Johns Hopkins 2021

[viper]

Did anybody catch the zoom Q and A with the coaches today at 4PM? Any interesting takes?

[HopFan16]

Did anybody catch the zoom Q and A with the coaches today at 4PM? Any interesting takes?

Was this invite-only?

[Chitown]

Did anybody catch the zoom Q and A with the coaches today at 4PM? Any interesting takes?

Was this invite-only?

I listened. I am very encouraged and hopeful. All 3 coaches and the athletic Director, The new volunteer assistant is the Asst. Coach from Amherst who has been voted the Div. 3 Asst Coach of the year. The Coaches have a sense of humor and a purpose. The offense will be more open and ball sharing ( I took that to mean more cutting and less one-on-one). They expect to score more goals than in the past. The Def. Coach will be in charge of FOs. They clearly have a "Plan". They don't intend to have a 60 person roster. It will be smaller. The schedule will be "revised" but they seem to want to keep Navy. They are looking at the Transfer Portal. They said , with the affirmation of the AD, that they feel that they have the full support of the Admin.

I have good vibes from the discussion.

[HopFan16]

The new volunteer assistant is the Asst. Coach from Amherst who has been voted the Div. 3 Asst Coach of the year.

Dan Annino?

I wonder if this puts us in play for the Amherst first team All-American SSDM (Jimmy McAfee) who is still in the transfer portal. Kid has 200 GBs in his career.

[DocBarrister]

Did anybody catch the zoom Q and A with the coaches today at 4PM? Any interesting takes?

Was this invite-only?

I listened. I am very encouraged and hopeful. All 3 coaches and the athletic Director, The new volunteer assistant is the Asst. Coach from Amherst who has been voted the Div. 3 Asst Coach of the year. The Coaches have a sense of humor and a purpose. The offense will be more open and ball sharing ( I took that to mean more cutting and less one-on-one). They expect to score more goals than in the past. The Def. Coach will be in charge of FOs. They clearly have a "Plan". They don't intend to have a 60 person roster. It will be smaller. The schedule will be "revised" but they seem to want to keep Navy. They are looking at the Transfer Portal. They said , with the affirmation of the AD, that they feel that they have the full support of the Admin.

I have good vibes from the discussion.

Great to hear.

Thanks for the report, Chitown!

DocBarrister

[DocBarrister]

The new volunteer assistant is the Asst. Coach from Amherst who has been voted the Div. 3 Asst Coach of the year.

Dan Annino?

I wonder if this puts us in play for the Amherst first team All-American SSDM (Jimmy McAfee) who is still in the transfer portal. Kid has 200 GBs in his career.

That would be terrific! Would meet a real area of need (SSDM).

Coach Annino is a great get.

It’s clear Coach Milliman knows where the most improvement is needed.

DocBarrister

[Chitown]

A few more things. Coach M said he has heard from lots of Hopkins Lacrosse Alumni. all who have said they are supportive and would like to do whatever he asks to make the Program successful and very competitive. (that is the JHU lacrosse alumni that I know).

He also said that he is not going to recruit just "top 100 HS ranked players". He wants team players and young men who want to come to JHU and get a first class education. All 3 coaches emphasized that they want mature "team players", not players who just want to be stars. Coach M was asked why he didn't graduate in 4 years, He said he was immature and really didn't grow up until he was 35. He said that he, as a coach, wouldn't recruit himself, as a player, now. He does have a sense of humor (all the other coaches laughed when he said that). That is the sort of attitude that connects with players -- credibility. Coach M sells well.

This Coaching Staff comes across as focused, serious but with a sense of humor. I have "hope" and so should all JHU fans.

[DocBarrister]

A few more things. Coach M said he has heard from lots of Hopkins Lacrosse Alumni. all who have said they are supportive and would like to do whatever he asks to make the Program successful and very competitive. (that is the JHU lacrosse alumni that I know).

He also said that he is not going to recruit just "top 100 HS ranked players". He wants team players and young men who want to come to JHU and get a first class education. All 3 coaches emphasized that they want mature "team players", not players who just want to be stars. Coach M was asked why he didn't graduate in 4 years, He said he was immature and really didn't grow up until he was 35. He said that he, as a coach, wouldn't recruit himself, as a player, now. He does have a sense of humor (all the other coaches laughed when he said that). That is the sort of attitude that connects with players -- credibility. Coach M sells well.

This Coaching Staff comes across as focused, serious but with a sense of humor. I have "hope" and so should all JHU fans.

Thanks, Chitown.

I like the new approach. The new staff is no doubt serious about winning, but sounds like fun will be an important part of the Hopkins experience.

Never felt comfortable when the Hopkins players described having a “job” on the team. Playing lacrosse should never be a “job” in college ... it should be fun, keeping in mind that winning is a prerequisite for having fun playing lacrosse.

DocBarrister

[51percentcorn]

I like the new approach. The new staff is no doubt serious about winning, but sounds like fun will be an important part of the Hopkins experience.

That would be terrific! Would meet a real area of need (SSDM).

Coach Annino is a great get.

It’s clear Coach Milliman knows where the most improvement is needed.

This is where credibility goes out the window - not that it was in residence before.
First off - sincerely doubt you could pick Dan Annino or Jimmy McAfee out of a lineup or have seen Amherst play lacrosse recently so how do you assess that they are just what is needed or great gets - all you know is that someone told you they won some DIII awards. They may very well be a combo of great gets but of course no one is saying Hopkins is interested in McAfee or vice versa and in addition - unlike Larry Quinn - we have zero clue as to Mr. Annino's duties.

And how exactly is"fun" in the equation and what exactly is the new approach? Last time I checked Petro was not guilty of any of the reverse to the things Milliman apparently said according to Chitown. He did not only recruit Top 100 players - IMO the issue was more he recruited every player. Petro was always emphasizing team - as evidenced by the "do Your job" Belichick mantra of a year or two ago and the accountability mantra of this year. If you wanted to congratulate Petro on anything - I think graduation rate has to at the top of the list. So I am having trouble identifying the new approach - undoubtedly PM/JK/JGJR will have new schemes and ways to approach things - I am also pretty confident No one out side of those 3 could identify them yet.

And finally, of course, there is the fact you were one of the clear advocates to give Petro another year. If that had come to pass you would be currently lauding his '21 mantra, his transfer acquisitions as exactly what Hopkins needs and how this team has the talent to compete with anyone blah blah blah.

The facts of the case are these:
PM/JK/JGJR/DA need to:
- Even with the Ohio State transfer - need to identify the goalie and figure out what to do with the 5 or 6 goalies you might have
- Completely overhaul both divisions of the defense - Close and Defensive Mid-field - Fernandez helps
- Allocate offensive playing time and obtain buy-in from alot of people and too many attackmen
- Overall face the unpleasant task of shrinking the roster and obtaining buy-in from likely 55+ people of which you maybe had a hand in having 3 or 4 of them on campus
- Figure out what the rule changes on the face-offs do to your FO crew - Hopkins is not exactly world renowned for wing play - If these rule changes reduce the ability of the Hopkins face-off men to win the ball to themselves and instead create more ground ball opportunities that's a huge adjustment for the players - again Fernandez should help

All the while hampered by the pandemic (as all teams are) - not easy - and it will take time.

[WOMBAT, Mod Emeritus]

I like the new approach. The new staff is no doubt serious about winning, but sounds like fun will be an important part of the Hopkins experience.

That would be terrific! Would meet a real area of need (SSDM).

Coach Annino is a great get.

It’s clear Coach Milliman knows where the most improvement is needed.

This is where credibility goes out the window - not that it was in residence before.
First off - sincerely doubt you could pick Dan Annino or Jimmy McAfee out of a lineup or have seen Amherst play lacrosse recently so how do you assess that they are just what is needed or great gets - all you know is that someone told you they won some DIII awards. They may very well be a combo of great gets but of course no one is saying Hopkins is interested in McAfee or vice versa and in addition - unlike Larry Quinn - we have zero clue as to Mr. Annino's duties.

And how exactly is"fun" in the equation and what exactly is the new approach? Last time I checked Petro was not guilty of any of the reverse to the things Milliman apparently said according to Chitown. He did not only recruit Top 100 players - IMO the issue was more he recruited every player. Petro was always emphasizing team - as evidenced by the "do Your job" Belichick mantra of a year or two ago and the accountability mantra of this year. If you wanted to congratulate Petro on anything - I think graduation rate has to at the top of the list. So I am having trouble identifying the new approach - undoubtedly PM/JK/JGJR will have new schemes and ways to approach things - I am also pretty confident No one out side of those 3 could identify them yet.

And finally, of course, there is the fact you were one of the clear advocates to give Petro another year. If that had come to pass you would be currently lauding his '21 mantra, his transfer acquisitions as exactly what Hopkins needs and how this team has the talent to compete with anyone blah blah blah.

The facts of the case are these:
PM/JK/JGJR/DA need to:
- Even with the Ohio State transfer - need to identify the goalie and figure out what to do with the 5 or 6 goalies you might have
- Completely overhaul both divisions of the defense - Close and Defensive Mid-field - Fernandez helps
- Allocate offensive playing time and obtain buy-in from alot of people and too many attackmen
- Overall face the unpleasant task of shrinking the roster and obtaining buy-in from likely 55+ people of which you maybe had a hand in having 3 or 4 of them on campus
- Figure out what the rule changes on the face-offs do to your FO crew - Hopkins is not exactly world renowned for wing play - If these rule changes reduce the ability of the Hopkins face-off men to win the ball to themselves and instead create more ground ball opportunities that's a huge adjustment for the players - again Fernandez should help

All the while hampered by the pandemic (as all teams are) - not easy - and it will take time.

+100

Right up there with other predictions, Nifong, et al.

[viper]

A few more things. Coach M said he has heard from lots of Hopkins Lacrosse Alumni. all who have said they are supportive and would like to do whatever he asks to make the Program successful and very competitive. (that is the JHU lacrosse alumni that I know).

He also said that he is not going to recruit just "top 100 HS ranked players". He wants team players and young men who want to come to JHU and get a first class education. All 3 coaches emphasized that they want mature "team players", not players who just want to be stars. Coach M was asked why he didn't graduate in 4 years, He said he was immature and really didn't grow up until he was 35. He said that he, as a coach, wouldn't recruit himself, as a player, now. He does have a sense of humor (all the other coaches laughed when he said that). That is the sort of attitude that connects with players -- credibility. Coach M sells well.

This Coaching Staff comes across as focused, serious but with a sense of humor. I have "hope" and so should all JHU fans.

I caught the last half of the meeting. Just as an FYI, there were several questions posted by those Hopkins Lacrosse Alumni - Mike Pellegrino and Rich Glancy were two that I heard mentioned, I suspect they were in attendance as well.

[nrthcrosslax]

Is the Q and A possibly archived somewhere for replay?

[HopFan16]

Is the Q and A possibly archived somewhere for replay?

Sounds like it was only for lacrosse alums.

There's no doubt DocB doesn't know who Jimmy McAfee is and would probably be saying the same upbeat things no matter who the coach was or what any of the context surrounding the offseason was, but to me it's pretty much a victimless crime....if he wants to be a relentless optimist I'm not going to get in the guy's way. Doesn't really affect anyone much IMO.

Anyway, Annino's hiring was reported by Chris Jast: https://twitter.com/Chris_Jast/status/1 ... 0363157505

I don't know anything about the guy other than what's in his bio but I do think it makes some degree of sense that the volunteer assistant has experience playing with a pole in college given that the other three coaches do not. Not that Milliman or Koesterer can't teach the position but sometimes it helps having a guy around who can empathize. Now all we need is a DOLO and the Avengers will have assembled.

[DocBarrister]

I like the new approach. The new staff is no doubt serious about winning, but sounds like fun will be an important part of the Hopkins experience.

That would be terrific! Would meet a real area of need (SSDM).

Coach Annino is a great get.

It’s clear Coach Milliman knows where the most improvement is needed.

This is where credibility goes out the window - not that it was in residence before.
First off - sincerely doubt you could pick Dan Annino or Jimmy McAfee out of a lineup or have seen Amherst play lacrosse recently so how do you assess that they are just what is needed or great gets - all you know is that someone told you they won some DIII awards. They may very well be a combo of great gets but of course no one is saying Hopkins is interested in McAfee or vice versa and in addition - unlike Larry Quinn - we have zero clue as to Mr. Annino's duties.

And how exactly is"fun" in the equation and what exactly is the new approach? Last time I checked Petro was not guilty of any of the reverse to the things Milliman apparently said according to Chitown. He did not only recruit Top 100 players - IMO the issue was more he recruited every player. Petro was always emphasizing team - as evidenced by the "do Your job" Belichick mantra of a year or two ago and the accountability mantra of this year. If you wanted to congratulate Petro on anything - I think graduation rate has to at the top of the list. So I am having trouble identifying the new approach - undoubtedly PM/JK/JGJR will have new schemes and ways to approach things - I am also pretty confident No one out side of those 3 could identify them yet.

And finally, of course, there is the fact you were one of the clear advocates to give Petro another year. If that had come to pass you would be currently lauding his '21 mantra, his transfer acquisitions as exactly what Hopkins needs and how this team has the talent to compete with anyone blah blah blah.

The facts of the case are these:
PM/JK/JGJR/DA need to:
- Even with the Ohio State transfer - need to identify the goalie and figure out what to do with the 5 or 6 goalies you might have
- Completely overhaul both divisions of the defense - Close and Defensive Mid-field - Fernandez helps
- Allocate offensive playing time and obtain buy-in from alot of people and too many attackmen
- Overall face the unpleasant task of shrinking the roster and obtaining buy-in from likely 55+ people of which you maybe had a hand in having 3 or 4 of them on campus
- Figure out what the rule changes on the face-offs do to your FO crew - Hopkins is not exactly world renowned for wing play - If these rule changes reduce the ability of the Hopkins face-off men to win the ball to themselves and instead create more ground ball opportunities that's a huge adjustment for the players - again Fernandez should help

All the while hampered by the pandemic (as all teams are) - not easy - and it will take time.

+100

Right up there with other predictions, Nifong, et al.

A person who supported Trump for president has no business judging me on anything, lacrosse or otherwise.

DocBarrister

[DocBarrister]

Is the Q and A possibly archived somewhere for replay?

Sounds like it was only for lacrosse alums.

There's no doubt DocB doesn't know who Jimmy McAfee is and would probably be saying the same upbeat things no matter who the coach was or what any of the context surrounding the offseason was, but to me it's pretty much a victimless crime....if he wants to be a relentless optimist I'm not going to get in the guy's way. Doesn't really affect anyone much IMO.

Anyway, Annino's hiring was reported by Chris Jast: https://twitter.com/Chris_Jast/status/1 ... 0363157505

I don't know anything about the guy other than what's in his bio but I do think it makes some degree of sense that the volunteer assistant has experience playing with a pole in college given that the other three coaches do not. Not that Milliman or Koesterer can't teach the position but sometimes it helps having a guy around who can empathize. Now all we need is a DOLO and the Avengers will have assembled.

What is so hard to understand?

We have a Division III assistant coach of the year who is now our volunteer coach. How is that not a good get?

We may be able to get a SSDM who has 200 career gbs. How is that not good?

Some things are complicated ... like my day job.

Some things are not.

DocBarrister

[Sagittarius A*]

Is the Q and A possibly archived somewhere for replay?

Sounds like it was only for lacrosse alums.

There's no doubt DocB doesn't know who Jimmy McAfee is and would probably be saying the same upbeat things no matter who the coach was or what any of the context surrounding the offseason was, but to me it's pretty much a victimless crime....if he wants to be a relentless optimist I'm not going to get in the guy's way. Doesn't really affect anyone much IMO.

Anyway, Annino's hiring was reported by Chris Jast: https://twitter.com/Chris_Jast/status/1 ... 0363157505

I don't know anything about the guy other than what's in his bio but I do think it makes some degree of sense that the volunteer assistant has experience playing with a pole in college given that the other three coaches do not. Not that Milliman or Koesterer can't teach the position but sometimes it helps having a guy around who can empathize. Now all we need is a DOLO and the Avengers will have assembled.

It says Annino was both a Defensive and Recruiting Coordinator. He appears to have a little background on Wall Street as well. I'm sure that couldn't hurt with recruiting.

It makes sense. If JAMO works with the team's face-off men, then you would need someone to work with the Defense while he does that. Also he could teach specific D stick skills like taking the ball away etc. This allows Milliman to focus more on the offensive side of the field with JGJR.
2021 will certainly be interesting.

[jhu06]

-Thanks to those of you who posted the notes.
-to me mcafee is a computer software program. I will confess I'm not an amherst lacrosse insider-they are the ephs right? Marcus Camby and Edgar Padilla and Carmelo Travieso and Callipari once took them to a ff I believe. A banner that had to be taken down.
-Great the alumni are rallying around him. Better to see the program succeed than have 3-5 years of knocking shanahan like a pinata. Although we may do that anyway.
-we all drink the koolaid. Last year I predicted 9-4 w/a quarterfinal loss.
-one of the few areas here that did not cause mass fury and consternation in recent years was the recruiting rankings. Petro was almost always a top 5 guy. Similar to how Al Davis used to bring in flashy fast players, or the mets/knicks/red sox/yankees/eagles were always bringing in flashy trades/offseasons. I guess we're headed for quieter more balanced classes where maybe we don't get the top 5 guys leaving more $$ for him to get better depth. I don't remember any of us getting upset that Petro was hauling in top rated kids. I pointed out that the 07 team had maybe 45 kids w/3 walkons. Having fewer players, you can focus more on what you've got, give them more $ to come. I also always liked the walkons. I knew some of the 07 walkons and they were great to see on campus.
-I don't have a problem w/millimans past. A lot of people peak too early in life and can't handle it. these kids at Hopkins w/stuff like this message board have a different kind of challenge and having a coach especially in these times who has faced his own adversity and come through it I'm sure can help.
-Not sure what room there is on the schedule. B1G/cuse/unc/princeton/loyola/towson w/navy/uva lurking what real room is there. You need an autobid team probably in state to save on costs. Maybe fall ball/spring related although post corona budgets.

[Chitown]

Size of Lacrosse Squad?

Out of curiosity, I counted the number of players on my JHU Team my senior year:--- 34 Players and we were National Champions. Approx. the same numbers on my Sophomore and Junior year Teams. Of course there was a Freshmen Team, but only 8-10 of those players would be expected to make the Varsity the next year. That was plenty of players to practice and improve.

Why have squads become so huge? How can they effectively practice everyday? Why would you want to stand around at practice if you are in the 40-60 range group? That can't be fun. That can't be a learning process.

What is the answer?

[51percentcorn]

'06 you are confusing UMass (which is in Amherst) with Amherst College - Marcus Camby did not attend Amherst I can assure you.

BTW - I am not saying Annino's hiring doesn't make sense or that it won't work out. All I am saying is I wouldn't know him from Adam and therefore I am not going to offer that it's some incredible hire that only Johns Hopkins could possibly execute.

It appears - key word - that Milliman has hired a staff that is relatively young - energetic - and has created some buzz. It also appears he is trying to push the right buttons such as engaging lacrosse alumni.

Let's give them a moment to try and get their collective $&!+ together and see what the product on the field looks like when we get back to actually playing the game.

An organization (that I am unfortunately painfully aware at how inept they are) known as the Washington Redskins until very recently had a President and COO that had an absurd amount of out of touch quotes but the one Bruce Allen was most famous and excoriated for was when he said the Redskins were "winning OFF the field".

Let's try to win ON the field before drawing all these pollyanna conclusions

[HopFan16]

Hopkins isn't the only team with a bloated roster. The growth of the game likely has something to do with it. There are a lot more kids playing lacrosse these days than there used to be. More good players. Instead of getting more selective, I think a lot of coaches continued making room for all of these players, going well beyond the point where numbers helped and into the territory where they hurt team chemistry/development/finances. But I predict the Covid-19 debacle might ironically lead a lot of staffs to reassess their numbers and trim the fat.

If roughly 22-25 guys play in any given game, then to me something in the vicinity of 45-50 total makes sense, which would equate to about 1 "backup" for every guy who gets playing time (obviously, the # of backups varies by position). You probably could get away with 35-40 this day and age but given the increased prevalence of injuries, it might be prudent to go a bit higher if you can afford it.

So if we start the fall with 60+, I'd expect to see anywhere from, say, 8 to 12 cuts. Or perhaps more guys go the way of Gomez, so by the time September rolls around, you don't actually have to make too many more decisions. Just my estimation—the coaches may have very different plans.