@DePaul, Sun. Jan. 1, 2pm, FS1/570AM

[redfazed]

Nice, nice, NICE!
Williams is great. Who knew?? (I certainly didn't.) He and Owens on the frontcourt + Ponds and Lovett in the backcourt is a dangerous team. Athletic, fast-paced, exciting to watch. Love that we aren't folding when down double-digits--second game in a row that happened. Creighton is going to be a b***ch, but who knows?

 

[Red.Fans]

Just a wonderful road win. Real good second half. Lots of solid contributors across the board. BTW, Garrett looks like he walks or pushes off in every drive.

He gets away with a lot.

 

[we are sju]

Still wish that Sima had stuck around, but we are a better team without him now that Williams and Owens have been forced to step up.

I don't think Sima was athletic enough or had good enough hands to excel in the pick and roll type pro style offense that Mullin runs. Setting a pick then having to roll to the basket and receiving a pass on the move while rolling to the basket. What do you think Monte?

Agree completely. The game we play just moves to fast for Sima, but not for Owens and Williams. Yakwe may still get there. He's had some nice pick and roll baskets over past few games and can be useful moving forward. If we continue to play well with this rotation, not sure how much PT Freud will get, but hopefully Chris can find a way to get 5-10 MPG of production out of him.

Speaking of Freudenberg he didn't last long after throwing away a pass, in fact never saw another minute. Prefer he get more minutes then Alibecovic. Why is he even playing? I'm sorry he does absolutely nothing. Nice kid but give the playing time to someone who should be around next year.

Three play sequence for RF. Missed wide open three. Didn't close out on guy shooting a three he made and then turned the ball over.

 

[JackofVirginia]

The next thing Mullin and Co have to do is find a way to get Yakwe going and get Freudenberg to develop some more. If that happens this team will be very good come Big East Tournament time. Yakwe is key though.

Agree but also Yakwe can get himself going if he just becomes an animal on both boards, go after every rebound like it is yours. If you are doing nothing well just concentrate on doing one thing well. A good rebounder is a valuable asset.

Just look at the rebounding Owens does each game. Yakwe is not a rebounder, too small and lean to guard big centers. Should be losing playing time to Williams - that's a no brainer.

 

[bamafan]

Nice, nice, NICE!
Williams is great. Who knew?? (I certainly didn't.) He and Owens on the frontcourt + Ponds and Lovett in the backcourt is a dangerous team. Athletic, fast-paced, exciting to watch. Love that we aren't folding when down double-digits--second game in a row that happened. Creighton is going to be a b***ch, but who knows?

Throw in Ahmed with those 4 and stay with them for major minutes with Ellison as a sixth man. Need to tighten rotation and keep best players on floor as much as possible. I'm all for using a bench but only when we have talented depth which we should have next year if we can avoid defections.

 

[gman]

Nice, nice, NICE!
Williams is great. Who knew?? (I certainly didn't.) He and Owens on the frontcourt + Ponds and Lovett in the backcourt is a dangerous team. Athletic, fast-paced, exciting to watch. Love that we aren't folding when down double-digits--second game in a row that happened. Creighton is going to be a b***ch, but who knows?

Throw in Ahmed with those 4 and stay with them for major minutes with Ellison as a sixth man. Need to tighten rotation and keep best players on floor as much as possible. I'm all for using a bench but only when we have talented depth which we should have next year if we can avoid defections.

Williams came in with a good rep but just hasn't been healthy.

 

[JackofVirginia]

Still wish that Sima had stuck around, but we are a better team without him now that Williams and Owens have been forced to step up.

I don't think Sima was athletic enough or had good enough hands to excel in the pick and roll type pro style offense that Mullin runs. Setting a pick then having to roll to the basket and receiving a pass on the move while rolling to the basket. What do you think Monte?

Agree completely. The game we play just moves to fast for Sima, but not for Owens and Williams. Yakwe may still get there. He's had some nice pick and roll baskets over past few games and can be useful moving forward. If we continue to play well with this rotation, not sure how much PT Freud will get, but hopefully Chris can find a way to get 5-10 MPG of production out of him.

Speaking of Freudenberg he didn't last long after throwing away a pass, in fact never saw another minute. Prefer he get more minutes then Alibecovic. Why is he even playing? I'm sorry he does absolutely nothing. Nice kid but give the playing time to someone who should be around next year.

Three play sequence for RF. Missed wide open three. Didn't close out on guy shooting a three he made and then turned the ball over.

True, however who closed out on their three point shooters, McCallum and Docks?

 

[MarkRedman]

This win was "gritty not pretty" but it's tough to beat anyone on the road
Our kids are playing hard for 40 minutes and never give up
Kudos to Owens and Williams for stepping up inside
I shudder whenever Ellison has the ball but he is clearly improving
Ponds and LoVett are an electric combination
Hard to believe that they are freshmen
Nice to look for us at the top rather than the bottom of the standings for a change
We now have more BE wins and have matched our total wins from last year
Yes, sir, we are getting better and better by the day
WE ARE.........ST JOHN'S!!

 

[bamafan]

The next thing Mullin and Co have to do is find a way to get Yakwe going and get Freudenberg to develop some more. If that happens this team will be very good come Big East Tournament time. Yakwe is key though.

Agree but also Yakwe can get himself going if he just becomes an animal on both boards, go after every rebound like it is yours. If you are doing nothing well just concentrate on doing one thing well. A good rebounder is a valuable asset.

Just look at the rebounding Owens does each game. Yakwe is not a rebounder, too small and lean to guard big centers. Should be losing playing time to Williams - that's a no brainer.

A lot of rebounding is desire (look no further than Ponds) especially when you are concentrating on it and not worrying about other aspects of the game. Let his offensive come in future seasons after he gets to work on it more.

 

[gman]

For the first time in decades we have Playwrs who can shoot and importantly are pretty good free throw shooters.

Off the top of my head best shooting SJU team since Mullin years. (?)

I don't ever recall an SJU team with this many outside shooting weapons, including the Mullin teams. They certainly had more talent, and they had scorers, but not shooters

Started watching SJU ball during Felipe Lopez era, not sure if I am correct but I always thought for me that Barkley, Bootsy, Artest team was able to shoot the lights out. In any event its only natural that under Mullin he will stress a "shooting game" and I am not use to seeing such shooters since then and think this team can be a ranked team next year if it continues player development. This team seems to play down or up to the level of its opponent which I will take for right now.

Those guys weren't great shooters but they were all capable shooters and any of them could get on a roll (especially Thornton). I think they are all mid to high 30s from deep.

I said before this season this team has the best collection of shooters I have ever seen as a fan.

 

[redfazed]

Nice, nice, NICE!
Williams is great. Who knew?? (I certainly didn't.) He and Owens on the frontcourt + Ponds and Lovett in the backcourt is a dangerous team. Athletic, fast-paced, exciting to watch. Love that we aren't folding when down double-digits--second game in a row that happened. Creighton is going to be a b***ch, but who knows?

Throw in Ahmed with those 4 and stay with them for major minutes with Ellison as a sixth man. Need to tighten rotation and keep best players on floor as much as possible. I'm all for using a bench but only when we have talented depth which we should have next year if we can avoid defections.

Agree completely. Add Yawke to above mix.

We are developing chemistry as a team. You can see it happening and the shorter rotation is a crucial part of that. It's another reason why I'm not a big proponent of Mussini getting any major minutes. It is not a coincidence that Ellison and Ahmed are progressing more in his absence, just as the Willams and Owens are stepping it up in Sima's absence.

 

[paultzman]

Bill Wennington – Verified account ‏@34billy42

@Bcredmen Great to be there. Love the game. Love the team. Good win

 

[oldfan61]

As a side note It sounded as if we had a huge crowd supporting StJ on almost every big play. For a while I thought Fox was was adding hyped crowd noise to make the telecast more exciting but then I thought, it's Chicago. and we likely have as many grads and fans there as everyone who plays us in the Garden has at our games. It was refreshing to near that great road support; the first time in a long time! Our fans were really into the game.

 

[monte]

As a side note It sounded as if we had a huge crowd supporting StJ on almost every big play. For a while I thought Fox was was adding hyped crowd noise to make the telecast more exciting but then I thought, it's Chicago. and we likely have as many grads and fans there as everyone who plays us in the Garden has at our games. It was refreshing to near that great road support; the first time in a long time! Our fans were really into the game.

Also Marcus likely had his own cheering section there

 

[sjc88]

Hey right now this team is more interesting and gives me more hope than we have had in years around here. No we are not winning the conference. We may not win 5-6 games more in conference play. But there is a maybe now. Maybe we can get some more wins and I am looking forward again to the games. Lord knows this program needs a break or two. These kids are fighting and working to get better. No matter what I am looking forward to seeing what happens. Good to feel like we are involved in a basketball season again.

 

[frank61]

A road win in this league is not easy regardless of who you play. A great win, with a lot of heart and grit. I think the game was well coached for the most part and the guys are playing hard. REDMEN are 2-0 in the BIG EAST

 

[Spocky Ramone]

As a side note It sounded as if we had a huge crowd supporting StJ on almost every big play. For a while I thought Fox was was adding hyped crowd noise to make the telecast more exciting but then I thought, it's Chicago. and we likely have as many grads and fans there as everyone who plays us in the Garden has at our games. It was refreshing to near that great road support; the first time in a long time! Our fans were really into the game.

Also Marcus likely had his own cheering section there

And he did not disappoint!

 

[nysj144]

Terrific win! No quit in the guys. Keep it going. The crowd was electric against butler. Keep it going and Would love to see a nice crowd at msg game!

 

[paultzman]

Gauntlet before facing DePaul again;

Creighton University
Jan. 4, 2017 8:30 p.m.
vs CreightonQueens, N.Y. (Carnesecca Arena)

Xavier University
Jan. 7, 2017 2:30 p.m.
at XavierCincinnati, Ohio

Georgetown University
Jan. 9, 2017 6:30 p.m.
at GeorgetownWashington, D.C.

Villanova University
Jan. 14, 2017 12 p.m.
vs VillanovaNew York, N.Y. (MSG

Perspective!

 

[Andrew]

Gauntlet before facing DePaul again;

Creighton University
Jan. 4, 2017 8:30 p.m.
vs CreightonQueens, N.Y. (Carnesecca Arena)

Xavier University
Jan. 7, 2017 2:30 p.m.
at XavierCincinnati, Ohio

Georgetown University
Jan. 9, 2017 6:30 p.m.
at GeorgetownWashington, D.C.

Villanova University
Jan. 14, 2017 12 p.m.
vs VillanovaNew York, N.Y. (MSG

Perspective!

If we can steal one of those and beat DePaul at home we would be 4-3 with nine to go. Split with Marquette and Providence would give us 6 and beat Seton Hall or Georgetown at home for 7.