Guys on Matt’s Radar

[quote="MJDinkins" post=281845]Some of y'all just don't know or understand.[/quote]

Dinkins, do you think we’re underestimating this kid? If so, I hope you’re right, but on paper there isn’t much to get excited about.
 
If transfers are so good then it must have been bad luck that we were near bottom of standings. I am not going to bash specific players, but you can’t build a successful stable program off transfers each year. We are all entiltled to our opinions and the two transfers thus far don’t seem to be impact players. The comments of a yr sitting could help are not realistic. These are 20 yr old men. What is a yr practicing really going to add to their skills?
 
[quote="Boo Harvey" post=281846][quote="MJDinkins" post=281845]Some of y'all just don't know or understand.[/quote]

Dinkins, do you think we’re underestimating this kid? If so, I hope you’re right, but on paper there isn’t much to get excited about.[/quote] I think Dinkins means the opposite and is not happy w Wright and our recruiting in general.
 
[quote="RedStormRising2" post=281843][quote="david cross" post=281838]I agree. Staff knows they have no shot at 18’ grad transfers & probably no top 100 for 19’. We are St. John’s. We are mediocre at best. Get used to this staffs effort b/c none of them, including hall of Famer Mullin are going anywhere. Two bad sit out transfers. What a joke. DePaul will be better[/quote]

Got to disagree. Transfers have been our bread and butter. Marvin Clark, Justin Simon, and Owens are/were some of our better players. There is nothing wrong with recruiting transfers or Jucos for that matter. The concern is not our reliance on transfers in my estimation, it's our inability to balance the roster.[/quote

Bingo RSR2. I'm as bumed as the next guy that we've failed (looks that way) to get a Big man to balance the roster. But we have to think outside the box and not guzzle the negative goblet of doom 'n gloom.
I'm constructive on this team in 2018-19 IF we are able to sign Figgy. A lineup of Ponds, Simon, Clark, Keita, Figgy is a very high-scoring, fast team capable of blitzing D, buckets of steals, and high-energy that will be very tough for teams to beat.
I agree that a bench of Dixon, Trimble, Williams, Roberts, Earlington is on the thin and inexperienced side, but Dixon--particularly--should contribute a lot off the bench, Trimble should be better, and I'd look to GW to apply intense D pressure, Earlington to provide 'some' muscle in spot duty, and Roberts some athleticism in spots.
IF we get LJF and the rest of the cast returns, we're in the Dance next year.
Book it.
 
[quote="Boo Harvey" post=281846][quote="MJDinkins" post=281845]Some of y'all just don't know or understand.[/quote]

Dinkins, do you think we’re underestimating this kid? If so, I hope you’re right, but on paper there isn’t much to get excited about.[/quote]

Check Steinfeld's post, Boo.
 
[quote="david cross" post=281838]I agree. Staff knows they have no shot at 18’ grad transfers & probably no top 100 for 19’. We are St. John’s. We are mediocre ajt best. Get used to this staffs effort b/c none of them, including hall of Famer Mullin are going anywhere. Two bad sit out transfers. What a joke. DePaul will be better[/quote]

Agree. At this point in a couple of years our second biggest player will be maybe 6'6". What a joke we've become.
 
[quote="david cross" post=281847]If transfers are so good then it must have been bad luck that we were near bottom of standings. I am not going to bash specific players, but you can’t build a successful stable program off transfers each year. We are all entiltled to our opinions and the two transfers thus far don’t seem to be impact players. The comments of a yr sitting could help are not realistic. These are 20 yr old men. What is a yr practicing really going to add to their skills?[/quote]

You realize we have 4 HS kids coming in? (Including Boubicar)
 
[quote="david cross" post=281838]I agree. Staff knows they have no shot at 18’ grad transfers & probably no top 100 for 19’. We are St. John’s. We are mediocre at best. Get used to this staffs effort b/c none of them, including hall of Famer Mullin are going anywhere. Two bad sit out transfers. What a joke. DePaul will be better[/quote]

Totally disagree Dave. You ever have a bad year? I have, and rebounded. EW's shooting production in spot duty was totally off his career averages, both his freshman year at MS State and his 40%+ 3-pt HS average. The kid was a high 4* out of HS and highly ranked by 3 major recruiting services. I'm very happy to have him.
And DC will blossom under Mullin and do well in the BEC. He was recruited by Butler and defaulted to Houston Baptist because the Butler coach defected.
I agree it bites we're likely not adding any 'big' depth.
But next season will be a problem only IF we are not able to sign Figueroa. IF we get Figgy, we're in the Dance.
Book it.
 
Getting transfers isnt bad if they’re high quality. If we would have gotten Femi,LJ and Burke we would be very happy.
 
Wright is a lefty which seems to be a theme here under Mullin. His highlight video from High School looked very good. He was ranked as the #65 player by ESPN in the 2016 class. For what it is worth that is higher than Seton Hall's Myles Powell (81) Sedee Keita (85) and Providence's Alpha Diallo (95) in that same class. There are a bunch of guards that are on the roster now: (Ponds, Simon, Dixon, Williams and Trimble) so Wright will have to find his place but with transfers and defections who knows what this will all look like after he sits out a year.

Hopefully he will thrive here at St. John's. Many players emerge in a different environment. Welcome aboard Mr. Wright! I hope coming to Queens will be a great experience for you.

On a separate note the composition of the roster is a work in progress that is still hard to see the big picture. Along with the six guards listed above we have six non-guards on scholarship (Clark a senior, Caraher (sitting out next season), Keita, Roberts, Earlington and Diakite) Other than Clark no one is a lock to be good next year. The hope is Keita will be very good and Roberts, Earlington and Diakite will find ways to contribute. Caraher might be good once he sits out but how he does moving up in competition is a bit of an unknown. Regardless players will need to be added to the roster at the three, four and five sooner than later. Clark is here for only one more year and he will leave a void in both talent and leadership.

Players will need to be added and developed for this team to raise its performance level down the road. It will be interesting to see it play out.

http://www.espn.com/college-sports/basketball/recruiting/playerrankings/_/class/2016/order/true
 
Funny, I actually like the Eli Wright acquisition more than Carraher. I just think Carraher's inside game, which seemed to have been fairly prominent, will suffer with his transition to BE play. Subsequently, we will need to rely on good ball movement and an inside/outside game to take advantage of his sharp shooting. Not exactly our strength.

I feel Wright definitely belongs at this level. He's gonna score. I know our recruiting is lazy and that he is only here because of his AAU connection with Kieta, but at least he is here.

Lastly, this all means jack if we don't get a big.
 
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[quote="JohnnyFan" post=281858]Funny, I actually like the Eli Wright acquisition more than Carraher. I just think Carraher's inside game, which seemed to have been fairly prominent, will suffer with his transition to BE play. Subsequently, we will need to rely on good ball movement and an inside/outside game to take advantage of his sharp shooting. Not exactly our strength.

I feel Wright definitely belongs at this level. He's gonna score. I know our recruiting is lazy and that he is only here because of his AAU connection with Kieta, but at least he is here.

Lastly, this all means jack if we don't get a big.[/quote]

I agree on EW, Johnny F, but also think DC will be effective in the BEC. He's the type of player I think will thrive under Mullin--as is EW and LJF (hoping on that big time!).
It bites to not have any depth at PF/C, but scorers can offset that imo.
We shall see.
Let's go St. John's.
 
So basically we've written off recruiting any metro-area HS guards for the '19 and '20 classes. And here I thought that building strong ties with local programs and keeping talent at home was supposed to be the backbone of the CM era.
 
[quote="redken" post=281867]So basically we've written off recruiting any metro-area HS guards for the '19 and '20 classes. And here I thought that building strong ties with local programs and keeping talent at home was supposed to be the backbone of the CM era.[/quote]
As I am sure all of us have heard many times WELL YOU THOUGHT WRONG! ;) :)
 
[quote="redken" post=281867]So basically we've written off recruiting any metro-area HS guards for the '19 and '20 classes. And here I thought that building strong ties with local programs and keeping talent at home was supposed to be the backbone of the CM era.[/quote]

Hi Red. I think JG stands out as a great PG prospect whom I believe remains high on our list
 
I don't get why so many people are hating on this pick up. Would I have rather had a big man? Yes, obviously, but I'm all for adding players with a high pedigree like Wright, who was a consensus 4 star recruit and #65 on rivals. He's big, athletic, and had the potential to score a lot. While I understand the frustration with not getting a grad-transfer big, if we're not going to get one we might as well pick up a talented kid with a lot of untapped potential like EW.
 
[quote="R S O" post=281870]I don't get why so many people are hating on this pick up. Would I have rather had a big man? Yes, obviously, but I'm all for adding players with a high pedigree like Wright, who was a consensus 4 star recruit and #65 on rivals. He's big, athletic, and had the potential to score a lot. While I understand the frustration with not getting a grad-transfer big, if we're not going to get one we might as well pick up a talented kid with a lot of untapped potential like EW.[/quote] because a lot of us throw out the rankings after they start playin especially like Buke as a comparison a 2 year player at Robert Morris who is getting recruited at big schools. If the kid was a freshman we probably wouldn't all care as much but we all see as our most pressing need as another big guy to play immediately. Not a guy who has had mediocre numbers for 2 years at a school that made the NIT. Maybe he turns out very good pickup but that doesn't change the point theta our most pressing need is a big man for 2 years in a row
 
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There's still time for a big man, so I'm not giving up all hope yet. But I think Figueroa would have been more enticing to a big man if you showed him potential lineups and how much firepower we'd have.
 
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