NYBilliken

Good win after the disaster last game! Expectations were lower, so it was good to close out a game. There were still too many mistakes on offense throughout the game, and defense tightened just enough at the end. Otherwise we were not able to shut down St. Josephs offense. Good games by Jimerson, Forrester, Pickett, Collins, and it was great to see Hughes and Parker contribute. Good effort by St. Josephs.

Iona game is wakeup call for players and coaching staff alike. Ford may not excel at responding in-game, but his teams have often improved through the course of season. Yurimania has posed a challenge last year and this year, because it gives opposing coaches a single point of failure to focus their defense on, as Pitino did. Last season the positive progression in-season did not happen to same extent, and the greatness but overreliance on Yurimania might have been part of the reason (along with absence of Goodwin and French). So what can Ford and team change to make this season better? So far it is tracking in much the same way as last season.

Pickett was fouled three times on that sequence, finally got the call.

What a disastrous half of basketball. More of the same and we lose by 20+. With early lead at 19-14, everyone relaxed, coach thought he would try a new lineup, and Iona outscored us 31-13 the rest of the way.

Great first half so far! Everyone is playing well, except Okoro who looks the same as early in the season last year. The effort is there, but too many mistakes.

Great win! We were behind 60-51, then outscored them 25-13 down the stretch. Refused to lose!

I am looking for a win by Billikens PLUS another strong win by Maryland to put yesterday's disaster in better perspective.

What did Ford do? Listening on the radio, so I did not see

Ramsay and Austin commenatary: Maryland is looking for the knockout blow now, outhustling Billikens on every play. Bills standing around on offense, just watching others go one-on-one and miss.

Listening on the radio. "What has happened to the Billiken offense," says Ramsay.

Murray State closing out the upset over Texas A&M (ranked #24) in Myrtle Beach.

About the Memphis strategy, the robot program that writes ESPN recaps noted that Billikens scored their last field goal (Collins three-pointer) with more than 7 minutes left in the game. The rest of our points were all from the foul line. Memphis evidently decided they would always foul instead of allowing any baskets. Good thing we shot well from the line during those final minutes! Anyhow, thanks to the robot for a good observation. Maybe we needed different approach to keep scoring despite that intense defensive challenge.

Yes, that's a good way to put it - but Goodwin is a good problem to have unlike their lottery pick, Johnny Davis, who is considered not ready to play at nba level despite 4.8 million dollar contract.

The Wizards fans are very enthused about Goodwin and the role he has played in this winning streak. The discussions on bulletsforever website make it clear that the fans intensely distrust the management of their team to make good decisions, so they are torn between giving them credit for finding Goodwin and saying why did it take so long to give him a chance. They are assuming Goodwin is not just on the team to stay, but he needs to stay part of the rotation when Beal returns. Incidentally, there is much dislike of Beal, who has been out on Covid protocol during the entire winning streak. Two-way contracts allow only 50 game appearances at NBA level, and no playoff games, so if Goodwin stays with the Wizards and keeps playing he will need to have his contract converted to full rookie contract by the spring. Wizards would need to trade or release one of the 15 players already with a guaranteed contract.

Wizards are on ESPN tonight, at home vs. 1-4 Pacers. Discussion here by fans that Goodwin will get playing time tonight instead of the first-round draft pick. https://www.bulletsforever.com/2022/10/27/23426984/delon-wright-washington-wizards-hamstring-injury-nba

Two points for Goodwin in Wizards win tonight. Two minutes, two points!

Thanks for the info. The change this year is great for Goodwin where the two-way player gets $508K per year, regardless of how much time they spend with the NBA or G League team. Previously the amount of pay depended on how much time the player actually spent with the NBA team. So even though the player can be cut any time, while they are on contract they earn about $3K per day, or $20K per week, regardless of whether playing that week for Wizards or Go-Go. It looks like no player can have more than two years on two-way contract with same team, which is why Winston was no longer a contender for Wizards two-way contract. Stat comparison in G League, Goodwin vs. Winston, from Go-Go last year is interesting. Winston is clearly better shooter (45.5% field goals, 39.4% three pointers, 88.9% free throws) than Goodwin (41.5%, 30.6%, 78.1%). Winston also has the edge in assists, as both players had 5.1 per game, but Winston in 19.7 MPG, Goodwin in 32.4 MPG. Goodwin had 16.0 ppg, Winston 13.4 ppg in those fewer minutes. Goodwin has the edge in size, rebounding (6.0 per game, including 2.3 offensive reb, vs. 2.9 and 0.4 for Winston), turnovers (1.8 vs. 2.5), steals (1.8 vs. 0.8), and propensity to foul (both at 2.3 fouls per game, with Goodwin playing 60% more minutes. Wizards gave up on Winston, who I guess added nothing unique at NBA level, and now giving opportunity to Goodwin, a much different type of player. Hopefully he will get in some games and show how he can help them win.

This is great news! Does qualifying offer to Goodwin and not Schakel mean that Wizards expect Goodwin to be on Wizards to start the season for at least 15 days - so that qualifying offer is needed to keep him a restricted free agent so that Wizards can match any other offer?

Take the Metro-North train from Grand Central to the Fordham station, not the subway. The entrance to train station is right next to campus. The train costs a few dollars more than the subway but it's a quicker ride and fewer stops.

This is crazy, great news! Has anything similar happened elsewhere - where star player announces transfer, then changes his mind and comes back? Some responses from VolNation board: "Ughhhhhhh" "Disaster" "What the hell happened? "Sounds like they raised some $$$ in a hurry for him over there with that Billiken Exchange thing"

Thanks for all the reactions to the Yuri departure. Key takeaway from the discussion is that college is now more like the pros: Every year you need to wait and see who will be on the roster. Some will leave, some will stay. Essentially all players are on one-year deal until their first transfer. It will still be good, just different. Player satisfaction becomes more important if coach wants to keep that player. Coaches who use deeper rotations like the St. Peters coach (now at Seton Hall), who get everyone involved and developing with in-game experience with 10-deep rotation, might be able to retain more. All players want to win, showcase their talent, develop their skills. Billikens of 2022-23 can still be NCAA tournament caliber, depending on who point guards will be. Ford should sign two rotation guards who can play the point, not one. Yuri has been great player but not perfect. Too many turnovers, and his dominance as playmaker may have kept others from developing in some ways and the team from playing cohesively without him on the floor (see Northern Iowa game). Billikens last year were very good but never quite found consistent balance as team.

A clueless stretch of basketball. "Searching for answers" as the announcer said.

Great win!!!

wow what a shot to win by Chattanooga! 40 foot off-balance three pointer at the buzzer

That was amazing play by Yuri Collins to score that final layup and prevent the loss