Let's run the table in Brooklyn.

Powwwww!

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Let's go Braden!

The reason Edwards was not playing was that he was giving up as many points defensively as he was gaining offensively. And remember early in the year Hutty looked horrible..was dropping everything that came his way. He sat on the bench for about 8 games and when he returned he has played well. Edwards also hit a cold streak from 3 early on and not only played poorly defensively he had not adapted to the offense and was bogging it down and making turnovers. Also the time that Edwards had to sit out before the season started really set him back. Practice is really important. How well the 2nd and 3rd teams play in practice has a great effect on how the team progresses. We had Kennedy and Edwards out of practice for a significant time which meant we had a ton of newbies running around in practice that did not know what they were doing. This made our learning curve pretty darn flat early on. Credit to Hutty and Edwards for continuing to work hard and improve and meet their mark and get back in the rotation. I think we will see Hutty as Goldens career is over for all practical purposes.
Edwards last two performances and Hutty's improvement create some hope for next year.

Some thoughts:

1). After watching A10 basketball this year I have come to the following conclusions:

A). While the A10 is taller, more athletic than the MVC, the players are not necessarily better or great basketball players.
B). I really think it won’t be that hard to move up. If we run and play LUC basketball with better athletes we will be fine. Key is buy in to the system and pay attention to offensive and defensive details. Some of the teams ahead of us are not that good and they won 2-5 games more than we did. We hung in during a year where we have been awful in so many ways. We easily could have won 4-6 more games.
C). The broadcast teams in the A10 are generally not good. The clowns doing the game were terrible. The play by play guy couldn’t get names right or even who was in the game half the time. The color guys was embarrassing. Every foul was a bad foul. All he did was whine the entire game. Terrible and made the broadcast tough to watch. I think he forgot it was a NATIONAL broadcast. He was commenting like he was on the LaSalle college radio station.

2). Sheldon Edward’s should have played more, but I have a feeling he may not have been physically right. He broke his hand and when he came back he looked like he hurt his leg in some way as he was limping around. The last couple of games he has been moving free and easy and looks like the kid who terrorized us when he was at Valpo.

3). Hutson is a mystery. He has done well during the 2nd half of the season. His hustle, aggression, size have had impacts on the game. Hope he stays, but it seems like he is leaving.

4). Let’s go to Brooklyn and get 1 or 2 and serve notice to the A10 that we are coming for them next year.

I have no info one way or the other, but I don't know why everyone's convinced Hutty is leaving.

All credit to him for being a great teammate and for being ready to contribute when he got the chance. He's been noticeably more aggressive and super strong with the ball on catches and rebounds. Great adjustment by him.

He and Rubin should be able to combine for 30-40 minutes a game next year.

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The La Salle ESPN + broadcast yesterday was not national. The ESPN+ streams are produced (almost always) by the host team, which means they try to make it attractive to their fans. I believe in the Philadelphia market there's an NBC Sports cable station, so they might pick up the ESPN + productions like NBC Chicago does for some of our games done on ESPN +. Otherwise, they're available for streaming anywhere around the globe. But it's almost always a home team production, which decides the announcers, etc. (La Salle has some severe money problems and enrollment issues, which might explain the lack of upgrades on their production and equipment.)

I think there's no reason for Hutson to leave, and I don't know why people think he will. He's invested a lot in this program, and vice versa. It's hard to imagine coach not having a lot of confidence in him after Saturday's performance (not to mention great minutes against URI). Per 40 minutes, he's our 6th best scorer, 3rd best rebounder, and tied for best shot blocker. If he has two more years after this, he could be a 20+ mpg player next year and a focal player in the league in his final season. Hutty and Rubin on the court together could be the best rim protection in the league.

As far as the MVC vs A-10 talent comparisons, I have trouble thinking of many MVC players that I think would thrive in the A-10..... Bradley's Malevy Lyons, maybe? Tucker DeVries, probably. That's about it. Dayton, VCU, or St. Louis might go 16-2 or better in the MVC if they were dropped in instead of Belmont or Murray State. The last two teams we played-- Rhode Island and La Salle-- would both finish around 4th or 5th in the MVC instead of 11th and 14th in the A-10.

Lastly, I'm starting to understand that the assistants are more important in the A-10 also. You can't just have yes-men, you have to have people who know how to relate at different levels with different players, at different positions.... and be motivators..... and be able to coach big men with footwork... scouting opponents..... charting trends.... advanced analytics.... showing up at big games for unsigned recruits.... it never ends...

1. Wouldn't that be something if we made some noise in Brooklynn !
2. Would be curious if the people who have made comments about Hutty leaving have some info or if it is just speculation based on his being benched. The only news I have heard is that he was the best during his incarceration . A great team mate who continued to practice hard and support the team.
3. But we will have to wait to see what the transfer portal brings..both ways. You have to wonder if Welch, Norris and Kennedy all come back (which seems to be the case on not being honored on senior night) if the young guys (Dawson, Lewis, Quinn) decide that they could get more playing time or whatever and head for what they see as greener pastures aka Ty Johnson. Guess we will have to wait and see.
4. I am most intrigued by Trey Lewis who I thought played well in France, was an big time scorer in high school..and for what it is worth looks silky smooth in warm ups...how is that for a stretch on anticipating a players ability?

Just wanted to bump this because someone reminded me on Twitter today that Alston played three years at Cal U., so next year should be his last.

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