Curbelo (Possibly) a Johnny

[Sherman Sheridan & Grant]

I don't even argue anymore with people that have convinced themselves Wusu is not a good player.

Thank you MP.
Seems to me we do not as a program have the luxury of discarding or minimizing the value of a player like Mister Wusu! It’s the same for those who critique Coach Anderson. Where is a better player or coach to be found?
Thanks go to Mister Wusu, young college player with his own skillset trying his best to contribute to our team. Go St John’s - even as disappointing as this past season has been.
Blessings

 

[Sherman Sheridan & Grant]

The above posts - sorry for duplicate - were from me ( SS&G) & I’m not sure how to insert my tag in place of redfan25001188 - ??? - help

 

[redmanwest]

I have been selectively critical of Wusu at times, but would never suggest he does not have a place on this team. The kid has a lot of good (and developing) tools, and most of all, he has heart and toughness that we need. Whether he starts or not is not that important, but he deserves and will get significant minutes, regardless of who else we bring in. My past criticism was about his decision making at times and his outside shooting (I don't think the 39% tells the full story) and sometimes poor shot selection, all things that I expect will improve as he continues to develop. Most here felt that he would be a great 4 year player for us, and that s the trajectory I see.

 

[Boo Harvey]

It's kinda funny the same people that are complaining about Curberlo being too small and can't shoot are the same people that also dislike Wusu and claim we're in trouble if he starts. When Wusu is literally is everything they claim they want in a guard, he's a big (6'4 240) can shoot (38% from 3), pass (4 APG), a good A/T ratio (4-2), and good defense (1.3 SPG). And he did these numbers without an off-season, he was injured the entire time.

I could go grab a random name at in other P6 school and attach Wusu's stats to that player and say St. John's is interested, and these guys would see he's 6'4 SG and 38% from 3 and lose their mind with excitement.

Last year, Wusu exhibited an ability to make a wide open set shot three (he barely got off the ground). He also, at times, did some nice things for us. While it’s great that he added this to his game, he is far from a great shooter. He cannot create his own shot and has many holes in his game as posters have discussed.

I hope he continues to improve and I truly believe that he will be an important part of this team going forward . But the idea that he’s a pre-season all conference talent that other schools in the Big East would pencil in as their starter is fanciful.

In an ideal world, I see Wusu as a jack of all trades glue guy. But if we rely on him too much for ball handling, shooting, playmaking, etc., both he and we will struggle.

 

[Moose]

Not to turn this into a Wusu thread but he improved to 38% from 3.

Wish I could say the same for some others on the team

 

[RedStormNC]

The above posts - sorry for duplicate - were from me ( SS&G) & I’m not sure how to insert my tag in place of redfan25001188 - ??? - help View attachment 55

Think you can go into your account, then select account details and in there is option to change username. There it says you enter a reason for change and notes there will be a 30 day delay to regain access.

Perhaps Paul has faster way for you.

 

[JohnnyFan]

Do you really worry about Posh being outsized or taken advantage of by BE 2 guards though? Size is good to have no doubt, but if my 2 best guards are 6 foot, I’m playing them together. Those 2s that have legitimate size adavantage over posh will have to deal with him harassing them 90 feet. I think starting wusu as your 4 is a much bigger risk size wise than playing posh and Curbelo together.

I agree and definitely don't worry about Posh's size. My biggest concern is having guys that can shoot. I just feel you're asking for scoring droughts when you only have 2 or 3 guys on the court that can shoot at an average clip.

 

[NCJohnnie]

Wusu averaged 9 ppg, 4 rebounds and 4 assists per game while shooting 38% from three, all significant improvements from his first year. Where he didn't improve was overall field goal percentage (too many missed opportunities at the rim) and foul shooting still a real weakness at 60% that should be easily corrected given his nice set shot touch from three. As others have pointed out he was asked to do too much at times; he is not a point guard, has only a so-so handle and occasionally tries to do too much with late game passes. But he was easily the 4th best player on this year's team and if he's the 4th best player on next year's team we'll be in good shape as I have no doubt he will continue to improve. We still need to pick up a couple of good pieces as he'd arguably be the second or third best player (depending on Storrs progress) on the current version of this team and that won't cut it if we want to improve Big East results. Two things that drove me crazy with Wusu his first year were his bricks from three and putting his head down and drawing lots of charges on his drives to the hoop. He corrected both of those this year and no reason he won't continue to address any defects in his game next year. He is a really valuable part of our team imho.

 

[RedmanMike]

As is sometimes the case, this board is a little schizophrenic. We complain - with some justification - that we do not have enough four or five star players on the roster. I'm not sure the ratings are the be-all, end-all of roster construction, but I wholeheartedly agree that we need to upgrade the overall talent level. Now we have guys in Curbelo and Toussaint who are 4/5 star guys that are interested in us, and some of us aren't happy about that because we'd be undersized at the 3 or the 4 or that they're not dead-eye shooters from long-range. My view is that we need a talent infusion - regardless of position. If we have three or four (or five) excellent guards, then we go small. Nova played a three-guard set for years and did very well. We have plenty of height at the 5 spot, and with all the three-point shots in today's game there are so many long rebounds that a decent rebounding guard (and we already have two) are much more valuable than years ago. So let's sign these guys, go small and run teams out of the gym...

 

[kranmars]

I will leave the specific transfers who are real possibilities and upgrades to the experts, but it appears the staff is doing a better job of targeting players that will be system upgrades.
Maybe because this off-season is stable and there haven’t been many surprises.
This is promising because in the end, the NCAA tournament is a must next season (and yes, there are exceptions, such as critical injuries).
Of course the staff knows this. If the program is to be taken even semi-seriously at this point, it is a requirement.
And this is not a post to bash Anderson.

 

[ShrekII]

Wusu averaged 9 ppg, 4 rebounds and 4 assists per game while shooting 38% from three, all significant improvements from his first year. Where he didn't improve was overall field goal percentage (too many missed opportunities at the rim) and foul shooting still a real weakness at 60% that should be easily corrected given his nice set shot touch from three. As others have pointed out he was asked to do too much at times; he is not a point guard, has only a so-so handle and occasionally tries to do too much with late game passes. But he was easily the 4th best player on this year's team and if he's the 4th best player on next year's team we'll be in good shape as I have no doubt he will continue to improve. We still need to pick up a couple of good pieces as he'd arguably be the second or third best player (depending on Storrs progress) on the current version of this team and that won't cut it if we want to improve Big East results. Two things that drove me crazy with Wusu his first year were his bricks from three and putting his head down and drawing lots of charges on his drives to the hoop. He corrected both of those this year and no reason he won't continue to address any defects in his game next year. He is a really valuable part of our team imho.

I love Wusu's toughness, effort and passing, but he is not a Big East guard. He is really an undersized 3 or 4. He absolutely can be an effective player if he continues to shoot 3's well. IMO one of CMA biggest mistakes was having Wusu play as our primary ball handler. It seemed to really hurt his confidence and his overall numbers in conference play are pretty bad (42% 2P, 37% 3P, 54% FT) with a high turnover percentage. Wusu was a really good offensive rebounder as a freshman, but he went away from that part of his game. Only Coburn, Smith and Pinzon had lower ORB % for the season.

 

[monte]

Do you really worry about Posh being outsized or taken advantage of by BE 2 guards though? Size is good to have no doubt, but if my 2 best guards are 6 foot, I’m playing them together. Those 2s that have legitimate size adavantage over posh will have to deal with him harassing them 90 feet. I think starting wusu as your 4 is a much bigger risk size wise than playing posh and Curbelo

 

[monte]

I would take Curbelo in a heartbeat,
just not about to anoint him and Posh the next Clyde and Pearl. Both are very good ballhandlers and tenacious defenders. Neither is a very good shooter and in Curbelo's case, his decision making leaves a lot to be desired. As for Posh's rebounding, he's excellent for his size but a big part of his numbers were a result of our lack of rebounding big men. So let's put things in perspective. Anyhow, as is always the case, any kid we get will be built up to be the next Michael Jordan, so all this is to be expected

 

[Section3]

Thank you MP.
Seems to me we do not as a program have the luxury of discarding or minimizing the value of a player like Mister Wusu! It’s the same for those who critique Coach Anderson. Where is a better player or coach to be found?
Thanks go to Mister Wusu, young college player with his own skillset trying his best to contribute to our team. Go St John’s - even as disappointing as this past season has been.
Blessings

Another trait that either goes unnoticed or unappreciated is the fact that he is great teammate. He has gone from bench to starter to bench to starter and his demeanor doesn’t seem to change. During lineup announcements, he is all in whether starting or not.

 

[Knight]

I look forward to seeing Wusu play as a junior. He reminds me a bit of Earlington, but a little shorter. Would love to see him set some more picks And work on his inboundping.

 

[MarkRedman]

As is sometimes the case, this board is a little schizophrenic. We complain - with some justification - that we do not have enough four or five star players on the roster. I'm not sure the ratings are the be-all, end-all of roster construction, but I wholeheartedly agree that we need to upgrade the overall talent level. Now we have guys in Curbelo and Toussaint who are 4/5 star guys that are interested in us, and some of us aren't happy about that because we'd be undersized at the 3 or the 4 or that they're not dead-eye shooters from long-range. My view is that we need a talent infusion - regardless of position. If we have three or four (or five) excellent guards, then we go small. Nova played a three-guard set for years and did very well. We have plenty of height at the 5 spot, and with all the three-point shots in today's game there are so many long rebounds that a decent rebounding guard (and we already have two) are much more valuable than years ago. So let's sign these guys, go small and run teams out of the gym...

I agree with most of what you said about "stars" and the need to upgrade the overall talent. However, when you look at Nova, a team that has played "small ball" for years, they have been successful largely because they always had guys who were pretty good 3 point shooters. In today's game, you can't win without being able to hit threes with regularity. We don't have a single guy on our current roster who is a legitimate three point shooting threat. We need to bring in a couple of guys who can jack it up if we are ever going to compete with the upper echelon of our league.

 

[MainMan]

I love Wusu's toughness, effort and passing, but he is not a Big East guard. He is really an undersized 3 or 4. He absolutely can be an effective player if he continues to shoot 3's well. IMO one of CMA biggest mistakes was having Wusu play as our primary ball handler. It seemed to really hurt his confidence and his overall numbers in conference play are pretty bad (42% 2P, 37% 3P, 54% FT) with a high turnover percentage. Wusu was a really good offensive rebounder as a freshman, but he went away from that part of his game. Only Coburn, Smith and Pinzon had lower ORB % for the season.

Dylan was 9th in the BE in assists per game and had a 2 to 1 assist to TO ratio.
Seems like a Big East guard to me.

And so lawmanfan doesn't yell at me: I think Curbelo would be a great addition to SJU as would a versatile wing transfer with a good jumper.

 

[Footwork21]

I hear what you’re saying Footwork and I agree. These bigger programs only have a limited number of scholarships available and if they sign a top transfer who will demand minutes someone else might leave. This is all very fluid this time of year now. Let’s see how it all shakes out. I would like to land Curbelo, Williams and the Kid Melendez.

You make a good point, and I would be more than happy with that haul if we can pull it off.

 

[Footwork21]

I agree with most of what you said about "stars" and the need to upgrade the overall talent. However, when you look at Nova, a team that has played "small ball" for years, they have been successful largely because they always had guys who were pretty good 3 point shooters. In today's game, you can't win without being able to hit threes with regularity. We don't have a single guy on our current roster who is a legitimate three point shooting threat. We need to bring in a couple of guys who can jack it up if we are ever going to compete with the upper echelon of our league.

It's crazy to think that we had Chris Mullin, who many people consider to be the best pure shooter of his generation and since the 3 point line became part of the game we have had so few consistent outside shooters on our roster. It's really quite maddening.

When Rick Pitino was at Kentucky, he always stressed the importance of shooting the three. Both at a high volume and at a reasonable percentage, and also defending the three. Historically, we are like the polar opposite, we've never shot the three well nor have we defended the three well and I have no idea why we've had such a hard time with this. It spans like 8 head coaches, it's bizarre.

 

[Dan V]

Curbelo, Posh, Pinzon and Wusu would be an interesting 4 guard lineup with Soriano at the 5. Lots of playmaking on the floor at the same time. Shooting would be a concern but Pinzon and Wusu would ideally knock it down when they’re open. Also could have a shooter come in off the bench (Storr maybe or a transfer). Shades of the ‘06 Nova team with Wusu playing the Randy Foye “4-man” role. Could also press the hell out of teams.