Johns Hopkins 2020

[runrussellrun]

please stop - i have zero idea what the hell any of you are talking about. Cats, Hopkins professors, HA80 going off the rails, Doc's nonsensical proclamations bring them all back before this

sorry, but my nonsense "prose" is an attempt to serve it's usual opposite, in this instance.

Translated

I was trying to STOP a fight.............instead of starting one.......as per

[HopFan16]

ANYWAY...

This dude predicts a 9-4 season. Wins over everyone not named North Carolina, Syracuse, Penn State, and Maryland.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDtXMQTPXXc

Sounds nice but if our best wins are Ohio State and Towson/Loyola, we'd better hope those teams have good seasons. I find it unlikely we'd get an at-large NCAA bid without beating at least one of the above 4 teams. Would more likely need 2.

[Sagittarius A*]

The Jays don’t do well at Ridley. I love the complex there but I stopped going to the games because the Jays aren’t even competitive there anymore. Hop couldn’t beat Ohio State at Homewood last year despite taking a lead into the fourth quarter. What chance will they have in Buckeye country? 7-6 is more likely. The Jays made the tournament last year only because they beat UMD twice. I don’t see that happening again.

[ABV 8.3%]

The Jays don’t do well at Ridley. I love the complex there but I stopped going to the games because the Jays aren’t even competitive there anymore. Hop couldn’t beat Ohio State at Homewood last year despite taking a lead into the fourth quarter. What chance will they have in Buckeye country? 7-6 is more likely. The Jays made the tournament last year only because they beat UMD twice. I don’t see that happening again.

Tillman , while stilling having his stubborn moments, understands the needs to improve. Try new things. Wish he would ditch the tablets, tho. Point is, could you imagine YOUR coach utilizing tech? Even trying it.

Regardless, doubtful Terp will lose this year. BUt, Tillman does look like he's challenging for a head coaching job. Or challenge. Can Bill, wearing blue jay blue, Belichick match wits with Tillman, in a tablet challenge. Who can figure out the missed defensive slide call on that back side slip screen, re direct.

At least Tillman's not wearing a head set yet ..........looked like Mike Dukakis in the tank when he had them on. Never again, coach, Never again. no place for head phones in lacrosse.

BiB

[HopFan16]

The Jays don’t do well at Ridley. I love the complex there but I stopped going to the games because the Jays aren’t even competitive there anymore.

I am certainly not forecasting a victory at Ridley this year but this strikes me as a bit of a weird statement.

You're going off a three-game sample size, only one of which was truly noncompetitive. One of those losses was by a goal. No one on the current roster was even on the team for the first two losses, except Concannon (who was injured). The two games before that were both wins. I get that the second-half debacle at Ridley in 2018 left a bad taste in everyone's mouths, as it should have, but the evidence that the Jays "don't do well at Ridley" or "aren't competitive" there is pretty thin, IMO. Current players have played there precisely one time—many of them never—and that was in the snow. They literally couldn't throw and catch. It was a weird game. I think that had a lot more to do with the weather and early-season rustiness than the location of the contest. As we know, the team went on to have a good season, at least by recent standards. In any case, 11 of Loyola's 12 goals that day have since graduated. As has Stover. Again—not necessarily predicting a victory this time around, but there is actually very little to this "not playing well at Ridley" theory, and my strong hunch is that 2020 will be competitive.

[houndace1]

The Jays don’t do well at Ridley. I love the complex there but I stopped going to the games because the Jays aren’t even competitive there anymore.

I am certainly not forecasting a victory at Ridley this year but this strikes me as a bit of a weird statement.

You're going off a three-game sample size, only one of which was truly noncompetitive. One of those losses was by a goal. No one on the current roster was even on the team for the first two losses, except Concannon (who was injured). The two games before that were both wins. I get that the second-half debacle at Ridley in 2018 left a bad taste in everyone's mouths, as it should have, but the evidence that the Jays "don't do well at Ridley" or "aren't competitive" there is pretty thin, IMO. Current players have played there precisely one time—many of them never—and that was in the snow. They literally couldn't throw and catch. It was a weird game. I think that had a lot more to do with the weather and early-season rustiness than the location of the contest. As we know, the team went on to have a good season, at least by recent standards. In any case, 11 of Loyola's 12 goals that day have since graduated. As has Stover. Again—not necessarily predicting a victory this time around, but there is actually very little to this "not playing well at Ridley" theory, and my strong hunch is that 2020 will be competitive.

Agreed, in the 6 games this decade at Ridley, Hopkins has gone
2-4. One of those losses was by one goal in an extremely tight affair during Spencer’s freshman year. Many of the contributors to the wins in the last two Ridley games (2016, 2018) have graduated. The record easily could’ve been 3-3 if one or two little plays in that 2016 game went Hopkins’s way.

IMO, loyola plays very tight in the first couple minutes every time they play hopkins at Ridley over the past 2 meetings. Spencer would then take over. We don’t have that luxury anymore- 2020 will be an extremely close game with Hopkins most likely taking a win

[DALaxDad]

Houndace, Peter Brown is throwing you off the Greyhound bus.

[10stone5]

please stop - i have zero idea what the hell any of you are talking about. Cats, Hopkins professors, HA80 going off the rails, Doc's nonsensical proclamations bring them all back before this

sorry, but my nonsense "prose" is an attempt to serve it's usual opposite, in this instance.
Translated
I was trying to STOP a fight.............instead of starting one.......as per

Is Hop 80 here ?
I don’t believe I have seen him here on FL.

[HopFan16]

The Jays don’t do well at Ridley. I love the complex there but I stopped going to the games because the Jays aren’t even competitive there anymore.

I am certainly not forecasting a victory at Ridley this year but this strikes me as a bit of a weird statement.

You're going off a three-game sample size, only one of which was truly noncompetitive. One of those losses was by a goal. No one on the current roster was even on the team for the first two losses, except Concannon (who was injured). The two games before that were both wins. I get that the second-half debacle at Ridley in 2018 left a bad taste in everyone's mouths, as it should have, but the evidence that the Jays "don't do well at Ridley" or "aren't competitive" there is pretty thin, IMO. Current players have played there precisely one time—many of them never—and that was in the snow. They literally couldn't throw and catch. It was a weird game. I think that had a lot more to do with the weather and early-season rustiness than the location of the contest. As we know, the team went on to have a good season, at least by recent standards. In any case, 11 of Loyola's 12 goals that day have since graduated. As has Stover. Again—not necessarily predicting a victory this time around, but there is actually very little to this "not playing well at Ridley" theory, and my strong hunch is that 2020 will be competitive.

Agreed, in the 6 games this decade at Ridley, Hopkins has gone
2-4. One of those losses was by one goal in an extremely tight affair during Spencer’s freshman year. Many of the contributors to the wins in the last two Ridley games (2016, 2018) have graduated. The record easily could’ve been 3-3 if one or two little plays in that 2016 game went Hopkins’s way.

IMO, loyola plays very tight in the first couple minutes every time they play hopkins at Ridley over the past 2 meetings. Spencer would then take over. We don’t have that luxury anymore- 2020 will be an extremely close game with Hopkins most likely taking a win

Nitpicking but there were only 5 games at Ridley in the last decade—Hopkins is 2-3 in those games. Prior to that the Greyhounds had never even beaten a Petro-coached Hopkins team. So there is no historical precedent for the Jays "not being competitive" at Ridley. There was one very bad half in 2018. But it's a bit of a stretch to extrapolate that into some larger, obvious trend.

What does seem to be the case is that the Jays have not been especially good in February as of late, regardless of who they're playing or where the games are held.

2019: 1-2
2018: 1-2
2017: 4-0 (quickly brought down to Earth a few days later in the infamous 18-7 Princeton debacle)
2016: 1-2
2015: 2-3

Outside of 2017, that's not how you want to start your season. Duke has proven you can start slow and finish strong, but you actually have to *finish strong* for that strategy to pay off. The Jays lately seem to start slow, play a bit better in March/early April, but then slow down again toward the end (with 2015 the big exception). The dreaded bell curve.

[51percentcorn]

Is Hop 80 here ?
I don’t believe I have seen him here on FL.

Maybe not - I think I have identified a possible candidate

[DocBarrister]

Attention All Fanlax Denizens:

The naysaying critics are idiots ... Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is the best Star Wars film since The Empire Strikes Back.

Plus ... Hopkins Lacrosse is the Greatest.

That is all.

DocBarrister (cocktails + Star Wars movie = sublime)

[Laxrat]

3rd attack needs to be a threat, not solely an “off-ball” player. Teams will have to decide how to match their top two poles on Epstein and Williams. Maybe Murphy takes the spot? Never seen him play, but hear he’s got the flash, meat farms product. I like Forry at midfield, think he plays smart and maximizes on his skill set. I think he can be better this year growing in that role.

Even with all the unknowns, I have a feeling a good year is coming. We have not had a player like Epstein in a long time.

[WOMBAT, Mod Emeritus]

Last minute Christmas ideas for Hopkins fans and their upcoming season:

HopkinsTP

F3D38736-AC4B-468F-A7AE-82E019201D03.jpeg (68.66 KiB) Viewed 2158 times

Or for the more pessimistic Hopkins fans:

HopkinsPessimisticTP

68B32A26-6FBA-4F1A-8C7A-E552B4D44CF4.jpeg (50.71 KiB) Viewed 2158 times

Happy holidays and upcoming season. Hope they both aren’t crappy.
W

[HopFan16]

3rd attack needs to be a threat, not solely an “off-ball” player. Teams will have to decide how to match their top two poles on Epstein and Williams. Maybe Murphy takes the spot? Never seen him play, but hear he’s got the flash, meat farms product. I like Forry at midfield, think he plays smart and maximizes on his skill set. I think he can be better this year growing in that role.

Even with all the unknowns, I have a feeling a good year is coming. We have not had a player like Epstein in a long time.

If we're talking dodging threat I think Angelus would be a very interesting option there—he set scoring records at Paul VI. Very productive player who can do a little bit of everything. Benson seems to prefer at least one off-ball "finisher" on attack (Benn --> Dismuke --> Marr), though perhaps that was due to the players at his disposal. I think both Angelus and Murphy could fill that role with the potential for more, provided Forry stays at middie.

Because of the whole videogate thing and the lack of reports from the fall, it seems like we're headed into the season knowing very little about new personnel. IL did not even do their annual fall access piece. Perhaps that changes after the winter scrimmage(s), but we also don't have much of a clue about who is in line for the 3rd close D spot. It does however seem like goalie is Giacalone's to lose, for now.

[Sagittarius A*]

I still think you move Forry to attack. It's his natural position and would utilize more of his skill set. Plus with Forry parked on the crease, you couldn't slide to Epstein coming around the goal. You'd be yielding a wide open look to either Forry in front or DeSimone off the wing. Zinn is more of a traditional midfielder who would thrive on the first line as well as open things up for DeSimone and Concannon. You could put Murphy and Angelus on the second midfield line.

[DocBarrister]

I still think you move Forry to attack. It's his natural position and would utilize more of his skill set. Plus with Forry parked on the crease, you couldn't slide to Epstein coming around the goal. You'd be yielding a wide open look to either Forry in front or DeSimone off the wing. Zinn is more of a traditional midfielder who would thrive on the first line as well as open things up for DeSimone and Concannon. You could put Murphy and Angelus on the second midfield line.

Good points, but I don’t think this needs to be either/or. Smith can run on the first or second midfield line at times (allowing a freshman attackman some playing time on attack) and then at attack during other times. Will add a little more variety to the offense. I strongly suspect that’s what we’ll see, especially early in the season.

DocBarrister

[flalax22]

3rd attack needs to be a threat, not solely an “off-ball” player. Teams will have to decide how to match their top two poles on Epstein and Williams. Maybe Murphy takes the spot? Never seen him play, but hear he’s got the flash, meat farms product. I like Forry at midfield, think he plays smart and maximizes on his skill set. I think he can be better this year growing in that role.

Even with all the unknowns, I have a feeling a good year is coming. We have not had a player like Epstein in a long time.

If we're talking dodging threat I think Angelus would be a very interesting option there—he set scoring records at Paul VI. Very productive player who can do a little bit of everything.

Henry Grass set a bunch of high school scoring records too if I remember correctly. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves here.

[HopFan16]

3rd attack needs to be a threat, not solely an “off-ball” player. Teams will have to decide how to match their top two poles on Epstein and Williams. Maybe Murphy takes the spot? Never seen him play, but hear he’s got the flash, meat farms product. I like Forry at midfield, think he plays smart and maximizes on his skill set. I think he can be better this year growing in that role.

Even with all the unknowns, I have a feeling a good year is coming. We have not had a player like Epstein in a long time.

If we're talking dodging threat I think Angelus would be a very interesting option there—he set scoring records at Paul VI. Very productive player who can do a little bit of everything.

Henry Grass set a bunch of high school scoring records too if I remember correctly. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves here.

Who is getting ahead of ourselves? I can't acknowledge that a kid who scored 400 points in the WCAC—150 in his senior season—might be an "interesting" option to play some attack? No one is saying he'll be the next Lyle Thompson.

And not that it matters, but as I understand it, the issue with Grass was not talent. I'm not sure that situation is the best example to cite if you are trying to say crazy high school production does not always translate to college success.

[ABV 8.3%]

3rd attack needs to be a threat, not solely an “off-ball” player. Teams will have to decide how to match their top two poles on Epstein and Williams. Maybe Murphy takes the spot? Never seen him play, but hear he’s got the flash, meat farms product. I like Forry at midfield, think he plays smart and maximizes on his skill set. I think he can be better this year growing in that role.

Even with all the unknowns, I have a feeling a good year is coming. We have not had a player like Epstein in a long time.

If we're talking dodging threat I think Angelus would be a very interesting option there—he set scoring records at Paul VI. Very productive player who can do a little bit of everything.

Henry Grass set a bunch of high school scoring records too if I remember correctly. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves here.

Benson won't play players better than him..........

[DocBarrister]

3rd attack needs to be a threat, not solely an “off-ball” player. Teams will have to decide how to match their top two poles on Epstein and Williams. Maybe Murphy takes the spot? Never seen him play, but hear he’s got the flash, meat farms product. I like Forry at midfield, think he plays smart and maximizes on his skill set. I think he can be better this year growing in that role.

Even with all the unknowns, I have a feeling a good year is coming. We have not had a player like Epstein in a long time.

If we're talking dodging threat I think Angelus would be a very interesting option there—he set scoring records at Paul VI. Very productive player who can do a little bit of everything.

Henry Grass set a bunch of high school scoring records too if I remember correctly. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves here.

Benson won't play players better than him..........

He played Epstein.

DocBarrister