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[The Lens]

http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/24304931/defending-national-champion-villanova-wildcats-lead-big-east-2018-19-season

Some great lines including:

St. John's is an enigma, and Georgetown needs to learn how to win games. Are you convinced by any of those teams on paper? Put Villanova at No. 1 and DePaul at No. 10, and the rest will play itself out.

On us they were more than fair, it comes down to defense.

[PGsHeroes32]

Got us 2nd

Nice

[Mr. Sand-Knit]

That defense is why i think people calling for a top 15 team are making a potentially huge miscalculation.  Just two years, we had haanif at point, (capable defender). jj on the wing (again more than capable), luke in the middle with shot blocking ability, and Katin on the wing, good size n decent athleticism.  That team was putrid on defense just horrible.  So im not sure whats to say that this years defense is any better at all.

[Marquette4life]

Got us 2nd

Nice

I truly believe if we finish second in the Big East this year we will be right around a 4 seed in the NCAAs

[Its DJOver]

That defense is why i think people calling for a top 15 team are making a potentially huge miscalculation.  Just two years, we had haanif at point, (capable defender). jj on the wing (again more than capable), luke in the middle with shot blocking ability, and Katin on the wing, good size n decent athleticism.  That team was putrid on defense just horrible.  So im not sure whats to say that this years defense is any better at all.

No defender on that team was as good as JC is likely to be. JJ was not a capable defender despite what his steal numbers were. As you pointed out at quite literally every possible time, Luke was a bad PNR defender, despite having decent athleticism, Katins defense and rebounding numbers were not as good as one would have hoped from a grad transfer with his size. That team also had the dueling midgets that were our downfall last year.

I don't think that we will have an elite defense, but with how good our offense should still be, if we can have a top 150 defense, we should end the year in the top 25.

P.S. coming out now and saying that Luke was good, after the constant criticism that you gave him really just makes you look like a constant pessimist.

[brewcity77]

That defense is why i think people calling for a top 15 team are making a potentially huge miscalculation.  Just two years, we had haanif at point, (capable defender). jj on the wing (again more than capable), luke in the middle with shot blocking ability, and Katin on the wing, good size n decent athleticism.  That team was putrid on defense just horrible.  So im not sure whats to say that this years defense is any better at all.

Haanif didn't play point on our team 2 years ago. Markus & Rowsey did, occasionally Duane but he played very limited minutes. JJ was always a poor defender who gambled for steals. He got slightly better as a senior at staying home, but was still not a plus defender. And Luke was great in a zone where he could stay in place and block shots, but never did well in man, when he had to defend in space, or on switches.

I'm also not convinced the defense will be as good as we hope this year, but using 2 years ago as the benchmark why is a mistake. JC is better than anyone we had at the point, our current wing defenders like Cain, Elliott, & Sam are better than JJ defensively, and both Theo & Matt are better defenders in this scheme than Luke.

[Jockey]

That defense is why i think people calling for a top 15 team are making a potentially huge miscalculation.  Just two years, we had haanif at point, (capable defender). jj on the wing (again more than capable), luke in the middle with shot blocking ability, and Katin on the wing, good size n decent athleticism.  That team was putrid on defense just horrible.  So im not sure whats to say that this years defense is any better at all.

jjj was horrible defensively. My guess is that he currently resides somewhere in Barcelona in a bullfighting right. Luke was almost as bad.


jjj got steals; Luke got blocks. That is not playing good defense.

[Jockey]

BE should be fun. Nova had a great recruiting class and I like Gillespie, but I think they lose at least 5 games in league play.  That leaves things wide open.

[MU82]

luke in the middle with shot blocking ability

Yes, we can't possibly be as good or better at D this season because we no longer have the guy you proclaimed to be the worst center in the history of basketball.

Too funny.

[Boone]

NOW, he appreciates Luke?! What a joke!

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

JJJ was an enigma on defense. He actually was an excellent defender in most aspects but was historically bad at defending spot up jumpers...like bottom 5% of all division 1 bad. Some of that is just bad luck, shooters making shots, but some of it was his tendency to check out on defense. I still remember the Providence game where the huddle cam showed Wojo telling the team that Jalen Lindsey is a shooter and to stay in his pocket. Literally the next possession, Lindsey had the ball and JJJ was a few feet off him with his hands down. Lindsey nailed the shot.

Luke was a terrible post defender. Katin was solid, probably the second best defender on that team after Sam. Duane's defense was consistently overrated, was one of the worst on the team.

If you want to compare the two teams as individual defenders, this is how I would personally rank it:

1: SR Chartouny > FR Howard
2: JR Howard < SO Cheatham
3: JR S Hauser > SR Reinhardt
4: JR Morrow = FR Hauser
5: SR Heldt > SR Fischer
B1: FR J Hauser > JR Rowsey
B2: JR Anim > SO Heldt
B3: SO Elliott > JR Duane

[Nukem2]

JJJ was an enigma on defense. He actually was an excellent defender in most aspects but was historically bad at defending spot up jumpers...like bottom 5% of all division 1 bad. Some of that is just bad luck, shooters making shots, but some of it was his tendency to check out on defense. I still remember the Providence game where the huddle cam showed Wojo telling the team that Jalen Lindsey is a shooter and to stay in his pocket. Literally the next possession, Lindsey had the ball and JJJ was a few feet off him with his hands down. Lindsey nailed the shot.

Luke was a terrible post defender. Katin was solid, probably the second best defender on that team after Sam. Duane's defense was consistently overrated, was one of the worst on the team.

If you want to compare the two teams as individual defenders, this is how I would personally rank it:

1: SR Chartouny > FR Howard
2: JR Howard < SO Cheatham
3: JR S Hauser > SR Reinhardt
4: JR Morrow = FR Hauser
5: SR Heldt > SR Fischer
B1: FR J Hauser > JR Rowsey
B2: JR Anim > SO Heldt
B3: SO Elliott > JR Duane

Katin wa solid....what planet were you on........??

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

Katin wa solid....what planet were you on........??

Second best defender on the team. His dPPP in th 60th percentile IIRC. Only one higher that season was Sam. Everyone else was below 50%.

[Nukem2]

Second best defender on the team. His dPPP in th 60th percentile IIRC. Only one higher that season was Sam. Everyone else was below 50%.

Uhh, in person view says far otherwise.  Katin could not guard his shadow.  Otoh, that really says also little about the rest of that team....   

[brewcity77]

Uhh, in person view says far otherwise.  Katin could not guard his shadow.  Otoh, that really says also little about the rest of that team....   

He said solid, not spectacular. Though it probably says as much about the eye test 

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

Uhh, in person view says far otherwise.  Katin could not guard his shadow.  Otoh, that really says also little about the rest of that team....   

It does. Katin was an average defender when compared to the rest of Division 1. The fact that an average defender was the second best on that team says a whole helluva lot.

I'll be honest, I've found that most fans' eye tests, myself included, are terrible at judging individual defenders. I like to stick to the numbers.

[1SE]

That picture. Theo with the 1000 yard stare, Sam looking for the exit, a few fans looking on in disdain, and then... the kid in the background ready to call it good!

[Mr. Sand-Knit]

My issue on the defense was not that those guys were good defenders.  We clearly were demonstrated that they were friggin horrible. Yet i used two years ago because it was a much older team than last year.  Bottom line haanif started most games at point solid defender, jj no reason as a good athkete n senior he could nt defend, wilso 4th year no good reason so horrible, katin same, luke 6'11 could block a shot lack of athleticism but should not have been horrible.  My point is we had an old senior laden team n they sucked.
Last year young team were an embarrassment too.  This year gonna be good on defense?  Dont see it.  If wojo cannot prove to have a clue on defense this year i think the wojo experiment needs to be over.  The recruiting will dry up and even if it doesnt if he cant coach defense what will it matter.
  Hope im wrong but we very well may prove to not be as good offensively and every bit as big of a national embarrassment on defense.
Call me a debbie downer, but not sure what anyone has seen that indicates that this team/coaching staff is committed to defense, toughness, getting stops or a defense wins championships metality

[Floorslapper]

Think the most fascinating dynamic going into this season is:

The delta between Rowsey and Chartouney.

The roster got a year older, and with the addition of a highly regarded recruit with a half season head start (Joey) - those things bode well for the team being improved.  Furthermore, the Big East is down, talent-wise this year.

That all said, the polar opposite type of players Rowsey and Chartouney are, is a fascinating juxtaposition.  The defense most definitely should be improved, yet will it be enough?  I personally doubt it will improve to be a Top 20 type of defense.  Our O with Rowsey last year was 12th in the country - and Rowsey had a MAJOR impact on us being that good.

[Its DJOver]

My issue on the defense was not that those guys were good defenders.  We clearly were demonstrated that they were friggin horrible. Yet i used two years ago because it was a much older team than last year.  Bottom line haanif started most games at point solid defender, jj no reason as a good athkete n senior he could nt defend, wilso 4th year no good reason so horrible, katin same, luke 6'11 could block a shot lack of athleticism but should not have been horrible.  My point is we had an old senior laden team n they sucked.
Last year young team were an embarrassment too.  This year gonna be good on defense?  Dont see it.  If wojo cannot prove to have a clue on defense this year i think the wojo experiment needs to be over.  The recruiting will dry up and even if it doesnt if he cant coach defense what will it matter.
  Hope im wrong but we very well may prove to not be as good offensively and every bit as big of a national embarrassment on defense.
Call me a debbie downer, but not sure what anyone has seen that indicates that this team/coaching staff is committed to defense, toughness, getting stops or a defense wins championships metality

You seem to equate experience and defensive ability, and I think that is only partially correct.  I think Matt is a better post defender than Theo because he has had more experience defending the post so your assertion works here.  However, our worst defender last year was our only senior.  If AR had another year of eligibility I'm sure he would have another stellar offensive campaign, however, that extra year of experience would do absolutely nothing on the defensive end.  Being a year older will help the likes of Greg and Jamal defensively, but Markus will never be classified as a good defender, no matter how experienced he is.

Your idea works, except when it doesn't work, I fully expect Sophmore Jamal or Greg to be better defensively than Senior JJJ or Junior Duane.

[MU82]

Think the most fascinating dynamic going into this season is:

The delta between Rowsey and Chartouney.

The roster got a year older, and with the addition of a highly regarded recruit with a half season head start (Joey) - those things bode well for the team being improved.  Furthermore, the Big East is down, talent-wise this year.

That all said, the polar opposite type of players Rowsey and Chartouney are, is a fascinating juxtaposition.  The defense most definitely should be improved, yet will it be enough?  I personally doubt it will improve to be a Top 20 type of defense.  Our O with Rowsey last year was 12th in the country - and Rowsey had a MAJOR impact on us being that good.

Reasonable and well-reasoned post. Nicely done, Ners.

There are other differences besides the addition of Joey and JCS for AR, but I do agree that the latter should be interesting to watch -- and it will go a long way to determining how good we can be.

[wadesworld]

Think the most fascinating dynamic going into this season is:

The delta between Rowsey and Chartouney.

The roster got a year older, and with the addition of a highly regarded recruit with a half season head start (Joey) - those things bode well for the team being improved.  Furthermore, the Big East is down, talent-wise this year.

That all said, the polar opposite type of players Rowsey and Chartouney are, is a fascinating juxtaposition.  The defense most definitely should be improved, yet will it be enough?  I personally doubt it will improve to be a Top 20 type of defense.  Our O with Rowsey last year was 12th in the country - and Rowsey had a MAJOR impact on us being that good.

Our defense will improve far more than our offense falters.

Nobody in their right mind would expect this team to be a top 20 type defense, I'm not sure anybody on MUScoop has said they expect (or even hope for) that.  If they are a top 20 type defense look out, we might very well be the favorite for a National Title if it is.

[Its DJOver]

Think the most fascinating dynamic going into this season is:

The delta between Rowsey and Chartouney.

The roster got a year older, and with the addition of a highly regarded recruit with a half season head start (Joey) - those things bode well for the team being improved.  Furthermore, the Big East is down, talent-wise this year.

That all said, the polar opposite type of players Rowsey and Chartouney are, is a fascinating juxtaposition.  The defense most definitely should be improved, yet will it be enough?  I personally doubt it will improve to be a Top 20 type of defense.  Our O with Rowsey last year was 12th in the country - and Rowsey had a MAJOR impact on us being that good.

I may have missed something, but I haven't seen anyone predict a top 20 defense.  The highest I have seen predicted is top 50, which I think is overly optimistic.  I would be more than happy with a top 100 defense.

[MU82]

Yeah, we ain't gonna be a top-20 defense, nor do we have to be. Otherwise, I had no problem with Ners' thesis.

[Floorslapper]

I may have missed something, but I haven't seen anyone predict a top 20 defense.  The highest I have seen predicted is top 50, which I think is overly optimistic.  I would be more than happy with a top 100 defense.

Right.  My point was we were 12th in the Nation in offense, and I believe Andrew played a MAJOR role in us achieving that status.  Despite all the talent on the team this upcoming year, there will be regression offensively, and there should be improvement defensively.  Question being the delta on both metrics, and how that plays out.

Elite Offenses were highly predictive of high level success last season:  3 Number 1 seeds were in Top 10 in OEfficiency. (Virginia being the one who was not, and as we saw, got defeated in Round 1).  3 Number 2 seeds were also in Top 10 in OEfficiency.

Defense is important, yet I feel with the 3-point shot impacting hoops so much, Elite Offense is now far more predictive of success, than elite/good defense.