Front Office Football Central - View Single Post - Coach Graham Sims: A Pennsylvania Story (FBCB)

MoonlightGraham · 04-13-2023, 11:19 AM

December 2, 2016
Lafayette 74, Columbia 54
The Lions hang with us through twenty minutes or so, before our superior talent asserts itself, especially on defense.

Columbia allows Joe Lien to shoot nearly at will, especially from behind the arc. That turns out to be a good strategy--he goes 1-6 from three--but he gets enough other shots to fall to add up to a game-high 23 points. Alvaro Kinard adds 12, and Daniel Warnock an efficient 11 (3-6 from long range). Samuel Davis misses a double-double by one rebound (10/9).

I'm still trying to figure out how good this year's team really is.
Record: 4-1.

December 5, 2016
Lafayette 77, Maryland-Baltimore County 67
UMBC isn't very good, so again, it's hard to know what to take away from this victory.

We do some good things. We make nearly 60 percent of our field goal attempts. We don't attempt many threes (12) but we make a lot of the ones we do attempt (6). We only turn the ball over 11 times. Joe Lien scores 27 points, and Alvaro Kinard 16.

At the same time, we let them make nearly 50 percent of their shots. And nobody except Joe and Alvaro do much scoring.
Record: 5-1.

December 7, 2016
Lafayette 83, Fairleigh Dickinson 62
We match a 26-point effort from the Knights' James Caulfield with a 27-point game from Joe Lien, and our supporting cast outplays theirs.

Alvaro Kinard seems to have matured into the player we thought he would eventually be. His game tonight--16 points, 5 rebounds, 2 steals--is typical of this year's scoresheet-filling version of AK. Samuel Davis blocks 4 shots, Daniel Warnock scores 11, and Otis Hall has 8 with 7 rebounds.

Our record is looking very good. Our RPI (56) isn't bad, either. Should I be concerned that we seem very dependent on Lien and Kinard to score points, or are they good enough to carry us without a lot of backup?
Record: 6-1.

December 11, 2016
George Washington 63, Lafayette 52
So this is what happens when Joe Lien and Alvaro Kinard don't score? No, thank you. We blow a halftime lead when we suddenly forget how to put points on the scoreboard.

Lien takes lots of shots, but not many go in, and he finishes with a very inefficient 13 points. Kinard plays 30 minutes and barely touches the basketball; we saw games like this from him too often last year.

Daniel Warnock finishes with 10 points but, like Lien, he takes too many shots to get them. And Samuel Davis has 10 rebounds and 3 more blocks, but we need points tonight...and don't get them.
Record: 6-2.

December 13, 2016
Lafayette 72, Siena 49
Our call for secondary scoring is answered today by Daniel Warnock, who plays more like a seasoned veteran than a freshman with fewer than ten games under his belt. Daniel goes 5-7 from the field and makes both his threes, finishing with 13 points.

Joe Lien manages only 10 minutes and 7 points due to foul difficulties, but Justin Judkins covers him with a career-high 10 points off the bench. The junior adds 4 rebounds and 3 assists.

Alvaro Kinard goes missing again, scoring only 3 points. Bad Alvaro has apparently returned to the squad. Siena plays terribly, so we don't need Good Alvaro; we won't always be that fortunate.
Record: 7-2.

December 16, 2016
Lafayette 82, Coppin State 80
Coppin State has a veteran starting five, all juniors and seniors. They can score with anyone, but they don't play D. That's why they're basically a .500 team that wins or loses high scoring games...like this game turns out to be.

I would have paid to watch this one; it's close from start to finish. At no point does either team lead by more than four points. With 17 seconds left, we're up 78-77. Richard Leak, who is not known for his shooting, knocks down a short baseline jumper. We defend the Eagles well, denying their best shooters, and the man we'd most like to take a last-second three--Tony Duda--is the one who lets it fly. Because it's that kind of game, The Dude sinks it. It's 80-80, and I'm planning for overtime.

Daniel Warnock threw the discus and javelin as a high school track and field athlete. Making use of that powerful arm, DW fires an accurate inbounds pass to Joe Lien, who has just enough time to set his feet and shoot.

Night-night.

Joe finishes with 13 points and 7 assists. Good Alvaro shows up, and leads us with 18 points and 4 steals.
Record: 8-2.

December 18, 2016
We make our first appearance of the season in the Mid Major poll, rising 10 places to #10. Undefeated Charlotte is ranked #1, and Patriot League rival Holy Cross is at #23.

December 21, 2016
Norfolk State 72, Lafayette 65
We squander a three-point halftime advantage by forgetting how to shoot and giving the Spartans the basketball too often on turnovers.

Joe Lien gives us 23 points, and Daniel Warnock 15, but none of their teammates seem to feel like scoring. Bad Alvaro plays 30 minutes, commits five fouls and attempts five shots, one of which goes in. Otis Hall does good work on the boards, with 12 rebounds, and Samuel Davis is a disruptive defender (3 steals, 2 blocks).
Record: 8-3.

December 23, 2016
Lafayette 84, Hofstra 77
We survive another appearance from Bad Alvaro (1-9 from the floor, 6 points in 32 minutes) because Joe Lien splashes 6 three-balls en route to 30 points.

Samuel Davis continues to mess up opposing offenses (3 steals, 2 blocks again), and Daniel Warnock scores an efficient 16 points. Hofstra's 26-29 performance from the line is what makes this game somewhat close.
Record: 9-3.

December 26, 2016
Lafayette 60, La Salle 57
The Explorers lose Daniel Warnock on the last possession of the game, and he slashes to the hoop for an and-one that gives us another thrilling win in the closing seconds.

Until that moment, the star man had been Joe Lien, who notches his first career double-double (19 points, 11 rebounds.) We hold the Explorers to 30.9% shooting, which we need to do on a night when only one Leopard scores in double figures.

Freddie Alexander, a big man whom we recruited last fall, hits us for 11 points and 14 rebounds.
Record: 10-3.

December 29, 2016
Lafayette 60, Duquesne 59
The Last-Second Leopards close out the month with another great finish, this time in our opponent's gym. Good Alvaro hits nothing but net on a three from the top of the key as the buzzer sounds.

Mr. Kinard would be proclaimed Good Alvaro if that dagger were the only shot he made, but he already has 12 points and 4 assists before he lets it fly. Joe Lien matches AK with 15 points and 4 assists of his own.
Record: 11-3.

04-13-2023, 11:19 AM	#158
MoonlightGraham High School Varsity Join Date: Sep 2022	December 2, 2016 Lafayette 74, Columbia 54 The Lions hang with us through twenty minutes or so, before our superior talent asserts itself, especially on defense. Columbia allows Joe Lien to shoot nearly at will, especially from behind the arc. That turns out to be a good strategy--he goes 1-6 from three--but he gets enough other shots to fall to add up to a game-high 23 points. Alvaro Kinard adds 12, and Daniel Warnock an efficient 11 (3-6 from long range). Samuel Davis misses a double-double by one rebound (10/9). I'm still trying to figure out how good this year's team really is. Record: 4-1. December 5, 2016 Lafayette 77, Maryland-Baltimore County 67 UMBC isn't very good, so again, it's hard to know what to take away from this victory. We do some good things. We make nearly 60 percent of our field goal attempts. We don't attempt many threes (12) but we make a lot of the ones we do attempt (6). We only turn the ball over 11 times. Joe Lien scores 27 points, and Alvaro Kinard 16. At the same time, we let them make nearly 50 percent of their shots. And nobody except Joe and Alvaro do much scoring. Record: 5-1. December 7, 2016 Lafayette 83, Fairleigh Dickinson 62 We match a 26-point effort from the Knights' James Caulfield with a 27-point game from Joe Lien, and our supporting cast outplays theirs. Alvaro Kinard seems to have matured into the player we thought he would eventually be. His game tonight--16 points, 5 rebounds, 2 steals--is typical of this year's scoresheet-filling version of AK. Samuel Davis blocks 4 shots, Daniel Warnock scores 11, and Otis Hall has 8 with 7 rebounds. Our record is looking very good. Our RPI (56) isn't bad, either. Should I be concerned that we seem very dependent on Lien and Kinard to score points, or are they good enough to carry us without a lot of backup? Record: 6-1. December 11, 2016 George Washington 63, Lafayette 52 So this is what happens when Joe Lien and Alvaro Kinard don't score? No, thank you. We blow a halftime lead when we suddenly forget how to put points on the scoreboard. Lien takes lots of shots, but not many go in, and he finishes with a very inefficient 13 points. Kinard plays 30 minutes and barely touches the basketball; we saw games like this from him too often last year. Daniel Warnock finishes with 10 points but, like Lien, he takes too many shots to get them. And Samuel Davis has 10 rebounds and 3 more blocks, but we need points tonight...and don't get them. Record: 6-2. December 13, 2016 Lafayette 72, Siena 49 Our call for secondary scoring is answered today by Daniel Warnock, who plays more like a seasoned veteran than a freshman with fewer than ten games under his belt. Daniel goes 5-7 from the field and makes both his threes, finishing with 13 points. Joe Lien manages only 10 minutes and 7 points due to foul difficulties, but Justin Judkins covers him with a career-high 10 points off the bench. The junior adds 4 rebounds and 3 assists. Alvaro Kinard goes missing again, scoring only 3 points. Bad Alvaro has apparently returned to the squad. Siena plays terribly, so we don't need Good Alvaro; we won't always be that fortunate. Record: 7-2. December 16, 2016 Lafayette 82, Coppin State 80 Coppin State has a veteran starting five, all juniors and seniors. They can score with anyone, but they don't play D. That's why they're basically a .500 team that wins or loses high scoring games...like this game turns out to be. I would have paid to watch this one; it's close from start to finish. At no point does either team lead by more than four points. With 17 seconds left, we're up 78-77. Richard Leak, who is not known for his shooting, knocks down a short baseline jumper. We defend the Eagles well, denying their best shooters, and the man we'd most like to take a last-second three--Tony Duda--is the one who lets it fly. Because it's that kind of game, The Dude sinks it. It's 80-80, and I'm planning for overtime. Daniel Warnock threw the discus and javelin as a high school track and field athlete. Making use of that powerful arm, DW fires an accurate inbounds pass to Joe Lien, who has just enough time to set his feet and shoot. Night-night. Joe finishes with 13 points and 7 assists. Good Alvaro shows up, and leads us with 18 points and 4 steals. Record: 8-2. December 18, 2016 We make our first appearance of the season in the Mid Major poll, rising 10 places to #10. Undefeated Charlotte is ranked #1, and Patriot League rival Holy Cross is at #23. December 21, 2016 Norfolk State 72, Lafayette 65 We squander a three-point halftime advantage by forgetting how to shoot and giving the Spartans the basketball too often on turnovers. Joe Lien gives us 23 points, and Daniel Warnock 15, but none of their teammates seem to feel like scoring. Bad Alvaro plays 30 minutes, commits five fouls and attempts five shots, one of which goes in. Otis Hall does good work on the boards, with 12 rebounds, and Samuel Davis is a disruptive defender (3 steals, 2 blocks). Record: 8-3. December 23, 2016 Lafayette 84, Hofstra 77 We survive another appearance from Bad Alvaro (1-9 from the floor, 6 points in 32 minutes) because Joe Lien splashes 6 three-balls en route to 30 points. Samuel Davis continues to mess up opposing offenses (3 steals, 2 blocks again), and Daniel Warnock scores an efficient 16 points. Hofstra's 26-29 performance from the line is what makes this game somewhat close. Record: 9-3. December 26, 2016 Lafayette 60, La Salle 57 The Explorers lose Daniel Warnock on the last possession of the game, and he slashes to the hoop for an and-one that gives us another thrilling win in the closing seconds. Until that moment, the star man had been Joe Lien, who notches his first career double-double (19 points, 11 rebounds.) We hold the Explorers to 30.9% shooting, which we need to do on a night when only one Leopard scores in double figures. Freddie Alexander, a big man whom we recruited last fall, hits us for 11 points and 14 rebounds. Record: 10-3. December 29, 2016 Lafayette 60, Duquesne 59 The Last-Second Leopards close out the month with another great finish, this time in our opponent's gym. Good Alvaro hits nothing but net on a three from the top of the key as the buzzer sounds. Mr. Kinard would be proclaimed Good Alvaro if that dagger were the only shot he made, but he already has 12 points and 4 assists before he lets it fly. Joe Lien matches AK with 15 points and 4 assists of his own. Record: 11-3. Last edited by MoonlightGraham : 04-13-2023 at 01:52 PM.