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Post by fingrbustr on Apr 5, 2006 15:42:36 GMT -5
BTW, I've watched Hawaii 4x this year. I've watched UCI as well, both early in the season and late. UCI will beat them...their mental game is incredibly strong. They were dominated by Hildebrand and co last Sat in game1 (score was 30-28, but UCI made a late push to make it seem respectable...they really got handled by LBSU), they assessed, Speraw tweaked, and they gutted out the 4-gamer. As a side note, Speraw vs. Knipe was unbelievable...two of the best young head coaches in the game, IMHO. Anways, I have friends on the HAW roster/staff, but I'd have to side w/ UCI. Speraw's vision is coming to fruition...NCAA championship is theirs to lose this year and next.
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Post by robonthemic on Apr 5, 2006 17:40:37 GMT -5
I haven't seen Hawaii this year and that is primarily why I'm hesitant to put them in the #1 spot. I know Irvine "handed it to them" the first time they played-- but then the next match Hawaii "handed it" right back to Irvine.
One thing I know for sure--it's pretty darn exciting to see how this race is going shape up once BYU and Hawaii play-- TWICE!
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Post by rocky_too on Apr 5, 2006 21:11:43 GMT -5
Honestly…no way Pepp has more "talent" than other teams in the MPSF. Have you seen their bench? They go 7 deep (Sutherland), that's it. The rest of them are stiffs and projects. Believe me…I've watched them a ton! Since Marv rarely substitutes beyond Sutherland, how can you have watched the other players on the bench to justify that statement? Where have you watched them--pregame warmups?
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Post by fingrbustr on Apr 6, 2006 0:37:27 GMT -5
Haha, nice post. I think Marv can evaluate his players' talent better than any spectator--the very fact these projects don't even get in (Stalzer will come in once in while to lollipop a jump float, mostly down area 1...pretty much a faux timeout/stall, basic flow interruption) proves my point, by default. No depth past 7...they can of course bounce balls in hitting lines (c'mon...even their little 5-11 albino BCarter can pump it...he has sound technique, btw), but the fact they DON'T get in tells you not something, but EVERYTHING.
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Post by fingrbustr on Apr 6, 2006 0:58:37 GMT -5
Also, Costa Mesa Rob, I saw UH's last loss back in early Feb (1st gm at Pepp, 5-game loss...Jason Olive befriended me for a media guide my buddy hooked me up with; next night 3-0 sweep to start the winning) before their 15gm streak. I last saw them beat up USC; I haven't seen them in a while, but I have seen Irvine recently (hosted LBSU last week at Crawford). The difference in UCI versus their early season loss against Pepp is staggering. The 'kinks' are worked out, so to speak. It's going to be quite a race to see who can wrap up the MPSF, no doubt. If I'm UCI I'm at least happy to know my two biggest threats for 1st rd bye are battling each other
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Post by ucivball on Apr 6, 2006 1:27:32 GMT -5
Responding to an earlier post about teams with the most talent:
i would have to say byu wins this category. cala is untouchable in terms of talent. there is absolutely no one in d 1 that is even on his planet in terms of talent.
a little synopsis to prove my point: first match against uci at the bren, 1st set that cala gets. byu digs a uci attack. byu setter rob neilsen launches a high ball outside to cala. so high that it gives 6'7 webber and 6'7 smith time to make a full swing block to the outside. cala hits clear over them down between middle back and left back. it wasn't over and deep, it was over and down. he not only did it once, but at least 10 more times for the rest of the match. as i have said to a close uci fan: "cala is probably getting worse as a player since he no longer practices/plays with the same caliber talent he once played with while on the cuban national team."
baptista is quick, powerful, and jumps well. btw, he also has a vicious snap. bounced ceiling on a one ball during warm ups at crawford. pretty damn scary!
perez is probably a more athletic version of jonathan acosta from ucla last year. but perez can pass nails and serves a deadly jump serve.
the rest of the byu team, the non foreign players. holmes, neilsen, charrette/taylor. are as good as anyone else in the league in terms of their positions. maybe holmes is a top tier middle himself. if byu can obtain the mental toughness that uci has thrived with, they would probably never lose a game, let alone a match.
uci is talented, but not to a level that wow's you at any position. but they play like a machine that rarely makes terminal mistakes. uci also has the ability to adopt well to its oponent no matter what the circumstances are. an example would be the 2nd round vs. pepperdine. pepperdine's giant block shut uci down and dominated the first game. uci comes back, adjusts and wins the next 3. 2nd round vs. long beach. beach thumps uci with strong serves and powerful attacks. uci adjusts and wins the next 3.
against long beach and pepperdine. uci did not come back and win by overpowering either team with individual talent, but they cleaned up their mistakes and stepped up their game overall as a team. that is how uci has done it all season, they just play focused mechanical volleyball.
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Post by fingrbustr on Apr 6, 2006 3:37:40 GMT -5
Haha--seems we have a difference of opinion on what constitutes "talent". It's all good Haven't seen BYU yet this season; I'm curious to see how nuts Cala really is in person. As physically gifted as the BYU squad is, it really is a credit to the 'Eaters for grinding out the two five gamers last month (I see Cala went off for 32 on 54 swings (.444) in the 1st match, nice). You bring up a great point--UCI has been playing very focused, very business-like volleyball. They have adopted Speraw's personality...the ultimate compliment to a coach. I'm hoping they can ride it out all the way to either an MPSF championship bid or at-large. I will be watching BYU @ LBSU tomorrow night...review to follow!
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Post by aaronic on Apr 6, 2006 3:56:31 GMT -5
HAW & BYU I'd tie for 3rd (Beckwith-Delgado-Hakala-Carere super solid, Reft (my friend!) is the only 1st Team AA LIB last yr, Mau & Dante good). Honestly…no way Pepp has more "talent" than other teams in the MPSF. Have you seen their bench? They go 7 deep (Sutherland), that's it. The rest of them are stiffs and projects. Believe me…I've watched them a ton! Hawaii also has Matt Bender on the bench.
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Post by northbeach on Apr 6, 2006 4:06:31 GMT -5
Haha, nice post. I think Marv can evaluate his players' talent better than any spectator--the very fact these projects don't even get in (Stalzer will come in once in while to lollipop a jump float, mostly down area 1...pretty much a faux timeout/stall, basic flow interruption) proves my point, by default. No depth past 7...they can of course bounce balls in hitting lines (c'mon...even their little 5-11 albino BCarter can pump it...he has sound technique, btw), but the fact they DON'T get in tells you not something, but EVERYTHING. Many have observed over the years that while Marv choses his best players as starters (of course), if they are having an off-night, he tends to keep them in, unlike most coaches who regularly pull their starters if they aren't playing up to their potential. This may give spectators, like you, the appearance that he has no other choices when it is just a matter of coaching philosophy.
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Post by fingrbustr on Apr 6, 2006 5:24:51 GMT -5
Okey Dokey. I guess what you're insinuating is that Marv doesn't know when to sit a struggling star player for a better alternative (the bench material). I'm not sure what background you are coming from, but I completely trust that Marv knows what he's doing w/ his personnel. He's only the last man to coach the USA men to a gold medal, you know. I'm pretty sure questioning his judgement is ludicrous.
PS. I'm almost positive that the "many" who have observed have come NOWHERE CLOSE to his coaching accomplishments. Honestly, what coaching mind out there could rival Marv's? Very interesting post, northbeach...consider the pot stirred
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Post by fingrbustr on Apr 6, 2006 5:31:34 GMT -5
Incidentally, what do you do when your star players aren't playing up to their potential? Or do you not coach?
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Post by northbeach on Apr 6, 2006 5:40:20 GMT -5
Okey Dokey. I guess what you're insinuating is that Marv doesn't know when to sit a struggling star player for a better alternative (the bench material). I'm not sure what background you are coming from, but I completely trust that Marv knows what he's doing w/ his personnel. He's only the last man to coach the USA men to a gold medal, you know. I'm pretty sure questioning his judgement is ludicrous. I see we agree...I also completely trust that Marv knows what he's doing w/ his personnel. I never questioned his JUDGMENT, I merely recounted an observation that has been made many times. No one could question his success. (Certainly you can make a better attempt at a troll than this. What, no albino reference this time?)
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Post by mikesmith on Apr 6, 2006 6:07:41 GMT -5
Marv does keep his starters in, but at the Pepp/CSUN game, he was changing the lineup. He had a different libero in, and was rotating in different servers in throughout the match.
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Post by fingrbustr on Apr 6, 2006 13:00:07 GMT -5
Northbeach, your answer tells me all I really need to know. You don't know the game from a coach's perspective, only a casual fan's. No wonder you dared to doubt Marv. And are you kidding me? That BCarter tidbit was classic. If you read it closely, I'm complimenting his game. The pigmentation is merely a plus
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eiva
Sophomore
Posts: 124
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Post by eiva on Apr 6, 2006 13:22:20 GMT -5
Impressive detailed posts! Even the posts from the MPSF are better than the EIVA.
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