Putting it All Together

Yesterday’s win over Marquette was the most satisfying game of the year for me. Not just that Cuse beat a ranked opponent by double-figures; nor that they finished off the season with a big victory in front of an appreciative and loud crowd. But that they played well, and played hard for forty minutes. Even the Georgetown game, arguably a more important win for the Orange, saw lapses in the intensity of play, allowing the Hoyas runs of ten or more points on more than one occasion, and thereby keeping the Orange from pulling away. Against Marquette, the Cuse never let up, and once they had a double-digit lead with over ten minutes to play, the lead never slipped beneath ten. We never had one of those spells where we fell asleep even for a couple minutes; and we never gave Marquette any chance to reel off a series of easy baskets.

Partly it was intensity, with KO setting the tone for the game. His steal, where he wrestled the ball away underneath Marquette’s basket, followed by his coast to coast two hand slam, hard foul and free throw, giving him a three-point play, made all the highlight reels. Deservedly so, as it was the emotional highlight of the entire game. But his blocks, his alley-oop dunks, and even a simple reach in foul, that stopped an eagle fast break, were noteworthy. The latter play wasn’t just a reach-in; he hammered Marquette’s guard, and the kid went down. Probably it was this foul which led later to the wrestling match in Marquette’s lane, which ended in a body-slam, although it was hard to tell who slammed whom. In any event, KO played tough all day, and seemed to inspire the rest of the team. Too often this year, only PH has played tough underneath. Yesterday, Orange didn’t get pushed around.

Another part though was smarter play. AO and Donte had height advantages on their defenders, and scored repeatedly underneath. In fact, had Donte not thrown a fit midway in the second half, arguing foolishly with one of the refs, and drawing two fouls in thirty seconds, he might have had his best game of the year. But he pretty much sat down from then on. Before that, he was shooting well, but was not settling for three-pointers. Instead, we got to see his inside game. His footwork is as good as Hakim’s was, and his shot is better. So when he plays down low, he’s far more effective than when he simply hangs around the three-point line. The box was instructive. Donte went only 1 for 4 for threes, but ended up 8 for 14 overall. Too often this year, when the outside shot was off, he never went inside; but he never stopped shooting; and he ended up one for twelve, or something like that.

Along with the smarter play went better ball protection – fewer turnovers. I like when Scoop and Flynn are on the court at the same time. Even though we lose the height advantage, the offense seems to flow better, and it’s much easier for the team to play up tempo. But even without Scoop on the floor, there were fewer of those lazy passes; fewer unforced turnovers; just less dumb play overall.

This was a very young team after Devo got injured, and it took them time to learn to play consistently, and not to make silly mistakes. But the last two games of the year – Wednesday’s road win over Seton Hall, and yesterday’s victory in the Dome – they really looked like they were playing up to their potential. They’ll need a great Big East tournament to get an invite to the NCAAs, and it won’t be the end of the world if they play in the NIT. After all, we may get to see another couple games in the Dome. But as we like to say, wait till next year.