Free Association Or Trying To Make Sense of This

[Ray Morgan]

I think we are all going to need long sessions on a psychologist's couch if this continues. So I might as well start the process now without wasting too much time or money, and invite the others to join in.

1. Dom Pointer brings more to the table than I thought. One of the most gifted athletes I have ever seen. It turns out that Lavin completely misused him and stunted his growth as a player. Unfortunately, his lack of shooting skill is a problem that leads to his drives into traffic. He has a 6'9 game in a 6'5 body. However, if he was 6'9, he would be at Kentucky or U Conn instead of SJU. We specialize in the 6'5 tweener. It's part of our tradition.

2. In understanding our close losses, we act like a boxer with a great game plan. It works until we get hit in the mouth. Then our plan goes out the window, and the players stop moving the ball and revert to one on one play. Watch the 5 minute sequence from 8 minutes until 3 minutes to go. Four straight one on one moves, including several by Greene. Zero points while Creighton was missing too.

3. Why do many teams seem to find greatness in the last minutes against us? Perhaps because we should have knocked them out and broken their will earlier in the game. Just can't say for sure.

4. Some people think we would be a top ten team if Sampson stayed. If only he would have been able to play with the players we have now. Wait a minute-he did last year, and we are wehre we were last year after 7 Big East games. Except we played much better early in the year this year.

5. D Lo is shooting under 30% in the last 3 or 4 games. If his name wasn't D Lo, he would be spending more time on the bench resting the bad calf and shoulder. Can't do that unless you are playing with house money and have some depth.

6. The depth question. Looie was fine using 7 players, and his star usually played all 40 or close to it. Then again, Looie's good teams never had to defend the 3, which requires you to cover a lot more ground. Plus Looie recruited a team with defined goals within their skill set. Perhaps someone should introduce Lavin to the concept. And advise him that the opponent gets 3 points for a makeable (for them) jumpshot.

7. What to do with Lavin? Seems like he operates on the carrot on the end of the stick theory. We can't get rid of him because we would lose all the recruits he is so close to signing. So we are like the donkey chasing the carrot we never get to enjoy. Much like the story of being an SJU basketball fan.

 

[fun]

4. Some people think we would be a top ten team if Sampson stayed. If only he would have been able to play with the players we have now. Wait a minute-he did last year, and we are wehre we were last year after 7 Big East games. Except we played much better early in the year this year.

They didn't play much better because Sampson was missing. They played much better because Obekpa improved and Pointer brought more to the table than you thought. In related news the sun did not rise because your alarm clock went off.

The difference between last year's BE performance and this year's is that last year the BE schedule was front loaded with upper eschelon teams. This year it's front loaded with patsies. They're losing the same number of games, but to worse teams, see? You think they're going to bang out half a dozen straight against Xavier, Georgetown and Nova? I don't. Yet they won half a dozen straight last year with Sampson. Go figure.

 

[newsman13]

I think we are all going to need long sessions on a psychologist's couch if this continues. So I might as well start the process now without wasting too much time or money, and invite the others to join in.

1. Dom Pointer brings more to the table than I thought. One of the most gifted athletes I have ever seen. It turns out that Lavin completely misused him and stunted his growth as a player. Unfortunately, his lack of shooting skill is a problem that leads to his drives into traffic. He has a 6'9 game in a 6'5 body. However, if he was 6'9, he would be at Kentucky or U Conn instead of SJU. We specialize in the 6'5 tweener. It's part of our tradition.

2. In understanding our close losses, we act like a boxer with a great game plan. It works until we get hit in the mouth. Then our plan goes out the window, and the players stop moving the ball and revert to one on one play. Watch the 5 minute sequence from 8 minutes until 3 minutes to go. Four straight one on one moves, including several by Greene. Zero points while Creighton was missing too.

3. Why do many teams seem to find greatness in the last minutes against us? Perhaps because we should have knocked them out and broken their will earlier in the game. Just can't say for sure.

4. Some people think we would be a top ten team if Sampson stayed. If only he would have been able to play with the players we have now. Wait a minute-he did last year, and we are wehre we were last year after 7 Big East games. Except we played much better early in the year this year.

5. D Lo is shooting under 30% in the last 3 or 4 games. If his name wasn't D Lo, he would be spending more time on the bench resting the bad calf and shoulder. Can't do that unless you are playing with house money and have some depth.

6. The depth question. Looie was fine using 7 players, and his star usually played all 40 or close to it. Then again, Looie's good teams never had to defend the 3, which requires you to cover a lot more ground. Plus Looie recruited a team with defined goals within their skill set. Perhaps someone should introduce Lavin to the concept. And advise him that the opponent gets 3 points for a makeable (for them) jumpshot.

7. What to do with Lavin? Seems like he operates on the carrot on the end of the stick theory. We can't get rid of him because we would lose all the recruits he is so close to signing. So we are like the donkey chasing the carrot we never get to enjoy. Much like the story of being an SJU basketball fan.

I'll bite:

1. More often than not, Pointer plays like an All-American. I don't see how his growth was stunted. Forget Kentucky, etc. He chose to play for us and he's the better for it...unless you count the frustration of all those losses.

2. That's why boxers spar and practice all the time...so when they get hit in the mouth they do what they learned. On the other hand, all the practice in the world won't make an ordinary fighter competitive with the Klitsckos of the world. Maybe too many of our players can't fight.

3. Too many teams mark St John's on the schedule as a sure win. They're super confident at the end of games. We quake in our sneakers as we play not to lose.

4. Forget Sampson. We would have been a far better team had Thomas and Adonis been eligible. Relying on walk-ons doesn't cut it...not even in the MAAC.

5. See 4.

6. Looie's teams were more overhyped than the world's most famous arena. Remind me again, how many national championships we won. Final fours?

7. It's not that we can't get rid of Lavin...it's the weak cast of characters whose names are bandied about as the ones who could bring us to the promised land. We may stink out the Garden more than Barnum and Bailey's elephants...but all the world loves a circus. That's what Lavin brings to the table.