2nd Creighton Game

[mjmaherjr]

IMO the most surprising thing about this game was the attendance. Creighton at noon drawing almost 11,000. Unbelievable!
Was anything different done in selling tickets? Is Creighton a draw?

Must have been a ton of no shows because the building seemed empty to me. I thought the Providence crowd was much larger due to all the Friar fans. Didn't see many Creighton fans today.

crowd got in late ( as we did _ but it was definitely a nice sized crowd.. Probably seemed less because the beer concessions were busy with people going back and forth getting beers

I was very happy for the size of the crowd

 

[usguard]

re size of crowd: I'm at halfcourt in a low row in the 100's. It's nice having an empty seat on either side of me. Keep staying home guys. I miss the noise, but it's nice to have such a great view of the court and have plenty of elbow room.

Re: Harrison's injury. Watching him closely, he is still hurt. He barely jumps for rebounds, but it really doesn't affect his outside shot much. He can still take it to the hoop, but not with the same authority. Still hands down better than what would replace him on bench.

Re: Jordan: I've maintained he isn't a horrible outside shooter, as some here have contended. In the first half alone he nailed five threes, and showed as much fire on the court as I've seen, especially coming off the court when one of his bombs necessitated a time out.

Re: Teamwork. This team never ever ever looks to feed the hot hand. In some ways it's good, because in the first half, a few guys were making their shots, and honestly when Jordan wants to shoot the ball passed to him doesn't come back often. But still, when you are unconscious, your teammates have to look for you. Today even with 19 first half points, the didn't.

Re: Balamou. Amar was the obvious starter, especially against taller nonathletic big men. Obviously things worked out, but did we really want 4.5 guards out there most of the time?

Re; Pointer. Ben Wallace must be jealous or smiling.

Felix thing was a reward / punishment thing with him and Obekpa. They won so you will see that for at least one more game depending on Obekpa injury and how we do against Depaul

As anyone who reads this board with regularity knows I will criticize Lavin for just about everything but the weather and I am trying to figure an angle out for that but I fail to see how you can criticize him for starting Balamou with the start we got off to.

Basketball, as I posted the other day, is all about making your matchups tougher for your opponent than theirs are for you. In hindsight it worked, but you could almost see this Lavin move coming. We replaced out only legitimate big with a 6'4 small forward/guard. Their bigs didn't take us to town, but for a while most of their easy baskets came from their big guys, taking full advantage of the height differential. Take away Jordan's monster 1st half and its a much closer game.

Balamou certainly doesn't hurt you out there and you wonder why he doesn't get at least 6-7 minutes per game. HE jumps through the roof, and has a soft soft within 12 feet.

Something I saw with Balamou today was his hustle on both ends of the floor. He had a nice drive to the hoop today but missed the layup. After Creighton got the rebound, they pushed the ball up to get a transition basket but Balamou sprinted faster than I've seen someone run and stopped the break. Did a perfect job of stopping them after he made a mistake.

Good to see him trying to earn his playing time by playing with a purpose and playing hard. He is also the most athletic/quickest kid I've seen in a long time.

I don't want to throw water on one of the most enjoyable wins of the season...but Balamou is in over his head. 2-10 bricklaying in a game where everyone was lights out doesn't give me confidence. Any more than five minutes for him is another "Lavin is waving the white flag again" move.

Balamou may have shot 20%, but he passes up many shots outside of his range, plays good defense, and hits the boards hard. I feel he is by all means capable of competing at this level and is serviceable - probably more so than Christian Jones. Watching at the game, except for a brick that concluding a good decision drive to the basket (we scored on the put back) it really wasn't apparent that he was shooting poorly. In fact overall he played pretty well, sans the 2-10 shooting.

Was surprised he jumped center?

 

[monte]

Very very impressive performance by us.

Jordan/Harrison/pointer absolutely sensational.

Hopefully Harrison is now 100% going forward.

Pointer can play in the NBA.

JORDANS best game at SJU.

Felix has no business being out there.

Hopefully Chris' ankle won't be a lingering issue.

Creighton is horrific.

Must beat depaul because the next two are gonna be very tough.

Agree completely on Dom. Plenty of size and athleticism to be an NBA 2(and spot 3), and enough skills. Plus tons of heart and a pretty damn good motor. If I'm an NBA GM I'd want him on my team for many reasons.

 

[logen]

Not realy fair because Pointer is having a sensational season but he does not shoot and especially not handle well enough to play in the NBA. His athleticism will not be as dominant a factor as it is at the college level. Could he stick with a team in the right circumstances; sure but he would have to improve those skills significantly to have a meaningful NBA career. A lot of great college players don't sniff the league. I do believe without a doubt he will continue his career somewhere.

 

[Class of 72]

Very very impressive performance by us.

Jordan/Harrison/pointer absolutely sensational.

Hopefully Harrison is now 100% going forward.

Pointer can play in the NBA.

JORDANS best game at SJU.

Felix has no business being out there.

Hopefully Chris' ankle won't be a lingering issue.

Creighton is horrific.

Must beat depaul because the next two are gonna be very tough.

This thread would not be complete if I didn't question Lavin's decision making. Since you mentioned Balamou it reminds me of the starting lineup and the brain dead strategy to have him, not Pointer, jump center thereby conceding the first possession to Creighton. Had Creighton scored it would have been a 2 point gift. Something odds makers don't appreciate.
Dom had a great game against an inferior opponent and should earn a nice living in Europe but his off balance fall away jumper is not NBA material. His release is too slow for the pros.
Creighton is bad this year and our loss to them was the dagger in our NCAA hopes.

 

[OLV72]

Not realy fair because Pointer is having a sensational season but he does not shoot and especially not handle well enough to play in the NBA. His athleticism will not be as dominant a factor as it is at the college level. Could he stick with a team in the right circumstances; sure but he would have to improve those skills significantly to have a meaningful NBA career. A lot of great college players don't sniff the league. I do believe without a doubt he will continue his career somewhere.

Logen, if his handle is not good, how do you explain his Assist to T/O ratio. This guys game is more than athleticism and motor. His strongest attribute is passing. He has excellent court vision, feeds the right guy and bounces it or delivers in in the air in the right spot. And he displayed this since his freshmen year.

 

[paultzman]

Not realy fair because Pointer is having a sensational season but he does not shoot and especially not handle well enough to play in the NBA. His athleticism will not be as dominant a factor as it is at the college level. Could he stick with a team in the right circumstances; sure but he would have to improve those skills significantly to have a meaningful NBA career. A lot of great college players don't sniff the league. I do believe without a doubt he will continue his career somewhere.

Logen, if his handle is not good, how do you explain his Assist to T/O ratio. This guys game is more than athleticism and motor. His strongest attribute is passing. He has excellent court vision, feeds the right guy and bounces it or delivers in in the air in the right spot. And he displayed this since his freshmen year.

Credit Dom with a great year. Would agree his handle needs work, but everyone has areas to improve.

 

[Class of 72]

Not realy fair because Pointer is having a sensational season but he does not shoot and especially not handle well enough to play in the NBA. His athleticism will not be as dominant a factor as it is at the college level. Could he stick with a team in the right circumstances; sure but he would have to improve those skills significantly to have a meaningful NBA career. A lot of great college players don't sniff the league. I do believe without a doubt he will continue his career somewhere.

Logen, if his handle is not good, how do you explain his Assist to T/O ratio. This guys game is more than athleticism and motor. His strongest attribute is passing. He has excellent court vision, feeds the right guy and bounces it or delivers in in the air in the right spot. And he displayed this since his freshmen year.

Unless you are a 6'10 250 lb center, if you can't shoot you can't play in the NBA.

 

[Avon Barksdale]

Very very impressive performance by us.

Jordan/Harrison/pointer absolutely sensational.

Hopefully Harrison is now 100% going forward.

Pointer can play in the NBA.

JORDANS best game at SJU.

Felix has no business being out there.

Hopefully Chris' ankle won't be a lingering issue.

Creighton is horrific.

Must beat depaul because the next two are gonna be very tough.

This thread would not be complete if I didn't question Lavin's decision making. Since you mentioned Balamou it reminds me of the starting lineup and the brain dead strategy to have him, not Pointer, jump center thereby conceding the first possession to Creighton. Had Creighton scored it would have been a 2 point gift. Something odds makers don't appreciate.
Dom had a great game against an inferior opponent and should earn a nice living in Europe but his off balance fall away jumper is not NBA material. His release is too slow for the pros.
Creighton is bad this year and our loss to them was the dagger in our NCAA hopes.

Lol,....Felix jumping center over dom was a bone headed move. Great catch.

Let's wait and see on dom. I am high on his game...he has completely exceeded all expectations and if he keeps improving, he has a shot. Not saying he will be an all NBA player....but he is a better all around player for us than Sampson was and he is on the 76ers.

 

[redken]

Very very impressive performance by us.

Jordan/Harrison/pointer absolutely sensational.

Hopefully Harrison is now 100% going forward.

Pointer can play in the NBA.

JORDANS best game at SJU.

Felix has no business being out there.

Hopefully Chris' ankle won't be a lingering issue.

Creighton is horrific.

Must beat depaul because the next two are gonna be very tough.

This thread would not be complete if I didn't question Lavin's decision making. Since you mentioned Balamou it reminds me of the starting lineup and the brain dead strategy to have him, not Pointer, jump center thereby conceding the first possession to Creighton. Had Creighton scored it would have been a 2 point gift. Something odds makers don't appreciate.
Dom had a great game against an inferior opponent and should earn a nice living in Europe but his off balance fall away jumper is not NBA material. His release is too slow for the pros.
Creighton is bad this year and our loss to them was the dagger in our NCAA hopes.

Lol,....Felix jumping center over dom was a bone headed move. Great catch. ...

Much ado about nothing. ... And now our coaching staff has be concerned with keeping the odds makers happy? That's a new one.

 

[logen]

Not realy fair because Pointer is having a sensational season but he does not shoot and especially not handle well enough to play in the NBA. His athleticism will not be as dominant a factor as it is at the college level. Could he stick with a team in the right circumstances; sure but he would have to improve those skills significantly to have a meaningful NBA career. A lot of great college players don't sniff the league. I do believe without a doubt he will continue his career somewhere.

Logen, if his handle is not good, how do you explain his Assist to T/O ratio. This guys game is more than athleticism and motor. His strongest attribute is passing. He has excellent court vision, feeds the right guy and bounces it or delivers in in the air in the right spot. And he displayed this since his freshmen year.

Hung up on stats; I agree he has good court vision but I have watched him for 4 years and his handle is very suspect. I'm not here to knock Pointer but if you have watched him play rather than just read stats you would have seen clearly that he is less than smooth handling the ball. The NBA does not draft on stats they draft on watching a player play. If you think he has an NBA handle so be it, we just disagree.

 

[mjmaherjr]

Not realy fair because Pointer is having a sensational season but he does not shoot and especially not handle well enough to play in the NBA. His athleticism will not be as dominant a factor as it is at the college level. Could he stick with a team in the right circumstances; sure but he would have to improve those skills significantly to have a meaningful NBA career. A lot of great college players don't sniff the league. I do believe without a doubt he will continue his career somewhere.

Logen, if his handle is not good, how do you explain his Assist to T/O ratio. This guys game is more than athleticism and motor. His strongest attribute is passing. He has excellent court vision, feeds the right guy and bounces it or delivers in in the air in the right spot. And he displayed this since his freshmen year.

Hung up on stats; I agree he has good court vision but I have watched him for 4 years and his handle is very suspect. I'm not here to knock Pointer but if you have watched him play rather than just read stats you would have seen clearly that he is less than smooth handling the ball. The NBA does not draft on stats they draft on watching a player play. If you think he has an NBA handle so be it, we just disagree.

I've mentioned it before but in Dom's particular case I think he is better off not getting drafted and going to tryout for a team that fits what his skill set is and will give him time to learn more and develop. His development in just 1 year I think has been tremendous and if he continues that then I think there is room for him in the nba. I still keep thinking Bruce Bowen type situation albeit different players

 

[Class of 72]

Very very impressive performance by us.

Jordan/Harrison/pointer absolutely sensational.

Hopefully Harrison is now 100% going forward.

Pointer can play in the NBA.

JORDANS best game at SJU.

Felix has no business being out there.

Hopefully Chris' ankle won't be a lingering issue.

Creighton is horrific.

Must beat depaul because the next two are gonna be very tough.

This thread would not be complete if I didn't question Lavin's decision making. Since you mentioned Balamou it reminds me of the starting lineup and the brain dead strategy to have him, not Pointer, jump center thereby conceding the first possession to Creighton. Had Creighton scored it would have been a 2 point gift. Something odds makers don't appreciate.
Dom had a great game against an inferior opponent and should earn a nice living in Europe but his off balance fall away jumper is not NBA material. His release is too slow for the pros.
Creighton is bad this year and our loss to them was the dagger in our NCAA hopes.

Lol,....Felix jumping center over dom was a bone headed move. Great catch. ...

Much ado about nothing. ... And now our coaching staff has be concerned with keeping the odds makers happy? That's a new one.

A new one?? Tom in Salem is the odds man on this board. B)
The coaching staff should be concerned about every point in a game and every possession. I found it pretty insulting to have a sub jump in place of the highest jumping player on the court. Considering we are not going the the dance because of a couple of embarrassing losses that were decided by under 4 points I would think some of the more knowledgeable fans here would recognize the razor thin margin we have in winning most games. I guess I was wrong. BTW, starting the rarely used Balamou and having him jump center was a tip by Lavin to Obekpa. The joke could have been on him had this game been as close as the one in Omaha.

 

[OLV72]

Not realy fair because Pointer is having a sensational season but he does not shoot and especially not handle well enough to play in the NBA. His athleticism will not be as dominant a factor as it is at the college level. Could he stick with a team in the right circumstances; sure but he would have to improve those skills significantly to have a meaningful NBA career. A lot of great college players don't sniff the league. I do believe without a doubt he will continue his career somewhere.

Logen, if his handle is not good, how do you explain his Assist to T/O ratio. This guys game is more than athleticism and motor. His strongest attribute is passing. He has excellent court vision, feeds the right guy and bounces it or delivers in in the air in the right spot. And he displayed this since his freshmen year.

Hung up on stats; I agree he has good court vision but I have watched him for 4 years and his handle is very suspect. I'm not here to knock Pointer but if you have watched him play rather than just read stats you would have seen clearly that he is less than smooth handling the ball. The NBA does not draft on stats they draft on watching a player play. If you think he has an NBA handle so be it, we just disagree.[/quote

I know most here would disagree with me on this one and I know he looks shaky at times, but if his handle was poor he would lose the ball a lot and it would show up in the stats. I watch all the games and anyone who sees this team night and night out knows who often the ball is his hands.
We'll see what happens with him next year. It's nice to see that everyone is supporting him this year.

 

[Section3]

Not realy fair because Pointer is having a sensational season but he does not shoot and especially not handle well enough to play in the NBA. His athleticism will not be as dominant a factor as it is at the college level. Could he stick with a team in the right circumstances; sure but he would have to improve those skills significantly to have a meaningful NBA career. A lot of great college players don't sniff the league. I do believe without a doubt he will continue his career somewhere.

His mid range has improved as has his free throw shooting...assume he is putting in the work...right situation, I think he has legit chance

 

[Section3]

Not realy fair because Pointer is having a sensational season but he does not shoot and especially not handle well enough to play in the NBA. His athleticism will not be as dominant a factor as it is at the college level. Could he stick with a team in the right circumstances; sure but he would have to improve those skills significantly to have a meaningful NBA career. A lot of great college players don't sniff the league. I do believe without a doubt he will continue his career somewhere.

Logen, if his handle is not good, how do you explain his Assist to T/O ratio. This guys game is more than athleticism and motor. His strongest attribute is passing. He has excellent court vision, feeds the right guy and bounces it or delivers in in the air in the right spot. And he displayed this since his freshmen year.

Unless you are a 6'10 250 lb center, if you can't shoot you can't play in the NBA.

Lot of guys enter the league as poor shooters and improve simply be virtue of the time allotted to practice and the coaching...

Wouldn't call guy like Shumpert a good shooter

 

[Section3]

Very very impressive performance by us.

Jordan/Harrison/pointer absolutely sensational.

Hopefully Harrison is now 100% going forward.

Pointer can play in the NBA.

JORDANS best game at SJU.

Felix has no business being out there.

Hopefully Chris' ankle won't be a lingering issue.

Creighton is horrific.

Must beat depaul because the next two are gonna be very tough.

This thread would not be complete if I didn't question Lavin's decision making. Since you mentioned Balamou it reminds me of the starting lineup and the brain dead strategy to have him, not Pointer, jump center thereby conceding the first possession to Creighton. Had Creighton scored it would have been a 2 point gift. Something odds makers don't appreciate.
Dom had a great game against an inferior opponent and should earn a nice living in Europe but his off balance fall away jumper is not NBA material. His release is too slow for the pros.
Creighton is bad this year and our loss to them was the dagger in our NCAA hopes.

Lol,....Felix jumping center over dom was a bone headed move. Great catch.

Was surprised as well...But, did anyone notice how poorly the ref tossed the ball up...it was at least 2 feet inside the half court lime to the Creightin side...appears to be a lost skill..i noticed it a lot lately

 

[Russ2374]

Very very impressive performance by us.

Jordan/Harrison/pointer absolutely sensational.

Hopefully Harrison is now 100% going forward.

Pointer can play in the NBA.

JORDANS best game at SJU.

Felix has no business being out there.

Hopefully Chris' ankle won't be a lingering issue.

Creighton is horrific.

Must beat depaul because the next two are gonna be very tough.

This thread would not be complete if I didn't question Lavin's decision making. Since you mentioned Balamou it reminds me of the starting lineup and the brain dead strategy to have him, not Pointer, jump center thereby conceding the first possession to Creighton. Had Creighton scored it would have been a 2 point gift. Something odds makers don't appreciate.
Dom had a great game against an inferior opponent and should earn a nice living in Europe but his off balance fall away jumper is not NBA material. His release is too slow for the pros.
Creighton is bad this year and our loss to them was the dagger in our NCAA hopes.

Lol,....Felix jumping center over dom was a bone headed move. Great catch. ...

Much ado about nothing. ... And now our coaching staff has be concerned with keeping the odds makers happy? That's a new one.

A new one?? Tom in Salem is the odds man on this board. B)
The coaching staff should be concerned about every point in a game and every possession. I found it pretty insulting to have a sub jump in place of the highest jumping player on the court. Considering we are not going the the dance because of a couple of embarrassing losses that were decided by under 4 points I would think some of the more knowledgeable fans here would recognize the razor thin margin we have in winning most games. I guess I was wrong. BTW, starting the rarely used Balamou and having him jump center was a tip by Lavin to Obekpa. The joke could have been on him had this game been as close as the one in Omaha.

Who cares who gets the ball to start the game? There are alternating possessions in college hoops, no? This isn't street ball or sudden death OT.

 

[Jack Williams]

We win a game and posters are actually dissecting who Lavin sent out to tip the ball??

This is absurd. A lot of criticism Lavin has received is warranted but this board gets so hard to read sometimes.

 

[logen]

Not realy fair because Pointer is having a sensational season but he does not shoot and especially not handle well enough to play in the NBA. His athleticism will not be as dominant a factor as it is at the college level. Could he stick with a team in the right circumstances; sure but he would have to improve those skills significantly to have a meaningful NBA career. A lot of great college players don't sniff the league. I do believe without a doubt he will continue his career somewhere.

Logen, if his handle is not good, how do you explain his Assist to T/O ratio. This guys game is more than athleticism and motor. His strongest attribute is passing. He has excellent court vision, feeds the right guy and bounces it or delivers in in the air in the right spot. And he displayed this since his freshmen year.

Hung up on stats; I agree he has good court vision but I have watched him for 4 years and his handle is very suspect. I'm not here to knock Pointer but if you have watched him play rather than just read stats you would have seen clearly that he is less than smooth handling the ball. The NBA does not draft on stats they draft on watching a player play. If you think he has an NBA handle so be it, we just disagree.[/quote

I know most here would disagree with me on this one and I know he looks shaky at times, but if his handle was poor he would lose the ball a lot and it would show up in the stats. I watch all the games and anyone who sees this team night and night out knows who often the ball is his hands.
We'll see what happens with him next year. It's nice to see that everyone is supporting him this year.

Just to clarufy, we were talking about the NBA not college stats; two entirely DIFFERENT things. And we were offering opinions, nothing more, nothing less; we will not know the results until next year. But on a message board whose purpose is to DISCUSS things SJU basketball, I am not supporting Pointer because I give an HONEST opinion, prefaced a couple of times and in other posts comments about how great a year he is having? Really, give me a break. And people wonder why several outstanding posters have settled solely into their roles as moderators while we all lose out on the great contributions tthey made on this board as posters. Hard to have an intelligent conversation when only side brings that to the conversation.