Johns Hopkins 2021

[molo]

IL midseason AA team is out. No one from Hopkins unless I missed someone.

[HopFan16]

Some interesting comments from PM in US Lax magazine:

“We’re trying to figure out the right combo,” Milliman said. “We’re still trying to mix things up. We’re trying to find guys who are playing consistently well and making good decisions, guys that are not costing us opportunities, guys that are helping us.”

“It’s a pretty simple formula,” Milliman said. “I’ve been coaching offense this way for a while. I think coach [John Grant Jr.] is very similar in that regard. It’s not so much derived from guys who can be quote-unquote playmakers, it’s guys that are not hurting us. Just keep the ball moving. We’re not throwing the ball very well, so guys aren’t catching great passes, and when they do get good passes, they’re not catching them well. When they do have opportunities, we don’t shoot well. It’s three pretty big areas. It’s not anything that we have to redraw our Xs and Os.”

He might not be wrong but when you lose to a Michigan team that you destroyed the first time out (right after losing to a Penn State team you also destroyed the first time out), you've got to look in the mirror. The other team made better adjustments. The gameplan stunk. Got worked by a Michigan zone defense? The plan on offense appeared to be just pass it around the perimeter over and over until Epstein took it upon himself to make some plays. You know, the guy they took out of the lineup for half the game.

I don't say that to pointlessly criticize the staff. They've made some good decisions too and it's far far too early to make any sort of declaration about them one way or the other. But it'd be nice if they took just a little bit of responsibility for the last few games.

[molo]

The tone is along the lines of,”We had a good game plan but didn’t execute.” After the Epstein comments that were at best tone deaf, the article continues a pattern of not exactly accepting responsibility whole heartedly.

[courtdog]

He seems like he is digging himself a deeper hole. He already didn't have the support of tons of alumni and I assume at this point in time he has lost a lot of respect from many hop loyalists. This guy is getting paid a whole lot of money at one of the best jobs in the history of this sport to sit there and lay the blame on everyone else.

[primitiveskills]

He seems like he is digging himself a deeper hole. He already didn't have the support of tons of alumni and I assume at this point in time he has lost a lot of respect from many hop loyalists. This guy is getting paid a whole lot of money at one of the best jobs in the history of this sport to sit there and lay the blame on everyone else.

Disagree. After years of empty coach-speak and lots of talk of accountability but no actual accountability, I think it's refreshing. His job is to win games. He does himself no favors if he tells the alumni what they want to hear, especially when everyone can see what's happening on the field.

[RumorMill]

Unfortunately just read the US Lax Mag article and am unimpressed like many of you have already stated. Regardless of what he is trying to do or say there are better ways to do it and not say it.

Since this last Michigan game and the flipped result seems to be the catalyst a simple eye test says a fair amount as well. HF16 who seems to have a pretty good perspective on things posted below after first Michigan win.

Haven't dug deep into the stats but:

- Epstein good
- DeSo good
- Angelus good
- Keogh good
- Szuluk good
- Reinson good
- Delaney way better, must have had 5-6 GBs at least
- Shorties better but still terrifying to watch
- Narewski first half good, second half bad
- Clearing no bueno

Congrats to Grimes on goal #1 and Milliman on win #1.

2nd game loss:
#32 doesn't start, runs out of the box, finally in position with 3 assists.
#3 still good
#23 3pts not bad
#24 didn't play
#44 didn't see much of him at all
#87 good
#55 stats not bad, but a big liability in 6v6. MI goals 6 & 7 in particular.
#39 good
Clearing 14-17 vs first game 20-23

Goaltending obviously an issue as well.

Good luck Saturday!

[jhu06]

Some interesting comments from PM in US Lax magazine:

“We’re trying to figure out the right combo,” Milliman said. “We’re still trying to mix things up. We’re trying to find guys who are playing consistently well and making good decisions, guys that are not costing us opportunities, guys that are helping us.”

“It’s a pretty simple formula,” Milliman said. “I’ve been coaching offense this way for a while. I think coach [John Grant Jr.] is very similar in that regard. It’s not so much derived from guys who can be quote-unquote playmakers, it’s guys that are not hurting us. Just keep the ball moving. We’re not throwing the ball very well, so guys aren’t catching great passes, and when they do get good passes, they’re not catching them well. When they do have opportunities, we don’t shoot well. It’s three pretty big areas. It’s not anything that we have to redraw our Xs and Os.”

Not entirely sure how I feel about these comments, the tone of which is frankly pretty negative and consistent with the statements he made about Epstein. Certainly seems like PM feels like a guys are making too many mistakes. Obviously, the offense isn't playing well, but does it really seem like that's primarily because guys aren't throwing and catching well? I'm just a guy on the internet, but it's really hard for me to see exactly what this offense is supposed to be. Maybe guys are making mistakes that we don't see because they don't really understand the system yet, but I actually do have some questions about the x's and o's. I guess I should watch some Cornell games from the last couple years. Hopefully, the system doesn't require a Jeff Teat to be successful.

Honesty, accountability, and transparency. Love this. No one should be worried about the feelings of a 4-10 veteran group. Maybe espn can find its you know whats and allow live mics for coaches as it used to do w/lacrosse so we can hear him in action.

[51percentcorn]

I think Milliman and staff have had a virtually impossible task - for all the known reasons. The quotes are very interesting - you can either take them as much required and refreshing honesty or a penchant for not accepting responsibility. I haven't fallen on either side of the fence - I agree with the observations he is offering but I don't think he HAS to offer commentary that can be construed as throwing players under the bus. I think the one thing that someone could take issue with is the fact that while he was at Cornell - he had access to a playmaker of the highest order - 104 goals and 137 assists in 3 years - so I can't say whether the success of his offense is separate from having a Jeff Teat or not. I am happy he believes it - so assuming the country doesn't take a huge step back - next year should be better since there very well could be a fall and a "spring" practice season before games start.

I would also say that I - as certainly most of us - don't know what's happening on the practice field or in the locker room. I like the tone he takes in the alumni updates - for example he accepted responsibility for messing with the line-up too much - but then outside of that he let's a quote go out in an article saying that he's still mixing things up. It shouldn't be that hard to provide some honesty AND consistency - accept some responsibility - and strike the right tone. No one disagrees - that I can see - with what he's saying - the passing against Michigan was God awful. Even passes that weren't turnovers were not on the player's stick - not even close.

Here's my few minute whack at the US Lax quotes;
"Obviously, we have not played well for the last two games. A shot percentage of 20 and 26 percent with 30 turnovers is not going to produce wins - especially at the BIG10 level (at almost any level). We all have to accept responsibility and do a better job. The coaches have to put the right players in the right positions to have success - the players have to do a better job on paying attention to the little details and fundamentals that execute the offensive and defensive schemes successfully. We especially need to improve on the 3 primary offensive fundamentals of passing, catching and shooting. As elementary as that sounds once that happens goals per game will increase. We all have to improve on not shrinking from the moment and raise our level of competitiveness. We believe in what we are doing as a staff in terms of the X's and O's and we need to execute better as a team and then we will see more successful outcomes."

[nrthcrosslax]

“It’s a pretty simple formula,” Milliman said. “I’ve been coaching offense this way for a while. I think coach [John Grant Jr.] is very similar in that regard. It’s not so much derived from guys who can be quote-unquote playmakers, it’s guys that are not hurting us. Just keep the ball moving. We’re not throwing the ball very well, so guys aren’t catching great passes, and when they do get good passes, they’re not catching them well. When they do have opportunities, we don’t shoot well. It’s three pretty big areas. It’s not anything that we have to redraw our Xs and Os.”

He's not wrong tho

[flalax22]

I still don’t understand the reduction of your best players minutes but I do believe PM is going to remake this program that fits his vision. That is going to take time and his frankness in the media leads me to believe there will be significant changes after the season. I think the transfer portal may be a little more active than usual with Blue Jays. Let’s not forget this coach jettisoned his best returning young player prior to the season starting.

[ohmilax34]

“It’s a pretty simple formula,” Milliman said. “I’ve been coaching offense this way for a while. I think coach [John Grant Jr.] is very similar in that regard. It’s not so much derived from guys who can be quote-unquote playmakers, it’s guys that are not hurting us. Just keep the ball moving. We’re not throwing the ball very well, so guys aren’t catching great passes, and when they do get good passes, they’re not catching them well. When they do have opportunities, we don’t shoot well. It’s three pretty big areas. It’s not anything that we have to redraw our Xs and Os.”

He's not wrong tho

He might be wrong. Maybe he's been coaching this offense for awhile, but things change and his most recent experience coaching it was at Cornell when he had a generational talent in Jeff Teat. Teat seems ideal for the type of offense Milliman is describing. Teat didn't keep the ball in his stick long and he didn't attempt risky dodges and he probably didn't have a lot of shots saved cleanly by goalies. But, Teat could find open guys for easy shots. JHU doesn't have Teat, so things aren't going to run just the way they did at Cornell. Maybe someone does have to try to make a play at some point during a possession.

[smoova]

“It’s a pretty simple formula,” Milliman said. “I’ve been coaching offense this way for a while ... It’s not so much derived from guys who can be quote-unquote playmakers, it’s guys that are not hurting us. Just keep the ball moving."

I agree with @flalax22: the current roster does not fit Milliman's vision for the program.

[nrthcrosslax]

“It’s a pretty simple formula,” Milliman said. “I’ve been coaching offense this way for a while. I think coach [John Grant Jr.] is very similar in that regard. It’s not so much derived from guys who can be quote-unquote playmakers, it’s guys that are not hurting us. Just keep the ball moving. We’re not throwing the ball very well, so guys aren’t catching great passes, and when they do get good passes, they’re not catching them well. When they do have opportunities, we don’t shoot well. It’s three pretty big areas. It’s not anything that we have to redraw our Xs and Os.”

He's not wrong tho

He might be wrong. Maybe he's been coaching this offense for awhile, but things change and his most recent experience coaching it was at Cornell when he had a generational talent in Jeff Teat. Teat seems ideal for the type of offense Milliman is describing. Teat didn't keep the ball in his stick long and he didn't attempt risky dodges and he probably didn't have a lot of shots saved cleanly by goalies. But, Teat could find open guys for easy shots. JHU doesn't have Teat, so things aren't going to run just the way they did at Cornell. Maybe someone does have to try to make a play at some point during a possession.

Don't force passes into the crease when a guy is covered or throw a skip pass out of bounds. If you are open, catch it. If you catch it, don't hit the goalie in the chest. He could have worded it differently but I see the basic message as execute the fundamentals. You don't need to be Jeff Teat to do that. Yes, having a Jeff Teat can elevate you from good to great but right now I think the coach would like the team to elevate to good. Executing the fundamentals can get you to good. Then continue to work on getting to great. I don't think he is wrong.

[HopFan16]

They took the team's best skip passer out of the lineup. Without him it's just passing adjacent. No penetration, nothing to get the defense moving. If your goal is to keep the ball moving then it simply defies logic to take Epstein off the field for even a second. Literally within one second of Epstein coming onto the field for the first time out of the box he sent a pass cross field to Grimes to create a wide open step down opportunity from 12 yards out. (Shot was saved). The first time he touched the ball! We scored only two 6-on-6 goals in the first half with Epstein out. Had 5 in the second half, and Epstein directly assisted on 3 of them—and deserves some credit for a 4th as he found Angelus for a skip which led to a goal.

[51percentcorn]

I usually subscribe to alot of your thinking '16 - I think in the Epstein situation - at least - I don't know enough - don't know anything actually. The facts are these:
In Hopkins first 4 games - Epstein had 12 goals on 30 shots - pretty easy math - a very decent shot percentage of 40%
In the next two games he was 3 for 16 - 18% and his shot percentage is now down to 30% (that does include the 2nd Michigan game)

OK - you say - he's your best player and he's in a slump - let him play and shoot his way out of it. I've no problem with that - Petro's tactic appeared to be more public tongue lashings and tossing players out of practice - something I saw him do to Rabil - the tongue lashing - I heard he used to throw him out of practice. But didn't Petro sit Jesse out of a game in either '06 or '07? How about that? What justifies sitting your MOP in the '05 title game?

The point being is we don't know all the behind the scenes. In pure lacrosse talent - do you want Epstein or Shilling on the field? That's a rhetorical not a serious question - but maybe he had to it and it doesn't defy logic. Epstein played pretty well in the late 3rd/4th quarter - better than he had the 8 quarters in the previous 2 games - he had 0 assists in those two games. Now - it is clear - that Epstein's assists might be down - he only had 3 in the first 4 games - because of his wing role not initiating all things from X but in 23 minutes he had the same number of points as the last 120. We'll see.

[HopFan16]

I usually subscribe to alot of your thinking '16 - I think in the Epstein situation - at least - I don't know enough - don't know anything actually. The facts are these:
In Hopkins first 4 games - Epstein had 12 goals on 30 shots - pretty easy math - a very decent shot percentage of 40%
In the next two games he was 3 for 16 - 18% and his shot percentage is now down to 30% (that does include the 2nd Michigan game)

OK - you say - he's your best player and he's in a slump - let him play and shoot his way out of it. I've no problem with that - Petro's tactic appeared to be more public tongue lashings and tossing players out of practice - something I saw him do to Rabil - the tongue lashing - I heard he used to throw him out of practice. But didn't Petro sit Jesse out of a game in either '06 or '07? How about that? What justifies sitting your MOP in the '05 title game?

The point being is we don't know all the behind the scenes. In pure lacrosse talent - do you want Epstein or Shilling on the field? That's a rhetorical not a serious question - but maybe he had to it and it doesn't defy logic. Epstein played pretty well in the late 3rd/4th quarter - better than he had the 8 quarters in the previous 2 games - he had 0 assists in those two games. Now - it is clear - that Epstein's assists might be down - he only had 3 in the first 4 games - because of his wing role not initiating all things from X but in 23 minutes he had the same number of points as the last 120. We'll see.

Fair points, I just meant that in the context of Milliman's comments about the team not passing well—it's silly to me to then take your best passer out of the lineup. Even when he's not shooting well Epstein is generally putting his passes right on the money. I'm sure we all remember his 30-yard rope to Delaney from behind the goal as the clock was winding down against Maryland. In terms of skip passing—which is what this team really needs to beat defenses when you don't have a whole lot of dodging and even less outside shooting—there's no one on the team better.

Anyway, as you said, might be a moot point, as we don't necessarily know the full story. After the infamous quote PM did also say he believes in Epstein and that he liked the "response" to the quasi-benching. So it sounds like this is behind us and we'll see if Epstein—or anyone else, for that matter—plays any differently from here on out. The tone of these comments can go one of two ways: Either it lights a fire under everyone's a$$es and the final 4+ games of the season provide some hope/momentum going into 2022, or it further demoralizes the team and we find out what rock bottom truly looks like.

[ohmilax34]

I usually subscribe to alot of your thinking '16 - I think in the Epstein situation - at least - I don't know enough - don't know anything actually. The facts are these:
In Hopkins first 4 games - Epstein had 12 goals on 30 shots - pretty easy math - a very decent shot percentage of 40%
In the next two games he was 3 for 16 - 18% and his shot percentage is now down to 30% (that does include the 2nd Michigan game)

OK - you say - he's your best player and he's in a slump - let him play and shoot his way out of it. I've no problem with that - Petro's tactic appeared to be more public tongue lashings and tossing players out of practice - something I saw him do to Rabil - the tongue lashing - I heard he used to throw him out of practice. But didn't Petro sit Jesse out of a game in either '06 or '07? How about that? What justifies sitting your MOP in the '05 title game?

The point being is we don't know all the behind the scenes. In pure lacrosse talent - do you want Epstein or Shilling on the field? That's a rhetorical not a serious question - but maybe he had to it and it doesn't defy logic. Epstein played pretty well in the late 3rd/4th quarter - better than he had the 8 quarters in the previous 2 games - he had 0 assists in those two games. Now - it is clear - that Epstein's assists might be down - he only had 3 in the first 4 games - because of his wing role not initiating all things from X but in 23 minutes he had the same number of points as the last 120. We'll see.

Again, I think you've nailed it. We don't necessarily know everything, and if we do know everything and Milliman benched his 2nd best offensive player solely because he wasn't executing the offense how the coaches want him to, that doesn't mean Milliman thinks the offense is better with Epstein on the bench. It probably means Milliman thought he needed to show that it's important to execute the offense how they've coached it, and players who don't execute that way are subject to benching.

Still, the offense may stink until someone starts making plays (within the scope of the team offense of course).

[primitiveskills]

I see that "Milliman can't win without Jeff Teat" is the new "Petro can't win without Kyle Harrison/ Paul Rabil".

[Chitown]

I don't have the faintest idea which player should be playing or in what position.

I do know that without perfectly executed "fundamentals", a Team has no chance of being really successful at the competitive D1 level.

Passes have to be at "ear level", not at ankle to knee level. There has always been a saying, "Catch, look, Shoot", which can be "catch, look, pass". It is all one motion, but a segmented thought process, The ball is precious and valuable. Shots on the Goal, Passes in the stick, If a man is covered, don't throw him the ball. No "loopy" passes. Crisp passes. On ground ball drills, you fight to get the ball and then throw the ball back to Chic. He would hold his stick up and your pass had to be IN his stick. If it wasn't, he would not step or reach for your throw, the ground ball fight just continued. Fundamentals (defensive positioning, passing,) was practiced again and again and again.

And when the other Team didn't execute, you take advantage and score.

I think that former players understand perfectly what Millman is saying. Perfectly executed fundamentals are key, to be valued, and not to be taken for granted.

[molo]

That’s the first I’d heard about throwing Paul out of practice. The tongue lashings don’t surprise me. I’d heard they could be pretty personal. At least he had enough sense to kick Rabil out of practice and not games.
I recall Petro’s reference to political discussions he had with Rabil in his office. They must have been interesting.