...Can we make the Tournament?

[QueensBall]

They basically need to treat this DePaul game like it's the 2nd half of a larger game that Xavier was just the first half of. Losing to DePaul would erase the Xavier win. Beating DePaul completes Step 1 of climbing into the tournament. 

 

[Sherman Sheridan & Grant]

We Are: St. John's
We have: a Solid Foundation 
President 
Athletic Director 
Head Coach

looking good

 

[beast of the east]

The program seems on that elusive plane of sustainable success. Not shabby in such a short period of time. Feels good.

Respectfullly, with a goal of making CMA's first NCAA dance in this program, to proclaim being on a plane of sustainable success is premature.   This is essentially a progression, but an 8 game run that was every bit as good as the antecedent 7 game run was bad.   We've seen this before over the past 10 seasons.   While I would agree this feels different, sustainable success is validated by having the same success again and again without long periods of drought.   Until they call our number on selection Sunday, this is simply a nice progression from Year 1.   

Just happy to be in the ride, and just as I didn't get too low when we were 1-6, will refrain from getting too high on this 7-1 run.  It's not a lecture, just reality.

 

[Amaseinyourface]

As LMF noted, if this hot team does get in, not too many teams in Dance will welcome playing this group.

I have a feeling they might get a Dance ticket, but in the event they don't, I could not be more pleased at what this group has accomplished. They not only dug out of a deep hole, but play an exciting style, seem to enjoy each other and are coachable. If they keep this group together, next year should even be more impressive and enjoyable. I also think recruiting will benefit from what these kids and staff have accomplished, as well as national attention they are getting.

The program seems on that elusive plane of sustainable success. Not shabby in such a short period of time. Feels good.

I agree.  

Objectively speaking, in the context of how the year has transpired, this being year 2 of CMA, not making the tourney, the season should still be considered a success.

That being said, not making it would still sting.  We'd go into the offseason talking about all the 'what ifs'.  

As Johnnie fans, for the last 20+ years, we always talk about 'next year'.  We have the right team in place, now.  Who knows about next year, with transfers and all.  This team can make it.  Getting in this year, would accelerate the progress.

PS: Coach should win COY. Posh should win FOY & DPOY.  Champ should be all first team.

Moore should be clubhouse leader for 6th man of the year. Even tho he’s rarely our first guy off the bench. In BE play in 16.6 minutes he’s averaging 8.9 pts and 4.3 rbs. If only he’d make a play around the rim every once and a while.

 

[mjmaherjr]

The program seems on that elusive plane of sustainable success. Not shabby in such a short period of time. Feels good.

Respectfullly, with a goal of making CMA's first NCAA dance in this program, to proclaim being on a plane of sustainable success is premature.   This is essentially a progression, but an 8 game run that was every bit as good as the antecedent 7 game run was bad.   We've seen this before over the past 10 seasons.   While I would agree this feels different, sustainable success is validated by having the same success again and again without long periods of drought.   Until they call our number on selection Sunday, this is simply a nice progression from Year 1.   

Just happy to be in the ride, and just as I didn't get too low when we were 1-6, will refrain from getting too high on this 7-1 run.  It's not a lecture, just reality.

Very true. A couple weeks ago I was worried we would be breakign CMA's non losing record streak. What a difference a couple of weeks make. Very fun ride right now

 

[BrookJersey Redmen]

CMA's approach, is to take nothing as a "given", work hard, look only at the next opponent, and if we continue doing that we make our own destiny.

Beast makes a good point however, the CMA approach was the same earlier when we were losing almost all of our BE games, so this is a tenuous road we are on, one wrong turn and no Dancing.

 

[Knight]

When the season began, I had given up any Hope of getting to the Dance.  Covid-19 being what it is, I was just looking forward to see the team develop and to see what CMA had in store for us.  Now I'm greedy.  I think we will Dance after a respectful showing in the BET.

 

[Mullins Revenge]

When the season began, I had given up any Hope of getting to the Dance.  Covid-19 being what it is, I was just looking forward to see the team develop and to see what CMA had in store for us.  Now I'm greedy.  I think we will Dance after a respectful showing in the BET.

Not only this but we can advance in the tourney.  The blue bloods like Kentucky, Duke etc. arent around this year.  Outside of running into Gonzaga or Baylor, this team can win games.  Say we get an 11 seed, and we knock of a team like virginia tech in round 1 and then West Virginia in round 2.  Not exactly murderers row on the way to a sweet 16 birth.

Ok, getting way ahead of myself.

 

[mjmaherjr]

When the season began, I had given up any Hope of getting to the Dance.  Covid-19 being what it is, I was just looking forward to see the team develop and to see what CMA had in store for us.  Now I'm greedy.  I think we will Dance after a respectful showing in the BET.

Not only this but we can advance in the tourney.  The blue bloods like Kentucky, Duke etc. arent around this year.  Outside of running into Gonzaga or Baylor, this team can win games.  Say we get an 11 seed, and we knock of a team like virginia tech in round 1 and then West Virginia in round 2.  Not exactly murderers row on the way to a sweet 16 birth.

Ok, getting way ahead of myself.

Beat Depaul first. lol   I was very confident as were a lot of us against Butler and that didnt get us very far.  One game at a time. We arent in a position record wise to start thinking dance yet

 

[lawmanfan]

Completely agree with Paultz and disagree with Beast WRT to the issue of "sustainable success."  To me the issue is not whether we make the NCAA this year (certainly hope we do) or not.  The issue is whether what we are looking at is both repeatable and likely to repeat so that this is not a one-year event.

Contrary to Beast's post, we have NOT seen this before, at least not for a very long time.  It's true that we've had the occasional team for which the time was right and the NCAA tournament was the outcome in any given year.  Those teams have either consisted of (1) a group of seniors; or (2) some degree of lightening in a bottle. 

This team/program is not that at all.  You're looking at a team that has two freshmen and a sophomore playing key roles, supplemented by a couple of transfers and some role-playing upperclassmen.  It isn't an end product of four years of development and it may not have a single NBA prospect on the roster (though there are a couple of players who may turn into that).  It has a defined approach to the game that it can bring every night against every opponent.

That core is going to be supplemented by three more freshmen next year who are going to come into an established system where they will be groomed into their appropriate roles, and as the roster-building continues after that it will become easier and easier to integrate more parts into a recognizable, established program. 

That's a recipe for sustained success, not the flash-in-the-pan type we've had before. 

 

[fordham96]

I think the 3 games against SHU, UCONN, NOVA and I will throw in Providence are huge.  They don't need all 4, they MUST have I think 2 out of the 4 gand 3 would be great.

Couple of thoughts:

1)Eaten my words on this team.  Tremendous turnaround this season.  Kids deserve all the credit.  Mike I think is COY done a tremendous job.
2)My issue was not much this year (I did not expect much anyway).  My hope was the core for this year would be buttressed by a few really good recruits to go into years 3 and 4 ready to compete.  The fact that he has been able to make them a competitive team after a 1-5 start is remarkable.  The fact that we are discussing a potential NCAA bid after that start is off the charts.  

But again they don't have any big non-conference wins.  Will probably have to win at least 1 if not 2 out of those 3.  I think UCONN is going to be a Tourney team now that Bouknight is back.  So that would put SHU, Nova and UCONN with possibly PC as realy quality opportunities left.

 

[ohiofan]

Did I miss that the Yukon game has been rescheduled?

 

[Delaware]

One thing.  DePaul.  That's it!

 

[beast of the east]

When the season began, I had given up any Hope of getting to the Dance.  Covid-19 being what it is, I was just looking forward to see the team develop and to see what CMA had in store for us.  Now I'm greedy.  I think we will Dance after a respectful showing in the BET.

Not only this but we can advance in the tourney.  The blue bloods like Kentucky, Duke etc. arent around this year.  Outside of running into Gonzaga or Baylor, this team can win games.  Say we get an 11 seed, and we knock of a team like virginia tech in round 1 and then West Virginia in round 2.  Not exactly murderers row on the way to a sweet 16 birth.

Ok, getting way ahead of myself.

Duke,  I know when you are sky high, it's hard to bring you down, although you almost gave up on your man, he played great last night, burying 3 after 3

So I will say this, on good knowledge:  Should we be fortunate enough to get to the Dance, CMA is not viewing a bid as the destination.   He will prepare his team to go deep into the tourney.

Some very knowledgeable basketball people who don't blow smoke think that right now, we are as good as any team in the country.   I'm inclined to think they drink with Maher, but I respect them too much.   If we get a bid, our guys will be going there to win.   This isn't a secret at all but CMA was/is very angry at being let go and wants to show the basketball world that he is one heck of a coach.      So far this season, he is proving that.

Having said that, at this moment we are still on the wrong side of a bid.   One game at a time, and even if we fall short, this has been really something to watch.
-

 

[Mullins Revenge]

When the season began, I had given up any Hope of getting to the Dance.  Covid-19 being what it is, I was just looking forward to see the team develop and to see what CMA had in store for us.  Now I'm greedy.  I think we will Dance after a respectful showing in the BET.

Not only this but we can advance in the tourney.  The blue bloods like Kentucky, Duke etc. arent around this year.  Outside of running into Gonzaga or Baylor, this team can win games.  Say we get an 11 seed, and we knock of a team like virginia tech in round 1 and then West Virginia in round 2.  Not exactly murderers row on the way to a sweet 16 birth.

Ok, getting way ahead of myself.

Duke,  I know when you are sky high, it's hard to bring you down, although you almost gave up on your man, he played great last night, burying 3 after 3

So I will say this, on good knowledge:  Should we be fortunate enough to get to the Dance, CMA is not viewing a bid as the destination.   He will prepare his team to go deep into the tourney.

Some very knowledgeable basketball people who don't blow smoke think that right now, we are as good as any team in the country.   I'm inclined to think they drink with Maher, but I respect them too much.   If we get a bid, our guys will be going there to win.   This isn't a secret at all but CMA was/is very angry at being let go and wants to show the basketball world that he is one heck of a coach.      So far this season, he is proving that.

Having said that, at this moment we are still on the wrong side of a bid.   One game at a time, and even if we fall short, this has been really something to watch.

 

Beast, I never bailed on The Duke.  I was just hard on him becasue I believe he is closer to the player from last night then what we have seen at other times this season.  I have high expectations for him and thats casue I believe in his talent.

In regards to the tourney, the big east tourny will give us a good idea of how we will look in a tourney setting.  This year is different because we do not have an advantage at the garden this year.  We havent played there.

If we make a nice run in the BET, I think that bodes well for us advancing in the ncaa tourney.

 

[Section3]

This is why it's so important to start league play decent, if they started say 3-3 instead of 1-5, it isn't even up for discussion because at 10-5 in the league, we're In.
But instead they fighting in every game just to make the ncaa tourney.
Good this college schedule is 2 games a week ma, or it would be to taxing.q

yep...without being overly generous, we easily could have (maybe should have) been 11-4 right now..but, would've could've doesn't matter...we are where we are and we will fight our way in and eliminate Oregon

the thing that makes feel really good about our team is fact that when I watched most of the BE teams earlier in the season, I saw talented players and questioned if we could hang with them. Reality is, other than bigs, we make opposition look ordinary and beatable.If Julian and Isaiah were playing along side a physical guy like Theo John forget about it

 

[NYCHOOPS]

hello all - long time fan and follower. Great content/ Information by many on this forum 

Hoping we can beat DePaul , finish off remainder of league play 2-1 + win 1 game in BE tourney.  anything less than this and we are feeling very nervous on selection Sunday 

 

[Mullins Revenge]

hello all - long time fan and follower. Great content/ Information by many on this forum 

Hoping we can beat DePaul , finish off remainder of league play 2-1 + win 1 game in BE tourney.  anything less than this and we are feeling very nervous on selection Sunday 

Welcome brother!

 

[Roamer]

The fact that this is even a valid thread and topic after all the damage and negligence this program has been through means it’s been a successful season.  

 

[SJUFAN2]

The fact that this is even a valid thread and topic after all the damage and negligence this program has been through means it’s been a successful season.  

Hard to believe that just 21 months ago we were the laughing stock of college basketball as we stumbled through an internal power struggle and an epically inept coaching search.

Now following a 1st season that never ended, a year long pandemic, and a shortened 2nd season, we have:
A HC who is lauded by local HS & AAU coaches. 
We have a roster full of blue collar, lunch pail type players with a heavy NY area presence.
We have a staff who has shown their kids get better as the year progresses, not worse.
We have a HC who should be the BE Coach of the Year.
We have a Soph from NY who should be the BE Player of the Year.
We have a Frosh from NY who should be the BE Freshman of the Year.
We have a team that is on the precipice of making the NCAA tournament.
We have developed a reputation as a team nobody wants to play in Feb/March.

And yet, there are still haters.   Go figure.