Great post. It is frustrating that this year--the first since '14/'15--we have a good shot at a winning record and an NCAA slot, that we lack depth and desperately need to be free of major / lingering injuries to key guys.And also that we require these 20 - 21 year old kids to play smart, tough, under control, and nearly perfect. Very tough for young, relatively inexperienced kids to achieve. We may have to be patient about this Season--while rooting the team on and hoping for the best.
@Creighton, Wed. Jan. 3, 8p, FS1/570AM
- Thread starter Knight
- Start date
You're right it was in the first half but it wasn't right before they made their big run it was when the game was tight and that's when Creighton opened up their 7 point lead in the first half long before our 14-0 run. Both of Creighton's big runs happened with our bench on the floor.
Class of 72
Active member
Exactly ! It is what it is. Two injuries to our backcourt is not the coaches but fate. We can only hope the coaches learn game by game and the players do not get discouraged. Everyone is disappointed and you know things are bad when Fun can't find the words to describe his unique view of the game and his usual optimism. I think fans will be happy in a few days to see Marcus in the shoot around but don't be surprised to see him come off the bench for the rest of the season.
boo haarvey
Active member
That’s not entirely accurate. Creighton’s run in the second half began when our starters were in the game. Clark and Owens both missed jumpers (several of which were not even close) and our offense was sputtering before Mullin subbed in the dynamic duo of Trimble and Alibegovic.
boo haarvey
Active member
I take it your point about LoVett coming off the bench is that he will not be 100 percent initially and/or it will take him quite some time to get into game shape. Indeed, just look at Ponds who was clearly not himself after missing just one game.
Fair point, but LoVett at 75 percent is dramatically better than Trimble and Alibegovic. At a minimum, he should prove to be an additional capable shooter and take some of the pressure off of Ponds. Not to mention he will allow Mullin to give the other guys a bit of a rest now and again.
It would obviously be better to have LoVett fully healthy, in game shape, and integrated with the team. We needed that to be the case the whole year to have any chance at making the tournament.
If and when LoVett comes back, i don’t expect him to be a savior. Assuming he’s healthy, I do expect him to help and look forward to us continuing to be competitive and walking away with some unexpected “Ws.” I think that’s all we can hope for at this point.
TRabinowitz
Member
First time getting on here since the game.
Thought we played decent enough overall, but that game was fully there for the taking and it sucks we didn't take it. Bashir and Tariq were great. Few things:
-Silver lining of this game is that we have now shown, on the road, against 2 good teams that minus Lovett we can fully compete. Great sign if in fact Lovett leaves after this season. Roster looks like it's in great shape for next year. Must get Ponds back though.
-Amar absolutely outplayed Yakwe in the first half but once it was apparent in the 2nd half that Amar would revert back to the same ole Amar, Yakwe should've been given another chance.
-Shamorie can't disappear for that long down of a period in any 2nd half, even if/when Lovett comes back. He has to demand the ball and coaching staff needs to put him in better attack positions. McDermott made a good adjustment on him in the 2nd half.
-This team still hasn't shown it can execute down the stretch of games. There were a few during non-conference that we almost gave away but our talent difference sustained us. Creighton turned it over enough down the stretch to give us a chance.
-For the 2nd game in a row, we had a bizarre defensive strategy while down with under 45 seconds left. Goal needs to be to extend the game. If you want to play some of the possession out without fouling, fine, but you HAVE to pressure the ball/passing lanes or trap. Not only because of the game situation, but because that is our defensive identity. For the second game in a row, we sat back on our heels defensively and for the second game in a row, our opponent knocked down a shot in the possession to seal it. Hope staff re-looks at this strategy and these late game situations are 100% where a more experienced assistant would likely be of great help.
-Mullin has to stop reverting to begging officials when his team is struggling and coach his team. This has been a theme for 3 years now and the beat writers for nearly all of our opponents have been noticing it and tweeting about it.
-Tariq is as important to our team as Shamorie or Justin Simon. His +/- against Creighton was probably a significant + compared to others. IMO he has made the greatest development from start of last season to now. He has been great and we need him on the floor.
Thought we played decent enough overall, but that game was fully there for the taking and it sucks we didn't take it. Bashir and Tariq were great. Few things:
-Silver lining of this game is that we have now shown, on the road, against 2 good teams that minus Lovett we can fully compete. Great sign if in fact Lovett leaves after this season. Roster looks like it's in great shape for next year. Must get Ponds back though.
-Amar absolutely outplayed Yakwe in the first half but once it was apparent in the 2nd half that Amar would revert back to the same ole Amar, Yakwe should've been given another chance.
-Shamorie can't disappear for that long down of a period in any 2nd half, even if/when Lovett comes back. He has to demand the ball and coaching staff needs to put him in better attack positions. McDermott made a good adjustment on him in the 2nd half.
-This team still hasn't shown it can execute down the stretch of games. There were a few during non-conference that we almost gave away but our talent difference sustained us. Creighton turned it over enough down the stretch to give us a chance.
-For the 2nd game in a row, we had a bizarre defensive strategy while down with under 45 seconds left. Goal needs to be to extend the game. If you want to play some of the possession out without fouling, fine, but you HAVE to pressure the ball/passing lanes or trap. Not only because of the game situation, but because that is our defensive identity. For the second game in a row, we sat back on our heels defensively and for the second game in a row, our opponent knocked down a shot in the possession to seal it. Hope staff re-looks at this strategy and these late game situations are 100% where a more experienced assistant would likely be of great help.
-Mullin has to stop reverting to begging officials when his team is struggling and coach his team. This has been a theme for 3 years now and the beat writers for nearly all of our opponents have been noticing it and tweeting about it.
-Tariq is as important to our team as Shamorie or Justin Simon. His +/- against Creighton was probably a significant + compared to others. IMO he has made the greatest development from start of last season to now. He has been great and we need him on the floor.
Abysmal shooting can’t be put on Mullin or Richmond . We came up with 2 points in 14 possessions in the second half , where we actually blew the game , instead of putting Creighton away .. some of our posters say we got decent looks but, the shot didn’t go in .. that sounds a lot like AV of the Rangers . A shot that doesn’t go in , isn’t decent it is a miss ! Just like in Hockey . I do think Owens and Clark , both of whom have played very well, have gotten a little too trigger happy with their long range jumpers , which leaves no one under the basket to rebound a miss . Clark , a nice player , is not a factor under neath . Perhaps why Izzo wasn’t giving him PT. Simon has check marks in all the categories , except 1, he is a poor jump shooter from even medium range . Despite all the finger pointing at the Coaches , this game could have been won if Ponds and Clark had converted down the stretch at the free throw line . It came down to that in the final analysis . Amar did not lose this game , despite those wanting to scream for his head . He never had BE talent but, has been a bench player capable of giving starters a blow . And, Remember, he is the last of the Lavin recruits . Not Mullin . Ellison might have been a Bench resource this year but, obviously didn’t want to take that role behind Simon . Thus , he transferred . We’ ll see if he gets more than that at Pitt next year . Mussini would more likely been a Valuable Bench contributor and the way things have turned out , he likely would have gotten 20 minutes or more a game .
we are sju
Active member
We only have 5 BE caliber players and we do not have a guy that can get us an easy basket when we really need it. Our best player is a 6-1 guard who is a streaky shooter. Lovett gave us 6 legit BE players and another 6 foot streaky shooting guard. 6 is better than 5 and 2 is better than 1. We have very little room for error with Lovett. W/O him none.
Good insights. Let's view this as minor 'design flaws' from a total model revamp. With luck, we'll make some noise this year, with the 2018-19 Season holding crazy / wicked potential. (Thieving some of mjmaherjr's great phrase for next year!)
we are sju
Active member
Oh boy!
Per Zach B
Chris Mullin said Amar Alibegovic over Kassoum Yakwe against Creighton was about matchups. Wanted another shooter on floor. #sjubb
Tony Mendez: [proposing the Argo idea to the DCI] There are only bad options. It's about finding the best one.
C.I.A Director Stansfield Turner: You don't have a better bad idea than this?
Windy City Johnny Fan
Member
1. It would be great if the two "shooters" we have coming off the bench could, you know, hit some shots at some point.
2. Not sure why it had to be Amar or Yawke and why they both couldn't have played some minutes. We played 19 bench minutes total and our bigs were tired at the end of the game.
2. Not sure why it had to be Amar or Yawke and why they both couldn't have played some minutes. We played 19 bench minutes total and our bigs were tired at the end of the game.
Problem is when you recruit Freshmen because they can shoot They should be able to shoot. Other aspects of the game like learning the system,becoming stronger
improving your defense etc we can understand But not being able to hit shot when left unguarded is puzzling.No one expects Trimble to come hi and shot 45% from 3 but we do expect him to at least hit one.I hate say this and hope i am wrong because I so much want to see this team have success.But could it be with the depth and rebounding problem we have that winning 5 games or less is on the horizon Seems again every BE team we play has overall better talent better shooting thur out the team and yes better game plan
redfan259999888
Active member
"with the 2018-19 Season holding crazy / wicked potential."
Yeah 27-3, a top 5 ranking, a F4. Yeah gl with that nonesense.
You must be forgetting we're ST. JOHN'S. You're setting yourself up to be disappointed once again.
I learned to expect the worst, and hope for the best, just like this year.
Had the lead vs. PC even with Marcus, then once Ponds goes down we know what happened. Maybe with just Ponds or even a bench we beat SHU, then Wednesday with no Marcus and a bench. Maybe with Lovett, maybe with Ponds in the 2nd half vs PC or against SHU, we'd possible be 2-1 in conf play. 12-3 overall.
It's just how it is at SJU