College Sports Madness - SJU Preview

[kred]

Must agree with Tom on this one. Furthermore for future development , goodwill etc Adonis must get 10 minutes a game. Lavin is smart enough to encourage Adonis to continue his improved conditioning by offering him pt.
barring foul trouble, injuries or a completely different attitude towards rebounding I don't see Christian Jones getting a great deal of pt.
a lot of ifs with this team but if Thomas's attitude towards rebounding and defense is followed by Pointer and others, I repeat if, this team could be good. Let's hope Thomas becomes a leader in the locker room from day 1.

CO got 20 minutes last year and 26 the year before that. Lets say all things go well and he gets 30 mpg (doubt it) that leaves 50 minutes up front. If we get the Bosnian that's one thing, if not then regardless of how much posters think i'm over hyping Jones, he will have to get a decent share of minutes.

I realize you said if all things go well but CO has to get approx 30 minutes . That will mean his offensive game will have matured, he's blocking shots, staying out of foul trouble and playing some defense. We need him and Thomas to be forces up front if this team is going anywhere.

 

[kred]

This is truly the worst preview I have ever read. Do your homework...at least put in some time before you write an article. We didn't lose to Belmont in the NIT. We got embarrassed by Robert Morris. That is a twenty second google search.

Sanchez was our second best rebounder behind Sampson? Really. That proves he never watched a single game. Sanchez never once grabbed a rebound that didn't come directly to him. He never moved his feet. He also didn't stretch defenses, shooting below 30%.

Obekpa was a soph last year--not a freshman, and by February, he was both quantitively and qualitatively our best rebounder.

How any preview can not either begin with or, at the very least, mention Jordan second, I have no idea. For this guy to not even list him as a starter is just embarrassing on his part.

If we don't win 20 games, I'll never post again. That is how sure I am of it.

Here's a preview for you: last year St. John's didn't rebound or play good defense. The forwards floated on the perimeter like they were guards and, as a result, the team was the worst offensive rebounding team in the conference (maybe the country)for the first 36 minutes of every game they were losing before they adjusted out of desperation.

This year, St. John's looks to rebound much better as both Jordan and Harrison are excellent rebounders for their positions, Obekpa will play 25+ minutes in the all-important junior season where many talented big men put it together, and the Johnnies have three huge new big men that will take the novel approach of actually staying around the basket--two 7 footers and a kid that led d-1 JUCO NATIONALLY in rebounding as a freshman.

Defensively, nothing could be worse than what the front court gave last season, so there must be some improvement.

Jordan is the key here. He has the best hands I've seen in a long time and he has the size and quickness to reduce any guard in the country to a quivering mess like he did to Tyler Ennis in the second half early last season. If he can shoot 33% or higher from deep, the Johnnies will be very dangerous. He has a chance to be the best rebounding pg in the country and both he and Obekpa have the ability to breakout into stars this season.

Harrison is Harrison. He plays at a high level and could help the team by becoming a little faster and continuing his growth on defense--where he was much improved in 2013-2014.

Greene will be counted on as an outside shooter and will need to be more aggressive in that area. Jamal Branch is a very talented guard and former top 60 recruit in 2011, that makes the Johnnies dangerous when he is not being too timid. He will need to become much more aggressive this season for St. John's to even approach its potential. He is coordinated and any time he drives to the lane, it is a good thing for the Johnnies.

Dom Pointer is an enigma. The former top 40 recruit in 2011 enjoyed successful freshman and soph seasons before an awful junior campaign caused mostly by him playing a role that did not play to his strengths. He will need to be moved off the perimeter and off the ball as much as possible to be closer to the basket and give St. John's the athletic SF they sorely missed last season. He will likely be called on to give minutes at the four--a position he has played well at his entire career. If he is not up to the task, look for St. John's to run three guard looks early and often. Felix Balamou, an impossibly athletic redshirt soph G/F, is a player to watch as the season progresses.

Losing Sampson hurts most in that St. John's loses his 3-4 easy dunks a game die to the sheer freakish athletic ability Sampson possessed. However, as a team, SJU didn't get out and run or produce enough easy looks. That has to change in 2014-2015. Dunks aside, Sampson did not defend and he did not stay close to the basket. Both he and Sanchez shot jumpers with no regard to what was happening in the game and the result was making it nearly impossible to have any kind of chemistry on the court.

Overall, this team will be much better than last season. It's not often that 20 wins results in such disappointment, but you would be hard pressed to find more than a handful of St. John's fans that were happy with the results of the 2013-2014 season. Rysheed Jordan as a second year player alone virtually guarantees a better outcome. Chris Obekpa expanded his game and showed tremendous signs of growth on the court under first year assistant Jim Whitesell--not easily apparent to casual fans. Another year, and his first full summer with him, should only produce much more noticeable improvements.

Cause for concern will be outside shooting and scoring against zone defenses. This is why it is imperative for Jordan to step up as a viable deep threat. Branch also has a good looking shot that he needs to utilize far more often. Pointer will need to be moved off the perimeter against any zone.

Prediction: 23 wins and a first round NCAA Tournament victory.

Don't ever much agree with your over the top optimism but boy, you are consistent. What exactly did Obekpa improve on last year that "casual fans" missed? A very occasional good play mixed in with the usual out of position on D or the trying to do too much on O? Oh, wait, please ignore, we already had this discussion. Seriously, I do hope you are right and you can shove this back at me.

As much as I like Thomas & have received positive feedback from a few basketball friends from Mount Vernon area, I subscribe to notion that Juco guys generally take a year to get acclimated to D1 ball. Brownlee is one example. (I know he played first year under Norm) I sense Thomas will be a nice addition, but am not hanging my hat on a high impact first season. We'll see.

I think people are viewing him as more of an intangible guy, positioning, using his body to turn opponents away from the glass, and owing the boards. In that case your 1 year acclimation rule might not apply.

 

[Marillac]

This is truly the worst preview I have ever read. Do your homework...at least put in some time before you write an article. We didn't lose to Belmont in the NIT. We got embarrassed by Robert Morris. That is a twenty second google search.

Sanchez was our second best rebounder behind Sampson? Really. That proves he never watched a single game. Sanchez never once grabbed a rebound that didn't come directly to him. He never moved his feet. He also didn't stretch defenses, shooting below 30%.

Obekpa was a soph last year--not a freshman, and by February, he was both quantitively and qualitatively our best rebounder.

How any preview can not either begin with or, at the very least, mention Jordan second, I have no idea. For this guy to not even list him as a starter is just embarrassing on his part.

If we don't win 20 games, I'll never post again. That is how sure I am of it.

Here's a preview for you: last year St. John's didn't rebound or play good defense. The forwards floated on the perimeter like they were guards and, as a result, the team was the worst offensive rebounding team in the conference (maybe the country)for the first 36 minutes of every game they were losing before they adjusted out of desperation.

This year, St. John's looks to rebound much better as both Jordan and Harrison are excellent rebounders for their positions, Obekpa will play 25+ minutes in the all-important junior season where many talented big men put it together, and the Johnnies have three huge new big men that will take the novel approach of actually staying around the basket--two 7 footers and a kid that led d-1 JUCO NATIONALLY in rebounding as a freshman.

Defensively, nothing could be worse than what the front court gave last season, so there must be some improvement.

Jordan is the key here. He has the best hands I've seen in a long time and he has the size and quickness to reduce any guard in the country to a quivering mess like he did to Tyler Ennis in the second half early last season. If he can shoot 33% or higher from deep, the Johnnies will be very dangerous. He has a chance to be the best rebounding pg in the country and both he and Obekpa have the ability to breakout into stars this season.

Harrison is Harrison. He plays at a high level and could help the team by becoming a little faster and continuing his growth on defense--where he was much improved in 2013-2014.

Greene will be counted on as an outside shooter and will need to be more aggressive in that area. Jamal Branch is a very talented guard and former top 60 recruit in 2011, that makes the Johnnies dangerous when he is not being too timid. He will need to become much more aggressive this season for St. John's to even approach its potential. He is coordinated and any time he drives to the lane, it is a good thing for the Johnnies.

Dom Pointer is an enigma. The former top 40 recruit in 2011 enjoyed successful freshman and soph seasons before an awful junior campaign caused mostly by him playing a role that did not play to his strengths. He will need to be moved off the perimeter and off the ball as much as possible to be closer to the basket and give St. John's the athletic SF they sorely missed last season. He will likely be called on to give minutes at the four--a position he has played well at his entire career. If he is not up to the task, look for St. John's to run three guard looks early and often. Felix Balamou, an impossibly athletic redshirt soph G/F, is a player to watch as the season progresses.

Losing Sampson hurts most in that St. John's loses his 3-4 easy dunks a game die to the sheer freakish athletic ability Sampson possessed. However, as a team, SJU didn't get out and run or produce enough easy looks. That has to change in 2014-2015. Dunks aside, Sampson did not defend and he did not stay close to the basket. Both he and Sanchez shot jumpers with no regard to what was happening in the game and the result was making it nearly impossible to have any kind of chemistry on the court.

Overall, this team will be much better than last season. It's not often that 20 wins results in such disappointment, but you would be hard pressed to find more than a handful of St. John's fans that were happy with the results of the 2013-2014 season. Rysheed Jordan as a second year player alone virtually guarantees a better outcome. Chris Obekpa expanded his game and showed tremendous signs of growth on the court under first year assistant Jim Whitesell--not easily apparent to casual fans. Another year, and his first full summer with him, should only produce much more noticeable improvements.

Cause for concern will be outside shooting and scoring against zone defenses. This is why it is imperative for Jordan to step up as a viable deep threat. Branch also has a good looking shot that he needs to utilize far more often. Pointer will need to be moved off the perimeter against any zone.

Prediction: 23 wins and a first round NCAA Tournament victory.

Don't ever much agree with your over the top optimism but boy, you are consistent. What exactly did Obekpa improve on last year that "casual fans" missed? A very occasional good play mixed in with the usual out of position on D or the trying to do too much on O? Oh, wait, please ignore, we already had this discussion. Seriously, I do hope you are right and you can shove this back at me.

As much as I like Thomas & have received positive feedback from a few basketball friends from Mount Vernon area, I subscribe to notion that Juco guys generally take a year to get acclimated to D1 ball. Brownlee is one example. (I know he played first year under Norm) I sense Thomas will be a nice addition, but am not hanging my hat on a high impact first season. We'll see.

I think people are viewing him as more of an intangible guy, positioning, using his body to turn opponents away from the glass, and owing the boards. In that case your 1 year acclimation rule might not apply.

Well put. I was going to say the same thing. Brownlee had a much more expanded role. He did a little bit of everything..handled, shot from deep, blocked shots, etc. Thomas figures to screen, box out, and give the other team hell.

 

[paultzman]

This is truly the worst preview I have ever read. Do your homework...at least put in some time before you write an article. We didn't lose to Belmont in the NIT. We got embarrassed by Robert Morris. That is a twenty second google search.

Sanchez was our second best rebounder behind Sampson? Really. That proves he never watched a single game. Sanchez never once grabbed a rebound that didn't come directly to him. He never moved his feet. He also didn't stretch defenses, shooting below 30%.

Obekpa was a soph last year--not a freshman, and by February, he was both quantitively and qualitatively our best rebounder.

How any preview can not either begin with or, at the very least, mention Jordan second, I have no idea. For this guy to not even list him as a starter is just embarrassing on his part.

If we don't win 20 games, I'll never post again. That is how sure I am of it.

Here's a preview for you: last year St. John's didn't rebound or play good defense. The forwards floated on the perimeter like they were guards and, as a result, the team was the worst offensive rebounding team in the conference (maybe the country)for the first 36 minutes of every game they were losing before they adjusted out of desperation.

This year, St. John's looks to rebound much better as both Jordan and Harrison are excellent rebounders for their positions, Obekpa will play 25+ minutes in the all-important junior season where many talented big men put it together, and the Johnnies have three huge new big men that will take the novel approach of actually staying around the basket--two 7 footers and a kid that led d-1 JUCO NATIONALLY in rebounding as a freshman.

Defensively, nothing could be worse than what the front court gave last season, so there must be some improvement.

Jordan is the key here. He has the best hands I've seen in a long time and he has the size and quickness to reduce any guard in the country to a quivering mess like he did to Tyler Ennis in the second half early last season. If he can shoot 33% or higher from deep, the Johnnies will be very dangerous. He has a chance to be the best rebounding pg in the country and both he and Obekpa have the ability to breakout into stars this season.

Harrison is Harrison. He plays at a high level and could help the team by becoming a little faster and continuing his growth on defense--where he was much improved in 2013-2014.

Greene will be counted on as an outside shooter and will need to be more aggressive in that area. Jamal Branch is a very talented guard and former top 60 recruit in 2011, that makes the Johnnies dangerous when he is not being too timid. He will need to become much more aggressive this season for St. John's to even approach its potential. He is coordinated and any time he drives to the lane, it is a good thing for the Johnnies.

Dom Pointer is an enigma. The former top 40 recruit in 2011 enjoyed successful freshman and soph seasons before an awful junior campaign caused mostly by him playing a role that did not play to his strengths. He will need to be moved off the perimeter and off the ball as much as possible to be closer to the basket and give St. John's the athletic SF they sorely missed last season. He will likely be called on to give minutes at the four--a position he has played well at his entire career. If he is not up to the task, look for St. John's to run three guard looks early and often. Felix Balamou, an impossibly athletic redshirt soph G/F, is a player to watch as the season progresses.

Losing Sampson hurts most in that St. John's loses his 3-4 easy dunks a game die to the sheer freakish athletic ability Sampson possessed. However, as a team, SJU didn't get out and run or produce enough easy looks. That has to change in 2014-2015. Dunks aside, Sampson did not defend and he did not stay close to the basket. Both he and Sanchez shot jumpers with no regard to what was happening in the game and the result was making it nearly impossible to have any kind of chemistry on the court.

Overall, this team will be much better than last season. It's not often that 20 wins results in such disappointment, but you would be hard pressed to find more than a handful of St. John's fans that were happy with the results of the 2013-2014 season. Rysheed Jordan as a second year player alone virtually guarantees a better outcome. Chris Obekpa expanded his game and showed tremendous signs of growth on the court under first year assistant Jim Whitesell--not easily apparent to casual fans. Another year, and his first full summer with him, should only produce much more noticeable improvements.

Cause for concern will be outside shooting and scoring against zone defenses. This is why it is imperative for Jordan to step up as a viable deep threat. Branch also has a good looking shot that he needs to utilize far more often. Pointer will need to be moved off the perimeter against any zone.

Prediction: 23 wins and a first round NCAA Tournament victory.

Don't ever much agree with your over the top optimism but boy, you are consistent. What exactly did Obekpa improve on last year that "casual fans" missed? A very occasional good play mixed in with the usual out of position on D or the trying to do too much on O? Oh, wait, please ignore, we already had this discussion. Seriously, I do hope you are right and you can shove this back at me.

As much as I like Thomas & have received positive feedback from a few basketball friends from Mount Vernon area, I subscribe to notion that Juco guys generally take a year to get acclimated to D1 ball. Brownlee is one example. (I know he played first year under Norm) I sense Thomas will be a nice addition, but am not hanging my hat on a high impact first season. We'll see.

I think people are viewing him as more of an intangible guy, positioning, using his body to turn opponents away from the glass, and owing the boards. In that case your 1 year acclimation rule might not apply.

Fair point. Frankly a bigger concern of mine is, without a third scorer, do Jordan & D'Lo audition for professional play & hoist up a ton of shots. Hopefully they see the merit of moving and sharing the ball. Their points will come.

 

[redfazed]

This is truly the worst preview I have ever read. Do your homework...at least put in some time before you write an article. We didn't lose to Belmont in the NIT. We got embarrassed by Robert Morris. That is a twenty second google search.

Sanchez was our second best rebounder behind Sampson? Really. That proves he never watched a single game. Sanchez never once grabbed a rebound that didn't come directly to him. He never moved his feet. He also didn't stretch defenses, shooting below 30%.

Obekpa was a soph last year--not a freshman, and by February, he was both quantitively and qualitatively our best rebounder.

How any preview can not either begin with or, at the very least, mention Jordan second, I have no idea. For this guy to not even list him as a starter is just embarrassing on his part.

If we don't win 20 games, I'll never post again. That is how sure I am of it.

Here's a preview for you: last year St. John's didn't rebound or play good defense. The forwards floated on the perimeter like they were guards and, as a result, the team was the worst offensive rebounding team in the conference (maybe the country)for the first 36 minutes of every game they were losing before they adjusted out of desperation.

This year, St. John's looks to rebound much better as both Jordan and Harrison are excellent rebounders for their positions, Obekpa will play 25+ minutes in the all-important junior season where many talented big men put it together, and the Johnnies have three huge new big men that will take the novel approach of actually staying around the basket--two 7 footers and a kid that led d-1 JUCO NATIONALLY in rebounding as a freshman.

Defensively, nothing could be worse than what the front court gave last season, so there must be some improvement.

Jordan is the key here. He has the best hands I've seen in a long time and he has the size and quickness to reduce any guard in the country to a quivering mess like he did to Tyler Ennis in the second half early last season. If he can shoot 33% or higher from deep, the Johnnies will be very dangerous. He has a chance to be the best rebounding pg in the country and both he and Obekpa have the ability to breakout into stars this season.

Harrison is Harrison. He plays at a high level and could help the team by becoming a little faster and continuing his growth on defense--where he was much improved in 2013-2014.

Greene will be counted on as an outside shooter and will need to be more aggressive in that area. Jamal Branch is a very talented guard and former top 60 recruit in 2011, that makes the Johnnies dangerous when he is not being too timid. He will need to become much more aggressive this season for St. John's to even approach its potential. He is coordinated and any time he drives to the lane, it is a good thing for the Johnnies.

Dom Pointer is an enigma. The former top 40 recruit in 2011 enjoyed successful freshman and soph seasons before an awful junior campaign caused mostly by him playing a role that did not play to his strengths. He will need to be moved off the perimeter and off the ball as much as possible to be closer to the basket and give St. John's the athletic SF they sorely missed last season. He will likely be called on to give minutes at the four--a position he has played well at his entire career. If he is not up to the task, look for St. John's to run three guard looks early and often. Felix Balamou, an impossibly athletic redshirt soph G/F, is a player to watch as the season progresses.

Losing Sampson hurts most in that St. John's loses his 3-4 easy dunks a game die to the sheer freakish athletic ability Sampson possessed. However, as a team, SJU didn't get out and run or produce enough easy looks. That has to change in 2014-2015. Dunks aside, Sampson did not defend and he did not stay close to the basket. Both he and Sanchez shot jumpers with no regard to what was happening in the game and the result was making it nearly impossible to have any kind of chemistry on the court.

Overall, this team will be much better than last season. It's not often that 20 wins results in such disappointment, but you would be hard pressed to find more than a handful of St. John's fans that were happy with the results of the 2013-2014 season. Rysheed Jordan as a second year player alone virtually guarantees a better outcome. Chris Obekpa expanded his game and showed tremendous signs of growth on the court under first year assistant Jim Whitesell--not easily apparent to casual fans. Another year, and his first full summer with him, should only produce much more noticeable improvements.

Cause for concern will be outside shooting and scoring against zone defenses. This is why it is imperative for Jordan to step up as a viable deep threat. Branch also has a good looking shot that he needs to utilize far more often. Pointer will need to be moved off the perimeter against any zone.

Prediction: 23 wins and a first round NCAA Tournament victory.

Don't ever much agree with your over the top optimism but boy, you are consistent. What exactly did Obekpa improve on last year that "casual fans" missed? A very occasional good play mixed in with the usual out of position on D or the trying to do too much on O? Oh, wait, please ignore, we already had this discussion. Seriously, I do hope you are right and you can shove this back at me.

As much as I like Thomas & have received positive feedback from a few basketball friends from Mount Vernon area, I subscribe to notion that Juco guys generally take a year to get acclimated to D1 ball. Brownlee is one example. (I know he played first year under Norm) I sense Thomas will be a nice addition, but am not hanging my hat on a high impact first season. We'll see.

I think people are viewing him as more of an intangible guy, positioning, using his body to turn opponents away from the glass, and owing the boards. In that case your 1 year acclimation rule might not apply.

Fair point. Frankly a bigger concern of mine is, without a third scorer, do Jordan & D'Lo audition for professional play & hoist up a ton of shots. Hopefully they see the merit of moving and sharing the ball. Their points will come.

I think the third scorer is going to have to be Greene. He's the only somewhat-proven option for that role.

 

[Jack Williams]

As I read through this thread I see posters making the same mistakes we've all been guilty of the last couple years: and that is over hyping incoming players.

After the disappointments that were Sanchez, hooper, and sir Dom, how can we seriously expect big things from some of these guys?

How can we deem Thomas a savior of our front court when he put up big rebounding numbers at West Chester Community College? How can we expect Joey De La Rosa to contribute when he didn't start at FIU?

How can we expect Jones and Balamou to come back notably better players then what we remember?

Hey, maybe Thomas comes in and is a stud down low rebounding, maybe playing a higher level of competition makes JDR go off, maybe jones comes back hungry and more polished offensively, and maybe Balamou comes in and plays well. Can it happen? Yes. But to chalk up notable contributions from these guys as sure things is just absurd. We all hope they do well, but we have to wait and see when the season starts how they do.

And don't mistake me for a pessimist because I am reluctant to say these players will be good for us, I have made the mistake of buying into the hype of some of our players the last few years, and they showed me I need to be more careful before getting excited.

Lower your expectations for these guys, and maybe you will be pleasantly surprised, instead of setting yourself up for disappointment.

 

[Eric]

I haven't read anywhere where someone thinks jdr will really contribute......and for balamou and jones..i see people are hoping they can contribute...not expecting them to....I personally don't see it but let people have hope.....now Thomas on the other hand is someone that I expect to contribute.....I have seen him play.....it will translate at this level.....I wouldn't say the sky is the limit on his production but he will get his minutes on this team and with his attitude and style of play....production will come....he wont be camped out taking 20 footers like the others we have had that shouldn't have been...he knows his strengths and plays to them......sure...lets get excited!!!!!......we will fall in love with this guy ( I already have I think) and his team first attitude will infect this group!!!!!......marillac you are not the only one this optimistic....GO SJU!!!!!

 

[redfazed]

I have a very simplistic analysis in looking at the prospects of this team for the upcoming season. Looking at the teams that made the NCAA Tourney in 2014, I have yet to find one that did not have at least one frontcourt player who averaged at least 10 points per game during the season. I don't think we can make the Tourney without a 10 ppg frontcourt scorer-- and I think Obekpa is going to have to be that guy.

 

[Amaseinyourface]

How can we expect Jones and Balamou to come back notably better players then what we remember?

I think Christian Jones was a good player his freshmen year. He played well in the beginning but he got stuck on the bench and didn't play much in conference play. Now he's had a full year to work on his game, athleticism, body, and most importantly his rebounding. I think right now he is our best option for scoring up front.

I was over dom last year, im almost ready to see Jones up front alongside Thomas and CO for some minutes. At the very least you'll have three big bodies who could set screens and crash the glass for our two really good guards. You wouldnt lose much offensively either, dom slows down the offense and doesn't spread the defense.

 

[Marillac]

When will Felix Balamou record his first double-double?

 

[paultzman]

When will Felix Balamou record his first double-double?

Practice

 

[Jack Williams]

When will Felix Balamou record his first double-double?

Practice

Was about to type this until I clicked the next page and saw you already did.

 

[LJSA]

I'm on the Marillac bandwagon here -- I think Felix gives us more than Jones this season. Would love to see Pointer give us something even remotely worthy of his ranking, but echoing some other posters, I am done with him. And like Marillac, I prefer him at PF. I'd give Dom five games tops to see what happens, but after that, give me three-guard offense/Felix/Jones at SF.

 

[SI1996]

When will Felix Balamou record his first double-double?

Practice

While I hope you are wrong, that was a great reply

 

[Marillac]

I'm on the Marillac bandwagon here -- I think Felix gives us more than Jones this season. Would love to see Pointer give us something even remotely worthy of his ranking, but echoing some other posters, I am done with him. And like Marillac, I prefer him at PF. I'd give Dom five games tops to see what happens, but after that, give me three-guard offense/Felix/Jones at SF.

When Jack Williams comes aboard, we shall haze him in the back of the bandwagon. We can make him and sing "If I Could Turn Back Time" in a Keith Thomas jersey and then we'll duck tape him to the basket in Taffner.

 

[redfazed]

I'm on the Marillac bandwagon here -- I think Felix gives us more than Jones this season. Would love to see Pointer give us something even remotely worthy of his ranking, but echoing some other posters, I am done with him. And like Marillac, I prefer him at PF. I'd give Dom five games tops to see what happens, but after that, give me three-guard offense/Felix/Jones at SF.

The 3-guard offense is going to be Jordan-Harrison-Greene. That is primarily what Lavin went with last season, why would he change that now?

Edit: Think I misread your post. You're saying Felix to SF, I think. My bad.

 

[LJSA]

I'm on the Marillac bandwagon here -- I think Felix gives us more than Jones this season. Would love to see Pointer give us something even remotely worthy of his ranking, but echoing some other posters, I am done with him. And like Marillac, I prefer him at PF. I'd give Dom five games tops to see what happens, but after that, give me three-guard offense/Felix/Jones at SF.

The 3-guard offense is going to be Jordan-Harrison-Greene. That is primarily what Lavin went with last season, why would he change that now?

Edit: Think I misread your post. You're saying Felix to SF, I think. My bad.

Yes, Felix to SF. Probably could have worded that better.

 

[Jack Williams]

I'm on the Marillac bandwagon here -- I think Felix gives us more than Jones this season. Would love to see Pointer give us something even remotely worthy of his ranking, but echoing some other posters, I am done with him. And like Marillac, I prefer him at PF. I'd give Dom five games tops to see what happens, but after that, give me three-guard offense/Felix/Jones at SF.

When Jack Williams comes aboard, we shall haze him in the back of the bandwagon. We can make him and sing "If I Could Turn Back Time" in a Keith Thomas jersey and then we'll duck tape him to the basket in Taffner.

How much do you honestly think Felix is going to play this year? I personally think he has a good chance of being a solid player for us next year and the year after. But I don't expect much of anything from him this year, mainly because he'll be lucky to play more than 7 minutes a game. Whether you like it or not, DLo, Sheed, Greene, and yes, DOM are all going to play a lot. And then after that Branch will come in before Felix as well. Balamou better hope that walk on Myles Stewart does not come in and play well, because he will be fighting him for time.

Again with all that said I don't think Felix is a bad player at all. I think he is offensively challenged but can make an impact for us in the future but I do not see it this year.

 

[Amaseinyourface]

I'm on the Marillac bandwagon here -- I think Felix gives us more than Jones this season. Would love to see Pointer give us something even remotely worthy of his ranking, but echoing some other posters, I am done with him. And like Marillac, I prefer him at PF. I'd give Dom five games tops to see what happens, but after that, give me three-guard offense/Felix/Jones at SF.

When Jack Williams comes aboard, we shall haze him in the back of the bandwagon. We can make him and sing "If I Could Turn Back Time" in a Keith Thomas jersey and then we'll duck tape him to the basket in Taffner.

How much do you honestly think Felix is going to play this year? I personally think he has a good chance of being a solid player for us next year and the year after. But I don't expect much of anything from him this year, mainly because he'll be lucky to play more than 7 minutes a game. Whether you like it or not, DLo, Sheed, Greene, and yes, DOM are all going to play a lot. And then after that Branch will come in before Felix as well. Balamou better hope that walk on Myles Stewart does not come in and play well, because he will be fighting him for time.

Again with all that said I don't think Felix is a bad player at all. I think he is offensively challenged but can make an impact for us in the future but I do not see it this year.

Fair statement and probable outcome. Doesnt mean he doesnt deserve the minutes though.

 

[Marillac]

I'm on the Marillac bandwagon here -- I think Felix gives us more than Jones this season. Would love to see Pointer give us something even remotely worthy of his ranking, but echoing some other posters, I am done with him. And like Marillac, I prefer him at PF. I'd give Dom five games tops to see what happens, but after that, give me three-guard offense/Felix/Jones at SF.

When Jack Williams comes aboard, we shall haze him in the back of the bandwagon. We can make him and sing "If I Could Turn Back Time" in a Keith Thomas jersey and then we'll duck tape him to the basket in Taffner.

How much do you honestly think Felix is going to play this year? I personally think he has a good chance of being a solid player for us next year and the year after. But I don't expect much of anything from him this year, mainly because he'll be lucky to play more than 7 minutes a game. Whether you like it or not, DLo, Sheed, Greene, and yes, DOM are all going to play a lot. And then after that Branch will come in before Felix as well. Balamou better hope that walk on Myles Stewart does not come in and play well, because he will be fighting him for time.

Again with all that said I don't think Felix is a bad player at all. I think he is offensively challenged but can make an impact for us in the future but I do not see it this year.

Whether or not Balamou will be given the opportunity is my only question. Lavin loves Dom and he has four good guards to consistently pull from in three-guard sets. I don't think he is offensively challenged at all. He doesn't have the prettiest jumper, but he has a quick trigger and made plenty as a big-time scorer at OSNA. His handle is probably his biggest limitation, but he would be a monster on the baseline, shooting open shots, slashing, and following shots. I'd like to see him playing the four a little bit as well in a 2-3 zone with a real press and CO in the middle and Branch, Jordan, and Harrison on the court.