ironwill24
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COVID has spread rapidly in states and countries with high levels of masking just as it has in ones with low levels. Vaccines are the key.
MBB Game 8: Northwestern Wildcats @ LJVM: 9 pm ESPNU Tuesday
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Strickland33
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I'm pretty pumped after watching that game. LaRavia in particular was really great. Williams may be our best shot creator (and it's why, as some of you note, the roster tends to treat him like KD - who else can get their own shot?), but I wonder why we're not playing Cam more since he appears to be the only other shot creator on the roster. LaRavia has some potential in this area, but he's not confident enough yet! I liked what I saw from him in overtime, though. That was a nice taste of what's to come from a really talented combo-forward.
Deacfreak07
Ain't played nobody, PAWL!
Went to the game last night. First in a few years. It’s a bit sad, but there’s some momentum building. Hope is a weird feeling to feel in the Joel lately.
Fusiondad10
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Always good to win. After watching the Deacs for the first time last night a couple things stand out. LaRavia is our most important player because he's a very consistent player with great hustle. Alondes Williams is one of the best scorers Wake has had in a long, long time. One on one he's very tough finishing at the rim. We always hoped for that over the last 10 years with guards who could get to the rim but never finished. He reminds me a lot of Teague though because he's not that interested in defense.
DCDeac
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LaRavia is a really interesting player skillset-wise. Nice jumper and can hit 3's when left open. Solid handle but can't really blow by people. Great footwork and moves around the block but not great at posting up and receiving entry passes there. Can slam home alley-oops and back door cuts alike when cutting.
I commented earlier that he doesn't seem to realize how good he is, seems like if he misses an outside shot or two he knows he should go inside. But getting to the block can be difficult for him. Like on the game winner - getting down low was kind of an awkward dribble/back-down thing, but once he's there he's awesome. Need to figure out ways to get him inside with less work.
I commented earlier that he doesn't seem to realize how good he is, seems like if he misses an outside shot or two he knows he should go inside. But getting to the block can be difficult for him. Like on the game winner - getting down low was kind of an awkward dribble/back-down thing, but once he's there he's awesome. Need to figure out ways to get him inside with less work.
This is incorrect. Non-pharmaceutical interventions, like masking, are extremely effective in decreasing COVID spread. Countries that mask well and in high numbers, such as many Asian countries, have rates of COVID that are a fraction of the US. The rate of COVID spread is 5-20 times higher in the US than it is in Japan, Vietnam, S Korea, etc. Vaccines are also very important in fighting COVID and decreasing death, but don't discount non-pharmaceutical interventions as they are very effective.
I really hesitated posting about a non-bball topic on this thread again - that's the point of the the pit and tunnels. But it is dangerous to spread incorrect information about a deadly pandemic, which is why I responded to the post. But, if someone wants to continue this discussion, hopefully we can do it on the thread in the pit or tunnels. Sorry all.
Strickland33
Well-known member
I'm sure some of it is a function of being a bit of a unicorn at the mid-major level and now needing to hone his skill set a bit to reflect the increased level of competition and size/athleticism. Some of that is learning to trust his teammates to take on some of the role that he was expected to play at ISU. Some of that will come with becoming more comfortable running the offense. Some of that will come along with his teammates' confidence levels and general improvement of team chemistry. It can't be easy to start fresh in a high major conference on a team that plays a different offense with eight new faces. I'm excited to see what he learns to bring to the table as he progresses at Wake because, like you point out, his skill set is kinda tantalizing.
I am an Irish citizen and follow covid trends in Europe very closely as they are often indicative of what will follow here. Ireland has had some of the strictest rules surrounding masks, capacity limits, and bans on indoor dining and bars. Despite that, they have consistently been at the top in terms of case numbers. Part of that is due to them having a higher level of sensitivity in the tests they use, but it goes to show that lockdown measures and masks are not the "fix all" solution. I believe strongly that rates of hospitalization and death are much more important than cases, as cases will continue for the rest of time fluctuating seasonally. Vaccines have been extremely effective across the board in limiting fatalities and hospitalization. I would honestly rather a Joel vaccine mandate than mask mandate for these reasons. I think it's important to understand that most scientists agree the current level of transmission is unlikely to decrease significantly, except for seasonal trends. This virus will be with us as an endemic in all likelihood. If you are not comfortable without a mask now, you won't be in 20 years.
The mask wearing rate in Ireland (45%) is about half that of Korea (90%).
One can’t look at the minuscule COVID rates in countries with strict masking and non-pharmaceutical interventions (Korea, New Zealand, etc.) and make a cogent argument that those measures don’t work.
as suggested earlier, perhaps another thread
Would love to see Jake (and Cam as well) setting more of the picks or a secondary pick for Alondes rather than Dallas or Mucius as they are a much better shooting option than our bigs with over 50% from 3 and best overall FG % as well. That way you have Dallas, mucius and whatever other 4 or 5s playing focused more on picking down low and getting position down low or afford more rebounding opportunities as well as third options to those picking and rolling.
I apologize for helping to derail the thread I think we're all just tired of the reality of covid at this point and all have our different perspectives based on our own circumstances.
Back to basketball. I think we have a ton to work on out of that game, mostly in terms of ball movement and rebounding on the defensive end. When we move the ball we tend to find open shooters or create favorable matchups for drives to the hoop. When we play hero ball or fail to move off the ball and swing the rock, we run into issues and the offense stagnates. The rebounding is frustrating, particularly Dallas' inability to grab a ball with two hands and be strong with it. 4 rebounds in over 30 minutes as a 7 footer is really poor and his weakness almost cost us the game when he bobbled a rebound and was out muscled for a loose ball leading to a second chance bucket to tie the game for NW. With all that said, how nice is it to win a big game and still think we're just scratching the surface in terms of playing to our potential? It's hard to overstate the importance of this win, because having lost to LSU and now facing a tough game in Blacksburg, the possibility of losing 3 straight would have been real if we hadn't pulled it out, and that would have killed a lot of the good vibes around the program. I'm really excited to watch on Saturday and hopefully will be able to settle into a seat at a sports bar in Charlotte do to so.
Back to basketball. I think we have a ton to work on out of that game, mostly in terms of ball movement and rebounding on the defensive end. When we move the ball we tend to find open shooters or create favorable matchups for drives to the hoop. When we play hero ball or fail to move off the ball and swing the rock, we run into issues and the offense stagnates. The rebounding is frustrating, particularly Dallas' inability to grab a ball with two hands and be strong with it. 4 rebounds in over 30 minutes as a 7 footer is really poor and his weakness almost cost us the game when he bobbled a rebound and was out muscled for a loose ball leading to a second chance bucket to tie the game for NW. With all that said, how nice is it to win a big game and still think we're just scratching the surface in terms of playing to our potential? It's hard to overstate the importance of this win, because having lost to LSU and now facing a tough game in Blacksburg, the possibility of losing 3 straight would have been real if we hadn't pulled it out, and that would have killed a lot of the good vibes around the program. I'm really excited to watch on Saturday and hopefully will be able to settle into a seat at a sports bar in Charlotte do to so.