2020-2021 Lineup

[quote="lawmanfan" post=398580][quote="Anthony Mattia" post=398579]Most of you are not even mentioning Moore. I have to assume he is going to get his share of minutes or he would have chosen to go somewhere else. Again, just an assumption but pretty rare to see a highly ranked juco player go somewhere and get zero minutes.[/quote]

Everyone is going to get minutes.[/quote]

Of course, but he is not even being mentioned. I think he will get more minutes than Roberts and Caraher
 
[quote="QueensBall" post=398582]I'll go a slightly weirder. I don't think Anderson cares too much about traditional positions as long as he has a PG and a big on the floor...

Dunn
Williams
Cole
Champagnie
Toro

I think Earlington should start but he's so impactful off the bench I can see Coach keeping him there. Also if Williams keeps improving his outside shooting we'll need someone besides Cole who can spread the floor.I'm not at all confident in predicting any lineup. Starters seem to matter less in our system and also Anderson doesn't always make the most obvious choice. Champagnie starting last year was surprising and ended up being a great move but I'm sure there were a couple of guys with ruffled feathers. My money is still on Dunn but if Posh or McGriff is just crushing it in practice I think that guy gets the start. I think everyone will play. He found 5 -10 minutes a game for Sears last season...[/quote]

That starting lineup wouldn't surprise me at all. I agree as long as he has one PG, one big and Champagnie on the floor he has a lot of flexibility at the other two spots. Williams and Cole might be his two best offensive options and it allows him to bring Earlington and Alexander off the bench.

Really what you have with this team is:
3 PG - Dunn, Alexander, Griff
4 bigs - Toro, Earlington, Moore, Roberts
5 wings - Cole, Williams, Champagnie, Caraher, Wusu

That creates a lot of possible combinations, especially with 3-guard or 4-guard lineups (and I don't think we'll see just one starting lineup over the course of the season, either).
 
This thread just brings so much positivity and really makes me giddy. There is going to be a college basketball season! It's great for a lot of reasons, and for a lot of people. There is some mystery with the new players, and optimism that this roster, despite not having the fancy recruits Nova always has, is deep and athletic and determined. Those services that picked us 9th or 10th may be eating crow in 2021.
 
Not really interested in who starts. The line-up I am most interested in seeing together is.......

PG -Posh
G/F -Cole
G/F -Williams
F -Champagnie
F -Toro
 
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[quote="JohnnyFan" post=398599]Not really interested in who starts. The line-up I am most interested in seeing together is.......

PG -Posh
G/F -Cole
G/F -Williams
F -Champagnie
F -Toro[/quote]

JF agree with all except think Dunn starts over Posh out of the gate. Having said that, Dunn and Earl bring so much energy off the bench, that I'm fine with neither of them starting.
 
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I like the players we have on this team. I hope CMA can find adequate PT so all can show what they can do in game situations.
This is an NCAA year.
 
[quote="Knight" post=398602]I like the players we have on this team. I hope CMA can find adequate PT so all can show what they can do in game situations.
This is an NCAA year.[/quote]

I would think there's a chance of that...if we had a normal schedule where we had our fill of cupcake non-con wins. But if it's going to be mostly conference games, will be tough. I'll be very happy if we are on bubble.
 
Looks like Zach just did an interview with CMA, he pretty much confirmed Dunn would be starting at the 1 over Posh. Said he thinks Dunn will be even better in his 2nd year here. Also, was really surprised to hear how CMA has been so complimentary of Toro, I went and looked at Toro's stats, he was putting up really good numbers before his season ending injury in his 3rd year, then last season in his first 3 games he was averaging 16 PPG / 16 RPG before he got hurt again and missed almost a month, was never the same the rest of the season when he came back. This extended break and new scenery may just be what Toro needed, he's shown when he's 100% healthy he's a force to be reckoned with in the paint.

Also, another thing of note when CMA was asked about Roberts, he just said he has to learn to play with the new weight he added, I didn't take that as a good sign, Roberts was already playing himself out of the rotation before he got injured, with the additions of Toro and Moore, Roberts may be on the outside looking in if he doesn't figure things out quickly. And last thing, Zach said he also feels like the staff likes Earlington as being the 6th man.
 
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[quote="lawmanfan" post=398591][quote="QueensBall" post=398582]I'll go a slightly weirder. I don't think Anderson cares too much about traditional positions as long as he has a PG and a big on the floor...

Dunn
Williams
Cole
Champagnie
Toro

I think Earlington should start but he's so impactful off the bench I can see Coach keeping him there. Also if Williams keeps improving his outside shooting we'll need someone besides Cole who can spread the floor.I'm not at all confident in predicting any lineup. Starters seem to matter less in our system and also Anderson doesn't always make the most obvious choice. Champagnie starting last year was surprising and ended up being a great move but I'm sure there were a couple of guys with ruffled feathers. My money is still on Dunn but if Posh or McGriff is just crushing it in practice I think that guy gets the start. I think everyone will play. He found 5 -10 minutes a game for Sears last season...[/quote]

That starting lineup wouldn't surprise me at all. I agree as long as he has one PG, one big and Champagnie on the floor he has a lot of flexibility at the other two spots. Williams and Cole might be his two best offensive options and it allows him to bring Earlington and Alexander off the bench.

Really what you have with this team is:
3 PG - Dunn, Alexander, Griff
4 bigs - Toro, Earlington, Moore, Roberts
5 wings - Cole, Williams, Champagnie, Caraher, Wusu

That creates a lot of possible combinations, especially with 3-guard or 4-guard lineups (and I don't think we'll see just one starting lineup over the course of the season, either).[/quote]

What I love about this roster is the flexibility that CMA has at his disposal to mix and match players based upon matchups, playing the hot hand, etc. We finally have a roster where we can play small or play big if needed. This team can easily go 10 deep, which is atypical of St John's teams in recent years. Allows CMA to keep fresh players in the game at all times and wear our opponents down with our relentless defense.

Can't wait for the season to start. Should be a lot of fun and we should be very competitive. This team has the potential to fool many of the so called "experts". Here's hoping that happens.
 
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[quote="Making Plays" post=398643]Looks like Zach just did an interview with CMA, he pretty much confirmed Dunn would be starting at the 1 over Posh. Said he thinks Dunn will be even better in his 2nd year here. Also, was really surprised to hear how CMA has been so complimentary of Toro, I went and looked at Toro's stats, he was putting up really good numbers before his season ending injury in his 3rd year, then last season in his first 3 games he was averaging 16 PPG / 16 RPG before he got hurt again and missed almost a month, was never the same the rest of the season when he came back. This extended break and new scenery may just be what Toro needed, he's shown when he's 100% healthy he's a force to be reckoned with in the paint.

Also, another thing of note when CMA was asked about Roberts, he just said he has to learn to play with the new weight he added, I didn't take that as a good sign, Roberts was already playing himself out of the rotation before he got injured, with the additions of Toro and Moore, Roberts may be on the outside looking in if he doesn't figure things out quickly. And last thing, Zach said he also feels like the staff likes Earlington as being the 6th man.[/quote]

It tells you a lot about Earlington's character that CMA can comfortably call Marcellus the 6th man well before the season starts. Earlington must be a coach's dream. Sits on the bench for most of his freshman season without moping, and is absolutely ready when called upon. Hustles and does the little things that win games. Very coachable young man, which makes a coach's job a lot easier.
 
Dunn’s ability to get to the rim and play pressure defense can make him a significant contributor for SJU. However he is not a three point shooter and must limit those attempts like he did in the last ten games last season to stay on the floor.
 
Obviously the depth has improved and the minutes, rather than who starts, is what counts imo. I think we will see a number of different lineups at tip off reflective of the opposition. LJ had his judgment issues and forced a lot, but he could make plays on both sides of court at key times often. Cole seems to have scorer’s mentality, but someone else will have to step up as reliable shooter to take all the pressure off him and fill LJ void. Maybe Williams, Julian or Earlington can be more consistent on perimeter and keep teams honest as LJ did. At least opponents paid attention to him.

I am not as optimistic about making a big jump in BE as many here. My reservation was our abysmal road record, but with no fans perhaps no one will have marked advantage in that respect. This team is easy to root for, so I will very happy if they can finish in middle of pack and contend for Dance bid. For now I remain cautious about that fwiw.
 
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I've never seen a player on SJ where I was so confused why we got them at first (just a football player, a bit better than walk on level from what I first saw) yet so pleased with overachieving like Earlington. He looked pretty clueless early in his tenure here and last season became a legit contributor all over the place. When he got the ball offensively, I was very confident the ball would find the hoop. Nothing flashy, just got the ball in the hoop. Layups, second chance points, and even 3's at the end. A true transformation and probably the most I've ever seen for us for a single player.

Regarding Paultz's predictions, I also doubt that we end up middle of pack...probably 7th or worse, but that's more due to the toughness of the rest of the league. It's going to be so hard to leap frog all these great programs. But I hope like hell we somehow do it. If CMA is a really good coach, this is the exact type of year we should be on bubble or better when no one expected it. I'm also concerned about a 2nd shooter. Champ is a decent but not consistent shooter from 3. Earlington came on late but we will see if it continues. Other than Cole, we really need another 2 shooters IMO plus a beastly big to really compete for a Big East Championship. But I hope we shock everyone this year.
 
[quote="Paultzman" post=398674]Obviously the depth has improved and the minutes, rather than who starts, is what counts imo. I think we will see a number of different lineups at tip off reflective of the opposition. LJ had his judgment issues and forced a lot, but he could make plays on both sides of court at key times often. Cole seems to have scorer’s mentality, but someone else will have to step up as reliable shooter to take all the pressure off him and fill LJ void. Maybe Williams, Julian or Earlington can be more consistent on perimeter and keep teams honest as LJ did. At least opponents paid attention to him.

I am not as optimistic about making a big jump in BE as many here. My reservation was our abysmal road record, but with no fans perhaps no one will have marked advantage in that respect. This team is easy to root for, so I will very happy if they can finish in middle of pack and contend for Dance bid. For now I remain cautious about that fwiw.[/quote]

Thanks for slowing down the hype train big dog. I was about to buy a ticket and get on board but you make some good points here. I love the way CMA is methodically building this team but there are still question marks and while there is cause for optimism, the improvements may not show in the win column for the reasons you mentioned.
 
Anybody hearing anything on Caraher? I was hoping he might step up and contribute off the bench this year. Would love to see him become a consistent threat from outside and get 10-12 minutes a game.
 
I don’t think we finish in bottom half honestly. We lost Lj which was a blow to our scoring. Heron wasn’t a huge loss because he was injured and we really never got a chance to see him get going. We played better when he was out in second half of season. Nobody knows if Cole can fill part of that void but I suspect the might be surprised, That said, I think we have a huge net gain in a few areas like at Pg and up front. Moore and Toro will likely be a huge boost for our play up front. I know Moore is thin, but he’s long as hell and quite skilled with the ball. Toro is literally a bull inside which we haven’t had. Our Pg game got a lot better, allowing us to move more guys around to the 2/3 spots and I think Dunn will end up moving over a bit at times so he can penetrate from the wings.

Our quality depth is fantastic at this point. A lot better than last year which will really boost our ability to punish teams down the stretch.

In addition to Earlington, there’s little talk about Caraher who was a phenomenal glue guy last year and can do a ton of things. If he gets to the point where he’s knocking down open jumpers he will add another element. When our bench consists of guys like Earlington, Caraher, Posh, Wusu, Moore, McGriff, other teams are going to have to worry because we can put more than 2 capable lines on the court. Anderson also has a group that now know his system and how it’s done. I’m optimistic. There was a steep learning curve last year which should not be as bad this year. We have a strong core with size and lots of motors.

I think we are going to work on a lot of teams nerves this year because we can go 100% the entire 40 minutes. We have all the horses. Sure, I’d love one more stud wing scorer, but I think we have almost if the other tools in our toolbox.
 
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[quote="Mike Zaun" post=398686]I've never seen a player on SJ where I was so confused why we got them at first (just a football player, a bit better than walk on level from what I first saw) yet so pleased with overachieving like Earlington. He looked pretty clueless early in his tenure here and last season became a legit contributor all over the place. When he got the ball offensively, I was very confident the ball would find the hoop. Nothing flashy, just got the ball in the hoop. Layups, second chance points, and even 3's at the end. A true transformation and probably the most I've ever seen for us for a single player.

Regarding Paultz's predictions, I also doubt that we end up middle of pack...probably 7th or worse, but that's more due to the toughness of the rest of the league. It's going to be so hard to leap frog all these great programs. But I hope like hell we somehow do it. If CMA is a really good coach, this is the exact type of year we should be on bubble or better when no one expected it. I'm also concerned about a 2nd shooter. Champ is a decent but not consistent shooter from 3. Earlington came on late but we will see if it continues. Other than Cole, we really need another 2 shooters IMO plus a beastly big to really compete for a Big East Championship. But I hope we shock everyone this year.[/quote]

Earlington had an uncanny ability to get his shot up down low against much taller players. Has a very calm demeanor. Very confident.
 
[quote="Section3" post=398780][quote="Mike Zaun" post=398686]I've never seen a player on SJ where I was so confused why we got them at first (just a football player, a bit better than walk on level from what I first saw) yet so pleased with overachieving like Earlington. He looked pretty clueless early in his tenure here and last season became a legit contributor all over the place. When he got the ball offensively, I was very confident the ball would find the hoop. Nothing flashy, just got the ball in the hoop. Layups, second chance points, and even 3's at the end. A true transformation and probably the most I've ever seen for us for a single player.

Regarding Paultz's predictions, I also doubt that we end up middle of pack...probably 7th or worse, but that's more due to the toughness of the rest of the league. It's going to be so hard to leap frog all these great programs. But I hope like hell we somehow do it. If CMA is a really good coach, this is the exact type of year we should be on bubble or better when no one expected it. I'm also concerned about a 2nd shooter. Champ is a decent but not consistent shooter from 3. Earlington came on late but we will see if it continues. Other than Cole, we really need another 2 shooters IMO plus a beastly big to really compete for a Big East Championship. But I hope we shock everyone this year.[/quote]

Earlington had an uncanny ability to get his shot up down low against much taller players. Has a very calm demeanor. Very confident.[/quote]

#swag. Kid doesn’t get nervous. Always relaxed. It makes him a better player.
 
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Hard to come up with another player who improved their shot selection, technique and shooting touch like Earlington did last season. The
 
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