Fordham, Thur. Dec. 8, 6:30pm, FS1/570AM
- Thread starter Knight
- Start date
On that three, he was set, took his time and had perfect form. While a little tough to tell from my angle in the stands, on a couple of his other shots he looked a little more rushed and on at least one from the corner, he seemed to be leaning back a bit. The kid does not have a quick release, so he is going to need his teammates to find him in good shooting position. Much the same as Max needed. The good thing is that he's tall and will be able to, in most cases, shoot over the defense. Saw a glimmer of hope from him yesterday. If nothing else, he seemed to get shot of confidence. Hoping he can build on yesterday.
Went to the game last night, and no question it was fun to watch. Ponds has a chance to join players like Boo Harvey and Marcus Hatten in pantheon of SJU guards. He isn't a complete product yet but I have little doubt he will get there. Too bad for the kid (and good for us) that he isn't 3 or 4 inches taller.
You could start to see what Mullin wants to do last night. Lots of ball movement, slashing to the hoop, 3 pointers. Basically the game he and Richmond played in the NBA. Ponds, Lovett, to some extent Owens are ready to play that game. Breakout game for Owens last night, tho he was playing against nobody and I don't know how he will fare against legit big men. We will need Sima sooner or later. Freudenberg showed flashes last night that he could become a special fit for it, but I think he's a year away. Mussini knows how to make.himself useful and is a real team player. Ahmed has the skills to play the game, he just needs to remember that there are other players on the court with him. And while he had 11 points, the guy he was guarding (5, Tavares I think) had 20.
For those who want to know why Amar was playing, it's because he was the only one who played decent defense (Ponds did of course but that's mainly because he was so much better than anyone else on the court, not because he played spectacular fundamental defense). No question Amar with the ball can be like watching a train wreck in slo-mo, but he moved his feet, made himself big, and boxed out on D. That would make him the only one on the team. We have guys who will go for steals or blocks or slash in for a board, but I'm still not seeing guys move their feet to stay in front of their man.
Ellison plays because if your front line is Owens and Amar you need a big guard to help rebound. He's ok but Im not sure his game is going to develop much beyond where it is now. His minutes will drop with the return of Lovett who is a ttremendous rebounder at his size, which just goes to show you that rebounding and D are about smarts and want-to as much as anything else.
All in all it was a good scrimmage against against team with no size that was totally athletically outclassed by us. Good positive step in the right direction. Hopefully it will keep coming together.
You could start to see what Mullin wants to do last night. Lots of ball movement, slashing to the hoop, 3 pointers. Basically the game he and Richmond played in the NBA. Ponds, Lovett, to some extent Owens are ready to play that game. Breakout game for Owens last night, tho he was playing against nobody and I don't know how he will fare against legit big men. We will need Sima sooner or later. Freudenberg showed flashes last night that he could become a special fit for it, but I think he's a year away. Mussini knows how to make.himself useful and is a real team player. Ahmed has the skills to play the game, he just needs to remember that there are other players on the court with him. And while he had 11 points, the guy he was guarding (5, Tavares I think) had 20.
For those who want to know why Amar was playing, it's because he was the only one who played decent defense (Ponds did of course but that's mainly because he was so much better than anyone else on the court, not because he played spectacular fundamental defense). No question Amar with the ball can be like watching a train wreck in slo-mo, but he moved his feet, made himself big, and boxed out on D. That would make him the only one on the team. We have guys who will go for steals or blocks or slash in for a board, but I'm still not seeing guys move their feet to stay in front of their man.
Ellison plays because if your front line is Owens and Amar you need a big guard to help rebound. He's ok but Im not sure his game is going to develop much beyond where it is now. His minutes will drop with the return of Lovett who is a ttremendous rebounder at his size, which just goes to show you that rebounding and D are about smarts and want-to as much as anything else.
All in all it was a good scrimmage against against team with no size that was totally athletically outclassed by us. Good positive step in the right direction. Hopefully it will keep coming together.
MarkRedman
Well-known member
Best game we've played in a long time
Loved to see the unselfish ball movement all night long
Ponds was great; Mussini playing the role he was recruited for perfectly
Ahmed was a little more under control; still needs more work in that area
Yakwe was more active last night as was Owens
But Sima looks listless out there; someone needs to light a fire under him
Looks like we're should play more small ball a la Villanova a few years ago
We're at our best with 3 guards, spacing the floor, moving the ball looking for shots
Loved to see the unselfish ball movement all night long
Ponds was great; Mussini playing the role he was recruited for perfectly
Ahmed was a little more under control; still needs more work in that area
Yakwe was more active last night as was Owens
But Sima looks listless out there; someone needs to light a fire under him
Looks like we're should play more small ball a la Villanova a few years ago
We're at our best with 3 guards, spacing the floor, moving the ball looking for shots
Class of 72
Active member
Both kids seem less aggressive than last year. My theory is that they both had hot dates over the summer and caught Mono from swapping spit with coeds and are still suffering the long term malaise of mono.
Perhaps blood tests are in order?
If Sima played with the energy of Owens he would be first team Big East!
Class of 72
Active member
In high school games I saw him score over 30 points in gsmes but didn't realize until I saw the individual stats. That's how understated his game was in high school.
When a player as good as Lovett is out you hope you can hold serve and that others step up. Team has done both. Probably unfair to say Ponds has stepped up given how good he's been all year, but his overall game has certainly emerged. Season high assists in each of last two games. Clearly Ponds can play on the ball as can Marcus, and as we already started to see in Tulane game seems staff plans to use both of them in that role when on floor together. Incredibly rare to have two guys who can play-make at that level on same team, we need to enjoy it.
Rotation starting to emerge with Mussini and Owens. Think we are all aware of potential defensive exposure v. bigger teams, but they have separated themselves. Have to play to talent on roster and these two plus our primary 3 are our best 5 right now.
There are others interested in getting their shots up who should really focus on passing/catching, protecting ball, and making free throws.
Imagine Marcus rests Sunday so that he gets close to two weeks off since injury. Win that one and have a week to get ready for what looks like our biggest coin flip on the OOC schedule in PSU. Get that one and can feel reasonably good about finish to OOC slate, especially given where things were 10 days ago.
The 7 games after that represent by far our toughest stretch of the schedule, so winning the next 2 + rebounding from potential bumps in road during that stretch could be key to feeling good about this season. I think this team is going to improve in another 4-6 weeks + more winnable games at same time, could be fun if they stay up confidence wise.
Rotation starting to emerge with Mussini and Owens. Think we are all aware of potential defensive exposure v. bigger teams, but they have separated themselves. Have to play to talent on roster and these two plus our primary 3 are our best 5 right now.
There are others interested in getting their shots up who should really focus on passing/catching, protecting ball, and making free throws.
Imagine Marcus rests Sunday so that he gets close to two weeks off since injury. Win that one and have a week to get ready for what looks like our biggest coin flip on the OOC schedule in PSU. Get that one and can feel reasonably good about finish to OOC slate, especially given where things were 10 days ago.
The 7 games after that represent by far our toughest stretch of the schedule, so winning the next 2 + rebounding from potential bumps in road during that stretch could be key to feeling good about this season. I think this team is going to improve in another 4-6 weeks + more winnable games at same time, could be fun if they stay up confidence wise.
Lastly, Owens may just be one of those guys who can't add much weight, but I really enjoy his hustle, team focus & "flash plays" giving team a jolt when needed. Of course more physical teams will give him trouble perhaps, but I have feeling he will be a nice complementary piece for next three years. Initially I had some doubts, but he is evolving nicely.
Solid points! My friend OLV last night suggested six BE wins is possible & upon reflection, I agree. To me, thinking long term, I would love to finish second half of BE schedule with a few upsets, possible win in BE Tourney & just get everyone more confident & positive about next year. (Of course assuming the team core remains intact.) Around here, you never know
In any event, it is all about the next few years, not this season IMO.
Solid points! My friend OLV last night suggested six BE wins is possible & upon reflection, I agree. To me, thinking long term, I would love to finish second half of BE schedule with a few upsets, possible win in BE Tourney & just get everyone more confident & positive about next year. (Of course assuming the team core remains intact.) Around here, you never know
Agree, and still think 7 in play, but 6 more likely. Decent chance we get swept by Nova/Creighton/X, which is fine. Would love to get 1, but even if not 6-6/.500 against rest of conference to me would represent both progress and success. That result can go long way towards building feel-good momentum you describe heading into next year.
As buddy of mine, not an SJU fan, said after watching last few games this is type of team that has potential to ride a few highs and lows. Enough upside to surprise a few teams, but youth/inexperience to have disappointing efforts.
Regarding the upside, T-16 in the country in 3PT pct. at 41.2%! One spot behind a shooting team like ND. I used to get excited if we had one guy who shot it from 3 at that level. Credit to staff and kids for not only improving ability to make shots, but this has also been driven by the high quality looks we are getting through ball and player movement (especially last 3 games).
Regarding core returning, of course hope so, and if so you can envision Lovett/Ponds being type of backcourt that gets national attention in lead up to season. Been long time since we've had that.
shecky82
Member
Not sure if this has been stated but the staff seemed more engaged last night...particularly Mitch Richmond. He was livid during some missed defensive assignments in the first half. Great to see as he can have tremendous influence over these kids. Seems like everyone, players, coaches and fans! worked real hard last night...good to see after thinking the team and future was bleak just a few short weeks ago.
Fordham recap:http://www.bigeastboards.com/
stjohnschris
Active member
The energy and vibe in Carnasecca was fantastic last night. Students looked like they had a blast...hopefully we see those two sections overflowing soon. I guess it's easy to look good when you win by 28, but I liked the demeanor of the coaching staff. I'd like to see that every game. It's already been said multiple times, but wow, Ponds is a natural scorer. He simply can fill it up. RF and Amar will need to play their height, and started to last night for sure. We need both of them this year. We need Amar to bang like he did last night, and we really need him to lay off the 3's. We have three great outside shooters, Amar should be the one setting the pick, not taking the shot. Preaching to the choir, I know!
As mentioned by many, the ball movement was great last night. How good was it to watch us execute back door cuts. Made mincemeat out of the 1-3-1 zone trap. Just really a solid effort (albeit against a much lesser team but who cares, revenge is always sweet).
Anyone know why Williams didn't get in at all? Definitely didn't seem to bother him (his sideline antics after made baskets made the news this morning).
Anyone know why Williams didn't get in at all? Definitely didn't seem to bother him (his sideline antics after made baskets made the news this morning).
Freud owes that block all thanks to Sima letting the guy blow by him.