Future Coach Of The Year

R

Ray Morgan

Well-known member
I know it's only 3 games against mid majors, , but I can't help but marvel at what I'm seeing. For the first time in I can't remember, I am watching a St. John's team that know, and play, to their roles. Each player is put in a position to play to their strengths. They are sharing the ball and helping each other on defense. They are playing petal to the metal even though they have a thin bench. And getting stronger as the game goes on. They all appear to be in tremendous condition.

It is extremely hard to take get players that never played together to work in unison. It is especially hard with CMA's system. Even though I still consider this a rebuilding year, I haven't been as excited about the program since Chris Mullin the player chose to play at St. John's. I think it won't be that many years until CMA is selected as Big East Coach of the Year. Winning it nationally is way more difficult, but I would consider CMA to be a live longshot down the road. Even with the lumps we will be taking, this season will be fun. In the past few years, most of us felt that we had teams that under-performed. This year the opposite is likely. I expect to catch teams off guard, and either beat them or make them sweat for the win. This is going to be our best run in awhile.
 
[quote="Moose" post=363242]Definitely losing tomorrow now :lol:[/quote]

And watch them shoot 55% from 3 all game. Lol...
 
[quote="Ray Morgan" post=363233]I know it's only 3 games against mid majors, , but I can't help but marvel at what I'm seeing. For the first time in I can't remember, I am watching a St. John's team that know, and play, to their roles. Each player is put in a position to play to their strengths. They are sharing the ball and helping each other on defense. They are playing petal to the metal even though they have a thin bench. And getting stronger as the game goes on. They all appear to be in tremendous condition.

It is extremely hard to take get players that never played together to work in unison. It is especially hard with CMA's system. Even though I still consider this a rebuilding year, I haven't been as excited about the program since Chris Mullin the player chose to play at St. John's. I think it won't be that many years until CMA is selected as Big East Coach of the Year. Winning it nationally is way more difficult, but I would consider CMA to be a live longshot down the road. Even with the lumps we will be taking, this season will be fun. In the past few years, most of us felt that we had teams that under-performed. This year the opposite is likely. I expect to catch teams off guard, and either beat them or make them sweat for the win. This is going to be our best run in awhile.[/quote]

What a positive post. It's clear CMA knows what he is doing, but I'd reserve judgment until we play 1/2 a dozen conference games. Clearly we have not been put to the test yet.

However, for those of you on board with the enthusiasm, plenty of good season tickets still available.

Remember a loud, packed home court arena make fans the 6th man.
 
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man, the honeymoon period is quite the drug.

We are giving CMA a real shot for national coach of the year down the road based off of wins over Mercer, CCU, and New Hampshire. Can we slow down?

I am not trying to be negative or a downer, and in a way I think I am actually defending CMA here. Defending him from these crazy expectations that might be way too much for him to fulfill. Lets temper expectations and enjoy the ride a little bit. We have our biggest test coming up tomorrow. Should be a good game.

I say this because I know what it is like to be in Ray Morgan's shoes. Sam Darnold looked so good in preseason, and I put all these expectations on him. He's gonna have a breakout season. Borderline MVP candidate. Now we are 2-7 and I am even more sad because it was me who built up these expectations in my head.

So I ask all of us here. No coach of the year talk, Big East or Nationally, lets just enjoy the ride for a little bit and see what happens
 
Look, I'm not saying we should replace the Joe Lapchick statue with one of Mike Anderson right now, but it's something we should consider at the end of this season.
 
[quote="Jack Williams" post=363279]man, the honeymoon period is quite the drug.

[/quote]

Just goes to further prove how starved this program was for a hardworking, dedicated and professional HC & Staff.

But you are right. It is a bit much to be suggesting CMA is winning any awards here in the near future, let alone 'coach of the year'. There's a lot to clean up and a roster to build. That said though, do we really need to tamp down enthusiasm for the program? This is a fan site and we are here to support the program after all. If a few posters are a bit hyperbolic in their support, isn't it better to just ignore them instead of getting into an argument over what is an acceptable amount of enthusiasm and support to show?
 
[quote="SJUFAN2" post=363285][quote="Jack Williams" post=363279]man, the honeymoon period is quite the drug.

[/quote]

Just goes to further prove how starved this program was for a hardworking, dedicated and professional HC & Staff.

But you are right. It is a bit much to be suggesting CMA is winning any awards here in the near future, let alone 'coach of the year'. There's a lot to clean up and a roster to build. That said though, do we really need to tamp down enthusiasm for the program? This is a fan site and we are here to support the program after all. If a few posters are a bit hyperbolic in their support, isn't it better to just ignore them instead of getting into an argument over what is an acceptable amount of enthusiasm and support to show?[/quote]

Again, like I said in my first post, I think enthusiasm is great, but I just have to caution people who go down that route.

Like many here, I am a Mets, Jets, Knicks fan. Getting our hopes up and getting let down is something that unfortunately, happens all of the time. And from my experience, getting all excited and putting "coach of the year" type projections onto a coach, or "mvp" projections onto a player, it just makes it all the more worse if/when those things do not happen.

It was not my intention to try and prevent people from being excited about CMA. I am excited about CMA. I just think as a fan, it is important to temper expectations a little bit. I don't want posters to end up resenting CMA in the future if he isnt a national coach of the year contender.

Excitement is great, but part of me carries that cynicism that being a Jets/Mets/Knicks/SJUBB fan makes you carry. And with that, I just wanted to warn people, high expectations are fine, until the results dont reach them, and then it becomes an issue
 
[quote="Jack Williams" post=363287][quote="SJUFAN2" post=363285][quote="Jack Williams" post=363279]man, the honeymoon period is quite the drug.

[/quote]

Just goes to further prove how starved this program was for a hardworking, dedicated and professional HC & Staff.

But you are right. It is a bit much to be suggesting CMA is winning any awards here in the near future, let alone 'coach of the year'. There's a lot to clean up and a roster to build. That said though, do we really need to tamp down enthusiasm for the program? This is a fan site and we are here to support the program after all. If a few posters are a bit hyperbolic in their support, isn't it better to just ignore them instead of getting into an argument over what is an acceptable amount of enthusiasm and support to show?[/quote]

Again, like I said in my first post, I think enthusiasm is great, but I just have to caution people who go down that route.

Like many here, I am a Mets, Jets, Knicks fan. Getting our hopes up and getting let down is something that unfortunately, happens all of the time. And from my experience, getting all excited and putting "coach of the year" type projections onto a coach, or "mvp" projections onto a player, it just makes it all the more worse if/when those things do not happen.

It was not my intention to try and prevent people from being excited about CMA. I am excited about CMA. I just think as a fan, it is important to temper expectations a little bit. I don't want posters to end up resenting CMA in the future if he isnt a national coach of the year contender.

Excitement is great, but part of me carries that cynicism that being a Jets/Mets/Knicks/SJUBB fan makes you carry. And with that, I just wanted to warn people, high expectations are fine, until the results dont reach them, and then it becomes an issue[/quote]

You're no fun lol
 
As a longtime St. John's fan, there has been very little to be upbeat about for many years. As I wrote, we are going to take our lumps, and plenty of them. I plan on enjoying this season anyway, even though our roster isn't ready to do much more than bust their humps and try to steal some wins during conference play. . Last season was more of a roller coaster ride of agony, as we saw a team with a lot of talent play, too often, that they just met at lost Battalion Hall. I have put no expectations on CMA or the program. I'm just making a prediction. Just like other posters label someone a sure fire pro after a few games. How long did it take for St. John's fans to see Chris Mullin was special. I saw it in a high school all star game after he was onhe court for 15 minutes.

No doubt we are all starving for not just wins, but a team of players learning quickly to follow a system and play together. So call it hyperbole or just plain insanity. It may be a little of both. But if anyone can tell me that there was another St. John's team in the past 15 that played harder than this team, and played team basketball like we are seeing so early in the season, please let me know. I will look up the games on youtube to jog my memory.
 
[quote="SJUFAN2" post=363285]That said though, do we really need to tamp down enthusiasm for the program? This is a fan site and we are here to support the program after all. If a few posters are a bit hyperbolic in their support, isn't it better to just ignore them instead of getting into an argument over what is an acceptable amount of enthusiasm and support to show?[/quote]

Thank you. Let the guy be excited. I wish everyone were this excited -- we'd be selling out all our games.

I personally like to dream big at the beginning and readjust my expectations on an as-needed basis.

Not many will agree, but I think the next game is will be a surprisingly good barometer of how our season will go. I think Vermont is a good program, regardless of conference affiliation. They will be a tournament team, and will be a popular upset special in brackets come March. If we manage to beat them 90-something to 70-something, I think we are in for a fun ride this season.

Similar thoughts about Dunn: He has a year's worth of rust on him, but if he comes out and gives us 14 or so points, I think we can expect a fun season from him as well.
 
Personally I’m just sitting back and enjoying this style of play the most I have as a SJU fan in a while. I like the energy and speed of play, fighting for rebounds. I enjoy watching this style of offense that gets the whole team involved with opportunities to score. I particularly like how Mike Anderson’s style wants to go as deep into the bench as possible with playing time which is a big divergence from our past few coaching staffs. This staff develops the bench and trusts them much more than others we have had. These teams will be deep enough to play deep into the season if we have the talent. In the past our coaches used to just squeeze the top 5 or 6 guys for maximum PT.

I don’t know what accolades are in Mike Anderson’s future but he will be approaching 400 wins in the not too distant future so I think we have reason to have hope here.
 
Just my two cents, but Mike Anderson can very well be a candidate for a coach of the year award at some point. All due respect Jack, but this ain’t Sam Darnold. This dude has been coaching well at the highest levels for a long time. Coach of the year is always possible with a guy that’s had his success,

Having said that, I’m still skeptical about how our record will be this year, but I’m not skeptical about the coach’s ability or the effort that our team will put in. And that alone is making me feel good about the money I spent on tickets this year and the time I invest, and will invest, in this team. Finally (and Mike Maher can back me up on this given how pissed I was when I met him) I know I will not feel as disappointed or disgusted with this team at any point this year as I did at the Garden last year for that game vs Providence. That team lacked effort and focus at times. This team doesn’t and won’t. That’s good enough for me.
 
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[quote="MCNPA" post=363328] I particularly like how Mike Anderson’s style wants to go as deep into the bench as possible with playing time which is a big divergence from our past few coaching staffs. This staff develops the bench and trusts them much more than others we have had. These teams will be deep enough to play deep into the season if we have the talent. In the past our coaches used to just squeeze the top 5 or 6 guys for maximum PT.
[/quote]

It is great to have a bench that doesn't feel like falling off a cliff and even means a spark pretty much the full bench. I found myself wanting him to go to the bench last game when offense was flat. What a luxury and change of perspective to think of a guy like Earlington coming in and giving the team a lift.
 
[quote="Paul Massell" post=363348][quote="MCNPA" post=363328] I particularly like how Mike Anderson’s style wants to go as deep into the bench as possible with playing time which is a big divergence from our past few coaching staffs. This staff develops the bench and trusts them much more than others we have had. These teams will be deep enough to play deep into the season if we have the talent. In the past our coaches used to just squeeze the top 5 or 6 guys for maximum PT.
[/quote]

It is great to have a bench that doesn't feel like falling off a cliff and even means a spark pretty much the full bench. I found myself wanting him to go to the bench last game when offense was flat. What a luxury and change of perspective to think of a guy like Earlington coming in and giving the team a lift.[/quote]

Agree, that is one of the most fun parts for me. Watching bench guys contribute in pretty big ways because they know their role is a lot of fun. I’d rather us go 10 deep during a game if we can and I think Anderson wants a team like that. It will consistently wear down many teams who don’t play that same way and buys a chance at success simply playing at that effort level all game. All the kids end up invested.

We just added Dunn and are gonna add a big athletic center in a handful or so more games. Adding quality depth is gonna pay big dividends even this season.
 
Totally agree with your points re: the bench. And it removes many of the questions and consternation about the next season because you already know what the returning group is capable of (at a minimum). And to repeat what others have said, it has to be exciting for potential recruits who know they’ll play immediately and with a coach who wants to and is able to develop them. It’s been awhile since we’ve had this, and I know we’re all glad to be watching our team being led by a great coach again.
 
[quote="Jnaw17" post=363351]Totally agree with your points re: the bench. And it removes many of the questions and consternation about the next season because you already know what the returning group is capable of (at a minimum). And to repeat what others have said, it has to be exciting for potential recruits who know they’ll play immediately and with a coach who wants to and is able to develop them. It’s been awhile since we’ve had this, and I know we’re all glad to be watching our team being led by a great coach again.[/quote]

Before the season started I thought we’d be wiped out after this season with the guys we have left after Heron and probably LJ are gone. I don’t feel the same way any more. It will be rebuilding a bit but we will be far from decimated and have a lot more than I thought left. Talent development has been a massive factor here. Mike Anderson said, “our kids get better” and it’s very obvious that they do. Should get some good recruits to play here over time seeing how talent gets a chance to both develop and gets an honest shot at PT.
 
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[quote="MCNPA" post=363352][quote="Jnaw17" post=363351]Totally agree with your points re: the bench. And it removes many of the questions and consternation about the next season because you already know what the returning group is capable of (at a minimum). And to repeat what others have said, it has to be exciting for potential recruits who know they’ll play immediately and with a coach who wants to and is able to develop them. It’s been awhile since we’ve had this, and I know we’re all glad to be watching our team being led by a great coach again.[/quote]

Before the season started I thought we’d be wiped out after this season with the guys we have left after Heron and probably LJ are gone. I don’t feel the same way any more. It will be rebuilding a bit but we will be far from decimated and have a lot more than I thought left. Talent development has been a massive factor here. Mike Anderson said, “our kids get better” and it’s very obvious that they do. Should get some good recruits to play here over time seeing how talent gets a chance to both develop and gets an honest shot at PT.[/quote]

Agree completely that rebuilding is never fun but we will be anything but decimated. We loose two very good players and Rutherford but will return Roberts, Champagne, Williams, Earlington, Dunn, Caraher, Speers, Steere all of whom who will have had serious pt this season. I don’t know if anyone will emerge as a star but all 8 will have been battle tested and will have shown that they can play at this level. In addition we have 2 very good recruits coming in to replace Rutherford and Heron and 2 other recruits with good potential. The cupboard is anything but bare for next season.
 
Another refreshing component of the new regime is that there is a lot less complaining to the referees (by both coaches and players). I think that stuff worked against us under Chris and it also wasn't always a great look.
 
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