steals, join your intrepid and mystic blogger after the jump.
Good morning. Let's basketball.
(With apologies to the folks over at SB Nation.)
It's a new season, and here at Walsh Gymnasium, it's a new point of view. For reasons I won't go into here, we've swapped sides of the arena, sitting across from the bench and next to the band, instead of behind the bench where we once were. It seems more appropriate, anyway. I prefer being across from the bench in order to see all the interpersonal interactions, and being next to the band is good for inducing maximum noise.
We're getting ready for the Hall's exhibition game against annual visitors Philadelphia University. There are a lot of Pirates. I had to make the font smaller on the homemade roster card.
Not gonna lie, it's weird seeing the #1 jersey with Hilaire on it instead of Richardson-Smith, and it's going to be weird seeing Janee Johnson's #44 on someone else. Numbers are always more transient in college than in the pros, but that's a hard thing to remember when you come in through the pro game.
Oh, dear. That appears to be Martha Kuderer in a boot on the bench. And we're not talking the fashionable kind of boot here. That's totally not ominous at all.
I'm not sure this seating arrangement is going to be compatible with this speaker arrangement. More of the speakers appear to be pointed this way than toward the benches.
At halftime, Seton Hall is up 43-31. For a ten-minute stretch starting in the early first and extending deep into the second, JaQuan Jackson was keeping pace with Philadelphia all by herself; she has 25 points to lead everyone. Philadelphia came on stronger in the late second quarter behind three-point shooting from Rachel Day and Alexandra Warren. There was a fair amount of sloppiness early, but it seems to have been worked out.
I'm worried about how easily our zone is being shredded. I'm worried about how much of the offensive load JaQuan is carrying. We'll see how those change in the second half.
A bit of awkwardness in the pregame- the starting lineup was changed in the minutes shortly before announcement, so the announcer was working off old information. I certainly don't expect Kaity Healy to get the place of honor as last starter announced next time out.
Someone will eventually show Jayla Jones-Pack how to channel her pregame dance moves into traditional channels. Today is so far not that day.
Kat Egan's sitting with the Bozzellas in the VIP folding chairs. I guess that makes the retirement thing official. :( I liked Kat.
Trying to work on GNoD on the train is going to be more complicated than I thought unless I bite the bullet and get a new computer. Jocelyn's hinge has been wonky for quite some time, but now the casing has come apart enough that if the computer wobbles too much, the connection between the screen and the computer stops working. And then she goes to sleep. This is not conducive to writing game notes.
My worries for Seton Hall now extend to the rebounding. The rebounding was not good. Philadelphia had way too many second, third, and even fourth chances. We have posts, and not short ones, either; it's a refreshing change from most of my teams. But that means we have fewer excuses for giving up rebounds to smaller players.
The Rams went deep into their bench in the final four minutes. I was surprised Regan Marriner was so far back in the rotation; I thought I remembered her being significant for them last year, or maybe it was the year before. I shouldn't know a quasi-random D-II team that well. Ayoola Oguntuase is big for them in the middle- physical and slightly annoyed about it (she didn't seem to take kindly to holding). I was actually surprised she stayed in as long as she did; there was a sequence where it looked like she got hit in the face, and she kept reaching for her left eye area like it was bothering her. I was starting to think she should have come out.
Valez Jackson is feisty, but tangling with post players is not a wise move for a guard. The adage about picking on someone your own size is applicable to mismatches in both directions. (Also, her name is really cool.) I do not like Jessica Kaminski. I don't like players who undercut. I don't like players who manage to not get called for fouls while inducing fouls from other players, and she did that with Shadeen. Alicia Lister entered fairly late in the game and made some noise with a three and a nifty little shot in the lane. Nothing stands out about Carly Kovin.
Alexandra Warren is really good. I kind of figured that she had to be if she was a true freshman starting on a team with more redshirts than a Target store, but she looked really good. I like her stroke, and I like her work on the glass. Jackie McCarron, on the other end of the seniority scale as a redshirt senior, was also solid. She never gave up on the boards- that could be said of most of the Rams, but she was especially tenacious.
Rachel Day (whose last name I keep wanting to render as Daly because of the Johnnie soccer legend) has a really quick release on her jumper. If replay had been available for this game, she would have ended with one fewer three and one fewer point- she had a long two that was called behind the arc and really wasn't. (I'm not surprised- refs were a little slow on the call today, and besides, given how many threes Philadelphia took, I might have assumed it was long too.) Kelsey Jones was scrappy early, and she did a nice job finding the open shooter when the zone was slow to rotate. Alynna Williams has potential, but I can't put my finger on what it is. It might be her speed.
Philadelphia seemed to have two offensive modes: bombing threes, and flipping up wild shots in the lane. They were getting a lot of offensive rebounds, but they weren't always converting them. That had something to do with the Seton Hall defense- which is going to be so much fun to watch- and something to do with their own shooting ineptitude inside.
So many Pirate reserves, so little time, and really so little patience, I'm sure. Let's see how much of an impression I can leave of the bench.
It looked a lot like the team was trying to force-feed Ali Fitzgerald in the last couple of minutes to get her on the board, and she certainly had a lot of the crowd behind her. Lots of people dig the long ball. I like Kaela Hilaire's hustle, but she's got to learn to corral it a little better. Some of those fouls were very silly. She had one heady play I liked in the second half to save a possession that would have otherwise been an over and back violation. I really like what I saw out of Deja Winters, especially in the fourth quarter- a lot of great hustle plays, a lot of tough rebounds to end the endless chances of Philadelphia. The only thing I'm not sure about with her is how to pronounce her first name- is it Dee-jah or Day-ja as in déjà vu? I get the sense we're going to hear it enough to be sure. Skyler Snider (say that three times fast) looks ready to fill Coach's favorite niche of "oddly-shaped forward who likes to take threes and play surprisingly tenacious defense". She's not quite a three, and she's not quite a guard, and I'm not sure if she has a position, but I like her.
Jayla Jones-Pack needs to stop bringing the ball down to where the smaller people are. She's the tallest player we have, and there's no reason for her to be pulling the ball down on the boards. I'm loving what she brings down low on defense, though. Coach Bozzella's had a couple of centers like this- not just Chizoba Ekedigwe at Seton Hall, but Sabrina Jeridore at Iona. Jayla's more offensive-minded than either of them, though. Shadeen Samuels's knee brace worries me- it seems like she's on a minute count for injury concerns. If she can stay healthy, she'll be brilliant. Also, she has excellent tackling form and should consider trying out for the Giants after she's done with Seton Hall, since Seton Hall doesn't sponsor football. I feel like I've been saying a lot about the freshmen's hustle, but this is a scrappy, athletic group that plays the passing lanes really well. Lubirdia Gordon's lost a few steps since last season, but since she spent most of the game riding the Bike to Nowhere, I'm pretty sure there's a health-related reason why she wasn't playing a lot. She did a good job as the last line of defense down low. Poor Chanel Jemmott- so new that her name's spelled wrong on Seton Hall's website and she doesn't even have her name on her jersey. She scrapped for a loose ball at the end of the game, and I like that kind of passion from deep reserves in decided games.
I'm going to be honest with y'all here: I have no idea what Kaity Healy brings to the table, except maybe some shooting. Maybe she just had a bad game, but I wasn't impressed. LaTecia Smith is a great defensive point guard- she jumps the passing lanes, she bodies up as close as you can get without getting called (and one of these days she's going to get the wrong crew and foul out in three quarters). The problem is that she's not good at setting up the offense. Her clock management skills still need a lot of work, and if she's going to run the offense, she's going to need to improve that in a hurry. Look at the clock, TT. That's all I'm asking.
JaQuan Jackson found a can of whoop-ass in the first quarter and opened it up in a hurry. Unfortunately, she didn't ration out her whoop-ass, so it all got used up in the first half. You've got to nurse them and make them last for an entire game. It was very clear that she wanted the ball, no matter which team had it. This is fun when the other team has the ball and she steals it away. It's somewhat less fun when she's taking all the shots, especially if she's missing them like she did in the second half. (Though upon further review, I might have to give her a little bit of a pass on some of the second half misses; she had a big bag of ice on her ankle after the game.) This is going to be one of those love-hate relationships, isn't it? Only, I would hope, without the hate turning quite as personal as it did with SHU's last big scorer. And for all of Quanny's shots taken, the player whose shot selection I was actually most disappointed in was Claire Lundberg. Is it really necessary to take threes when you're up 20 in the last minute or two of a 20-point game? Especially when they come fairly early in the clock? I get that she might have needed to find some confidence in her shot after last year, but you've got to know time and score. I like her interior defense, though. Jordan Molyneaux has got to finish those little shots on the inside. There was a play set up with a neat behind the back pass where she missed the shot, and come on, if your teammates are doing things that awesome you gotta finish.
This Seton Hall team is going to be very fun to watch- fast-paced and intense in transition. There are going to be days when the officiating is tighter and everyone fouls out; there are going to be days when the zone gets busted and the turnovers aren't coming. You survive those days for the days when the opponent can't get a pass off to save their lives. I'm pretty sure this is going to be a down year compared to last year... but the next two or three years should be fun, if everything holds together. (Don't tempt fate.)
Officiating seemed a step slow- there was a play where I'm pretty sure Claire got called for a travel that TT committed. The only play I thought was really egregious was one where Kaminski was holding Shadeen, and Shadeen got called for the retaliation shove. Not that I don't think Shadeen should have been called for shoving someone, but she wouldn't have been in that situation if the play had been blown dead on Kaminski's hold.
I'm looking forward to Opening Day... except for the whole leaving the house earlier than I would for work thing. Are you ready for some basketball?
Saturday, November 7, 2015
November 7th, 2015: Philadelphia at Seton Hall
Just the Facts, Ma'am: A slow start for both teams developed into a 71-47 Seton Hall win over Philadelphia University in the Pirates' first game of the year. Tiffany Jones led Seton Hall with 16 points and eight rebounds. Rachel Day had 12 points for the Rams.
For failure to communicate, disallowed shots, sore muscles, missed connections, and superficial analysis, join your intrepid and diverted blogger after the jump.
Good afternoon! It's that time of year again- college basketball has returned. Sure, it's only the preseason, and it's not a D-I opponent, but it's good to be back where everyone knows your name (or at least your husband's nickname). The trusty laptop and I are once more ensconced in our familiar place in section 4, behind the Seton Hall bench on the hard wood bleachers of Walsh Gymnasium. This time, I brought a cushion. I learn eventually.
The trip is always long, but PATH made it an extra twenty minutes longer. We left home a little before 10:30 to get to Seton Hall at 1:20. Insanity.
Going through Newark is always depressing. The lines of demarcation between the carefully tended neighborhoods and the ones less cared for are sharp and clear; you go half a block, maybe a little more, past the Prudential Center on Market Street, and you've gone from artisanal pizza to swathes of empty storefronts. Get off at Dover Street on the 31, and in two blocks you go from plexiglass barricades in the stores to the graceful houses of South Orange Village. Even University Heights, so shiny and new, comes off as sterile, or possibly sterilized, a place where people perform the activities of daily living without actually living.
I don't know if I could live in poverty, with the constant presence of wealth hovering so close and yet so far, without falling into rage and the urge to destroy something.
Philadelphia needs to update their gear. That's a very old Reebok logo.
Pocket schedules are simple this year, but the posters are nice.
I don't know if I like the quarter system for college basketball. I'm used to it from the WNBA, but I sort of miss long periods of play. Well, it is what it is.
At halftime, Seton Hall is up 42-29 on Philadelphia. Shooting was bad by both teams in the first quarter. Offense has picked up some in the second quarter, Philadelphia by finding open jumpers, Seton Hall by applying the backcourt trap and getting fired up by their defense. The seniors are making noise for the Hall, with 11 points for Tiffany Jones and 8 for Tabatha Richardson-Smith. Jessica Kaminski has 9 for Philadelphia (though it should be 8, that three was clearly on the line).
The game was definitely better than the travels and travails it took to get there. It's 6:10 right now, and I'm still in Manhattan. Transit has been madness, whether it's construction and signal issues on PATH or a police investigation on the J. We've walked around, rerouted, rerouted again, and finally gotten on a train that will get us to a bus that will get us to a long walk home.
So there are definitely things to look forward to for the Hall, and a couple of things to worry about. I don't know how good Philadelphia is going to be this year, but their two big shooters today were a redshirt freshman and a sophomore.
Philadelphia really didn't go deep into their bench for most of the game. The Rams emptied their bench late in the game, so we got brief glimpses of Valez Jackson, Alicia Lister, and Regan Marriner. None of them did anything of note. Jessica Kaminski would be a much more lethal scorer if she had a better sense of where the three-point line was; most of her shots were very close to the three-point line, and usually on the wrong side of it. It's the same issue I have with Essence Carson, only she wasn't even on the line most of the time. Jackie McCarron apparently played in the first half, but you can tell how much of an impression she left if I thought her first appearance was in the second.
An outside jumper is a very useful weapon for a post player, especially one with a stocky build who thus becomes less of a suspect in the ownership of a soft outside shot. That being said, Mary Newell seemed to rely more heavily on it than she should, which was a shame, because she seemed to have good moves around the basket, or at least the ability to make points happen in the vicinity of the basket. Tori Arnao was mostly shut down, and her shots seemed to get wilder as the game wore on. She did a good job boxing out and setting screens for her teammates.
Bria Young has a lot of speed and a lot of aggression, but not a lot of sense- she got nailed at the halfcourt line a lot, and showed a distressing tendency to stop there as if waiting for the trap to come. Rachel Day has a really pretty three-point shot that we saw entirely too much of, because she was able to use screens and get herself free. Kelsey Jones left minimal impression- she came off as someone who's very tough, but didn't necessarily have any occasion to use it. That happens sometimes.
Philadelphia seemed to panic as the game went on and the lead got bigger. There were a lot of bad shots thrown up just for the sake of having a shot up. They rallied a bit late, but very late, when Seton Hall had been up by 20 for much of the half.
Seton Hall has a lot of freshmen. That's to be expected, with the number of scholarships freed up from last year, whether by graduation or by attrition. We didn't get to see much of Kaity Healy, or Martha Kuderer (AKA McLaughlin; there was apparently some kind of issue with her jersey, so she was wearing a different name and number). LaTecia Smith put in some time at point guard, and I think she's got a lot of potential. The one glaring thing that stood out to me was clock awareness, or lack thereof. That might not be the right phrase; an inability to manipulate the clock might be closer. She's not going to hold the ball to run out the clock or to keep the opponent from having extra time on offense; she's not going to set up for one last good shot. Other than that, I like her. She's a freshman; she'll learn. The freshman who impressed me most was the forward Taylor Byrne. She needs to work on her stamina and conditioning, but for a freshman in her first college game, that's to be expected. I like her hustle, I like her shot, and I like her communication on the floor. She looks to be a very useful player already, and someone we can rely on in later years.
Jordan Molyneaux appears to have lost any court vision she had during her abbreviated season last year. I like what she does defensively on the inside (that foul was totally a clean block!) but I expected a little more out of her. Maybe she's just rusty, though. Jordan Mosley made some good moves on defense. Claire Lundberg's threes had a nasty habit of rimming out. Tara Inman gave up her body on defense. I love to watch her work on defense.
Shakena Richardson reminds me of Temeka Johnson, only slightly stretched out- not quite as stocky, a little bit taller, but strong for her size. She overthrew a couple of shots in ways I wasn't expecting. It's going to take a while for her to develop a rapport with her teammates, but I think she'll get there. I like her slashing ability to the hoop. Aleesha Powell has a lot of speed, and I love when she cuts off an opponent's angle. Again, some rough edges need to be filed off on team chemistry, but we're only in the preseason, and that's what you do in the preseason: you figure out what needs to be fixed.
Tiffany Jones had herself a game, hitting threes and pulling down boards. I always get a little weirded out when posts get comfortable beyond the arc, but if she can consistently hit that shot, I'm okay with it. Lubirdia Gordon couldn't hit a bunny all night, and it seemed like she had more of them than the box score shows (though she was fouled on some attempts, and I suppose some attempts never got sufficiently close to the basket to be considered shots). She pulled down the boards, but the boards don't do you much good if you can't convert them. She also seemed to not be communicating with the guards. Look down, Bird- they're there, I swear. And now we're getting to the part that I don't like writing, because I want only good things for Tab, even when she gives me the I Am Disappointed In Your Life Choices staredown. But Tabatha Richardson-Smith has a recurring case of recto-cranial inversion, and it flared up in the second half of this game. I love to watch her shoot. I love when she hits the boards. She's got the skills and the build to take that next step. But she knows it too, and sometimes I think she believes her own hype. And if you do stupid things on the court, and your coach gets upset with you for doing stupid things on the court, you don't ignore him. You don't act like you're not taking the game seriously (even if you're not- pretend to care).
The crew chief seemed very concerned with the small details of fashion today, since that was something she could enforce with any reliability.
This is not the team that went to the tournament for the first time in ages. This is something different- there's promise, but there are definitely rough patches. Communication is the key.
Saturday, November 8, 2014
November 8th, 2014: Philadelphia at Seton Hall
Just the Facts, Ma'am: Ka-Deidre Simmons and Bra'Shey Ali each dropped a double-double and Seton Hall never trailed in their 86-64 win over D-II Philadelphia. Simmons led all scorers with 20 points, adding 10 assists, eight rebounds, and four steals. Ali had 12 points to go with 14 rebounds. Najah Jacobs had 17 to lead Philadelphia.
For long walks, missed free throws, lopsided foul counts, acting jobs, plush Pirates, new haircuts, and trying to remember where the butt pad went, join your intrepid and exhausted blogger after the jump.
Hello, internet! Did you miss me? You missed me, didn't you? Actually, it's all right if you didn't. But your intrepid blogger, like her or not, is back in action with a preseason tilt at Walsh Gymnasium, as the Seton Hall Pirates host the Philadelphia Rams.
Why are there so many people on this train? It's not even 9:30 on a Saturday morning, and it's standing room only. Go back to sleep! I want to be back in bed, but it's a noon tip, so.
That awkward moment when you wait twenty minutes in the lobby for the nice folks with the ticket table to come out, then realize that there aren't actually tickets for this game since it's a preseason game.
Why would you drive onto the campus of Seton Hall with a Rutgers R stuck to your car? They're magnetic. Take it off when you're in South Orange.
Seton Hall's season ticket shirts are absolutely awesome, and our homies at South Orange Juice need to find a way to hook me up. "If you can't see, stand up!" is the creed I live by as a sports fan, because if I'm standing, there's probably a reason. (It does take on a bit of dark humor when the first guy you see wearing it is in a wheelchair, though.)
I feel like some sort of perverse ninja. No one here seems to know me without my husband around. (Well, except Coach Bozzella, but he pretty much knows everyone. He's that kind of guy, which is how we got into this mess in the first place.)
At halftime, Seton Hall is up 47-32, after allowing a small Philadelphia run to close the half. Monica Schacker leads the Rams with 13 points. Ka-Deidre Simmons leads the Pirates with 12 points.
Philadelphia's coach seems to be a statement kind of guy, between the technical foul and the "I chose Division II shirt" he's wearing.
Janee Johnson going down on a drive by Bria Young is an early contender for Best Performance by a Supporting Actress of the 2014-15 season. There were a couple of early submissions, though I don't know if preseason games count towards those awards.
I don't know if saying I liked what I saw from Seton Hall would be the right turn of phrase, but I like the potential that I saw there.
Philadelphia sent in a big chunk of their reserves late in the game, so they didn't have much of an opportunity to make an impression. Erin Rafter's shot release was noticeably awkward, though. (Sorry.) Mary Newell played the majority of the bench minutes and was pretty solid down low. She was called upon to do what I thought was a surprising amount of ballhandling for a post player, and she had an equally surprisingly delicate touch with the ball at midcourt, so perhaps the ballhandling shouldn't have been a surprise. She seemed to disconnect from the game in the second half, when the ball was going to her less and the Rams were down big- her facial expressions were those of a young woman who didn't want to be where she was and didn't care who noticed.
Tori Arnao had a nice knack for finding the ball at the basket, and for finding space for herself down low as well. Bria Young reminds me of a smaller-scale Sky Lindsay, as if someone had taken Sky and gently compressed her so that she was a little bit smaller and her face was a little bit less long. She looked like she was often in the right place at the right time to make the play. The box score does not bear out my perception of Monica Schacker's stroke, as she looked like she had an utterly pure stroke and couldn't miss, but there are a lot of misses in that box score. She got open a lot and made Seton Hall regret it. She cooled off a bit in the second half, but I wasn't able to determine if it was because the Pirates improved their defense, if she was tired, or if her teammates were less able to get her the shots she preferred. Najah Jacobs had some very nice baskets on the fast break, including one spin move where even the ardent Seton Hall fans next to me basically said, "all right, you can have that one, we ain't even mad". She's a nice, solid player. Alex Heck took a hit to the face that awakened the wrath of Philadelphia's coach, but I don't remember what else she did on the floor.
I was impressed with Philadelphia. For a D-II school they hung well with a D-I team that's on the rise. I don't think they were going to be able to satisfy their coach's expectations on defense in this one- he seemed pretty intense about it.
Seton Hall put in a lot of players, so this part is going to be pretty thick, just to let you know.
Lubirdia Gordon has a solid build and sets a good screen, but she seems to have small hands for her size, and that worries me. She's still trying to find her place in the defense- she needed a lot of direction. Jordan Molyneaux was impressive in her short minutes, positioning herself well on the defensive end. Jordan Mosley rebounded well for a guard- she found ways to be in the right place at the right time. She needs to work on her shooting touch, though, which is a recurring theme with this team. There are some horrendous shooting motions there. Claire Lundberg has a pretty stroke from the corner, and so far it's clear that her role is to be a three-point specialist. She has height, and they're using her a little bit in the middle, but she still needs a lot of coaching to be more of a three. She also needs to get used to the college line. I think she was still ranging. Tara Inman looks determined to prove herself- she hustled right through a chair and into the bleachers at one point. I like her intensity. Teresa Kucera appears to have misplaced her shot, and I hope she finds it again soon, as that's been her strength for this team. Chizoba Ekedigwe got in and proceeded to pretty much flee contact at the slightest excuse. She was more interested in going inside on offense than on defense, but still backed out when Newell was in the game. She's got to learn to not be afraid of contact, or someone is going to end up tearing their hair out. Kathleen Egan hustled but otherwise left no impression.
I got the sense that Coach was using the bench players not so much because the exigencies of the situation called for them, but to see who they were in game action, what they would do in a game, and how they would react as compared to practice situations. There were a lot of bench minutes.
I love what Janee Johnson brings to this team. She's tough on both ends of the floor and loves to go after the ball. I don't know if she still has the shooting range she thinks she does, but she does create space with that jumper a little bit. Tabatha Richardson-Smith took a lot of threes. I mean a lot of threes. She got on a little run in the second half, but otherwise, her shots were going all over the place. I liked her work on the press. If she's going to play three in this lineup, I'd like to see her get some more rebounds (granted, Bra'Shey and Janee don't leave a lot of them for other forwards, but still). Speaking of Bra'Shey Ali, I think I was sitting behind her family, and I'm glad I was, because she had an awesome game. She was all over the boards, holding on to a lot of the balls that she was tipping out last year, or at least tapping them to teammates instead of opponents, and she was able to finish on a lot of shots close the basket. I do like her rather a lot. Daisha Simmons was hobbled by foul trouble early on, to the point where I was starting to wonder if any of the officials were Alabama alumni. She looked good, and she had fantastic synergy with Ka-Deidre Simmons. I can already imagine the mattress jokes. Ka-Deidre Simmons ran her team well and took over at key intervals. She makes this team go, and I think she knows it. Possibly to their detriment, so do her teammates. Much like sometimes happens with the Liberty, if she's playing well and their shots aren't falling, they expect her to pick them up, and she expects herself to pick them up. If they're going to go far in this conferene, or in the NCAA in general, they need to get over that.
I was disappointed in the officiating in the second half. It's not that there were a lot of blatant no-calls and missed calls, but there were a couple of block/charges that seemed inconsistent, and Jordan Molyneaux got all ball on that second foul. But when the differential is at 10-1, it does tend to cause a fan to raise an eyebrow or two. The total fouls were even in the first half, so I suspect that the Philly coach's T might have played into the officiating in the second half.
Seton Hall has very odd rims. Lots and lots of shots rimming out for both teams.
I think they've switched from Pepsi to Coke. Point in their favor.
That hike to and from South Orange station is a doozy, especially alone.
I'm looking forward to seeing how Seton Hall develops this year. You should be too.
Saturday, November 2, 2013
November 2nd, 2013: Philadelphia at Seton Hall
Just the Facts, Ma'am: A very late surge pulled Seton Hall into overtime, where they defeated Philadelphia in exhibition play, 87-85. Ka-Deidre Simmons led Seton Hall with 19 points and 11 assists; Tabatha Richardson-Smith had 16 points, 10 in overtime, and 13 rebounds; Bra'Shey Ali also notched a double-double, with 11 points and 15 rebounds. Philadelphia's Monica Schacker led all scorers with 21 points, while Bria Young added 15 points and 13 rebounds.
For unspeakable awkwardness, wardrobe malfunctions, familiar faces, missed opportunities, and far too much drama for the preseason, join your intrepid and cerulean blogger after the jump.
And we're back in the saddle again! I know you missed my walls of text, meandering asides, and the strange people I meet on my travels. I know it's been a rough two months, but I'm here for you. At the moment, "here" is a backwards-facing seat on an overheated NJ Transit car, with a rather inconvenient angle to my monitor and my purse perched on my bosom.
The MTA did not help our cause; we left the house before twelve and were barely in time to make the connection. I imagine the Knicks City Dancer across from us on the E train was somewhat more perturbed by the constant delays. (I assumed she was a Knicks City Dancer from her striking good looks, Knicks jacket, dancer's physique, large bag of clothes, and orange-and-blue eye shadow. I swear, it was the eye shadow that clinched it for me.)
We're off to South Orange today for a preseason game at Walsh Gym against Philadelphia. Being garbed in blue, with a Seton Hall foam finger in tow (we've been poking each other with it periodically during our trip) is a strange sensation. Large parts of me are screaming that this is wrong, that I'm wearing the wrong color, that this is not how I'm supposed to go to a game. I'm going to have to get used to it, though. Kick me if I'm still whinging in February.
And I managed to forget my clipboard, because I'm a genius, so if these notes are short it's because I had to run the computer to get the scorecard up. Don't worry, I'm not going to make a mistake that elementary in the regular season. Isn't that what the preseason is for?
Someone bought a basketball onesie for their kid. I don't plan on having kids, but if I did, that's what they would be wearing.
At halftime, Philadelphia is up four on Seton Hall, and yes, for the honor of the Big East, I'm embarrassed that Seton Hall is down four to a D-II team. They look really disorganized. I don't know if Coach Bozzella's gotten through to them yet. Really dumb passes to places where no one or a Philadelphia player is standing, lots of overshooting, lousy free throw shooting. Philadelphia's doing a lot of shooting from the outside, and unlike Seton Hall, they're converting those free throws.
It was all but over. And suddenly they flared to life, making huge defensive stances and getting rapid steals.
Awkward moment: between the second half and the overtime, we got a visit from Amber Thompson's mother, who was a bit confused as to what we were doing at Seton Hall (she's got an excuse; Amber's friends with Ka-Deidre Simmons). We assured her that we had not abandoned St. John's and we would still be coming to games, but that was exceedingly awkward and will hopefully not lead to trouble.
Philadelphia got very good bench minutes from Mary Newell, who actually started the second half because one of the starters was in foul trouble. She was a presence inside- good height, good footwork, rebounded well, finished well. Jackie McCarron's time came at the end of the OT, when fouls were catching up to the Rams and their coach had to start going deep into his bench to put bodies on the floor. Samantha Morris seemed to react well to having to change her number (there was blood on her #20 jersey, so in the second half she was #34). She got a little more aggressive going to the basket and scoring in the second half.
We just could not, or did not, get on Monica Schacker. She almost sent the game to double OT with two late threes back to back. She knew her spot- corner across from the bench- and she got there. Bria Young was extremely quick with her hands and feet- she broke up passes and really did a good job of getting to the basket. I can't put my finger on what I liked about Alex Heck, but there's something I like about her. It might just be that she has the same surname as a player who did well for me in my fantasy league last year. But she seemed to be in the right place at the right time a lot of the time. Tori Arnao hit the boards hard, which got her in foul trouble early in the game and eventually fouled her out of the game early in the overtime. She had a beautiful touch with the glass- I think her last two baskets were kisses off the backboard. (Morris, too- one of her shots glanced very high off the backboard.) Megan Finn was very quick- used her lack of size surprisingly well.
Overall, Philadelphia had great ball movement. They started to get flustered at the end of the game, when they were dealing with foul trouble and an increasingly involved crowd, and throwing backcourt pressure at them late really messed them up. But they impressed me for a Division II team. And I don't think they were at full strength, either; one of their co-captains didn't even play.
Janee Johnson reminds me of someone, but I can't put my finger on it. There's a little Michelle Snow there, but not much. That might have been the complaints to the officials, but she had a good case a couple of times. She turned it up in the second half, with high-arcing shots going down with a splash of nylon instead of hard off the back of the rim. She also worked on keeping the team emotionally in the game- she and Brittany Webb were the ones leading the defense chants on the bench. Breanna Jones gave a few good defensive minutes when the Pirates were juggling foul trouble with their forwards. Tara Inman has a nice shot from the corner, but plays defense as one would expect a freshman to do in her first collegiate game- she got burned on a Philadelphia drive so badly that I winced. Jasmine McCall shoots fairly well, which I would expect from a player surnamed McCall. Brittany Webb got good position on the block, but failed to do anything with it. Defensively, she didn't do nearly enough to get in position and fouled instead of getting her hands up.
Tabatha Richardson-Smith couldn't hit the broad side of a barn in the first half, whether it was from the perimeter or on offensive rebounds. But she went and got her cape in overtime. Suddenly those tips were going in, she was getting and-1s, she was getting her threes to go down- it was beautiful. She's still got to get her act together and focus on defense, though, and she needs to finish more consistently. I really liked Sidney Cook's hustle- it was her burst late in the second half that helped spur the game-tying rally. It might be the big blonde hair, but she always caught my eye on the boards. Bra'Shey Ali also did well on the boards and took excellent advantage of her opportunities. I like her. Ka-Deidre Simmons's shot selection, both in the taking and the passing up of shots, left much to be desired, but she found her teammates well. Couple of real pretty passes. I'm not sure if she's still questioning her knee, or if she's still rusty because it's the preseason, or if she's not sure about the play selection, but something's off about her game. Chizoba Ekedigwe is a good anchor for a zone defense, and when she keeps her hands up, nothing is getting past her. I'd like to see her be more assertive on offense, though. That might not be her strength, but she should be able to get something going at her height. I'm blaming Anne Donovan; Ekedigwe is her kind of post player.
Speaking of AD, she was at the game. Wasn't sure at the time if that was her or her sister, as we were in the opposite corner and all I could make out was the long face and ridiculous height.
Not pleased with the officiating. A lot of contact that wasn't called, some questionable procedural calls, one very bad out of bounds (just because the shot was so horrible that it went off the side of the backboard support, that doesn't mean it was deflected).
Band didn't show up 'til late. No dance team. Of course, they were all preparing for the men's game that was to follow. (Didn't stay for that. My butt hurt. Must remember to bring cushions for those wooden Walsh Gym bleachers.)
If Seton Hall can get its act together, and if they can provide some upsets in the non-conference to build on, I think they can make Walsh Gym the second-best homecourt advantage in the Big East, behind only DePaul. The acoustics are great, and it's the right size for the crowd they're likely to draw. You can make a little bit of noise echo off that ceiling.
Free throws. Dear Lord, Seton Hall, they're free. My Johnnie girls could give you lessons, and regular readers of the GNoD know my laments regarding the Red Storm's free throw shooting. Take Simmons out of the equation and it gets worse.
There's a lot of work to be done, but there's potential to work with. Seton Hall might be rough to watch this year, but I think they'll make a ruckus in two years.