Johns Hopkins 2021

[viho]

Millimans comments on Cole Williams from the D-Fly and Dixie podcast were awkward.
Cole is one of the best players on the team. Keep him on the field as much as possible.
Stop screwing around and put him back at attack.

Actually the comments were fairly direct. We told him he was a mid and we told Connor he was at attack. End of story. He’s the coach and made a decision.

The awkward part came when Dixon asked him for his vision of the program. This is the point where he could have mentioned we are going to recruit athletes, Canadians etc or we're going run and gun while playing tough defense. Instead he went back to Williams playing midfield in terms of grimes development.

I am skeptical that reducing the on field time of your talented senior workhorse in favor of developing anew player is the way to go. Like Williams dodging from wings or up top? Fine just invert him when you get a possession.

The big fella is a handful. Give him the chance to blow by his man with some early offense before the defense can set up. That ain't going to happen when you're waiting for him to come out of the box.

[HopFan16]

blah blah blah

Zzzzzzzzzzz

Martin and Deans played with no entries in the box score. Jaronski had an excellent fast break assist to Deso. Smith and Raposo each took a face off.

If Martin was out there, I didn't see him.

Deans played his usual amount, just didn't make much of an impact.

Raposo came on at the very end for a run at midfield.

They threw Smith out there for one faceoff after we lost a few in a row.

Offense played a decent game. They didn't touch the ball int he 3rd quarter. Four failed clears in a row (combined with going ice cold at the faceoff X) was the major difference in this game which allowed Maryland to go on that run. The offense just didn't have any chances to stop the bleeding. The clearing game just totally collapsed, and the defense got gassed. Couldn't defend all those possessions in a row. Win a couple more faceoffs and clear it better during that stretch in the 3rd quarter and it's a different game. But I really cannot believe some of you are harping on a couple of turnovers in the offensive end. This was a very close and competitive game until the 3rd quarter clears/faceoffs/defense totally buckled. That's the story.

Kirson really struggled today, despite what DocB will tell you he was not "solid." A number of goals before the 3rd quarter debacle were on him and he just wasn't reacting well. I expected to see a different goalie at numerous points in the game but it just didn't happen.

First half was legitimately good, but at this level you can't go a full quarter playing terribly, especially against a good team. There's no coming back from that no matter how well you played before or after.

I don't know why McManus came on for Szuluk in the second half. The staff just doesn't seem to want to put Szuluk in there and let him stay there. I thought he was playing pretty well. He and Reinson have been our best defenders this year.

[Chitown]

I watched the game and the end result was about what I expected. I have no criticism of individual players. Maryland is an excellent team with lots of returning players and many have AA recognition. We have no returning AA players. We won our last game last year in OT against Mt. St. Mary. One needs to be realistic here and look for improvement. I think there was a lot of improvement.

The best defense against a high powered attack is to keep the ball away from them. I think that JHU executed that well in the first half. WE slowed the game down. Md.'s Attack became spectators in the 1st half.

Our defense positioning was much improved, and the man-to-man defense was very decent. Sliding was much improved. We were more "physical" on defense and knocked Md players down (with no penalties called).

Passing in the 1st half was crisp, passes were shorter, and we kept Md's defense moving.

Clearing continued to be very shaky, but that can be improved in practice,

Maybe news to some, but we will not win a NC this year. We will suffer some beatings, but we may "surprise" some teams as the season progresses. Go Jays!

[viho]

Williams had 5 pts today from the midfield. Take a walk. Get some fresh air. Just stop posting.

Had a feeling MD would short stick him today. He made them pay with a good game. Milliman's game plan is probably what teams will now try to do against Maryland. Force them to defend an entire shot clock, clog up the middle when the Terps on are offense, and don't let the Terps run. They executed that game plan about as well as could be expected in the first half. They held the Terps to 17 shots in the first half. Once the Jays couldn't get possession in the 3rd, the Terps started to get rolling. They had 15 shots in the 3rd quarter alone. The play in the crease with Szuluk and Wisnauskas, IMO, sparked Maryland. The game got out of control from there.

Think for Hop to be more successful the rest of the way in, their game plan from the first half is their way to go. Long possessions on offense where Epstein, DeSimone, and Williams can win one-on-one match-ups, try to stifle transition, and clog the middle on defense so Kirson sees shots from further out.

Are you advocating the slow down, over coached style that Tillman was accused of in his early years at college park?

[nyjay]

If Martin was out there, I didn't see him.

Deans played his usual amount, just didn't make much of an impact.

I don't know why McManus came on for Szuluk in the second half. The staff just doesn't seem to want to put Szuluk in there and let him stay there. I thought he was playing pretty well. He and Reinson have been our best defenders this year.

You should do the box scores, 16. Very hard to do with these not-quite professionally filmed games though.

Not only does IL have Martin playing, they have him with an assist.

And they don't have McManus or Deans playing at all. Personally, I think I'd have a close D of Szuluk, Reinson and McManus. Lyne feels like the weakest of the three to me, but maybe the staff feels they need him from a communication perspective.

[jhu06]

Offense had a chance in the first half to make it a 9-5/10-5 game and we just don't have the killer guys aside from epstein who can just break you on that side of the field. their goalie made a lot of saves. Might have something to do w/their offensive coach having seen every shot our guys have taken on tape or in person since 6th grade. Should've been something we game planed for.

Jameson obviously had a great defensive gameplan to start the game but we should've had an advantage on faceoffs and then maryland had better second half adjustments.

anyone who has watched a maryland football game knows that they just have garbage camera angles like purdue and wake forest. You'd think w/all the tv lucre flowing they'd get that right for a better shot.

the penn state kid dominated these terp faceoff guys and they dominated us so next week could be guinness corned beef cabbage and shish kabob blue jay.

stevens had a nice piece on concannon finding real success and happiness at hofstra thanks to petro and tierney linking up to find him a way to close out his career, but his absence isn't the difference in these games and millimans getting a chance to see if guys like degnon are long term answers.

smith apparently finally saw the field today. If this is all baskin and zinn have I'd rather see what mcdermott and anyone else have.

williams is a 5th year man beast. he shouldn't need training wheels, hand holding and a map to dominate.

[Wheels]

Are you advocating the slow down, over coached style that Tillman was accused of in his early years at college park?

For Hop, yeah, it might be their best path to winning games this year. They can't get into track meets or early offense kind of games.

[HopFan16]

If Martin was out there, I didn't see him.

Deans played his usual amount, just didn't make much of an impact.

I don't know why McManus came on for Szuluk in the second half. The staff just doesn't seem to want to put Szuluk in there and let him stay there. I thought he was playing pretty well. He and Reinson have been our best defenders this year.

You should do the box scores, 16. Very hard to do with these not-quite professionally filmed games though.

Not only does IL have Martin playing, they have him with an assist.

And they don't have McManus or Deans playing at all. Personally, I think I'd have a close D of Szuluk, Reinson and McManus. Lyne feels like the weakest of the three to me, but maybe the staff feels they need him from a communication perspective.

He may have played, but he definitely did not have an assist. That's a mistake.

The white numbers on black jerseys were the easiest of the season to read, but filming the field from the International Space Station didn't help. I'm just glad our next two games are on ESPNU/ESPN3.

Szuluk was called for the push at the midline to put the Terps two men up, which may have earned him a spot on the bench. But he was playing well before that. Not sure there is a better pole on-ball than him.

Dunn going 1/2 vs. Shockey and 2/3 vs. Calderone was promising. Pretty clear that under the new rules you need multiple guys who can win draws.

The four SSDMs combined for 2 GBs. That's never going to get it done.

It's possible to recognize there were good moments in that first half against a quality team while at the same time understanding this team isn't quite ready to run with the big dogs for a full 60 minutes yet. Hopefully by the end of the year they'll be there.

[jrn19]

Offense had a chance in the first half to make it a 9-5/10-5 game and we just don't have the killer guys aside from epstein who can just break you on that side of the field. their goalie made a lot of saves. Might have something to do w/their offensive coach having seen every shot our guys have taken on tape or in person since 6th grade. Should've been something we game planed for.

Jameson obviously had a great defensive gameplan to start the game but we should've had an advantage on faceoffs and then maryland had better second half adjustments.

anyone who has watched a maryland football game knows that they just have garbage camera angles like purdue and wake forest. You'd think w/all the tv lucre flowing they'd get that right for a better shot.

the penn state kid dominated these terp faceoff guys and they dominated us so next week could be guinness corned beef cabbage and shish kabob blue jay.

stevens had a nice piece on concannon finding real success and happiness at hofstra thanks to petro and tierney linking up to find him a way to close out his career, but his absence isn't the difference in these games and millimans getting a chance to see if guys like degnon are long term answers.

smith apparently finally saw the field today. If this is all baskin and zinn have I'd rather see what mcdermott and anyone else have.

williams is a 5th year man beast. he shouldn't need training wheels, hand holding and a map to dominate.

They should have game planned for Benson knowing Hopkins shooters well and Maryland’s goalie playing a great game? How exactly do you game plan for that?

[flalax22]

If Martin was out there, I didn't see him.

Deans played his usual amount, just didn't make much of an impact.

I don't know why McManus came on for Szuluk in the second half. The staff just doesn't seem to want to put Szuluk in there and let him stay there. I thought he was playing pretty well. He and Reinson have been our best defenders this year.

You should do the box scores, 16. Very hard to do with these not-quite professionally filmed games though.

Not only does IL have Martin playing, they have him with an assist.

And they don't have McManus or Deans playing at all. Personally, I think I'd have a close D of Szuluk, Reinson and McManus. Lyne feels like the weakest of the three to me, but maybe the staff feels they need him from a communication perspective.

He may have played, but he definitely did not have an assist. That's a mistake.

The white numbers on black jerseys were the easiest of the season to read, but filming the field from the International Space Station didn't help. I'm just glad our next two games are on ESPNU/ESPN3.

Szuluk was called for the push at the midline to put the Terps two men up, which may have earned him a spot on the bench. But he was playing well before that. Not sure there is a better pole on-ball than him.

I actually don’t think he got benched as much as there is a good chance he’s hurt. I think I saw him get hit hard on a ground ball right before the half and he didn’t look right going off the field. There’s no way he would be benched for his play in my opinion. He’s been the best cover guy so far.

[jhu06]

Aside from Jameson at UMBC maybe or Tierney at Hofstra my Hopkins lacrosse brain does not have the depth to remember the last time a hop team faced a coaching staff w/bensons breadth of insider knowledge.

[HopFan16]

If Martin was out there, I didn't see him.

Deans played his usual amount, just didn't make much of an impact.

I don't know why McManus came on for Szuluk in the second half. The staff just doesn't seem to want to put Szuluk in there and let him stay there. I thought he was playing pretty well. He and Reinson have been our best defenders this year.

You should do the box scores, 16. Very hard to do with these not-quite professionally filmed games though.

Not only does IL have Martin playing, they have him with an assist.

And they don't have McManus or Deans playing at all. Personally, I think I'd have a close D of Szuluk, Reinson and McManus. Lyne feels like the weakest of the three to me, but maybe the staff feels they need him from a communication perspective.

He may have played, but he definitely did not have an assist. That's a mistake.

The white numbers on black jerseys were the easiest of the season to read, but filming the field from the International Space Station didn't help. I'm just glad our next two games are on ESPNU/ESPN3.

Szuluk was called for the push at the midline to put the Terps two men up, which may have earned him a spot on the bench. But he was playing well before that. Not sure there is a better pole on-ball than him.

I actually don’t think he got benched as much as there is a good chance he’s hurt. I think I saw him get hit hard on a ground ball right before the half and he didn’t look right going off the field. There’s no way he would be benched for his play in my opinion. He’s been the best cover guy so far.

Szuluk played and looked fine for most of the 3rd quarter. After Maryland's 12th goal with around 4:30 left in the 3rd, he came off and McManus replaced him for the rest of the game. If it was due to injury from before the half, he hid it well and the switch was quite delayed. I just think they haven't completely decided who they want that 3rd pole to be.

Lyne has had a couple shaky moments on ball but I'm assuming they like him out there for his length. He takes up a ton of room with that wingspan and he's batted more than a few skip passes down. And as mentioned he might be the communicative glue holding things together. Assuming no one is seriously hurt, my preference would be Szuluk-Reinson-Lyne and just stick with that. Smith got an extended possession as an LSM at the end of the half after he took a faceoff.

Raposo came on at the very end and immediately got into a GB scrap and drew a loose-ball push to maintain possession. Liked seeing that from him. Speaking of middies: The first line got three or four runs for every one run the twos got. Williams-Angelus-Keogh/Degnon were out there for 75% of possessions. Zinn didn't see the field as an O middie after the 2nd quarter but did come on as a wing toward the end of the game. Baskin didn't get much run either. I'm ready to see some McDermott and wouldn't mind giving Raposo a real shot or two.

[jhu06]

to fix for next week
-faceoff, need a better shortstick wing. narewski and prouty have too much of a track record to get darby-ed.
-second midfield, lets see what mcdermott and anyone else has
-better gameplan for shooting on offense
-defensive composure. Need leadership. It's d1, everyone gets on a roll, and gives up a few in a row. but 10 in a row loses games (and seasons) 3 in a row loses quarters.
-turnovers.

[flalax22]

If Martin was out there, I didn't see him.

Deans played his usual amount, just didn't make much of an impact.

I don't know why McManus came on for Szuluk in the second half. The staff just doesn't seem to want to put Szuluk in there and let him stay there. I thought he was playing pretty well. He and Reinson have been our best defenders this year.

You should do the box scores, 16. Very hard to do with these not-quite professionally filmed games though.

Not only does IL have Martin playing, they have him with an assist.

And they don't have McManus or Deans playing at all. Personally, I think I'd have a close D of Szuluk, Reinson and McManus. Lyne feels like the weakest of the three to me, but maybe the staff feels they need him from a communication perspective.

He may have played, but he definitely did not have an assist. That's a mistake.

The white numbers on black jerseys were the easiest of the season to read, but filming the field from the International Space Station didn't help. I'm just glad our next two games are on ESPNU/ESPN3.

Szuluk was called for the push at the midline to put the Terps two men up, which may have earned him a spot on the bench. But he was playing well before that. Not sure there is a better pole on-ball than him.

I actually don’t think he got benched as much as there is a good chance he’s hurt. I think I saw him get hit hard on a ground ball right before the half and he didn’t look right going off the field. There’s no way he would be benched for his play in my opinion. He’s been the best cover guy so far.

Szuluk played and looked fine for most of the 3rd quarter. After Maryland's 12th goal with around 4:30 left in the 3rd, he came off and McManus replaced him for the rest of the game. If it was due to injury from before the half, he hid it well and the switch was quite delayed. I just think they haven't completely decided who they want that 3rd pole to be.

Ok good to know I didn’t think I saw him after half. If it is performance related I’m surprised. I thought he’s been the most solid defender back there.

[FannOLax]

It's those darned black jerseys... not since a warm mid-April Sunday evening when Ament was a first-year (2016) in State College, PA have the Jays won a meaningful game wearing black. Please, Columbia blue.

[jhu08]

I have little slivers of Big Ten second half schedule info. I'll try to figure out how this might factor in with our schedule after I have time to look at it more and think about it. Reporting it as I literally just found this.

Week 6 / Sunday, March 28 / Maryland @ Rutgers / ESPNU 2:00pm

Week 7 / Saturday, April 3 / Ohio State @ Rutgers / BTN / 5:00pm
Week 7 / Sunday, April 4 / Michigan @ Johns Hopkins / ESPNU / Noon
Week 7 / Penn State @ Maryland (by process of elimination)

Week 9 / Friday, April 16 / Michigan @ Penn State / BTN / 5:00pm
Week 9 / Sunday, April 18 / Ohio State @ Maryland / BTN / 5:00pm
Week 9 / Johns Hopkins @ Rutgers (by process of elimination)

Week 10 / Saturday, April 24 / Penn State @ Ohio State / ESPNU / 4:00pm

(The 5:00pm times on BTN might be placeholders, it seems odd to me that they're all the same time)

[jhu08]

new info. updated post

[51percentcorn]

4 shots/6 turnovers/3 failed clears/5 ground balls - that was a disaster for sure - my only question about that quarter was where were the 3 successful clears or the 4 shots? Can't even remember them.
Until Hopkins solves a few fundamental problems periods like this may be a "thing"
- No true mid-fielders - Viper to Jester on Zinn - Keep Sending Him Up
- Whatever the reason - no practice, no skills, no whatever - ground balls kill this team
- Very little outside shooting - hard for the smurf middies to operate in such close quarters when the defense doesn't have to worry about much else - figure out a way to get Degnon more than 2-3 shots a game - theoretically - what - 30-35 offensive players - can't anybody shoot from 12 yards and out?
- Defense actually played better in first half - 3rd quarter they got dispirited and tired but ball watching/footspeed appeared to be a problem in the defensive mid-field.
- In the game of thirds - Kirson needed to be closer to 2/3rds in saves than 1/3 - not his best

[jhu08]

I have little slivers of Big Ten second half schedule info. I'll try to figure out how this might factor in with our schedule after I have time to look at it more and think about it. Reporting it as I literally just found this.

If we host Maryland in week 10, I am 99% sure that this will be our final 2021 schedule (by process of elimination):
Week 1: Ohio State
Week 2: at Michigan
Week 3: at Maryland
Week 4: Penn State
Week 5: Rutgers
-
Week 6: at Penn State (ESPNU has a TBA slot Sunday at noon, which could be us)
Week 7: Michigan (Sunday, April 4, Noon on ESPNU)
Week 8: at Ohio State
Week 9: at Rutgers
Week 10: Maryland (ESPNU has 3 TBA slots across Saturday and Sunday)
-
Week 11: Big Ten Quarterfinals (at higher seeds)
Week 12: Big Ten Semifinals & Championship (at Penn State)

Bold = confirmed.

[primitiveskills]

- Very little outside shooting - hard for the smurf middies to operate in such close quarters when the defense doesn't have to worry about much else

This is one of the more glaring holes with this team. We've been spoiled by having such a long run with Brown and Marr, but there's no one like that on this team.

Agree that guys like Degnon and Grimes should be getting more shots, but I think you are seeing across the country that defenses are emphasizing taking away the team's best time-and-room shooter, even at the expense of giving up more close-in shots. Case in point O'Keefe at PSU, who has virtually disappeared without Ament and with opposing defenses adjusting their approach. You are going to need more than one outside threat on the field at any given time, and we can't really do that. Expect that to be a recruiting emphasis.

That said, I do like the creativity we're showing to try to adjust to that deficiency. Things like giving Angelus more of a free role up top. That caused confusion for Maryland's D.

It's a bit frustrating that Grimes has been invisible so far. I'm going to chalk that up to no fall ball, no practice, etc. He's not alone; very few freshmen across the country making a big impact, probably for the reasons above. That said, I think he has potential to develop into a Wisnauskas-type player. Heck, if if only got halfway there it would be great. I have a hard time remembering another kid who has developed such a complete game from having a "just a shooter" rep. He was really impressive yesterday.