Bowling Green, Fri. Nov. 9, 6:30p, FS2 / 570 WMCA

[quote="SJU61982" post=301350][quote="Ray Morgan" post=301347]The talent level here, and lack of size, is not far off from the 1998-99 Elite 8 team. And that team didn't exactly have Adolph Rupp coaching them. Sure, they are undersized, but how many teams have the kind of athletes we do? Guys who can score off the dribble and break down their man like we have? Pre season Big East player of the year, and a back court mate that is every bit as good and probably a better pro prospect. On top of that, these guys are expereinced. It's early, and they may gel, but there is just no excuse for the type of play we all saw tonight, and no excuse for not dancing in March. Just way, way too much talent to settle for mediocrity.[/quote]

Two differences between this group, and that one:

1. We had a true point guard in Erick Barkley. I love Ponds, Heron, and Simon (though the latter frustrated me tonight), but they are pretty much all hybrid 1 and 2 guards. Not a true distributor among them.

2. That team had Ron Artest, who was easily the most unique ballplayer we had in my close to 30 years following this team. They talk about positionless basketball these days. Well, Ron was the ultimate positionless player. He really could do it all. There were times that year when he was our second ballhandler, and there were times where he played the 5 effectively. A true once in a generation type player.[/quote]

All true, but that team was a bad call away from a final four. With a 6'7" center and a so so coach. I'm not asking for that. I am just asking for a better, and more consistent, brand of basketball. That's not too much to ask for, is it?
 
[quote="SJU61982" post=301350][quote="Ray Morgan" post=301347]The talent level here, and lack of size, is not far off from the 1998-99 Elite 8 team. And that team didn't exactly have Adolph Rupp coaching them. Sure, they are undersized, but how many teams have the kind of athletes we do? Guys who can score off the dribble and break down their man like we have? Pre season Big East player of the year, and a back court mate that is every bit as good and probably a better pro prospect. On top of that, these guys are expereinced. It's early, and they may gel, but there is just no excuse for the type of play we all saw tonight, and no excuse for not dancing in March. Just way, way too much talent to settle for mediocrity.[/quote]

Two differences between this group, and that one:

1. We had a true point guard in Erick Barkley. I love Ponds, Heron, and Simon (though the latter frustrated me tonight), but they are pretty much all hybrid 1 and 2 guards. Not a true distributor among them.

2. That team had Ron Artest, who was easily the most unique ballplayer we had in my close to 30 years following this team. They talk about positionless basketball these days. Well, Ron was the ultimate positionless player. He really could do it all. There were times that year when he was our second ballhandler, and there were times where he played the 5 effectively. A true once in a generation type player.[/quote]

I think the biggest difference was philosophy. They led the country in rebounding if I'm not mistaken--one of two times a Jarvis team did that at SJU. They also played physical defense. As a team they couldn't shoot as well as this group and didn't have the same scoring ability, but every shot was followed.

Jarvis couldn't coach his way out of a paper bag, but his teams got after it. Mullin comes from the NBA world were offensive rebounds are not as valued and defense is played in the playoffs. College is a different game.

This team would be unstoppable if they rebounded with the bane intensity as the 98-99 team. How do you keep Heron, Simon, Figgy, and Clark all off the glass?! And Ponds is a badass rebounder himself. That's the formula. Gang rebound and defend.
 
I don't know about everyone else, but I was exhausted after watching the game. And I didn't even make a fridge run. By tomorrow, we will all cool down and start looking forward to the next game. At some point, these great athletes we have will put it all together and win by 30. When this team puts it together, they can beat anyone.
 
[quote="Section3" post=301340][quote="Phillip casinelli" post=301300]I am one the biggest Mullin fans, as are almost everyone on this site, growing up watching him play. I also, have been a high school basketball coach for over 20 yrs. I just dont understand the stagnant 1on 1 offense. No flow, no screens, 1on 1 while 4 guys stand around. Lack of al ow scoring threat is a major issue.[/quote]
Pro style offense that just relies on individual skills will not work here. In the pros everyone is skilled enough to make a shot, and at a high % in the case of open looks.

IMO, will not work here. Kids need more structure and a plan. We totally undervalue the importance of 2 points and especially layups. Wasn’t until 2nd half when we finally woke up and realized that we could score easily if we took it to the basket or posted a guard. Our infatuation with the 3 will hurt us.[/quote]

Agree.... This is nothing more than an unoriginal/generic version of the Golden State Warriors. The difference is the Warriors are an NBA team with actual NBA personnel. Most of our team won't sniff the NBA.

We'll knock off a couple of upper-echelon teams or so on talent alone, but be prepared for some gnashing of teeth (win or lose) on several game days.
 
[quote="Marillac" post=301349][quote="Class of 72" post=301346][quote="Marillac" post=301343][quote="Section3" post=301340][quote="Phillip casinelli" post=301300]I am one the biggest Mullin fans, as are almost everyone on this site, growing up watching him play. I also, have been a high school basketball coach for over 20 yrs. I just dont understand the stagnant 1on 1 offense. No flow, no screens, 1on 1 while 4 guys stand around. Lack of al ow scoring threat is a major issue.[/quote]
Pro style offense that just relies on individual skills will not work here. In the pros everyone is skilled enough to make a shot, and at a high % in the case of open looks.

IMO, will not work here. Kids need more structure and a plan. We totally undervalue the importance of 2 points and especially layups. Wasn’t until 2nd half when we finally woke up and realized that we could score easily if we took it to the basket or posted a guard. Our infatuation with the 3 will hurt us.[/quote]

This is spot on. When you give college players the freedom to choose everyone wants to shoot and dribble and nobody wants to do the dirty work. Guys like Simon need defined roles and clear boundaries.[/quote]

Simon is a slasher. That should be his role. It's bad enough we have nothing inside or anything that even resembles an inside game but the perimeter defense played by our guards thus far have been embarrassing. I lost count of the open threes and am befuddled that Williams, supposedly a good defender, didn't get time. Is it too early to predict which, if not all of the freshmen will transfer? Tradition is tradition in the Mullin era.[/quote]

Simon is not a slasher. He has a terrible handle for a guard/wing. He is too wild and he's a nightmare at the end of games. He also kills spacing when he lives on the perimeter. He can pass really well I'll give him that but there's no reason he can't do that from the low or high post. Simon is really dangerous cutting to the basket or in the paint. He's too fast for big men off 1-2 dribbles and he's too big for guards. He also has a 7'2 wing span and can board like an animal.

Look at his skill set compared to Heron. Heron's dribble is so tight and he's so always so measured. Simon is 100 mph and tries to figure it out on the fly. He's incapable of making counter moves like Ponds and Heron.[/quote] Isnt being dangerous cutting to the basket or on the paint part of being a good slasher ?

What was his assists and assist to turnover ranking last year ? I thought it was top 75ish but I could be wrong
 
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Man, when we went down 11 I felt so sick. Then felt that way again during the closing seconds.

Anyways, I would've loved to win by 10+ (why do i get the feeling nobody on this team/staff will take NET seriously?), but I am too drained to write out all the negatives. Overall, I am just happy we won so I'll discuss the positives.

Positives:
1. We won. 2-0 is 2-0.
2. We were down by 11 in the second half but found a way to win.
3. We nearly choked the game away, but held on.
4. We played against a big team without Keita for nearly the entire game, and still won.

Now, I am by no means thrilled with the game, but #2-4 are all critical learning experiences that we will encounter multiple times throughout the year. I am glad we were able to pull through and not collapse.

We should be favored @ Rutgers, but only by a few points. They need to stay 100% focused start to finish for that one. We won't have a 19 point spread to play with.
 
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As long as this program employs Freddy Krueger (aka Chris Mullin) as coach we are going no where. With all this talent almost losing to a team picked to finish last in the MAC is beyond embarrassing. I have no doubt we will disappoint in this abysmal non-conference schedule, and have to really excel in the Big East. If we played the way we did tonight with all this showoff-y, street-ball style, sloppy play, any team in the Big East, including DePaul, would have beaten us by 15+ points. What a waste of talent.
 
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Zach Braziller
@NYPost_Brazille

Hearing initial prognosis on Sedee Keita right knee injury is that it’s not serious. Will get evaluated further tomorrow. #sjubb
 
Credit to those who stayed confident throughout the game, but ESPN's win probability (we started at 94%) had Bowling Green at 70% with 16 minutes left (up by 11). Bowling Green was also favored to win (54%) with less than 10 minutes remaining (up 4). They even had a 22% chance at winning with only 16 seconds left.

http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/game?gameId=401083338

Seriously scary stuff. I'm thankful we won, but come on. Yes we're the better team, but comebacks like that are never a sure thing. I've seen wayyyyy too many times where the better team doesn't pull itself out from 2nd half deficits. Can't believe we legitimately were favored to lose this game during the second half.

Anyways, excited for a week of stress free basketball. :)
 
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SJU in 2 of the 3 previous games looked like last years team.
@ Rutgers is a very interesting game to me, yes I know it's only the 3rd game, but if they are any different then the previous years teams, then they'll get their head in the game and should win by 10+, if they are the same damn team then they will lose, it's that simple.
You can't say that they'll improve as the season goes on either, did you see Mullin tonight on the sidelines? With his head in his towel, he looked like a deer lost in head lights.
We need a big game next Friday for the psyche of this team.
 
Per Rumble:

"Coach Mullin stated Trimble provided quality minutes off the bench and that Trimble had one of the biggest rebounds in the game and played quality defense. Trimble made these impacts without taking a shot"
 
[quote="L J S A" post=301351][quote="ErickTheRed" post=301344]WVU goin down to UBuff[/quote]

In my opinion, any discussion about Mullin's replacement should begin and end here.[/quote]
I hope so. I do not want to see the name Nare Oates clog up another 30 pages on this thread. He deserving of his own thread.;) :p
 
[quote="Marillac" post=301349][quote="Class of 72" post=301346][quote="Marillac" post=301343][quote="Section3" post=301340][quote="Phillip casinelli" post=301300]I am one the biggest Mullin fans, as are almost everyone on this site, growing up watching him play. I also, have been a high school basketball coach for over 20 yrs. I just dont understand the stagnant 1on 1 offense. No flow, no screens, 1on 1 while 4 guys stand around. Lack of al ow scoring threat is a major issue.[/quote]
Pro style offense that just relies on individual skills will not work here. In the pros everyone is skilled enough to make a shot, and at a high % in the case of open looks.

IMO, will not work here. Kids need more structure and a plan. We totally undervalue the importance of 2 points and especially layups. Wasn’t until 2nd half when we finally woke up and realized that we could score easily if we took it to the basket or posted a guard. Our infatuation with the 3 will hurt us.[/quote]

This is spot on. When you give college players the freedom to choose everyone wants to shoot and dribble and nobody wants to do the dirty work. Guys like Simon need defined roles and clear boundaries.[/quote]

Simon is a slasher. That should be his role. It's bad enough we have nothing inside or anything that even resembles an inside game but the perimeter defense played by our guards thus far have been embarrassing. I lost count of the open threes and am befuddled that Williams, supposedly a good defender, didn't get time. Is it too early to predict which, if not all of the freshmen will transfer? Tradition is tradition in the Mullin era.[/quote]

Simon is not a slasher. He has a terrible handle for a guard/wing. He is too wild and he's a nightmare at the end of games. He also kills spacing when he lives on the perimeter. He can pass really well I'll give him that but there's no reason he can't do that from the low or high post. Simon is really dangerous cutting to the basket or in the paint. He's too fast for big men off 1-2 dribbles and he's too big for guards. He also has a 7'2 wing span and can board like an animal.

Look at his skill set compared to Heron. Heron's dribble is so tight and he's so always so measured. Simon is 100 mph and tries to figure it out on the fly. He's incapable of making counter moves like Ponds and Heron.[/quote]

Your anti Simon stuff is just bizarre!
 
Small sample, but Simon seems out of sync a bit and on this small team really has to do the little things, like rebounding on both ends of court. I agree with Marillac to a certain degree that in critical situations he needs to dial it down a bit and make heady plays, not highlight reel clips.

Love him overall, but with Heron assuming such a huge part offensively for good reason, I wonder if Simon feels his role has diminished a bit. That is all part of staff responsibility to integrate new, talented guys like Heron and Figgy. It will be interesting to see how that evolves. It is a nice problem to have actually & what staff gets paid to do.
 
[quote="Paultzman" post=301385]Small sample, but Simon seems out of sync a bit and on this small team really has to do the little things, like rebounding on both ends of court. I agree with Marillac to a certain degree that in critical situations he needs to dial it down a bit and make heady plays, not highlight reel clips.

Love him overall, but with Heron assuming such a huge part offensively for good reason, I wonder if Simon feels his role has diminished a bit. That is all part of staff responsibility to integrate new, talented guys like Heron and Figgy. It will be interesting to see how that evolves. It is a nice problem to have actually & what staff gets paid to do.[/quote]

Started game hitting the three and fell in love with it. AGAIN team has guys that can knock down threes but we are not what I would call a good three point shooting team. Have to find a way to get some easy baskets. Either in transition or just by moving the ball which we stopped doing.
Defensively part of the problem is we are so small that we are constantly scrambling around if the ball goes down low against us. But as we have pointed out, Simon, Ponds and now Dixon are constantly turning their heads don't identify shooters and are always late getting out on shooters. Ponds and Dixon also close out with their hands down.

Now people want to Blame Mullin for stuff which is fine. Certainly the fact that he cant seem to recruit a serviceable 6-9 guy. Also the falling in love with the three seems to be something he encourages. Defensively we were taught in CYO in 3rd grade some of the stuff that this team is not doing. I chalk that down to lack of effort.
 
In CT as I took ferry last night and checked game only once AND it was when we were down by 10!!!
I cringed and pictured all the critical posts for obvious reasons...we are overrated, we lack big men...how can we possibly succeed with a showing like this one against a “ mediocre” team from a “weak” conference.
Oh well I look forward to reading all the posts above and - through thick (Ws) and thin (Ls) I’m sticking with the Storm...
all the best

PS was Ponds injured? Hope not as w/Marcus last year, we need a healthy Shamorie - of course.
 
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[quote="Mean Gene" post=301081]They’re going to lose this game. This is totally unacceptable![/quote]

Thanks Gene
I get it - frustrating because we care - but a tad premature - no? - to say we’re not making the tournament (I believe you posted that or someone did) and we’re “going to lose this game”. How about we at least play 3 games before we call the election (season) over and award the chairback house seats to the Far Left (oh wait no defense and no politics lol)
Frustrating though, I get that.
 
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Excellent Points all. I thought Simon had a poor game . And , like last year , he gets to the rim so easily but, he misses way too many of those bunnies . He is best getting the Ball down low and posting up his defender . When he faces the Basket and has to drive to the hoop , his handle sometimes fails and he loses the Ball . Clark also has handle problems , especially when he tries to bully his way from the Circle and gets stripped in traffic . He goes better to the hoop from the Corner . Like many , acclimating Figgy and Heron into the flow will get better . Heron is a heady Player and his offense shows it . He also rebounds well and will need to to do that all season . Figgy is our best Offensive Glass rebounder and since there are more than enough misses from outside , he needs to retrieve them for put backs and rim stuffs . Ponds showed in the last 10 minutes why he is so important to our winning . He is Mr.Crunch time and takes the game over . Simon almost screwed that all up at the end , with that Wild Pass and not realizing highlight reels were unnecessary . Better for others to have the ball at game end , i.e. Ponds , Heron or Clark to make the free throws . Fortunate to win last night . And , the 2 kids on BG, Turner and Frye, could shoot the 3 . We really don’t have that dead eye sharpshooter . Trimble might be on occasion but, he didn’t score last night . Mussini had that ability but, we haven’t had that since . And , coming off the Bench was a igniter . In today’s College game , you need a 3 point Dead Eye on your team , even if they have weaknesses in other areas .
 
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