Get Ready for 25-26!
- Thread starter paultzman
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redfanUpooooooo
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My comparing this year to last
Hopkins over Scott Scoring, J, rebounding
Zuby sr better than Zuby jr
Richmond over Jackson consistency, selfless
Sellers over Smith size, J , wingspan
Luis over Sanon all phases but 3 pt shot
Current bench deeper and more mature than py bench.
Hopkins over Scott Scoring, J, rebounding
Zuby sr better than Zuby jr
Richmond over Jackson consistency, selfless
Sellers over Smith size, J , wingspan
Luis over Sanon all phases but 3 pt shot
Current bench deeper and more mature than py bench.
Lot of potential talent but I think a lot of work to do to turn it into a complete team.
I suspect the approach will be the inverse of last year - That one was to be good enough on defense to survive until your offense came around; this one will be to be good enough on offense to survive until your defense gels.
I also think that most people (Marillac and I being the most vocal exceptions) do not fully appreciate how important it was last year to have a PG with zero ego. That absence will be felt next year because I suspect "selflessness" is going to be a challenge for the squad. Pitino is going to have to work very, very hard to create that without having a player who embodies it.
My point with that is this. St. John's was one of the top teams in the country last year. However, going into the season, St. John's had not broken through in a real way yet, so no one was going to actually rank us in the top 15 in preseason polls. Coming back this year, there is now a real proof of concept, there is a proven commodity at center in Zuby, and it feels like pundits now see Pitino's vision are ranking us in the top 15 consistently. That was the case before we even got Sellers and Jackson. Last years team paved the way for writers and voters to feel "safe" about ranking SJU higher in their preseason polls, and I just don't think that is a proper indicator of which team has more talent. Certainly not enough to be able to confidently declare one roster has insane level of talent upgrade over the other. Remember, MR is the same guy who declared with full confidence that 2024-25 UConn would be better than the previous huskie team. I am pumped for next season, but I also speak fluent in "offseason overhyping" as a jets fan
I see your point, but why only name the above 3 guys? Last years team also had Kadary Richmond and RJ Luis. Those are insanely big pieces that can't be left out of the discussion when comparing rosters.
Overall, I think it is more than fair to say this roster has a ton of potential, but I still maintain that declaring one roster to be vastly superior to the other talent wise, at this stage of the game, is premature.
I do see a lot of offensive talent being assembled here, but I also have real questions about what we will be defensively, if Hopkins can play our brand of D consistently, if having a combo guard be our PG will work. The 24-25 team couldn't shoot, but I still view their team defense to be part of their talent. Scott and Kadary namely were two of the most talented defenders I have seen here. It is hard for me to give next years team the green light on having more "talent" just because of recruiting rankings. So maybe overall this should just be tabled until next year when the games are played.
I've thought a lot about it and I think Mitchell jumping on board would be huge for this roster. Jackson, Sellers, Sanon, Bryce can all score/shoot, Mitchell would be a balancing piece that would be perfect for this group
It's wild to look at a historic SJU team (31 wins, BE First place, BE Conference champs, undefeated at home) as a team that will easily be duplicated. I'm optimistic we will be good next year, but it will be very difficult to replicate last year's success.
Last year's team also had returning players slotted into either three of the starting five, or six, depending on how one views Wilcher. And two of the returning players ended up All BE, one became BE player of the year as well as an All American.
This year it appears of the top six, maybe even seven, rotational players there will be only one who ever wore an SJU uniform before. With portal mania taking over America maybe that is fine now, but it gives me pause and seems to negate some of the tremendous player development skills I believe Pitino has.
I do also believe he can seriously coach so I'm looking forward to how it all shapes up, just not booking Indy hotels at this time.
I didn't book the hotel but I did put my money up for the lottery for Final 4 tickets. Indy is a not a place I am enthusiastic about going to unless St. John's is in it, though. San Antonio is terrific. New Orleans obviously terrific. Indy? Meh.
I would rather have the more offensively talented team. I love guys who can shoot and score the ball. Defense you can teach. I loved last years team. This year’s team to me looks like it will have much more upside because of their offensive ability. If Coach Pitino can get them to buy in defensively, this years team has a higher ceiling than last years team. I know that sounds crazy considering we were 31-5 last year but it’s true.
Defense will be a work in progress until the team gels. But, RP brought in guys with the traits to be great defenders. I have more confidence in RP turning this into a great defensive team than I did in him teaching Kadary to shoot a jump shot. The construction of the team is eerily similar to Houston, especially if we get Mitchell.
With all the recent great news, let’s not sleep on Sanon. I only watched a few of his games, but coming out of HS numerous writers categorized him as a combo guard. A few thought his best NBA position would be PG. Not that he will be PG on this team, but he should be a very versatile player. Bobby Hurley called him the best shooter he ever coached.
www.si.com
NBA Draft Scouting Report: Arizona State's Joson Sanon
Player Info Joson Sanon Guard | Arizona State Height: 6'5” | Weight: 185 lbs 2025 Draft Age: 19.49 Prospect Profile Coming Soon… Highlights Draft Projectio
www.si.com
For those expecting more cheerleading, I suggest you move on.
Obviously chemistry is the biggest question mark, especially in regards to the “one ball” truth on an offensive minded team which looks like it will possibly lack an experienced battle hardened PG. To think Jackson can learn to play the position at this level on the fly in a summer is a huge gamble to say the least. Last years had two who were experienced enough and selfless enough to co-exist, and multiple players not afraid of “the moment”; the posters and coaches who have forgotten how over the top valuable Luis was at crunch time notwithstanding.
Yeah, I know Pitino was going to get Soriano in the NBA and teach Richmond to shoot 3’s and how did that work out?
Everyone lauds talent, and obviously it starts and ends with that, but where is the leadership, not players willing to shoot at the end of games, but to repeat, real battle hardened leadership? That invariably must come from the backcourt, because they have the ball in their hands most of the time and need to make good, mature decisions on offense. On defense they are the first line and need to establish and set the tone with hard on the ball play. I don’t see any players brought in who have a defense minded background.
Not predicting at all, but none of these players come from teams that had any real success last year, are relatively inexperienced and it is NOT about 5 one on one matchups so the idea of “this guy is better that that guy” year to year means nothing.
The coaching staff really have their work cut out IMO and I see this team right now more comparable to year one, which had the talent to go toe to toe with UConn but got there “too late”, than year two, but we shall see.
Obviously chemistry is the biggest question mark, especially in regards to the “one ball” truth on an offensive minded team which looks like it will possibly lack an experienced battle hardened PG. To think Jackson can learn to play the position at this level on the fly in a summer is a huge gamble to say the least. Last years had two who were experienced enough and selfless enough to co-exist, and multiple players not afraid of “the moment”; the posters and coaches who have forgotten how over the top valuable Luis was at crunch time notwithstanding.
Yeah, I know Pitino was going to get Soriano in the NBA and teach Richmond to shoot 3’s and how did that work out?
Everyone lauds talent, and obviously it starts and ends with that, but where is the leadership, not players willing to shoot at the end of games, but to repeat, real battle hardened leadership? That invariably must come from the backcourt, because they have the ball in their hands most of the time and need to make good, mature decisions on offense. On defense they are the first line and need to establish and set the tone with hard on the ball play. I don’t see any players brought in who have a defense minded background.
Not predicting at all, but none of these players come from teams that had any real success last year, are relatively inexperienced and it is NOT about 5 one on one matchups so the idea of “this guy is better that that guy” year to year means nothing.
The coaching staff really have their work cut out IMO and I see this team right now more comparable to year one, which had the talent to go toe to toe with UConn but got there “too late”, than year two, but we shall see.
I agree Logen, this team will be more comparable year one in some aspects. But, this team will be much more talented than the year one team. That year one team had no one who was ever coached by Pitino previously. It was completely new to everyone on the team. We have five returning players, four of which come off the bench. That gives us a strong bench in case of foul trouble etc. You’re bringing in guys off the bench who know the system, not freshman out of high school. I think the biggest thing will be getting the new guys to buy in defensively. But, they will have the five returning players pushing them in that regard so my hope is that it comes together a lot sooner then that first year team.
We will also be x100 more athletic.
I do share concerns about a veteran backcourt leader, especially from the PG spot
Agree but fyi...Danis, Ayo & Cruz were w/ Pitino year before.
Since I expressed many of the same concerns yesterday, I agree with the caution - specifically about the challenge of having only one ball to go around and people's largely erroneous belief that "anyone can play defense." I have wanted Mitchell from the start because with him and Zuby I will know I have at least two guys who get it on that end.
I do think that an experienced PG will land on the roster, and that will hopefully help if chosen well.
And I think that having about a half dozen returnees is a very significant difference from Year 1 since there is a foundation to layer the newcomers onto as opposed to everyone starting from scratch.
So I do not think we will be in Year 1 or worse territory, but I fully agree that folks may be a bit ahead of their skis thinking that the Year 3 team is guaranteed to be better than Year 2. It certainly has has the potential to be but the gap between potential and reality has to be closed and that remains to be seen.
As far as the returnees, it is certainly possible, but on paper, outside of Zuby, I would think all will eventually slot about where they were last year so a leadership, teaching role seems more hope than reality but I could certainly be wrong.
Anything can happen but I look at things as I look at things, not hoping for one offs. I mean next year we could be in a two point game in the round of 32 and the opposing coach could bench his conference POY and 2nd team AA for the last 5 minutes of the game but I wouldn’t count on it.You just have to read between the lines the lines.3 years ago Bama brought in a point guard who played 3 seasons at mid major Ohio and he was first team AA the past 2 seasons. Not saying that will happen for us or even that it needs to but with all the roster spots still open and all the mid major PG still available the right one can be very valuable to next years team and Pitino will bring in one of those at a minimum.
I see a fair amount of ? marks right now and expressed such, feel free to disagree.
If you guys didn’t notice I am not a “Pitinie”, I acknowledge his greatness as a coach but I don’t see the NC roster many are touting; it is very tough to win on offense , especially with no PG, and that’s the roster I see right now. As I said, disagree, I certainly respect your opinion to say the least; these are my opinions, not meant to be presented as facts.
Last year we had no idea RJ would be healthy, let alone BE POY, or what Smith would bring, or that Zuby would make such an exponential jump. No one thought we'd win 31 games. This year, we have players in those slots who seem to have more of a track record for us to have expectations that they should be just as good as what we got from the players we lost. With that comes very high hopes and expectations. And hopefully the lack of continuity this coming year is no worse than last season.
It's healthy to hear all sides of an argument... that's what makes this Board Great... imagine if we all agreed... it be boring af...
I share a couple of your concerns...
-Chemistry. This will Always be a "concern" in this era of College bball... holding on to a kid for a 2nd season will be considered an accomplishment. Something every staff will have to deal with. But the "Talent" is there... most important piece to start your foundation with.
-Ball handler. If Rick thinks Ian can play point... gotta trust our HOF Coach. might certainly be some hiccups in at the start... but think with the Talent we have... they will figure it out. We will also bring in a proven PG, albiet probably from a MM. Sanon/Jackson were highly touted freshmen that showed capabilty last year... with a year under their belt and Rick's tutelage- skys the limit for both of them.
-"The moment".... we had RJ and Kadary who were very comfortable in late game situations... I think a lot of us are forgetting the "biggest" get... Bryce Hopkins. If* the kid is healthy- which the staff says he is... guys- this kid is an AA candidate... hes an absolute Stud. As good of an "RJ" replacement as one could find. The issue won't be - do we have someone for the "moment" - it will be determining Who to give it to- since we have so many perceived options.
-Leadership-...? cmon Logen... this is offensive... our biggest recruit was ZUBY... and there is a reason why the staff locked him up so early... Kid is the heart and Soul of the Team... he will forever be remembered by this fanbase... He has everything you want in a Leader... we saw it firsthand all season- and even in the Ark game- shaking RJ to come alive... no other player i would want on my squad.
1) I acknowledged it all starts with talent but it is a start, nothing more nothing less
2) PG, sorry but I don’t share your belief in Pitino’s infallability. It is not about ball handling at all, it is about understanding the team, the game, time and score, it is about a mind set, not just being able to dribble and pass
3) Hopkins has not played in two years, I will wait to see him and the team before passing judgement. As for others, plenty of great players are afraid of the moment, again about a mind set, not just talent
4) I agree but a big can lead while the clock is off, VERY difficult while it is running, I should have been more specific