Branch

I was at the game and saw when he grabbed his groin it looked like he got shot. any word of length or time/severity of the pull/strain? he played so well yesterday before the injury.

I was told by a source in the program Jamal told her after the game that it is his hip flexer not his groin and he will be getting an MRI later today.

Hip flexor better or worse than groin pull?

Hip flexor typically is better than groin strain. 

if you go by what his brother said on twitter, Jamal is "ok". 

Not happy he is hurt. But was mad when he wasnt in the game. Atleast their is a reason.

If Jamal Branch can continue to play like that off of the bench than this team can advance in the tournament. We are very good when he plays well. Hope he is ok.

If Jamal Branch can continue to play like that off of the bench than this team can advance in the tournament. We are very good when he plays well. Hope he is ok.

Agreed. Things do seem to run smoother with him on the court

It's too bad Lavin took 3 years to figure out how to get Branch into the rotation. I've been saying for the last 3 years that this kid is the only true pg on this roster and is the best dribble drive penetrator on the team.

Hopefully he keeps it up. Damn shame he doesn't have another year.

Jamal is driving to the basket and finishing very well. Will be huge going forward if he can provide bench scoring.

He was taking GTown's guards to town with his dribble drive. Hope he is ready for the Big East tournament at the very least.

It's too bad Lavin took 3 years to figure out how to get Branch into the rotation.

Yes, he's playing well and I like him.  But he is the 4th best guard on this team.  Plus in the past we had more front court players deserving minutes and he had a knee injury at some point.  Complaining about Hollywood's use of the Aggie is nit-picking.
 

Lets be honest. Branch has been very up and down.  The knee injury derailed his progress the first year and last season he was hurt by our numbers.  Even when he is not scoring he usually takes care of the ball and keeps the offense flowing, so he is valuable.  But the scoring is very much up and down.  He has been more aggressive the second half of the year in that regard and I hope it continues. Great young man too, by the way.

Branch was terrific yesterday. Sure he got too fancy a couple of times, but when Harrison went down, he was a magician.

Quote from: Johnny23 on March 01, 2015, 11:46:54 AM

It's too bad Lavin took 3 years to figure out how to get Branch into the rotation.

Yes, he's playing well and I like him.  But he is the 4th best guard on this team.  Plus in the past we had more front court players deserving minutes and he had a knee injury at some point.  Complaining about Hollywood's use of the Aggie is nit-picking.
 

He's the best pg on this team hands down. There's no excuse for Hollywood not to have incorporated him more into the lineup over the past few years. He brings balance and stability to the entire flow of the offense. None of the other 3 guards bring that element. Again, front court players aren't QB'ing the offense either. Branch is the QB of the offense and we probably would've made the dance last year had Lavin realized this sooner.

Quote from: carmineabbatiello on March 01, 2015, 12:14:39 PM

Quote from: Johnny23 on March 01, 2015, 11:46:54 AM

It's too bad Lavin took 3 years to figure out how to get Branch into the rotation.

Yes, he's playing well and I like him.  But he is the 4th best guard on this team.  Plus in the past we had more front court players deserving minutes and he had a knee injury at some point.  Complaining about Hollywood's use of the Aggie is nit-picking.
 

He's the best pg on this team hands down. 

No he's not.  Savior is.  We could play around for a few posts with semantics and the meaning of "pure point guard".  I get it. But there is enough of a talent gap to easily call Jordan the better point guard.  When he's available of course. 

Did you say back when that Malik2 was the "the best pg on this team hands down"?  Did you want him to steal minutes from DJ, Hardy and Paris then?  The current situation is exactly the same and obviously being handled correctly as we have the 2nd best offense in the league...and the one ahead of us is a 1 seed.

What he said. Role he has been playing the second half of the season is perfect.

Quote from: Johnny23 on March 01, 2015, 01:18:11 PM

Quote from: carmineabbatiello on March 01, 2015, 12:14:39 PM

Quote from: Johnny23 on March 01, 2015, 11:46:54 AM

It's too bad Lavin took 3 years to figure out how to get Branch into the rotation.

Yes, he's playing well and I like him.  But he is the 4th best guard on this team.  Plus in the past we had more front court players deserving minutes and he had a knee injury at some point.  Complaining about Hollywood's use of the Aggie is nit-picking.
 

He's the best pg on this team hands down. 

No he's not.  Savior is.  We could play around for a few posts with semantics and the meaning of "pure point guard".  I get it. But there is enough of a talent gap to easily call Jordan the better point guard.  When he's available of course. 

Did you say back when that Malik2 was the "the best pg on this team hands down"?  Did you want him to steal minutes from DJ, Hardy and Paris then?  The current situation is exactly the same and obviously being handled correctly as we have the 2nd best offense in the league...and the one ahead of us is a 1 seed.

If you think Jordan is a PG then I don't know what to tell you. His handle is not good at all. Regardless of our different interpretations of the meaning of PG, you have to be a good ballhandler. He'll get his lunch taken from him every time down the court if he thinks he's playing PG at the next level. He's not even a guaranteed NBA player yet and needs to refine his skillset a lot. Malik was nowhere near as  big, athletic or talented as Branch is so different situation. I'm not arguing with you that the offense is playing well, no doubt about it. I'm glad Lavin is using Branch now and hope he keeps going strong down the stretch.

Quote from: carmineabbatiello on March 01, 2015, 12:14:39 PM

Quote from: Johnny23 on March 01, 2015, 11:46:54 AM

It's too bad Lavin took 3 years to figure out how to get Branch into the rotation.

Yes, he's playing well and I like him.  But he is the 4th best guard on this team.  Plus in the past we had more front court players deserving minutes and he had a knee injury at some point.  Complaining about Hollywood's use of the Aggie is nit-picking.
 

He's the best pg on this team hands down. There's no excuse for Hollywood not to have incorporated him more into the lineup over the past few years. He brings balance and stability to the entire flow of the offense. None of the other 3 guards bring that element. Again, front court players aren't QB'ing the offense either. Branch is the QB of the offense and we probably would've made the dance last year had Lavin realized this sooner.

J23 I think the knock on Jamal, was that he was too passive when playing. Coaches see him in practice, so they should know. I agree with you that he is the best PG on the team, however.

Quote from: Johnny23 on March 01, 2015, 01:18:11 PM

Quote from: carmineabbatiello on March 01, 2015, 12:14:39 PM

Quote from: Johnny23 on March 01, 2015, 11:46:54 AM

It's too bad Lavin took 3 years to figure out how to get Branch into the rotation.

Yes, he's playing well and I like him.  But he is the 4th best guard on this team.  Plus in the past we had more front court players deserving minutes and he had a knee injury at some point.  Complaining about Hollywood's use of the Aggie is nit-picking.
 

He's the best pg on this team hands down. There's no excuse for Hollywood not to have incorporated him more into the lineup over the past few years. He brings balance and stability to the entire flow of the offense. None of the other 3 guards bring that element. Again, front court players aren't QB'ing the offense either. Branch is the QB of the offense and we probably would've made the dance last year had Lavin realized this sooner.

J23 I think the knock on Jamal, was that he was too passive when playing. Coaches see him in practice, so they should know. I agree with you that he is the best PG on the team, however.

I hear ya Sham. Lav and the coaches definitely know 1000% better than I do. I'm just going off the eye test.