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Saturday, February 17, 2007
With just one day to get ready, Holy Cross takes on Hostra in the BracketBusters.
Preparation is the key for a team like Holy Cross when it takes on top teams from other conferences. Patriot League teams don't have the athletes to just throw the ball out and run with the big horses. Instead, teams like the Crusaders, and Bucknell, have found their out of conference successes by playing a maddening style of tough defense, mixing looks and forcing teams to play a style the opponents find uncomfortable.
Time for preparation before HC's BracketBusters game Saturday afternoon at Hofstra has been extremely limited though, causing a concern for Crusaders coach Ralph Willard. Willard expected to have two full days to get his team ready to face the high-flying Pride.
Then came this week's winter storm and the 'Saders susequent planes, trains and rental vans adventure that resulted in Wednesday's game at Navy being pushed back a day, upsetting Holy Cross' preparation rhythm.
"I thought we'd have (Thursday and Friday) to prepare for Hofstra. Unfortunately the weather screwed us up," WIllard said after beating Navy THursday.
The Crusaders flew out immediately after Thursday's game, heading straight to New York for the Hofstra game. Plans called for fil study Friday morning, a 2:30 practice at Hofstra in the afaternoon, then more film, to be followed with yet more film at breakfast Saturday prior to the 3 p.m. tip on ESPNU.
The one day of preparation situation took its toll on Holy Cross in its pre-conference schedule. Hc found itself in that situation five times -- six if you count the fact that one of the two days between the Yale and Dayton games was spent in transit. Holy Cross lost four of those six and barely held off a weak Delaware team for a two-point victory in one of the two it won.
Prep for the game began on the plane after the Navy game. Immediately after the Navy game, Willard reported, "We have nothing in place. We haven't even looked at Hofstra."
When Willard looks at the Pride, here is what he will see: A three-guard outfit that likes to get up and down the floor. The complete antithesis to the pace HC will try to impose.
Hofstra averages over 73 points per game. With guards like Loren Stokes, Antoine Agudio and Carlos Rivera, the more shots the better. Stokes, a senior who averages 21.1 points per game, is a 2,000-point scorer who needs just 35 more to become the school's second leading scorer all-time.
Agudio averages 20.4 ppg, making Hofstra the only team in the nation with two 20-point scorers in its lineup.
Rivera, a senior like Stokes, is also a career 1,000-point scorer. Rivera averages 11.7 points per game.
Along with 6-5 forward Zygis Sestokas, who averages 7.6 points per game, they give the Pride four guys who are not afraid to shoot the three-pointer. Sestokas hits treys ata 45.4 percent clip. Agudio, who has made 84 treys already, knocks them down at 42.5 percent. As a team, Hofstra shoots 39.5 percent from the arc.
Where Hofstra is not so strong is in the frontcourt. The tallest starter is 6-7 Mike Davis-Sabb, who will have his hands full with HC's 6-10 Tim Clifford. Clifford tuned up for this one with a 33-point afternoon in Annapolis on Thursday.
Clifford can be a big factor in this game if he stays out of foul trouble. As long as he is anchoring the inside, the Crusaders perimeter defenders can push up on the Hofstra shooters knowing help is there if they get beaten on penetration. Without Clifford clogging the middle, the seams in HC's zones will seem far more inviting.
If Clifford can establish some inside offense, it will also make a big difference. Torey Thomas and Keith Simmons ought to be able to hold their own with the Hofstra guards. If Clifford comes to play, the paint could be where HC finds its advantage.
To take full advantage of Clifford's presence, the Crusaders need to dictate pace. The big junior is too slow to be a factor if this game becomes an end-to-end foot race. The Crusaders need to force Hofstra to play a halfcourt game.
Whether of not they will be able to do that with one day to get ready, remains to be seen.
"That is a big part of us being good -- preparation, defensive preparation. . . . It would have been OK if we had played Wednesday," said Willard. "We've got our work cut out for us."
Matchup
Preparation is the key for a team like Holy Cross when it takes on top teams from other conferences. Patriot League teams don't have the athletes to just throw the ball out and run with the big horses. Instead, teams like the Crusaders, and Bucknell, have found their out of conference successes by playing a maddening style of tough defense, mixing looks and forcing teams to play a style the opponents find uncomfortable.
Time for preparation before HC's BracketBusters game Saturday afternoon at Hofstra has been extremely limited though, causing a concern for Crusaders coach Ralph Willard. Willard expected to have two full days to get his team ready to face the high-flying Pride.
Then came this week's winter storm and the 'Saders susequent planes, trains and rental vans adventure that resulted in Wednesday's game at Navy being pushed back a day, upsetting Holy Cross' preparation rhythm.
"I thought we'd have (Thursday and Friday) to prepare for Hofstra. Unfortunately the weather screwed us up," WIllard said after beating Navy THursday.
The Crusaders flew out immediately after Thursday's game, heading straight to New York for the Hofstra game. Plans called for fil study Friday morning, a 2:30 practice at Hofstra in the afaternoon, then more film, to be followed with yet more film at breakfast Saturday prior to the 3 p.m. tip on ESPNU.
The one day of preparation situation took its toll on Holy Cross in its pre-conference schedule. Hc found itself in that situation five times -- six if you count the fact that one of the two days between the Yale and Dayton games was spent in transit. Holy Cross lost four of those six and barely held off a weak Delaware team for a two-point victory in one of the two it won.
Prep for the game began on the plane after the Navy game. Immediately after the Navy game, Willard reported, "We have nothing in place. We haven't even looked at Hofstra."
When Willard looks at the Pride, here is what he will see: A three-guard outfit that likes to get up and down the floor. The complete antithesis to the pace HC will try to impose.
Hofstra averages over 73 points per game. With guards like Loren Stokes, Antoine Agudio and Carlos Rivera, the more shots the better. Stokes, a senior who averages 21.1 points per game, is a 2,000-point scorer who needs just 35 more to become the school's second leading scorer all-time.
Agudio averages 20.4 ppg, making Hofstra the only team in the nation with two 20-point scorers in its lineup.
Rivera, a senior like Stokes, is also a career 1,000-point scorer. Rivera averages 11.7 points per game.
Along with 6-5 forward Zygis Sestokas, who averages 7.6 points per game, they give the Pride four guys who are not afraid to shoot the three-pointer. Sestokas hits treys ata 45.4 percent clip. Agudio, who has made 84 treys already, knocks them down at 42.5 percent. As a team, Hofstra shoots 39.5 percent from the arc.
Where Hofstra is not so strong is in the frontcourt. The tallest starter is 6-7 Mike Davis-Sabb, who will have his hands full with HC's 6-10 Tim Clifford. Clifford tuned up for this one with a 33-point afternoon in Annapolis on Thursday.
Clifford can be a big factor in this game if he stays out of foul trouble. As long as he is anchoring the inside, the Crusaders perimeter defenders can push up on the Hofstra shooters knowing help is there if they get beaten on penetration. Without Clifford clogging the middle, the seams in HC's zones will seem far more inviting.
If Clifford can establish some inside offense, it will also make a big difference. Torey Thomas and Keith Simmons ought to be able to hold their own with the Hofstra guards. If Clifford comes to play, the paint could be where HC finds its advantage.
To take full advantage of Clifford's presence, the Crusaders need to dictate pace. The big junior is too slow to be a factor if this game becomes an end-to-end foot race. The Crusaders need to force Hofstra to play a halfcourt game.
Whether of not they will be able to do that with one day to get ready, remains to be seen.
"That is a big part of us being good -- preparation, defensive preparation. . . . It would have been OK if we had played Wednesday," said Willard. "We've got our work cut out for us."
Matchup
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