THE 2019 Hopkins Lacrosse Fallout Shelter (44, we want more!)

[jhu06]

they had a negative 14 goal differential for the season and gave up 208 goals. those have to be 2 of the worst in program history along with the 8 losses on the season. Yes I know they play more games now, but in 2013 they were plus 52 giving up 109 goals, 2010 plus 8 giving up 144. Too many seasons we say this is now the low point.

[seriously?]

You have three generations of Morrills at Hopkins, right? Three of them in the Hall of Fame. Why did they send the current generation to Yale? Sounds like a culture or coach problem. And culture is always the coach's problem.

[HopFan16]

You have three generations of Morrills at Hopkins, right? Three of them in the Hall of Fame. Why did they send the current generation to Yale? Sounds like a culture or coach problem. And culture is always the coach's problem.

Or maybe he just wanted to go to Yale.

[FannOLax]

...and only half of the current generation; Jackson's older brother went to Georgetown.

[DougELax]

There needs to be a transition through some farcical aquatic ceremony.

Huh?

- On a similar note: early recruits accounted for more than half of our offense last night.
- I don't quite get why being a "lame duck" coach in lacrosse is so terrible. Rising junior recruits are not allowed to commit until September. So basically between September and the spring of 2020 is when recruits might be hesitant to commit if they don't know how the coaching situation will shake out. Sure maybe we fall behind on recruiting during that time but considering how many people here want us to do less recruiting of kids as early as possible, maybe it's not such a bad thing if they don't get a head start on that class? By May 2020 they'll know if Petro is coming back or not. I get that it's not ideal but it shouldn't be completely off the table, IMO.

Over half of those recruited during the above period would probable be on the bench anyway I realize Hopkins has had a few decommits, but the roster has truly shown some construction problems as well as questionable playing time coaching decisions.

[seacoaster]

You have three generations of Morrills at Hopkins, right? Three of them in the Hall of Fame. Why did they send the current generation to Yale? Sounds like a culture or coach problem. And culture is always the coach's problem.

Or maybe he just wanted to go to Yale.

And play for Shay.

[Big Dog]

""""""""""""""I don't get why Keogh and Baskin both took turns isolating against a shortie (neither amounted to anything whatsoever) but Zinn apparently wasn't in the offensive strategy. But then again I don't get a lot of things this staff has done this year.

7-1 first quarter and 35-24 GB deficit tells the story. Throw out the first quarter and the game was even. Sadly we cannot throw out an entire quarter."""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""

I was expecting a much better performance by Hopkins after the last three games. The use of Zinn once again is baffling?? The offensive middies could not create any separation at all from ND. Epstein was the only player dodging in first half that was winning his matchup. Williams wasnt having much success, but at least he was drawing a good slide.
Their success in last three games was moving Epstein and Williams around being initiator, having them dodging from x, wing and up top . They are the only two besides Zinn who can create any separation it seems like. Did the coaches forget that Zinn could run by his man?? I saw one dodge ( in second half) from up top where Zinn blew by his man. Instead we saw a steady diet of middies who couldnt create anything .

The first quarter was a mess at FO . We were winning clamp and losing the ball and Face off. ND FO man was doing a great job after losing clamp in first half . Hopkins wings seemed to back off once Hopkins FO man started his escape with ball, while ND wings keep crashing as their FO man harassed Hopkins FO man.

Epstein and Smith were the bright spots for Hopkins last night, but for some reason Notre Dame didn't feel compelled to put a pole on Epstein for the vast majority of the game, and let that switch happen or didn't feel compelled to get a pole back on him.

That is ND's style. They trust their guys to be able to play man-to-man defense. They almost never slide even to a shortie. MD did something similar in the 2nd game. There were times MD specifically put a SSDM on Epstein. They did slide almost immediately to him though once he started to attack the goal from any position on the field.

Compare that to Hopkins where everyone slides even to help out your best Dman. It also takes almost an entire season to get comfortable in the defense. Then look at where ND's defensive rankings are over the last decade and compare that to Hopkins. Pretty evident which defensive scheme is better or at least which coach is better and putting his players in position to succeed.

It worked against MD bcos they are slower than ND. The difference in athleticism is notable. The Terps are a good match up for us. ND has key strengths that magnify Hopkins' weaknesses, so a bad match up.

[reLAX]

Some thoughts/reactions to a few things written above:

- ND being so willing to let Epstein dodge against a shortie was bizarre, IMO. Yes they won and yes it didn't matter in the end but the kid wound up with 6 points—it wasn't exactly a resounding success. Maybe they were ok with Epstein doing what he wanted if it meant the 5 other guys on the field would be kept in check? I guess if you assume that was the philosophy it sort of worked but still incredibly risky.
- Agree about Giacalone re: Penn State. Now that we know Petro is willing to pull the plug and go to his backup, why has that never happened until it was too late? Giacalone has to be the presumed starter entering the fall. If Gainey or Marcille or someone else wins the job then fine but last night should have been a changing of the guard in terms of the top of the depth chart.
- Epstein had 26 points in his last 4 games (6.5 per game). Not going to do all the research but I'm pretty sure that is one of if not the highest totals of any player in the country over that stretch. I recall a certain poster here saying he needed to "step up." LOL. I thought freshmen were supposed to hit a wall? Also great news for a fan's argument that we need a player in the top 30 points (Epstein is tied for 13th). Well we finally have one and we still stink.
- On a similar note: early recruits accounted for more than half of our offense last night.
- I don't quite get why being a "lame duck" coach in lacrosse is so terrible. Rising junior recruits are not allowed to commit until September. So basically between September and the spring of 2020 is when recruits might be hesitant to commit if they don't know how the coaching situation will shake out. Sure maybe we fall behind on recruiting during that time but considering how many people here want us to do less recruiting of kids as early as possible, maybe it's not such a bad thing if they don't get a head start on that class? By May 2020 they'll know if Petro is coming back or not. I get that it's not ideal but it shouldn't be completely off the table, IMO.
- The highly touted kid who committed to us and then defected to ND? Double bageled last night and finished the season with 5 goals despite ample playing time all year. Doesn't look like we're missing a whole lot
- ND certainly had a better overall faceoff unit but the issue wasn't athleticism—the issue was we couldn't pick the ball up off the ground after winning the faceoff. The other issue is they stuck with Prouty—who has had a good season—for far too long. It was clear immediately that Narewski had a better chance of winning us the ball and yet for whatever reason they didn't stick with him.

I'm not going to anonymously dump on kids as they walk out the door after they gave their all for this program. I think and have long thought that there's a difference between measured criticism and just calling a kid "awful" over and over again. I am guilty of the former but I do not believe the latter and I try to keep it that way. No it didn't work out the way anyone wanted it to but if your first instinct is to immediately insult 22-year-olds on your own team then I think you might want to re-evaluate what this is really about for you. Thank you Kuhn, Jones, et al for your contributions over the last 4 years. Concannon, Coulter, and Foley (?), if you guys are coming back, I'm glad and let's do better next year.

I'm not going to anonymously dump on kids as they walk out the door after they gave their all for this program. I think and have long thought that there's a difference between measured criticism and just calling a kid "awful" over and over again. I am guilty of the former but I do not believe the latter and I try to keep it that way. No it didn't work out the way anyone wanted it to but if your first instinct is to immediately insult 22-year-olds on your own team then I think you might want to re-evaluate what this is really about for you

That was perfectly said and something I have been saddened by on many of the forum pages. (Not just Hopkins). These boys give their time and effort, being students, pressures about jogs, etc. I know this is what they signed up for and many quite willingly. But to say so definitively “they are not good”. They are need to do better” is making the error of confusing a bad game with being a bad player. (May be, in your opinions, one and the same. However, I would hope you are never judged liked that).
One person does not take credit for a win, so why penalize one player for a loss. Be a fan, support your team. And yes be frustrated when players don't measure up to what YOU believe are the standards. They are their own worst critics, believe me. They don’t need people playing armchair quarterback. In a public forum. Remember these are 20 something year old young men.
If you are going to judge individual players with harsh generalizations , you best be perfect.

[hens62]

- The highly touted kid who committed to us and then defected to ND? Double bageled last night and finished the season with 5 goals despite ample playing time all year. Doesn't look like we're missing a whole lot

He had 7 assists to go with those 5.. not too bad for a frosh 2nd line mid. Lost some PT with Garnsey back but will be a factor for next 3 years

[jhu06]

Coach NCAA tournament post game talking points 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018 2019

1) Proud of our kids
2) Not how we want the season to end
3) Understand this is not what is expected at Johns Hopkins
4) Will go back to the drawing board, need to review everything
5) Make changes to ensure this doesn't happen again.

That's exactly right and those words started in 2009, 10 and 11. Until the program wins its next game February/March 2020 we'll hear some line of excuses
From rival fans/program loyalists "the President doesn't support the program, academics are too hard, the social life is awful, Baltimore is a dirty violent city, the Hopkins brand has lots its allure, the expectations are too high, fans are too mean, there's more talent than ever for other programs, the program doesn't have the resources". That will be 9-11 months of stuff here.

For the friends, parents, folks close to the program, there's no defense for what we witnessed this year or since Rabil got his diploma. Your people haven't gotten it done. This program has been given every resource available in the sport-the ESPN contract, a new lacrosse facility, a new turf, prime location in a recruiting hotbed, a tradition unmatched in the game and like few in college sports, alumni like Rabil/Harrison that recruits grew up idolizing, and has mostly tarnished the reputation of the program and produced blowout after blowout to end the season. Programs like towson and loyola who have none of the financial, academic, tradition, name id, and you could add in a half dozen other things have often gotten the best of Hopkins teams steeped more in pedigree than performance. This years team was a massive disappointment in character and performance aside from maybe Epstein. Woefully outplayed, coached, hustled and there was no leadership at all from the upper classmen. I won't miss a single member of this sr class, why? Because I saw their sr year.

Someone will go through the stats and add up the losses since 2009, the losses by 5+goals, the playoff losses by 5+goals, the records vs non acc teams, the record vs acc teams, and compare to the rest of the program history. You take out the wins vs the mt st marys, delawares, umbcs, michigans, and with a few exceptions this has been a mostly awful to mediocre group. The ad needs to do a press conference address a change, their vision and find someone who can deliver a consistent championship caliber product. No one cares about mens tennis, womens xc, or football at Hopkins, its about the lacrosse program and right now it's a mess.

[HopFan16]

Forry Smith finished the year with 21 goals on 46% (!!!) shooting, with just 6 turnovers. That's why he's a captain, leading by example. That's about as efficient as you can get. Even with the dearth at midfield, I think the most likely scenario is he moves back to attack where you're looking at a possible 40-goal campaign as the primary beneficiary of Epstein drawing slides from X and GLE. Would also balance the field quite well—righty Smith, lefty Williams, and "righty" Epstein who can use both hands and play all over the formation.

Best attack recruits coming in are Murphy, a righty who can shoot the lights out of the ball and may see some time at midfield if he puts on some muscle (or on attack if Smith stays at midfield); Angelus, an X-attackman quarterback, don't know where he fits in with Epstein there but maybe as a 4th guy/EMO specialist in the Shilling mold; and Krampf, a stocky and athletic finisher out of St. Mary's. All productive players in high school...though none strike me as the types who will make a fluid transition to midfield.

If Petro is our coach next year I sincerely hope he moves Zinn to the 1s. If he is not our coach, I suspect whoever IS running the team will take one look at Zinn and make him the centerpiece of the midfield immediately. Concannon, if he's back, and DeSimone will probably round out the 1s. Anyone's guess as to the 2s but you can probably assume it will include at least one or two of the infamous munchkin squad. Curious to see a full season of Cattoni if he's healthy.


A lot of hype around this incoming rope unit. At least 2-3 guys who played SSDM in high school for top teams and played it well. All we can do is pray they do the same at the college level—and can do it quickly.

Losing Kuhn hurts. I don't really know what LSM looks like next year. As of this moment it would look like Reinson/Blondell but come February I suspect it may look very different and include some guys who are currently on the bench or finishing out their high school senior years. Rodgers is one to keep an eye on, if he doesn't flat out win a close D spot. That's another thing—I didn't get much reaction when I said this, but I keep hearing that Foley may be back next year. While that does pose massive problems for 2021 if our entire starting close D leaves after next year, I'd rather have him back than not have him back. He's improved every year he's been here and was playing real well to end the season in spite of the defense's poor play in general.

Faceoffs look to be in decent shape with Prouty and Narewski. Outside of the Towson debacle they were never the reason we lost the game and on more than one occasion they directly helped us to win games. So that's at least one area of the field that isn't a gigantic concern but the wing unit definitely needs to be better and I feel like that's something we've been saying for 6-7 years now.

[kramerica.inc]

Another day, Another Doug.

[jhu06]

I don't get the feeling of loss about any of these players (marr had a terrible senior year and I mentioned preseason for the son of one of the better coaches in the game plays with a low iq and lack of emotional self control), particularly the guys on the defensive end, or the hope that new faces are going to automatically change things. What we've seen from this coaching staff is that they identify a kid as a starter and then ride him rain or shine (mostly rain) until he graduates. I don't remember many games at all this year where we said Reinson and Kuhn, these are reasons we won today. Either they can't recruit the right kids, can't develop them, can't put them in the right places to succeed, can't keep them healthy or can't match wits with opposing coaching staffs with them on the field. Any way you square it-the record over a decade+now speaks louder than an argument you're going to make.

University was all over the news this spring trying to fix problems at Baltimore city hall and running around the state trying to get the OK to spend university dollars on a police force to protect people who in some cases have nothing to do with Hopkins. Maybe Daniels can take a few minutes to deal with something that's actually in his job description and that actually counts to alumni/students.

[DocBarrister]

I don't get the feeling of loss about any of these players (marr had a terrible senior year and I mentioned preseason for the son of one of the better coaches in the game plays with a low iq and lack of emotional self control), particularly the guys on the defensive end, or the hope that new faces are going to automatically change things. What we've seen from this coaching staff is that they identify a kid as a starter and then ride him rain or shine (mostly rain) until he graduates. I don't remember many games at all this year where we said Reinson and Kuhn, these are reasons we won today. Either they can't recruit the right kids, can't develop them, can't put them in the right places to succeed, can't keep them healthy or can't match wits with opposing coaching staffs with them on the field. Any way you square it-the record over a decade+now speaks louder than an argument you're going to make.

University was all over the news this spring trying to fix problems at Baltimore city hall and running around the state trying to get the OK to spend university dollars on a police force to protect people who in some cases have nothing to do with Hopkins. Maybe Daniels can take a few minutes to deal with something that's actually in his job description and that actually counts to alumni/students.

You need to recalibrate your perspective on what is important and what is not. The items in your last paragraph dwarf the entire Hopkins athletic program in importance.

DocBarrister

[Peter Brown]

I used to think the HOP fans were the most insanely depressed lax fans in the country, until someone pointed me to syracuse.com; I just spent an hour perusing the autopsy report of comments on the Loyola game write-up.

Wow, Petro is probably grateful he isn't Desko. I mean, 'Cuse sucks' according to the syracuse.com posters. Apparently Desko can't recruit, coach, or lead...9-5 season records against the best teams in the country are absolute death.

Making matters worse, West Genesee also has 6 losses this season, which is about what Messere (coach) had in a 40-year career before he retired last year. Bleak days in upstate NY.

Gratefully, two Maryland teams have two great coaches from upstate, Shawn Nadelin and John Tillman.

[HopFan16]

I don't get the feeling of loss about any of these players

Nobody cares about who gives you a feeling of loss and who doesn't. Same goes for steelhop—nobody cares who you're not going to miss. Literally no one. Not a single soul.

I don't remember many games at all this year where we said Reinson and Kuhn, these are reasons we won today.

2017 game against PSU would like a word with you. Kuhn was electric. Single-handedly won that game. Here's a kid who came in as an offensive midfielder and was handed a longpole and became a top 10 LSM in the country and your first and only instinct as he's walking out the door is to denigrate his existence. 115 career groundballs, All-American last year, 14 goals as a defenseman, voted to wear #19 by his teammates and immediately after his career ends, while the proverbial body is still warm, you essentially go right to "he's bad and I'm happy he's gone." Absolute worst kind of fandom, if you can call it that.

Go after the coach all you want—I've done my fair share of it—he gets paid a solid chunk of change to run this program. The way some of you treat these players, however, is gross. Just think about what you're saying from the safety and anonymity of your keyboard. I can tell you one thing, since you're worried about us not recruiting the right guys—if word gets out that Hopkins alums absolutely trash outgoing seniors literally the first chance they get, then the recruiting problem is only going to get worse. Thankfully I don't think a few posters on a forum are an accurate representation of the Hopkins lacrosse community as a whole, and the kids know that.

[MDlaxfan76]

...and only half of the current generation; Jackson's older brother went to Georgetown.

Mom was a star lax player at Dartmouth...we'd sure have liked to have landed Jackson there, but ahh well.

[jhu06]

Everyone wants to blame the fans, no wants to hold anyone accountable for 2-7 against teams that made the ncaa tournament, 208 goals surrendered, 8 losses, negative 14 goal differential, 55th in gbs per game-are we still lamenting the loss of matt rewkowski, 60th in saves, 58th in scoring defense-danny jones was a captain/foley-rapine-owen were all 3rd year starters-kuhn was in his 4th year, darby 65th in save percentage.

[DougELax]

Another day, Another Doug.

Thanks.

Coaches are adults getting paid. Fair game. The kids not. This and the previous forum has been for the most part pretty good about not trashing the kids - I for one would like to keep it that way. Can question playing time, but don't single out players. Coaches,(per Mike Gundy, OK State) - I'm a man, I'm 40 - have at them.

[Hoponboard]

How about some good news for next season? Hopkins returns 72.68% of its scoring. Thanks to Epstein’s remarkable campaign, the freshman class made an outsized contribution to this season. Joey, Matt Narewski, Zinn, McManus, Blondell and Cattoni are a fine nucleus to build around. If Mabbett, Lilly or Degnon develop, that’s a bonus.

Forry, Cole, Baskin and Keogh bring back 67 goals.

Unlike prior to this season, face offs look solid moving forward. Plus, Handsor will be coming from Culver to buoy this crew.

Goalie promises to have more competition. I’m a great admirer of Marcille, who if he does not win the starting job, will push the incumbents.