You have to remember this was an alumni event. The general public wasn't invited. This was the largest crowd for the meet the Gaels that I can remember. There were times in the past when attendance could be measured in dozens.
Listed as part of Homecoming events and Goal Club announcements. Not talking just about scrimmage--focusing on opening of renovated arena celebration.
Every seat was taking for the ribbon cutting ceremony. No one was allowed in if they did not register online. But I agree that the overall homecoming seemed a little light. Think we should consider reinstating some form of Clam Slam that Monica initiated years ago and gave alum reason to hang around.
Gym is beautiful,lots of scoreboards, a bit small in person, looks bigger on the videos I have seen. Biggest negative was sound was too loud, at least at first. Overall very nice upgrade and also hallway outside the gym is impressive with TV's and memorabilia.
Game was more controlled then normal, a little more defense, less 3 point shooting.
Team has a lot of talent, no question will be a top Maac team, more than that is hard to say. The team will be led by 3 Maac all stars: Crawford, Agee and Gist. Not much to say about each of them, they all looked themselves and Gist may have played the best out of the 3, and I think he was the leading scorer, but this year no stats on the scoreboards.
Washington-Very strong penetrator and plays under control although beginning of the game seemed to call his own number too much. His 3 pointer is a set shot, won't be the best 3 point shooter but I think he will be able to score a lot in the Maac and he does not turn the ball over much. Will be our starting point guard playing 32 minutes a game if he gets the waiver, heard we may hear soon.
Perez-We should not forget about him. Looked good, he will either be last starter or first player off the bench.
Ristanovic-Missing in action, though they introduced him, hopefully he was just "sick". Surprisingly he was only one not playing.
Nikolic-Didn't play much, maybe he was nursing an injury
Thiam- A well built lean athlete who plays defense, can jump, runs the floor and can shoot the 3, wasn't dominating but has talent and will get his chance to play a lot of minutes.
McNeil-At the beginning was very impressive, did not play as well in 2nd half, very good athlete, nice stroke from 3 and my favorite thing about him is he likes to go for rebounds and has the jumping ability to do it. Will either be 5th starter or one of the first off the bench. I can see him being one of the best Gaels next season.
Weiss-Didn't play much, can't say much.
Ortale-More impressive than Weiss, Football player body, plays with confidence. I can see him occasionally getting minutes.
Cashaw-expected him to run point but he didn't. Got most of his points on follows or tap ins or other garbage points. Seems to play defense and the type of player who doesn't make mistakes. He will have trouble earning too many minutes though with all these guards but I can see Cluess liking him. I didn't see his 3 ball, but his % stats from last year are impressive.
Ross-First half didn't impress me but in second half made some nice plays, 3 pointer wasn't falling that much but can see him contributing off the bench.
Van Eyk-Talented athlete who can run, jump and shoot. Will be a contributor, could even start. Has a lot of potential.
Starting 5-Very tough but I will say: Washington, Gist, Perez, Crawford, Agee. Off the bench Thiam first, Mcneil second, Ristanovic and or Van Eyk third. Ross next.
Summary-Lots of guys who can run, jump, shoot and put the ball in the basket. Once Cluess figures out his rotation and gets this team to play together this is going to be another good Cluess team. How good is what we will have to wait to see. I would guess 16-4 and 4-3, 20-7. High end 17-3, 5-2, 22-5.
super, if you had the visual of throngs of instagram followers as I did, you're right.
Otherwise, I thought attendance was noticeably better than past Meet the Gaels. The usual die-hard season ticket holders, plus lots of Trustee types, administrators and some clergy.
Given all the constraints, incredible what the school managed to do with the Hynes Center. If there were a Nobel prize for architecture, whoever conceptualized this renovation should be nominated. Hopefully, they'll be able to leverage this skill with others who have venues with similar challenges.
As for the team, agree with most sentiments and am praying for the waiver.
Sounds like we used Frank Lloyd Wright instead of Frank Lloyd Wrong.
super, if you had the visual of throngs of instagram followers as I did, you're right.
Otherwise, I thought attendance was noticeably better than past Meet the Gaels. The usual die-hard season ticket holders, plus lots of Trustee types, administrators and some clergy.
Given all the constraints, incredible what the school managed to do with the Hynes Center. If there were a Nobel prize for architecture, whoever conceptualized this renovation should be nominated. Hopefully, they'll be able to leverage this skill with others who have venues with similar challenges.
As for the team, agree with most sentiments and am praying for the waiver.
Sounds like we used Frank Lloyd Wright instead of Frank Lloyd Wrong.
Gym is beautiful,lots of scoreboards, a bit small in person, looks bigger on the videos I have seen. Biggest negative was sound was too loud, at least at first. Overall very nice upgrade and also hallway outside the gym is impressive with TV's and memorabilia.
Game was more controlled then normal, a little more defense, less 3 point shooting.
Team has a lot of talent, no question will be a top Maac team, more than that is hard to say. The team will be led by 3 Maac all stars: Crawford, Agee and Gist. Not much to say about each of them, they all looked themselves and Gist may have played the best out of the 3, and I think he was the leading scorer, but this year no stats on the scoreboards.
Washington-Very strong penetrator and plays under control although beginning of the game seemed to call his own number too much. His 3 pointer is a set shot, won't be the best 3 point shooter but I think he will be able to score a lot in the Maac and he does not turn the ball over much. Will be our starting point guard playing 32 minutes a game if he gets the waiver, heard we may hear soon.
Perez-We should not forget about him. Looked good, he will either be last starter or first player off the bench.
Ristanovic-Missing in action, though they introduced him, hopefully he was just "sick". Surprisingly he was only one not playing.
Nikolic-Didn't play much, maybe he was nursing an injury
Thiam- A well built lean athlete who plays defense, can jump, runs the floor and can shoot the 3, wasn't dominating but has talent and will get his chance to play a lot of minutes.
McNeil-At the beginning was very impressive, did not play as well in 2nd half, very good athlete, nice stroke from 3 and my favorite thing about him is he likes to go for rebounds and has the jumping ability to do it. Will either be 5th starter or one of the first off the bench. I can see him being one of the best Gaels next season.
Weiss-Didn't play much, can't say much.
Ortale-More impressive than Weiss, Football player body, plays with confidence. I can see him occasionally getting minutes.
Cashaw-expected him to run point but he didn't. Got most of his points on follows or tap ins or other garbage points. Seems to play defense and the type of player who doesn't make mistakes. He will have trouble earning too many minutes though with all these guards but I can see Cluess liking him. I didn't see his 3 ball, but his % stats from last year are impressive.
Ross-First half didn't impress me but in second half made some nice plays, 3 pointer wasn't falling that much but can see him contributing off the bench.
Van Eyk-Talented athlete who can run, jump and shoot. Will be a contributor, could even start. Has a lot of potential.
Starting 5-Very tough but I will say: Washington, Gist, Perez, Crawford, Agee. Off the bench Thiam first, Mcneil second, Ristanovic and or Van Eyk third. Ross next.
Summary-Lots of guys who can run, jump, shoot and put the ball in the basket. Once Cluess figures out his rotation and gets this team to play together this is going to be another good Cluess team. How good is what we will have to wait to see. I would guess 16-4 and 4-3, 20-7. High end 17-3, 5-2, 22-5.
I think this year we might see a different starting lineup compared to the last few years which were a 4-guard lineup. With the depth at the forward position, I believe that Thiam and Agee will be starters. Having two athletic forwards can create tons of problems in the MAAC and matchup against bigger teams in the OOC.
He did that at points last year, and I won't be surprised if he does it again this year. In the past, we've had only really 1 skilled low post player and had to start 4 guards to make up for it in case of foul trouble. Also, the low post players this year outside of Nickolic are able to run the floor at the same pace as the guards (meaning are conditioned to). They can run in the offense which won't take away from the 10 second or less offensive scheme.
Predictions: IW, Gist, Crawford, Agee, Thiam. Off the bench, McNeil - First, Perez - Second, Van Eyk or Ristanovic - third depending on the situation.
Gym is beautiful,lots of scoreboards, a bit small in person, looks bigger on the videos I have seen. Biggest negative was sound was too loud, at least at first. Overall very nice upgrade and also hallway outside the gym is impressive with TV's and memorabilia.
Game was more controlled then normal, a little more defense, less 3 point shooting.
Team has a lot of talent, no question will be a top Maac team, more than that is hard to say. The team will be led by 3 Maac all stars: Crawford, Agee and Gist. Not much to say about each of them, they all looked themselves and Gist may have played the best out of the 3, and I think he was the leading scorer, but this year no stats on the scoreboards.
Washington-Very strong penetrator and plays under control although beginning of the game seemed to call his own number too much. His 3 pointer is a set shot, won't be the best 3 point shooter but I think he will be able to score a lot in the Maac and he does not turn the ball over much. Will be our starting point guard playing 32 minutes a game if he gets the waiver, heard we may hear soon.
Perez-We should not forget about him. Looked good, he will either be last starter or first player off the bench.
Ristanovic-Missing in action, though they introduced him, hopefully he was just "sick". Surprisingly he was only one not playing.
Nikolic-Didn't play much, maybe he was nursing an injury
Thiam- A well built lean athlete who plays defense, can jump, runs the floor and can shoot the 3, wasn't dominating but has talent and will get his chance to play a lot of minutes.
McNeil-At the beginning was very impressive, did not play as well in 2nd half, very good athlete, nice stroke from 3 and my favorite thing about him is he likes to go for rebounds and has the jumping ability to do it. Will either be 5th starter or one of the first off the bench. I can see him being one of the best Gaels next season.
Weiss-Didn't play much, can't say much.
Ortale-More impressive than Weiss, Football player body, plays with confidence. I can see him occasionally getting minutes.
Cashaw-expected him to run point but he didn't. Got most of his points on follows or tap ins or other garbage points. Seems to play defense and the type of player who doesn't make mistakes. He will have trouble earning too many minutes though with all these guards but I can see Cluess liking him. I didn't see his 3 ball, but his % stats from last year are impressive.
Ross-First half didn't impress me but in second half made some nice plays, 3 pointer wasn't falling that much but can see him contributing off the bench.
Van Eyk-Talented athlete who can run, jump and shoot. Will be a contributor, could even start. Has a lot of potential.
Starting 5-Very tough but I will say: Washington, Gist, Perez, Crawford, Agee. Off the bench Thiam first, Mcneil second, Ristanovic and or Van Eyk third. Ross next.
Summary-Lots of guys who can run, jump, shoot and put the ball in the basket. Once Cluess figures out his rotation and gets this team to play together this is going to be another good Cluess team. How good is what we will have to wait to see. I would guess 16-4 and 4-3, 20-7. High end 17-3, 5-2, 22-5.
I think this year we might see a different starting lineup compared to the last few years which were a 4-guard lineup. With the depth at the forward position, I believe that Thiam and Agee will be starters. Having two athletic forwards can create tons of problems in the MAAC and matchup against bigger teams in the OOC.
He did that at points last year, and I won't be surprised if he does it again this year. In the past, we've had only really 1 skilled low post player and had to start 4 guards to make up for it in case of foul trouble. Also, the low post players this year outside of Nickolic are able to run the floor at the same pace as the guards (meaning are conditioned to). They can run in the offense which won't take away from the 10 second or less offensive scheme.
Predictions: IW, Gist, Crawford, Agee, Thiam. Off the bench, McNeil - First, Perez - Second, Van Eyk or Ristanovic - third depending on the situation.
I think this season, if everybody stays healthy, you will see IW, Gist, Crawford and Agee as starters. After that it could I think Cluess goes with who's practiced the best or whether he wants to go big or small. Don't forget Ross. Lots of options.