Felix Balamou

[monte]

I just don't see Felix being much of a contributor any time soon. I hope I'm wrong and you guys are right.

You are wrong The kid is a beast. He instantly becomes our best offensive rebounder and defender. He plays with great pace and I think he will be one of our top outside shooters as well as one of the best threats on the baseline. Time to turn up the pressure!

And you gathered all this player insight from his first 10 minutes of the season where he shot 0-1 and grabbed 1 rebound? What offensive rebounds? I counted 16 for Youngstown and 9 for us. Some unknown snowflake named Hain out rebounded Gift, Obekpa and Sanchez.

I saw him plenty last season and I watched about 10 games of his in high school. The kid skies for blocks and rebounds like he's 6'9.

I understand you are the ultimate glass half-empty guy, but I would think even you couldn't deny Balamou's obvious tenacity on the glass and defensive end.

As a team our offensive rebounding has been awful. Sampson spends too much time forgetting that he cannot be stopped on the offensive glass when he wants it. Sanchez could also be force if he played closer to the basket.

Marillac I'll give you that the kid can jump and is tenacious. But he's a 6' 3"(undersized)wing who's not a particularly good ball handler or shooter. The kid has shown nothing to support your lofty expectations.

 

[Class of 72]

I just don't see Felix being much of a contributor any time soon. I hope I'm wrong and you guys are right.

You are wrong The kid is a beast. He instantly becomes our best offensive rebounder and defender. He plays with great pace and I think he will be one of our top outside shooters as well as one of the best threats on the baseline. Time to turn up the pressure!

And you gathered all this player insight from his first 10 minutes of the season where he shot 0-1 and grabbed 1 rebound? What offensive rebounds? I counted 16 for Youngstown and 9 for us. Some unknown snowflake named Hain out rebounded Gift, Obekpa and Sanchez.

I saw him plenty last season and I watched about 10 games of his in high school. The kid skies for blocks and rebounds like he's 6'9.

I understand you are the ultimate glass half-empty guy, but I would think even you couldn't deny Balamou's obvious tenacity on the glass and defensive end.

As a team our offensive rebounding has been awful. Sampson spends too much time forgetting that he cannot be stopped on the offensive glass when he wants it. Sanchez could also be force if he played closer to the basket.

I am a glass half full kind of guy and I really like Felix since he plays with a pair of balls while a couple of guys play like they have none but do not be fooled by the smoke screen of his starting a game.
I am more concerned that Obekpa has been relegated as a sub which should do wonders for his NBA draft stock and the utter failure of Jamal Branch as "the" point guard or Primo playing defense as soft as flan. If this team were not so dysfunctional, Felix would be a great 7th man. A starter? Those practices must be really effed up a third of the season in!

 

[Section9]

I just don't see Felix being much of a contributor any time soon. I hope I'm wrong and you guys are right.

You are wrong The kid is a beast. He instantly becomes our best offensive rebounder and defender. He plays with great pace and I think he will be one of our top outside shooters as well as one of the best threats on the baseline. Time to turn up the pressure!

Best defender? The big gun from Y St. ate him up at the start of the first half, so much so that Lavin called a quick to after he burned Felix three times in a row and spoke to Felix before and after the team sat down. Pointer's our best defender, it's no comparison between the two of them.

 

[redmannorth]

I am mystified by the comments about Balamou. He is athletic, and so far that is all you can say about him. Right now he looks like a poor man's Alpha Bangura. Maybe he will have a Lavor Postell-like developmental curve. We'll see.

Regardless, the decision to activate him makes zero sense unless a guard is leaving for good, imminently (or perhaps unless Balamou indicated he would transfer if he didn't get some time). The backcourt is fully stocked with Harrison, Jordan, Greene and Branch. If the staff managed to get over its love affair with the 3-guard lineup then there would be barely enough minutes for the 4 guards we have.

There's another shoe here somewhere.

Unfortunately, I am in complete agreement with LMF. There is not enough pt for the current crop of guards so why play Felix?
I said prior to the season that the biggest challenge the staff had was to manage pt and that at least 2 players needed to be redshirted.
I suggested Greene but clearly could live with the redshirting of Felix, whom to date is a proven capable rebounder and shot blocker. Not the qualities you look for in a guard.
Why he was started, especially at SF is an absolute head scratcher unless there is something we all don"t know. I hope such is not the case as I have no stomach for bad news.

 

[paultzman]

I am mystified by the comments about Balamou. He is athletic, and so far that is all you can say about him. Right now he looks like a poor man's Alpha Bangura. Maybe he will have a Lavor Postell-like developmental curve. We'll see.

Regardless, the decision to activate him makes zero sense unless a guard is leaving for good, imminently (or perhaps unless Balamou indicated he would transfer if he didn't get some time). The backcourt is fully stocked with Harrison, Jordan, Greene and Branch. If the staff managed to get over its love affair with the 3-guard lineup then there would be barely enough minutes for the 4 guards we have.

There's another shoe here somewhere.

Concur

 

[beast of the east]

I am mystified by the comments about Balamou. He is athletic, and so far that is all you can say about him. Right now he looks like a poor man's Alpha Bangura. Maybe he will have a Lavor Postell-like developmental curve. We'll see.

Regardless, the decision to activate him makes zero sense unless a guard is leaving for good, imminently (or perhaps unless Balamou indicated he would transfer if he didn't get some time). The backcourt is fully stocked with Harrison, Jordan, Greene and Branch. If the staff managed to get over its love affair with the 3-guard lineup then there would be barely enough minutes for the 4 guards we have.

There's another shoe here somewhere.

Concur

Agreed. Also, anyone who leaves school now is eligible Jan 2015, when league seasons begin, so its only like losing a semester. Can't believe it was a roster move for just one game that they should have won anyway.

 

[tom in salem]

I just don't see Felix being much of a contributor any time soon. I hope I'm wrong and you guys are right.

You are wrong The kid is a beast. He instantly becomes our best offensive rebounder and defender. He plays with great pace and I think he will be one of our top outside shooters as well as one of the best threats on the baseline. Time to turn up the pressure!

And you gathered all this player insight from his first 10 minutes of the season where he shot 0-1 and grabbed 1 rebound? What offensive rebounds? I counted 16 for Youngstown and 9 for us. Some unknown snowflake named Hain out rebounded Gift, Obekpa and Sanchez.

I saw him plenty last season and I watched about 10 games of his in high school. The kid skies for blocks and rebounds like he's 6'9.

I understand you are the ultimate glass half-empty guy, but I would think even you couldn't deny Balamou's obvious tenacity on the glass and defensive end.

As a team our offensive rebounding has been awful. Sampson spends too much time forgetting that he cannot be stopped on the offensive glass when he wants it. Sanchez could also be force if he played closer to the basket.

I am a glass half full kind of guy and I really like Felix since he plays with a pair of balls while a couple of guys play like they have none but do not be fooled by the smoke screen of his starting a game.
I am more concerned that Obekpa has been relegated as a sub which should do wonders for his NBA draft stock and the utter failure of Jamal Branch as "the" point guard or Primo playing defense as soft as flan. If this team were not so dysfunctional, Felix would be a great 7th man. A starter? Those practices must be really effed up a third of the season in!

I concur with much of your post.
I think with Branch's minutes dwindling (down to 13 mpg), Lavin see Felix as his 4th best back court option now.
As he likes the 3 guard look, Felix does provide more than Branch.
BE play is 9 days away and I'd suspect Felix will get more minutes than Branch come league play.
Just hoping Jordan returns soon as right now he's probably the 3rd best player on this team.

 

[MarkRedman]

I just don't see Felix being much of a contributor any time soon. I hope I'm wrong and you guys are right.

You are wrong The kid is a beast. He instantly becomes our best offensive rebounder and defender. He plays with great pace and I think he will be one of our top outside shooters as well as one of the best threats on the baseline. Time to turn up the pressure!

And you gathered all this player insight from his first 10 minutes of the season where he shot 0-1 and grabbed 1 rebound? What offensive rebounds? I counted 16 for Youngstown and 9 for us. Some unknown snowflake named Hain out rebounded Gift, Obekpa and Sanchez.

I saw him plenty last season and I watched about 10 games of his in high school. The kid skies for blocks and rebounds like he's 6'9.

I understand you are the ultimate glass half-empty guy, but I would think even you couldn't deny Balamou's obvious tenacity on the glass and defensive end.

As a team our offensive rebounding has been awful. Sampson spends too much time forgetting that he cannot be stopped on the offensive glass when he wants it. Sanchez could also be force if he played closer to the basket.

Marillac I'll give you that the kid can jump and is tenacious. But he's a 6' 3"(undersized)wing who's not a particularly good ball handler or shooter. The kid has shown nothing to support your lofty expectations.

I'm with you, Monte
Very athletic, great leaper, high motor and plays very hard
However, lacks basic fundamental skills, including shooting and ball handling
Seems to be an excellent athlete who is learning how to basketball in college
A red shirt year would have done him a world of good
It's a shame that it got pulled

 

[MCNPA]

I don't see how taking Balamou off redshirt hurts us in any way, so I'm not really getting some of the uproar. I think it's a contingency in case Jordan doesn't come back, which IMO isn't the most ridiculous thing. He provides depth, athleticism and will help on presses and traps. No big deal either way. The bigger deal is potentially loaing Jordan, which I'm very concerned about. If that happens, we are behind the 8-ball recruiting-wise, and in a bit of trouble entering next year with 3 senior guards and nobody else on board besides Balamou.

 

[redmannorth]

I don't see how taking Balamou off redshirt hurts us in any way, so I'm not really getting some of the uproar. I think it's a contingency in case Jordan doesn't come back, which IMO isn't the most ridiculous thing. He provides depth, athleticism and will help on presses and traps. No big deal either way. The bigger deal is potentially loaing Jordan, which I'm very concerned about. If that happens, we are behind the 8-ball recruiting-wise, and in a bit of trouble entering next year with 3 senior guards and nobody else on board besides Balamou.

Marcus, re-read your post, you hit the nail on the head.
We have three senior guards next season. We dont need three senior guards and Belamou who everyone agrees has talent, being a junior with barely zero pt over two seasons.
His redshirt was crucial to SJU having some depth when everyone leaves in 2015.
The move makes zero sense since he was played at SF and not at Guard.
And yes it is a more serious concern that Rysheed`s mom is well and that he comes back.

 

[usguard]

I am mystified by the comments about Balamou. He is athletic, and so far that is all you can say about him. Right now he looks like a poor man's Alpha Bangura. Maybe he will have a Lavor Postell-like developmental curve. We'll see.

Regardless, the decision to activate him makes zero sense unless a guard is leaving for good, imminently (or perhaps unless Balamou indicated he would transfer if he didn't get some time). The backcourt is fully stocked with Harrison, Jordan, Greene and Branch. If the staff managed to get over its love affair with the 3-guard lineup then there would be barely enough minutes for the 4 guards we have.

There's another shoe here somewhere.

Unfortunately, I am in complete agreement with LMF. There is not enough pt for the current crop of guards so why play Felix?
I said prior to the season that the biggest challenge the staff had was to manage pt and that at least 2 players needed to be redshirted.
I suggested Greene but clearly could live with the redshirting of Felix, whom to date is a proven capable rebounder and shot blocker. Not the qualities you look for in a guard.
Why he was started, especially at SF is an absolute head scratcher unless there is something we all don"t know. I hope such is not the case as I have no stomach for bad news.

IMO coach started him because he has been playing his butt off in practice and wants to keep moral of all his players high This kid can been really good if he works on his shooting and confidence Like that coach started him against a team that we controlled

 

[MCNPA]

I don't see how taking Balamou off redshirt hurts us in any way, so I'm not really getting some of the uproar. I think it's a contingency in case Jordan doesn't come back, which IMO isn't the most ridiculous thing. He provides depth, athleticism and will help on presses and traps. No big deal either way. The bigger deal is potentially loaing Jordan, which I'm very concerned about. If that happens, we are behind the 8-ball recruiting-wise, and in a bit of trouble entering next year with 3 senior guards and nobody else on board besides Balamou.

Marcus, re-read your post, you hit the nail on the head.
We have three senior guards next season. We dont need three senior guards and Belamou who everyone agrees has talent, being a junior with barely zero pt over two seasons.
His redshirt was crucial to SJU having some depth when everyone leaves in 2015.
The move makes zero sense since he was played at SF and not at Guard.
And yes it is a more serious concern that Rysheed`s mom is well and that he comes back.

I don't think that Balamou has any bearing on our depth and scholarship issues past this season. He's not a player of the impact level of Branch, Harrison nor Greene. Right now he's nothing more than a complimentary role player and therefore is "crucial" to nothing except our depth this season. THIS season is the biggest concern to me. The rest will fall in place. It is why my biggest concern is getting Jordan back. Adding Balamou into the mix is fine either way. Not going to impact us much if we lose him one year sooner as we can recruit other impactful guards at any point in time.

The problem is that if we do lose Jordan, we might have a hard time finding an impactful guard for next season. It opens up a new problem when a lot of talent is off the table. Of course, lots of things can change recruiting-wise with kids turning heads and rising in the rankings by spring. Hopefully we get Jordan back.

 

[Ray Morgan]

Back in the day, SJU practices were open. Way back. I would watch Kevin Williams tear it up at practice. He moved at a quicker level than the rest of the team. Of course, not as quick apparently to Coach, who started Bob Kelly over him. See some of KW in Balamou. I think he can be an impact player.

 

[Joe]

Just going by past few games we are pressing more and the added depth can't hurt for that reason. Maybe he isn't as good a defender as Sir Dom (how many are- anywhere) but I like his athletic ability and intensity. His "problem" with guarding one of the best guards we have faced to date is not enough to predict he won't become a solid defender. He has 2 more years after this one- can't worry too much about who we will have 3 years from now.

 

[MarkRedman]

Back in the day, SJU practices were open. Way back. I would watch Kevin Williams tear it up at practice. He moved at a quicker level than the rest of the team. Of course, not as quick apparently to Coach, who started Bob Kelly over him. See some of KW in Balamou. I think he can be an impact player.

Big difference - KW was talented enough to play in the NBA
I don't see Balamou doing that
I love Looie but I always thought he had it in for KW - not a good fit for his style of play
KW would have been a perfect compliment to this year's up tempo, fast paced team

 

[Jack Williams]

I can't see him getting any more than 6 mpg. Two years down the road if Balamou is incredible and our best player we are going to be kicking ourselves because we could've given him two years of impactful minutes. He's still not going to get a lot of time next year with Harrison, Greene, Branch, and most likely Jordan still on the team. He wouldn't be getting a ton of playing time until the year after Harrison and co. Graduate. So redshirt him this year, and He could've had TWO years of impactful minutes for this team, and now he's only going to get one. Bad move by Lavin and the staff IMO.

 

[redmannorth]

Back in the day, SJU practices were open. Way back. I would watch Kevin Williams tear it up at practice. He moved at a quicker level than the rest of the team. Of course, not as quick apparently to Coach, who started Bob Kelly over him. See some of KW in Balamou. I think he can be an impact player.

LC did not play KW as much as he should have as a result of a bad incident on Kevin`s part which was kept under wraps. It was a disciplinary reason, no more no less. As Kevin matured his pt increased. There was solid logic behind Coach LC`s decision.

 

[thetux1]

I can't see him getting any more than 6 mpg. Two years down the road if Balamou is incredible and our best player we are going to be kicking ourselves because we could've given him two years of impactful minutes. He's still not going to get a lot of time next year with Harrison, Greene, Branch, and most likely Jordan still on the team. He wouldn't be getting a ton of playing time until the year after Harrison and co. Graduate. So redshirt him this year, and He could've had TWO years of impactful minutes for this team, and now he's only going to get one. Bad move by Lavin and the staff IMO.

Bingo. I don't understand the defense of this move being that you like the guy and think he's good. Those are the reasons to redshirt him.

 

[mjmaherjr]

There was no reason to activate him... they dont need him this year even if he is healthy. They have plenty of guys that can play the guard position and keeping him as a redshirt helps us out in evening out of scholarship situation. Some decisions I just do not get.

Agreed. But a little St Johns Christmas Chaos always makes the day go by a little quicker

I happen to think this kid can play. He actually turned heads today simply by getting WAY WAY above the rim on an offensive rebound.

Im actually a big fan of his. Just think he would have been much better served redshirting this year especially since he hadn't played the first 1/3 of the season

 

[Marillac]

Balamou has the highest ceiling on the team other than Jordan and arguably Obekpa IMO. I'll agree he wasn't a world beater on defense yesterday, but if you watched the game he got lost in a series of screens and it was his first game back in almost a year. He was also playing against a nearly finished collegiate product that is on the NBA radar--a 6'0 PG at that.

For those of you saying he can't shoot or score, you obviously didn't see him in high school. He was a big scorer and he had a quick trigger from deep. I'm not saying he's a sharpshooter, but I think he is a kid that can see north of 35% with 4-5 attempts per game with good shot selection.

I liked the idea of having him here for three years after this season, but he can really help this year. It all has to start on defense and with rebounding/loose balls. That is his specialty. Also, for such an athletic freak, he plays under control seemingly at all times. Sampson, Obekpa, and Pointer could really learn from that.

Posters on this board love to make the Dom to Oladipo comparison, but I think it is Balamou that has that kind of breakout potential.