LaxPower Back-Up Stick

wgdsr wrote: ↑Fri Jul 16, 2021 4:01 pm be nice to get hop/uva back on the sched.

+1 !

HopFan16 wrote: ↑Fri Jul 16, 2021 4:31 pm

wgdsr wrote: ↑Fri Jul 16, 2021 4:01 pm be nice to get hop/uva back on the sched.

Mentioned it in the UVA thread but, I'd expect it back sooner rather than later. Both parties interested

jhu06 wrote: ↑Fri Jul 16, 2021 3:52 pm HF16 also hinted at some scheduling changes. We'll see what happens.

Not a hint. There will be changes. Don't know them all exactly but 100% there will be at least a few swaps of the usual suspects

good to hear.

As far as Petro - I have the following observations:
- First - he doesn't play anymore - so what exactly is he going to do with all this extra motivation - coach the Cuse boys better that week? harder? Is he going to come up with a defense that is just going to confound Hopkins? Color me skeptical.
- Second - if revenge is any part of the motivation - I fear it is misplaced. The 3 people who apparently affected his departure - Daniels, Shanahan, and Baker? Well, one of them is gone - one couldn't care less "Honey - shall we open the Aubert Chardonnay or the Sine Qua Non Red Blend- the view of the valley in Montecito is gorgeous today - and I don't think Baker will launch herself from the Gilman Clock tower if Cuse wallops JHU in lax
- Third - Petro has been deferential in his silence but it has been that - silence - or I've missed any gracious comments towards his former players.

If they play in '22 - Cuse may very well win - but because Cuse is better not because of the Cuse DC.

51percentcorn wrote: ↑Fri Jul 16, 2021 6:14 pm - Third - Petro has been deferential in his silence but it has been that - silence - or I've missed any gracious comments towards his former players.

Don't think you missed anything. He was courteous during the "mutual parting of ways" and was careful not to say anything that'd hurt the team or throw someone under the bus—but since then it's been radio silence. He'll occasionally post something about Rabil or Harrison on Twitter but that's about it. I do recall him saying in an interview (I think maybe in March or so?) that he hadn't watched any Hopkins games and wasn't sure if he was planning to. To be honest I don't blame him for that—must be a really weird feeling watching someone else coach your guys. Assuming we play Cuse in 2022 however he's going to at least have to watch some film.

All quiet on the transfer front...have to think the guys without homes yet will start landing soon. I haven't heard anything but have to assume Zinn is getting some calls—though curious if other teams see him as an offensive or defensive middie at this point.

If I had my way, we'd bring in 1 more transfer, and it'd be Rizzotti the LSM from Dartmouth, Rock LSM from UVA (provided there are no skeletons re: his departure from the Hoos), or Bardwell the SSDM from Cornell. Already got the goalie and the possible offensive weapon—if there's a need now it's defensive midfield though I wouldn't necessarily call it a must-have with all the guys already waiting in the wings, unproven though they may be.

51percentcorn wrote: ↑Fri Jul 16, 2021 6:14 pm As far as Petro - I have the following observations:
- First - he doesn't play anymore - so what exactly is he going to do with all this extra motivation - coach the Cuse boys better that week? harder? Is he going to come up with a defense that is just going to confound Hopkins? Color me skeptical.
- Second - if revenge is any part of the motivation - I fear it is misplaced. The 3 people who apparently affected his departure - Daniels, Shanahan, and Baker? Well, one of them is gone - one couldn't care less "Honey - shall we open the Aubert Chardonnay or the Sine Qua Non Red Blend- the view of the valley in Montecito is gorgeous today - and I don't think Baker will launch herself from the Gilman Clock tower if Cuse wallops JHU in lax
- Third - Petro has been deferential in his silence but it has been that - silence - or I've missed any gracious comments towards his former players.

If they play in '22 - Cuse may very well win - but because Cuse is better not because of the Cuse DC.

Most successful people are not focused on the past, they are focused on the present and the future. I’m sure Coach Pietramala had plenty of time in his year away from college coaching to think about the past. I am certain he is entirely focused on his current job and players.

As for his lack of comments on former players who are still with the Jays … I suspect he no longer feels it is his place to comment on them, and he would be right about that.

Coach Pietramala just went through what he himself described as one of the most difficult years of his life. He must be happy just to be coaching again.

The Syracuse defense is going to be good next season … I would wager a fair sum on that.

DocBarrister

51percentcorn wrote: ↑Fri Jul 16, 2021 6:14 pm As far as Petro - I have the following observations:
- First - he doesn't play anymore - so what exactly is he going to do with all this extra motivation - coach the Cuse boys better that week? harder? Is he going to come up with a defense that is just going to confound Hopkins? Color me skeptical.
- Second - if revenge is any part of the motivation - I fear it is misplaced. The 3 people who apparently affected his departure - Daniels, Shanahan, and Baker? Well, one of them is gone - one couldn't care less "Honey - shall we open the Aubert Chardonnay or the Sine Qua Non Red Blend- the view of the valley in Montecito is gorgeous today - and I don't think Baker will launch herself from the Gilman Clock tower if Cuse wallops JHU in lax
- Third - Petro has been deferential in his silence but it has been that - silence - or I've missed any gracious comments towards his former players.

If they play in '22 - Cuse may very well win - but because Cuse is better not because of the Cuse DC.

Last line very convenient , covers most likely outcomes either way but not all.

DocBarrister wrote: ↑Sat Jul 17, 2021 7:11 am The Syracuse defense is going to be good next season … I would wager a fair sum on that.

How much is a "fair sum"? Might take you up on that.

To be clear - silence from a former coach is by far the best option in virtually every situation. I am not saying Petro did anything wrong or acted inappropriately in any way. It just seemed to me that some of the comments implied this level of graciousness that exceeded just keeping your thought bubble to yourself. And again, as I posted on the Syracuse thread - Petro was a victim of his own success. First 8 years - winning percentage threatening 80 - last 11.5 down to 62 - last 5 seasons down to 58. The trend was not his friend. If he had continued to win 70+% of his games he could have had Alanna's and Jen's security card to the Cordish Center turned off.

jhu06 wrote: ↑Fri Jul 16, 2021 3:52 pm Benson had all the talent he could haul in at Hopkins and after some of the gpas and sat scores that some of his recruits at hopkins posted on their recruiting videos (2 point something gpas don't get the rest of us acceptances) I'm skeptical about these claims of a lack of admin support.
-Cuse has been pretty transparent about what's going on up there and what they want to achieve and it's great for the sport. Some people act like lacrosse is a 1920 womens tea that needs strict etiquette and other nonsense. HF16 also hinted at some scheduling changes. We'll see what happens.
-the other poster was right, this feels like it will be one of the quietest fall balls in memory. Staff have long term deals, no "savior of the program"incoming recruit compared to HOFs, no major injury returns, quiet optimism about the end of the season, national pressure and focus on ivy return/cuse/uva/etc, mild expectations for a return to the ncaa tournament and enough to think memorials are w/in reason again.

And we're back
Most offseasons are pretty quiet. Right now - Fernandez's return is pretty important because with DeLaney's return to the hoops team - experience is very thin with that position - hence '16's desire to see Rizzotti trade green for blue. They may not have the stars or accolades next to their names but there are 12 young men showing up next month - with a full allotment of time to prepare I would be surprised if they all stood around in '22. If PM and crew are trying to clean up the roster a little bit. There also could be alot of noise around the roster - look at the math again
- 12 freshmen
- 16 Sophomores
- 13 Juniors - (Soph elig)
- 9 Seniors - (Jun elig)
- 4 returnees (Senior elig)
- 2 Transfers so far

That's back to 56 - I guess he's dealt with that number or thereabouts this past season - but again that means in a competitive game approximately 33 of those players will not see the field - that's too many - way too many

Don't want to go down the recruiting wormhole again but Benson did not have "all the talent he could haul in". That is not even close to being a true statement especially when the program pushed all their chips in on early recruiting. I've cited this before but the last 1st team AA for Hopkins at attack - 18 years ago - Barrie in '03. After Rabil and Kimmel left - 2011 had Ranagan as a 1st team - 2018 had Tinney - so since Kimmel - 2 offensive 1st team AAs. And at the time there was alot of raised eyebrows and statements about a Hopkins bias about Ranagan's seIection. 18 goals/14 assists/27% shooting percentage/27 ground balls/21 turnovers is a decent season from the midfield - it's not off the charts. Compare that to Tinney's 21 goals 32 assists and 36 ground balls with the exact same shooting percentage and turnovers - that's a season clearly with 1st team merits. Talent was an issue - has been for a long time.

What exactly is Syracuse being so transparent about - I'm missing it - they want to win lacrosse titles - thank God I was sitting down for that.

stupefied wrote: ↑Sat Jul 17, 2021 10:03 am Last line very convenient , covers most likely outcomes either way but not all.

Don't understand the comment about convenience. Assuming they play in '22 I am sure David will be very focused. But given that he never goes into anything less than 100% I am not sure what his impact on the game will be over any other. Maybe he will design a defense that Hopkins can't solve - maybe the Syracuse defensive players will want to get him this win and they will play the game of their lives. It's possible. It's also possible too that the Hopkins players will be very focused going against their former coach and they play well. There's one half of the field that Petro has no impact on - obvioulsy when Syracuse has the ball settled. He also doesn't coach face-offs which can have an impact on the outcome. So while obviously a DC has a critical impact on the season and can make adjustments that help the team in an individual game - those are more subtle. It should be entertaining.

HopFan16 wrote: ↑Sat Jul 17, 2021 10:41 am

DocBarrister wrote: ↑Sat Jul 17, 2021 7:11 am The Syracuse defense is going to be good next season … I would wager a fair sum on that.

How much is a "fair sum"? Might take you up on that.

Well, enough to get us both indicted under 18 USC 1084 and possibly sentenced for up to two years in federal prison for unauthorized interstate online gambling.

Let’s leave it at that ….

DocBarrister

DocBarrister wrote: ↑Sat Jul 17, 2021 7:11 am
Coach Pietramala just went through what he himself described as one of the most difficult years of his life. He must be happy just to be coaching again.

The Syracuse defense is going to be good next season … I would wager a fair sum on that.

DocBarrister

It will certainly be interesting to see what Coach P can do when he just has the defense to focus on and nothing else. I do think he needs a serious philosophical change in his approach though. The game had passed him by a bit.

Given that both GG and DP are traditionalists, I would think they would probably go out of their way to make sure the SU-HOP rivalry stays alive.
DP does know our personnel pretty well, having recruited most of them, and that may give him a slight edge in a future matchup.
That game could pack the house at Homewood or maybe even in the Dome.
I do think if he sticks with his passive position defense, JG's offense will pick it apart.
He seems to emphasize ball movement.
I'm glad Petro landed on his fleet and the change might work out for him well in the long run.

Sagittarius A* wrote: ↑Sat Jul 17, 2021 2:00 pm

DocBarrister wrote: ↑Sat Jul 17, 2021 7:11 am
Coach Pietramala just went through what he himself described as one of the most difficult years of his life. He must be happy just to be coaching again.

The Syracuse defense is going to be good next season … I would wager a fair sum on that.

DocBarrister

It will certainly be interesting to see what Coach P can do when he just has the defense to focus on and nothing else. I do think he needs a serious philosophical change in his approach though. The game had passed him by a bit.

Given that both GG and DP are traditionalists, I would think they would probably go out of their way to make sure the SU-HOP rivalry stays alive.
DP does know our personnel pretty well, having recruited most of them, and that may give him a slight edge in a future matchup.
That game could pack the house at Homewood or maybe even in the Dome.
I do think if he sticks with his passive position defense, JG's offense will pick it apart.
He seems to emphasize ball movement.
I'm glad Petro landed on his fleet and the change might work out for him well in the long run.

I suspect practicing against John Grant Jr.’s motion offense helped the Blue Jays improve their off-ball defense. I thought the improvement in off-ball defense was one of Coach Koesterer’s most impressive accomplishments, but he probably owes some thanks to JGJr.

DocBarrister

DocBarrister wrote: ↑Sat Jul 17, 2021 2:48 pm I suspect practicing against John Grant Jr.’s motion offense helped the Blue Jays improve their off-ball defense. I thought the improvement in off-ball defense was one of Coach Koesterer’s most impressive accomplishments, but he probably owes some thanks to JGJr.

You know Benson ran a motion offense at Hopkins for several years, right? The concept of a motion offense is not new and the Jays D has been practicing against one for a long time.

The main difference between the current offense and Benson's is probably less initiating from X and more from the wings. But as we've discussed here multiple times, Benson moved away from the downhill dodging in 2014 and installed a motion offense that he's used every year since.

I'd love some analysis from someone about what the other big changes in scheme were, if any. I haven't noticed wild differences. There seemed to be a bit more box-influenced weave stuff, maybe, in some more off-ball movement above the cage—but nothing crazy.

Having said that, part of the reason that may be the case was because the staff was new, didn't know the players that well, didn't have a fall ball, and had preseason practice seriously interrupted. So maybe they didn't install as much new stuff as they'd have liked. I would expect a couple more wrinkles next year. If they're smart, they'll start designing more stuff around #51. Find ways to get that kid the ball in space.

Sagittarius A* wrote: ↑Sat Jul 17, 2021 2:00 pmIt will certainly be interesting to see what Coach P can do when he just has the defense to focus on and nothing else. I do think he needs a serious philosophical change in his approach though. The game had passed him by a bit.

So if Petro wins at Syracuse, it will be because he changed his philosophical approach?

What's this approach of his, and why is it wrong?

a fan wrote: ↑Sat Jul 17, 2021 4:54 pm So if Petro wins at Syracuse, it will be because he changed his philosophical approach?

What's this approach of his, and why is it wrong?

I am almost assuming this is a rhetorical question but in the off chance it's not the theory goes something like this. Petro made the judgement a long time ago that high pressure defenses were not worth the risk because of the allowances in stick design. Better philosophy to keep everything in front of you - slide and recover and attempt to make the opponent shoot from some level of distance where your goalie has a look to make a save - perhaps frustrate them into taking a less optimal shot. Obviously its more detailed and nuanced than that but I think that's the gist of it. Supported in data to some degree that Hopkins was never famous for being a big caused turnover team. Then there's the point that for the more successsful first half of his tenure Hopkins won probably close to or in excess of 60% of face-offs and had offenses that were loaded and took care of the ball. Goalies through Jesse were better as well. So now the thought is with folks running around in greater numbers that can ping corners at 90 mph + letting guys have step downs from 12 yards is not setting up your goalie for success and the last few years face-offs and ground balls have fallen off as well as turnovers increasing so opponents are seeing more possessions - therefore time to change the paradigm and be more aggressive.

Its just a revisit of the classic Hopkins lacrosse question these days - talent vs schemes - how much to attribute to each?

51percentcorn wrote: ↑Sat Jul 17, 2021 5:34 pm

a fan wrote: ↑Sat Jul 17, 2021 4:54 pm So if Petro wins at Syracuse, it will be because he changed his philosophical approach?

What's this approach of his, and why is it wrong?

I am almost assuming this is a rhetorical question but in the off chance it's not the theory goes something like this. Petro made the judgement a long time ago that high pressure defenses were not worth the risk because of the allowances in stick design. Better philosophy to keep everything in front of you - slide and recover and attempt to make the opponent shoot from some level of distance where your goalie has a look to make a save - perhaps frustrate them into taking a less optimal shot. Obviously its more detailed and nuanced than that but I think that's the gist of it. Supported in data to some degree that Hopkins was never famous for being a big caused turnover team. Then there's the point that for the more successsful first half of his tenure Hopkins won probably close to or in excess of 60% of face-offs and had offenses that were loaded and took care of the ball. Goalies through Jesse were better as well. So now the thought is with folks running around in greater numbers that can ping corners at 90 mph + letting guys have step downs from 12 yards is not setting up your goalie for success and the last few years face-offs and ground balls have fallen off as well as turnovers increasing so opponents are seeing more possessions - therefore time to change the paradigm and be more aggressive.

Its just a revisit of the classic Hopkins lacrosse question these days - talent vs schemes - how much to attribute to each?

Well unfortunately, we can't really do any fair comparisons anymore. Everything pre-shot clock really doesn't matter.

For me? I really can't think of ANY successful defenses anymore. Hard to gauge from 2021, because we didn't have an Ivy league, and everyone's schedule this year was a mess.

But. In 2021, every team that played top teams gave up 10gaa or more. It's pretty nuts. You'd think that adding a shot clock would make scoring go down, not up, for at least a few teams....since the clock is a 8th defender of sorts. Nope. Guess not.

So to me a the definition of a good defense has changed.

1. they can get a stop when you need a stop. In other words....they may give up 13, but when the game is on the line, they don't give up #14. Or when a team makes a run....they can get a stop to stop the bleeding, and change the momentum.

2. they're tough on GB's, and get the ball off the carpet and up the field cleanly.

3. they can clear quickly and cleanly, without making subs. Clear first, then sub.

That's it.


As for the talent vs. schemes at Hopkins argument....Benson, at least, put that argument to rest on the offensive half of the field.

a fan wrote: ↑Sat Jul 17, 2021 6:45 pm You'd think that adding a shot clock would make scoring go down, not up, for at least a few teams....since the clock is a 8th defender of sorts. Nope. Guess not.

Uh no, the expectation was the exact opposite—that scoring would go up—and that's exactly what happened. The pace of play is up, each team gets more possessions, more opportunities to score. No more never-ending possessions that drain the clock. All that time pre- shot clock era when teams would "run offense" (AKA stall) is time that goals weren't being scored for either team. Now, the shot clock forces team to shoot the ball and shoot for the goal ("possession shots" don't help you anymore). Quicker pace also has the effect of tiring defenses out. Sure, offensive players get tired too but when both sides are tired, the advantage goes to the offense. The ball moves a lot faster than any player can especially when they're gassed. A lot harder to defend tired than it is to shoot tired IMO.

generally speaking:
most any scheme can work. you have to have players and coaching that allow it to.

certainly you have to recruit to the scheme, but if that didn't work out any coach knows they need to try to tweak to fit to the players.

then it's down to are the players just not able to execute, or the coaches not able to coach it. that last part really can't be known without being there.

again generally speaking... i tend to think coaches don't forget how to coach. maybe they become less prolific at it, but more likely they've for whatever reason become less prolific at recruiting it.

wgdsr wrote: ↑Sat Jul 17, 2021 7:06 pm generally speaking:
most any scheme can work. you have to have players and coaching that allow it to.

certainly you have to recruit to the scheme, but if that didn't work out any coach knows they need to try to tweak to fit to the players.

then it's down to are the players just not able to execute, or the coaches not able to coach it. that last part really can't be known without being there.

again generally speaking... i tend to think coaches don't forget how to coach. maybe they become less prolific at it, but more likely they've for whatever reason become less prolific at recruiting it.

Committing pretty much an entire class 3 years before they graduated from HS isn’t helpful.

HopFan16 wrote: ↑Sat Jul 17, 2021 7:01 pm Uh no, the expectation was the exact opposite—that scoring would go up—and that's exactly what happened.

Yes, generally speaking. But what I thought would happen is that a few teams would find a way to use the clock to their defensive advantage. Tierney. Or Army. Or Navy. Or....someone. Nope.

That didn't happen. There are no tough defenses anymore.