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Ohio Basketball

Topic: Did the COVID Break Help?

Topic: Did the COVID Break Help?

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JSF
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Member Since: 1/29/2005
Location: Houston, TX
Post Count: 6,430

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Did the COVID Break Help?

Posted: 3/17/2021 1:31:56 PM

Back in February, a lot of us were looking at the team and what they were and were not doing well. There was a consensus the offense was excellent, but the defense was costing us games. I myself said it's hard for a team to significantly improve its defense in the middle of a season. And then they looked like a completely different unit the last couple weeks of the season leading into Cleveland.

So, did we actually get some help from the long pause between games? Did that give us the opportunity to work on what we were lacking? And would Virginia possibly derive a similar benefit?

"Loyalty to a hometown or city is fleeting and interchangeable, but college is a stamp of identity."- Kyle Whelliston, One Beautiful Season.

My blog about depression and mental illness: https://bit.ly/3buGXH8

Alan Swank
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Member Since: 12/11/2004
Location: Athens, OH
Post Count: 7,073

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RE: Did the COVID Break Help?

Posted: 3/17/2021 2:36:01 PM

JSF wrote:

Many people on this board playd high school basketball back in the day and for the most part, the regular season ran from right after Thanksgiving till the end of February for most teams. We played games for three short months. Today at the college level, games start in very early November and end in the second week in March. That's a long season. A break from travel and getting home at hours of the morning plus the less intense pressure of 20 some games vs. 30 had to have a positive effect on this team.

CatsUp
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Member Since: 4/15/2019
Post Count: 756

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RE: Did the COVID Break Help?

Posted: 3/17/2021 2:54:02 PM

As I alluded to earlier today in the game thread, I think any potential negative impact is overblown. And yes, I actually think it helps.

GoCats105
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Member Since: 1/31/2006
Location: Seattle, WA
Post Count: 7,070

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RE: Did the COVID Break Help?

Posted: 3/17/2021 3:26:35 PM

We certainly looked fresher up in Cleveland than the other teams, so it absolutely helped in that regard. I'm not sure how you improve a defense with such a long layoff, but maybe the guys finally bought in and "locked down" what they were trying to do. The break definitely didn't hurt us.

That's why I'm extremely skeptical about Virginia being rusty after their Covid layoff. Who knows, they could be really good.

JSF
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Member Since: 1/29/2005
Location: Houston, TX
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RE: Did the COVID Break Help?

Posted: 3/17/2021 4:46:35 PM

GoCats105 wrote:

I'm not sure how you improve a defense with such a long layoff, but maybe the guys finally bought in and "locked down" what they were trying to do. The break definitely didn't hurt us.

I'm just guessing here, but it's clear something changed. Maybe it was more time to break down film. Maybe it was additional instructional time. I don't know.

.
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Member Since: 2/3/2005
Post Count: 2,969

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RE: Did the COVID Break Help?

Posted: 3/17/2021 6:29:11 PM

I�m laughing thinking about if real life were a simplistic disingenuous cable news chyron: JSF SAYS COVID WAS POSSIBLY A GOOD THING

I think a mental health break would be good for anybody this year., basketball team included.

JSF
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Member Since: 1/29/2005
Location: Houston, TX
Post Count: 6,430

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RE: Did the COVID Break Help?

Posted: 3/17/2021 7:11:24 PM

Ha!

Deciduous Forest Cat
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Member Since: 12/20/2004
Location: Ohio
Post Count: 4,378

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RE: Did the COVID Break Help?

Posted: 3/17/2021 8:48:51 PM

Were we a bad defensive team before February? Or did we just have a brutal stretch of bad defensive basketball (against some good offensive teams)? From a 1000 foot view/analysis, seemed like we were playing some pretty good defense early in the season against teams like Illinois and Cleveland State (extreme examples the other way).

Maybe some early MAC games exposed some weaknesses that other teams didn't figure out yet and we were able to adjust back.
We were also without Jason Preston for a stretch of time.
Also, Toledo when they get rolling is a freaking dynamite offensive team. Seems like they can all shoot. BG had that freakish day at the FT line and Kent just absolutely embarrassed us on the glass in our own gym.

I think the Kent game might have been the best thing to happen to us because we have been a much better rebounding team the rest of the way. So, yeah some time off probably benefitted us when trying to make adjustments. Were things as good as we thought when we nearly knocked off Illinois? Most likely no. And despite the panic of the fanatics on this board, Jean Dixon included, things probably weren't as bad as they looked when we hit that lull.

Bobcat Love's Sense of Shame
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Member Since: 7/30/2010
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RE: Did the COVID Break Help?

Posted: 3/17/2021 9:11:10 PM

. wrote:

I think a mental health break would be good for anybody this year., basketball team included.

I think this is as good a theory as any. Literally everybody I know is straight up mentally exhausted these days. A few weeks off from travel probably helped.

Victory
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Member Since: 3/10/2012
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RE: Did the COVID Break Help?

Posted: 3/17/2021 9:16:30 PM

Bobcat Love's Sense of Shame wrote:

. wrote:

I think a mental health break would be good for anybody this year., basketball team included.

I think this is as good a theory as any. Literally everybody I know is straight up mentally exhausted these days. A few weeks off from travel probably helped.

I have read that the data shows that teams do play worse coming off of a COVID stoppage. I cannot remember where. This might be due to missing players and if Virginia is not missing any important players there may not be a huge effect.

BillyTheCat
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Member Since: 10/6/2012
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RE: Did the COVID Break Help?

Posted: 3/17/2021 9:57:00 PM

CatsUp wrote:

As I alluded to earlier today in the game thread, I think any potential negative impact is overblown. And yes, I actually think it helps.

I agree with you and Al 110%. Allows lots of time for mental work, film study at a level to evaluate yourself in a manner you cannot get in a regular season.

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