21-22 Starting Lineup / Playing Time

[paultzman]

Rothstein today at SJ practice ;

“St. John's supporting cast around Posh Alexander and Julian Champagnie. 

Red Storm need offensive mileage out of Mathis, Stef Smith (Vermont), and Tareeq Coburn (Hofstra).”

“Early prediction on St. John's 21-22 starting five:

Posh Alexander, Montez Mathis, Julian Champagnie, Aaron Wheeler, Joel Soriano”

“Watching Posh Alexander's offense closely. St. John's was 11-2 last season in games where he scored in double figures and 7-0 in games where he made multiple three-point shots.”

“St. John's big man Joel Soriano is down 22 pounds since arriving on campus, per a school official. Transfer from Fordham. Will start at center.”

“LOVE the idea of Purdue transfer Aaron Wheeler as a small ball 5 in Mike Anderson's system. Can run the floor, lead a break, and finish at the rim. Intriguing prospect.”

“St. John's fans are going to adore 6-5 freshman Rafael Pinzon. Brings a completely different dimension. Think a poor man's Ty Jerome. Will be Posh Alexander's backup at PG.”

 

 

[Alex9045]

Rothstein today at SJ practice ;

“St. John's supporting cast around Posh Alexander and Julian Champagnie. 

Red Storm need offensive mileage out of Mathis, Stef Smith (Vermont), and Tareeq Coburn (Hofstra).”

“Early prediction on St. John's 21-22 starting five:

Posh Alexander, Montez Mathis, Julian Champagnie, Aaron Wheeler, Joel Soriano”

“Watching Posh Alexander's offense closely. St. John's was 11-2 last season in games where he scored in double figures and 7-0 in games where he made multiple three-point shots.”

“St. John's big man Joel Soriano is down 22 pounds since arriving on campus, per a school official. Transfer from Fordham. Will start at center.”

 

That's a huge starting five for us. 6'11 and 6'9 up front? I'll take it! I see Coburn or Smith taking the starting role over Mathis. They'll bring more to the table offensively. 

 

[MCNPA]

Rothstein today at SJ practice ;

“St. John's supporting cast around Posh Alexander and Julian Champagnie. 

Red Storm need offensive mileage out of Mathis, Stef Smith (Vermont), and Tareeq Coburn (Hofstra).”

“Early prediction on St. John's 21-22 starting five:

Posh Alexander, Montez Mathis, Julian Champagnie, Aaron Wheeler, Joel Soriano”

“Watching Posh Alexander's offense closely. St. John's was 11-2 last season in games where he scored in double figures and 7-0 in games where he made multiple three-point shots.”

“St. John's big man Joel Soriano is down 22 pounds since arriving on campus, per a school official. Transfer from Fordham. Will start at center.”


 

That's a huge starting five for us. 6'11 and 6'9 up front? I'll take it! I see Coburn or Smith taking the starting role over Mathis. They'll bring more to the table offensively. 

Mathis is being undersold.  He was Rutgers leading scorer for first half season last year I believe and is capable of some very big games against good opponents.  He’s actually a heck of an offensive player.  He just didn’t fit very well in Rutgers system. 
 

 

[paultzman]

Rothstein today at SJ practice ;

“St. John's supporting cast around Posh Alexander and Julian Champagnie. 

Red Storm need offensive mileage out of Mathis, Stef Smith (Vermont), and Tareeq Coburn (Hofstra).”

“Early prediction on St. John's 21-22 starting five:

Posh Alexander, Montez Mathis, Julian Champagnie, Aaron Wheeler, Joel Soriano”

“Watching Posh Alexander's offense closely. St. John's was 11-2 last season in games where he scored in double figures and 7-0 in games where he made multiple three-point shots.”

“St. John's big man Joel Soriano is down 22 pounds since arriving on campus, per a school official. Transfer from Fordham. Will start at center.”

“LOVE the idea of Purdue transfer Aaron Wheeler as a small ball 5 in Mike Anderson's system. Can run the floor, lead a break, and finish at the rim. Intriguing prospect.”

“St. John's fans are going to adore 6-5 freshman Rafael Pinzon. Brings a completely different dimension. Think a poor man's Ty Jerome. Will be Posh Alexander's backup at PG.”




 

Would not be surprised if Smith or Coburn starts and Wheeler with his athleticism and quickness becomes the 1st off the bench. Just think it protects St. John's against foul trouble for the bigs and keeps the floor well spread


https://twitter.com/jpm114/status/1446242225411743746?s=21

 

[NCJohnnie]

Agree with those who are guessing either Smith or Coburn will start. Don't see Champagnie, Wheeler and Soriano all starting especially with Mathis. We need a second proven three point shooter in starting lineup and none of Posh, Wheeler, Mathis or Soriano are that. Both Smith & Coburn are. I like Wheeler, Wusu, Stanley & Pinzon giving us instant energy off the bench. 

 

[ras]

Champ wants to play the 3 a lot for his NBA draft stock. Can move him to the 4 at times, but seems to me will get significant pt at the 3.

 

[mjmaherjr]

Champ wants to play the 3 a lot for his NBA draft stock. Can move him to the 4 at times, but seems to me will get significant pt at the 3.

agree if Champ plays the 3 its Wheeler at the 4

 

[L J S A]

I'm hoping for six starters: Posh, Smith, Champagnie, Soriano, and Wheeler in one half, and Posh, Smith, Coburn, Soriano, and Champagnie in the other. Heavy doses of Wusu and Mathis too. I wouldn't be afraid to play Wusu at four different positions. Really hoping we find enough time for the three freshmen and Nyiwe too, since everyone transfers at the drop of a hat. Think Pinzon and Stanley will get more minutes than Traore and Nyiwe.

 

[Amaseinyourface]

We have 1 guy who’s a true PG and 1 guy who’s a true Center. The rest of the top 8 are guaranteed to see minutes at 2 maybe 3 different spots. It’s awesome flexibility to have but it makes figuring out a projected depth chart nearly impossible. It’s also why I can see a big range in our results from great (top 15) to pretty good (top 50).

Sounds obvious but 3-8 will figure itself out by the time BE play starts. 

 

[monte]

I'm hoping for six starters: Posh, Smith, Champagnie, Soriano, and Wheeler in one half, and Posh, Smith, Coburn, Soriano, and Champagnie in the other. Heavy doses of Wusu and Mathis too. I wouldn't be afraid to play Wusu at four different positions. Really hoping we find enough time for the three freshmen and Nyiwe too, since everyone transfers at the drop of a hat. Think Pinzon and Stanley will get more minutes than Traore and Nyiwe.

Agreed, many kids will not give themselves the opportunity to learn and grow. Champ is the only kid on the roster who has been here for 3 years, and just barely. Moving forward, I think you'll see less and less 3 year players on most high D1 teams. It's one of the reasons I now like college football much more than college basketball; kids stick around at a much higher rate, wait their turn and learn. In college basketball, there's no more "looking forward to next season when the bulk of the team returns and the kids will be a year older". We have no clue from year to year, who is going to return and who isn't. That's also one of the reasons why every team needs to play for this season. No one knows what next season will bring. 

 

[lawmanfan]

We know two things:  Posh will be the starting PG and Champagnie will be playing on the wing.

The other guard spot will presumably be battled out among Mathis, Smith, Coburn, Wusu and PInzon.  My guess is that Mathis should have the edge and Pinzon is likely to slot in more as a backup PG for this year, but if we know one thing it is that Anderson is going to be guided by performance in practice.

The frontcourt is going to be interesting.  If Nyiwe, Traore and/or Stanley earn Anderson's trust, then I can see him playing Soriano and Wheeler together, which would be a very different look than we are used to.  It would be a traditional lineup with Posh at the 1, a shooting guard at the 2, Julian at the 3, Wheeler at the 4 and Soriano at the 5.

OTOH if the staff isn't confident in their depth up front then I would think that it becomes either Wheeler or Soriano up front with the other coming off the bench.  That would open a spot for another guard ... but would push Julian more to the 4 where he doesn't want to be.

In the end I think Rothstein has it right and the starters are Posh, Mathis, Champagnie, Wheeler, Soriano.  PInzon comes off the bench as a second ball-handler.  When the staff wants to go small/quick or get more outside shooting, Smith and Coburn come in for one of the bigs, and otherwise the group of Nyiwe, Stanley, Traore are your backups for the Wheeler and Soriano.

Definitely lots of options and I think everyone gets some minutes.

 

[MainMan]

I think people are sleeping on Dylan, again. 

 

[bamafan]

If Pinzon is indeed out back up point guard to Posh I hope he gets ample PT in the non conference portion of the schedule so that he has a better chance to be ready to be an asset in the conference part of the schedule.

 

[SJU79*]

Probably nothing new in here but thought I’d pass along what I’ve heard from practice early on
1) Pinzon reminds them of Kyle Anderson 
2) Stanley is tough. As in full on relentless 
3) They are talking to Dylan about decision making process(on court)…very smart by the staff 
4) Fine line with Mathis in respect to offensive aggressiveness and irrational confidence. Shot selection imperative 
5) Smith plays the game with such a high IQ… don’t be surprised if he’s the guy who surprises you with his playing time 

 

[BrookJersey Redmen]

As a huge '69-'70  and early 70's Knick fan I see Dylan being our Mike Riordan, tough as nails, strong body, and can move. I agree people are sleeping on him.

How about pulling a Red Holzman a la, a starting group and a "second team"**, give enough minutes to the second group, but keep Julian out there as much as possible, a little less so Posh.

This gives everyone P.T. and gives the team a jolt of energy as the second group is determined to show what they got, scrappy junk yard dogs.

Maybe not an Anderson thing but it worked out pretty nicely for Red. 

** Knicks second team, was Cazzie Russell, Mike Riordan, Dave Stallworth, Phil Jackson, our own Johnny Warren (sometimes), Nate Bowman, sometimes. Even Donnie May and Bill Hosket got some minutes with the second team. 
 

 

[MarkRedman]

If Pinzon is indeed out back up point guard to Posh I hope he gets ample PT in the non conference portion of the schedule so that he has a better chance to be ready to be an asset in the conference part of the schedule.


I totally agree. This is part of the reason why teams schedule some non conference "cupcakes" . With a team that has to integrate 9 new players into the program, it give CMA an opportunity to see the new guys in game situations, to experiment with different combinations to help him formulate his rotations and substitution patterns and to give the freshmen an opportunity to gain some valuable game experience.

While we would all love to see more games against power level teams, the "cupcake" portion of the schedule is essential to help prepare our kids and team for the Big East conference season. Given the big turnover of our roster this season, I think CMA did a good job of non conference scheduling by sprinkling a couple of marquee games into the mix.
 

 

[Amaseinyourface]

If Pinzon is indeed out back up point guard to Posh I hope he gets ample PT in the non conference portion of the schedule so that he has a better chance to be ready to be an asset in the conference part of the schedule.


I totally agree. This is part of the reason why teams schedule some non conference "cupcakes" . With a team that has to integrate 9 new players into the program, it give CMA an opportunity to see the new guys in game situations, to experiment with different combinations to help him formulate his rotations and substitution patterns and to give the freshmen an opportunity to gain some valuable game experience.

While we would all love to see more games against power level teams, the "cupcake" portion of the schedule is essential to help prepare our kids and team for the Big East conference season. Given the big turnover of our roster this season, I think CMA did a good job of non conference scheduling by sprinkling a couple of marquee games into the mix.


 

Agree but you could make the counter argument that a game vs a major opponent would allow for staff to integrate new guys without the pressure of a must win situation. Yes the cupcakes should let you play with lineups, but play too much and a loss could ruin your season.

 

[lawmanfan]

Probably nothing new in here but thought I’d pass along what I’ve heard from practice early on
1) Pinzon reminds them of Kyle Anderson 
2) Stanley is tough. As in full on relentless 
3) They are talking to Dylan about decision making process(on court)…very smart by the staff 
4) Fine line with Mathis in respect to offensive aggressiveness and irrational confidence. Shot selection imperative 
5) Smith plays the game with such a high IQ… don’t be surprised if he’s the guy who surprises you with his playing time 
 

I think Stanley is going to surprise a lot of people.  Love the guys who do the dirty work and so does Anderson.

It's all about thought process with Wusu.  He needs to understand what he's going to get called for based on his size (fair or not) and where his offensive opportunities are and aren't.  Agree that it's smart for staff to focus on that, because if his mental game improves he can be a huge contributor.

Gonna be a dogfight for minutes among Smith, Mathis, Wusu, maybe Coburn.

 

[AlBovino]

The team will be better with Champagnie playing the 4. He cannot defend the 3. Plus his rebounding numbers will decrease if he plays the 3.

 

[lawmanfan]

The team will be better with Champagnie playing the 4. He cannot defend the 3. Plus his rebounding numbers will decrease if he plays the 3.
 

ICYMI he didn't come back to college to play the 4 because that isn't going to be his position at the next level.  He won't be playing the 4 (or 5) this year except (at most) in spots. 

The team has Soriano for the 5 with Nyiwe behind him, Wheeler for the 4 with Stanley and Traore behind him.  They should be just fine for rebounding without Champ at the 4. 

To me the question is whether Soriano and Wheeler have offensive games, plus whether Posh's offensive game improves and they get scoring from the 2, in a way that will create open looks for Champ on the wing.